Historical Events On April 8 - On This Day

• April

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10
• 11
• 12
• 13
• 14
• 15
• 16
• 17
• 18
• 19
• 20
• 21
• 22
• 23
• 24
• 25
• 26
• 27
• 28
• 29
• 30

123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930

• Summary
• Events
• Birthdays
• Deaths
• Weddings
• Film & TV
• Music
• Sport

217 Roman Emperor Caracalla is assassinated (and succeeded) by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus

• 1093 The new Winchester Cathedral is dedicated by bishop Walkelin in Winchester, England

1139 Roger II of Sicily is excommunicated

• 1149 Pope Eugene III takes refuge in the castle of Ptolemy II of Tusculum
• 1195 Alexios III Angelos drives out his brother Isaac II as Byzantine emperor
• 1232 Mongol army under General Subedei begins the siege of Chinese Jin capital of Kaifeng - 1st occasion gunpowder used in a major engagement
• 1271 Krak des Chevaliers, the greatest fortress built by medieval crusaders in the Levant, is finally taken by the forces of Mamlūk sultan Baybars I
• 1341 Petrarch crowned a poet on the Capitoline Hill in Rome
• 1378 Bartolomeo Prignano is elected as Pope Urban VI

1455 Alfonso de Borgia elected as Pope Callistus III

• 1484 Portuguese sea captain Diogo Cão returns to Lisbon from his first voyage to explore the coast of Africa, during which he was the first European to discover the Congo River

1500 Battle of Novara: King Louis XII of France defeats Duke Ludovico Sforza of Milan

• 1530 Holy Roman Emperor convenes Imperial Diet in German city of Augsburg to address Protestant tensions
• 1730 Congregation Shearith Israel opens the 1st North American synagogue in New York City on Mill Street in Lower Manhattan
• 1759 British troops chase French out of Masulipatam, India
• 1766 First fire escape is patented: a wicker basket on a pulley and chain
• 1767 Ayutthaya Kingdom in present-day Thailand falls to Burmese invaders

1781 Premiere of Mozart's "Violin Sonata No. 27" in G major (K. 379)

1783 Catherine II of Russia annexes the Crimea

1796 Carl Friedrich Gauss, German mathematician, proves the quadratic reciprocity law (the ability to determine the solvability of any quadratic equation in modular arithmetic)

• 1801 Soldiers riot in Bucharest, kill 128 Jews
• 1802 French Protestant church becomes state-supported & -controlled

1808 Roman Catholic Diocese of Baltimore promoted to an archdiocese by Pope Pius VII, with the founding of the dioceses of New York, Philadelphia, Boston, and Bardstown (now Louisville)

1820 The famous ancient Greek statue Venus de Milo is discovered on the Aegean island of Milos

• 1838 Steamship "Great Western" makes her maiden voyage from Bristol, England, to New York
• 1848 1st battle at Gioto: Sardinia-Piemonte beats Austrians
• 1848 Battle at Xaquixaguana, Peru: Pedro de la Gasca beats Gonzalo Pizarro
• 1861 US Civil War: US mint at Dahlonega, Georgia, seized by Confederacy
• 1862 John D. Lynde patents aerosol dispenser
• 1864 Battle of Mansfield, Louisiana; Federals routed by General Richard Taylor
• 1866 Italy and Prussia ally against Austria-Hungary.
• 1869 American Museum of Natural History opens in New York City
• 1876 Amilcare Ponchielli's opera "La Gioconda" premieres in Milan
• 1879 Khedive Ismael of Egypt fires French and British ministers
• 1879 Milk sold in glass bottles for 1st time

1886 William Gladstone introduces the first Irish Home Rule Bill in the British House of Commons

• 1893 The Critic reports that ice cream soda is America's national drink
• 1898 Battle of Atbara River: Anglo-Egyptian forces defeat 15,000 Sudanese during the Mahdist War, a turning point in the reconquest of Sudan
• 1902 Demonstration organised by socialists in Belgium as people demand better education, living conditions, the right to strike and universal male suffrage result in a riot and some deaths
• 1902 Russia and China sign the Convention of Evacuation under which Russia agrees to evacuate Manchuria within 18 months
• 1904 British mystic Aleister Crowley transcribes the first chapter of the Book of the Law
• 1904 Great Britain and France establish their Entente Cordiale, a technical treaty settling long-standing disagreements over Morocco, Egypt, Africa, and the Pacific
• 1904 New York City changes the name of Longacre Square to Times Square, in honor of The New York Times’s move to the area

