February 8

2023 Calendar

February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 326 days remaining until the end of the year (327 in leap years).

Events Edit

Up to 1900 Edit

421 - Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
1238 - Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir.
1347 - End of the Byzantine Empire's civil war of 1341 to 1347.
1575 - The University of Leiden in the Netherlands is founded.
1587 – Mary, Queen of Scots is executed.
1601 - Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex fails in an attempt to take over England from Elizabeth I.
1676 - Tsar Alexis of Russia dies. His son, Feodor III of Russia, becomes Tsar.
1725 – Tsar Peter I of Russia dies.
1807 - Napoleonic Wars: In the Battle of Eylau in present-day Poland, Napoleon Bonaparte's French troops defeat the Russians under General Levin August, Count of Bennigsen.
1817 - Juan Gregorio de las Heras crosses the Andes with an army to join Jose de San Martin in liberating Chile from Spain.
1837 - The United States Senate chooses Richard Mentor Johnson to become Vice President of the United States.
1853 - The Oregon Territory is split up, as the northern part becomes the Washington Territory. Oregon becomes a US State in 1859, with Washington doing the same in 1889.
1855 - The Devil's Footprints mysteriously appear in Devon.
1865 - Delaware votes to continue with the practice of slavery, though it bans it in 1901.
1879 - Sandford Fleming proposes the idea of Universal Standard Time at a meeting of the Royal Canadian Institution.
1879 - England's national cricket team is attacked in a riot in Sydney, Australia.
1885 - The first Japanese immigrants to be allowed in by the then-Hawaiian government, arrive in Hawaii.
1887 - The Henry L. Dawes Act allows the President of the United States to survey Native American tribal land.

1901 – 1950 Edit

1904 - A surprise Japanese torpedo attack at Port Arthur, China, starts the Russo-Japanese War.
1910 - The Boy Scouts of America is founded by William D. Boyce.
1915 - D. W. Griffith's racist silent movie Birth of a Nation is first screened in Los Angeles, California.
1922 - Warren G. Harding introduces the first radio in the White House.
1924 - The first state execution by gas chamber takes place in Nevada.
1937 - The Massacre of Malaga during the Spanish Civil War begins. Over the next few days, an estimated 10,000 people are killed.
1942 - World War II: Japan invades Singapore.
1945 - World War II: The United Kingdom and Canada start Operation Veritable to occupy the west bank of the Rhine.
1946 - The first portion of the Revised Standard Version of the Bible is published.
1948 - Official creation of the Korean People's Army in North Korea.
1950 - The Stasi, East Germany's secret police, is founded.

1951 – 2000 Edit

1952 – Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom is proclaimed Queen after the death of her father, King George VI of the United Kingdom, two days earlier.
1960 - Queen Elizabeth II issues an Order-in-Council, stating that she and her family would be known as the House of Windsor, and that her descendants would carry the name Mountbatten-Windsor.
1960 - The first eight brass star plaques are installed at the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
1962 - Charonne massacre: Nine Trade unionists are killed by French police, which had been allowed by the-then chief of Paris police, Maurice Papon.
1963 - Travel, financial and commercial transactions by US citizens in Cuba are banned by the John F. Kennedy administration.
1963 - The first full-color television programme is broadcast in Mexico City.
1963 - Iraq's Prime Minister, Brigadier-General Abdul-Karim Qassem is overthrown by the Ba'ath Party.
1965 - Eastern Airlines Flight 663 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean shortly after take-off from New York John F. Kennedy International Airport, after trying to avoid a mid-air collision. All on board are killed.
1968 - An attack on African American students from South Carolina State University, protesting in Orangeburg, South Carolina, kills 3 or 4.
1969 - The so-called Allende meteorite lands in Chihuahua State, Mexico.
1971 - South Vietnamese ground forces enter Laos.
1971 – The NASDAQ stock market index opens.
1974 - After 84 days in space, the crew of Skylab 4 returns to Earth.
1974 - A military coup occurs in Upper Volta, present-day Burkina Faso.
1978 - United States Senate proceedings are broadcast on radio for the first time.
1979 - Denis Sassou-Nguesso is elected President of the Republic of the Congo.
1981 - 21 football fans are trampled to death in Neo Faliro, Greece, after a match between Olympiakos and AEK Athens.
1983 - After a record-breaking drought, the city of Melbourne, Victoria, Australia is affected by a dust storm, and a red dust cloud hangs over the city.
1984 - The 1984 Winter Olympics in Sarajevo begin.
1986 - The Hinton train collision in southern Alberta, Canada, kills 23 people.
1989 - An Independent Air Boeing 707 crashes into Pico Alto Mountain on Santa Maria island, Azores.
1992 - The 1992 Winter Olympics in Albertville, France, begin.
1993 – A plane crash in Tehran kills 115 people.
1996 - The massive internet collaboration "24 Hours in Cyberspace" takes place.

