On this day in History - May 8

• 0535 - Pope John II dies.
• 0615 - Pope Boniface IV dies.
• 0685 - Pope Benedict II dies.
• 1278 - Emperor Duanzong of China dies (b. 1268)
• 1319 - King Haakon V of Norway dies (b. 1270)
• 1360 - Guerra dos Cem Anos: Assinatura do Tratado de Brétigny
• 1429 - During the Hundred Years' War, the siege of Orléans ends when French troops led by 17-year-old Joan of Arc drive the English from the city.
• 1450 - Jack Cade's Rebellion: Kentishmen revolt against King Henry VI.
• 1460 - Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach was born (d. 1536)
• 1473 - John Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire dies (b. 1420). English politician.
• 1521 - During the Diet of Worms, Holy Roman Emperor Charles V signed a secret pact with Pope Leo X to declare war on France.
• 1521 - Petrus Canisius was born (d. 1597). Dutch jesuit.
• 1538 - Edward Fox dies. English bishop
• 1541 - Hernando de Soto reaches the Mississippi River naming it Río de Espíritu Santo.
• 1587 - Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy was born (d. 1637)
• 1622 - Claes Rålamb was born (d. 1698). Swedish statesman.
• 1629 - Niels Juel was born (d. 1697). Danish admiral.
• 1632 - Heino Heinrich Graf von Flemming was born (d. 1706). German field marshal and Governor of Berlin.
• 1653 - Claude-Louis-Hector de Villars was born (d. 1734). Marshall of France.
• 1668 - Alain-René Lesage was born (d. 1747). French writer.
• 1670 - Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans was born (d. 1726). English soldier.
• 1721 - Michelangiolo dei Conti was elected Pope Innocent XIII.
• 1735 - Sir Nathaniel Dance-Holland was born (d. 1811). English painter.
• 1737 - Edward Gibbon was born. English historian and author.
• 1753 - Miguel Gregorio Antonio Ignacio Hidalgo y Costilla Mandarte Villaseñor y Lomelí was born (d. 1811). Mexico's father founder.
• 1766 - Samuel Chandler dies (b. 1693). English non-conformist minister.
• 1773 - Ali Bey Al-Kabir dies (b. 1728). Mamluk Sultan of Egypt.
• 1781 - Richard Jago dies (b. 1715). English poet.
• 1782 - Morre em Pombal, paea inde tinha sido desterrado, o Marquês de Pombal [Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo]. Primeiro-ministro português (n. 1699).
• 1785 - Étienne François, duc de Choiseul dies (b. 1719). French statesman.
• 1785 - Pietro Longhi dies (b. 1701). Venetian painter.
• 1788 - Giovanni Antonio Scopoli dies (b. 1723). Italian-born physician and naturalist.
• 1792 - Vicente de Sousa Coutinho dies in Paris. Portuguese diplomat.
• 1794 - Antoine Lavoisier dies guillotined by the revolutionary authorities in Paris (b. 1743). French scientist who is considered the founder of modern chemistry.
• 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.
• 1800 - William Lovett was born (d. 08 Aug 1877).
• 1819 - Kamehameha I dies. King of Hawaii
• 1825 - George Bruce Malleson was born (d. 1898). Indian officer and author.
• 1828 - Jean Henri Dunant was born (d. 1910). Swiss founder of the Red Cross, recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize -1901.
• 1828 - Mauro Giuliani dies (b. 1781). Italian composer.
• 1829 - Louis Moreau Gottschalk was born (d. 1869). American composer and pianist.
• 1842 - Emil Christian Hansen was born (d. 1909). Danish fermentation physiologist.
• 1842 - Jules Dumont d'Urville dies (b. 1790). French 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). Brazilian politician.
• 1861 - American Civil War: Richmond, Virginia is named the capital of the Confederate States of America.
• 1873 - John Stuart Mill dies (b. 1806). English 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. 12 Dec 1821). French 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). Russian-born author.
• 1895 - Fulton J. Sheen was born (d. 1979). American bishop and television personality.
• 1895 - Edmund Wilson was born. Author and critic historian.
