September 8
September 8 is the 251st day of the year (252nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 114 days remain until the end of the year.
Events
- 70 - Roman forces under Titus sack Jerusalem.
- 1264 - The Statute of Kalisz, guaranteeing Jews safety and personal liberties and giving battei din jurisdiction over Jewish matters, is promulgated by Boleslaus the Pious, Duke of Greater Poland.
- 1331 - Stefan Dušan declares himself king of Serbia
- 1380 - Battle of Kulikovo - Russian forces defeat a mixed army of Tatars and Mongols, stopping their advance.
- 1449 - Battle of Tumu Fortress - Mongolians capture the Chinese emperor.
- 1504 - Michelangelo's David is unveiled in Florence.
- 1514 - Battle of Orsha - in one of the biggest battles of the century, Lithuanians and Poles defeat the Russian army.
- 1565 - Pedro Menéndez de Avilés settles St. Augustine, Florida.
- 1565 - The Knights of Malta lift the Turkish siege of Malta that started on May 18.
- 1727 - A barn fire during a puppet show in the village of Burwell in Cambridgeshire, England kills 78 people, many of whom are children.
- 1755 - French and Indian War: Battle of Lake George.
- 1756 - French and Indian War: Kittanning Expedition.
- 1761 - Marriage of George III of the United Kingdom to Charlotte of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (Queen Charlotte).
- 1793 - French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of Hondschoote.
- 1796 - French Revolutionary Wars: Battle of Bassano - French forces defeat Austrian troops at Bassano del Grappa.
- 1810 - The Tonquin sets sail from New York Harbor with 33 employees of John Jacob Astor's newly created Pacific Fur Company on board. After a six-month journey around the tip of South America, the ship arrives at the mouth of the Columbia River and Astor's men establish the fur-trading town of Astoria, Oregon.
- 1831 - William IV is crowned King of Great Britain.
- 1863 - American Civil War: Second Battle of Sabine Pass - on the Texas-Louisiana border at the mouth of the Sabine River, a small Confederate force thwarts a Union invasion of Texas.
- 1888 - In London, the body of Jack the Ripper's second murder victim, Annie Chapman, is found.
- 1888 - In England the first six Football League matches ever are played.
- 1900 - Galveston Hurricane of 1900: a powerful hurricane hits Galveston, Texas killing about 8,000 people.
- 1914 - World War I: Private Thomas Highgate becomes the first British soldier to be executed for desertion during the war.
- 1921 - 16-year-old Margaret Gorman wins the Atlantic City Pageant's Golden Mermaid trophy; pageant officials later dubbed her the first Miss America.
- 1923 - Honda Point Disaster: nine US Navy destroyers run aground off the California coast. Seven are lost.
- 1926 - Germany was admitted to the League of Nations.
- 1930 - 3M begins marketing Scotch transparent tape.
- 1934 - Off the New Jersey coast, a fire aboard the passenger liner SS Morro Castle kills 135 people.
- 1935 - US Senator from Louisiana, Huey Long, nicknamed "Kingfish", is fatally shot in the Louisiana capitol building.
- 1941 - World War II: Siege of Leningrad begins. German forces begin a siege against the Soviet Union's second-largest city, Leningrad.
- 1943 - World War II: The O.B.S. (German General Headquarters for the Mediterranean zone) in Frascati is bombed by USAAF.
- 1943 - World War II: United States General Dwight D. Eisenhower publicly announces the Allied armistice with Italy.
- 1944 - World War II: London is hit by a V2 rocket for the first time.
- 1944 - World War II: Menton is liberated from Germany.
- 1945 - Cold War: 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.
- 1951 - Treaty of San Francisco: In San Francisco, California, 48 nations sign a peace treaty with Japan in formal recognition of the end of the Pacific War.
- 1954 - The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) is established.
- 1959 - The Asian Institute of Technology (AIT) is established.
- 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).
- 1962 - Newly independent Algeria, by referendum, adopts a Constitution.
- 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, 9F locomotive 92220 'Evening Star'
- 1966 - The Severn Bridge is officially opened by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II
- 1966 - The first Star Trek series premieres on NBC.