From 2001 Edit

2002 - The 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City, Utah, begin.
2010 - A freak storm in the Hindu Kush, Afghanistan, causes a series of at least 36 avalanches, killing at least 172 people, and trapping many travelers in the region.
2013 - A strong winter storm affects the northeastern United States.

Births Edit

Up to 1800 Edit

120 - Vettius Valens, Greek astrologer (d. 175)
412 - Proclus, Greek philosopher (d. 485)
1191 - Yaroslav II of Russia (d. 1246)
1291 – Afonso IV of Portugal (d. 1357)
1405 - Constantine XI Palaiologus, last Emperor of the Byzantine Empire (d. 1453)
1487 - Ulrich, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1550)
1586 - Jacob Praetorius, German composer (d. 1651)
1612 – Samuel Butler, English poet (d. 1680)
1649 - Gabriel Daniel, French historian (d. 1728)
1677 - Jacques Cassini, French astronomer (d. 1756)
1700 – Daniel Bernoulli, Swiss mathematician and physicist (d. 1782)
1708 - Vaclav Jan Kopriva, Bohemian composer and organist (d. 1789)
1720 - Emperor Sakuramachi of Japan (d. 1750)
1754 - Isaac Tichenor, Governor of Vermont (d. 1838)
1762 - Gia Long, Emperor of Vietnam (d. 1820)
1792 - Carolina Augusta of Bavaria (d. 1873)
1798 - Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia (d. 1849)

1801 – 1900 Edit

1804 - Richard Lemon Lander, English explorer (d. 1834)
1807 - Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, English sculptor and naturalist (d. 1889)
1818 - Austin Blair, Governor of Michigan (d. 1894)
1819 – John Ruskin, English writer (d. 1900)
1820 – William Tecumseh Sherman, American Union General (d. 1891)
1822 - Maxime Du Camp, French photographer and journalist (d. 1894)
1825 - Henry Walter Bates, English scientist (d. 1892)
1828 – Jules Verne, French writer (d. 1905)
1828 - Antonio Canovas del Castillo, Spanish politician (d. 1897)
1830 - Abdulaziz, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (d. 1876)
1834 – Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist (d. 1907)
1849 - Arisitide Cavallari, Italian cardinal and archbishop (d. 1914)
1850 - Kate Chopin, American writer (d. 1904)
1861 - Harry Ward Leonard, American engineer and inventor (d. 1915)
1866 - Moses Gomberg, Russian-born American chemist (d. 1947)
1876 - Paula Modersohn-Becker, German painter (d. 1907)
1878 – Martin Buber, Austrian-Israeli philosopher (d. 1965)
1880 - Franz Marc, German painter (d. 1916)
1880 - Viktor Schwanneke, German stage director, stage and movie actor (d. 1931)
1882 - Thomas Etholen Selfridge, American military officer and airplane crash victim (d. 1908)
1883 – Joseph Schumpeter, Austrian economist (d. 1950)
1884 - Reginald Baker, Australian athlete and actor (d. 1953)
1886 - Charles Ruggles, American actor (d. 1970)
1888 - Jakob Kaiser, German politician and activist (d. 1961)
1890 - Claro M. Recto, Filipino statesman (d. 1960)
1892 - Ralph Chubb, British poet, artist and printmaker (d. 1960)
1893 - Ba Maw, Burmese politician (d. 1977)
1894 - Ludwig Marcuse, German writer and philosopher (d. 1971)
1894 - King Vidor, American movie director (d. 1982)
1897 – Zakir Hussain, 3rd President of India (d. 1969)
1899 - Lonnie Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1970)
1900 - Ivan Ivanov-Vano, Russian animator and director (d. 1987)

