On This Day — 8 August
2000s
2024
Nobel laureate Muhammad Yunus takes oath as Chief Adviser to form an interim government in Bangladesh.
Muhammad Yunus
2023
Hawaii wildfires: Seventeen thousand acres of land are burned and at least 101 people are killed, with two others missing, when a series of wildfires break out on the island of Maui in Hawaii.
2023 Hawaii wildfires
2022
The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) executes a search warrant at former president Donald Trump's residence in Mar-a-Lago, Palm Beach, Florida.
Federal Bureau of Investigation
2019
An explosion at the State Central Navy Testing Range in Nyonoksa, Russia, kills five people.
Nyonoksa radiation accident
2016
Terrorists attack a government hospital in Quetta, Pakistan with a suicide blast and shooting, killing between 70 and 94 people, and injuring around 130 others.
August 2016 Quetta attacks
2015
Eight people are killed in a shooting in Harris County, Texas.
2015 Harris County shooting
2013
A suicide bombing at a funeral in the Pakistani city of Quetta kills at least 31 people.
August 2013 Quetta bombing
2010
China Floods: A mudslide in Zhugqu County, Gansu, China, kills more than 1,400 people.
2010 China floods
2009
A Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil and Piper PA-32R collide over the Hudson River, killing nine people.
Eurocopter AS350 Écureuil
2008
A EuroCity express train en route from Kraków, Poland to Prague, Czech Republic strikes a part of a motorway bridge that had fallen onto the railroad track near Studénka railway station in the Czech Republic and derails, killing eight people and injuring 64 others.
EuroCity
2008
The 29th modern summer Olympic Games took place in Beijing, China until August 24.
2008 Summer Olympics
2007
An EF2 tornado touches down in Kings County and Richmond County, New York, the most powerful tornado in New York to date and the first in Brooklyn since 1889.
2007 Brooklyn tornado
2007
Space Shuttle program: STS-118 Mission: Endeavour takes off on a mission to the International Space Station.
STS-118
2004
A tour bus belonging to the Dave Matthews Band dumps approximately 800 pounds of human waste onto a boat full of passengers.
Dave Matthews Band
2001
Albanian rebels ambush a convoy of the Army of the Republic of Macedonia near Tetovo, killing 10 soldiers.
Karpalak ambush
2000
Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor and 30 years after its discovery by undersea explorer E. Lee Spence.
H. L. Hunley
1900s
1998
Iranian consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan is raided by Taliban leading to the deaths of ten Iranian diplomats and a journalist.
Mazar-i-Sharif
1993
The 7.8 Mw Guam earthquake shakes the island with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent), causing around $250 million in damage and injuring up to 71 people.
1993 Guam earthquake
1991
The Warsaw radio mast, then the tallest construction ever built, collapses.
Warsaw radio mast
1990
Iraq occupies Kuwait and the state is annexed to Iraq. This would lead to the Gulf War shortly afterward.
Iraq
1989
Space Shuttle program: STS-28 Mission: Space Shuttle Columbia takes off on a secret five-day military mission.
Space Shuttle program
1988
The 8888 Uprising begins in Rangoon (Yangon), Burma (Myanmar). Led by students, hundreds of thousands join in nationwide protests against the one-party regime. On September 18, the demonstrations end in a military crackdown, killing thousands.
8888 Uprising
1988
The first night baseball game in the history of Chicago's Wrigley Field (game was rained out in the fourth inning).
History of Wrigley Field
1974
President Richard Nixon, in a nationwide television address, announces his resignation from the office of the President of the United States effective noon the next day.
Richard Nixon
1973
Kim Dae-jung, a South Korean politician and later president of South Korea, is kidnapped.
Kim Dae-jung
1969
At a zebra crossing in London, photographer Iain Macmillan takes the iconic photo that becomes the cover image of the Beatles' album Abbey Road.
Zebra crossing
1967
The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is founded by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
ASEAN
1963
Great Train Robbery: In England, a gang of 15 train robbers steal £2.6 million in bank notes.
Great Train Robbery (1963)
1963
The Zimbabwe African National Union (ZANU), the current ruling party of Zimbabwe, is formed by a split from the Zimbabwe African People's Union.
Zimbabwe African National Union
1956
Marcinelle mining disaster in Belgium. 262 coal miners, including a substantial number of Italian migrant workers, were killed in one of the largest mining accidents in Belgian history.