- 1967 - The formal end of steam traction in the North East of England by British Railways.
- 1968 - The Beatles perform their last live TV performance on the David Frost show. They perform their new hit Hey Jude.
- 1970 - Hijacking (and subsequent destruction) of three airliners to Jordan by Palestinians; the events to follow would later become known as Black September
- 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.
- 1974 - Watergate Scandal: US President Gerald Ford pardons former President Richard Nixon for any crimes Nixon may have committed while in office.
- 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 later given a general discharge.
- 1991 - Republic of Macedonia becomes independent.
- 1994 - A USAir Boeing 737 crashes in Hopewell Township, Pennsylvania, near the city of Aliquippa.
- 1999 - United States Attorney General Janet Reno names former Senator John Danforth to head an independent investigation of the 1993 fire at the Branch Davidian church near Waco, Texas in response to revelations in the film Waco: The Rules of Engagement contradicting the official government stories.
- 2004 - The NASA unmanned spacecraft Genesis crash-lands when its parachute fails to open.
- 2005 - Two EMERCOM Il-76 aircraft 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.
Births
- 801 - Ansgar, German Catholic archbishop (d. 865)
- 828 - Ali al-Hadi, Shia Imam (d. 868)
- 1157 - King Richard I of England (d. 1199)
- 1207 - King Sancho II of Portugal (d. 1248)
- 1271 - Charles Martel d'Anjou, son of Charles II of Naples (d. 1295)
- 1380 - Saint Bernardino of Siena, Italian Franciscan missionary (d. 1444)
- 1474 - Ludovico Ariosto, Italian poet (d. 1533)
- 1515 - Alfonso Salmeron, Spanish Jesuit biblical scholar (d. 1585)
- 1588 - Marin Mersenne, French mathematician (d. 1648)
- 1611 - Johann Friedrich Gronovius, German classical scholar (d. 1671)
- 1621 - Louis II de Bourbon, Prince de Condé, French general (d. 1686)
- 1633 - Ferdinand IV of Germany (d. 1654)
- 1672 - Nicolas de Grigny, French organist and composer (d. 1703)
- 1749 - Gabrielle de Polastron, duchesse de Polignac, French aristocrat (d. 1793)
- 1749 - Marie-Louise, Princesse de Lamballe, French aristocrat (d. 1792)
- 1778 - Clemens Brentano, German poet (d. 1842)
- 1783 - Nicolai Grundtvig, Danish writer and philosopher (d. 1872)
- 1804 - Eduard Mörike, German poet (d. 1875)
- 1814 - Charles-Étienne Brasseur de Bourbourg, French writer and historian (d. 1874)
- 1824 - Jaime Nunó, Spanish composer (d. 1908)
- 1828 - Joshua Lawrence Chamberlain, American Civil War soldier (d. 1914)
- 1828 - Clarence Cook, American writer and art critic (d. 1900)
- 1830 - Frédéric Mistral, French poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1914)
- 1841 - Antonín Dvořák, Czech composer (d. 1904)
- 1841 - Charles J. Guiteau, American assassin of James A. Garfield (d. 1882)
- 1852 - Emperor Gwangmu of Korea (d. 1919)
- 1857 - Georg Michaelis, Chancellor of Germany (d. 1936)
- 1873 - Alfred Jarry, French absurdist playwright (d. 1907)
- 1873 - David O. McKay, ninth president of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (d. 1970)
- 1881 - Harry Hillman, American athlete (d. 1945)
- 1884 - Théodore Pilette, Belgian racing driver (d. 1921)
- 1886 - Siegfried Sassoon, English poet (d. 1967)