• 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 - Freidrich A. von Hayek was born in Vienna (d. 1992). Austrian economist, Nobel Prize laureate.
  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.
• 1902 - Andre Michael Lwoff was born (d. 1994). French microbiologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• 1903 - Fernandel was born (d. 1971). French actor.
• 1905 - Red Nichols was born (d. 1965). American jazz musician.
• 1906 - Roberto Rossellini was born (d. 1977). Italian film 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
• 1911 - Robert Johnson was born (d. 16 Aug 1938). American singer and guitarist, one of the pioneers of the blues.
• 1914 - Romain Gary was born (d. 1980). Polish writer.
• 1914 - Paramount Pictures is formed.
• 1915 - Henry McNeal Turner dies in Windsor, Ontario, Canada. Bishop for the African Methodist Episcopal (AME) Church
• 1916 - João Havelange was born. Industrialist and FIFA president
• 1916 - Swami Chinmayananda was born. Spread the teachings of Vedanta
• 1919 - Edward George Honey first proposed the idea of a moment of silence to commemorate The Armistice of World War I, which later resulted in the creation of Remembrance Day.
• 1919 - Lex Barker was born (d. 1973). American 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. American comedian.
• 1928 - Theodore Sorenson was born. American political operative, writer.
• 1930 - Heather Harper was born. Irish soprano.
• 1930 - Gary Snyder was born. American poet
• 1931 - Adelaide Chiozzo was born. Brasilien actress.
• 1932 - Phyllida Law was born. Scotish 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. English footballer.
• 1936 - Oswald Spengler dies in Munich. German philosopher and historian.
• 1937 - Thomas Pynchon was born. American novelist.
• 1940 - Ricky Nelson was born (d. 1985). American 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.
• 1942 - World War II: On the night of 8/9 May 1942, gunners of the Ceylon Garrison Artillery on Horsburgh Island in the Cocos Islands rebelled. Their mutiny was crushed and three of them were executed, the only British Commonwealth soldiers to be executed for mutiny during the Second World War.
• 1942 - Terry Neill was born. Northern Irish footballer and football manager
• 1943 - Toni Tennille was born. American singer.
• 1943 - Mordechaj Anielewicz dies (b. 1919). Polish Resistance Fighter.
• 1944 - Gary Glitter was born. English singer.
• 1945 - Keith Jarrett was born. American jazz musician.
• 1945 - World War II: VE Day (Victory in Europe Day) officially goes into effect on the day after Germany surrendered unconditionally to Allied forces / Foi proclamado o Dia da Vitória na Europa, após a rendição da Alemanha Nazi
• 1947 - Harry Gordon Selfridge dies (b. 1858).American-born founder of Selfridges department store
• 1947 - H. Robert Horvitz was born. American biologist, recipient of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine
• 1948 - Felicity Lott was born. English soprano.
• 1950 - Vital Brazil dies (b. 28 Apr 1865). Brazilian physician and scientist.
• 1951 - Chris Frantz was born. American drummer (Talking Heads)
• 1952 - William Fox dies (b. 1879). Austro-born American film producer
• 1953 - Alex Van Halen was born. Dutch-born drummer
• 1954 - David Keith was born. American actor.
• 1957 - Marie Myriam was born. French singer
• 1959 - Maria Padilha was born. Brazilian actress.
• 1960 - J. H. C. Whitehead dies (b. 1904). British mathematician.
• 1963 - A religious crisis began in Vietnam when the Diem government, controlled by a Roman Catholic family, broke up demonstrations in the city of Hue. Buddhists were protesting the government's bans of flags and parades celebrating the birthday of the Buddha. Reports placed the number of deaths at 11.
• 1963 - Helena Blagne Zaman was born. Slovenian singer.
• 1964 - Melissa Gilbert was born. American 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)
• 1964 - Dave Rowntree was born. British drummer (Blur)
• 1967 - The Philippine province of Davao is split into three: Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental.
• 1967 - World heavyweight boxing champion Muhammad Ali is indicted for refusing to be inducted into the U.S. Army for religious reasons.
• 1968 - Jamie Summers was born. American porn star
• 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. