October 8



Events

Up to 1900 
 1075  Dmitar Zvonimir is crowned King of Croatia.
 1480  Stand-off on the Ugra River, between the forces of Akhmat Khan of the 'Great Horde', and those of Grand Duke Ivan III of Russia, resulting in the retreat of the Tataro-Mongols.
 1573  End of the Spanish Siege of Alkmaar (Netherlands) - First Dutch victory in the Eighty Years' War.
 1600  San Marino adopts its own constitution.
 1806  Napoleonic Wars: Forces of the British Empire lay siege to the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, on France's English Channel coast.
 1813  The Treaty of Ried is signed between Bavaria and Austria.
 1814  The first election to Norway's Storting (Parliament) takes place.
 1821  The Government of Jose de San Martin creates the Peruvian Navy.
 1822  A volcanic eruption begins on the island of Java.
 1856  The Second Opium War between China and Western powers begins.
 1860  The telegraph line linking San Francisco and Los Angeles, California, opens.
 1862  American Civil War: Battle of Perryville, Kentucky.
 1871  The Great Chicago Fire occurs.
 1879  War of the Pacific: In the naval Battle of Angamos, Chile defeats Peru.
 1895  Empress Myeongseong of Korea is murdered by Japanese forces at Geongbok Palace, before her corpse is burned.
 1897  Gustav Mahler becomes director of the Vienna Court Opera.

1901  2000 
 1904  Edmonton, Alberta and Prince Albert, Saskatchewan become cities.
 1912  The First Balkan War begins: Montenegro declares war on the Ottoman Empire.
 1918  World War I: In the Argonne Forest, France, US Corporal Alvin C. York kills 28 German soldiers and captures 132.
 1928  Joseph Szigeti gives the first performance of Alfredo Casella's violin concerto.
 1932  The Indian Air Force is created.
 1939  World War II: Germany annexes Western Poland.
 1941  World War II: In their invasion of the Soviet Union, Germany reaches the Sea of Azov with the capture of Mariupol.
 1952  United Kingdom: The Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash occurs. It is the UK's deadliest peacetime rail disaster.
 1956  The New York Yankees player Don Larsen pitches the only perfect game in a World Series.
 1962  Algeria joins the UN.
 1962  Germany's Der Spiegel publishes an article on the Bundeswehr (German army), which leads to a major scandal.
 1967  Che Guevara is captured in Bolivia, leading to his execution the next day.
 1973  Yom Kippur War: Gabi Amir's armored brigade attack Egyptian-occupied positions on Israel's side of the Suez Canal, in hope of driving them away. The attack fails, destroying over 150 Israeli tanks.
 1974  Baja California Sur becomes a state of Mexico.
 1978  Australian Ken Warby sets the a water speed record, which still stands.
 1982  Trade Unions, including Solidarity, are banned in Poland.
 1982  The musical Cats opens on Broadway.
 1990  Israel-Palestinian Conflict: In Jerusalem, Israeli police kill 17 Palestinian and injure over 100 near the Dome of the Rock.
 1991  Croatia decides to sever constitutional relations with Yugoslavia.
 1998  In Oslo, Gardermoen Airport replaces Fornebu Airport.
 2000  Aleksander Kwasniewski is re-elected as President of Poland.

From 2001 
 2001  Two airplanes collide in heavy fog from take-off from Milan, Italy, killing 118 people.
 2001  George W. Bush announces the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.
 2004  Wangari Maathai wins the Nobel Peace Prize.
 2005  2005 Pakistan earthquake: At 03:50:38 UTC, an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale happens in the Pakistan region of Kashmir, killing thousands of people.
 2010  Chinese activist Liu Xiaobo wins the Nobel Peace Prize.
 2013  Peter Higgs and François Englert share the Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of the Higgs boson.
 2015  President Sepp Blatter is suspended from FIFA for ninety days, along with senior officials Michel Platini and Jerome Valcke, during a major corruption scandal.
 2018  The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change releases a special report, warning that "rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society" would need to be made to prevent global warming by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius over the upcoming century.