Marcinelle mining disaster
1946
First flight of the nuclear capable Convair B-36, heaviest mass-produced piston-engined aircraft at the time.
Convair B-36 Peacemaker
1945
The London Charter is signed by France, the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union and the United States, establishing the laws and procedures for the Nuremberg trials.
Nuremberg trials
1945
World War II: The Soviet Union declares war on Japan.
World War II
1942
Quit India Movement is launched in India against the British rule in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for swaraj or complete independence.
Quit India Movement
1940
The "Aufbau Ost" directive for the mobilization of German forces for the invasion of the Soviet Union is signed by Wilhelm Keitel.
Aufbau Ost (1940)
1929
The German airship Graf Zeppelin begins a round-the-world flight.
LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin
1919
The Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919 is signed. It establishes peaceful relations between Afghanistan and the UK, and confirms the Durand line as the mutual border. In return, the UK is no longer obligated to subsidize the Afghan government.
Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919
1918
World War I: The Battle of Amiens begins a string of almost continuous Allied victories with a push through the German front lines (Hundred Days Offensive).
World War I
1908
Wilbur Wright makes the Wright Brothers' first public flight, at a racecourse at Le Mans, France.
Wright brothers
1903
Black Saturday occurs, killing 12 in a stadium collapse in Philadelphia.
Black Saturday (1903)
1800s
1897
Italian anarchist Michele Angiolillo assassinates Spanish Prime Minister Antonio Cánovas del Castillo
Assassination of Antonio Cánovas del Castillo
1876
Thomas Edison receives a patent for his mimeograph.
Thomas Edison
1870
The Republic of Ploiești, a failed Radical-Liberal rising against Domnitor Carol of Romania.
Republic of Ploiești
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).
American Civil War
1863
Tennessee Military Governor Andrew Johnson frees his personal slaves in Greeneville, Tennessee despite them being exempt from the Emancipation Proclamation, now commemorated as Emancipation Day in the state.
Tennessee
1844
The Quorum of the Twelve Apostles, headed by Brigham Young, is reaffirmed as the leading body of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (LDS Church).
Quorum of the Twelve
1831
Four hundred Shawnee people agree to relinquish their lands in Ohio in exchange for land west of the Mississippi River in the Treaty of Wapakoneta.
Shawnee
Before 1800
1794
Joseph Whidbey leads an expedition to search for the Northwest Passage near Juneau, Alaska.
Joseph Whidbey
1786
Mont Blanc on the French-Italian border is climbed for the first time by Jacques Balmat and Dr. Michel-Gabriel Paccard.
Mont Blanc
1709
Bartolomeu de Gusmão demonstrates the lifting power of hot air in an audience before the king of Portugal in Lisbon, Portugal.
Bartolomeu de Gusmão
1648
Mehmed IV (1648–1687) succeeds Ibrahim I (1640–1648) as Ottoman sultan.
Mehmed IV
1647
The Irish Confederate Wars and Wars of the Three Kingdoms: Battle of Dungan's Hill: English Parliamentary forces defeat Irish forces.
Irish Confederate Wars
1588
Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines: The naval engagement ends, ending the Spanish Armada's attempt to invade England.
Anglo-Spanish War (1585–1604)
1585
John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in search of the Northwest Passage.
John Davis (explorer)
1576
The cornerstone for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory is laid on the island of Hven.
Tycho Brahe
1509
Krishnadeva Raya is crowned Emperor of Vijayanagara at Chittoor.
Krishnadevaraya
1503
King James IV of Scotland marries Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England at Holyrood Abbey in Edinburgh, Scotland.
James IV
1264
Mudéjar revolt: Muslim rebel forces took the Alcázar of Jerez de la Frontera after defeating the Castilian garrison.
Mudéjar revolt of 1264–1266
1220
Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula.
Estonians
870
Treaty of Meerssen: King Louis the German and his half-brother Charles the Bald partition the Middle Frankish Kingdom into two larger east and west divisions.
Treaty of Meerssen
-685
Spring and Autumn period: Battle of Qianshi: Upon the death of the previous Duke of Qi, Gongsun Wuzhi, Duke Zhuang of Lu sends an army into the Duchy of Qi to install the exiled Qi prince Gongzi Jiu as the new Duke of Qi – but is defeated at Qianshi by Jiu's brother and rival claimant, the newly inaugurated Duke Huan of Qi.
Spring and Autumn period