1908 H. H. Asquith succeeds Henry Campbell-Bannerman as British Prime Minister

• 1910 1st race at the Playa Del Ray Motordrome, 1st US auto speedway, is held near Los Angeles, California
• 1912 Steamers collide on the Nile, drowning 200
• 1913 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified by Congress, providing for election of senators by popular vote
• 1913 China's National Assembly opens in Peking, the first free democratic parliament in Chinese history
• 1914 US and Colombia sign a treaty concerning Panama Canal Zone
• 1916 Norway approves active & passive female suffrage
• 1924 South African State pass the Industrial Conciliation Act No 11: provides for job reservation, excluded blacks from membership of registered trade unions, prohibited registration of black trade unions

1929 Indian Independence Movement: At the Delhi Central Assembly, Bhagat Singh and Batukeshwar Dutt throw handouts and bombs to court arrest

• 1931 "White Horse Inn" opens in London

1931 Dmitri Shostakovich's ballet "The Arrow" premieres

• 1933 Manchester Guardian warns of unknown Nazi terror

1935 Béla Bartók's 5th String Quartet premieres in Washington, D.C.

• 1935 Works Progress Administration approved by Congress

1938 Walter Piston's 1st Symphony in E, premieres in Boston, by the Boston Symphony, conducted by the composer

• 1939 King Zog I of Albania flees after Italy invades
• 1940 German battle cruisers sink British aircraft carrier Glorious

1941 In his 4th title defense in 9 weeks Joe Louis beats Tony Musto by TKO in the 9th round at the Arena, Saint Louis, Missouri to retain NYSAC heavyweight boxing crown

1942 Arnold Schoenberg & Tudor's ballet "Pillar of Fire" premieres in NYC

• 1943 1943 NFL Draft: Frank Sinkwich from University of Georgia first pick by Detroit Lions
• 1943 Hakuun Yasutani Roshi, founder of Sanbo Kyodan, receives dharma
• 1943 Stanley Cup Final, Boston Garden, Boston, MA: Detroit Red Wings beat Boston Bruins, 2-0 for a 4-0 series sweep and their 3rd SC Championship

1943 U.S. President Franklin Roosevelt, in an attempt to check inflation, freezes wages and prices, prohibits workers from changing jobs unless the war effort would be aided thereby, and bars rate increases to common carriers and public utilities.

• 1945 1945 NFL Draft: Charley Trippi from University of Georgia first pick by Chicago Cardinals
• 1945 Dutch Nazi occupiers executed, Nazi general Christiansen flees Netherlands
• 1946 League of Nations assembles for the last time
• 1947 Largest recorded sunspot ever observed at 40 times the diameter of Earth
• 1948 Soen Nakagawa & Nyogen Senzaki (Zen teachers) meet in San Francisco
• 1952 US President Harry Truman seizes steel mills to avert a strike

1953 Jomo Kenyatta convicted of involvement with the Mau Mau rebellion and sentenced to 7 years jail in Kenya

• 1956 6 US Marine Corps recruits drown during a night "marsh march" in Ribbon Creek at Parris Island, South Carolina; drill instructor Staff Sergeant Matthew McKeon is court-martialed
• 1960 Netherlands and Germany sign accord concerning war casualties
• 1960 US Senate passes Civil Rights Bill with measures against discriminatory voting practices
• 1961 British liner "Dara" explodes in Persian Gulf, kills 236
• 1962 Accords of Evian (Algeria) accepted by referendum in France

1963 35th Academy Awards: "Lawrence of Arabia", Anne Bancroft & Gregory Peck win

• 1964 Unmanned Gemini 1 launched
• 1965 India & Pakistan forces engage in a border fight

1966 American Football League votes in 36-year-old Al Davis as commissioner after Joe Foss resigns; appointment lasts 3 months when AFL merges with NFL

• 1966 OAO 1, 1st orbiting astronomical observatory, launched
• 1966 Time publishes its "Is God Dead" issue - its first issue without an image
• 1968 40th Academy Awards postponed to Apr 10th due to death of Martin Luther King
• 1968 Czechoslovakia Oldřich Černík government forms

1968 Major League Baseball decides to postpone Opening Day because of the assassination of civil rights leader Martin Luther King Jr

• 1968 New socialist constitution of East Germany takes effect
• 1968 WKPI TV channel 22 in Pikeville, Kentucky (PBS) begins broadcasting
• 1969 Expansion teams Royals, Expos, Padres & Pilots win their 1st games
• 1969 First Major League Baseball game featuring a Canadian team; Montréal Expos beats NY Mets, 11-10 at Shea Stadium; KC Royals, SD Padres and Seattle Pilots also win on debut
• 1970 Senate rejects Nixon's nomination of Judge G. Harrold Carswell to US Supreme Court
• 1971 1st legal off-track betting system begins (OTB-New York)
• 1972 Alvin Kallicharran scores 100* in his 1st Test Cricket innings v NZ
• 1973 Thirty-two terrorist bombings in Cyprus
• 1974 Discovery Island opens at Walt Disney World, Florida