Births

Up to 1900 
 1515  Margaret Douglas, Scottish noblewoman (d. 1578)
 1585  Heinrich Schütz, German composer (d. 1672)
 1661  Michel Le Quien, French history writer (d. 1733)
 1676  Benito Jeronimo Feijoo, Galician monk and scholar (d. 1764)
 1713  Yechezkel Landau, Polish rabbi (d. 1793)
 1715  Michel Benoist, French Jesuit missionary (d. 1774)
 1720  Jonathan Mayhew, American minister (d. 1766)
 1747  Jean-Francois Rewbell, French politician (d. 1807)
 1789  William John Swainson, English-New Zealand ornithologist and entomologist (d. 1855)
 1789  John Ruggles, American politician (d. 1874)
 1807  Harriet Taylor Mill, English philosopher and activist (d. 1858)
 1818  John Henninger Reagan, American politician (d. 1905)
 1823  Ivan Aksakov, Russian writer (d. 1876)
 1826  Emily Blackwell, American physician and activist (d. 1910)
 1834  Walter Kittredge, American violinist and composer (d. 1905)
 1843  Kitty Kielland, Norwegian artist (d. 1914)
 1846  Bjorn Jonsson, Prime Minister of Iceland (d. 1912)
 1850  Henry Louis Le Chatelier, French chemist (d. 1936)
 1863  Edythe Chapman, American actress (d. 1948)
 1864  Ozias Leduc, Canadian painter (d. 1955)
 1868  Max Slevogt, German painter (d. 1932)
 1868  Coleman Livingston Blease, Governor of South Carolina (d. 1942)
 1870  Louis Vierne, French composer (d. 1937)
 1871  Ivan Poddubny, Russian wrestler (d. 1949)
 1873  Ejnar Hertzsprung, Danish chemist and astronomer (d. 1967)
 1873  Alexey Shchusev, Russian architect (d. 1949)
 1875  Laurence Doherty, English tennis player (d. 1919)
 1877  Hans Heysen, German-born landscape artist (d. 1968)
 1883  Otto Heinrich Warburg, German chemist, won the 1931 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1970)
 1883  Dick Burnett, American musician (d. 1977)
 1884  Walther von Reichenau, German general (d. 1942)
 1889  Collett E. Woolman, American businessman (d. 1966)
 1890  Edward Rickenbacker, American fighter pilot (d. 1973)
 1890  Philippe Thys, Belgian cyclist (d. 1971)
 1892  Marina Tsvetaeva, Russian poet (d. 1941)
 1893  Clarence Williams, American pianist and composer (d. 1965)
 1895  Juan Perón, President of Argentina (d. 1974)
 1895  Zog I, King of Albania (d. 1961)
 1896  Julien Duvivier, French director, producer and screenwriter (d. 1967)
 1897  Rouben Mamoulian, Armenian director (d. 1987)

1901  1950 
 1901  Eivind Groven, Norwegian composer and theorist (d. 1977)
 1901  Mark Oliphant, Australian physicist, humanitarian and politician, Governor of South Australia (d. 2000)
 1903  Georgy Geshev, Bulgarian chess player (d. 1937)
 1908  Martha Dodd, American writer (d. 1990)
 1910  Paulette Dubost, French actress (d. 2011)
 1910  Gus Hall, American Communist politician (d. 2000)
 1913  Robert Gilruth, American aviation and space travel pioneer (d. 2000)
 1917  Rodney Robert Porter, British biochemist (d. 1985)
 1917  Billy Conn, American boxer (d. 1993)
 1917  Walter Lord, American writer (d. 2002)
 1918  Jens Christian Skou, Danish chemist (d. 2018)
 1919  Kiichi Miyazawa, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2007)
 1920  Frank Herbert, American science fiction writer (d. 1986)
 1922  Nils Liedholm, Swedish footballer (d. 2007)
 1924  Alphons Egli, Swiss politician (d. 2016)
 1927  César Milstein, Argentine scientist (d. 2002)
 1927  Raymond Chow, Hong Kong film producer (d. 2018)
 1928  Bill Maynard, English actor (d. 2018)
 1929  Betty Boothroyd, English politician
 1929  Valdir Pereira, Brazilian footballer (d. 2001)
 1929  Franklin Stahl, American geneticist and biologist
 1930  Alasdair Milne, English director and producer (d. 2013)
 1931  Bill Brown, Scottish footballer (d. 2004)
 1932  Kenneth Appel, American mathematician (d. 2013)
 1932  Ray Reardon, Welsh snooker player
 1934  James Holshouser, American politician, 68th Governor of North Carolina (d. 2013)
 1935  Albert Roux, French-English chef
 1937  Paul Schell, American politician, 50th Mayor of Seattle (d. 2014)
 1938  Walter Gretzky, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
 1938  Bronislovas Lubys, Lithuanian politician and businessman (d. 2011)
 1939  Paul Hogan, Australian actor
 1939  Harvey Pekar, American writer (d. 2010)
 1939  Tanhum Cohen-Mintz, Israeli basketball player (d. 2014)
 1939  Lynne Stewart, American attorney (d. 2017)
 1941  Jesse Jackson, American clergyman and activist
 1943  Chevy Chase, American comedian and actor
 1946  Dennis Kucinich, American politician
 1946  Hanan Ashrawi, Pakistani scholar, activist and politician
 1946  Jean-Jacques Beineix, French director and producer
 1948  Gottfried Helnwein, Austrian-Irish artist
 1948  Claude Jade, French actress (d. 2006)
 1948  Pedro Lopez, Colombian serial killer
 1948  Johnny Ramone, American musician (d. 2004)
 1948  Baldwin Spencer, former Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda
 1949  Sigourney Weaver, American actress
 1950  Blake Morrison, English writer
 1950  Miguel Brindisi, Argentine footballer

