Today May 8th 2009 this day in history Read more below to view events, deaths, births, Holidays observances and video clips. Last database updated: Jan 17th, 2009
Events
589 – Reccared summons the Third Council of Toledo
1450 – Jack Cade s Rebellion: Kentishmen revolt against King Henry VI.
1541 – Hernando de Soto reaches the Mississippi River and names it Río de Espíritu Santo.
1794 – Branded a traitor during the Reign of Terror by revolutionists, French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, who was also a tax collector with the Ferme Générale, is tried, convicted, and guillotined all on one day in Paris.
1821 – Greek War of Independence: The Greeks defeat the Turks in Gravia.
1846 – Mexican-American War: The Battle of Palo Alto – Zachary Taylor defeats a Mexican force north of the Rio Grande in the first major battle of the war.
1861 – American Civil War: Richmond, Virginia is named the capital of the Confederate States of America.
1877 – At Gilmore s Gardens in New York City, the first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show opens.
1886 – Pharmacist John Styth Pemberton invents a carbonated beverage that would later be named Coca-Cola.
1898 – The first games of the Italian Football League are played.
1899 – The Irish Literary Theatre in Dublin opens.
1902 – In Martinique, Mount Pelée erupts, destroying the town of Saint-Pierre and killing over 30,000 people. Only a handful of residents survive the blast.
1914 – Paramount Pictures is formed.
1919 – Edward George Honey first proposes the idea of a moment of silence to commemorate The Armistice of World War I, which later results in the creation of Remembrance Day.
1933 – Mohandas Gandhi begins a 21-day fast in protest against British oppression in India.
1942 – World War II: The Battle of the Coral Sea comes to an end with Japanese Imperial Navy aircraft carrier aircraft attacking and sinking the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Lexington. The battle marks the first time in the naval history that two enemy fleets fight without visual contact between warring ships.
1942 – World War II: Gunners of the Ceylon Garrison Artillery on Horsburgh Island in the Cocos Islands rebel in the Cocos Islands Mutiny. Their mutiny is crushed and three of them are executed, the only British Commonwealth soldiers to be executed for mutiny during the Second World War.
1945 – Hundreds of Algerian civilians are killed by French Army soldiers in the Sétif massacre.
1945 – Combat in Europe ends in World War II: V-E Day. German forces agree to an unconditional surrender.
1945 – End of the Prague uprising, today still celebrated as a national holiday in the Czech Republic.
1946 – The Estonian school girls Aili Jõgi and Ageeda Paavel blow up the Soviet memorial that preceded the Bronze Soldier in Tallinn.
1967 – The Philippine province of Davao is split into three: Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental.
1970 – The Hard Hat riot occurs in the Wall Street area of New York City as blue-collar construction workers clash with anti-war demonstrators protesting the Vietnam War.
1972 – Vietnam War – U.S. President Richard M. Nixon announces his order to place mines in major North Vietnamese ports in order to stem the flow of weapons and other goods to that nation.
1973 – A 71-day standoff between federal authorities and the American Indian Movement members occupying the Pine Ridge Reservation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota ends with the surrender of the militants.
1976 – The rollercoaster Revolution (roller coaster), the first steel coaster with a vertical flip, opens at Six Flags Magic Mountain
1980 – The eradication of smallpox is endorsed by the World Health Organization.
1984 – The Soviet Union announces that it will boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.
1984 – Cpl. Denis Lortie enters the Quebec National Assembly and opens fire, killing three and wounding 13. René Jalbert, sergeant-at-arms of the assembly, succeeds in calming him, for which he will later receive the Cross of Valour.
1987 – The Loughgall ambush: The SAS kill 8 IRA members and 1 civilian, in Loughgall, Northern Ireland.
1988 – A fire at Illinois Bell s Hinsdale Central Office triggers an extended 1AESS network outage once considered the worst telecommunications disaster in US telephone industry history is still the worst to occur on Mother s Day.
1990 – Reindependence Day of Estonia
1994 – Erling Kagge becomes the first person to complete the Three Poles Challenge.
1997 – A China Southern Airlines Boeing 737 crashes on approach into Shenzhen s Huangtian Airport, killing 35 people.
1999 – Nancy Mace becomes the first female cadet to graduate from The Citadel military college.
2005 – The new Canadian War Museum opens, in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of V-E Day.
