July 8
July 8 is the 189th day of the year (190th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 176 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events
- 1099 – First Crusade: 15,000 starving Christian soldiers march in a religious procession around Jerusalem as its Muslim defenders look on.
- 1283 – War of the Sicilian Vespers: the naval Battle of Malta between the Aragonese and the Neapolitan fleets is fought.
- 1497 – Vasco da Gama sets sail on the first direct European voyage to India.
- 1579 – Our Lady of Kazan, a holy icon of the Russian Orthodox Church, is discovered underground in the city of Kazan, Tatarstan.
- 1663 – Charles II of England grants John Clarke a Royal Charter to Rhode Island.
- 1709 – Great Northern War: Battle of Poltava – Peter I of Russia defeats Charles XII of Sweden at Poltava thus effectively ending Sweden's role as a major power in Europe.
- 1716 – Great Northern War: the naval Battle of Dynekilen takes place.
- 1758 – French forces hold Fort Carillon against the British at Ticonderoga, New York.
- 1760 – French and Indian War: Battle of Restigouche – British forces defeat French forces in last naval battle in New France.
- 1775 – The Olive Branch Petition is signed by the Continental Congress of the Thirteen Colonies.
- 1808 – Joseph Bonaparte approves the Bayonne Statute, a royal charter intended as the basis for his rule as king of Spain.
- 1822 – Chippewas turn over a huge tract of land in Ontario to the United Kingdom.
- 1859 – King Charles XV & IV accedes to the throne of Sweden-Norway.
- 1864 – Ikedaya Jiken: the Choshu Han shishi's planned Shinsengumi sabotage on Kyoto, Japan at Ikedaya.
- 1874 – The Mounties begin their March West.
- 1876 – White supremacists kill five Black Republicans in Hamburg, SC.
- 1879 – Sailing ship USS Jeannette (1878) departs San Francisco carrying an ill-fated expedition to the North Pole.
- 1889 – The first issue of the Wall Street Journal is published.
- 1892 – St. John's, Newfoundland is devastated in the Great Fire of 1892.
- 1896 – William Jennings Bryan delivers his Cross of Gold speech advocating bimetalism at the 1896 Democratic National Convention in Chicago.
- 1898 – The death of crime boss Soapy Smith (who is shot) releases Skagway, Alaska from his iron grip.
- 1907 – Florenz Ziegfeld staged his first Follies on the roof of the New York Theater in New York City.
- 1912 – Henrique Mitchell de Paiva Couceiro leads an unsuccessful royalist attack against the Portuguese First Republic in Chaves.
- 1932 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches its lowest level of the Great Depression, bottoming out at 41.22.
- 1937 – Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan sign the Treaty of Saadabad.
- 1947 – Reports are broadcast that a UFO crash landed in Roswell, New Mexico.
- 1948 – The United States Air Force accepts its first female recruits into a program called Women in the Air Force (WAF).
- 1960 – Francis Gary Powers is charged with espionage resulting from his flight over the Soviet Union.
- 1962 – Ne Win besieges and dynamites the Rangoon University Student Union building to crash the Student Movement.
- 1966 – King Mwambutsa IV Bangiriceng of Burundi is deposed by his son Prince Charles Ndizi.
- 1970 – Richard Nixon delivers a special congressional message enunciating Native American Self-Determination as official US Indian policy, leading to the Indian Self-Determination Act.
- 1982 – Assassination attempt against Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in Dujail.
- 1988 – The Island Express train travelling from Bangalore to Kanyakumari derails on the Peruman bridge and falls into Ashtamudi Lake, killing 105 passengers and injuring over 200 more.
- 1994 – Kim Jong-il begins to assume supreme leadership of North Korea upon the death of his father, Kim Il-sung.
- 2011 – Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched in the final mission of the U.S. Space Shuttle program.
