March 8
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
March 8 is the 67th day of the year (68th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 298 days remaining until the end of the year.
Contents |
Events [change]
- 1576 – Spanish explorer Diego Garcia de Palacio sights the ruins of the ancient Mayan city of Copan.
- 1618 – Johannes Kepler discovers the third law of planetary motion (he soon rejects the idea after some initial calculations were made but later on May 15 confirms the discovery).
- 1655 - John Casor becomes the first legally-recognized slave in North America.
- 1658 - Sweden reaches its greatest extent after the Peace of Roskilde.
- 1669 – Mount Etna on Sicily erupts until July 11, destroying several towns.
- 1702 – Very unexpectedly, Anne Stuart, the sister of the childless Mary II, becomes Queen of England, Scotland and Ireland after the death of William III of Orange from injuries he suffered in a fall from his horse.
- 1736 – Nader Shah of the Afsharid Dynasty becomes the Shah (ruler) of Persia.
- 1775 - An anonymous letter, thought by some to have been written by Thomas Paine, calls for the end of slavery in the North American colonies.
- 1782 – Gnadenhütten massacre: Almost 100 Native Americans in Gnadenhutten, Ohio had their skulls crushed with a mallet by Pennsylvanian militiamen in a mass murder.
- 1817 – The New York City Stock Exchange is founded.
- 1844 – King Oscar I ascends to the throne of Sweden-Norway
- 1862 – American Civil War: The iron-clad CSS Virginia (formerly USS Merrimack) is launched at Hampton Roads, Virginia.
- 1868 - Sakai incident: Japanese samurai kill 11 French sailors in the port of Sakai, near Osaka.
- 1884 – Susan B. Anthony testified before the Judiciary Committee of the House of Representatives arguing for an amendment to the U.S. Constitution granting women the right to vote.
- 1906 – Moro Crater Massacre: US troops occupying the Philippines massacre about 600 men, women and children taking refuge in a crater.
- 1910 - Raymonde de Laroche of France becomes the first woman to be given a pilot's license.
- 1911 – International Women's Day is celebrated for the first time.
- 1917 – The February Revolution breaks out in Russia (February 23 O.S.).
- 1917 – The United States Senate adopts the cloture rule in order to limit filibusters.
- 1918 – The first case of Spanish flu occurs, the start of a devastating pandemic.
- 1921 – Spanish Premier Eduardo Dato is assassinated while exiting the parliament building in Madrid.
- 1924 – The Castle Gate mining disaster in Utah kills 172 coal miners.
- 1936 – The first stock car race is held in Daytona Beach, Florida.
- 1937 - Spanish Civil War: The Battle of Guadalajara begins.
- 1942 – World War II: The Dutch surrender to Japanese forces on Java.
- 1942 – World War II: Japan captures Rangoon, Burma.
- 1943 – World War II: Japanese troops counter-attack American forces on Hill 700 in Bougainville in a battle that will last five days.
- 1948 – The United States Supreme Court rules that religious instruction in public schools violated the Constitution.
- 1950 – The Soviet Union claims to have an atomic bomb.
- 1952 – Antoine Pinay becomes Prime Minister of France
- 1957 – Egypt re-opens the Suez Canal.
- 1957 – Ghana joins the UN.
- 1958 - South Yemen joins the United Arab Republic.
- 1959 – Last television appearance of The Marx Brothers, in The Incredible Jewel Robbery
- 1961 – Max Conrad circumnavigates the earth in eight days, 18 hours and 49 minutes setting a new world record.
- 1963 - The Ba'ath Party takes power in a coup in Syria.
- 1965 – Vietnam War: 3,500 United States Marines arrive in South Vietnam, becoming the first American combat troops in Vietnam.
- 1966 – Vietnam War: Australia announces it is going to substantially increase its number of troops in Vietnam.
- 1966 – A bomb planted by young Irish protesters destroys Nelson's Pillar in Dublin.
- 1968 – Soviet U-boat K-129 sinks in the Pacific Ocean, killing 86 people on board.
- 1971 – Joe Frazier defeats Muhammad Ali in the first of three epic bouts. Frazier defends the world Heavyweight title in a star-studded Madison Square Garden.
- 1972 – The Goodyear blimp flies for the first time.
- 1974 – Charles de Gaulle Airport opens in Paris, France.
- 1978 – The first ever radio episode of The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy, by Douglas Adams is transmitted on BBC Radio 4.
- 1983 – President Ronald Reagan calls the Soviet Union an evil empire.
- 1985 – 1985 Beirut Car Bombing is made in front of the mosque killing 45 people and injuring 175.
- 1988 – Two United States Army helicopters collide in Fort Campbell, Kentucky killing 17 servicemen.
