May 8th
May 8 is the 128th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (129th in leap years). There are 237 days remaining.
Events
- 1450 - Jack Cade's Rebellion: Kentishmen revolt against King Henry VI.
- 1541 - Hernando de Soto reaches the Mississippi River naming it Rio de Espiritu Santo.
- 1794 - French chemist Antoine Lavoisier is executed by guillotine.
- 1846 - Mexican-American War: The Battle of Palo Alto - Zachary Taylor defeats a Mexican force north of the Rio Grande at Palo Alto, Texas in the first major battle of the war.
- 1861 - American Civil War: Richmond, Virginia is named the capital of the Confederate States of America.
- 1877 - At Gilmore's Gardens in New York City, the first Westminster Dog Show opens (ends May 11).
- 1886 - Pharmacist Dr. John Styth Pemberton invents a carbonated beverage that would be named "Coca-Cola."
- 1902 - In Martinique, Mount Pelee erupts destroys the town of St. Pierre and kills over 30,000 people. Only a small handful of St. Pierre's residents survived the blast.
- 1914 - Paramount Pictures is formed.
- 1933 - Mohandas Gandhi begins a 21 day fast in protest of British oppression in India.
- 1942 - World War II: The Battle of the Coral Sea comes to an end. This is the first time in the naval history where two enemy fleets fought without visual contact between warring ships.
- 1945 - World War II: V-E Day, the day the German forces agreed to an unconditional surrender.
- 1967 - The Philippine province of Davao was split into three: Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental.
- 1973 - A 71-day standoff between federal authorities and the American Indian Movement who were occupying the Pine Ridge Reservation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, ends with the surrender of the militants.
- 1984 - The Soviet Union announces that it will boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.
- 1985 - New Coke is released on the 99th anniversary of Coca-Cola.
- 1997 - A China Southern Airlines Boeing 737 crashed on approach into Shenzhen's Huangtian Airport killing 35
- 1999 - Nancy Mace becomes the first female cadet to graduate from The Citadel military college.
Births
- 1521 - Petrus Canisius, Jesuit († 1597)
- 1821 - Jean Henri Dunant, founder of the Red Cross and recipient of the Nobel Prize in peace 1901 († 1910)
- 1842 - Emil Christian Hansen, fermentation physiologist († 1909)
- 1884 - Harry S. Truman, former President of the United States († 1972)
- 1892 - Ezio Pinza, opera singer († 1957)
- 1895 - Fulton J. Sheen, bishop, television personality († 1979)
- 1903 - Fernandel, actor († 1971)
- 1906 - Roberto Rossellini, direcotr († 1977)
- 1907 - Wof Stefan Traugott Graf von Baudissin, general († 1993)
- 1911 - Robert Johnson, blues singer and guitarist († 1938)
- 1914 - Romain Gary, writer († 1980)
- 1916 - João Havelange, industrialist and former FIFA president
- 1919 - Lex Barker, actor († 1973)
- 1926 - Don Rickles, comedian
- 1926 - Sir David Attenborough, pioneering television presenter and producer
- 1928 - Theodore Sorenson, political operative, writer
- 1932 - Sonny Liston, boxer († 1970)
- 1932 - Pyllida Law, actress
- 1937 - Thomas Pynchon, novelist
- 1940 - Ricky Nelson, pop singer, († 1985)
- 1943 - Toni Tennille, singer
- 1944 - Gary Glitter, singer
- 1945 - Keith Jarrett, jazz musician
- 1946 - Candice Bergen, actress
- 1954 - David Keith, actor
- 1964 - Melissa Gilbert, actress, president of the Screen Actors Guild
- 1975 - Enrique Iglesias, singer
Deaths
- 1794 - Antoine Lavoisier, chemist
- 1842 - Jules Dumont d'Urville, explorer
- 1880 - Gustave Flaubert, novelist
- 1947 - Harry Gordon Selfridge, founder of Selfridges department store
- 1975 - Avery Brundage, President of the International Olympic Committee
- 1982 - Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian racing driver
- 1985 - Theodore Sturgeon, science fiction writer
- 1988 - Robert A. Heinlein, science fiction author
- 1993 - Avram Davidson, science fiction writer
- 1994 - George Peppard, actor
- 1999 - Dirk Bogarde, actor
- 1999 - Dana Plato, actress
Holidays and observances
Recorded this day
See Also:
May 7 - May 9 - April 8 - June 8 -- listing of all days
January, February, March, April, May, June, July,
August, September, October, November, December
Referenced By
Yvonne Kennedy
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