May 8

### Up to 1900

- 413 – Emperor Honorius signs an edict providing tax relief for the provinces Tuscia, Campania, Picenum, Samnium, Apulia, Lucania and Calabria, which were plundered by the Visigoths.
- 1541 – Hernando de Soto reaches the Mississippi River.
- 1654 – The Peace of Westminster ends the First Anglo-Dutch War.
- 1781 – Battle of Pensacola in Florida: Spanish troops reconquer Pensacola.
- 1788 – The French parliament is suspended to be replaced by the creation of forty–seven new courts.
- 1794 – French chemist Antoine Lavoisier is executed on the guillotine.
- 1821 – Greek War of Independence: The Greeks defeat the Turks at the Battle of Gravia Inn.
- 1842 – French explorer Jules Dumont D'Urville and his family, are among those killed in a major train crash.
- 1842 – The Great Fire of Hamburg is brought under control. It had killed 51 people and made 20,000 homeless.
- 1846 – Mexican-American War: 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 declared capital city of the Confederate States of America.
- 1886 – John Pemberton creates the drink that is now known as Coca-Cola.
- 1898 – The Italian football league is held for the first time; all in one day.

### 1901 – 2000

- 1901 – The Australian Labor Party is founded.
- 1902 – The Volcano Mt. Pelée erupts on the Caribbean Island of Martinique, killing 30,000 people.
- 1912 – Paramount Pictures is founded.
- 1919 – Edward George Honey proposes the idea of a Moment of Silence to commemorate the World War I Armistice on November 11.
- 1927 – Attempting to make the first Transatlantic flight from Paris to New York City, Frenchmen Charles Nungesser and Francois Coli disappear after taking off aboard the _White Bird_ airplane.
- 1933 – Mahatma Gandhi begins a 21–day fast against British colonial oppression.
- 1941 – World War II: The German Luftwaffe launches a bombing raid on Nottingham and Derby.
- 1942 – World War II: In the Battle of the Coral Sea, a Japanese Navy aircraft attacks the ship USS _Lexington_.
- 1945 – End of World War II in Europe; this day is known as **VE Day** for "Victory in Europe".
- 1945 – Thousands of Algerian civilians are massacred by French colonial troops.
- 1945 – End of Prague uprising.
- 1963 – South Vietnamese soldiers of Catholic President Ngo Dinh Diem open fire on Buddhists who were defying a ban on the Buddhist flag, killing 9.
- 1967 – The Philippines province of Davao is spilt into three, Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental.
- 1969 – The movie _Easy Rider_, starring Dennis Hopper, has its premiere in Cannes, France.
- 1970 – The last Beatles album, _Let it Be_, is released.
- 1973 – Members of the American Indian Movement leave the Pine Ridge Reservation at Wounded Knee, after a 71–day protest.
- 1976 – The rollercoaster "Revolution", the first steel coaster with a vertical loop, opens at Six Flags Magic Mountain.
- 1978 – Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler reach the top of Mt. Everest without Oxygen supplies, becoming the first people to do so.
- 1980 – The WHO announces the eradication of Smallpox.
- 1984 – The Soviet Union decides to boycott the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
- 1984 – The Thames Barrier officially opens.
- 1988 – Francois Mitterrand is elected to a second term as President of France.
- 1993 – Lennox Lewis wins his Heavyweight Boxing fight against Tony Tucker in Las Vegas.
- 1995 – The 50th anniversary of VE Day is marked.
- 1997 – A China Southeast Airlines Boeing 737 crashes at Shenzhen Bao'an Airport, killing 35 people.

