Events, Births and Deaths Happening on this Date
Saturday, August 8, 2026
Today is the 220th day of 2026. There are 145 days left in this year.
Notable Events
1786
Mont Blanc on the French-Italian border is climbed for the first time by Jacques Balmat and Dr. Michel-Gabriel Paccard.
1794
Joseph Whidbey leads an expedition to search for the Northwest Passage near Juneau, Alaska.
1815
Napoleon Bonaparte set sail for St. Helena, in the South Atlantic, to spend the remainder of his days in exile.
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.
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).
1863
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).
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.
1876
Thomas A. Edison received a patent for his mimeograph.
1908
Wilbur Wright makes his first flight at a racecourse at Le Mans, France. It is the Wright Brothers' first public flight.
1942
Six convicted Nazi saboteurs who had landed in the United States were executed in Washington, D.C. Two others received life imprisonment.
1942
Quit India Movement is launched in India against the British rule in response to Mohandas Gandhi's call for swaraj or complete independence.
1945
President Truman signed the United Nations Charter.
1945
The Soviet Union declared war against Japan during World War II.
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.
1946
First flight of the Convair B-36, the world's first mass-produced nuclear weapon delivery vehicle, the heaviest mass-produced piston-engined aircraft, with the longest wingspan of any military aircraft, and the first bomber with intercontinental range.
1953
The United States and South Korea initialed a mutual security pact.
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.
1963
Britain's ''Great Train Robbery'' took place as thieves made off with 2.6 million pounds in banknotes.
1968
Richard M. Nixon was nominated for president at the Republican National Convention in Miami Beach. Later that day, Nixon chose Maryland Gov. Spiro T. Agnew to be his running mate.
1969
At a zebra crossing in London, photographer Iain Macmillan takes the iconic photo that becomes the cover image of the Beatles' album <i>Abbey Road</i>.
1973
Vice President Spiro T. Agnew branded as ''damned lies'' reports he had taken kickbacks from government contracts in Maryland and vowed not to resign. He eventually did resign.
1974
President Nixon announced he would resign following damaging revelations in the Watergate scandal.
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.
1978
The U.S. launched Pioneer Venus II, which carried scientific probes to study the atmosphere of Venus.
1988
U.N. Secretary-General Javier Perez de Cuellar announced a cease-fire between Iran and Iraq.
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.
1990
Iraq occupies Kuwait and the state is annexed to Iraq. This would lead to the Gulf War shortly afterward.
1991
The Warsaw radio mast, then the tallest construction ever built, collapses.
1994
Israel and Jordan opened the first road link between the two once-warring countries.
1998
Iranian consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan is raided by Taliban leading to the deaths of ten Iranian diplomats and a journalist.
2000
Chile's Supreme Court stripped Gen. Augusto Pinochet's immunity, clearing the way for the former dictator to be tried on human rights charges. (An appeals court later ruled Pinochet unfit to stand trial.)
2000
Confederate submarine <i>H.L. Hunley</i> is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor and 30 years after its discovery by undersea explorer E. Lee Spence.
2004
A tour bus belonging to the Dave Matthews Band dumps approximately 800 pounds of human waste onto a boat full of passengers.
2010
A mudslide in Zhugqu County, Gansu, China, kills more than 1,400 people.
2013
A suicide bombing at a funeral in the Pakistani city of Quetta kills at least 31 people.
2015
David Ray Conley III, 48, broke into his former home and held hostage Valerie and Dwayne Jackson, Sr., along with six children, including his own 13-year-old son. Over the course of nine hours, he shot and killed the entire family.
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.
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.
2023
17,000 acres of land are burned and at least 101 people are killed, with 2 others missing, when a series of wildfires break out on the island of Maui in Hawaii.
Notable Births
1879
Bob Smith, was an American physician and surgeon who founded Alcoholics Anonymous with Bill Wilson. (d. 1950)
1919
Dino De Laurentiis was an Italian and naturalized-American film producer. He was one of the producers who brought Italian cinema to the international scene at the end of World War II. He produced or co-produced more than 500 films. (d. 2010)
1921
Esther Williams was an American competitive swimmer and actress. (d. 2013)
1921
William Asher was an American television and film producer, film director, and screenwriter. He was one of the most prolific early television directors, producing or directing over two dozen series. (d. 2012)
1921
Webb Pierce was an American honky-tonk vocalist, songwriter and guitarist of the 1950s, one of the most popular of the genre, charting more number one hits than any other country artist during the decade. (d. 1991)
1922
Rory Calhoun was an American film and television actor. He starred in numerous Westerns in the 1950s and 1960s. (d. 1999)
1932
Mel Tillis was an American country music singer and songwriter. His biggest success occurred in the 1970s as part of the outlaw country movement, with a long list of Top 10 hits. (d. 2017)
1933
Joe Tex, was an American singer and musician who gained success in the 1960s and 1970s with his brand of Southern soul, which mixed the styles of funk, country, gospel, and rhythm and blues. (d. 1982)
1937
Dustin Hoffman is an American actor. As one of the key actors in the formation of New Hollywood, Hoffman is known for his versatile portrayals of antiheroes and emotionally vulnerable characters.
