Vintage News · Odd history for February 8

What Happened On February 8

Q: What happened on February 8?

1885: The first Japanese immigrants arrive in Hawaii. 1879: Sandford Fleming first proposes the adoption of Universal Standard Time at a meeting of the Royal Canadian Institute. 1879: England's cricket team, led by Lord Harris, is attacked in a riot during a match in Sydney. 1865: Delaware refuses to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, delaying the criminalization of slavery until the amendment's national adoption on December 6, 1865. The amendment is ultimately ratified by Delaware on February 12, 1901, the 92nd anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth. 1837: Richard Johnson becomes the first and only Vice President of the United States chosen by the Senate. 1983: The Irish-bred race horse Shergar was stolen by gunmen, who demanded a £2 million ransom. 1960: The official groundbreaking of the Walk of Fame took place in Hollywood, Los Angeles, in California. 1948: The closing ceremony of the first Olympics held after World War II was held in St. Moritz, Switzerland. 1924: Gee Jon became the first person in the United States to be executed by lethal gas. 1879: Angered by a controversial umpiring decision, cricket spectators rioted and attacked the England team during a match in Sydney, Australia.

41 events and 171 births, refreshed daily. OddlyTrue's own archive for 8 February →

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10 odd things that happened on February 8

1885 First ever
The first Japanese immigrants arrive in Hawaii.
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Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1879 First ever
Sandford Fleming first proposes the adoption of Universal Standard Time at a meeting of the Royal Canadian Institute.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1879 Oddly true
England's cricket team, led by Lord Harris, is attacked in a riot during a match in Sydney.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1865 Weird
Delaware refuses to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, delaying the criminalization of slavery until the amendment's national adoption on December 6, 1865. The amendment is ultimately ratified by Delaware on February 12, 1901, the 92nd anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1837 First ever
Richard Johnson becomes the first and only Vice President of the United States chosen by the Senate.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1983 Oddly true
The Irish-bred race horse Shergar was stolen by gunmen, who demanded a £2 million ransom.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1960 Oddly true
The official groundbreaking of the Walk of Fame took place in Hollywood, Los Angeles, in California.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1948 First ever
The closing ceremony of the first Olympics held after World War II was held in St. Moritz, Switzerland.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1924 First ever
Gee Jon became the first person in the United States to be executed by lethal gas.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0
1879 Oddly true
Angered by a controversial umpiring decision, cricket spectators rioted and attacked the England team during a match in Sydney, Australia.
Read more →
Source: Wikipedia · CC BY-SA 4.0

