January 8 in recent years
2009 (Thursday)
2008 (Tuesday)
2007 (Monday)
2006 (Sunday)
2005 (Saturday)
2004 (Thursday)
2003 (Wednesday)
2002 (Tuesday)
2001 (Monday)
2000 (Saturday)
January 8 is the 8th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar . There are 357 days remaining until the end of the year (358 in leap years ).
Events [ ]
871 - Battle of Ashdown - Ethelred of Wessex defeats a Danish invasion army.
1297 - Monaco gains its independence.
1499 - Louis XII of France marries Anne of Brittany .
1734 - Premiere of George Frideric Handel 's Ariodante at the Royal Opera House , Covent Garden .
1746 - Bonnie Prince Charlie occupies Stirling .
1790 - George Washington delivers the first State of the Union Address address in New York City .
1806 - Cape Colony becomes a British colony.
1811 - Unsuccessful slave revolt led by Charles Deslandes in St. Charles and St. James, Louisiana .
1815 - War of 1812 : Battle of New Orleans - Andrew Jackson leads American forces in victory over the British .
1835 - US national debt is 0 for the first and only time.
1838 - Alfred Vail demonstrates a telegraph using dots and dashes (this is the forerunner of Morse code ).
1863 - American Civil War : Second Battle of Springfield
1863 - Yorkshire County Cricket Club is founded at the Adelphi Hotel in Sheffield , England .
1867 - African American men granted the right to vote in the District of Columbia .
1877 - Crazy Horse and his warriors fight their last battle with the United States Cavalry at Wolf Mountain (Montana Territory ).
1889 - Herman Hollerith receives a patent for his electric tabulating machine .
1900 - United States President William McKinley places Alaska under military rule.
1906 - A landslide in Haverstraw, New York , kills 20 people due to the excavation of clay along the Hudson River .
1908 - A train collision occurs in the Park Avenue Tunnel in New York City killing 17 people, injuring 38 and leading to increased demand for electric trains.
1912 - The African National Congress was founded.
1916 - World War I : Allied forces withdraw from Gallipoli .
1918 - President Woodrow Wilson announces his "Fourteen Points " for the aftermath of World War I .
1920 - The Czechoslovak Hussite Church was founded by Dr. Karel Farský .
1922 - The Social Democratic Youth League of Norway is founded.
1926 - Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud becomes the King of Hejaz and renames it Saudi Arabia .
1935 - Arthur C. Hardy patents the spectrophotometer .
1940 - World War II : Britain introduces food rationing .
1953 - René Mayer becomes Prime Minister of France .
1956 - Operation Auca : Five U.S. missionaries are killed by the Huaorani of Ecuador shortly after making contact with them.
1959 - Conquest of Cuba by Fidel Castro is completed with the conquest of Santiago de Cuba .
1961 - In France , a referendum supports Charles de Gaulle 's policies in Algeria .
1962 - Leonardo da Vinci 's Mona Lisa is exhibited in the United States for the first time (National Gallery of Art in Washington ).
1962 - Harmelen train disaster kills 93 people in The Netherlands .
1964 - President Lyndon B. Johnson declares a "War on Poverty " in the United States .
1973 - Soviet space mission Luna 21 is launched.
1973 - Watergate scandal : The trial of seven men accused of illegal entry into Democratic Party headquarters at Watergate begins.
1975 - Ella Grasso becomes Governor of Connecticut , becoming the first woman to serve as a Governor in the United States who did not succeed her husband.
1979 - The tanker Betelgeuse explodes in Bantry Bay , Ireland (The Betelgeuse incident ).
1982 - AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty-two subdivisions.
1989 - Kegworth air disaster kills 47 people in Leicestershire , England .
1989 - Beginning of Japanese Heisei era .
1994 - Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov on Soyuz TM-18 leaves for Mir . He will stay on the space station until March 22 , 1995 , for a record 437 days in space.
1996 - An Antonov 32 cargo turboprop powered plane crashes into the central market in Kinshasa , Zaire killing more than 350 people.
2002 - United States President George W. Bush signs into law the controversial No Child Left Behind Act .
2004 - RMS Queen Mary 2 , the largest passenger ship ever built, was christened by her namesake's granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II .
2006 - A magnitude 6.9 earthquake epicentered just off the Greek island of Kythira hits much of the country and is felt throughout the entire eastern Mediterranean Sea .
2006 - Exercise Northstar V, a large scale civil defence exercise, is held in Singapore and contains 4 MRT Stations and Toa Payoh Bus Interchange .