1938
Connie Stevens, American actress and businesswoman
1944
Michael Johnson was an American pop, country, and folk singer-songwriter and guitarist. He is best remembered for his 1978 hit song "Bluer Than Blue". (d. 2017)
1944
John Curtis Holmes, better known as Johnny Wadd, was an American pornographic film actor. He ranks among the most prolific adult film performers, with documented credits for at least 573 films. (d. 1988)
1947
Larry Wilcox is an American actor best known for his role as California Highway Patrol officer Jonathan "Jon" Baker in the television series CHiPs, which ran from 1977 to 1983 on NBC.
1948
Svetlana Yevgenyevna Savitskaya is a Russian former aviator and Soviet cosmonaut who flew aboard Soyuz T-7 in 1982, becoming the second woman in space.
1949
Keith Carradine is an American actor who has had success on stage, film, and television.
1950
Willie Hall is an American drummer best known for his work with Isaac Hayes and as a member of the Blues Brothers band.
1951
Martin Brest is an American film director, screenwriter, and producer. After his feature debut, Going in Style (1979), he directed the action comedies Beverly Hills Cop (1984) and Midnight Run (1988), which were critical and commercial hits.
1952
Robin Quivers is an American radio personality, author, and actress, best known for being the long-running co-host of The Howard Stern Show.
1952
Anton Fig, known as "The Thunder from Down Under", is a South African session drummer, perhaps best known as the drummer and second-in-command for Paul Shaffer and the World's Most Dangerous Band.
1953
Don Most is an American actor and singer, best known for his role as Ralph Malph on the television series Happy Days.
1958
Deborah Norville is an American television journalist and businesswoman. Norville is the anchor of Inside Edition, a syndicated television news magazine, a position she has held since 1995.
1961
Rikki Rockett, is an American drummer for rock band Poison. The band has sold more than 50 million albums worldwide and 15 million records in the United States alone.
1961
The Edge or simply Edge, is an English-born Irish musician, singer, and songwriter. He is best known as the lead guitarist, keyboardist, and backing vocalist of the rock band U2.
1973
Scott Stapp is an American singer, best known as the lead vocalist and lyricist of the rock band Creed. He has also fronted the band Art of Anarchy and has released three solo albums.
1976
Drew Lachey is an American singer and occasional actor. He is known as a member of 98 Degrees, the winner of the second season of Dancing with the Stars, and the younger brother of Nick Lachey.
1981
Roger Federer is a Swiss former professional tennis player. Federer was ranked world No. 1 in singles by the Association of Tennis Professionals (ATP) for 310 weeks, including a record 237 consecutive weeks, and finished as the year-end No. 1 five times.
1986
Jackie Cruz is a Dominican-American actress, singer and former model. She is known for her role as Marisol "Flaca" Gonzales on the Netflix original series Orange Is the New Black.
1992
Casey Cott is an American actor, known for his role as Kevin Keller on The CW series Riverdale.
1998
Shawn Peter Raul Mendes is a Canadian singer-songwriter. He gained a following in 2013, when he posted song covers on the video sharing platform Vine.
Notable Deaths
1950
Fergus McMaster, Australian businessman, founded Qantas (b. 1879)
1974
Elisabeth Abegg was a German educator and resistance fighter against Nazism. She provided shelter to around 80 Jews during the Holocaust and was consequently recognized as Righteous Among the Nations. (b. 1882)
1984
Richard Deacon was an American television and motion picture actor, best known for playing supporting roles in television shows such as The Dick Van Dyke Show, Leave It To Beaver, and The Jack Benny Program. (b. 1921)
1985
Louise Brooks was an American film actress and dancer during the 1920s and 1930s. She is regarded today as an icon of the flapper culture, in part due to the bob hairstyle that she helped popularize during the prime of her career. (b. 1906)
1991
James Irwin was an American astronaut, aeronautical engineer, test pilot, and a United States Air Force pilot. He served as Lunar Module pilot for Apollo 15, the fourth human lunar landing. (b. 1930)
2004
Fay Wray was a Canadian-American actress best known for starring as Ann Darrow in the 1933 film King Kong. Through an acting career that spanned nearly six decades, Wray attained international recognition as an actress in horror films. (b. 1907)
2005
John Harold Johnson was an American businessman and publisher. Johnson was the founder in 1942 of the Johnson Publishing Company, headquartered in Chicago, Illinois. Johnson's company published Ebony and Jet magazines (b. 1918)
2005
Barbara Bel Geddes was an American stage and screen actress, artist, and children's author whose career spanned almost five decades. She was best known for her starring role as Miss Ellie Ewing in the television series Dallas. (b. 1922)
2014
Menahem Golan was an Israeli film producer, screenwriter, and director. He was best known for co-owning The Cannon Group. (b. 1929)
2017
Glen Campbell was an American country singer, guitarist, songwriter, and actor. He was best known for a series of hit songs in the 1960s and 1970s, and for hosting The Glen Campbell Goodtime Hour on CBS television. (b. 1936)
2022
Olivia Newton-John was a British and Australian singer and actress. She was a 4-time Grammy Award winner whose music career included 15 top-ten singles, including 5 number-one singles and two number-one albums. (b. 1948)