- 1999 – Oklahoma City bombing: The Supreme Court of the United States upholds the murder convictions of Timothy McVeigh.
- 2000 – A collision between two Tokyo Metro trains kills 5 people.
- 2004 – A new constitution is signed by Iraq's Governing Council.
Births [change]
- 1286 – John III, Duke of Brittany (d. 1341)
- 1293 – Beatrice of Castile, Queen of Portugal (d. 1359)
- 1495 – John of God, Portuguese-born friar and saint (d. 1550)
- 1514 - Amago Haruhisa, Japanese samurai and warlord (d. 1562)
- 1566 - Carlo Gesualdo, Italian composer (d. 1613)
- 1702 – Anne Bonny, Irish-American pirate (d. 1782)
- 1712 – John Fothergill, English physician (d. 1780)
- 1714 – Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, German composer (d. 1788)
- 1746 - Andre Michaux, French botanist (d. 1802)
- 1748 – William V of Orange, Dutch ruler (d. 1806)
- 1761 - Jan Potocki, Polish historian, diplomat and explorer (d. 1815)
- 1783 – Hannah Van Buren, wife of Martin Van Buren (d. 1819)
- 1799 - Simon Cameron, 26th United States Secretary of War (d. 1889)
- 1804 - Alvin Clark, American telescope maker and astronomer (d. 1887)
- 1822 – Ignacy Lukasiewicz, Polish inventor (d. 1882)
- 1830 - Joao de Deus, Portuguese poet (d. 1896)
- 1841 – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., American jurist (d. 1935)
- 1847 – John Lister, British politician (d. 1933)
- 1859 – Kenneth Grahame, British author (d. 1932)
- 1865 - Frederic Goudy, American type designer (d. 1947)
- 1872 – Anna Held, Polish actress and singer (d. 1918)
- 1879 – Otto Hahn, German chemist (d. 1968)
- 1886 – Edward Calvin Kendall, American chemist (d. 1972)
- 1891 - Sam Jaffe, American actor (d. 1984)
- 1892 – Mississippi John Hurt, American blues singer and guitarist (d. 1966)
- 1892 – Juana de Ibarbourou, Uruguayan poet (d. 1979)
- 1899 - Eric Linklater, Scottish writer (d. 1974)
- 1900 – Howard H. Aitken, American computer pioneer (d. 1973)
- 1902 – Jennings Randolph, American politician (d. 1998)
- 1907 – Konstantinos Karamanlis, Greek politician (d. 1998)
- 1911 – Alan Hovhaness, American composer (d. 2000)
- 1912 – Preston Smith, American politician and 40th Governor of Texas (d. 2003)
- 1912 - Meldrim Thomson, Jr., American politician and 73rd Governor of New Hampshire (d. 2001)
- 1914 - Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich, Russian physicist (d. 1987)
- 1915 – Tapio Rautavaara, Finnish athlete (d. 1979)
- 1916 – John W. Seybold, American businessman (d. 2004)
- 1918 - Jacques Baratier, French director and screenwriter (d. 2009)
- 1921 – Alan Hale, Jr., American actor (d. 1990)
- 1921 – Cyd Charisse, American actress and dancer (d. 2008)
- 1922 - Yevgeny Matveyev, Russian actor and film director (d. 2003)
- 1922 – Shigeru Mizuki, Japanese manga artist
- 1924 – Anthony Caro, British abstract sculptor
- 1924 – Georges Charpak, Polish-born French physicist (d. 2010)
- 1926 - Francisco Rabal, Spanish actor (d. 2001)
- 1927 - Dick Hyman, American jazz pianist
- 1929 - Hebe Camargo, Brazilian actress, singer and television presenter (d. 2012)
- 1930 - Yuri Rytkheu, Russian writer (d. 2008)
- 1930 - Pyotr Bolotnikov, Russian long-distance runner
- 1931 - Neil Adcock, South African cricketer (d. 2013)
- 1931 - John McPhee, American writer and professor
- 1931 - Gerald Potterton, British-Canadian director, producer and animator
- 1933 – Luca Ronconi, Italian theatre and opera director
- 1937 – Juvenal Habyarimana, President of Rwanda (d. 1994)
- 1939 – Robert Tear, Welsh operatic tenor (d. 2011)
- 1941 - Wilfrid Napier, South African cardinal
- 1942 – Jan Vyčítal, Czech musician
- 1942 - Ann Packer, British author
- 1943 – Lynn Redgrave, British actress (d. 2010)
- 1943 - Michael Grade, British television executive
- 1944 – Sergei Nitikin, Russian composer
- 1945 – Anselm Kiefer, German painter
- 1945 – Micky Dolenz, American musician (The Monkees)