1901 – 1950 Edit

1902 – Demchugdongrub, Mongolian politician (d. 1966)
1903 - Greta Keller, Austrian-American singer and actress (d. 1977)
1903 - Aleksander Mitt, Estonian speed skater (d. 1942)
1906 - Chester Carlson, American physicist and inventor (d. 1968)
1909 - Elisabeth Murdoch, mother of Rupert Murdoch (d. 2012)
1911 – Elizabeth Bishop, American poet (d. 1979)
1911 - Big Joe Turner, American singer (d. 1985)
1913 - Betty Field, American actress (d. 1973)
1914 - Bill Finger, American comic writer (d. 1974)
1920 - Bill Bemer, American computer programmer (d. 2004)
1921 – Lana Turner, American actress (d. 1995)
1921 - Immanuel Jakobovits, Baron Jakobovits, Chief Rabbi of Commonwealth Congregations (d. 1999)
1921 - Eddie Rutherford, Scottish footballer (d. 2007)
1922 - Yuri Averbakh, Russian chess player
1924 – Khamtai Siphandone, former President of Laos
1925 – Jack Lemmon, American actor and movie director (d. 2001)
1926 - Neal Cassidy, American writer (d. 1968)
1928 - Vyacheslav Tikhonov, Russian actor (d. 2009)
1928 - Jack Larson, American actor, screenwriter and producer (d. 2015)
1929 - Claude Rich, French actor (d. 2017)
1930 - Catherine Hardy Lavender, American athlete (d. 2017)
1931 – James Dean, American actor (d. 1955)
1932 – Horst Eckel, German footballer
1932 – John Williams, American composer and director
1932 - Cliff Allison, British racing driver (d. 2005)
1933 - Elly Ameling, Dutch soprano
1933 - Jack Larson, American actor
1936 - Larry Verne, American singer
1937 - Manfred Krug, German actor (d. 2016)
1937 - Harry Wu, Chinese activist (d. 2016)
1941 - Jagjit Singh, Indian musician (d. 2011)
1941 - Nick Nolte, American actor
1941 - Tom Rush, American singer and songwriter
1944 – Roger Lloyd-Pack, British actor (d. 2014)
1945 – Kinza Clodumar, former President of Nauru
1947 - John Roll, American judge (d. 2011)
1947 - Yi Zhongtian, Chinese writer
1948 - Ron Tyson, American singer
1948 - Lynda Lyon Block, American convicted murderer (d. 2002)
1949 - Brooke Adams, American actress

1951 – 1975 Edit

1951 - Rosario Crocetta, Italian politician, former President of Sicily
1952 - Marinho Chagas, Brazilian footballer (d. 2014)
1952 - Carolyn Pickles, British actress
1953 – Mary Steenburgen, American actress
1955 – John Grisham, American writer
1955 - Nancy Oliver, American playwright and television writer
1956 - Marques Johnson, American basketball player
1957 - Mehmet Ali Erbil, Turkish comedian, actor and talk show host
1958 - Marina Silva, Brazilian environmental activist and politician
1958 - Sherri Martel, American professional wrestler (d. 2007)
1959 - Irina Kalinina, Soviet-Russian diver
1959 - Mauricio Macri, Argentine businessman and politician, President of Argentina
1960 – Benigno Aquino III, former President of the Philippines (d. 2021)
1960 – Alfred Gusenbauer, former Chancellor of Austria
1960 - Dino Ciccarelli, Canadian ice hockey player
1961 - Vince Neil, American singer
1961 - Bruce Timm, American character designer, animator and producer
1963 - Mohammad Azharuddin, Indian cricketer
1963 - Jon Hjartarson, Icelandic chess player
1964 - Trinny Woodall, British fashion designer, author and television personality
1966 – Bruno Labbadia, German footballer
1966 – Hristo Stoichkov, Bulgarian footballer
1967 – Lorenzo Minotti, Italian footballer
1968 – Gary Coleman, American actor (d. 2010)
1969 - Mary McCormack, American actress
1971 - Andrus Veerpalu, Estonian cross-country skier
1971 - Aidy Boothroyd, English footballer and manager
1972 - Big Show, American wrestler and actor
1974 - Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, French disc jockey (Daft Punk)
1974 – Seth Green, American actor
1974 – Kimbo Slice, American mixed martial artist (d. 2016)
1974 – Ulises de la Cruz, Ecuadorean footballer

