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May 8: Today in History – Historical Events
Early Centuries – May 8 Historic Events – Before the 1700s
1. 8th May 1541: The River Mississippi was discovered today by Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto.
2. 8th May 1624: The Treaty of Vienna was signed by Holy Roman Emperor Ferdinand II and Hungarian King Bethlen Gabor today.
3. 8th May 1639: In Rhode Island, Newport was founded by William Codington.
4. 8th May 1660: Charles Stuart was today declared the King Charles of England by the English Parliament.
18th Century – What Happened on May 8 – The 1700s
5. 8th May 1741: The Covenant of Nyphenburg was signed today by France and Bavaria.
6. 8th May 1792: Mt Rainier was today sighted by British Captain George Vancouver. He named it Washington.
7. 8th May 1792: The US today established the military draft.
19th Century – May 8 This Day That Year – The 1800s
8. 8th May 1834: The classified accord about Belgium was today signed by Russia, Prussia, and Austria.
9. 8th May 1840: The photographic process was today patented by Alexander Walcott.
10. 8th May 1842: The train traveling from Versailles to Paris caught fire killing 50 people.
11. 8th May 1846: At Paulo Alto in Texas, the first major battle of the Mexican War was fought.
12. 8th May 1847: Rubber tyre was patented today by Scot Robert.
13. 8th May 1858: An antislavery convention was held on this day by abolitionist John Brown.
14. 8th May 1862: At the Battle of McDowell in Vancouver the federals were today repulsed in the Valley Campaign.
15. 8th May 1871: The Alabama dispute ended today with Britain and the US signing a treaty.
16. 8th May 1877: The first Westminster Dog Show was held today.
17. 8th May 1878: Thomas Henry Huxley today read the paper on the idea for a microphone by inventor David Edward Hughes at the Royal Society of London today.
18. 8th May 1879: The first patent for petrol-driven automobiles was filed today by George Selden.
19. 8th May 1886: The first Coca-Cola, containing cocaine, was today sold by Jacobs Pharmacy in Atlanta.
20. 8th May 1895: Under the Shimonoseki treaty, China today Ceded Taiwan to Japan.
21. 8th May 1899: In Dublin, the Irish Literary Theater opened today.
22. 8th May 1899: Scientist Earnest Rutherford published his discovery of two kinds of radiations, one of Alfa particles and the other of Beta particles.
20th Century – Important Events On This Day May 8th – The 1900s
23. 8th May 1901: It is estimated by a commission appointed by the British, that 1.25 million Indians have died in drought which has lasted since 1899.
24. 8th May 1902: Mount Peele erupted today wiping out St. Pierre on the island of Martinique, taking a toll of 30,000 lives.
25. 8th May 1904: To protect the Belgian legation the U.S. Marines landed in Tangier today.
26. 8th May 1913: Assembly Bill 2039, an anti-tipping measure making both giving and accepting tips punishable was today passed by the lawmakers of California.
27. 8th May 1919: The idea of a moment’s silence to commemorate The World Armistice of World War I was first proposed by Edward John Honey on this day. This resulted in the creation of Remembrance Day.
28. 8th May 1919: The first transatlantic flight by a US Navy seaplane took off today.
29. 8th May 1921: Capital punishment was abolished in Sweden.
30. 8th May 1924: Memel territories were given to Lithuania today.
31. 8th May 1924: At Werkspoor in Amsterdam, workers went on strike against 3rd wage cut.
32. 8th May 1924: In Costa Rica, Ricardo Jimenez Oreamuno began his 2nd term today as President of Costa Rica.
33. 8th May 1925: In Morocco the French colonial army today beat Rifkabylen.
34. 8th May 1926: Fire broke out in Fenway Park today. Fenway Park is the home of the Boston Red Socks Base Ball team.
35. 8th May 1926: The Brotherhood of Sleeping Car Porters was today organized by A Phillip Randolph.
36. 8th May 1927: Two French pilots Charles Nungesser and Francoise Coli took off from Paris today on a mission to cross the Atlantic. They were not to be traced later.