2007 – A new Northern Ireland Executive is formed under the leadership of Ian Paisley of the Democratic Unionist Party as First Minister and Martin McGuinness of Sinn Féin as Deputy First Minister.
Births
1326 – Joanna I of Auvergne, queen of France (d. 1360)
1460 – Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (d. 1536)
1521 – Petrus Canisius, Dutch Jesuit (d. 1597)
1587 – Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy (d. 1637)
1622 – Claes Rålamb, Swedish statesman (d. 1698)
1629 – Niels Juel, Danish admiral (d. 1697)
1632 – Heino Heinrich Graf von Flemming, German marshal (d. 1706)
1653 – Claude-Louis-Hector de Villars, Marshall of France (d. 1734)
1668 – Alain-René Lesage, French writer (d. 1747)
1670 – Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans, English soldier (d. 1726)
1735 – Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland, English painter (d. 1811)
1738 – Mikhail Kamensky, Russian general (d. 1809)
1753 – Miguel Hidalgo Mexican revolutionary (d. 1811)
1786 – Jean Vianney, French Catholic priest (d. 1859)
1821 – William Henry Vanderbilt, member of the Vanderbilt family (d. 1885)
1825 – George Bruce Malleson, Indian officer (d. 1898)
1828 – Jean Henri Dunant, Founder of the Red Cross; Nobel laureate (d. 1910)
1828 – Sharbel Makhluf, Lebanese monk (d. 1898)
1829 – Louis Moreau Gottschalk, American musician (d. 1869)
1839 – Adolphe-Basile Routhier, French Canadian lyricist (O Canada) (d. 1920)
1842 – Emil Christian Hansen, Danish physiologist (d. 1909)
1847 – Oscar Hammerstein I, American theater producer and impresario (d. 1919)
1850 – Ross Barnes, baseball player (d. 1915)
1853 – Dan Brouthers, baseball player (d. 1932)
1858 – John Meade Falkner, English novelist (d. 1932)
1859 – Johan Jensen, Danish mathematician (d. 1925)
1884 – Harry S Truman, President of the United States (d. 1972)
1893 – Edd Roush, baseball player (d. 1988)
1893 – Teddy Wakelam, English sports broadcaster and rugby union player (d. 1963)
1895 – James H. Dutch Kindelberger, American aerospace pioneer (d. 1962)
1895 – Fulton J. Sheen, American bishop (d. 1979)
1895 – Edmund Wilson, American writer (d. 1972)
1899 – Arthur Q. Bryan, American voice actor (d. 1959)
1899 – Friedrich Hayek, Nobel laureate (d. 1992)
1901 – Turkey Stearnes, baseball player (d. 1979)
1902 – Andre Michael Lwoff, Nobel laureate (d. 1994)
1903 – Fernandel, French actor (d. 1971)
1904 – John Snagge, British radio personality (d. 1996)
1905 – Red Nichols, American musician (d. 1965)
1906 – Roberto Rossellini, Italian director (d. 1977)
1910 – Andrew E. Svenson, American children s book author and publisher (d. 1975)
1911 – Robert Johnson, American blues musician (d. 1938)
1913 – Bob Clampett, American animator (d. 1984)
1914 – Romain Gary, Polish writer (d. 1980)
1915 – Milton Meltzer, American history and biography author, writer of Thomas Jefferson, Revolutionary Aristocrat
1916 – João Havelange, Brazilian industrialist
1916 – Swami Chinmayananda, Indian spiritualist (d. 1993)
1919 – Lex Barker, American actor (d. 1973)
1920 – Saul Bass, American graphic designer (d. 1996)
1920 – Tom of Finland, Finnish fetish artist (d. 1991)
1920 – Sloan Wilson, American author (d. 2003)
1925 – Ali Hassan Mwinyi, President of Tanzania
1926 – David Attenborough, English naturalist
1926 – Don Rickles, American comedian
1927 – Chumy Chúmez, Spanish film director (d. 2003)
1928 – Theodore Sorenson, American writer
1929 – Claude Castonguay, Quebec politician
1929 – Miyoshi Umeki, Japanese-born Academy Award-winning actress (d. 2007)
1930 – Heather Harper, Irish singer
1930 – Gary Snyder, American poet
1932 – Julieta Campos, Cuban-Mexican writer (d. 2007)
1932 – Phyllida Law, Scottish actress
1932 – Sonny Liston, American boxer (d. 1970)
