July 8

July 8 is the 189th day of the year (190th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 176 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

Up to 1900

1099 – First Crusade: 15,000 starving Christian soldiers march in a religious procession around Jerusalem as its Muslim defenders look on.
1283 – War of the Sicilian Vespers: Roger of Lauria, commanding the Aragonese fleet, defeats an Angevin fleet sent to put down a rebellion on Malta in the Battle of Malta.
1497 – Vasco da Gama sets sail for his first voyage to India.
1579 – Our Lady of Kazan, a holy icon of the Russian Orthodox Church, is discovered underground in the city of Kazan, Tatarstan.
1663 – Charles II of England grants John Clarke a Royal Charter to Rhode Island.
1709 – Great Northern War: Battle of Poltava – Peter I of Russia defeats Charles XIII of Sweden at Poltava, ending Sweden's role as a major European power.
1716 – Great Northern War: The naval Battle of Dynekilen takes place.
1730 – A magnitude 7.8 earthquake causes a tsunami that damages 1,000 kilometers of Chile's coastline.
1760 – French and Indian War: Battle of Restigouche – British forces defeat the French in the last battle in New France.
1776 – The Declaration of Independence is read out for the first time and the Liberty Bell is rung, in Philadelphia.
1808 – Joseph Bonaparte approves the Bayonne Statute, a royal charter intended as the basis for his rule as King of Spain.
1822 – Chippewas turn over a large section of land in present-day Ontario over to the United Kingdom.
1853 – US Commodore Matthew C. Perry arrives at Edo Bay (present-day Tokyo) with a treaty requesting trade.
1859 – Charles XV of Sweden/IV of Norway becomes King of Sweden–Norway.
1879 – Sailing ship USS Jeannette leaves San Francisco carrying an ill-fated expedition to the North Pole.
1889 – The Wall Street Journal is first published.
1892 – The city of St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador is largely damaged by fire.
1898 – Crime boss Soapy Smith is killed in Skagway, Alaska.

1901 – 2000

1927 – Heavy rain in the night to July 9 causes major flooding in Saxony, Germany, killing 160 people.
1932 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches its lowest level of the Great Depression, at 41.22.
1937 – Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Afghanistan sign the Treaty of Saadabad.
1947 – Reports are broadcast that a UFO landed in Roswell, New Mexico.
1948 – The United States Air Force accepts its first female recruits into a programme called Women In the Air Force.
1960 – Francis Gary Powers is charged with espionage resulting from his flight over the Soviet Union.
1966 – King Mwambutsa IV Bangiriceng of Burundi is removed from power by his son Prince Charles Ndizi.
1982 – Assassination attempt on Saddam Hussein in Dujail.
1986 – Kurt Waldheim becomes President of Austria.
1989 – Carlos Menem becomes President of Argentina.
1990 – Germany wins the FIFA World Cup, defeating Argentina 1–0.
1992 – Thomas Klestil becomes President of Austria.
1994 – Kim Il-Sung dies. His son Kim Jong-Il takes over the role of supreme leader.
1997 – NATO invites the Czech Republic, Hungary and Poland to join.

From 2001

2001 – Goran Ivanisevic, as a rank outsider, wins the Men's Singles title at Wimbledon, defeating Patrick Rafter in the final.
2003 – The first attempted separation of conjoined twins, carried in Singapore, fails, as Ladan and Laleh Bijani die of complications from the operation to separate them.
2004 – Heinz Fischer becomes President of Austria, two days after the death of his predecessor, Thomas Klestil.
2005 – The G-8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, concludes, with promises of aid to developing countries.
2007 – Roger Federer wins his fifth consecutive Wimbledon Men's Singles tennis title, defeating Rafael Nadal in five sets.
2011 – The Space Shuttle Atlantis launches in the last launch of the Space Shuttle programme.
2014 – Israel launches Operation Protective Edge in the Gaza Strip, following the killing of Israeli teenagers which had led to tensions between Israel and Hamas.
2014 – Brazil v Germany: In the semi finals of the 2014 FIFA World Cup in Brazil, the Brazil national football team is beaten 7-1 by the Germany national football team in a shock result. Several footballing and World Cup records are beaten in this match, in which Germany's Miroslav Klose scored his record-breaking 16th World Cup goal.
2016 – The New European, a new British pro–European newspaper, publishes its first weekly edition, in response to the Brexit vote.
2018 – In the British Government, David Davis resigns as Secretary of State for Exiting the European Union