### From 2001

- 2003 – A train is sliced in two in a collision with a tourist bus in Siofok, Hungary, killing 30 German bus passengers and the driver.
- 2007 – A new power–sharing deal takes effect in Northern Ireland. Ian Paisley becomes First Minister and Martin McGuinness becomes his Deputy.
- 2007 – Archaeologists in Israel announce that they have discovered the grave of Herod the Great.
- 2008 – Silvio Berlusconi becomes Prime Minister of Italy for a third time.
- 2010 – Laura Chinchilla becomes President of Costa Rica.
- 2013 – Manchester United football manager Alex Ferguson announces his upcoming retirement, which takes effect on May 19. He had been in charge of the team for over  years, making him one of the game's longest–serving managers. David Moyes replaces him, but is already sacked on April 22, 2014.
- 2014 – The African National Congress wins elections in South Africa, allowing Jacob Zuma to serve a second full term as President.
- 2015 – 2015 Pakistan Army Mil Mi-17 crash: A helicopter carrying foreign diplomats crashes near Gilgit in the far north of Pakistan. The Norwegian and Filipino Ambassadors are among those killed in the accident.
- 2015 – United Kingdom general election, 2015: As David Cameron starts his second term as Prime Minister, and the Scottish National Party adds 50 more MPs, three party leaders resign – Ed Miliband (Labour Party), Nick Clegg (Liberal Democrats) and Nigel Farage (UKIP). Farage later decides to stay on as UKIP leader.
- 2018 – President Donald Trump decides to withdraw the United States from the Iran nuclear agreement.
- 2019 – The African National Congress wins the most votes in the elections held in South Africa, but with a reduced number of votes.
- 2025 – Leo XIV is elected Pope through 2025 papal conclave.

### Up to 1900

- 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)
- 1629 – Niels Juel, Danish admiral (d. 1697)
- 1639 – Giovanni Battista Gaulli, Italian painter (d. 1709)
- 1653 – Claude Louis Hector de Villars, French general (d. 1734)
- 1668 – Alain-René Lesage, French writer and playwright (d. 1747)
- 1720 – William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, Prime Minister of Great Britain (d. 1764)
- 1735 – Nathaniel Dance-Holland, English painter (d. 1811)
- 1737 – Edward Gibbon, British historian (d. 1794)
- 1738 – Mikhail Kamensky, Russian general (d. 1809)
- 1744 – Nikolay Novikov, Russian writer (d. 1818)
- 1753 – Miguel Hidalgo, Mexican revolutionary (d. 1811)
- 1781 – Pedro de Sousa Holstein, 1st Duke of Palmela, Portuguese politician (d. 1850)
- 1786 – John Vianney, French priest and saint (d. 1859)
- 1818 – Samuel Leonard Tilley, Canadian politician, 3rd Premier of New Brunswick (d. 1896)
- 1821 – William Henry Vanderbilt, American businessman (d. 1885)
- 1824 – William Walker, American physician, lawyer, journalist and mercenary (d. 1860)
- 1828 – Henry Dunant, Swiss co–founder of the Red Cross, co–winner of first Nobel Peace Prize (d. 1910)
- 1828 – Charbel Makhluf, Lebanese monk and saint (d. 1898)
- 1847 – Oscar Hammerstein I, American theatre producer and impresario (d. 1919)
- 1856 – Pedro Lascuráin, Mexican politician, shortest–serving President (d. 1952)
- 1859 – Johan Jensen, Danish mathematician (d. 1925)
- 1867 – Albert, 8th Prince of Thurn and Taxis (d. 1952)
- 1874 – E. W. Marland, Governor of Oklahoma (d. 1941)
- 1884 – Harry S. Truman, 33rd President of the United States (d. 1972)
- 1889 – Song Jin-woo, Korean politician, educationist and journalist (d. 1945)
- 1889 – Louis Van Hege, Belgian footballer (d. 1975)
- 1895 – James H. Kindelberger, American aviation executive (d. 1962)
- 1895 – Fulton J. Sheen, American bishop (d. 1979)
- 1895 – Edmund Wilson, American writer (d. 1972)
- 1895 – Joselito, Spanish bullfighter (d. 1920)
- 1898 – Aloysius Stepinac, Croatian cardinal (d. 1960)
- 1899 – Friedrich Hayek, Austrian economist (d. 1992)

