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February 8
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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).
[edit] Events
- 421 Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
- 1575 Universiteit Leiden founded, and given the motto "Praesidium Libertatis".
- 1587 Mary, Queen of Scots was executed at suspicion of having been involved in the Babington Plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I of England.
- 1601 Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, rebels against Elizabeth I of England revolt is quickly crushed.
- 1622 King James I of England disbands the English Parliament.
- 1692 A doctor in Salem Village, Massachusetts Bay Colony suggests that two girls in the family of the village minister may be suffering from bewitchment, leading to the Salem witch trials.
- 1693 The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia is granted a charter by King William III and Queen Mary II.
- 1726 The Supreme Privy Council is established in Russia.
- 1807 Battle of Eylau Napoleon defeats Russians under General Benigssen.
- 1817 Las Heras crosses the Andes with an army to join San Martνn and liberate Chile from Spain.
- 1837 Richard Johnson becomes the first Vice President of the United States chosen by the United States Senate.
- 1855 The Devil's Footprints mysteriously appear in southern Devon.
- 1856 Barbu Dimitrie Ştirbei abolishes slavery in Wallachia.
- 1865 In the U.S., Delaware voters reject the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, and vote to continue the practice of slavery. (Delaware finally ratifies the amendment on February 12, 1901.)
- 1867 The Ausgleich results in the establishment of the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary.
- 1879 Sandford Fleming first proposes adoption of Universal Standard Time at a meeting of the Royal Canadian Institute.
- 1887 The Dawes Act authorized the President of the United States to survey Native American tribal land and divide it into individual allotments.
- 1900 British troops are defeated by Boers at Ladysmith, South Africa.
- 1904 Battle of Port Arthur: A surprise torpedo attack by the Japanese at Port Arthur, China starts the Russo-Japanese War.
- 1910 The Boy Scouts of America is incorporated by William D. Boyce.
- 1915 D.W. Griffith's controversial film The Birth of a Nation premieres in Los Angeles.
- 1918 The Stars and Stripes newspaper publishes for the first time.
- 1922 President Warren G. Harding introduces the first radio in the White House.
- 1924 Capital punishment: The first state execution using gas in the United States takes place in Nevada.
- 1949 Cardinal Mindszenty of Hungary sentenced for treason.
- 1952 Elizabeth II is proclaimed Queen of the UK.
- 1955 The Government of Sindh abolished Jagirdari system in the province. One million acres (4000 km²) of land thus acquired is to be distributed among the landless peasants.
- 1960 Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom issued an Order-in-Council, stating that she and her family would be known as the House of Windsor, and that her descendants will take the name "Mountbatten-Windsor".
- 1962 Charonne massacre. 9 trade unionists are killed by French police at the instigation of Nazi collaborator Maurice Papon, then chief of the Paris Prefecture of Police.
- 1963 Travel, financial and commercial transactions by United States citizens to Cuba are made illegal by the John F. Kennedy administration.
- 1966 The National Hockey League awarded Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania with a second NHL franchise, the Pittsburgh Penguins.
- 1968 American civil rights movement: The Orangeburg massacre, a mass killing in Orangeburg, South Carolina of black students from South Carolina State University who were protesting racial segregation at the town's only bowling alley.
- 1969 Allende meteorite falls near Pueblito de Allende, Chihuahua, Mexico.
- 1971 The NASDAQ stock market index debuts.
- 1974 After 84 days in space, the crew of the first American space station Skylab return to Earth.
- 1974 Military coup in Upper Volta.
- 1978 Proceedings of the United States Senate are broadcast on radio for the first time.
- 1979 Denis Sassou-Nguesso became the President of the Republic of the Congo for the first time.
- 1983 The Melbourne dust storm hits Australia's second largest city. The result of the worst drought on record and a day of severe weather conditions, the 320m deep dust cloud envelops the city, turning day to night.
- 1989 An Independent Air Boeing 707 crashes into Santa Maria mountain in Azores Islands off the coast of Portugal, killing 144.
- 1993 General Motors sues NBC after Dateline NBC allegedly rigs two crashes intended to demonstrate that some GM pickups can easily catch fire if hit in certain places. NBC settles the lawsuit the next day.
- 1996 The U.S. Congress passes the Communications Decency Act.
- 1996 The massive Internet collaboration "24 Hours in Cyberspace" takes place.