Births

Up to 1900

1478 – Gian Giorgio Trissino, Italian humanist, poet and linguist (d. 1550)
1528 – Emmanuel Philibert, Duke of Savoy (d. 1580)
1545 – Carlos, Prince of Asturias (d. 1568)
1593 – Artemisia Gentileschi, Italian painter (d. 1653)
1604 – Heinrich Albert, German composer and poet (d. 1651)
1621 – Jean de la Fontaine, French writer (d. 1695).
1640 – Henry Stuart, Duke of Gloucester (d. 1660)
1735 – Domenico Vandelli, Italian naturalist (d. 1816)
1760 – Christian Kramp, French mathematician (d. 1826)
1792 – Therese of Saxe-Hildburghausen, Queen of Bavaria (d. 1854)
1819 – Francis Leopold McClintock, Irish admiral and explorer (d. 1907)
1830 – Princess Alexandra of Saxe-Altenburg (d. 1911)
1830 – Frederick W. Seward, American lawyer and politician (d. 1915)
1831 – John Pemberton, American inventor, of Coca-Cola (d. 1888)
1836 – Joseph Chamberlain, British politician (d. 1914).
1838 – Eli Lilly, American soldier, chemist, industrialist and entrepreneur (d. 1898)
1838 – Ferdinand von Zeppelin, German inventor (d. 1917).
1839 – John D. Rockefeller, American industrialist and philanthropist (d. 1937)
1851 – Arthur Evans, English archaeologist (d. 1941)
1857 – Alfred Binet, French psychologist and graphologist (d. 1911)
1864 – F. Holland Day, American photographer (d. 1933)
1867 – Kaethe Kollwitz, German painter and sculptor (d. 1945)
1878 – Jimmy Quinn, Scottish footballer (d. 1945)
1882 – Percy Grainger, Australian-American pianist and composer (d. 1961)
1885 – Ernst Bloch, German philosopher (d. 1977)
1885 – Hugo Boss, German fashion designer (d. 1948)
1890 – Walter Hasenclever, German playwright and poet (d. 1940)
1892 – Richard Aldington, English author and poet (d. 1962)
1892 – Pavel Korin, Russian painter (d. 1967)
1894 – Pyotr Kapitsa, Russian physicist (d. 1984)
1895 – Igor Tamm, Russian physicist (d. 1971)
1898 – Melville Ruick, American actor (d. 1972)
1900 – George Antheil, American pianist, composer and author (d. 1959)

1901 – 1950

1904 – Henri Cartan, French mathematician (d. 2008)
1905 – Leonid Amalrik, Russian animator (d. 1997)
1906 – Philip Johnson, American architect (d. 2005)
1907 – George W. Romney, American businessman and politician, 43rd Governor of Michigan (d. 1995)
1908 – Louis Jordan, American jazz and blues musician (d. 1975)
1908 – Nelson A. Rockefeller, American politician, 41st Vice President of the United States and 49th Governor of New York (d. 1979)
1914 – Jyoti Basu, Indian politician (d. 2010)
1914 – Billy Eckstine, American singer and trumpeter (d. 1993)
1918 – Paul B. Fay, American politician, 12th United States Secretary of the Navy (d. 2009)
1918 – Irwin Hasen, American comic artist and cartoonist (d. 2015)
1919 – Walter Scheel, President of West Germany (d. 2016)
1920 – Godtfred Kirk Christiansen, Danish businessman (Lego group) (d. 1995)
1921 – Edgar Morin, French philosopher and politician
1923 – Harrison Dillard, American sprinter and hurdler
1924 – Johnnie Johnson, American pianist and blues musician (d. 2005)
1925 – Nicholas Brathwaite, former Prime Minister of Grenada (d. 2016)
1925 – Marco Cé, Italian cardinal (d. 2014)
1926 – Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, Swiss-American psychologist and psychiatrist (d. 2004)
1926 – David Malet Armstrong, Australian philosopher (d. 2014)
1930 – Jerry Vale, American singer and actor (d. 2014)
1931 – Thorvald Stoltenberg, Norwegian politician (d. 2018)
1932 – Franca Raimondi, Italian singer (d. 1988)
1933 – Peter Orlovsky, American poet (d. 2010)
1934 – Marty Feldman, English comedian and actor (d. 1982)
1935 – John David Crow, American football player and coach (d. 2015)
1935 – Vitaly Sevastyanov, Soviet cosmonaut (d. 2010)
1938 – Dario Gradi, Italian-English football manager
1940 – Karin Hannak, Austrian artist
1941 – Michael K. Frith, British artist and television producer
1944 – Jai Johanny Johanson, American drummer
1944 – Jeffrey Tambor, American actor and singer
1945 – Micheline Calmy-Rey, Swiss Federal Councillor
1947 – Kim Darby, American actress
1947 – Luis Fernando Figari, Peruvian religious leader
1948 – Raffi, Canadian children's entertainer
1949 – Wolfgang Puck, Austrian-born celebrity chef
1949 – Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Indian politician, 14th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (d. 2009)

