Today In History - August 8

1579 The cornerstone is laid for Tycho Brahe's observatory
1609 Venetian senate examines Galileo Galilei's telescope
1709 The first known ascent in a hot-air balloon
1796 The Boston African Society establishes with 44 members
1814 Peace negotiations begin in Ghent, Belgium
1815 Napoleon Bonaparte set sail for exile on St. Helena
1843 Natal is made a British colony
1844 Brigham Young is chosen as Mormon Church head following Joseph Smith's death
1860 The Queen of Sandwich Islands (Hawaii) arrives in New York City
1861 William Bateson originated the term "genetics"
1864 Red Cross Anniversary
1868 Earthquake destroys Arica, Chile
1876 Thomas Edison patents his mimeograph
1890 Daughters of the American Revolution (DAR) organizes
1900 The first Davis Cup tennis matches are held - in Boston
1918 While six US soldiers are surrounded by Germans in France, Alvin York is given command and saves them as he single-handedly shoots 20 Germans and captures 132 more
1919 Treaty of Rawalpindi
1929 The German airship Graf Zeppelin begins a round-the-world flight
1929 The Salem Oregon airport is dedicated
1937 The Bonneville Dam on Columbia River begins producing power
1940 Battle of Britain began as Germany launched air attacks
1942 Six convicted Nazi saboteurs who landed in the US are executed in Wash, DC
1945 President Harry S. Truman signs the UN Charter
1945 The USSR declares war against Japan in WW II
1945 The USSR establishes a communist government in North Korea
1949 Bhutan became an independent monarchy
1953 The US and South Korea initial a mutual security pact
1955 The Geneva conference held to discuss peaceful uses of atomic energy
1956 Fire and explosion kill 263 miners at Marcinelle, Belgium
1960 The Ivory Coast declares independence
1963 The Great Train Robbery in England
1963 Kingsmen release "Louie, Louie" and radio stations label it obscene
1966 Beatles' release "Revolver"
1968 Race riots occur in Miami, Florida
1972 The New York Yankees sign a 30 year lease with New York City
1973 VP Spiro T. Agnew branded as "damned lies" reports he took kickbacks from government contracts in Maryland. He vowed he would not to resign. Later, he did amidst myriad problems.
1974 President Richard M. Nixon announced he'd resign his office
1985 Japan launches Planet A, a probe to Halley's comet
1987 Lynne Cox became first to swim from US to Russia across the Bering Strait
1988 The discovery of the most distant galaxy is announced
1988 The Duchess of York gives birth to a baby girl
1988 The renovated Central Park Zoo re-opens
1988 Russian troops begin pull out of Afghanistan after a 9 year war
1988 Secretary of State Shultz narrowly escapes an assassination attempt in Bolivia
1988 South Africa declares a cease-fire in Angola
1990 Iraq annexes Kuwait
1991 Billy Preston is charged with exhibiting pornography to a minor
1991 Carlos Santana pleads no contest to marijuana possession charge
1991 Gary Oldman is arrested for drunk driving
1991 Shite Muslims release their British hostage John McCarthy

1763 Charles Bulfinch
1857 Henry Osborn
1865 Matthew A. Henson
1879 Emiliano Zapata
1884 Sara Teasdale
1887 Malcolm Keen
1896 Marjorie Kinnan
1900 Victor Young
1901 Dr. Ernest O. Lawrence
1907 Benny Carter
1908 Arthur J. Goldberg
1910 Sylvia Sidney
1913 Axel Stordahl
1913 Robert Stafford
1918 Rory Calhoun
1919 Dino DeLaurentis
1922 Rudi Gernreich
1923 Esther Williams
1926 Richard Anderson
1926 Webb Pierce
1927 Jim Weaver
1929 Josef Suk
1930 Andy Warhol
1930 Joan Mondale
1930 Nita Talbot
1932 Mel Tillis
1933 Joe Tex
1936 Don Bowden
1936 Frank Howard
1936 Keith Barron
1937 Dustin Hoffman
1938 Connie Stevens
1939 Phil Balsley
1947 Jose Cruz
1947 Larry Wilcox
1948 Svetlana Y. Savitskaya
1949 Keith Carradine
1952 Robin Quivers
1953 "Sweet" Lou Dunbar
1954 Nigel Mansell
1956 Chris Foreman
1956 David Grant
1958 Deborah Norville
1958 Harry Crosby
1959 Rikki Rockett
1962 Suzee Pai
1967 Lorraine Pearson