Warning: Zend OPcache API is restricted by "restrict_api" configuration directive in /srv/users/serverpilot/apps/historylookup/public/wp-content/plugins/tubepress/vendor/tedivm/stash/src/Stash/Driver/FileSystem.php on line 253
Today February 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
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 Martín and liberate Chile from Spain.
1837 – Richard Johnson becomes the first Vice President of the United States chosen by the United States Senate.
1849 – New Roman Republic established.
1855 – The Devil s Footprints mysteriously appear in southern Devon.
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.
1943 – World War II: Battle of Guadalcanal ends after the Japanese Imperial Army evacuated their remaining forces with a United States victory.
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.
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 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.
1986 – 1984 Summer Olympics head of the LAPD bomb squad, Arleigh McCree, and his partner Officer Ronald Ball of the Firearms and explosives unit were killed while trying to dismantle two pipe bombs when they responded to a call. McCree was recognized as one of the top explosive experts in the world.
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.
2005 – Israel and Palestinians agree to cease-fire.
2008 – Nebraska bans electric chair as sole execution method.
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 Württemberg (d. 1550)
1552 – Agrippa d Aubigné, 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-François Hénault, 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)
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)
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
1939 – José 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)
1943 – Creed Bratton, American actor and musician
1943 – Pirzada Qasim, Pakistani poet and VC of Karachi University
1944 – Roger Lloyd-Pack, English actor
1944 – Sebastião 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, Québécois 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 (Mötley Crüe)
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
1966 – Kirk Muller, Canadian ice hockey player
1966 – Hristo Stoichkov, Bulgarian footballer
1968 – Gary Coleman, American actor
1968 – Claudette Pace, Maltese singer
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
1971 – Alex Chiu, Chinese-American alternative health product provider
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 – Khaled Mashud, Bangladeshi cricketer
1976 – Adam Piatt, American baseball player
1977 – Dave Farrell, American musician (Linkin Park)
1977 – Barry Hall, Australian rules footballer
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 – Eric Alexander, American football player
1982 – Satomi Korogi, 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
1989 – Danielle Harmer, English actress
1995 – Jordan Todosey, Canadian actress
Deaths
1204 – Alexius IV Angelus, deposed Eastern Roman Emperor (b. c. 1182)
1250 – Robert I of Artois, French crusader (b. 1216)
1250 – William II Longespee
1265 – Hulagu Khan, Mongol ruler (b. 1217)
1296 – King Przemysl 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
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 Prešeren, Slovenian poet (b. 1800)
1849 – François Antoine Habeneck, French violinist (b. 1781)
1856 – Agostino Bassi, Italian entomologist (b. 1773)
1907 – Hendrik Willem Bakhuis Roozeboom, Dutch chemist (b. 1854)
1910 – Hans Jæger, Norwegian writer and political activist (b. 1854)
1921 – Peter Kropotkin, Russian anarchist (b. 1842)
1921 – George Formby (Senior), English entertainer (b. 1876)
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
1994 – Raymond Scott, American composer (b. 1908)
1996 – Del Ennis, American baseball player (b. 1925)
1998 – Halldór 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)
Holidays and observances
Slovenia – Prešeren Day, the Slovenian cultural holiday.
Nirvana Day – an annual Buddhist festival.
Boy Scouts of America – Scout Sunday; The Sunday preceding February 8 is designated as Scout Sunday and the following Saturday is designated as Scout Sabbath.
Saint Jerome Emiliani
Saint Juventius
Saint Meingold of Huy
February 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
YouTube responded with an error: The request cannot be completed because you have exceeded your <a href="/youtube/v3/getting-started#quota">quota</a>.