- 1946 – Randy Meisner, American musician
- 1947 – Carole Bayer Sager, American composer
- 1948 – Peggy March, American singer
- 1948 - Gyles Brandreth, British broadcaster and former politician
- 1948 - Jonathan Sacks, Chief Rabbi of the United Hebrew Congregations of the Commonwealth of Nations
- 1949 - Natalia Kruchinskaya, Soviet gymnast
- 1949 - Antonello Venditti, Italian singer-songwriter
- 1949 – Teofilo Cubillas, Peruvian footballer
- 1952 - George Felix Allen, 67th Governor of Virginia
- 1954 - David Wilkie, Scottish swimmer
- 1954 – Cheryl Baker, British singer
- 1955 - Don Ashby, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1956 - Laurie Cunningham, English footballer
- 1957 – Clive Burr, British musician
- 1958 – Gary Numan, British singer and musician
- 1959 – Aidan Quinn, American actor
- 1961 - Camryn Manheim, American actress
- 1963 – Mike Lalor, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1963 - Julio Cesar Silva, Brazilian footballer
- 1964 – Peter Gill, British musician
- 1964 - Kate Betts, American fashion editor
- 1964 - Thomas Bezucha, American screenwriter and director
- 1966 - Cheryl James, American singer and rapper
- 1968 – Michael Bartels, German racing driver
- 1970 - Andrea Parker, American actress
- 1972 – Fergal O'Brien, Irish snooker player
- 1973 – Mark Lukasiewicz, American baseball player
- 1976 – Freddie Prinze, Jr., American actor
- 1977 – James Van Der Beek, American actor
- 1977 – Johann Vogel, Swiss footballer
- 1979 – Tom Chaplin, English singer (Keane)
- 1979 - Andy Ross, guitarist
- 1981 – Michael Beauchamp, Australian footballer
- 1983 – Andre Santos, Brazilian footballer
- 1984 – Gyorgy Garics, Austrian footballer
- 1984 - Rafik Djebbour, Algerian footballer
- 1984 - Sasha Vujacic, Slovenian basketball player
- 1985 - Ewa Sonnet, Polish model and singer
- 1986 – Princess Tsuguko of Takamado of Japan
- 1988 – Elly Jackson, English singer (La Roux)
- 1989 - Robbie Hummel, American basketball player
- 1990 – Petra Kvitova, Czech tennis player
- 1992 - Charlie Ray, American actress
- 1997 - Jurina Matsui, Japanese singer (AKB48)
Deaths [change]
- 1126 – Urraca of Leon (b. 1082)
- 1144 – Pope Celestine II
- 1550 – John of God, Portuguese-born friar and saint (b. 1495)
- 1641 - Xu Xiake, Chinese adventurer (b. 1587)
- 1702 – William III of England (b. 1650)
- 1757 – Thomas Blackwell, Scottish classical scholar (b. 1701)
- 1844 – King Charles XIV John of Sweden (b. 1763)
- 1869 – Hector Berlioz, French composer (b. 1803)
- 1874 – Millard Fillmore, 13th President of the United States (b. 1800)
- 1887 – Henry Ward Beecher, American clergyman (b. 1813)
- 1889 – John Ericsson, Swedish engineer and inventor (b. 1803)
- 1907 - Marynos Antypas, Greek lawyer and journalist (b. 1872)
- 1917 – Ferdinand von Zeppelin, German aircraft manufacturer (b. 1838)
- 1921 – Eduardo Dato, Spanish Premier
- 1923 – Krisjanis Barons, Latvian writer (b. 1837)
- 1923 – Johannes Diderik van der Waals, Dutch physicist (b. 1837)
- 1930 – William Howard Taft, 27th President of the United States (b. 1857)
- 1935 – Hachiko, Japanese Akita dog known for its loyalty (b. 1923)
- 1941 – Sherwood Anderson, American author (b. 1876)
- 1942 – Jose Raul Capablanca, Cuban chess player and diplomat (b. 1888)
- 1961 – Thomas Beecham, English conductor (b. 1879)
- 1971 - Harold Lloyd, American actor (b. 1893)
- 1973 - Ron "Pigpen" McKernan, American musician (b. 1945)
- 1988 – Werner Hartmann, German physicist (b. 1912)
- 1993 - Billy Eckstine, American singer (b. 1914)
- 1999 – Adolfo Bioy Casares, Argentine writer (b. 1914)
- 1999 – Joe DiMaggio, American baseball player (b. 1914)
- 2003 – Adam Faith, English singer and actor (b. 1940)
- 2004 – Abu Abbas, founder of the Palestinian Liberation Organisation (b. 1948)
- 2007 – John Inman, English actor (b. 1935)
- 2011 – Mike Starr, American musician (b. 1966)
