August 8

Historic Events

2024

Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus takes oath as Chief Adviser to form an interim government in Bangladesh. ›

2023

Hawaii wildfires: Seventeen thousand acres of land are burned and at least 101 people are killed, with two others missing, when a series of wildfires break out on the island of Maui in Hawaii. ›

2022

The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executes a search warrant at former president Donald Trump's residence in Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida. ›

2019

An explosion at the State Central Navy Testing Range in Nyonoksa, Russia, kills five people. ›

2016

Terrorists attack a government hospital in Quetta, Pakistan with a suicide blast and shooting, killing between 70 and 94 people, and injuring around 130 others. ›

2015

Eight people are killed in a shooting in Harris County, Texas. ›

2013

A suicide bombing at a funeral in the Pakistani city of Quetta kills at least 31 people. ›

2010

China Floods: A mudslide in Zhugqu County, Gansu, China, kills more than 1,400 people. ›

2009

A Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil and Piper PA-32R collide over the Hudson River, killing nine people. ›

2008

A EuroCity express train en route from Kraków, Poland to Prague, Czech Republic strikes a part of a motorway bridge that had fallen onto the railroad track near Studénka railway station in the Czech Republic and derails, killing eight people and injuring 64 others. ›

2008

The 29th modern summer Olympic Games take place in Beijing, China until August 24. ›

2007

An EF2 tornado touches down in Kings County and Richmond County, New York, the most powerful tornado in New York to date and the first in Brooklyn since 1889. ›

2007

Space Shuttle program: STS-118 Mission: Endeavour takes off on a mission to the International Space Station. ›

2004

A tour bus belonging to the Dave Matthews Band dumps approximately 800 pounds of human waste onto a boat full of passengers. ›

2001

Albanian rebels ambush a convoy of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia near Tetovo, killing 10 soldiers. ›

2000

Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor and 30 years after its discovery by undersea explorer E. Lee Spence. ›

1998

The Iranian consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, is raided by Taliban, leading to the deaths of ten Iranian diplomats and a journalist. ›

1993

The 7.8 Mw Guam earthquake shakes the island with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), causing around $250 million in damage and injuring up to 71 people. ›

1991

The Warsaw radio mast, then the tallest construction ever built, collapses. ›

1990

Iraq occupies Kuwait and the state is annexed to Iraq. This would lead to the Gulf War shortly afterward. ›

1989

Space Shuttle program: STS-28 Mission: Space Shuttle Columbia takes off on a secret five-day military mission. ›

1988

The 8888 Uprising begins in Rangoon (Yangon), Burma (Myanmar). Led by students, hundreds of thousands join in nationwide protests against the one-party regime. On September 18, the demonstrations end in a military crackdown, killing thousands. ›

1988

The first night baseball game in the history of Chicago's Wrigley Field (game was rained out in the fourth inning). ›

1974

President Richard Nixon, in a nationwide television address, announces his resignation from the office of the President of the United States effective noon the next day. ›

1973

Kim Dae-jung, a South Korean politician and later president of South Korea, is kidnapped. ›

1969

At a zebra crossing in London, photographer Iain Macmillan takes the iconic photo that becomes the cover image of the Beatles' album Abbey Road. ›

1967

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is founded by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand. ›

1963

Great Train Robbery: In England, a gang of 15 train robbers steal £2.6 million in bank notes. ›

1963

The Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), the current ruling party of Zimbabwe, is formed by a split from the Zimbabwe African People's Union. ›

1956

Marcinelle mining disaster in Belgium. 262 coal miners, including a substantial number of Italian migrant workers, are killed in one of the largest mining accidents in Belgian history. ›

1946

First flight of the nuclear capable Convair B-36, heaviest mass-produced piston-engined aircraft at the time. ›

1945

The London Charter is signed by France, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States, establishing the laws and procedures for the Nuremberg trials. ›

1945

World War II: The Soviet Union declares war on Japan. ›

1942

Quit India Movement is launched in India against the British rule in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for swaraj or complete independence. ›

1940

The "Aufbau Ost" directive for the mobilization of German forces for the invasion of the Soviet Union is signed by Wilhelm Keitel. ›

1929

The German airship Graf Zeppelin begins a round-the-world flight. ›

1919

The Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919 is signed. It establishes peaceful relations between Afghanistan and the UK, and confirms the Durand line as the mutual border. In return, the UK is no longer obligated to subsidize the Afghan government. ›

1918

World War I: The Battle of Amiens begins a string of almost continuous Allied victories with a push through the German front lines (Hundred Days Offensive). ›

1908

Wilbur Wright makes the Wright Brothers' first public flight, at a racecourse at Le Mans, France. ›

1903

Black Saturday occurs, killing 12 in a stadium collapse in Philadelphia. ›

1897

Italian anarchist Michele Angiolillo assassinates Spanish Prime Minister Antonio Cánovas del Castillo. ›

1876

Thomas Edison receives a patent for his mimeograph. ›

1870

The Republic of Ploiești, a failed Radical-Liberal rising against Domnitor Carol of Romania. ›

1863

American Civil War: Following his defeat in the Battle of Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee sends a letter of resignation to Confederate President Jefferson Davis (which is refused upon receipt). ›

1863

Tennessee Military Governor Andrew Johnson frees his personal slaves in Greeneville, Tennessee, despite them being exempt from the Emancipation Proclamation, now commemorated as Emancipation Day in the state. ›

1844

The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, headed by Brigham Young, is reaffirmed as the leading body of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church). ›

1831

Four hundred Shawnee people agree to relinquish their lands in Ohio in exchange for land west of the Mississippi River in the Treaty of Wapakoneta. ›

1794

Joseph Whidbey leads an expedition to search for the Northwest Passage near Juneau, Alaska. ›

1786

Mont Blanc on the French-Italian border is climbed for the first time by Jacques Balmat and Dr. Michel-Gabriel Paccard. ›

1709

Bartolomeu de Gusmão demonstrates the lifting power of hot air in an audience before the king of Portugal in Lisbon, Portugal. ›

1648

Mehmed IV (1648–1687) succeeds Ibrahim I (1640–1648) as Ottoman sultan. ›

1647

The Irish Confederate Wars and Wars of the Three Kingdoms: Battle of Dungan's Hill: English Parliamentary forces defeat Irish forces. ›

1588

Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines: The naval engagement ends, ending the Spanish Armada's attempt to invade England. ›

1585

John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in search of the Northwest Passage. ›

1576

The cornerstone for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory is laid on the island of Hven. ›

1509

Krishnadeva Raya is crowned Emperor of Vijayanagara at Chittoor. ›

1503

King James IV of Scotland marries Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England, at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, Scotland. ›

1264

Mudéjar revolt: Muslim rebel forces take the Alcázar of Jerez de la Frontera after defeating the Castilian garrison. ›

1220

Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula. ›

1164

Hassan II of Alamut proclaims the qiyāma, according to which Ismaili practice would change from traditional Islamic practice. ›

870

Treaty of Meerssen: King Louis the German and his half-brother Charles the Bald partition the Middle Frankish Kingdom into two larger east and west divisions. ›

685 BC

Spring and Autumn period: Battle of Qianshi: Upon the death of the previous Duke of Qi, Gongsun Wuzhi, Duke Zhuang of Lu sends an army into the Duchy of Qi to install the exiled Qi prince Gongzi Jiu as the new Duke of Qi – but is defeated at Qianshi by Jiu's brother and rival claimant, the newly inaugurated Duke Huan of Qi. ›