- 1887 - Prince George of Yugoslavia (d. 1972)
- 1889 - Robert Alphonso Taft, U.S. Senator from Ohio (d. 1953)
- 1895 - Sara García, Mexican actress (d. 1980)
- 1896 - Howard Dietz, American lyricist and librettist (d. 1983)
- 1897 - Jimmie Rodgers, American singer and composer (d. 1933)
- 1901 - Hendrik Frensch Verwoerd, Prime Minister of South Africa (d. 1966)
- 1910 - Jean-Louis Barrault, French actor and director (d. 1994)
- 1914 - Sir Denys Lasdun, English architect (d. 2001)
- 1915 - Frank Cady, American actor
- 1915 - Frank Pullen, English business person and racehorse owner (d.1992)
- 1918 - Derek Harold Richard Barton, British chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
- 1919 - Gianni Brera, (Giovanni Luigi Brera), Italian journalist and writer (d. 1992)
- 1921 - Harry Secombe, Welsh entertainer (d. 2001)
- 1922 - Sid Caesar, American comedian
- 1922 - Lyndon LaRouche, American politician
- 1924 - Mimi Parent, Canadian painter (d. 2005)
- 1924 - Marie-Claire Kirkland, Quebec politician
- 1924 - Grace Metalious, American novelist (d. 1964)
- 1925 - Peter Sellers, English actor (d. 1980)
- 1927 - Harlan Howard, American country music songwriter (d. 2002)
- 1929 - Christoph von Dohnanyi, German conductor
- 1929 - Roger Byrne, English footballer (d. 1958
- 1930 - Nguyen Cao Ky, Premier of South Vietnam
- 1930 - Mario Adorf, film and stage actor
- 1930 - Robert W. Firestone, Author, Artist, Clinical Psychologist
- 1931 - John Garrett, British politician (d. 2007)
- 1932 - Patsy Cline, American singer (d. 1963)
- 1933 - Asha Bhonsle, Indian singer
- 1933 - Paul M. Fleiss, American pediatrician; father of Heidi Fleiss
- 1933 - Michael Frayn, British playwright
- 1933 - Eric Salzman, American composer
- 1934 - Rodrigue Biron, Canadian politician
- 1934 - Peter Maxwell Davies, British composer
- 1937 - Barbara Frum, Canadian news anchor (d. 1992)
- 1937 - Virna Lisi, Italian actress
- 1937 - Sam Nunn, American politician
- 1938 - Kenichi Horie, Japanese adventurer
- 1939 - Carsten Keller, German field hockey player
- 1939 - Guitar Shorty, American musician
- 1940 - Quentin L. Cook, LDS apostle
- 1941 - Bernie Sanders, American politician
- 1942 - Brian Cole, American musician (The Association) (d. 1972)
- 1943 - Adelaide C. Eckardt, American politician
- 1944 - Terry Jenner, Australian cricketer
- 1945 - Ron Pigpen McKernan, American musician (Grateful Dead) (d. 1973)
- 1945 - Rogie Vachon, Canadian ice hockey goaltender
- 1946 - L.C. Greenwood, American football player
- 1947 - Ann Beattie, American writer
- 1947 - Valery Afanassiev, Russian pianist
- 1948 - Jean-Pierre Monseré, Belgian cyclist (d. 1971)
- 1950 - Zachary Richard, Louisiana singer and songwriter
- 1950 - Mike Simpson, American politician
- 1951 - Nikos Karvelas, Greek composer
- 1954 - Anne Diamond, English television presenter
- 1954 - Mark Foley, American politician
- 1956 - Frank Tovey, British musician (d. 2002)
- 1956 - Maurice Cheeks, American basketball player and coach
- 1957 - Heather Thomas, American actress
- 1958 - Michael Lardie, American musician
- 1958 - Mitsuru Miyamoto, Japanese voice actor
- 1959 - Daler Nazarov, Tajik composer and actor
- 1960 - Aimee Mann, American musician
- 1960 - Stefano Casiraghi, Italian businessman; husband of Princess Caroline of Monaco (d. 1990)