1935 – Princess Elisabeth of Denmark, 7th in the Line of succession to the Danish Throne
1935 – Jack Charlton, English footballer
1937 – Carlos Gaviria Díaz, Colombian politician
1937 – Thomas Pynchon, American novelist
1937 – Mike Cuellar, baseball player
1940 – Peter Benchley, American author (d. 2006)
1940 – Irwin Cotler, Canadian politician
1940 – Ricky Nelson, American singer (d. 1985)
1940 – Toni Tennille, American singer
1941 – Mahmoud Ahmed, Ethiopian singer
1941 – John Fred, American singer (d. 2005)
1941 – Bill Lockyer, American politician
1942 – Terry Neill, Northern Irish footballer
1943 – Paul Samwell-Smith, British bassist (The Yardbirds)
1944 – Gary Glitter, English singer
1945 – Keith Jarrett, American musician
1946 – André Boulerice, Quebec politician
1947 – H. Robert Horvitz, Nobel laureate
1948 – Felicity Lott, English singer
1948 – Steve Braun, baseball player
1948 – Stephen Stohn, Canadian television producer (Degrassi)
1950 – Robert Mugge, American music documentary film maker
1951 – Philip Bailey, American singer (Earth, Wind & Fire)
1951 – Chris Frantz, American musician (Talking Heads)
1953 – Alex Van Halen, Dutch drummer (Van Halen)
1953 – Billy Burnette, American singer and guitarist (Fleetwood Mac)
1954 – Stephen Furst, American actor
1954 – David Keith, American actor
1957 – Bill Cowher, American football coach
1957 – Marie Myriam, French singer
1958 – Lovie Smith, American football coach
1959 – Ronnie Lott, American football player
1960 – Franco Baresi, Italian footballer
1960 – Eric Brittingham, American bassist
1961 – Janet McTeer, British actress
1961 – David Winning, Canadian film director
1961 – Akira Taue, Japanese professional wrestler
1963 – Terry Christian, British radio presenter
1963 – Sylvain Cossette, Quebec singer and songwriter
1963 – Anthony Field, Australian musician and actor
1963 – Robin Jarvis, British writer
1963 – Izabela Kloc, Polish politician
1964 – Melissa Gilbert, American actress
1964 – Bobby Labonte, American race car driver
1964 – Dave Rowntree, British musician (Blur)
1966 – Claudio Taffarel, Brazilian footballer
1966 – Marta Sánchez, Spanish singer
1968 – Jamie Summers, American porn star
1968 – Johan Pehrson, Swedish politician
1968 – Nathalie Normandeau, Quebec politician
1969 – Akebono Taro, sumo wrestler
1970 – Luis Enrique, Spanish football player
1972 – Darren Hayes, Australian singer
1972 – Ray Whitney, Canadian ice hockey player
1973 – Hiromu Arakawa, Japanese artist
1973 – Marcus Brigstocke, English comedian
1973 – Kris Hudson-Lee, English musician
1974 – Jon Tickle, English entertainer
1974 – Korey Stringer, American football player (d. 2001)
1975 – Enrique Iglesias, Spanish singer
1975 – Jussi Markkanen, Finnish ice hockey player
1975 – Gastón Mazzacane, Argentine racing driver
1976 – Martha Wainwright, Canadian musician and songwriter
1976 – Ian H Watkins, pop singer (Steps)
1977 – Jennifer Walcott, American Playboy Playmate
1978 – Jang Woo Hyuk, Korean singer
1978 – Matthew Davis, American actor
1978 – Lúcio, Brazilian footballer
1978 – Josie Maran, American model
1980 – Michelle McManus, Scottish singer
1980 – Benny Yau, Canadian entertainer
1981 – Andrea Barzagli, Italian footballer
1981 – Björn Dixgård, Swedish guitarist
1981 – Yasuko Tajima, Japanese swimmer
1981 – John Maine, American baseball player
1982 – Adrian Gonzalez, American baseball player
1983 – Matt Willis, British singer
1984 – Nadine Chandrawinata, 2006 Miss Universe Pageant (Indonesia)
1985 – Mashio Miyazaki, Japanese actress
1986 – Marvell Wynne, American soccer player
1987 – Felix Jones, American football player
Deaths
1192 – Duke Ottokar IV of Styria (b. 1163)
1278 – Emperor Duanzong of China (b. 1268)
1319 – King Haakon V of Norway (b. 1270)
