On This Day — 8 September

2025

Balçova police station shooting: 4 people, including the perpetrator are killed an attack on a police station in Turkey.

2025 Balçova police station shooting

2023

A magnitude 6.9 earthquake strikes Morocco, killing nearly 3,000 people and damaging historic sites in Marrakesh.

2023 Al Haouz earthquake

2023

The 2023 Rugby World Cup, the tenth men's Rugby World Cup is held in France. The opening ceremony, directed and written by Jean Dujardin, Olivier Ferracci and Nora Matthey, took place at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, before the opening match between France and New Zealand, which saw the host nation winning 27 to 13.

2023 Rugby World Cup

2022

Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom dies at Balmoral Castle in Scotland after reigning for 70 years. Her son Charles, Prince of Wales, ascends the throne upon her death as Charles III.

Elizabeth II

2017

Syrian civil war: The Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) announce the beginning of the Deir ez-Zor campaign, with the stated aim of eliminating the Islamic State (IS) from all areas north and east of the Euphrates.

Syrian civil war

2016

NASA launches OSIRIS-REx, its first asteroid sample return mission. The probe visited 101955 Bennu and returned with samples in September 2023.

OSIRIS-REx

2005

Two Ilyushin Il-76 aircraft from EMERCOM land at a disaster aid staging area at Little Rock Air Force Base; the first time Russia has flown such a mission to North America.

Ilyushin Il-76

2004

NASA's uncrewed spacecraft Genesis crash-lands when its parachute fails to open.

Genesis (spacecraft)

2000

NASA launches Space Shuttle Atlantis on STS-106 to resupply the International Space Station.

Space Shuttle Atlantis

1994

USAir Flight 427, on approach to Pittsburgh International Airport, suddenly crashes in clear weather killing all 132 aboard, resulting in the most extensive aviation investigation in world history and altering manufacturing practices in the industry.

USAir Flight 427

1989

Partnair Flight 394 dives into the North Sea, killing 55 people. The investigation showed that the tail of the plane vibrated loose in flight due to sub-standard connecting bolts that had been fraudulently sold as aircraft-grade.

Partnair Flight 394

1988

Yellowstone National Park is closed for the first time in U.S. history due to ongoing fires.

Yellowstone fires of 1988

1986

Nicholas Daniloff, a correspondent for U.S. News & World Report, is indicted on charges of espionage by the Soviet Union.

Nicholas Daniloff

1978

Black Friday, a massacre by soldiers against protesters in Tehran, results in 88 deaths, it marks the beginning of the end of the monarchy in Iran.

Black Friday (1978)

1975

Gays in the military: US Air Force Tech Sergeant Leonard Matlovich, a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, appears in his Air Force uniform on the cover of Time magazine with the headline "I Am A Homosexual". He is given a general discharge, later upgraded to honorable.

LGBTQ people and military service

1973

World Airways Flight 802 crashes into Mount Dutton in King Cove, Alaska, killing six people.

World Airways Flight 802

1971

In Washington, D.C., the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is inaugurated, with the opening feature being the premiere of Leonard Bernstein's Mass.

Kennedy Center

1970

Trans International Airlines Flight 863 crashes during takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, killing all 11 aboard.

Trans International Airlines Flight 863

1966

The landmark American science fiction television series Star Trek premieres with its first-aired episode, "The Man Trap".

Star Trek: The Original Series

1962

Last run of the famous Pines Express over the Somerset and Dorset Railway line (UK) fittingly using the last steam locomotive built by British Railways, BR Standard Class 9F 92220 Evening Star.

Pines Express

1960

In Huntsville, Alabama, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally dedicates the Marshall Space Flight Center (NASA had already activated the facility on July 1).

Huntsville, Alabama

1954

The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) is established.

Southeast Asia Treaty Organization

1952

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation makes its first televised broadcast on the second escape of the Boyd Gang.

Canadian Broadcasting Corporation

1948

The flag of North Korea is adopted with the passing of the country's first constitution by the Supreme People's Assembly.

Flag of North Korea

1946

A referendum abolishes the monarchy in Bulgaria.

1946 Bulgarian republic referendum

1945

The division of Korea begins when United States troops arrive to partition the southern part of Korea in response to Soviet troops occupying the northern part of the peninsula a month earlier.

Division of Korea

1944

World War II: London is hit by a V-2 rocket for the first time.

V-2 rocket

1943

World War II: The Armistice of Cassibile is proclaimed by radio. OB Süd immediately implements plans to disarm the Italian forces.

Armistice of Cassibile

1941

World War II: German forces begin the Siege of Leningrad.

World War II

1935

US Senator from Louisiana Huey Long is fatally shot in the Louisiana State Capitol building.

Huey Long

1934

Off the New Jersey coast, a fire aboard the passenger liner SS Morro Castle kills 137 people.

SS Morro Castle (1930)

1933

Ghazi bin Faisal became King of Iraq.

Ghazi of Iraq

1926

Germany is admitted to the League of Nations.

Weimar Republic

1925

Rif War: Spanish forces including troops from the Foreign Legion under Colonel Francisco Franco landing at Al Hoceima, Morocco.

Rif War

1923

Honda Point disaster: Nine US Navy destroyers run aground off the California coast. Seven are lost, and twenty-three sailors killed.

Honda Point disaster

1921

Margaret Gorman, a 16-year-old, wins the Atlantic City Pageant's Golden Mermaid trophy; pageant officials later dubbed her the first Miss America.