From 1976 Edit

1976 - Khaled Mashud, Bangladeshi cricketer
1976 - Adam Pialt, American baseball player
1976 - Abi Titmuss, English glamour model
1977 – Sverre Andreas Jakobsson, Icelandic handball player
1977 - Mathieu Turcotte, Canadian short-track speed skater
1977 - Dave Farrell, American musician
1979 - Aaron Cook, American baseball player
1979 - Josh Keaton, American actor and singer
1980 - Ralf Little, English actor and comedian
1981 - Steve Gohouri, Ivorian footballer (d. 2015)
1982 - Liam McIntyre, Australian actor
1983 - Cory Jane, New Zealand rugby player
1983 - Olga Syahputra, Indonesian comedian (d. 2015)
1983 - Jim Verraros, American singer and actor
1984 - Manuel Osborne-Paradis, Canadian alpine skier
1984 - Panagiotis Vasilopoulos, Greek basketball player
1985 - Jeremy Davis, American musician (Paramore)
1987 - Jessica Jerome, American ski jumper
1987 – Carolina Kostner, Italian ice skater
1987 - Francisco Javier Garcia, Spanish footballer
1988 - Nozomi Sasaki, Japanese model
1989 - Dani Harmer, English actress
1990 - Bethany Hamilton, American surfer
1990 - Klay Thompson, American basketball player
1991 - Nam Woo-hyun, South Korean singer, composer, songwriter and actor
1992 - Carl Jenkinson, English footballer
1994 - Nikki Yanofsky, Canadian jazz and pop singer-songwriter
1995 - Joshua Kimmich, German footballer
1995 - Jordan Todosey, Canadian actress
1996 - Kenedy, Brazilian footballer
1997 - Kathryn Newton, American actress

Deaths Edit

Up to 1900 Edit

1204 - Alexius IV Angelus, Eastern Roman Emperor (b. 1182)
1250 - Robert I, Count of Artois (b. 1216)
1265 - Hulagu Khan, Mongol ruler (b. 1217)
1296 - King Przemysl II of Poland (b. 1257)
1572 - Cho Shik, Korean scholar, politician, educator and poet (b. 1501)
1587 – Mary, Queen of Scots (b. 1542)
1640 - Murad IV, Sultan of the Ottoman Empire (b. 1612)
1676 - Alexis of Russia (b. 1629)
1696 – Ivan V of Russia (b. 1666)
1709 - Giuseppe Torelli, Italian composer (b. 1658)
1725 – Peter I of Russia (b. 1672)
1749 - Jan van Huysum, Dutch painter (b. 1682)
1750 - Aaron Hill, English writer (b. 1685)
1768 - George Dance the Elder, English architect (b. 1695)
1772 - Augusta of Saxe-Gotha, Princess of Wales (b. 1719)
1849 – France Preseren, Slovenian poet (b. 1800)
1849 - Francois Antoine Habeneck, French violinist (b. 1781)
1856 - Agostino Bassi, Italian entomologist (b. 1773)
1887 - Charles Wilkes, American naval officer and polar explorer (b. 1798)