Births
- 1490 – Albert, Duke of Prussia (d.1568)
- 1528 – Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy (d. 1580)
- 1545 – Carlos, Prince of Asturias (d. 1568)
- 1593 – Artemisia Gentileschi, Italian painter (d. 1653)
- 1621 – Jean de la Fontaine, French writer (d. 1695)
- 1760 – Christian Kramp, French mathematician (d. 1826)
- 1766 – Dominique Jean Larrey, French surgeon (d. 1842)
- 1792 – Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen, Queen of Bavaria (d. 1854)
- 1819 – Francis Leopold McClintock, British naval officer and explorer (d. 1907)
- 1830 – Frederick William Seward, 6th and 11th United States Assistant Secretary of State (d. 1915)
- 1830 – Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg, German-born wife of Grand Duke Konstantin Nikolayevich of Russia (d. 1911)
- 1831 – John Stith Pemberton, American druggist and inventor of Coca-Cola (d. 1888)
- 1836 – Joseph Chamberlain, British politician (d. 1914)
- 1838 – Ferdinand von Zeppelin, German inventor (d. 1917)
- 1839 – John D. Rockefeller, American industrialist and philanthropist (d. 1937)
- 1851 – Arthur Evans, English archaeologist (d. 1941)
- 1857 – Alfred Binet, French psychologist (d. 1911)
- 1867 – Käthe Kollwitz, German painter, printmaker and sculptor (d. 1945)
- 1878 – Jimmy Quinn, Scottish footballer (d. 1945)
- 1882 – Percy Grainger, Australian composer (d. 1961)
- 1885 – Ernst Bloch, German philosopher (d. 1977)
- 1892 – Richard Aldington, English poet (d. 1962)
- 1892 – Pavel Korin, Russian painter (d. 1967)
- 1895 – Igor Tamm, Russian physicist, Nobel laureate (d. 1971)
- 1898 – Melville Ruick, American actor (d. 1972)
- 1904 – Henri Cartan, French mathematician (d. 2008)
- 1905 – Leonid Amalrik, Russian animator (d. 1997)
- 1906 – Philip Johnson, American architect (d. 2005)
- 1907 – George W. Romney, American businessman and politician (d. 1995)
- 1908 – Louis Jordan, American saxophonist (d. 1975)
- 1908 – Nelson A. Rockefeller, 41st Vice President of the United States (d. 1979)
- 1914 – Jyoti Basu, Indian politician (d. 2010)
- 1914 – Billy Eckstine, American jazz singer (d. 1993)
- 1917 – Faye Emerson, American actress (d. 1983)
- 1918 – Craig Stevens, American actor (d. 2000)
- 1918 – Paul B. Fay, American businessman and cabinet member in the Kennedy administration (d. 2009)
- 1919 – Walter Scheel, German politician
- 1920 – Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, Danish industrialist (Lego Group) (d. 1995)
- 1923 – Harrison Dillard, American sprinter and hurdler
- 1924 – Johnnie Johnson, American blues pianist (d. 2005)
- 1926 – Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Swiss-born psychiatrist (d. 2004)
- 1927 – Maurice Hayes, Irish politician
- 1928 – Mladen Kerstner, Croatian journalist, author and humorist (d. 1991)
- 1931 – Roone Arledge, American sports broadcaster (d. 2002)
- 1932 – Jerry Vale, American singer
- 1933 – Antonio Lamer, French Canadian lawyer and chief justice (d. 2007)
- 1934 – Marty Feldman, English comedian and actor (d. 1982)
- 1934 – Ed Lumley, Canadian corporate executive and politician
- 1935 – Steve Lawrence, American entertainer and singer
- 1935 – Vitali Sevastyanov, Russian cosmonaut
- 1940 – Ben Chapman, English politician and civil servant
- 1941 – Dario Gradi, Italian-born English football manager
- 1942 – Phil Gramm, American politician
- 1942 – Janice Pennington, American game show model
- 1944 – Jai Johanny Johanson, American drummer and percussionist (The Allman Brothers Band)
- 1944 – Jeffrey Tambor, American actor
- 1945 – Micheline Calmy-Rey, Swiss politician
- 1947 – Kim Darby, American actress
- 1947 – Luis Fernando Figari, Peruvian founder of Sodalitium Christianae Vitae
- 1948 – Raffi, Egyptian born Canadian children's entertainer
- 1949 – Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Indian politician, the 14th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (d. 2009)
- 1949 – Frank Delima, American comedian
