October 8......

October 8 is the 281st day of the year (282nd in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar. There are 84 days remaining in the year.

EVENTS

● 314 - Roman Emperor Licinius is defeated by his colleague Constantine I at the Battle of Cibalae, and loses his European territories.

● 451 - At Chalcedon, a city of Bithynia in Asia Minor, the first session of the Council of Chalcedon begins (ends on November 1).

● 1480 - Great standing on the Ugra river

● 1582 - Due to the implementation of the Gregorian calendar this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.

● 1600 - San Marino adopts its written constitution.

● 1862 - American Civil War: Battle of Perryville - Union forces under General Don Carlos Buell halt the Confederate invasion of Kentucky by defeating troops led by General Braxton Bragg at Perryville, Kentucky.

● 1871 - Four major fires break out on the shores of Lake Michigan in Chicago, Peshtigo, Wisconsin, Holland, Michigan, and Manistee, Michigan. The Great Chicago Fire is the most famous of these, having left nearly 100,000 people homeless, although the Peshtigo Fire killed as many as 2,500 people making it the deadliest fire in United States history.

● 1888 - Melville Fuller is sworn in as the 8th Chief Justice of the United States.

● 1895 - Queen Min of Joseon, the last empress of Korea, is assassinated.

● 1912 - First Balkan War begins: Montenegro declares war against Turkey.

● 1918 - World War I - In the Argonne Forest in France, United States Sergeant Alvin C. York almost single-handedly kills 25 German soldiers and captures 132.

● 1927 - In Game 4 of the 1927 Stanley Cup, Boston Bruins defenseman Billy Coutu starts a brawl, punching referee Jerry LaFlamme. As a result, Billy Coutu is the first player to be suspended for life from the NHL.

● 1927 - Murderers' Row New York Yankees sweep the Pittsburgh Pirates to win the 1927 World Series in four games.

● 1932 - The Indian Air Force is established.

● 1934 - Bruno Hauptmann was indicted for murder in the death of the infant son of Charles A. Lindbergh.

● 1939 - World War II: Germany annexes Western Poland.

● 1941 - World War II: In their invasion of the Soviet Union, Germany reaches the Sea of Azov with the capture of Mariupol.

● 1944 - The radio show, “The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet” debuts on CBS radio

● 1945 - President Harry S. Truman announced that the secret of the atomic bomb would be shared openly only with Britain and Canada.

● 1952 - Many die as three trains crash at Harrow; 112 people are killed in the UK's worst peacetime rail crash after three trains collide at Harrow and Wealdstone.

● 1956 - New York Yankees baseball pitcher Don Larsen pitches the first (and only so far) perfect game in World Series history in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series; The Yankees beat the Brooklyn Dodgers 2-0.

● 1957 - Baseball: Walter O'Malley announces that the Dodgers are going to move from Brooklyn, New York to Los Angeles, California

● 1962 - Spiegel scandal: Der Spiegel publishes the article "Bedingt abwehrbereit" ("Conditionally prepared for defense") about a NATO manoeuver called "Fallex 62", which uncovered the sorry state of the Bundeswehr (Germany's army) facing the communist threat from the east at the time. The magazine was soon accused of treason.

● 1967 - Guerrilla leader Che Guevara and his men are captured in Bolivia.

● 1968 - Vietnam War: Operation Sealords - United States and South Vietnamese forces launch a new operation in the Mekong Delta.

● 1970 - Soviet author Alexander Solzhenitsyn was named winner of the Nobel Prize for literature.

● 1970 - Vietnam War: In Paris, a Communist delegation rejects US President Richard Nixon's October 7 peace proposal as "a maneuver to deceive world opinion."

● 1973 - Commercial radio joins UK airwaves; Britain's first independent radio station begins broadcasting on VHF and medium wave.

● 1978 - Australia's Ken Warby sets the current world water speed record of 317.60mph at Blowering Dam, Australia.

● 1982 - All labor organizations in Poland, including Solidarity, were banned.

● 1985 - The Palestinian hijackers of the Italian cruise ship “Achille Lauro” killed American passenger Leon Klinghoffer (presumably because he was Jewish) and dumped his body and wheelchair overboard.