### 1901 – 1925

- 1902 – André Michel Lwoff, French microbiologist (d. 1994)
- 1903 – Fernandel, French comedy actor and singer (d. 1971)
- 1904 – John Snagge, British radio personality (d. 1996)
- 1905 – Red Nichols, American musician (d. 1965)
- 1906 – Roberto Rossellini, Italian movie director (d. 1977)
- 1909 – Count Lennart Bernadotte, Swedish royal (d. 2004)
- 1910 – Mary Lou Williams, American singer (d. 1981)
- 1911 – Robert Johnson, American blues musician (d. 1938)
- 1913 – Bob Clampett, American animator, producer and director (d. 1984)
- 1913 – Sid James, English actor (d. 1976)
- 1914 – Romain Gary, Polish writer (d. 1980)
- 1916 – Chinmayananda Saraswati, Indian spiritualist (d. 1993)
- 1916 – Joao Havelange, Brazilian sports official (d. 2016)
- 1917 – John Anderson, Jr., American politician, 36th Governor of Kansas (d. 2014)
- 1919 – Lex Barker, American actor (d. 1973)
- 1920 – Saul Bass, American graphic designer and movie maker (d. 1996)
- 1920 – Tom of Finland, Finnish fetish artist (d. 1991)
- 1923 – Cheikha Rimitti, Algerian singer (d. 2006)
- 1924 – Tapan Raychaudhuri, Indian historian (d. 2014)
- 1925 – Ali Hassan Mwinyi, former President of Tanzania

### 1926 – 1950

- 1926 – David Attenborough, British naturalist, TV presenter and writer
- 1926 – Don Rickles, American actor (d. 2017)
- 1927 – Laszlo Paskai, Hungarian cardinal (d. 2015)
- 1928 – Manfred Gerlach, East German politician (d. 2011)
- 1928 – Ted Sorensen, American lawyer and 8th White House counsel (d. 2010)
- 1929 – Girija Devi, Indian singer (d. 2017)
- 1929 – Miyoshi Umeki, Japanese actress (d. 2007)
- 1930 – Doug Atkins, American baseball player (d. 2015)
- 1930 – Heather Harper, Irish–English soprano (d. 2019)
- 1930 – Gary Snyder, American poet
- 1932 – Phyllida Law, Scottish actress
- 1932 – Sonny Liston, American boxer (d. 1970)
- 1935 – Jack Charlton, English footballer
- 1935 – Princess Elisabeth of Denmark (d. 2018)
- 1936 – Kazuo Koike, Japanese manga artist
- 1937 – Thomas Pynchon, American writer
- 1938 – Jean Giraud, French comic book artist and production designer (d. 2012)
- 1939 – Paul Drayton, American sprinter (d. 2010)
- 1940 – Peter Benchley, American writer (d. 2006)
- 1940 – Ricky Nelson, American singer and actor (d. 1985)
- 1940 – Irwin Cotler, Canadian politician
- 1940 – Toni Tennille, American singer (Captain & Tennille)
- 1941 – James Traficant, American politician (d. 2014)
- 1942 – Norman Lamont, British politician
- 1943 – Pat Barker, British writer
- 1944 – Bill Legend, British musician
- 1944 – Gary Glitter, British musician
- 1945 – Keith Jarrett, American musician
- 1945 – Mike German, Baron German, Welsh politician
- 1946 – Jonathan Dancy, British philosopher
- 1947 – John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan, British politician
- 1947 – H. Robert Horvitz, American biologist
- 1947 – Felicity Lott, British singer
- 1947 – Aram I, Armenian church leader
- 1948 – Norbert Nigbur, German footballer
- 1949 – Mohammed bin Hammam, Qatari FIFA official