37. 8th May 1929: The Soviet Government today awarded a contract for the design of the USSR’s first tractor plant to Albert Kahn Associates, who were the architects of Detroit.
38. 8th May 1929: Jan Mayan island which is situated 500 KM NNE of the Island was today incorporated into Norway.
39. 8th May 1930: The taker “Richfield” belonging to the Richfield Oil Company which was carrying a cargo of 25,000 gallons of high-test gasoline, wrecked on the rocks off Point Reyes, California.
40. 8th May 1931: “Land of Smiles” by Franz Lehar’s operetta, premiered in London today.
41. 8th May 1932: Ricardo Jimenez Oreamuno succeeds Leon Cortes Castro to begin his 3rd term as President of Costa Rica.
42. 8th May 1933: In protest against the British oppression in India, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi began his 21-day fast today.
43. 8th May 1940: German commandos today crossed over the Dutch border in Dutch uniform. The mission was to hold bridges for the advancing German army.
44. 8th May 1941: The German Q-Ship “Pinguin” sank in the Indian Ocean today.
45. 8th May 1942: In the Battle of the Coral Sea, the US aircraft carrier Lexington was today sunk by the Japanese air strike.
46. 8th May 1942: Germany began their summer offensive today in Crimea.
47. 8th May 1944: The first ever “eye bank” was opened today in New York City.
48. 8th May 1945: Canadian troops moved into Amsterdam today.
49. 8th May 1945: This day marks the formal surrender of German General Von Keitel to the Marshal of the Soviet Union Marshal Georgy Zhukov in Berlin.
50. 8th May 1945: This day marks the end of World War II as Germany signs an unconditional surrender.
51. 8th May 1946: In Tallinn a couple of Estonian school girls, Aili Jogi and Ageeda Paavel were involved in blowing up the Soviet memorial which preceded the Bronze Soldier.
52. 8th May 1949: The Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany, which later became the constitution of West Germany, was approved today.
53. 8th May 1950: The US Government was considering providing economic aid and military equipment to France and Indochina as it was convinced that under Soviet imperialism neither democratic evolution nor national independence could exist.
54. 8th May 1951: Men’s suit made of Dacron fabric was introduced.
55. 8th May 1951: The US today performed an atmospheric nuclear test at Enwetak.
56. 8th May 1952: The film “La Ronde” got the best film award in the 5th British Film and Television Awards (BAFTAS) today.
57. 8th May 1952: The Allied fighter bombers launched the largest raid of the war on North Korea today.
58. 8th May 1957: President Ngo Dinh Diem of South Vietnam arrived today in the US for a state visit.
59. 8th May 1958: The anti-American protestors today shoved, booed, stoned, and spat upon US Vice President Nixon.
60. 8th May 1959: 200 people drowned just yards from the shore when a three-decked Nile excursion streamer developed a leak and panicking passengers capsized the ship.
61. 8th May 1960: Diplomatic relations between Russia and Cuba were restored.
62. 8th May 1961: Allan Shepard received NASA’s distinguished service medal in Washington today.
63. 8th May 1961: The first practical seawater conversion plant was today established in Freeport, Texas.
64. 8th May 1962: Trolley buses in London went out of service today.
65. 8th May 1963: US President John F Kennedy today offered Israel assistance against aggression.
66. 8th May 1963: Dr. No premiered in the United States today.
67. 8th May 1967: Heavyweight boxing champion Mohammad Ali was today indicted for refusing to get inducted into the US Army.
68. 8th May 1968: The Pulitzer Prize for the year was awarded to William Styron for “Confession of Nat Turner”.
69. 8th May 1969: The German Democratic Republic was today recognized by Cambodia.
70. 8th May 1970: An anti-war rally in New York City’s Wall Street was today broken by construction workers.
71. 8th May 1974: The 50 MPH speed limit was lifted in Britain today.
72. 8th May 1976: The first steel roller coaster with a vertical flip was opened today at Six Flags Magic Mountains.