● 1987 - Zeebrugge disaster was no accident; The coroner's inquest jury into the capsizing of the Herald of Free Enterprise returns verdicts of unlawful killing.

● 1990 - Britain's first full day in ERM; Hectic trading in the City marks Britain's first day as a full member of the Exchange Rate Mechanism (ERM) of the European Monetary System.

● 1990 - Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: In Jerusalem, Israeli police kill 17 Palestinians and wound over 100 near the Dome of the Rock mosque on the Temple Mount

● 1991 - The Croatian Parliament cuts all remaining ties with Yugoslavia

● 1998 - Oslo Airport Gardermoen, Norway opens.

● 1999 - New Coligny Calendar, NCC, The beginning of a new era of the Colignay Calendar, the oldest material Celtic calendar.

● 2001 - A twin engine Cessna and Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) jetliner collide in heavy fog during takeoff from Milan, Italy killing 118.

● 2001 - U.S. President George W. Bush announces the establishment of the Office of Homeland Security. Former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge was sworn in as director, who turns out to be a color code expert.

● 2002 - A federal judge approved President George W. Bush's request to reopen West Coast ports, ending a caustic 10-day labor lockout.

● 2003 - Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark's engagement to Australian lawyer Mary Donaldson is announced

● 2004 - Martha Stewart reported to the Alderson Federal Prison Camp in West Virginia to begin serving her sentence for lying about a stock sale.

● 2004 - Schapelle Corby is arrested for drug smuggling in Bali.

● 2005 - The Kashmir earthquake hits parts of northern South Asia at 03:50 UTC, flattened villages on the Pakistan-India border, killing an estimated 86,000 people in Pakistan, north India and Afghanistan.

BIRTHS

● 1515 - Margaret Douglas, Countess of Lennox (d. 1578)

● 1585 - Heinrich Schutz, German composer (d. 1672)

● 1676 - Benito Jerónimo Feijóo y Montenegro, Spanish scholar (d. 1764)

● 1713 - Yechezkel Landau, Polish rabbi and Talmudist (d. 1793)

● 1715 - Michel Benoist, French Jesuit missionary and scientist (d. 1774)

● 1720 - Jonathan Mayhew, American minister and patriot (d. 1766)

● 1747 - Jean-François Rewbell, French politician (d. 1807)

● 1765 - Harman Blennerhassett, Irish lawyer (d. 1831)

● 1789 - John Ruggles, American politician (d. 1874)

● 1818 - John Henninger Reagan, American and Confederate politician (d. 1905)

● 1833 - Edmund Steadman, American poet and banker (d. 1908)

● 1834 - Walter Kittredge, American musician and composer (d. 1905)

● 1838 - John Milton Hay, American politician; U.S. secretary of state (1898-1905) (d. 1905)

● 1850 - Henri Louis le Chatelier, French chemist (d. 1936)

● 1863 - Edythe Chapman, American actress (d. 1948)

● 1864 - Ozias Leduc, Québécois painter (d. 1955)

● 1870 - Louis Vierne, French organist (d. 1937)

● 1877 - Hans Heysen, German-born landscape artist (d. 1968)

● 1883 - Otto Heinrich Warburg, German physician and physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1970)

● 1887 - Huntley Gordon, Canadian actor (d. 1956)

● 1888 - Ernst Kretschmer, German psychiatrist (d. 1964)

● 1889 - C. E. Woolman, American airline founder (d. 1966)

● 1890 - Edward V. Rickenbacker, the World War I flying ace who went on to lead Eastern Airlines for thirty years. (d. 1973)

● 1890 - Philippe Thys, Belgian cyclist (d. 1971)

● 1895 - Juan Perón, President of Argentina (1946-55, 1973-74) (d. 1974)

● 1895 - Zog I, King of Albania (d. 1961)

● 1896 - Julien Duvivier, French film director (d. 1967)

● 1901 - Doris Allen, American psychologist (d. 2002)

● 1901 - Eivind Groven, Norwegian composer and ethnomusicologist (d. 1977)

● 1910 - Kirk Alyn, American actor (d. 1999)