Observed today

2023Two children are killed and six others are injured when a bus crashes into a daycare centre in Laval, Quebec, Canada. The driver is arrested and charged with homicide and dangerous driving. Wikipedia →
2020A soldier opens fire in a military camp and a shopping center in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, killing 29 people and injuring 58 others before being shot dead by police the next day. It is considered the deadliest mass shooting in the country's history. Wikipedia →
2014A hotel fire in Medina, Saudi Arabia, kills 15 Egyptian pilgrims with 130 others injured. Wikipedia →
2013A blizzard kills at least 18 and leaves hundreds of thousands of people without electricity in the northeastern United States and parts of Canada. Wikipedia →
2010Over 2 miles (3.2 km) of road are buried after a storm in the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan triggers a series of avalanches, killing at least 172 people and trapping over 2,000 others. Wikipedia →
1993An Iran Air Tours Tupolev Tu-154 and an Iranian Air Force Sukhoi Su-24 collide mid-air near Qods, Iran, killing all 133 people on board both aircraft. Wikipedia →
1989Independent Air Flight 1851 strikes Pico Alto mountain while on approach to Santa Maria Airport in the Azores, killing all 144 passengers on board. Wikipedia →
1986Twenty-three people are killed when a VIA Rail passenger train collides with a Canadian National freight train near the town of Hinton, Alberta, making it one of the worst rail accidents in Canada. Wikipedia →
1983A dust storm hits Melbourne, resulting in the worst drought on record and severe weather conditions in the city. Wikipedia →
1974The crew of Skylab 4, the last mission to visit the American space station Skylab, returns to Earth after 84 days in space. Wikipedia →
1971South Vietnamese ground troops launch an incursion into Laos to try to cut off the Ho Chi Minh trail and stop communist infiltration into the country. Wikipedia →
1968American civil rights movement: An attack on Black students from South Carolina State University who are protesting racial segregation leaves three dead and 28 injured in Orangeburg, South Carolina. Wikipedia →
1965Eastern Air Lines Flight 663 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean and explodes, killing all 84 people on board. Wikipedia →
1963The regime of Prime Minister of Iraq Abd al-Karim Qasim is overthrown by the Ba'ath Party. Wikipedia →
1962Nine protestors are killed at Charonne station, Paris, by French police under the command of ex-Vichy official and Parisian Prefect of Police Maurice Papon. Wikipedia →
1960Queen Elizabeth II issues an Order-in-Council, proclaiming the House of Windsor and declaring that her descendants will take the name Mountbatten-Windsor. Wikipedia →
1950The Stasi, the secret police of East Germany, is established. Wikipedia →
1946The People's Republic of Korea is dissolved in the North and replaced by the communist-controlled Provisional People's Committee of North Korea. Wikipedia →
1945World War II: British and Canadian forces commence Operation Veritable to occupy land between the Maas and Rhine rivers. Wikipedia →
1945World War II: Mikhail Devyataev escapes with nine other Soviet POWs from a Nazi concentration camp in Peenemünde, Usedom. Wikipedia →
1942World War II: Japan invades Singapore. Wikipedia →
1937Spanish Civil War: Republican forces establish the Interprovincial Council of Santander, Palencia and Burgos in Cantabria. Wikipedia →
1924The first state execution in the United States by gas chamber takes place in Nevada. Wikipedia →
1910The Boy Scouts of America is incorporated by William D. Boyce. Wikipedia →
1904Japanese forces launch a surprise attack against Russian-controlled Port Arthur, marking the start of the Russo-Japanese war. Wikipedia →
1904The Dutch Colonial Army's Marechaussee regiment led by General G.C.E. van Daalen launch a military campaign in the Dutch East Indies' Northern Sumatra region, leading to the deaths of thousands of civilians. Wikipedia →
1887The Dawes Act is enacted, authorizing the U.S. President to divide Native American tribal land into individual allotments. Wikipedia →
1885The first Japanese immigrants arrive in Hawaii. Wikipedia →
1879Sandford Fleming first proposes the adoption of Universal Standard Time at a meeting of the Royal Canadian Institute. Wikipedia →
1879England's cricket team, led by Lord Harris, is attacked in a riot during a match in Sydney. Wikipedia →
1865Delaware refuses to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, delaying the criminalization of slavery until the amendment's national adoption on December 6, 1865. The amendment is ultimately ratified by Delaware on February 12, 1901, the 92nd anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth. Wikipedia →
1837Richard Johnson becomes the first and only Vice President of the United States chosen by the Senate. Wikipedia →
1817An army led by Grand Marshal Las Heras crosses the Andes to join San Martín in the liberation of Chile from Spain. Wikipedia →
1807Napoleon defeats the coalition forces of Russian General Bennigsen and Prussian General L'Estocq at the Battle of Eylau. Wikipedia →
1693The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, the second-oldest institution of higher education in the Thirteen Colonies, is granted a charter by King William III and Queen Mary II. Wikipedia →
1601Robert Devereux, 2nd Earl of Essex, unsuccessfully rebels against Queen Elizabeth I. Wikipedia →
1587Mary, Queen of Scots is executed on suspicion of having been involved in the Babington Plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I. Wikipedia →
1347The Byzantine civil war of 1341–47 ends with a power-sharing agreement between John VI Kantakouzenos and John V Palaiologos. Wikipedia →
1250Seventh Crusade: Crusaders engage Ayyubid forces in the Battle of Al Mansurah. Wikipedia →
1238The Mongols burn the Russian city of Vladimir. Wikipedia →
421Constantius III becomes co-emperor of the Western Roman Empire. Wikipedia →

From The Guardian Archives — On This Day

2021The Guardian
Facebook bans misinformation about all vaccines after years of controversy
Company will remove posts with false claims about vaccines on Facebook and Instagram
Read on The Guardian →
2016The Guardian
Terry Wogan turned down for BBC2 job in 1965 by David Attenborough
Attenborough, who was then controller of the channel, responded to Wogan’s application explaining the station already…
Read on The Guardian →
1948The New York Times · Front page
PENN FIVE UPSETS CORNELL, 56 TO 54
ITHACA, N.Y., Feb. 7 -- Pennsylvania sprang a major upset by defeating Cornell, 56 -- 54, before 9,000 spectators tod…
Read on NYTimes.com →

Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform · Historic front pages via the NYT Archive API

Facts from Wikipedia On This Day API (CC BY-SA 4.0) via Wikimedia. Thumbnails CC BY-SA. Headlines via The Guardian Open Platform and the NYT Archive API. Historic pages via Library of Congress Chronicling America. Curated by OddlyTrue.