Births [ ]
1556 - Uesugi Kagekatsu , Japanese samurai and warlord (d. 1623 )
1583 - Simon Episcopius , Dutch theologian (d. 1643 )
1601 - Baltasar Gracián y Morales , Spanish writer (d. 1658 )
1628 - François Henri de Montmorency-Bouteville, duc de Luxembourg , French general (d. 1695 )
1632 - Samuel Pufendorf , German jurist (d. 1694 )
1635 - Luis Manuel Fernández de Portocarrero , Spanish Archbishop of Toledo (d. 1709 )
1735 - John Carroll , American Roman Catholic archbishop (d. 1815 )
1763 - Edmond Charles Genêt , French diplomat (d. 1834 )
1786 - Nicholas Biddle , American banking executive (d. 1844 )
1788 - Pavel Kiselyov , Russian general and politician (d. 1874 )
1792 - Lowell Mason , American composer (d. 1872 )
1805 - John Bigler , American politician (d. 1871 )
1805 - Orson Hyde , American religious leader (d. 1878 )
1817 - Sir Theophilus Shepstone , South African statesman (d. 1893 )
1821 - James Longstreet , American Confederate general (d. 1904 )
1821 - W.H.L. Wallace , American Union general (d. 1862 )
1823 - Alfred Russel Wallace , British naturalist and biologist (d. 1913 )
1824 - Francisco González Bocanegra , Mexican poet (d. 1861 )
1824 - Wilkie Collins , British novelist (d. 1889 )
1830 - Hans von Bülow , German pianist and composer (d. 1894 )
1836 - Lawrence Alma-Tadema , Dutch artist (d. 1912 )
1843 - Frederick Abberline , British police investigator (d. 1929 )
1843 - John H. Moffitt , American politician (d. 1926 )
1852 - James Milton Carroll , American pastor and author (d. 1931 )
1860 - Emma Booth , daughter of William and Catherine Booth (d. 1903 )
1862 - Frank Nelson Doubleday , American publisher (d. 1934 )
1866 - William G. Conley , American politician (d. 1940 )
1867 - Emily Greene Balch , American writer and pacifist , Nobel Peace Prize laureate (d. 1961 )
1870 - Miguel Primo de Rivera , Spanish politician (d. 1930 )
1871 - James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon , Irish politician (d. 1940 )
1873 - Iuliu Maniu , Romanian politician (d. 1953 )
1873 - Elena of Montenegro , queen of Italy (d. 1956)
1881 - Henrik Shipstead , American politician (d. 1960 )
1883 - Patrick J. Hurley , United States Secretary of War (d. 1963 )
1883 - Pavel Filonov , Russian painter (d. 1941 )
1885 - John Curtin , Australian politician (d. 1945 )
1885 - A. J. Muste , Dutch activist and pacifist (d. 1967 )
1888 - Matthew Moore , Irish-American actor (d. 1960 )
1891 - Walther Bothe , German physicist, Nobel Prize in Physics laureate (d. 1957 )
1891 - Bronislava Nijinska , Russian choreographer (d. 1972 )
1896 - Arthur Ford , American psychic (d. 1971 )
1897 - Dennis Wheatley , British author (d. 1977 )
1902 - Carl Rogers , American psychologist (d. 1987 )
1902 - Georgy Malenkov , Soviet politician (d. 1988 )
1903 - Igor Kurchatov , Russian physicist (d. 1960 )
1904 - Karl Brandt , Nazi war criminal (d. 1948 )
1905 - Franjo Cardinal Seper , Croatian Catholic cardinal (d. 1981 )
1905 - Giacinto Scelsi , Italian composer (d. 1988 )
1908 - William Hartnell , British actor (d. 1975 )
1909 - Willy Millowitsch , German actor (d. 1999 )
1909 - José Ferrer , Puerto Rican actor (d. 1992 )
1909 - Evelyn Wood , American educator (d. 1995 )
1910 - Galina Sergeyevna Ulanova , Russian ballerina (d. 1988 )
1911 - Butterfly McQueen , American actress (d. 1995 )
1911 - Tom Delaney , British racing driver (d. 2006 )
1915 - Walker Cooper , American baseball player (d. 1991 )
1921 - Herta Bothe , Nazi concentration camp guard
1923 - Larry Storch , American actor
1923 - Johnny Wardle , English cricketer (d. 1985 )
1923 - Joseph Weizenbaum , German-born computer scientist
1924 - Ron Moody , English actor
1925 - Helmuth Hubener , German anti-Hitler activist (d. 1942 )
1926 - Evelyn Lear , American soprano
1926 - Hanae Mori , Japanese fashion designer
1926 - Soupy Sales , American comedian
1926 - Kelucharan Mohapatra , Indian Odissi dancer (d. 2004 )
1931 - Bill Graham , German-born American music promoter (d. 1991 )
1933 - Charles Osgood , American journalist and commentator