● 1910 - Gus Hall, American union organizer and Communist Party leader (d. 2000)

● 1910 - Ray Lewis, Canadian runner (d. 2003)

● 1917 - Billy Conn, American boxer (d. 1993)

● 1917 - Walter Lord, American author (d. 2002)

● 1917 - Danny Murtaugh, baseball player and manager (d. 1976)

● 1917 - Rodney Robert Porter, English biochemist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1985)

● 1918 - Jens Christian Skou, Danish chemist, Nobel Prize laureate

● 1920 - Frank Herbert, American writer (the “Dune” series) (d. 1986)

● 1924 - Alphons Egli, member of the Swiss Federal Council

● 1927 - Jim Elliot, American missionary (d. 1956)

● 1927 - César Milstein, Argentine scientist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 2002)

● 1928 - Neil Harvey, Australian cricketer

● 1928 - Bill Maynard, British actor

● 1932 - Ray Reardon, Welsh snooker player

● 1936 - Rona Barrett, American gossip columnist

● 1938 - Fred Stolle, Australian tennis player and Hall of Fame member

● 1938 - Walter Gretzky, father of Wayne Gretzky

● 1939 - Paul Hogan, Australian actor, director and producer (''Crocodile Dundee'' movies)

● 1940 - Fred Cash, American soul singer (The Impressions)

● 1941 - Jesse Jackson, American clergyman and civil rights activist (Present at the assassination of Martin Luther King)

● 1943 - Chevy Chase, American comedian and actor

● 1943 - R. L. Stine, American author (Goosebumps Series)

● 1944 - Susan Raye, American country singer

● 1946 - Jean-Jacques Beineix, French film director

● 1946 - Dennis Kucinich, U.S. Congressman and Presidential candidate

● 1948 - Sarah Purcell, American television host

● 1948 - Johnny Ramone, American guitarist (The Ramones) (d. 2004)

● 1949 - Sigourney Weaver, American actress

● 1950 - Robert “Kool” Bell, American musician (Kool & the Gang)

● 1952 - Jan Marijnissen, Dutch politician

● 1952 - Edward Zwick, Director-producer

● 1953 - Ricky Lee Phelps, Country musician

● 1954 - Michael Dudikoff, Actor

● 1955 - Darrell Hammond, Comedian (''Saturday Night Live'')

● 1955 - Bill Elliott, NASCAR driver, 1988 series champion

● 1956 - Stephanie Zimbalist, American actress

● 1956 - Jeff Lahti, baseball player

● 1958 - Steve Coll, Pulitzer Prize-winning American journalist

● 1959 - Nick Bakay, American actor, voice actor, and comedian

● 1959 - Mike Morgan, baseball player

● 1960 - François Pérusse, Québécois humorist, sketch writer and musician (2 minutes du peuple)

● 1961 - Mitch Marine, Rock musician (Tripping Daisy)

● 1963 - Steve Perry, Rock singer (Cherry Poppin' Daddies)

● 1964 - CeCe Winans, American Gospel-R&B singer

● 1965 - Ardal O'Hanlon, Irish comedian

● 1965 - C-Jay Ramone, American bassist (The Ramones)

● 1966 - Art Barr, Professional wrestler

● 1966 - Teddy Riley, Singer-producer

● 1968 - Emily Procter, Actress (''CSI: Miami'')

● 1968 - Leeroy Thornhill, British musician (The Prodigy)

● 1969 - Julia Ann, American porn actress

● 1969 - Dylan Neal, Canadian actor

● 1970 - Matt Damon, American actor and playwright

● 1970 - Tetsuya Nomura, Japanese Video Games Director, Character Designer and Concept Designer

● 1972 - DJ Q-Ball, American Musician (Bloodhound Gang)

● 1973 - Rhys Evans, Renowned Welsh born raconteur and street performer

● 1976 - Renate Groenewold, Dutch speed skater

● 1977 - Anne-Caroline Chausson, French down hill mountain bike rider

● 1979 - Byron Reeder, R&B singer (Mista)

● 1979 - Kristanna Loken, American actress and model

● 1980 - Mike Mizanin, American professional wrestler and host of Smackdown!

