May 8
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(Redirected from 8 May)
May 8 is the 128th day of the year (129th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 237 days remaining after May 8 until the end of the year.
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[change] Births
- 1326 – Joanna I of Auvergne, Queen of France (d. 1360)
- 1521 – Petrus Canisius, Dutch Jesuit (d. 1597)
- 1587 – Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy (d. 1637)
- 1720 – William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (d. 1764)
- 1735 – Nathaniel Dance-Holland, English painter (d. 1811)
- 1737 – Edward Gibbon, British historian (d. 1794)
- 1738 – Mikhail Kamensky, Russian general (d. 1809)
- 1753 – Miguel Hidalgo, Mexican revolutionary (d. 1811)
- 1781 – Pedro de Sousa Holstein, 1st Duke of Palmela, Portuguese politician (d. 1850)
- 1786 – John Vianney, French priest and saint (d. 1859)
- 1821 – William Henry Vanderbilt, American businessman (d. 1885)
- 1828 – Jean-Henri Dunant, Swiss co-founder of the Red Cross, co-winner of first Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1910)
- 1847 – Oscar Hammerstein I, American theatre producer and impresario (d. 1919)
- 1856 – Pedro Lascurain, Mexican politician, shortest-serving President (d. 1952)
- 1859 – Johan Jensen, Danish mathematician (d. 1925)
- 1884 – Harry S. Truman, President of the United States (d. 1972)
- 1889 – Song Jin-woo, Korean politician, educationist and journalist (d. 1945)
- 1895 – James H. Kindelberger, American aviation executive (d. 1962)
- 1895 – Fulton J. Sheen, American bishop (d. 1979)
- 1895 – Edmund Wilson, American writer (d. 1972)
- 1895 – Joselito, Spanish bullfighter (d. 1920)
- 1899 – Friedrich Hayek, Austrian economist (d. 1992)
- 1902 – Andre Michel Lwoff, French microbiologist (d. 1994)
- 1903 – Fernandel, French comedy actor and singer (d. 1971)
- 1904 – John Snagge, British radio personality (d. 1996)
- 1905 – Red Nichols, American musician (d. 1965)
- 1906 – Roberto Rosselini, Italian film director (d. 1977)
- 1909 – Count Lennart Bernadotte, Swedish royal (d. 2004)
- 1910 – Mary Lou Williams, American singer (d. 1981)
- 1911 – Robert Johnson, American blues musician (d. 1938)
- 1914 – Romain Gary, Polish writer (d. 1980)
- 1916 – Chinmayananda, Indian spiritualist (d. 1993)
- 1916 – Joao Havelange, Brazilian sports official
- 1920 – Saul Bass, American graphic designer and filmmaker (d. 1996)
- 1920 – Tom of Finland, Finnish fetish artist (d. 1991)
- 1925 – Ali Hassan Mwinyi, former President of Tanzania
- 1926 – David Attenborough, British naturalist, TV presenter and author
- 1926 – Don Rickles, American actor
- 1928 – Manfred Gerlach, East German politician (d. 2011)
- 1932 – Phyllida Law, Scottish actress
- 1932 – Sonny Liston, American boxer (d. 1970)
- 1935 – Jack Charlton, English footballer
- 1935 – Princess Elisabeth of Denmark
- 1936 – Kazuo Koike, Japanese manga artist
- 1937 – Thomas Pynchon, American writer
- 1938 – Jean Giraud, French comic book artist and production designer (d. 2012)
- 1940 – Peter Benchley, American author (d. 2006)
- 1940 – Ricky Nelson, American singer and actor
- 1944 – Bill Legend, British musician
- 1944 – Gary Glitter, British musician
- 1945 – Keith Jarrett, American musician
- 1946 – Jonathan Dancy, British philosopher
- 1947 – John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan, British politician
- 1947 – H. Robert Horvitz, American biologist
- 1948 – Felicity Lott, British singer
- 1948 – Norbert Nigbur, German footballer
- 1949 – Mohammed bin Hammam, Qatari FIFA official
- 1951 – Philip Bailey, American musician (Earth, Wind & Fire)
- 1951 – Chris Frantz, rock musician
- 1952 – Charles Camarda, American astronaut
- 1953 – Alex Van Halen, Dutch-American musician
- 1955 – Meles Zenawi, Ethiopian politician
- 1955 – Asgeir Sigurvinsson, Icelandic footballer
- 1957 – Marie Myriam, French singer
- 1958 – Roddy Doyle, Irish author
- 1958 – Lovie Smith, American Football coach
- 1960 – Franco Baresi, Italian footballer
- 1961 – Akira Taue, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1961 – Janet McTeer, British actress
- 1964 – Dave Rowntree, British musician (Blur)
- 1964 – Melissa Gilbert, American actress
- 1965 – Mario Frick, Liechtenstein politician
- 1969 – Akebono Taro, American sumo wrestler
- 1970 – Luis Enrique Martinez Garcia, Spanish footballer
- 1972 – Darren Hayes, Australian singer
- 1974 – Korey Stringer, American football player (d. 2001)
- 1975 – Enrique Iglesias, Spanish singer
- 1976 – Martha Wainwright, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1977 – Bad News Brown, Canadian rapper (d. 2011)
- 1978 – Matthew Davis, American actor
- 1978 – Lúcio, Brazilian footballer
- 1980 – Michelle McManus, Scottish singer
- 1981 – Andrea Barzagli, Italian footballer
- 1982 – Buakaw Banchamek, Thai Muay-Thai boxer
- 1982 – Adrian Gonzalez, American baseball player
- 1983 – Matt Willis, British singer (Busted)
