Historical Events on 8 Aug

Historical Events on 8 Aug

1220 - Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula.
1509 - The Emperor Krishnadeva Raya is crowned, marking the beginning of the regeneration of the Vijayanagara Empire.
1576 - The cornerstone for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory is laid on Hven.
1585 - John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in search of the Northwest Passage.
1588 - Anglo-Spanish War: Battle of Gravelines - The naval engagement ends, ending the Spanish Armada's attempt to invade England.
1605 - The city of Oulu, Finland, is founded by Charles IX of Sweden.
1647 - The Irish Confederate Wars and Wars of the Three Kingdoms: Battle of Dungans Hill - English Parliamentary forces defeat Irish forces.
1709 - Bartolomeu de Gusmão demonstrates the lifting power of hot air in in an audience before the King of Portugal in Lisbon
1786 - Mont Blanc on the French- Italian border is climbed for the first time by Jacques Balmat and Dr Michel-Gabriel Paccard.
1793 - The insurrection of Lyon occurs during the French Revolution.
1794 - Joseph Whidbey and George Vancouver lead an expedition to search for the Northwest Passage near Juneau, Alaska.
1810 - Urdu poet Mirza Ghalib marries Maaroof, daughter of Nawab Ilahi Baksh, and moves to Delhi.
1839 - Beta Theta Pi is founded in Oxford, Ohio.
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 (the LDS or Mormon Church).
1863 - American Civil War: 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 - American Civil War: Tennessee's "military" Governor Andrew Johnson frees his personal slaves. During the early 20th century, the day was celebrated by blacks in Tennessee as a holiday.
1870 - The Republic of PloieÅŸti, a failed Radical-Liberal rising against Domnitor Carol of Romania.
1876 - Thomas Edison receives 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.
1910 - The US Army installs the first tricycle landing gear on the Army's Wright Flyer.
1911 - Public Law 62-5 sets the number of representatives in the United States House of Representatives at 435. The law would come into effect in 1913.
1911 - The millionth patent is filed in the United States Patent Office by Francis Holton for a tubeless vehicle tire.
1918 - World War I: the Battle of Amiens begins a string of almost continuous victories with a push through the German front lines (Hundred Days Offensive).
1929 - The German airship Graf Zeppelin begins a round-the-world flight.
1931 - Workers go on strike at the Hoover dam.
1938 - The building of Mauthausen concentration camp begins.
1940 - The "Aufbau Ost" directive is signed by Wilhelm Keitel.
1942 - World War II: in Washington, DC, six German would-be saboteurs (Operation Pastorius) are executed.
1942 - The Quit India resolution was passed by the Bombay session of the AICC, leading to the start of a civil disobedience movement across India.
1945 - World War II: the Soviet Union declares war on Japan and begins the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation.
1945 - The United Nations Charter is signed by the United States, which becomes the third nation to join.
1946 - First flight of the Convair B-36.
1947 - Pakistan's National Flag is approved.
1949 - Bhutan becomes independent.
1960 - South Kasai secedes from the Congo.
1963 - Great Train Robbery: in England, a gang of 15 train robbers steal 2.6 million pounds in bank notes.
1967 - The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is founded by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand.
1968 - Jurō Wada successfully performs Japan's first heart transplant.
1973 - Kim Dae-Jung, a South Korean politician and later president of South Korea, is kidnapped.
1973 - U.S. Vice President Spiro Agnew appears on television to denounce accusations he had taken kickbacks while governor of Maryland.
1974 - Watergate scandal: U.S. President Richard Nixon announces his resignation, effective the next day.
1980 - The Central Hotel Fire, Bundoran occurs in Ireland.
1986 - Altaf Hussain's address at Nishtar Park Karachi, announcing the establisment of the MQM political movement.
1988 - The "8888 Uprising" occurs in Burma.
1988 - The lights are turned on at Wrigley Field for the first time, making it the last major league stadium to host night games. (The game, against the Philadelphia Phillies, is rained out after three-and-a-half innings.)
1989 - Space Shuttle program: STS-28 Mission - Space Shuttle Columbia takes off on a secret five-day military mission.
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, at one time the tallest construction ever built, collapses.
1991 - John McCarthy, British journalist held hostage in Lebanon for more than five years by Islamic Jihad, is released.
2000 - Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor.
2007 - An EF2 tornado touches down in Kings County and Richmond County, New York State, the most powerful tornado in New York to date and the first in Brooklyn since 1889.
2008 - Hostilities between Georgian and Russian forces break out in South Ossetia