● 1980 - Nick Cannon, Actor

● 1985 - Eiji Wentz, German-Japanese entertainer and singer

● 1987 - Dustin Breeding, of the boy band B5

● 1993 - Angus T. Jones, Actor (''Two and a Half Men'')

DEATHS

● 976 - Jelena of Zadar, Croatian queen

● 1286 - John I of Dreux, Duke of Brittany (b. 1217)

● 1317 - Fushimi, Emperor of Japan (b. 1265)

● 1621 - Antoine de Montchrétien, French dramatist and economist

● 1647 - Christian Sørensen Longomontanus, Danish astronomer (b. 1562)

● 1652 - John Greaves, English mathematician and antiquarian (b. 1602)

● 1656 - John George I, Elector of Saxony (b. 1585)

● 1659 - Jean de Quen, French Jesuit missionary and historian

● 1735 - Yongzheng Emperor of China (b. 1678)

● 1754 - Henry Fielding, English author (b. 1707)

● 1772 - Jean Joseph de Mondonville, French composer (b. 1711)

● 1793 - John Hancock, American revolutionary and businessman (b. 1737)

● 1795 - Andrew Kippis, English non-conformist clergyman and biographer (b. 1725)

● 1809 - James Elphinston, Scottish philologist (b. 1721)

● 1834 - François-Adrien Boïeldieu, French composer (b. 1775)

● 1869 - Franklin Pierce, 14th President of the United States in Concord, NH (b. 1804)

● 1894 - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., American physician and writer (b. 1809)

● 1897 - Alexei Savrasov, Russian painter (b. 1830)

● 1928 - Larry Semon, comedian (b. 1889)

● 1931 - Sir John Monash, Australian soldier general (b. 1865)

● 1936 - William Henry Stark, Business leader (b. 1851)

● 1936 - Red Ames, Baseball player (b. 1882)

● 1942 - Sergei Chaplygin, Soviet engineer

● 1944 - Wendell Willkie, American politician and Presidential candidate (b. 1892)

● 1945 - Felix Salten, Austrian author (b. 1869)

● 1952 - Joe Adams, Baseball player (b. 1877)

● 1953 - Nigel Bruce, British actor (b. 1895)

● 1953 - Kathleen Ferrier, British contralto (b. 1912)

● 1958 - Ran Bosilek, Bulgarian author and translator (b. 1886)

● 1967 - Clement Attlee, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1883)

● 1970 - Mitr Chaibancha, Thai film actor (b. 1934)

● 1970 - Jean Giono, French author (b. 1895)

● 1973 - Gabriel Marcel, French philosopher (b. 1889)

● 1982 - Fernando Lamas, Argentine actor (b. 1916)

● 1982 - Philip Noel-Baker, Baron Noel-Baker, Canadian-born peace activist, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1889)

● 1983 - Joan Hackett, American actress (b. 1934)

● 1992 - Willy Brandt, Chancellor of Germany, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize (b. 1913)

● 1997 - Bertrand Goldberg, American architect (d. 1913)

● 1999 - John McLendon, American basketball coach (b. 1915)

● 2004 - Jacques Derrida, French philosopher (b. 1930)

HOLIDAYS AND OBSERVANCES

● Roman Catholic Saint
● Saint Susan of Blois

● Wales and Cornwall - Saint Keyne

● Eastern Orthodox Holidays and Observances
● Saints:
● Venerable Pelagia the Penitent (457)
● Virgin-martyr Pelagia of Antioch (303)
● Saint Thais of Egypt (4th century)
● Saint Dositheus of Verkneostrov in Pskov (1482)
● Saint Tryphon of Vyatka, abbot (1612)
● Martyr Ignatius of Bulgaria

● Bolivia - reportedly, Che Guevara is honoured on this day at which he was captured in La Higuera, as San Ernesto, answering prayers for rain.

● French Republican Calendar - Citrouille (Pumpkin) Day, seventeenth day in the Month of Vendémiaire


Click on this LINK to see original Wikipedia list with many having links with details.

Additional facts taken from:

The BBC Take on the day

On this day in the New York Times