July 8Birthdays & History

On this day: July 8 in history

Oldest first. Tap a year to see it on the World Chronicle timeline.

1. 1167The Byzantines defeat the Hungarian army decisively at Sirmium, forcing the Hungarians to sue for peace.Europe
2. 1283Roger of Lauria, commanding the Aragonese fleet, defeats an Angevin fleet sent to put down a rebellion on Malta.Europe
3. 1497Vasco da Gama sets sail on the first direct European voyage to India.EuropeAsia
4. 1579Our Lady of Kazan, a holy icon of the Russian Orthodox Church, is discovered underground in the city of Kazan, Tatarstan.Europe
5. 1651The Venetian fleet under Alvise Mocenigo engages with an Ottoman fleet under Hosambegzade Ali Pasha south of Naxos, defeating it after three days.EuropeMiddle East
6. 1658Abaza Hasan Pasha and his allies declare a revolt against grand vizier Köprülü Mehmed Pasha, demanding his execution and marching on Istanbul.Middle East
7. 1663Charles II of England grants John Clarke a Royal charter to Rhode Island.EuropeNorth America
8. 1709Peter I of Russia defeats Charles XII of Sweden at the Battle of Poltava, thus effectively ending Sweden's status as a major power in Europe.Europe
9. 1716The Battle of Dynekilen forces Sweden to abandon its invasion of Norway.Europe
10. 1730An estimated magnitude 8.7 earthquake causes a tsunami that damages more than 1,000 km (620 mi) of Chile's coastline.Latin America
11. 1741Reverend Jonathan Edwards preaches to his congregation in Enfield, Connecticut his most famous sermon, "Sinners in the Hands of an Angry God"; an influence for the First Great Awakening.North America
12. 1758French forces hold Fort Carillon against the British at Ticonderoga, New York.EuropeNorth America
13. 1760British forces defeat French forces in the last naval battle in New France.Europe
14. 1775The Olive Branch Petition is signed by the Continental Congress of the Thirteen Colonies of North America.North America
15. 1776John Nixon delivers the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence of the United States.North America
16. 1822Chippewas turn over a huge tract of land in Ontario to the United Kingdom.North AmericaEurope
17. 1832An Egyptian army under Ibrahim Pascha defeats an Ottoman army under Mehmed Pascha in the battle of Hims.Middle East
18. 1853The Perry Expedition arrives in Edo Bay with a treaty requesting trade.Asia
19. 1859King Charles XV & IV accedes to the throne of Sweden–Norway.Europe
20. 1864Ikedaya Incident: The Choshu Han shishis planned Shinsengumi sabotage on Kyoto, Japan at Ikedaya.Asia
21. 1874The Mounties begin their March West.North America
22. 1876The Hamburg massacre prior to the 1876 United States presidential election results in the deaths of six African-Americans of the Republican Party, along with one white assailant.EuropeNorth AmericaAfrica
23. 1879Sailing ship USS Jeannette departs San Francisco carrying an ill-fated expedition to the North Pole.North America
24. 1889The first issue of The Wall Street Journal is published.North America
25. 1892St. John's, Newfoundland is devastated in the Great Fire of 1892.North America
26. 1912Henrique Mitchell de Paiva Couceiro leads an unsuccessful royalist attack against the First Portuguese Republic in Chaves.Europe
27. 1932The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches its lowest level of the Great Depression, closing at 41.22.North America
28. 1937Turkey, Iran, Iraq, and Afghanistan sign the Treaty of Saadabad.Middle EastAsia
29. 1947Reports are broadcast that a UFO crash-landed in Roswell, New Mexico in what became known as the Roswell UFO incident.North AmericaLatin America
30. 1948The United States Air Force accepts its first female recruits into a program called the Women's Air Force (WAF).North America
31. 1960Francis Gary Powers is charged with espionage resulting from his flight over the Soviet Union.Europe
32. 1962Ne Win besieges and blows up the Rangoon University Student Union building to crush the Student Movement.Asia
33. 1965Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 21 is destroyed by a bomb near 100 Mile House, Canada, killing 52.North America
34. 1966King Mwambutsa IV Bangiriceng of Burundi is deposed by his son Prince Charles Ndizi.Africa
35. 1970Richard Nixon delivers a special congressional message enunciating Native American self-determination as official US Indian policy, leading to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975.North AmericaAsia
36. 1972Israeli Mossad assassinate Palestinian writer Ghassan Kanafani.Middle East
37. 1980The inaugural 1980 State of Origin game is won by Queensland who defeat New South Wales 20–10 at Lang Park.Europe
38. 1980Aeroflot Flight 4225 crashes near Almaty International Airport in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (present day Kazakhstan), killing all 166 people on board.AsiaEurope
39. 1982A failed assassination attempt against Iraqi president Saddam Hussein results in the Dujail Massacre over the next several months.Middle East
40. 1988The Island Express train travelling from Bangalore to Kanyakumari derails on the Peruman bridge and falls into Ashtamudi Lake, Kerala in India killing 105 passengers and injuring over 200 more.Asia
41. 1990West Germany win the FIFA World Cup final against defending champions Argentina, with Andreas Brehme scoring the game's only goal.EuropeLatin America
42. 1994Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on an international science mission.World
43. 1994Kim Jong Il begins to assume supreme leadership of North Korea upon the death of his father, Kim Il Sung.Asia
44. 2003Sudan Airways Flight 139 crashes near Port Sudan Airport during an emergency landing attempt, killing 116 of the 117 people on board.Africa
45. 2011Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched in the final mission of the U.S. Space Shuttle program.North America
46. 2014Israel launches an offensive on Gaza amid rising tensions following the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers.Middle East
47. 2014The Brazil national football team suffers its joint-worst defeat, losing 7–1 to Germany in the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup, in a match dubbed the Mineiraço.Latin AmericaEurope
48. 2022Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe is shot and killed with an improvised firearm due to resentment against the Unification Church.Asia
49. 2025Hurricane Beryl makes landfall in Texas as a Category 1 hurricane, causing 44 deaths, over 2.7 residents without power, and $28 billion to $32 billion dollars worth of damage.North America

Source: Wikipedia "July 8" / CC BY-SA 4.0