1951 – 1975

1951 – Anjelica Huston, American actress
1952 – Ahmad Nazif, former Prime Minister of Egypt
1952 – Larry Garner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1952 – Marianne Williamson, American author and activist
1955 – Monty Don, English gardener and television presenter
1956 – Millard Hampton, American sprinter
1957 – Carlos Cavazo, Mexican-American guitarist and songwriter
1957 – Aleksandr Gurnov, Russian journalist and author
1958 – Kevin Bacon, American actor and musician
1958 – Tzipi Livni, Israeli politician
1958 – Neetu Singh, Indian actress and costume designer
1959 – Tom Egeland, Norwegian writer and journalist
1959 – Billy Kimball, American screenwriter and producer
1959 – Robert Knepper, American actor
1959 – Pauline Quirke, English actress
1961 – Andrew Fletcher, English keyboardist
1961 – Toby Keith, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1962 – Joan Osborne, American singer and songwriter
1964 – Linda de Mol, Dutch actress and screenwriter
1964 – Alexei Gusarov, Russian ice hockey player and manager
1965 – Dan Levinson, American clarinetist, saxophonist and bandleader
1968 – Billy Crudup, American actor
1968 – Michael Weatherly, American actor, producer and director
1970 – Beck, American singer
1970 – Todd Martin, American tennis player and coach
1971 – Neil Jenkins, Welsh rugby player and coach
1971 – Amy O'Neill, American actress
1973 – Sally Lindsay, British actress
1973 – Kathleen Robertson, Canadian actress and producer
1974 – Jeanna Friske, Russian actress and singer (d. 2015)

From 1976

1976 – Ellen MacArthur, English sailor
1976 – Wang Liping, Chinese race walker
1977 – Christian Abbiati, Italian footballer
1977 – Milo Ventimiglia, American actor, director and producer
1977 – Wang Zhizhi, Chinese basketball player
1980 – Robbie Keane, Irish footballer
1981 – Anastasia Myskina, Russian tennis player
1982 – Sophia Bush, American actress
1982 – Pendleton Ward, American animator, screenwriter, producer and voice actor
1985 – Jamie Cook, English guitarist
1986 – Renata Costa, Brazilian footballer
1986 – Kenza Farah, Algerian-French singer-songwriter
1986 – Jake McDorman, American actor
1987 – Vlada Roslyakova, Russian model
1988 – Miki Roqué, Spanish footballer (d. 2012)
1990 – Kevin Trapp, German footballer
1991 – Jamie Blackley, Manx actor
1991 – Devon Conway, New Zealand cricketer
1992 – Sky Ferreira, American singer-songwriter and actress
1992 – Benjamin Grosvenor, British pianist
1992 – Son Heung-min, South Korean footballer
1998 – Jaden Smith, American actor
2004 – Gayle, American singer

Deaths

Up to 1900

810 – Pepin of Italy (b. 773)
901 – Grimbald, French-English monk and saint (b. 827)
975 – Edgar the Peaceful, English King (b. 943)
1153 – Pope Eugene III (b. 1087)
1538 – Diego de Almagro, Spanish explorer and general (b. 1475)
1623 – Pope Gregory XV (b. 1554)
1695 – Christiaan Huygens, Dutch astronomer and scientist (b. 1629).
1721 – Elihu Yale, American university benefactor (b. 1649).
1822 – Percy Bysshe Shelley, English poet (b. 1792).
1832 – Henry Raeburn, Scottish painter (b. 1756)
1850 – Prince Adolphus, Duke of Cambridge (b. 1774)
1855 – William Edward Parry, English arctic explorer (b. 1790).
1859 – King Oscar I of Sweden and Norway (b. 1799).
1864 – David Hazzard, American politician, Governor of Delaware (b. 1781)
1873 – Franz Xaver Winterhalter, German painter (b. 1805)
1893 – Abraham K. Allison, American politician, 6th Governor of Florida (b. 1810)
1897 – Isham G. Harris, American politician, 18th Governor of Tennessee (b. 1818)
1898 – Soapy Smith, American outlaw (b. 1860).