73. 8th May 1980: The World Health Organization today announced that smallpox has been eradicated.
74. 8th May 1984: France today performed a nuclear test at Mururoa atoll.
75. 8th May 1984: The USSR announced today that it will not participate in the Summer Olympics to be held in Los Angeles.
76. 8th May 1988: In France, Francois Mitterrand was elected President of France today.
21st Century – May 8 This Day In History – The 2000s
77. 8th May 2007: According to a survey conducted, London has now become the world’s most expensive place to buy residential property, beating New York, Hong Kong, Tokyo, and Monaco.
78. 8th May 2007: It was announced today by the Moroccan Association of Human Rights, which was established in 1979, that it had chosen 47-year-old Khadija Ryadi as its first woman president.
79. 8th May 2007: An electoral reforms bill in Taiwan’s legislature led to chaos in the legislature. Lawmakers exchanged blows and claimed on each other’s shoulders to get a position near the speaker’s dais.
80. 8th May 2008: In Russia Vladimir Putin was today named as the Prime Minister.
81. 8th May 2008: The defense ministry in Sri Lanka reported today that in the three days of fighting in the island’s north 74 Tamil tigers and three Sri Lankan soldiers were killed.
82. 8th May 2009: A wave of storms in the Midwest destroyed/damaged hundreds of homes and businesses in Illinois, Kentucky, Missouri, and Kansas. Five people were killed in the storms.
83. 8th May 2009: An angry mob dragged out two suspected robbers from a police station in Valencia Ecuador and burned them to death.
84. 8th May 2010: Two explosions that occurred in a coal mine in Western Siberia before midnight killed 66 workers and injured 44 others. 24 people are trapped in the mine.
85. 8th May 2010: Laura Chinchilla was today inaugurated as the first female leader of Costa Rica. She replaced Noble Laureate Oscar Arias.
86. 8th May 2010: Pakistan today urged the world to recognize it as a legitimate nuclear power after a successful test firing a ballistic missile capable of carrying nuclear warheads.
87. 8th May 2010: The six-day crippling strike was today called off by the former rebel communist leaders as they found that the strike was making life difficult.
88. 8th May 2011: A week after clashes had left 14 people dead, North and South Sudan agreed to pull out unauthorized troops from flash point Abyei border region.
89. 8th May 2011: In Haiti, the lawmakers today amended an article in the constitution doing away with the law banning dual nationality.
90. rights violations committed by Robert Mugabe’s government of Zimbabwe, against their political rivals ahead of the 2008 general elections.
91. 8th May 2012: Dmitry Medvedev, who was nominated for the position of Prime Minister of Russia by Vladimir Putin was confirmed a Prime Minister by the State Duma.
92. 8th May 2013: In South Sudan a military spokesperson has reported that part of Boma, a town near the border of Ethiopia in the country’s east has been overrun by rebel forces under David Yau Yau.
93. 8th May 2013: Three senior Air Force pilots were shot dead in Yemen by suspected militants outside Al-Annad base in the southern province of Lahj.
94. 8th May 2013: In Himachal Pradesh in India, an overcrowded bus fell into a river killing 33 people.
95. 8th May 2014: As part of the year-long pilot project launched today, police officers across London will wear video cameras while responding to emergency calls.
96. 8th May 2014: Despite the call given by Vladimir Putin to postpone the referendum, pro-Russian insurgency in east Ukraine decided to go ahead with the May 11th referendum on autonomy or even independence.
97. 8th May 2014: In Yemen, the armed forces swept al-Qaida fighters out of a district in South Yemen, achieving one of the main goals of the military offensive.
98. 8th May 2014: India today rejected the findings of the study initiated by the World Health Organization which ranks the Indian capital city New Delhi as the world’s worst in air pollution.
99. 8th May 2014: In Miran Shah in North Waziristan of Pakistan 9 paramilitary soldiers were killed by a roadside bomb.
100. 8th May 2016: In London Sadiq Khan was elected mayor to become the first Muslim mayor of a major western city.
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