What are the important events that happened on August 8? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
August 8: Facts & Myths About This Day
August 8 is the 221st day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 145 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Thursday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is July 26, 2024 – a Thursday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 28,717,920 minutes 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 ‘dihectaicosahenagon’ day.
Leo is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Peridot is the modern birthstone for this month. Diamond is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 174 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 4,248 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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August 8 Historical Events
- 1585 –John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in search of the Northwest Passage.
- 1588 –Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines – The naval engagement ends, ending the Spanish Armada’s attempt to invade England.
- 1793 –The insurrection of Lyon occurs during the French Revolution.
- 1863 –American Civil War: following his defeat in the Battle of Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee sends a letter of resignation to Confederate President Jefferson Davis (which is refused upon receipt).
- 1963 –Great Train Robbery: in England, a gang of 15 train robbers steal 2.6 million pounds in bank notes.
- 1989 –Space Shuttle program: STS-28 Mission – Space Shuttle Columbia takes off on a secret five-day military mission.
- 1991 –The Warsaw radio mast, at one time the tallest construction ever built, collapses.
- 2007 –An EF2 tornado touches down in Kings County and Richmond County, New York State, the most powerful tornado in New York to date and the first in Brooklyn since 1889.
- 2008 –2008 Summer Olympics took place from the 8th August 2008-24th August 2008. The official opening ceremony started at 8:00pm on 8th August 2008. The number 8 is associated with prosperity and confidence in Chinese Culture and here it was a triple eight for the date and one extra for time (close to 08:08:08 pm). There were 28 sports and 302 events at the games. There were 43 new world records and 132 new Olympic records set at the 2008 Summer Olympics. An unprecedented 86 countries won at least one medal during the Games.
- 2010 –2010 China floods: A mudslide in Zhugqu County, Gansu, China, kills more than 1,400 people.
Who were born on August 8?
- 1882 –Ladislas Starevich, Polish animator (d. 1965)
- 1933 –Joe Tex, American singer (d. 1982)
- 1933 –Serena Wilson, American belly dancer (d. 2007)
- 1935 –Donald P. Bellisario, American television producer
- 1951 –Randy Shilts, American journalist and author (d. 1994)
- 1962 –Mike Zanier, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1968 –Huey Morgan, American singer / guitarist (Fun Lovin' Criminals)
- 1977 –Nicolas Vogondy, French cyclist
- 1981 –Bradley McIntosh, British pop singer
- 1983 –Guy Burnet, British actor
Who died on August 8?
- 1879 –Immanuel Hermann Fichte, German philosopher (b. 1797)
- 1897 –Jacob Burckhardt, Swiss art historian (b. 1818)
- 1940 –Johnny Dodds, American musician (b. 1892)
- 1947 –Anton Ivanovich Denikin, Russian general (b. 1872)
- 1969 –Otmar Freiherr von Verschuer, German eugenicist and Nazi physician (b. 1896)
- 1972 –Andrea Feldman, American actor (b. 1948)
- 2005 –Ilse Werner, German actress (b. 1921)
- 2005 –John H. Johnson, African-American publisher (b. 1918)
- 2007 –Joybubbles, A notable phone phreak. (b. 1949)
- 2009 –Daniel Jarque, Spanish footballer (b. 1983)
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