1974 Hammerin' Hank Aaron hits his 715th home run off LA Dodger Al Downing in Atlanta, breaking Babe Ruth's record

1974 Paul McCartney & Wings release single "Band on the Run" in the US

1975 47th Academy Awards: "The Godfather Part II", Ellen Burstyn & Art Carney win

1975 Frank Robinson debuts as 1st African American baseball manager (Cleveland Indians beat New York Yankees, 5-3)

• 1976 1976 NFL Draft: Lee Roy Selmon from University of Oklahoma first pick by Tampa Bay Buccaneers

1977 Israeli premier Yitzhak Rabin resigns

• 1979 205th & final episode of "All in the Family"; followed by "Archie Bunker's Place" for 4 seasons
• 1979 People's Republic of China joins International Olympic Committee
• 1980 Islander Potvin's 2 shorthanded goals tie NHL record vs Kings & set NHL rec of 2 shorthanded playoff goals in 1 period
• 1981 Islanders scored 9 goals against Toronto in playoffs
• 1982 Tracy Caulkins wins her 36th US swimming title aged 19

1983 In front of a live audience of 20 tourists, David Copperfield makes the Statue of Liberty disappear

• 1984 U.S. Census Bureau estimates rank Los Angeles as second most populated city, displacing Chicago which held the position since 1890; New York City remains the top
• 1985 Amdahl releases UTS/V, the first mainframe Unix
• 1985 India files suit against Union Carbide over Bhopal disaster

1986 Clint Eastwood elected mayor of Carmel, California, makes his day

• 1989 California Angels pitcher Jim Abbott, born without his right hand, makes MLB debut, lasting only 4 2/3 innings

1989 Miguel Ángel Félix Gallardo is arrested in Mexico and charged with kidnapping, murder of DEA agent Enrique Camarena, drug trafficking and other crimes

1990 "Twin Peaks" created by David Lynch and starring Kyle MacLachlan premieres on ABC-TV

• 1990 King Birendra of Nepal lifts 30-year ban on political parties
• 1990 Norwegian ferry Scandinavian Star catches fire; 159 people die
• 1990 Political party New Democracy wins the national election in Greece
• 1991 Major league umpires & baseball reach a 4-year agreement

1991 Michael Landon announces he has inoperable cancer of the pancreas

• 1991 Oakland A's stadium becomes 1st outdoor arena in USA to ban smoking

1991 Retied American jockey Bill Shoemaker paralyzed in a car accident

• 1992 After 151 years Britain's "Punch Magazine" publishes its final issue
• 1993 MLB Cleveland Indians' Carlos Baerga is 1st to switch hit HRs in same innings (vs Yankees)
• 1993 STS-56 (Discovery) launches into orbit
• 1994 Atlanta Braves pitcher Kent Mercker no-hits LA Dodgers, 6-0 at Dodger Stadium
• 1994 Japanese Prime Minister Morihiro Hosokawa resigns

1994 MLB outfielder Darryl Strawberry enters Betty Ford Center in Rancho Mirage, California for substance abuse rehabilitation

• 1994 Smoking is banned in the Pentagon and all US military bases
• 1995 American Bruce Seldon defeats by RTD over Tony Tucker in 7 rounds to win vacated WBA boxing title
• 1995 BPAA US Open won by Dave Husted

1995 Oliver McCall beats Larry Holmes in 12 for heavyweight boxing title

• 1997 Microsoft releases Internet Explorer 4 Beta
• 1997 STS 83 (Columbia 22) lands
• 1999 Indian political party Haryana Gana Parishad from the state of Haryana merges with the Indian National Congress
• 2000 Nineteen US Marines are killed when a V-22 Osprey tilt-rotor aircraft crashes near Marana, Arizona
• 2004 Humanitarian Ceasefire Agreement on the Conflict in Darfur is signed by the Sudanese government and two rebel groups, ending hostilities amid a 45-day ceasefire [1]

2004 U.S. National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice testifies before the 9/11 Commission

• 2006 Shedden massacre: The bodies of eight men, all shot to death, are found in a field in Ontario, Canada. The murders are soon linked to the Bandidos motorcycle gang.
• 2008 World's first building to integrate wind turbines is completed in Bahrain

2011 Hear Music Records releases "So Beautiful or So What", the twelfth solo studio album by American singer-songwriter Paul Simon

2012 German writer Günter Grass labelled 'persona non grata' by Israeli internal affairs minister Eli Yishai, due to his poem "What Must Be Said"