1951  1975 
 1951  Shannon C. Stimson, American political theorist
 1952  Takis Koroneos, Greek basketball player and coach
 1952  Edward Zwick, American director, producer and screenwriter
 1953  Robert Saxton, English composer
 1954  Brigitte Rohde, German sprinter
 1956  Janice E. Voss, American astronaut (d. 2012)
 1956  Stephanie Zimbalist, American actress
 1957  Martha Kearney, Irish-British broadcaster
 1957  Antonio Cabrini, Italian footballer
 1958  Ursula von der Leyen, German politician
 1960  Reed Hastings, American businessman, co-founder of Netflix
 1960  François Perusse, Canadian humorist
 1964  Jakob Arjouni, German writer (d. 2013)
 1964  CeCe Winans, American singer
 1965  C. J. Ramone, American musician
 1965  Ardal O'Hanlon, Irish comedian and actor
 1965  Harri Koskela, Finnish wrestler
 1968  Zvonimir Boban, Croatian footballer
 1968  Emily Procter, American actress
 1970  Matt Damon, American actor
 1970  Anne-Marie Duff, British actress
 1970  Sadiq Khan, British politician, Mayor of London
 1970  Tetsuya Nomura, Japanese video game designer and director
 1971  Monty Williams, American basketball player
 1971  David Gauke, British politician
 1972  Stanislav Varga, Slovakian footballer
 1972  Terry Balsamo, American guitarist
 1972  Kim Myung-min, South Korean actor
 1974  Fredrik Modin, Swedish ice hockey player
 1974  Koji Murofushi, Japanese hammer thrower

From 1976 
 1976  Karina Bacchi, Brazilian model and actress
 1976  Renate Groenwold, Dutch speed skater
 1976  Seryoga, Belarussian rapper, actor and producer
 1977  Anne-Caroline Chausson, French cyclist
 1977  Jamie Marchi, American voice actress, director and screenwriter
 1977  Erna Siikavirta, Finnish musician (Lordi)
 1977  Travis Wester, American actor
 1978  Antonino D'Agostino, Italian footballer
 1979  Kristanna Loken, American actress
 1980  Nick Cannon, American actor, rapper and producer
 1980  The Miz, American professional wrestler
 1981  Chris Killen, New Zealand footballer
 1984  Anthony Le Tallec, French footballer
 1985  Eiji Wentz, Japanese entertainer
 1985  Simone Bolelli, Italian tennis player
 1985  Bruno Mars, American singer-songwriter
 1987  Aya Hirano, Japanese voice actress
 1989  Armand Traoré, French footballer
 1993  Angus T. Jones, American actor
 1993  Garbiñe Muguruza, Spanish tennis player
 1993  Barbara Palvin, Hungarian model
 1993  Molly Quinn, American actress
 1996  Sara Takanashi, Japanese ski jumper
 1997  Bella Thorne, American actress, singer and dancer