- 1960 - David Steele, English musician
- 1960 - Aguri Suzuki, Japanese racing driver
- 1961 - Paul Zanetti, Australian political cartoonist
- 1962 - Sergio Casal, Spanish tennis player
- 1962 - Christopher Klim, American novelist
- 1962 - Thomas Kretschmann, German actor
- 1963 - Li Ning, Chinese gymnast
- 1963 - Brad Silberling, American television and film director
- 1963 - Hitoshi Matsumoto, Japanese comedian
- 1964 - Michael Johns, American business executive
- 1964 - Scott Levy, American professional wrestler
- 1964 - Joachim Nielsen, Norwegian musician (d. 2000)
- 1966 - Carola, Swedish singer
- 1966 - Peter Furler, musician (Newsboys)
- 1967 - Kimberly Peirce, American film director
- 1969 - Gary Speed, Welsh footballer
- 1969 - Oswaldo Ibarra, Ecuadorian footballer
- 1969 - Lars Bohinen, Norwegian footballer
- 1970 - Neko Case, American musician
- 1970 - Latrell Sprewell, American basketball player
- 1970 - Yuji Nishizawa, Japanese hijacker
- 1971 - Brooke Burke, American model
- 1971 - Daniel Petrov, Bulgarian boxer
- 1971 - David Arquette, American actor
- 1971 - Martin Freeman, English actor
- 1971 - Pierre Sévigny, French-Canadian ice hockey player
- 1972 - Markus Babbel, German footballer
- 1972 - Os du Randt, South African rugby player
- 1972 - Giovanni Frezza, Italian actor
- 1972 - Lisa Kennedy, American television personality
- 1972 - Tomokazu Seki, Japanese voice actor
- 1972 - Phil Laak, Ireland-born professional poker player
- 1973 - Khamis Al-Owairan, Saudi Arabian footballer
- 1974 - Braulio Luna, Mexican footballer
- 1974 - Tanaz Eshaghian, Iranian-born American documentarian
- 1975 - Richard Hughes, English musician (Keane)
- 1975 - Elena Likhovtseva, Russian tennis player
- 1975 - Larenz Tate, American Actor
- 1975 - Lee Eul-Yong, South Korean footballer
- 1976 - Sjeng Schalken, Dutch former tennis player
- 1976 - Gerald Drummond, Costa Rican footballer
- 1976 - Jervis Drummond, Costa Rican footballer
- 1976 - Brendan Kelly, American musician (The Lawrence Arms)
- 1976 - Sarah Kucserka, American screenwriter
- 1977 - Jay McKee, Canadian hockey player
- 1978 - Gerard Autet, Spanish footballer
- 1978 - Gil Meche, American baseball player
- 1979 - Pink, American singer
- 1980 - Teruyuki Moniwa, Japanese footballer
- 1981 - Morten Gamst Pedersen, Norwegian footballer
- 1981 - Jonathan Taylor Thomas, American actor
- 1983 - Wali Lundy, American football player
- 1983 - Diego Benaglio, Swiss-Italian footballer
- 1983 - Will Blalock, American basketball player
- 1983 - Chris Judd, Australian football player
- 1983 - Lewis Roberts-Thompson, Australian football player
- 1984 - Vitaly Petrov, Russian racing driver
- 1984 - Peter Whittingham, English footballer
- 1985 - Yendi Phillips, Jamaican beauty pageant contestant
- 1986 - João Moutinho, Sporting Lisbon midfielder
- 1986 - Matt Grothe, American football player
- 1988 - Caitlin Hill, Australian internet personality
- 1988 - Arrelious Benn, American football player
- 1988 - Chantal Jones, American fashion model
- 1990 - Matt Barkley, American football player
- 1996 - Krystal Reyes, Filipina actress
- 1997 - Kimberlea Berg, English actress
Deaths
- 701 - Pope Sergius I
- 780 - Leo IV, Byzantine Emperor
- 1397 - Thomas of Woodstock, 1st Duke of Gloucester.