### 1951 – 1975

- 1951 – Philip Bailey, American musician (Earth, Wind & Fire)
- 1951 – Chris Frantz, rock musician
- 1952 – Charles Camarda, American astronaut
- 1953 – Alex Van Halen, Dutch–American musician
- 1953 – Billy Burnette, American singer-songwriter
- 1954 – Pam Arciero, American voice actress
- 1954 – John Michael Talbot, American monk, singer and musician
- 1954 – Clive Wood, English actor
- 1955 – Meles Zenawi, Prime Minister and President of Ethiopia (d. 2012)
- 1955 – Asgeir Sigurvinsson, Icelandic footballer
- 1956 – David Provan, Scottish footballer
- 1957 – Marie Myriam, French singer
- 1958 – Roddy Doyle, Irish writer
- 1958 – Kevin McCloud, English writer, designer and television presenter
- 1958 – Lovie Smith, American football coach
- 1958 – Simone Kleinsma, Dutch musical theatre actress
- 1958 – Brooks Newmark, American–English politician
- 1959 – Ronnie Lott, American football player
- 1959 – David Pearce, British professional boxer (d. 2000)
- 1960 – Franco Baresi, Italian footballer
- 1961 – Akira Taue, Japanese professional wrestler
- 1961 – Bill de Blasio, Mayor of New York City
- 1961 – Andrea Pollack, German swimmer (d. 2019)
- 1962 – David Sole, Scottish rugby player
- 1962 – Natalia Molchanova, Russian diver (d. 2015)
- 1963 – Michel Gondry, French director and screenwriter
- 1963 – Aleksandr Kovalenko, Soviet triple jumper
- 1963 – Anthony Field, Australian musician (The Wiggles)
- 1964 – Dave Rowntree, British musician (Blur)
- 1964 – Melissa Gilbert, American actress
- 1965 – Mario Frick, Liechtenstein politician
- 1967 – Viviana Durante, Italian ballet dancer
- 1968 – Chris Lighty, American music executive and talent agent (d. 2012)
- 1968 – Nathalie Normandeau, Canadian politician
- 1969 – Akebono Taro, American sumo wrestler
- 1970 – Luis Enrique Martínez García, Spanish footballer
- 1970 – Naomi Klein, Canadian writer and activist
- 1971 – Shaolin, Brazilian cartoonist, comedian and presenter (d. 2016)
- 1972 – Darren Hayes, Australian singer
- 1973 – Hiromu Arakawa, Japanese manga artist
- 1973 – Jesús Arellano, Mexican footballer
- 1973 – Marcus Brigstocke, English comedian
- 1974 – Korey Stringer, American football player (d. 2001)
- 1975 – Enrique Iglesias, Spanish singer

### From 1976

- 1976 – Martha Wainwright, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1976 – Ian "H" Watkins, Welsh singer and actor
- 1977 – Joe Bonamassa, American musician
- 1977 – Bad News Brown, Canadian rapper (d. 2011)
- 1978 – Matthew Davis, American actor
- 1978 – Lúcio, Brazilian footballer
- 1979 – Gennaro Sardo, Italian footballer
- 1980 – Evgeny Lebedev, Russian businessman and newspaper owner
- 1980 – Michelle McManus, Scottish singer
- 1981 – Stephen Amell, Canadian actor
- 1981 – Andrea Barzagli, Italian footballer
- 1982 – Buakaw Banchamek, Thai Muay–Thai boxer
- 1982 – Adrian Gonzalez, American baseball player
- 1983 – Elyes Gabel, English actor
- 1983 – Vicky McClure, English actress
- 1983 – Matt Willis, English singer (Busted)
- 1984 – Julia Whelan, American actress
- 1985 – Sarah Vaillancourt, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1986 – Galen Rupp, American long–distance runner
- 1987 – Aneurin Barnard, Welsh actor
- 1987 – Isabel Lestapier Winqvist, Miss Sweden winner
- 1987 – Mark Noble, English footballer
- 1987 – Felix Jones, American football player
- 1988 – Maicon Pereira de Oliveira, Brazilian footballer (d. 2014)
- 1989 – Liam Bridcutt, English–Scottish footballer
- 1989 – Nora Arnezeder, French actress
- 1989 – Benoit Paire, French tennis player
- 1990 – Kemba Walker, American basketball player
- 1992 – Ana Mulvoy-Ten, English–Spanish actress
- 1995 – Park Jung-hwa, South Korean singer and actress
- 2003 – Moulay Hassan, Crown Prince of Morocco

