October 8

Events

• 451 - At Chalcedon, a city of Bithynia in Asia Minor, the first session of the Council of Chalcedon begins (ends on November 1).
• 1600 - San Marino adopts its written constitution.
• 1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Perryville - Union forces under General Don Carlos Buell halt the Confederate invasion of Kentucky by defeating troops led by General Braxton Bragg at Perryville, Kentucky.
• 1871 - Great Chicago Fire: A large fire in Chicago, Illinois pre-empts news reporting of the Peshtigo, Wisconsin fire, burns 1,200,000 acres in one day, eventually destroys about 17,450 buildings, kills about 250 people and leaves another 90,000 homeless.
• 1871 - In Wisconsin, a forest fire starts to burn across six counties, eventually killing over 1,100 people.
• 1912 - First Balkan War begins: Montenegro declares war against Turkey.
• 1918 - World War I - In the Argonne Forest in France, United States Corporal Alvin C. York almost single-handedly kills 25 German soldiers and captures 132.
• 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.
• 1944 - The radio show, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet debuts
• 1957 - Walter O'Malley announces that the Dodgers are going to move from Brooklyn, New York to Los Angeles, California
• 1967 - Guerrilla leader Che Guevara and his men are captured in Bolivia.
• 1968 - Vietnam War: Operation Sealords - United States and South Vietnamese forces launch a new operation in the Mekong Delta.
• 1970 - Vietnam War: In Paris, a Communist delegation rejects US President Richard Nixon's October 7 peace proposal as "a maneuver to deceive world opinion."
• 1982 - Poland bans Solidarity.
• 1990 - Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: In Jerusalem, Israeli police kill 17 Palestinians and wound over 100 near the Dome of the Rock mosque on the Temple Mount
• 1991 - The Croatian Parliament cuts all remaining ties with Yugoslavia
• 1998 - Oslo Airport Gardermoen opens.
• 2001 - American radio talk show host, Rush Limbaugh announces to his listeners that he is completely deaf in his left ear and only has partial hearing in his right ear
• 2001 - A twin engine Cessna and Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) jetliner collide in heavy fog during takeoff from Milan, Italy killing 118

Births

• 1765 - Harman Blennerhassett, Irish lawyer
• 1887 - Huntley Gordon, pioneer Hollywood actor († 1956)
• 1890 - Edward Rickenbacker, ace fighter pilot († 1973)
• 1895 - Juan Perón, former president of Argentina († 1974)
• 1901 - Doris Allen, Founder of CISV organization († 2002)
• 1917 - Walter Lord, author († 2002)
• 1917 - Billy Conn, boxer († 1993)
• 1920 - Frank Herbert, American science fiction writer († 1986)
• 1922 - Christian Barnard, heart surgeon
• 1926 - Klaus Kinski, actor († 1991)
• 1930 - Toru Takemitsu, composer († 1996)
• 1938 - Fred Stolle, tennis champion
• 1939 - Paul Hogan, Australian actor
• 1940 - David Carradine, actor
• 1941 - Jesse Jackson, American reverend and civil rights activist
• 1943 - Chevy Chase, comedian, actor
• 1943 - R. L. Stine, author
• 1946 - Dennis Kucinich, Congressman and Presidential Candidate
• 1947 - Tony Wilson, bassist, singer
• 1948 - Johnny Ramone, guitarist
• 1949 - Sigourney Weaver, American actress
• 1950 - Robert Bell, bassist and singer with Kool & the Gang
• 1951 - Johnny Ramone, rock and roll musician
• 1954 - Michael Dudikoff, actor
• 1956 - Stephanie Zimbalist, actress
• 1964 - CeCe Winans, singer
• 1965 - Ardal O'Hanlon, Irish comedian
• 1968 - Toni Braxton, singer
• 1970 - Matt Damon, actor
• 1976 - Renate Groenewold, Dutch speed skater

Deaths

• 1754 - Henry Fielding, author
• 1793 - John Hancock, revolutionary, businessman
• 1869 - Franklin Pierce, President of the United States
• 1944 - Wendell Willkie, politician, candidate for President of the United States
• 1945 - Felix Salten, author (Bambi)
• 1953 - Nigel Bruce, actor
• 1967 - Clement Attlee, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• 1972 - Prescott Bush, father of President George H. W. Bush
• 1982 - Fernando Lamas, actor
• 1992 - Willy Brandt, German politician
• 1996 - Mignon G. Eberhart, author

Holidays

• Independence day in Croatia

October 7 - October 9 - September 8 - November 8 - more historical anniversaries

Referenced By