- 1998 First female ice hockey game in Olympic history: Finland beats Sweden 6-0.
[edit] Births
- 412 Proclus, Greek philosopher (d. 487)
- 1191 Yaroslav II of Russia (d. 1246)
- 1291 King Afonso IV of Portugal (d. 1357)
- 1405 Constantine XI Palaiologos, the last reigning Emperor of the Byzantine Empire (d. 1453)
- 1487 Ulrich, Duke of Wόrttemberg (d. 1550)
- 1552 Agrippa d'Aubignι, French poet and soldier (d. 1630)
- 1577 Robert Burton, English cleric and writer (d. 1640)
- 1586 Jacob Praetorius, German composer (d. 1651)
- 1612 Samuel Butler, English poet (d. 1680)
- 1649 Gabriel Daniel, French Jesuit historian (d. 1728)
- 1677 Jacques Cassini, French astronomer (d. 1756)
- 1685 Charles-Jean-Franηois Hιnault, French historian (d. 1770)
- 1700 Daniel Bernoulli, Dutch-born mathematician (d. 1782)
- 1720 Emperor Sakuramachi of Japan (d. 1750)
- 1792 Caroline Augusta of Bavaria, queen of Hungary and Bohemia (d. 1873)
- 1798 Grand Duke Michael Pavlovich of Russia, Russian Grand Duke (d. 1849)
- 1804 Richard Lemon Lander, British explorer (d. 1834)
- 1807 Benjamin Waterhouse Hawkins, English sculptor and naturalist (d. 1889)
- 1819 John Ruskin, English author (d. 1900)
- 1820 William Tecumseh Sherman, American Union general (d. 1891)
- 1822 Maxime Du Camp, French photographer and journalist (d. 1894)
- 1828 Jules Verne, French author (d. 1905)
- 1834 Dmitri Mendeleev, Russian chemist (d. 1907)
- 1847 Hugh Price Hughes, English social reformer (d. 1902)
- 1850 Kate Chopin, American author (d. 1904)
- 1878 Martin Buber, German philosopher (d. 1965)
- 1880 Franz Marc, German painter (d. 1916)
- 1882 Thomas Selfridge, First person to die in an airplane crash (d. 1908).
- 1883 Joseph Alois Schumpeter, Austrian economist (d. 1950)
- 1884 Reginald Baker, Australian athlete and actor (d. 1953)
- 1886 Charles Ruggles, American actor (d. 1970)
- 1888 Dame Edith Evans, British actress (d. 1976)
- 1890 Claro M. Recto, Filipino nationalist (d. 1960)
- 1893 Ba Maw, Burmese politician (d. 1977)
- 1894 Ludwig Marcuse, German author and philosopher (d. 1971)
- 1894 King Vidor, American film director (d. 1982)
- 1895 Hermann Florstedt, Nazi leader (d. 1945)
- 1900 Ivan Ivanov-Vano Soviet animator and Russian animation director (d. 1987)
- 1902 Demchugdongrub, Mongolian politician (d. 1966)
- 1903 Greta Keller, Austrian-born cabaret singer and actress (d. 1977)
- 1906 Chester Carlson, American physicist and inventor (d. 1968)
- 1911 Elizabeth Bishop, American poet (d. 1979)
- 1913 Betty Field, American actress (d. 1973)
- 1918 Fred Blassie, American professional wrestler (d. 2003)
- 1921 Lana Turner, American actress (d. 1995)
- 1922 Audrey Meadows, American actress (d. 1996)
- 1925 Jack Lemmon, American actor and film director (d. 2001)
- 1926 Neal Cassady, American writer (d. 1968)
- 1928 Gene Lees, Canadian biographer and lyricist
- 1930 James Deetz, American anthropologist (d. 2000)
- 1930 Alejandro Rey, Argentine actor (d. 1987)
- 1931 James Dean, American actor (d. 1955)
- 1932 Cliff Allison, British racing driver (d. 2005)
- 1932 John Williams, American composer and conductor
- 1933 Elly Ameling, Dutch soprano
- 1933 Jack Larson, American actor
- 1936 Larry Verne, American singer
- 1937 Manfred Krug, German actor
- 1937 Joe Raposo, American composer (d. 1989)
- 1939 Josι Maria Sison, Filipino communist
- 1940 Ted Koppel, American journalist
- 1941 Nick Nolte, American actor
- 1941 Tom Rush, American singer and songwriter
- 1942 Robert Klein, American comedian
- 1942 Terry Melcher, American musician and record producer (d. 2004)