- 1949 – Dale Hoganson, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1949 – Wolfgang Puck, Austrian-born celebrity chef
- 1951 – Alan Ashby, American baseball player
- 1951 – Anjelica Huston, American actress
- 1952 – Jack Lambert, American football player
- 1952 – Anna Quindlen, American newspaper columnist
- 1952 – Marianne Williamson, American spiritual activist and founder of the Peace Alliance
- 1955 – Monty Don, TV presenter, gardener
- 1955 – Alison Fraser, American actress
- 1955 – Mihaela Mitrache, Romanian actress (d. 2008)
- 1956 – Terry Puhl, Canadian baseball player
- 1957 – Aleksandr Gurnov, Russian television personality
- 1957 – Carlos Cavazo, Mexican-born American guitarist (Quiet Riot, Ratt)
- 1958 – Kevin Bacon, American actor
- 1958 – Andreas Carlgren, Swedish politician
- 1958 – Tzipi Livni, Israeli politician
- 1958 – Neetu Singh, Indian actress
- 1959 – Robert Knepper, American actor
- 1959 – Pauline Quirke, British actress
- 1960 – Mal Meninga, Australian rugby league footballer
- 1961 – Toby Keith, American country music singer-songwriter
- 1961 – Andrew Fletcher, English vocalist and synth and bass player (Depeche Mode)
- 1962 – Joan Osborne, American singer and songwriter
- 1962 – Carmen Nicole Moelders American atmospheric scientist
- 1963 – Mark Christopher, American film director
- 1964 – Linda de Mol, Dutch actress and host
- 1964 – Alexei Gusarov, Russian ice hockey player
- 1965 – Lee Tergesen, American actor
- 1966 – Mike Nawrocki, American voice actor
- 1966 – Ralf Altmeyer, German virologist
- 1966 – Shadlog Bernicke, Nauruan politician
- 1967 – Jordan Chan, Hong Kong actor and singer
- 1968 – Billy Crudup, American actor
- 1968 – Thom Fitzgerald, American-Canadian film director
- 1968 – Shane Howarth, New Zealand rugby player (also capped by Wales)
- 1968 – Akio Suyama, Japanese seiyu
- 1968 – Michael Weatherly, American actor
- 1969 – Sugizo Japanese guitarist and singer (Luna Sea)
- 1970 – Beck, American singer
- 1971 – Neil Jenkins, Welsh rugby player
- 1971 – John Juanda, Indonesian poker player
- 1971 – Amanda Peterson, American actress
- 1972 – Karl Dykhuis, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1972 – Shōsuke Tanihara, Japanese actor
- 1973 – Kathleen Robertson, Canadian actress
- 1973 – Sourav Ganguly, Indian cricketer
- 1974 – Tami Erin, American actress and model
- 1974 – Zhanna Friske, Russian actress and singer
- 1975 – Elias Viljanen, Finnish guitarist (Sonata Arctica)
- 1976 – Talal El Karkouri, Moroccan footballer
- 1976 – David Kennedy, American guitarist (Angels & Airwaves)
- 1977 – Paolo Tiralongo, Italian cyclist
- 1977 – Milo Ventimiglia, American actor
- 1977 – Wang Zhizhi, Chinese basketball player
- 1978 – Rachael Lillis, American actress
- 1978 – Eve Myles, Welsh actress
- 1979 – Mat McBriar, American football player
- 1979 – André, Armenian singer
- 1980 – Robbie Keane, Irish footballer
- 1981 – Iyari Limon, American actress
- 1981 – Anastasia Myskina, Russian tennis player
- 1982 – Hakim Warrick, American basketball player
- 1982 – Joshua Alba, American actor
- 1982 – Sophia Bush, American actress
- 1983 – Jaroslav Janiš, Czech racing car driver
- 1983 – John Bowker, American baseball player
- 1983 – Daniel Navarro García, Spanish cyclist
- 1984 – Alexis Dziena, American actress
- 1985 – Jamie Cook, British guitarist (Arctic Monkeys)
- 1986 – Renata Costa (Kóki), Brazilian footballer
- 1986 – Jake McDorman, American actor
- 1987 – Vlada Roslyakova, Russian model
- 1988 – Jesse Sergent, New Zealand cyclist
- 1988 – Dave Taylor, Australian rugby league player
- 1992 – Sky Ferreira, American singer
- 1992 – Benjamin Grosvenor, British pianist
- 1998 – Jaden Smith, American actor
- 2000 – Sophie Nyweide, American actress
- 2001 – Yang Peiyi, Chinese singer
Deaths
- 810 – King Pepin of Italy, son of Charlemagne (b. 773)
- 901 – Grimbald, Benedectine monk and Saint (b. 827)
- 975 – Edgar the Peaceful, King of England (b. 943)