- 1425 - King Charles III of Navarre (b. 1361)
- 1539 - John Stokesley, English churchman
- 1560 - Amy Robsart, English noblewoman (b. 1534)
- 1603 - George Carey, 2nd Baron Hunsdon, English politician (b. 1547)
- 1613 - Carlo Gesualdo, Italian composer (b. 1566)
- 1637 - Robert Fludd, English mystic (b. 1574)
- 1645 - John Coke, English politician (b. 1563)
- 1644 - Francis Quarles, English poet (b. 1592)
- 1645 - Francisco de Quevedo, Spanish writer (b. 1580)
- 1656 - Joseph Hall, English bishop and writer (b. 1574)
- 1675 - Amalia of Solms-Braunfels, countess of Solms-Braunfels (b. 1602)
- 1682 - Juan Caramuel y Lobkowitz, Spanish writer (b. 1606)
- 1721 - Michael Brokoff, Czech sculptor (b. 1686)
- 1739 - Yuri Troubetzkoy, Governor of Belgorod (b. 1668)
- 1755 - Ephraim Williams, American philanthropist (b. 1715)
- 1761 - Bernard Forest de Bélidor, French engineer (b. 1698)
- 1780 - Enoch Poor, American Continental Army general (b. 1736)
- 1784 - Ann Lee, American religious leader (b. 1736)
- 1811 - Peter Simon Pallas, German zoologist (b. 1741)
- 1831 - John Aitken, Scottish-born music publisher (b. 1745)
- 1853 - Frédéric Ozanam, founder of the Society of Saint Vincent de Paul (b. 1813)
- 1882 - Joseph Liouville, French mathematician (b. 1809)
- 1888 - Annie Chapman, widely believed to be the second victim of Jack the Ripper (b. 1841)
- 1894 - Hermann von Helmholtz, German physician (b. 1821)
- 1933 - King Faysal I of Iraq (b. 1883)
- 1943 - Julius Fucik, Czech journalist (executed) (b. 1903)
- 1948 - Thomas Mofolo, Lesotho writer (b. 1876)
- 1949 - Richard Strauss, German composer (b. 1864)
- 1965 - Dorothy Dandridge, American actress (b. 1922)
- 1965 - Hermann Staudinger, German chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1881)
- 1969 - Bud Collyer, American television game show host (b. 1908)
- 1969 - Alexandra David-Néel, French explorer and writer (b. 1868)
- 1970 - Percy Spencer, inventor of the microwave oven, (b. 1894)
- 1977 - Zero Mostel, American actor (b. 1915)
- 1979 - Jean Seberg, American actress (b. 1938)
- 1980 - Willard Libby, American chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1908)
- 1981 - Roy Wilkins, American civil rights activist (b. 1901)
- 1981 - Hideki Yukawa, Japanese physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1907)
- 1983 - Antonin Magne, French cyclist (b. 1904)
- 1985 - John Franklin Enders, American scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1887)
- 1991 - Alex North, American composer (b. 1910)
- 1999 - Moondog, American composer, musician and poet (b. 1916)
- 2002 - Laurie Williams, West Indian cricketer (b. 1968)
- 2003 - Jaclyn Linetsky, Canadian voice actress (b. 1986)
- 2003 - Leni Riefenstahl, German film director (b. 1902)
- 2004 - Frank Thomas, American animator (b. 1913)
- 2005 - Noel Cantwell, Irish cricketer and footballer (b. 1932)
- 2006 - Hilda Bernstein, English-born South African author, artist, and activist (b. 1915)
- 2006 - Peter Brock, Australian racecar driver (b. 1945)
- 2006 - Frank Middlemass, actor (b. 1919)
- 2006 - Erk Russell, American football coach (b. 1923)
- 2007 - Ramón Cardemil, Chilean huaso (b. 1917)
- 2008 - Evan Tanner, UFC Champion
Holidays and observances
- 1551 - The foundation day in Vitória, Brazil
- Andorra - National day: Mare de Deu de Meritxell.
- Bahá'í Faith - Feast of 'Izzat (Might) - First day of the tenth month of the Bahá'í calendar.
- Macedonia - Independence day (from Yugoslavia, 1991).
- Malta - Feast of Our Lady of Victories (il-Vittorja); anniversary of the 1565 victory of the Knights of Malta over the Ottoman Empire; anniversary of the 1943 surrender of Italy to the Allied forces, marking the end of World War II hostilities on Malta.
- Fiestas de Santa Fe in New Mexico, USA.
- International Literacy Day
- Rhodri Day in Jersey, Channel Islands
- Adrian and Natalia of Nicomedia
- Birth of Mary (mother of Jesus)
- Pope Sergius I