1933 - Jean-Marie Straub , French film director
1933 - Ko Un , Korean poet
1934 - Jacques Anquetil , French cyclist (d. 1987 )
1934 - Roy Kinnear , English actor (d. 1988 )
1934 - Alexandra Ripley , American writer (d. 2004 )
1934 - Gene Freese , American baseball player
1935 - Elvis Presley , American singer and guitarist (d. 1977 )
1937 - Shirley Bassey , Welsh singer
1938 - Bob Eubanks , American game show host
1941 - Graham Chapman , British comedian (d. 1989 )
1941 - Boris Vallejo , Peruvian illustrator
1942 - Stephen Hawking , English physicist and author
1942 - Junichiro Koizumi , Japanese politician
1942 - Yvette Mimieux , American actress
1944 - Terry Brooks , American writer
1945 - Kojo Nnamdi , Guyanese-born American radio host
1946 - Robby Krieger , American musician (The Doors )
1947 - David Bowie , English musician
1947 - Samuel Schmid , Swiss politician
1947 - Don Bendell , American author & karate master
1948 - Gillies MacKinnon , Scottish film director
1951 - Kenny Anthony , Saint Lucian politician
1951 - John McTiernan , American film director
1953 - Bruce Sutter , American baseball player
1955 - Mike Reno , Canadian musician (Loverboy )
1955 - Spiros Livathinos , Greek footballer
1958 - Rey Misterio, Sr. , Mexican professional wrestler
1959 - Paul Hester , Australian drummer (Crowded House ) (d. 2005 )
1961 - Calvin Smith , American athlete
1961 - Kazuki Takahashi , Japanese creator of Yu-Gi-Oh
1962 - Chris Marion , American musician (Little River Band )
1965 - Michelle Forbes , American actress
1966 - Igor Vyazmikin , Russian ice hockey player
1967 - R. Kelly , American singer
1968 - Keith Mullings , American boxer
1969 - Ami Dolenz , American actress
1969 - Jeff Abercrombie , American musician (Fuel )
1970 - Dave Eggers , American writer and publisher
1970 - Melissa Hill , American porn actress
1971 - Jason Giambi , American baseball player
1971 - Pascal Zuberbühler , Swiss footballer
1973 - Mark Knight , English sound designer
1973 - Sean Paul , Jamaican singer
1973 - Jason Stevens , Australian rugby league footballer
1975 - DJ Clue , American DJ and producer
1976 - Jenny Lewis , American actress and musician (Rilo Kiley )
1976 - Josh Meyers , American actor
1976 - Carl Pavano , American baseball player
1977 - Amber Benson , American actress
1977 - Lee Yoo-jin , Korean actress
1978 - Marco Fu , Hong Kong snooker player
1979 - Adrian Mutu , Romanian footballer
1979 - Sarah Polley , Canadian actress
1979 - Seol Ki-Hyeon , South Korean footballer
1980 - Rachel Nichols , American actress
1981 - Jeff Francis , Canadian baseball player
1982 - Emanuele Calaiò , Italian footballer
1982 - Gaby Hoffmann , American actress
1982 - John Utaka , Nigerian footballer
1982 - wiL Francis , American singer
1983 - Chris Mordetzky , American professional wrestler
1984 - Jeff Francoeur , American baseball player
1985 - Rachael Lampa , American singer
1986 - Jaclyn Linetsky , Canadian actress (d. 2003 )
1986 - David Silva , Spanish footballer
1990 - Maci Wainwright , American singer
1991 - Asuka Hinoi , Japanese singer
1995 - Hannah Robinson , American actress
2000 - Noah Cyrus , American actress, daughter of Billy Ray Cyrus
Deaths [ ]
482 - Saint Severinus of Noricum
1100 - Antipope Clement III (bc. 1029 )
1107 - Edgar of Scotland (b. 1074 )
1198 - Pope Celestine III (bc. 1106 )
1324 - Marco Polo , Italian explorer (b. 1254 )
1337 - Giotto di Bondone , Italian artist (b. 1267 )
1464 - Thomas Ebendorfer , Austrian historian (b. 1385 )
1557 - Albert the Warlike , Prince of Bayreuth (b. 1522 )
1570 - Philibert de l'Orme , French architect (bc. 1510 )
1642 - Galileo Galilei , Italian astronomer and scientist (b. 1564 )
1707 - John Dalrymple, 1st Earl of Stair , Scottish politician (b. 1648 )
1713 - Arcangelo Corelli , Italian composer (b. 1653 )
1775 - John Baskerville , English printer (b. 1706 )
1789 - Jack Broughton , English boxer (bc. 1703 )
1794 - Justus Möser , German statesman (b. 1720 )
1815 - Edward Pakenham , British general (b. 1778 )
