What are the important events that happened on April 8? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
April 8: Facts & Myths About This Day
April 8 is the 99th day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 267 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Monday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is March 26, 2024 – a Monday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 1,712,534,400 seconds has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘enneacontaenneagon’ day.
Aries is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Diamond is the modern birthstone for this month. Opal is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 296 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,126 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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April 8 Historical Events
- 217 –Roman Emperor Caracalla is assassinated (and succeeded) by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus.
- 1808 –The Roman Catholic Diocese of Baltimore is promoted to an archdiocese, with the founding of the dioceses of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Bardstown (now Louisville) by Pope Pius VII.
- 1895 –In Pollock v. Farmers’ Loan & Trust Co. the Supreme Court of the United States declares unapportioned income tax to be unconstitutional.
- 1904 –The French Third Republic and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland sign the Entente cordiale.
- 1942 –World War II: Siege of Leningrad – Soviet forces open a much-needed railway link to Leningrad.
- 1946 –The last meeting of the League of Nations, the precursor of the United Nations, is held.
- 1975 –President Richard Nixon signs into law federal legislation authorizing the establishment of Voyageurs National Park in northern Minnesota.
- 1992 –Retired tennis great Arthur Ashe announces that he has AIDS, acquired from blood transfusions during one of his two heart surgeries.
- 2004 –Darfur conflict: The Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement is signed by the Sudanese government and two rebel groups.
- 2005 –Over four million people attend the funeral of Pope John Paul II.
Who were born on April 8?
- 1904 –John Hicks, British economist, Bank of Sweden Prize winner (d. 1989)
- 1911 –Melvin Calvin, American chemist, Nobel laureate (d. 1997)
- 1920 –Carmen McRae, American jazz singer (d. 1994)
- 1926 –Shecky Greene, American comedian
- 1939 –Mary Leona Gage, American beauty pageant contestant and actress (d. 2010)
- 1943 –Tony Banks, British politician (d. 2006)
- 1946 –Tim Thomerson, American actor
- 1973 –Alex S. Gonzalez, American baseball player
- 1977 –Mark Spencer, American computer programmer
- 1985 –Patrick Schliwa, German rugby player
Who died on April 8?
- 956 –Gilbert of Chalon, Duke of Burgundy
- 1461 –Georg Purbach, German mathematician and astronomer (b. 1423)
- 1697 –Niels Juel, Danish admiral (b. 1629)
- 1861 –Elisha Otis, American elevator builder (b. 1811)
- 1870 –Charles de Bériot, Belgian composer (b. 1802)
- 1981 –Omar Bradley, U.S. general (b. 1893)
- 1985 –J. Fred Coots, American songwriter (b. 1897)
- 1991 –Per Yngve “Dead” Ohlin, Swedish metal singer (Mayhem) (b. 1969)
- 2008 –John Button, Australian politician (b. 1933)
- 2010 –Jack Agnew, Irish-born American World War II veteran (b. 1922)
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