- 1942 Bob Munden, American shooting competitor
- 1943 Creed Bratton, American actor and musician
- 1943 Pirzada Qasim, Pakistani poet and Vice Chancellor of Karachi University
- 1944 Roger Lloyd-Pack, English actor
- 1944 Sebastiγo Salgado, Brazilian documentary photographer
- 1948 Lynda Lyon Block, American convicted murderer (d. 2002)
- 1948 Dan Seals, American singer
- 1948 Ron Tyson, American singer (The Temptations)
- 1949 Brooke Adams, American actress
- 1950 Cristina Ferrare, American former supermodel and actress
- 1951 Z'EV, American text/sound artist (born Stefan Weisser)
- 1953 Roger Clavet, Quιbιcois politician
- 1953 Mary Steenburgen, American actress
- 1955 John Grisham, American writer
- 1955 Nancy Oliver, American playwright and television writer
- 1956 Dave Meros, American bassist (Spock's Beard)
- 1958 Sherri Martel, American professional wrestler (d. 2007)
- 1960 Dino Ciccarelli, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1961 Vince Neil, American singer (Mφtley Crόe)
- 1961 Bruce Timm,TV Producer (DC Animated Universe)
- 1963 Mohammad Azharuddin, Indian cricketer
- 1963 Joshua Kadison, American pianist and songwriter
- 1964 Trinny Woodall, British fashion guru
- 1964 Robert Nebřenskύ, Czech actor and musician
- 1966 Kirk Muller, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1966 Hristo Stoichkov, Bulgarian footballer
- 1968 Gary Coleman, American actor
- 1968 Claudette Pace, Maltese singer
- 1968 Nasos Thanopoulos, Greek businessman
- 1969 Mary McCormack, American actress
- 1969 Shiva Rose, American actress
- 1970 John Filan, Australian footballer
- 1970 Alonzo Mourning, American basketball player
- 1971 Mika Karppinen, Finnish drummer (HIM)
- 1971 Andrus Veerpalu, Estonian cross-country skier
- 1972 Paul Wight, American professional wrestler
- 1973 Keith McDonald, American baseball player
- 1974 Guy-Manuel de Homem-Christo, French disc jockey (Daft Punk)
- 1974 Ulises de la Cruz, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1974 Seth Green, American actor
- 1974 Kimbo Slice, American mixed martial artist
- 1976 Abi Titmus, British glamour model
- 1976 Khaled Mashud, Bangladeshi cricketer
- 1976 Adam Piatt, American baseball player
- 1976 Nicolas Vouilloz, French rally driver
- 1977 Barry Hall, Australian rules footballer
- 1977 Dave "Phoenix" Farrell, Linkin Park Bassist
- 1977 Bridgette Kerkove, American actress
- 1977 Yucef Merhi, Venezuelan artist
- 1977 Mathieu Turcotte, Canadian short-track speed skater
- 1979 Aaron Cook, American baseball player
- 1979 Josh Keaton, American actor and singer
- 1980 Ralf Little, English actor/comedian
- 1980 Cameron Muncey, Australian guitarist (Jet)
- 1980 Stephen Wright, English footballer
- 1981 Myriam Montemayor Cruz, Mexican singer
- 1982 Satomi Kōrogi, Japanese voice actress
- 1982 Sousuke Takaoka, Japanese actor
- 1982 Danny Tamberelli, American actor
- 1983 Jim Verraros, American singer
- 1984 Panagiotis Vasilopoulos, Greek basketball player
- 1987 Carolina Kostner, Italian European champion figure skater
- 1988 Keegan Meth, Zimbabwean cricketer
- 1988 Ryan Pinkston, American actor
[edit] Deaths
- 1204 Alexius IV Angelus, deposed Eastern Roman Emperor (b. c. 1182)
- 1250 Robert I of Artois, French crusader (b. 1216)
- 1250 Sir William II Longespee (b. 1212)
- 1265 Hulagu Khan, Mongol ruler (b. 1217)
- 1296 King Przemysł II of Poland (b. 1257)
- 1529 Baldassare Castiglione, Italian writer and diplomat (b. 1478)
- 1587 Mary, Queen of Scots (b. 1542)
- 1599 Robert Rollock, Scottish educator (b. 1555)