Margaret Gorman

1916

In a bid to prove that women were capable of serving as military dispatch riders, Augusta and Adeline Van Buren arrive in Los Angeles, completing a 60-day, 5,500 mile cross-country trip on motorcycles.

Van Buren sisters

1914

World War I: Private Thomas Highgate becomes the first British soldier to be executed for desertion during the war.

World War I

1905

The 7.2 Mw  Calabria earthquake shakes southern Italy with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing between 557 and 2,500 people.

1905 Calabria earthquake

1900

Galveston hurricane: A powerful hurricane hits Galveston, Texas killing about 8,000 people.

1900 Galveston hurricane

1898

Seven hundred Greek civilians, 17 British guards and the British Consul of Crete are killed by a Turkish mob.

Candia massacre

1892

The Pledge of Allegiance is first recited.

Pledge of Allegiance

1888

Isaac Peral's submarine is first tested.

Spanish submarine Peral

1888

The Great Herding (Spanish: El Gran Arreo) begins with thousands of sheep being herded from the Argentine outpost of Fortín Conesa to Santa Cruz near the Strait of Magellan.

Patagonian sheep farming boom

1888

In London, the body of Jack the Ripper's second murder victim, Annie Chapman, is found.

Annie Chapman

1888

In England, the first six Football League matches are played.

English Football League

1883

The Northern Pacific Railway (reporting mark NP) was completed in a ceremony at Gold Creek, Montana. Former president Ulysses S. Grant drove in the final "golden spike" in an event attended by rail and political luminaries.

Northern Pacific Railway

1863

American Civil War: In the Second Battle of Sabine Pass, a small Confederate force thwarts a Union invasion of Texas.

American Civil War

1862

Millennium of Russia monument is unveiled in Novgorod.

Millennium of Russia

1860

The steamship PS Lady Elgin sinks on Lake Michigan, with the loss of around 300 lives.

Steamship

1855

Crimean War: The French assault the tower of Malakoff, leading to the capture of Sevastopol.

Crimean War

1831

William IV and Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen are crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.

William IV

1831

November uprising: The Battle of Warsaw effectively ends the Polish insurrection.

November Uprising

1819

1819 Balloon riot occurred at Vauxhall Garden in Philadelphia, PA and resulted in the destruction of the amusement park.

1819 Balloon riot

1813

At the final stage of the Peninsular War, British-Portuguese troops capture the town of Donostia (now San Sebastián), resulting in a rampage and eventual destruction of the town.

Peninsular War

1810

The Tonquin sets sail from New York Harbor with 33 employees of John Jacob Astor's newly created Pacific Fur Company on board.

Tonquin (1807 ship)

1808

The Treaty of Paris is signed ending the French military occupation of Prussia.

Treaty of Paris (1808)

1796

French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of Bassano: French forces defeat Austrian troops at Bassano del Grappa.

Battle of Bassano

1793

French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of Hondschoote.

French Revolutionary Wars

1781

American Revolutionary War: The Battle of Eutaw Springs in South Carolina, the war's last significant battle in the Southern theater, ends in a narrow British tactical victory.

American Revolutionary War

1775

The unsuccessful Rising of the Priests in Malta.

Rising of the Priests

1761

Marriage of King George III of the United Kingdom to Duchess Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz.

George III

1760

French and Indian War: French surrender Montreal to the British, completing the latter's conquest of New France.

Montreal campaign

1756

French and Indian War: Kittanning Expedition.

Kittanning Expedition

1755

French and Indian War: Battle of Lake George.

French and Indian War

1727

A barn fire during a puppet show in the village of Burwell in Cambridgeshire, England kills 78 people, many of whom are children.

Burwell, Cambridgeshire

1655

Warsaw falls without resistance to a small force under the command of Charles X Gustav of Sweden during The Deluge, making it the first time the city is captured by a foreign army.

Warsaw

1565

St. Augustine, Florida is founded by Spanish admiral and Florida's first governor, Pedro Menéndez de Avilés.

St. Augustine, Florida

1522

Magellan–Elcano circumnavigation: Victoria arrives at Seville, completing the first circumnavigation.

Magellan expedition

1514

Battle of Orsha: In one of the biggest battles of the century, Lithuanians and Poles defeat the Russian army.

Battle of Orsha

1504

Michelangelo's David is unveiled in Piazza della Signoria in Florence.

David (Michelangelo)

1380

Battle of Kulikovo: Russian forces defeat a mixed army of Tatars and Mongols, stopping their advance.

Battle of Kulikovo

1334

The Battle of Adramyttion begins in which a Christian naval league defeats a Turkish fleet in several encounters.

Battle of Adramyttion (1334)

1331

Stefan Dušan declares himself king of Serbia.

Stefan Dušan

1276

Pope John XXI is elected Pope.

Pope John XXI

1264

The Statute of Kalisz, guaranteeing Jews safety and personal liberties and giving battei din jurisdiction over Jewish matters, is promulgated by Bolesław the Pious, Duke of Greater Poland.

Statute of Kalisz

1253

Pope Innocent IV canonises Stanislaus of Szczepanów, who was killed by King Bolesław II.

Pope Innocent IV

1198

Philip of Swabia, Prince of Hohenstaufen, is crowned King of Germany (King of the Romans)

Philip of Swabia

1100

Election of Antipope Theodoric.

Antipope Theodoric

617

Battle of Huoyi: Li Yuan defeats a Sui dynasty army, opening the path to his capture of the imperial capital Chang'an and the eventual establishment of the Tang dynasty.

Battle of Huoyi

70

After the capture of Herod's Palace the previous day, a Roman army under Titus secures and plunders the city of Jerusalem.

AD 70