On this day in History - May 8

1360 - Guerra dos Cem Anos: Assinatura do Tratado de Brétigny

1450 - Jack Cade's Rebellion: Kentishmen revolt against King Henry VI.
1521 - Petrus Canisius, was born (d. 1597). Jesuit.
1541 - Hernando de Soto reaches the Mississippi River naming it Río de Espíritu Santo.
1653 - Claude-Louis-Hector de Villars, was born (d. 1734) Marshall of France.
1735 - Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland, was born (d. 1811). Painter.
1782 - Morre o Marquês de Pombal, [Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo]. Primeiro-ministro português (n. 1699) .

1792 - Morreu, em Paris, o diplomata português Vicente de Sousa Coutinho.
1794 - Antoine Lavoisier, dies (b. 1743). Chemist.
1794 - Branded a traitor during the Reign of Terror by revolutionists, French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, who was also a tax collector with the Ferme Générale, was tried, convicted, and guillotined all on one day in Paris.
1825 - George Bruce Malleson, was born (d. 1898). Indian officer and author.
1828 - Jean Henri Dunant, was born (d. 1910). Founder of the Red Cross, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize -1901.
1829 - Louis Moreau Gottschalk, was born (d. 1869). American composer and pianist.
1842 - Emil Christian Hansen, was born (d. 1909). Fermentation physiologist.
1842 - Jules Dumont d'Urville, dies (b. 1790). Explorer.
1846 - Mexican-American War: The Battle of Palo Alto - Zachary Taylor defeats a Mexican force north of the Rio Grande at Palo Alto, Texas in the first major battle of the war.
1850 - Ross Barnes, was born (d. 1915). Baseball player.
1851 - José Gomes Pinheiro Machado was born d. 1915). Brazilien politic .
1861 - American Civil War: Richmond, Virginia is named the capital of the Confederate States of America.
1873 - John Stuart Mill, dies (b. 1806). Empiricist philosopher.
1877 - At Gilmore's Gardens in New York City, the first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show opens (ends May 11).
1880 - Gustave Flaubert, dies (b. 1821). Novelist.
1884 - Harry S. Truman, was born (d. 1972). President of the United States.
1886 - Pharmacist Dr. John Styth Pemberton invents a carbonated beverage that would later be named "Coca-Cola".
1891 - Helena Blavatsky, dies (b. 1831). Author.
1895 - Fulton J. Sheen, was born (d. 1979). Bishop and television personality.
1896 - Against Warwickshire, Yorkshire sets a still-standing County Championship record when they accumulate an innings total of 887.
1898 - The first games of the Italian Football League are played.
1899 - The Irish Literary Theatre in Dublin opens.
1899 - Friedrich Hayek, was born (d. 1992). Economist.
1902 - In Martinique, Mount Pelée erupts, destroying the town of St. Pierre and killing over 30,000 people. Only a handful of residents survive the blast.
1903 - Paul Gauguin, dies. French painter.
1903 - Fernandel,was born (d. 1971). Actor.
1905 - Red Nichols, was born (d. 1965). Jazz musician.
1906 - Roberto Rossellini, was born (d. 1977). Director.
1907 - Wof Stefan Traugott Graf von Baudissin, was born (d.1993). General.

1908 - Sobe ao trono o último rei de Portugal D. Manuel II
1914 - Romain Gary, was born (d. 1980). Writer.
1914 - Paramount Pictures is formed.
1916 - João Havelange,was born. Industrialist and FIFA president
1919 - Lex Barker, was born (d. 1973). Actor.
1925 - Ali Hassan Mwinyi, was born. President of Tanzania.
1926 - Sir David Attenborough, was born. British television presenter and producer.
1926 - Don Rickles, was born. Comedian.
1928 - Theodore Sorenson, was born. Political operative, writer.
1930 - Heather Harper,was born. Irish soprano.
1931 - Adelaide Chiozzo,was born. Brasilien actress.
1932 - Phyllida Law, was born. Actress.
1932 - Sonny Liston, was born (d. 1970). American boxer.
1933 - Mohandas Gandhi begins a 21-day fast in protest of British oppression in India.
1935 - Jack Charlton was born. Footballer.
1937 - Thomas Pynchon, was born. Novelist.
1940 - Ricky Nelson, was born (d. 1985). Pop singer.
1941 - Betty Faria, was born. Brasilien actress.
1942 - World War II: The Battle of the Coral Sea comes to an end. This is the first time in the naval history where two enemy fleets fought without visual contact between warring ships.
1943 - Toni Tennille, was born. Singer.
1944 - Gary Glitter, was born. Singer.
1945 - Keith Jarrett, was born. Jazz musician.
1945 - World War II: VE Day. German forces agree to an unconditional surrender.

1945 - Foi proclamado o Dia da Vitória na Europa, após a rendição da Alemanha Nazi
1947 - Harry Gordon Selfridge, dies (b. 1858). Founder of Selfridges department store
1948 - Felicity Lott, was born. English soprano.
1950 - Morre Vital Brazil, médico e cientista brasileiro (n. 1865)
1951 - Chris Frantz, was born. Drummer (Talking Heads) .
1952 - William Fox, dies (b. 1879). Austro-Hungarian-born American film producer
1954 - David Keith, was born. Actor .
1960 - J. H. C. Whitehead, dies (b. 1904). British mathematician.
1963 - Helena Blagne Zaman, was born. Slovenian singer .
1964 - Melissa Gilbert, was born. Actress and president of the Screen Actors Guild
1964 - Bobby Labonte, was born. American race car driver.
1966 - Claudio Taffarel, was born. Brazilian footballer (goal-keeper)
1967 - The Philippine province of Davao is split into three: Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental.
1972 - Vietnam War - U.S. President Richard M. Nixon announces his order to place mines in major North Vietnamese ports in order to stem the flow of weapons and other goods to that nation.
1972 - Darren Hayes, was born. Ssinger.
1972 - Eduardo Falaschi, was born. Singer (Angra (band))
1973 - A 71-day standoff, between federal authorities and the American Indian Movement members occupying the Pine Ridge Reservation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, ends with the surrender of the militants.
1974 - Korey Stringer, was born (d. 2001). American football player.
1975 - Enrique Iglesias, was born. Singer.
1975 - Avery Brundage, dies (b. 1887). President of the International Olympic Committee.
1975 - Enrique Iglesias, was born. Singer.
1982 - Gilles Villeneuve, dies (b. 1950). Canadian racing driver.
1984 - The Soviet Union announces that it will boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.
1984 - Cpl. Denis Lortie enters the Quebec National Assembly and opens fire, killing 3 and wounding 13. René Jalbert, sergeant-at-arms of the assembly, succeeds in calming him, for which he will later receive the Cross of Valour.
1985 - Theodore Sturgeon, dies (b. 19018). Science fiction writer.
1988 - Robert A. Heinlein, dies (b. 1907). Science fiction writer.
1991 - Jean Langlais, dies (b. 1907). French composer and pianist.
1991 - Rudolf Serkin, dies (b. 1903). Austrian pianist.
1993 - Avram Davidson, dies (b. 1923). Science fiction writer.
1994 - George Peppard, dies (b. 1928). Actor.
1997 - A China Southern Airlines Boeing 737 crashes on approach into Shenzhen's Huangtian Airport, killing 35
1999 - Nancy Mace becomes the first female cadet to graduate from The Citadel military college.
1999 - Dirk Bogarde, dies (b. 1921). Actor.
1999 - Dana Plato, dies (b. 1964). Actress.
2004 - Morre António Champalimaud, empresário português (n. 1918)