- 1985 – Sarah Vaillancourt, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1987 – Isabel Lestapier Winqvist, Miss Sweden winner
[change] Deaths
- 535 – Pope John II
- 685 – Pope Benedict II
- 840 – Emperor Junna of Japan (b. 786)
- 1163 – Duke Ottokar IV of Syria
- 1278 – Emperor Duanzongof China (b. 1268)
- 1319 – Haakon V of Norway (b. 1270)
- 1782 – Marques de Pombal, Portuguese politician (b. 1699)
- 1794 – Antoine Lavoisier, French chemist (executed) (b. 1743)
- 1819 – Kamehameha I, King of Hawai'i (b. c. 1758)
- 1828 – Mauro Giuliani, Italian composer (b. 1781)
- 1842 – Jules Dumont d'Urville, French explorer (b. 1790)
- 1873 – John Stuart Mill, English philosopher (b. 1806)
- 1880 – Gustave Flaubert, French novelist (b. 1821)
- 1891 – Helena Blavatsky, Russian-born author (b. 1831)
- 1903 – Paul Gauguin, French painter (b. 1846)
- 1904 – Eadward Muybridge, British photographer (b. 1830)
- 1936 – Oswald Spengler, German historian and philosopher (b. 1880)
- 1945 – Bernhard Rust, Nazi education minister (b. 1883)
- 1945 – Josef Terboven, Nazi Reichskommissar in Norway (b. 1898)
- 1947 – Harry Gordon Selfridge, department store founder (b. 1858)
- 1948 – U Saw, Burmese politician (b. 1900)
- 1952 – William Fox, Austro-Hungarian-born American film producer (b. 1879)
- 1960 – J. H. C. Whitehead, British mathematician (b. 1904)
- 1975 – Avery Brundage, President of the International Olympic Committee (b. 1887)
- 1982 – Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver (b. 1950)
- 1985 – Theodore Sturgeon, science fiction writer (b. 1918)
- 1988 – Robert A. Heinlein, American science fiction writer (b. 1907)
- 1991 – Jean Langlais, French composer and pianist (b. 1907)
- 1991 – Rudolf Serkin, Austrian pianist (b. 1903)
- 1993 – Avram Davidson, science fiction writer (b. 1923)
- 1994 – George Peppard, American actor (b. 1928)
- 1996 – Dominguin, Spanish bullfighter (b. 1926)
- 1998 – Jennings Randolph, American politician (b. 1902)
- 1999 – Dirk Bogarde, British actor (b. 1921)
- 1999 – Dana Plato, actress (b. 1964)
- 2008 – Francois Sterchele, Belgian footballer (b. 1982)
- 2009 – Dom DiMaggio, American baseball player (b. 1917)
- 2010 – Andor Lilienthal, Hungarian chess player (b. 1911)
- 2011 – Lionel Rose, Australian boxer (b. 1948)
- 2011 – Cornell Dupree, American musician (b. 1942)
- 2012 – Maurice Sendak, American author (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Roman Totenberg, Polish-American violinist (b. 1911)
[change] Events
- 1541 – Hernando de Soto reaches the Mississippi River.
- 1781 – Battle of Pensacola in Florida: Spanish troops reconquer Pensacola.
- 1794 – French chemist Antoine Lavoisier is executed on the guillotine.
- 1842 – French explorer Jules Dumont D'Urville and his family, are among those killed in a major train crash.
- 1842 – The Great Fire of Hamburg is brought under control. It had killed 51 people and made 20,000 homeless.
- 1886 – John Pemberton creates the drink that is now known as Coca Cola.
- 1898 – The Italian football league is held for the first time; all in one day.
- 1902 – The Volcano Mt. Pelee erupts on the Caribbean Island of Martinique, killing 30,000 people.
- 1912 – Paramount Pictures is founded.
- 1933 – Mahatma Gandhi begins a 21-day fast against British colonial oppression.
- 1942 – World War II: In the Battle of the Coral Sea, a Japanese Navy aircraft attacks the ship USS Lexington.
- 1945 – End of World War II in Europe; this day is known as VE Day for "Victory in Europe".
- 1945 – Thousands of Algerian civilians are massacred by French colonial troops.
- 1945 – End of Prague Siege.
- 1969 – The film Easy Rider, starring Dennis Hopper, has its premiere in Cannes, France.
- 1970 – The last Beatles album, 'Let it Be', is released.
- 1973 – Members of the American Indian Movement leave the Pine Ridge Reservation at Wounded Knee, after a 71-day protest.
- 1978 – Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler reach the top of Mt. Everest without Oxygen supplies, becoming the first people to do so.
- 1980 – The WHO announces the eradication of Smallpox.
- 1984 – The Soviet Union decides to boycott the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
- 1984 – The Thames Barrier officially opens.
- 1995 – The 50th anniversary of VE Day is marked.
- 1997 – A China Southeast Airlines Boeing 737 crashes at Shenzhen Bao'an Airport, killing 35 people.
- 2007 – A new power-sharing deal takes effect in Northern Ireland. Ian Paisley becomes First Minister and Martin McGuinness becomes his Deputy.
- 2008 – Silvio Berlusconi becomes Prime Minister of Italy for a third time.
- 2010 – Laura Chinchilla becomes President of Costa Rica.
[change] Observances
- Victory in Europe Day, marking the end of World War II in Europe in 1945.
- International Red Cross and Red Crescent Day, birthday of Jean-Henri Dunant, co-founder of the International Red Cross.
- Parents' Day (South Korea).
- Truman Day (Missouri).
- Miguel Hidalgo's birthday (Mexico).