1901 – 2000

1905 – Walter Kittredge, American violinist and composer (b. 1834)
1930 – Joseph Ward, Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1856)
1933 – Anthony Hope, English author and playwright (b. 1863)
1934 – Benjamin Baillaud, French astronomer and academic (b. 1848)
1939 – Havelock Ellis, English psychologist and author (b. 1859)
1941 – Moses Schorr, Polish historian, rabbi and politician (b. 1874)
1942 – Refik Saydam, 5th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1881)
1943 – Jean Moulin, French Resistance leader (b. 1899)
1950 – Othmar Spann, Austrian sociologist, economist and philosopher (b. 1878)
1956 – Giovanni Papini, Italian journalist, author and critic (b. 1881)
1957 – Grace Coolidge, First Lady of the United States (b. 1879).
1962 – Georges Pataille, French writer and philosopher (b. 1897).
1967 – Fatimah Jinnah, Pakistani Mother of the Nation (b. 1893).
1971 – Charlie Shavers, American trumpeter (b. 1920)
1973 – Gene L. Coon, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1924)
1973 – Ben-Zion Dinur, Russian-Israeli educator and politician (b. 1884)
1973 – Wilfred Rhodes, English cricketer (b. 1877)
1975 – Lennart Skoglund, Swedish footballer (b. 1929)
1979 – Shin'ichiro Tomonaga, Japanese physicist (b. 1906).
1979 – Robert Burns Woodward, American chemist (b. 1917)
1985 – Simon Kuznets, Russian-American economist (b. 1901)
1985 – Jean-Paul Le Chanois, French movie director, screenwriter and actor (b. 1909)
1986 – Skeeter Webb, American baseball player and manager (b. 1909)
1987 – Lionel Chevrier, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1903)
1987 – Gerardo Diego, Spanish poet (b. 1896)
1988 – Ray Barbuti, American sportsman (b. 1905)
1990 – Howard Duff, American actor, director and producer (b. 1913)
1994 – Kim Il-Sung, President of North Korea (b. 1912)
1994 – Lars-Eric Lindblad, Swedish-American businessman and explorer (b. 1927)
1995 – Aleksander Arulaid, Estonian chess player (b. 1924)
1999 – Peter Conrad, American pilot and astronaut (b. 1930)

From 2001

2002 – Ward Kimball, American animator (b. 1914)
2003 – Ladan and Laleh Bijani, Iranian conjoined twins (b. 1974)
2004 – Paula Danziger, American writer (b. 1944)
2006 – June Allyson, American actress (b. 1917)
2007 – Chandra Shekhar, 9th Prime Minister of India (b. 1927)
2011 – Betty Ford, First Lady of the United States (b. 1918)
2012 – Ernest Borgnine, American actor (b. 1917)
2014 – Ben Pangelinan, American-Guamanian politician (b. 1955)
2014 – John V. Evans, American politician, 27th Governor of Idaho (b. 1925)
2015 – Irwin Keyes, American actor (b. 1952)
2016 – Javed Akhtar, Pakistani cricketer (b. 1940)
2016 – Abdul Sattar Edhi, Pakistani philanthropist, activist and humanitarian (b. 1928)
2016 – Harold A. Linstone, German-American mathematician and futurist (b. 1924)
2016 – William H. McNeill, Canadian-American historian and author (b. 1917)
2016 – Jacques Rouffio, French director and screenwriter (b. 1928)
2017 – Nelsan Ellis, American actor (b. 1977)
2017 – Elsa Martinelli, Italian actress and model (b. 1935)
2017 – Don Johns, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1937)
2018 – Alan Gilzean, Scottish footballer (b. 1938)
2018 – Tab Hunter, American actor and musician (b. 1931)
2018 – M. M. Jacob, Indian politician (b. 1927)
2018 – Oliver Knussen, Scottish composer (b. 1952)
2018 – Frank Ramsey, American basketball plauer (b. 1931)
2018 – Robert D. Ray, American politician, 38th Governor of Iowa (b. 1928)
2022 – Shinzō Abe, 2-time Prime Minister of Japan, assassinated (b. 1954)

Observances

Air Force and Air Defense Forces Day (Ukraine)