- 1153 – Pope Eugene III (b. c. 1087)
- 1538 – Diego de Almagro, Spanish explorer (b. 1475)
- 1623 – Pope Gregory XV (b. 1554)
- 1689 – Edward Wooster, English-born Connecticut pioneer (b. 1622)
- 1695 – Christiaan Huygens, Dutch mathematician, astronomer, physicist and horologist (b. 1629)
- 1716 – Robert South, English churchman (b. 1634)
- 1721 – Elihu Yale, American benefactor of Yale University (b. 1649)
- 1726 – John Ker, Scottish spy (b. 1673)
- 1784 – Torbern Bergman, Swedish chemist (b. 1735)
- 1822 – Percy Bysshe Shelley, English poet (b. 1792)
- 1826 – Luther Martin, American statesman (b. 1748)
- 1850 – Prince Adolphus, 1st Duke of Cambridge (b. 1774)
- 1855 – Sir William Edward Parry, English Arctic explorer (b. 1790)
- 1859 – King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway (b. 1799)
- 1887 – Ben Holladay, American businessman and founder of the Overland Stagecoach Company (b. 1819)
- 1895 – Johann Josef Loschmidt, Austrian chemist and physicist (b. 1821)
- 1898 – Soapy Smith, American con artist and gangster (b. 1860)
- 1905 – Walter Kittredge, American violinist and abolitionist (b. 1834)
- 1913 – Louis Hémon, French-born Canadian writer (b. 1880)
- 1917 – Tom Thomson, Canadian painter (b. 1877)
- 1930 – Sir Joseph Ward, 17th Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1856)
- 1933 – Anthony Hope, British author (b. 1863)
- 1934 – Benjamin Baillaud, French astronomer (b. 1848)
- 1939 – Havelock Ellis, British physician (b. 1859)
- 1941 – Moses Schorr, Polish rabbi, senator, historian and orientalist (b. 1874)
- 1943 – Jean Moulin, French Resistance leader (b. 1899)
- 1950 – Othmar Spann, Austrian philosopher (b. 1878)
- 1956 – Giovanni Papini, Italian essayist (b. 1881)
- 1957 – Grace Coolidge, First Lady of the United States (b. 1879)
- 1961 – Konstantinos Logothetopoulos, Greek medical doctor and politician, the 2nd Prime Minister of the collaborationist Hellenic State (b. 1878)
- 1962 – Georges Bataille, French writer and philosopher (b. 1897)
- 1967 – Fatima Jinnah, Pakistani political figure (b. 1893)
- 1971 – Charlie Shavers, American jazz trumpet player (b. 1920)
- 1973 – Ben-Zion Dinur, Russian-born Israeli educator, historian and politician (b. 1884)
- 1973 – Wilfred Rhodes, English cricketer (b. 1877)
- 1979 – Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, Japanese physicist, Nobel laureate (b. 1906)
- 1979 – Robert Burns Woodward, American chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1917)
- 1979 – Michael Wilding, English actor (b. 1912)
- 1981 – Wild Bill Hallahan, American baseball player (b. 1902)
- 1986 – Skeeter Webb, American baseball player (b. 1909)
- 1987 – Gerardo Diego, Spanish poet (b. 1896)
- 1987 – Lionel Chevrier, Canadian politician (b. 1903)
- 1988 – Ray Barbuti, American middle distance runner and football player (b. 1905)
- 1990 – Howard Duff, American actor (b. 1913)
- 1991 – James Franciscus, American actor (b. 1934)
- 1994 – Christian-Jaque, French film director and screenwriter (b. 1904)
- 1994 – Kim Il-sung, North Korean leader (b. 1912)
- 1994 – Lars-Eric Lindblad, Swedish-born American entrepreneur and explorer (b. 1927)
- 1994 – Dick Sargent, American actor (b. 1930)
- 1999 – Pete Conrad, American astronaut (b. 1930)
- 2001 – John O'Shea, New Zealand film director (b. 1920)
- 2002 – Ward Kimball, American animator (b. 1914)
- 2004 – Paula Danziger, American author (b. 1944)
- 2004 – Jean Lefebvre, French actor (b. 1922)
- 2005 – Luther Vandross, American singer-songwriter (b. 1951)
- 2006 – June Allyson, American actress (b. 1917)
- 2006 – Peter Hawkins, British actor and voice actor (b. 1924)
- 2008 – John Templeton, British businessman and philanthropist (b. 1912)
- 2011 – Roberts Blossom, American actor and poet (b. 1924)
- 2011 – Mary Fenech Adami, First Lady of Malta (b. 1933)
- 2011 – Betty Ford, First Lady of the United States (b. 1918)
Holidays and observances
External links