1473 – John Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, English politician (b. 1420)
1538 – Edward Fox, English bishop
1672 – Jean-Armand du Peyrer, Comte de Tréville and French Officer (b. 1598)
1766 – Samuel Chandler, English non-conformist minister (b. 1693)
1773 – Ali Bey Al-Kabir, Mamluk Sultan of Egypt (b. 1728)
1781 – Richard Jago, English poet (b. 1715)
1785 – Étienne François, duc de Choiseul, French statesman (b. 1719)
1785 – Pietro Longhi, Venetian painter (b. 1701)
1788 – Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, Italian-born physician and naturalist (b. 1723)
1794 – Antoine Lavoisier, French chemist (executed) (b. 1743)
1819 – Kamehameha I, King of Hawaii
1828 – Mauro Giuliani, Italian composer (b. 1781)
1837 – Alexander Balashov, Russian general and statesman (b. 1770)
1842 – Jules Dumont d Urville, French explorer (b. 1790)
1853 – Jan Roothaan, Dutch priest (b. 1785)
1873 – John Stuart Mill, English philosopher (b. 1806)
1880 – Gustave Flaubert, French novelist (b. 1821)
1891 – Helena Blavatsky, Russian-born author (b. 1831)
1903 – Paul Gauguin, French painter (b. 1848)
1936 – Oswald Spengler, German historian and philosopher (b. 1880)
1943 – Mordechaj Anielewicz, Polish Resistance Fighter (b. 1919)
1945 – Wilhelm Rediess, SS and Police leader of Nazi-occupied Norway (b. 1900)
1945 – Bernhard Rust, Nazi education minister (b. 1883)
1945 – Josef Terboven, Reichskommissar of Nazi-occupied Norway (b. 1898)
1947 – Harry Gordon Selfridge, American-born department store founder (b. 1858)
1948 – U Saw, Burmese politician (b. 1900)
1950 – Vital Brazil, Brazilian physician (b. 1865)
1952 – William Fox, Austrian-born film producer (b. 1879)
1960 – J. H. C. Whitehead, British mathematician (b. 1904)
1967 – LaVerne Andrews, American singer (The Andrews Sisters) (b. 1911)
1969 – Remington Kellogg, American naturalist (b. 1892)
1975 – Avery Brundage, President of the International Olympic Committee (b. 1887)
1982 – Neil Bogart, American record executive (b. 1943)
1982 – Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver (b. 1950)
1984 – Lila Bell Wallace, American magazine publisher (Reader s Digest) (b. 1890)
1984 – Gino Bianco, Brazilian racing driver (b. 1916)
1985 – Theodore Sturgeon, American science fiction writer (b. 1918)
1985 – Dolph Sweet, American actor (b. 1920)
1986 – Ernle Bradford, English historian and writer (b. 1922)
1987 – Doris Stokes, British psychic medium (b. 1920)
1988 – Robert A. Heinlein, American science fiction writer (b. 1907)
1990 – Luigi Nono, Italian composer (b. 1924)
1991 – Jean Langlais, French composer and pianist (b. 1907)
1991 – Rudolf Serkin, Austrian pianist (b. 1903)
1993 – Avram Davidson, American writer (b. 1923)
1994 – George Peppard, American actor (b. 1928)
1995 – Teresa Teng, Asian superstar (b. 1953)
1996 – Beryl Burton, English cyclist (b. 1937)
1996 – Dominguín, Spanish bullfighter (b. 1926)
1996 – Garth Williams, American illustrator (b. 1912)
1998 – Bebe Rebozo, American banker and Watergate figure (b. 1912)
1999 – Dirk Bogarde, British actor (b. 1921)
1999 – Ed Gilbert, American actor (b. 1931)
1999 – Dana Plato, American actress (b. 1964)
2000 – Guadalupe Pita Amor, Mexican poet (b. 1918)
2000 – Alexander Chislenko, Russian-American transhumanist (b. 1959)
2000 – Henry Nicols, AIDS activist (b. 1973)
2005 – Nicolás Vuyovich, Argentine racing driver (b. 1981)
2006 – Iain Macmillan, Abbey Road photographer (b. 1938)
2008 – Eddy Arnold, Country music star (b. 1918)
2008 – François Sterchele, Belgian football player (b. 1982)
Holidays and observances
V-E Day
Parents Day in South Korea
Arsenius the Great in the Eastern Orthodox Church
Apparition of Saint Michael
Saint Desideratus of Soissons (d. 550)
Julian of Norwich (Anglican, Lutheran)