Deaths

Up to 1900 
 976  Helen of Zadar, Queen of Croatia
 1286  John I of Dreux, Duke of Brittany (b. 1217)
 1317  Emperor Fushimi of Japan (b. 1265)
 1621  Antoine de Montchrestien, French soldier, playwright and economist (b. 1575)
 1647  Christian Soren Longomontanus, Danish astronomer (b. 1562)
 1652  John Greaves, English mathematician and astronomer (b. 1602)
 1656  John George I, Elector of Saxony (b. 1585)
 1735  Yongzheng Emperor of China (b. 1678)
 1754  Henry Fielding, English writer (b. 1707)
 1772  Jean-Joseph de Mondonville, French violinist and composer (b. 1711)
 1793  John Hancock, American revolutionary and businessman (b. 1737)
 1802  Emmanuel Vitale, Maltese general (b. 1758)
 1803  Vittorio Alfieri, Italian writer (b. 1749)
 1809  James Elphinston, Scottish linguist, educator and orthographer (b. 1721)
 1820  Henri Christophe, King of Haiti (b. 1767)
 1834  François-Adrien Boieldieu, French composer (b. 1775)
 1869  Franklin Pierce, 14th President of the United States (b. 1804)
 1879  Miguel Grau Seminario, Peruvian naval officer (b. 1834)
 1886  Austin F. Pike, American politician (b. 1819)
 1891  Giovanni Caselli, Italian physicist (b. 1815)
 1894  Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., American physician and writer (b. 1809)
 1895  Empress Myeongseong of Korea (b. 1851)
 1897  Alexei Savrasov, Russian painter (b. 1830)

1901  2000 
 1928  Larry Semon, silent movie comedian (b. 1889)
 1936  Premchand, Indian writer (b. 1880)
 1936  Red Ames, American baseball player (b. 1882)
 1942  Sergei Chaplygin, Soviet engineer (b. 1869)
 1944  Wendell Willkie, American politician, candidate for President of the United States (b. 1892)
 1945  Felix Salten, Austrian writer (b. 1869)
 1953  Nigel Bruce, British actor (b. 1895)
 1953  Kathleen Ferrier, American contralto (b. 1912)
 1967  Clement Attlee, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1883)
 1972  Prescott Bush, father of President of the United States George H. W. Bush (b. 1895)
 1973  Gabriel Marcel, French philosopher, playwright and critic (b. 1889)
 1977  Giorgos Papasideris, Greek singer, composer and lyricist (b. 1902)
 1982  Fernando Lamas, Argentine actor (b. 1916)
 1982  Philip Noel-Baker, Baron Noel-Baker, English peace activist, Nobel Peace Prize winner (b. 1889)
 1983  Joan Hackett, American actress (b. 1934)
 1983  Robert Docking, American politician, 38th Governor of Kansas (b. 1925)
 1985  Malcolm Ross, American balloonist and atmospheric physicist (b. 1919)
 1987  Konstantinos Tsatsos, President of Greece (b. 1899)
 1992  Willy Brandt, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Nobel Peace Prize winner (b. 1913)
 1997  Bertrand Goldberg, American architect (b. 1913)
 1999  John McLendon, American basketball player and coach (b. 1915)

From 2001 
 2002  Jacques Richard, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1952)
 2004  Jacques Derrida, French philosopher (b. 1930)
 2012  Eric Lomax, Scottish captain and writer (b. 1919)
 2012  Ken Sansom, American actor and singer (b. 1927)
 2012  Nawal Kishore Sharma, Indian politician, 20th Governor of Gujarat (b. 1925)
 2012  John Tchicai, Danish-French saxophonist and composer (b. 1936)
 2013  Phil Chevron, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1957)
 2014  Thomas Eric Duncan, Liberian Ebola patient diagnosed in the US (b. 1972)
 2014  Jeen van den Berg, Dutch speed skater (b. 1928)
 2014  Mike Waugh, American politician (b. 1955)
 2014  Helmut Ruge, German comedian, actor and writer (b. 1940)
 2015  Paul Prudhomme, American chef (b. 1940)
 2015  Jim Diamond, Scottish singer (b. 1951)
 2017  Gianni Bonagura, Italian actor (b. 1925)
 2017  Slim Chaker, Tunisian politician (b. 1961)
 2017  Jerry Kleczka, American politician (b. 1943)
 2017  Grady Tate, American soul-jazz drummer and singer (b. 1932)
 2017  Y. A. Tittle, American football player (b. 1926)
 2017  Birgitta Ulfsson, Finnish-Swedish actress (b. 1928)
 2017  Beverly Reid O'Connell, American judge (b. 1965)
 2018  Arnold Kopelson, American film producer (b. 1935)
 2018  George Taliaferro, American football player (b. 1927)
 2018  Joseph Tydings, American lawyer and politician (b. 1928)
 2018  Hiroshi Wajima, Japanese sumo and professional wrestler (b. 1948)
 2018  Venantino Venantini, Italian actor (b. 1930)

Observances 
 Independence Day (Croatia)
 Navy Day (Peru)
 Air Force Day (India)
 Children's Day (Iran)
 Arbor Day (Namibia)

October 08