February 8

Events

• 421 - Constantius III becomes co-Emperor of the Western Roman Empire
• 1587 - Mary, Queen of Scots is executed.
• 1622 - King James I of England disbands the English Parliament
• 1692 - Salem Witch Trials begin, as a doctor declares that three teenaged girls are under domination of Satan
• 1693 - The College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia is granted a charter.
• 1807 - Battle of Eylau - Napoleon defeats Russians under General Benigssen
• 1837 - Richard Johnson becomes the first Vice President of the United States chosen by the United States Senate
• 1861 - American Civil War: The Confederate States of America are formed. Jefferson Davis is selected as first president.
• 1900 - British troops are defeated by Boers at Ladysmith[?], South Africa
• 1904 - Russo-Japanese War: Japanese surprise attack at Port Arthur[?], Manchuria, starting the war
• 1910 - The Boy Scouts of America is incorporated by William D. Boyce[?].
• 1915 - The controversial film The Birth of a Nation by D.W. Griffith premieres (Los Angeles, California.
• 1918 - The Stars and Stripes newspaper publishes for the first time
• 1922 - President Warren G. Harding introduces the first radio in the White House.
• 1924 - Death penalty: The first state execution using gas in the United States takes place in Nevada.
• 1936 - Jay Berwanger becomes the first person to be selected by a National Football League draft, by the Philadelphia Eagles.
• 1943 - World War II: Battle of Kursk - the Russian army captures the city
• 1943 - World War II: Battle of Guadalcanal - United States forces defeat Japanese troops.
• 1945 - World War II: United States bombs Dresden, Germany with fire-bombs 135 000 death.
• 1949 - Cardinal Mindszenty[?] of Hungary sentenced for treason
• 1963 - Travel, financial and commercial transactions by United States citizens to Cuba are made illegal by the John F. Kennedy administration.
• 1968 - American civil rights movement: A civil rights protest staged at a white-only bowling alley[?] in Orangeburg, South Carolina is broken-up by highway patrolmen leading to the deaths of three college students.
• 1969 - The last issue of the Saturday Evening Post[?] hits magazine stands.
• 1971 - A new stock-market index[?] called the Nasdaq debuts.
• 1974 - After 84 days in space, the crew of the temporary American space station Skylab return to Earth
• 1978 - Proceedings of the United States Senate are broadcasted on radio for the first time.
• 1984 - 1984 Winter Olympics open in Saravejo[?]
• 1985 - After 6-1/2 years, the television series The Dukes of Hazzard goes off the air.
• 1993 - General Motors sues NBC after Dateline NBC[?] allegedly rigged two crashes showing that some GM pickups can easily catch fire if hit in certain places. NBC settled the lawsuit the next day.
• 2002 - opening ceremony of the Salt Lake City Winter Olympic Games.

Births

• 1820 - William Tecumseh Sherman, soldier (+ 1891)
• 1828 - Jules Verne, author (+ 1905)
• 1850 - Kate Chopin, author (+ 1904)
• 1878 - Martin Buber, philosopher
• 1880 - Franz Marc, painter and graphic artist, co-founder of Blauer Reiter[?] (+ 1916)
• 1886 - Charles Ruggles[?], actor (+ 1970)
• 1894 - Ludwig Marcuse[?], author and philosopher (+ 1971)
• 1895 - King Vidor, director (+ 1982)
• 1902 - Lyle Talbot[?], actor (+ 1996)
• 1908 - Emil Staiger[?], scientist of literature (+ 1987)
• 1911 - Elizabeth Bishop, poet, Pulitzer Prize winner (+ 1979)
• 1918 - Fred Blassie, former professional wrestler (+ 2003)
• 1920 - Lana Turner, actress (+ 1995)
• 1925 - Jack Lemmon, actor and film director (+ 2001)
• 1931 - James Dean, actor (+ 1955)
• 1932 - John Williams, composer, conductor
• 1937 - Manfred Krug[?], actor
• 1940 - Ted Koppel, journalist
• 1941 - Nick Nolte, actor
• 1953 - Mary Steenburgen, actress
• 1955 - John Grisham, novelist
• 1957 - Cindy Wilson[?], singer, of The B-52s[?]
• 1968 - Gary Coleman, actor
• 1974 - Seth Green, actor
• 1988 - M.Apple[?], Leader Of Band Revolution

Deaths

• 1587 - Mary, Queen of Scots
• 1725 - Tsar Peter I of Russia
• 1921 - Peter Kropotkin, Russian anarchist
• 1929 - Maria Christina, Queen Regent of Spain
• 1956 - Connie Mack[?], baseball executive, coach
• 1957 - John von Neumann, mathematician, quantum physicist
• 1985 - Sir William Lyons[?], founder of Jaguar Motors
• 1990 - Del Shannon, entertainer (suicide)
• 1999 - Iris Murdoch, author

Holidays and observances

• Catholicism - Feast day of St Jerome Emiliani[?].

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