### Up to 1900

- 535 – Pope John II
- 685 – Pope Benedict II
- 840 – Emperor Junna of Japan (b. 786)
- 1192 – Duke Ottokar IV of Syria (b. 1163)
- 1278 – Emperor Duanzongof China (b. 1268)
- 1319 – Haakon V of Norway (b. 1270)
- 1782 – Marques de Pombal, Portuguese politician (b. 1699)
- 1785 – Pietro Longhi, Venetian painter (b. 1701)
- 1785 – Etienne François duc de Choiseul, French general and politician (b. 1719)
- 1788 – Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, Italian physician and naturalist (b. 1723)
- 1794 – Antoine Lavoisier, French chemist (executed) (b. 1743)
- 1819 – Kamehameha I, King of Hawai'i (b. c. 1758)
- 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)
- 1884 – Judah P. Benjamin, American politician (b. 1811)
- 1887 – Lorenzo Batlle, President of Uruguay (b. 1810)
- 1891 – Helena Blavatsky, Russian–born writer (b. 1831)

### 1901 – 2000

- 1903 – Paul Gauguin, French painter (b. 1846)
- 1904 – Eadweard Muybridge, British photographer (b. 1830)
- 1907 – Edmund G. Ross, Territorial Governor of New Mexico (b. 1826)
- 1936 – Oswald Spengler, German historian and philosopher (b. 1880)
- 1941 – Natalie of Serbia (b. 1859)
- 1941 – Tore Svennberg, Swedish actor and director (b. 1858)
- 1943 – Mordechai Anielewicz, Polish Resistance activist (b. 1919)
- 1944 – Ethel Smyth, English composer, conductor and writer (b. 1858)
- 1945 – Bernhard Rust, Nazi education minister (b. 1883)
- 1945 – Josef Terboven, Nazi Reichskommissar in Norway (b. 1898)
- 1945 – Paul Giesler, German politician, Prime minister of Bavaria (b. 1895)
- 1947 – Harry Gordon Selfridge, department store founder (b. 1858)
- 1948 – U Saw, Burmese politician (b. 1900)
- 1950 – Vital Brazil, Brazilian physician and immunologist (b. 1865)
- 1952 – William Fox, Austro–Hungarian–born American movie producer (b. 1879)
- 1960 – J. H. C. Whitehead, British mathematician (b. 1904)
- 1965 – Wally Hardinge, English cricketer and footballer (b. 1886)
- 1967 – LaVerne Andrews, American singer (The Andrews Sisters) (b. 1911)
- 1971 – Lars Pettersson, Swedish ice hockey player (b. 1925)
- 1975 – Avery Brundage, President of the International Olympic Committee (b. 1887)
- 1982 – Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver (b. 1950)
- 1985 – Theodore Sturgeon, American science fiction writer (b. 1918)
- 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 science fiction writer (b. 1923)
- 1994 – George Peppard, American actor (b. 1928)
- 1996 – Dominguin, Spanish bullfighter (b. 1926)
- 1998 – Jennings Randolph, American politician (b. 1902)
- 1999 – Dirk Bogarde, British actor (b. 1921)
- 1999 – Dana Plato, American actress (b. 1964)