1825 - Eli Whitney , American inventor (b. 1765 )
1854 - William Carr Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford , British general and politician (b. 1768 )
1865 - Aimé, duc de Clermont-Tonnerre , French general (b. 1779 )
1874 - Charles Etienne Brasseur de Bourbourg , French writer and historian (b. 1814 )
1878 - Nikolai Alekseevich Nekrasov , Russian poet (b. 1821 )
1880 - Joshua A. Norton , American eccentric (b. 1811 )
1896 - William Rainey Marshall , Governor of Minnesota (b. 1825 )
1896 - Paul Verlaine , French poet (b. 1844 )
1901 - John Barry , Irish recipient of the Victoria Cross (b. 1873 )
1916 - Ada Rehan , Irish-born American actress (b. 1860 )
1918 - Ellis H. Roberts , American politician (b. 1827 )
1932 - Eurosia Fabris , Italian Catholic (b. 1866 )
1934 - Andrei Bely , Russian writer (b. 1880 )
1935 - Jesse Garon Presley , stillborn twin brother of Elvis Presley
1938 - Johnny Gruelle , Creator of Raggedy Ann and Andy (b. 1880 )
1941 - Robert Baden-Powell , English founder of scouting (b. 1857 )
1942 - Joseph Franklin Rutherford , American religious publisher (b. 1869 )
1943 - Richard Hillary , Australian Spitfire pilot and author (b. 1919 )
1944 - William Kissam Vanderbilt II , member of the Vanderbilt family (b. 1878 )
1948 - Kurt Schwitters , German painter (b. 1887 )
1948 - Richard Tauber , Austrian tenor (b. 1891 )
1950 - Joseph Schumpeter , Austrian economist (b. 1883 )
1956 - Jim Elliot , American Christian missionary (b. 1928 )
1958 - Paul Pilgrim , American athlete (b. 1883 )
1963 - Kay Sage , American artist and poet (b. 1898 )
1967 - Zbigniew Cybulski , Polish actor (b. 1927 )
1969 - Albert Hill , British athlete (b. 1889 )
1970 - Georges Guibourg , French performer (b. 1891 )
1972 - Kenneth Patchen , American poet (b. 1911 )
1975 - Richard Tucker , American tenor (b. 1913 )
1976 - Zhou Enlai , Premier of the People's Republic of China (b. 1898 )
1976 - Robert Forgan , British fascist (b. 1891 )
1979 - Sara Carter , American country musician (b. 1898 )
1980 - John Mauchly , American physicist (b. 1907 )
1981 - Matthew "Stymie" Beard , American actor (b. 1925 )
1983 - Tom McCall , Governor of Oregon (b. 1913 )
1986 - Pierre Fournier , French cellist (b. 1906 )
1989 - Bruce Chatwin , English novelist (b. 1940 )
1990 - Terry-Thomas , British actor, comedian (b. 1911 )
1991 - Steve Clark , English guitarist (Def Leppard ) (b. 1960 )
1993 - Eleanor Hibbert , British author (b. 1906 )
1994 - Pat Buttram , American actor (b. 1915 )
1994 - Harvey Haddix , American baseball player (b. 1925 )
1995 - Carlos Monzon , Argentinian boxer (b. 1942 )
1996 - François Mitterrand , President of France (b. 1916 )
1997 - Melvin Calvin , Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911 )
1998 - Michael Tippett , English composer (b. 1905 )
2000 - Fritz Thiedemann , German equestrianist (b. 1918 )
2002 - Alexander Prochorow , Nobel Prize in Physics laureate (b. 1916 )
2002 - Dave Thomas , American fast food entrepreneur (b. 1932 )
2003 - Ron Goodwin , British composer and conductor (b. 1925 )
2004 - John A. Gambling , American radio talk-show host (b. 1930 )
2005 - Campbell McComas , Australian impersonator and broadcaster (b. 1952 )
2005 - Warren Spears , American choreographer and dancer
2005 - Michel Thomas , Polish linguist (b. 1914 )
2006 - Tony Banks, Baron Stratford , British politician (b. 1943 )
2007 - Yvonne De Carlo , Canadian-born actress (b. 1922 )
2007 - Jane Bolin , first African American female judge (b. 1908 )
2007 - Francis Cockfield , British politician (b. 1916 )
2007 - David Ervine , Northern Irish politician (b. 1953 )
2007 - Iwao Takamoto , American animator (b. 1925 )
Holidays and observances [ ]
References [ ]
^ a b c d e f Attwater, Donald and Catherine Rachel John. The Penguin Dictionary of Saints . 3rd edition. New York: Penguin Books, 1993. ISBN 0-140-51312-4 .
External links [ ]
139 Familypedia people were born on January 8
156 Familypedia people died on January 8
85 Familypedia people were first married on January 8