- 1623 Thomas Cecil, 1st Earl of Exeter, English politician (b. 1546)
- 1696 Tsar Ivan V of Russia (b. 1666)
- 1709 Giuseppe Torelli, Italian composer (b. 1658)
- 1725 Tsar 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 Preeren, Slovenian poet (b. 1800)
- 1849 Franηois Antoine Habeneck, French violinist (b. 1781)
- 1856 Agostino Bassi, Italian entomologist (b. 1773)
- 1907 Hendrik Willem Bakhuis Roozeboom, Dutch chemist (b. 1854)
- 1910 Hans Jζger, Norwegian writer and political activist (b. 1854)
- 1921 Peter Kropotkin, Russian anarchist (b. 1842)
- 1921 George Formby, Sr., English entertainer (b. 1876)
- 1921 Barrett Wendell, American academic and author (b. 1855)
- 1924 Gee Jon First man in U.S. to be executed by lethal gas. (b. 1895)
- 1929 Maria Christina, Queen Regent of Spain (b. 1858)
- 1932 Vincent "Mad Dog" Coll, New York City gangster from County Donegal in Ireland (b. 1908)
- 1936 Charles Curtis, 1st American-Indian Vice-President USA (b. 1860)
- 1956 Connie Mack, American baseball manager and executive (b. 1862)
- 1957 Walther Bothe, German physicist and inventor, Nobel laureate (b. 1891)
- 1957 John von Neumann, Hungarian-born mathematician and physicist (b. 1903)
- 1960 Giles Gilbert Scott, British architect (b. 1880)
- 1960 John Langshaw Austin, British philosopher, (b. 1911)
- 1963 George Dolenz, American actor, father of Micky Dolenz (b. 1908)
- 1964 Ernst Kretschmer, German psychiatrist (b. 1888)
- 1972 Markos Vamvakaris, Greek musician and songwriter (b. 1905)
- 1975 Robert Robinson, British chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1886)
- 1977 Eivind Groven, Norwegian composer and ethnomusicologist (b. 1901)
- 1980 Nikos Xilouris, Greek singer (b. 1936)
- 1982 John Hay Whitney, American financier (b. 1904)
- 1984 Karel Miljon, Dutch boxer (b. 1903)
- 1985 William Lyons, British automobile manufacturer (b. 1901)
- 1987 Harriet E. MacGibbon, American actress (b. 1905)
- 1990 Del Shannon, American entertainer (suicide) (b. 1934)
- 1992 Denny Wright, British jazz guitarist (b. 1924)
- 1993 N. Shanmugathasan, Sri Lankan communist leader (b. 1920)
- 1994 Raymond Scott, American composer (b. 1908)
- 1996 Del Ennis, American baseball player (b. 1925)
- 1998 Halldσr Laxness, Icelandic author, Nobel laureate (b. 1902)
- 1998 Julian Lincoln Simon, American economist and author (b. 1932)
- 1998 Enoch Powell, British Conservative MP and shadow cabinet member (b. 1912)
- 1999 Iris Murdoch, Irish author (b. 1919)
- 2000 Sid Abel, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1918)
- 2000 Bob Collins, American radio broadcaster (b. 1942)
- 2000 Derrick Thomas, American football player (b. 1967)
- 2001 Ivo Caprino, Norwegian animated film director (b. 1920)
- 2002 Joachim Hoffmann, German historian (b. 1930)
- 2002 Ong Teng Cheong, President of Singapore (b. 1936)
- 2004 Julius Schwartz, American comic book and science fiction editor (b. 1915)
- 2005 Jimmy Smith, American jazz musician (b. 1925)
- 2005 Keith Knudsen, American drummer, vocalist and songwriter (The Doobie Brothers) (b. 1948)
- 2006 Elton Dean, English musician (Soft Machine) (b. 1945)
- 2006 Akira Ifukube, Japanese composer (b. 1914)
- 2007 Anna Nicole Smith, American model, actress, and entertainer (b. 1967)
- 2007 Ian Stevenson, Canadian-American professor and reincarnation expert (b. 1918)
- 2008 Chua Ek Kay, Singaporean painter (b. 1947)
- 2009 Marian Cozma, Romanian handball player (b. 1982)
[edit] Holidays and observances
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