### From 2001

- 2008 – Eddy Arnold, American singer (b. 1918)
- 2008 – Luigi Malerba, Italian writer (b. 1927)
- 2008 – François Sterchele, Belgian footballer (b. 1982)
- 2009 – Dom DiMaggio, American baseball player (b. 1917)
- 2010 – Andor Lilienthal, Hungarian chess player (b. 1911)
- 2011 – Lionel Rose, Australian boxer (b. 1948)
- 2011 – Cornell Dupree, American musician (b. 1942)
- 2012 – Maurice Sendak, American writer (b. 1928)
- 2012 – Roman Totenberg, Polish–American violinist (b. 1911)
- 2012 – Nicholas Katzenbach, former United States Attorney General (b. 1922)
- 2013 – Jeanne Cooper, American actress (b. 1928)
- 2013 – Dallas Willard, American philosopher (b. 1935)
- 2013 – Bryan Forbes, British movie director, screenwriter and producer (b. 1926)
- 2013 – Taylor Mead, American actor (b. 1924)
- 2014 – Yago Lamela, Spanish athlete (b. 1977)
- 2014 – Joseph P. Teasdale, 48th Governor of Missouri (b. 1936)
- 2014 – Jair Rodrigues, Brazilian musician and singer (b. 1939)
- 2014 – Mercedes Salisachs, Spanish writer (b. 1917)
- 2014 – Nancy Malone, American producer, director and actress (b. 1935)
- 2015 – Deaths in the 2015 Pakistan Army Mil Mi-17 crash:
    - Domingo Lucenario, Jr., Ambassador of the Philippines to Pakistan (b. 1960)
    - Leif Holger Larsen, Ambassador of Norway to Pakistan (b. 1954)
- 2015 – Phil Skoglund, New Zealand lawn bowls player (b. 1937)
- 2015 – Zeki Alasya, Turkish actor and director (b. 1943)
- 2015 – Atanas Semerdzhiev, Vice President of Bulgaria (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Menashe Kadishman, Israeli artist (b. 1932)
- 2015 – Martin Nag, Norwegian writer (b. 1926)
- 2016 – Philippe Beaussant, French writer and musicologist (b. 1930)
- 2016 – Tonita Castro, American actress (b. 1953)
- 2016 – Ken Gorgal, American football player (b. 1929)
- 2016 – Nick Lashaway, American actor (b. 1988)
- 2016 – Elisa Mainardi, Italian actress (b. 1927)
- 2016 – William Schallert, American actor (b. 1922)
- 2016 – John Bradshaw, American self–help writer (b. 1933)
- 2016 – John Young, American baseball player (b. 1949)
- 2017 – Allan H. Meltzer, American economist (b. 1928)
- 2017 – Lou Richards, Australian footballer (b. 1923)
- 2017 – Cécile DeWitt-Morette, French mathematician and physicist (b. 1922)
- 2017 – Curt Lowens, German–born American actor (b. 1925)
- 2017 – Lawson Soulsby, Baron Soulsby of Swaffham Prior, British microbiologist and life peer (b. 1926)
- 2017 – Juan Carlos Tedesco, Argentine politician (b. 1944)
- 2017 – Mary Tsoni, Greek actress (b. 1987)
- 2018 – Anne V. Coates, British film editor (b. 1925)
- 2018 – George Deukmejian, American politician, former Governor of California (b. 1928)
- 2018 – Lara Saint Paul, Italian–Eritrean singer (b. 1945)
- 2018 – Big Bully Busick, American professional wrestler (b. 1954)
- 2019 – Jens Beutel, German politician (b. 1946)
- 2019 – Sprent Dabwido, President of Nauru (b. 1972)
- 2019 – Yevgeny Krylatov, Russian composer (b. 1934)
- 2019 – David Montgomery, American baseball player (b. 1946)
- 2019 – Bob Zeman, American football player and coach (b. 1937)

## Observances

- Victory in Europe Day, marking the end of World War II in Europe in 1945.
- International Red Cross and Red Crescent Day, birthday of Henry Dunant, co–founder of the International Red Cross.
- Parents' Day (South Korea).
- Truman Day (Missouri).
- Miguel Hidalgo's birthday (Mexico).