2012 Pope Benedict XVI calls for an end to Syrian blood shed in papal Easter message

• 2013 15 people are killed and 53 are wounded by a car bombing in Damascus
• 2013 163 people are killed and 50,000 are displaced after tribal violence erupts in Darfur, Sudan
• 2013 Filip Vujanović’s election as President of Montenegro is confirmed by the electoral commission

2014 Mike Babcock wins his 414th career game as head coach of the Detroit Red Wings, becoming the winningest coach in Red Wings history (passing Jack Adams)

2016 31st Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: Chicago, Cheap Trick, Deep Purple, Steve Miller, and N.W.A

• 2017 Fifth day of protests by thousands in Caracas, Venezuela against the government

2018 Hungarian parliamentary election won by right-wing Fidesz–KDNP alliance with Viktor Orbán remaining Prime Minister

• 2019 1 in 4 Japanese adults a virgin aged 18-39 according to new research by Tokyo University
• 2019 14 tons of black market Pangolin scales from 36,000 animals discovered in Singapore, one of largest ever found worldwide
• 2019 600 million birds die each year in the US after striking tall buildings with Chicago the worst city, according to Cornell Lab of Ornithology
• 2019 Actress Allison Mack pleads guilty to sex-trafficking charges for her involvement in sex cult NXIVM

2019 Protests in Sudan against the government of Omar al-Bashir continue with seven killed and 2,500 arrested in Khartoum

• 2019 Record 17ft (5.2M) invasive Burmese python pregnant with 73 eggs captured in Florida's Big Cypress National Preserve

2020 Bernie Sanders drops out of the Democratic race for US president

• 2020 Saudi-backed coalition fighting Houthi fighters in Yemen calls for a ceasefire after five years to stop the spread of COVID-19

2020 Sitcom "Modern Family," created by Christopher Lloyd and Steven Levitan, starring Ed O'Neill, Sofia Vergara, Julie Bowen, and Ty Burrell, airs its last episode after 11 years

• 2020 World Trade organization predicts a drop in global trade greater than the 2008 financial crisis, between 13% and 32% for 2020

2021 Dr. Anthony Fauci thanks American health workers for their sacrifice during the pandemic, acknowledging their more than 3,600 deaths

• 2021 Egyptian archaeologists announce their most important find since Tutankhamun's tomb: the discovery of a lost 'golden city,' the 3,000-year-old ancient city of Aten near Luxor [1]
• 2021 Seventh night of unrest in Belfast, Northern Ireland even after joint call for calm by UK PM and Irish Premier

2021 US President Joe Biden says "Gun violence in this country is an epidemic" as he unveils package of executive actions including restrictions on "ghost guns"

• 2022 First all-private space flight, Axiom-1 launches to the International Space Station [1]

2022 Michael Bay's film "Ambulance" is released in the US by Universal Pictures

2022 US Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences bans Will Smith from attending the Oscars for 10 years after he slapped host Chris Rock on stage during the 2022 ceremony [1]

2024 New Vatican document rejects concept of changing a person's biological sex despite Pope Francis' recent overtures to the Trans community [1]

• 2024 Total solar eclipse stretches from Mazatlán, Mexico, to Newfoundland, plunging 44 million people into darkness [1]
• 2025 Jet Set nightclub roof collapse kills at least 221, during a performance by merengue singer Rubby Pérez and his orchestra, in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic [1]

• 7 Apr
• Historical Events Calendar
• Apr 9

• 

  The Man Who Sold His Wife

  April 7, 1832
• 

  Step Aboard the Titanic – Las Vegas Style

  April 8, 1999
• 

  America’s Civil War Comes Home To Roost

  April 9, 1865
• 

  Yes, We Have Some Bananas

  April 10, 1633

• April

• 1
• 2
• 3
• 4
• 5
• 6
• 7
• 8
• 9
• 10
• 11
• 12
• 13
• 14
• 15
• 16
• 17
• 18
• 19
• 20
• 21
• 22
• 23
• 24
• 25
• 26
• 27
• 28
• 29
• 30

123456789101112131415161718192021222324252627282930 SummaryEventsBirthdaysDeathsWeddingsFilm & TVMusicSport

• Summary
• Events
• Birthdays
• Deaths
• Weddings
• Film & TV
• Music
• Sport

Full Events Calendar

• All Days 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031
• All Months JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember
• All TypesEventsBirthdaysDeathsWeddings
• Search

Search the largest and most accurate independent site for today in history.

• All Days 12345678910111213141516171819202122232425262728293031
• All Months JanuaryFebruaryMarchAprilMayJuneJulyAugustSeptemberOctoberNovemberDecember
• All TypesEventsBirthdaysDeathsWeddings
• Search