1901 – 2000 Edit

1918 - Louis Renault, French jurist (b. 1843)
1921 - Peter Kropotkin, Russian anarchist (b. 1842)
1932 - Yordan Milanov, Bulgarian architect (b. 1867)
1935 - Max Liebermann, German painter (b. 1847)
1936 – Charles Curtis, Vice President of the United States (b. 1860)
1956 - Connie Mack, American baseball manager and executive (b. 1862)
1957 – Walther Bothe, German physicist (b. 1891)
1957 – John von Neumann, Hungarian mathematician and physicist (b. 1903)
1960 - Giles Gilbert Scott, English architect and designer (b. 1880)
1963 - George Dolenz, American actor (b. 1908)
1965 - Wayne Estes, American basketball player (b. 1943)
1972 - Markos Vamvakaris, Greek musician and songwriter (b. 1905)
1975 – Robert Robinson, British chemist (b. 1886)
1978 - Sam H. Jones, Governor of Louisiana (b. 1897)
1979 - Dennis Gabor, Hungarian physicist (b. 1900)
1985 - William Lyons, British entrepreneur (b. 1901)
1990 – Del Shannon, American entertainer (b. 1934)
1992 - Stanley Armour Dunham, grandfather of Barack Obama (b. 1918)
1992 - Denny Wright, British jazz guitarist (b. 1924)
1994 - Raymond Scott, American composer (b. 1908)
1994 - Ken G. Hall, Australian movie director and producer (b. 1901)
1998 – Halldor Laxness, Icelandic writer (b. 1902)
1998 – Enoch Powell, British politician (b. 1912)
1998 - Julian Lincoln Simon, American economist and writer (b. 1932)
1999 – Iris Murdoch, Irish writer (b. 1919)

From 2001 Edit

2001 - Ivo Caprino, Norwegian movie director and writer (b. 1920)
2002 – Ong Teng Cheong Sing, President of Singapore (b. 1936)
2005 - Keith Knudsen, American drummer and singer-songwriter (b. 1948)
2006 - Akira Ifukube, Japanese composer (b. 1914)
2007 – Anna Nicole Smith, American actress and model (b. 1967)
2009 - Marian Cozma, Romanian handball player (b. 1982)
2010 – John Murtha, American politician (b. 1932)
2011 - Cesare Rubini, Italian water polo player, basketball player and coach (b. 1923)
2013 - Giovanni Cheli, Italian cardinal (b. 1918)
2014 - Maicon Pereira de Oliveira, Brazilian footballer (b. 1988)
2014 - Els Borst, Dutch politician (b. 1932)
2015 - Müzeyyen Senar, Turkish singer (b. 1918)
2015 - Rauni-Leena Luukanen-Kilde, Finnish parapsychologist (b. 1939)
2016 - Amelia Bence, Argentine actress (b. 1914)
2016 - Nida Fazli, Indian poet (b. 1937)
2016 - Charles C. Campbell, American general (b. 1948)
2016 - Johnny Duncan, American actor (b. 1923)
2016 - August P. Mardesich, American politician (b. 1920)
2016 - Viggo Rivad, Danish photographer (b. 1922)
2016 - Violette Verdy, French ballerina (b. 1933)
2017 - Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, English socialite and television personality (b. 1971)
2017 - Peter Mansfield, English physicist (b. 1933)
2017 - Brendan McGahon, Irish politician (b. 1936)
2017 - Alan Simpson, English comedy scriptwriter (b. 1929)
2017 - Steve Sumner, English-New Zealand footballer (b. 1955)
2017 - Mikhail Tolstykh, Ukrainian military commander (b. 1980)
2017 - Mohamud Muse Hersi, Somali politician, President of Puntland (b. 1937)
2017 - Tom Raworth, British poet and visual artist (b. 1938)
2018 - John Martinkovic, American football player (b. 1927)
2018 - Ebony Reigns, Ghanaian singer (b. 1997)
2018 - Lovebug Starski, American rapper and DJ (b. 1960)

Observances Edit

Preseren Day (Slovenia)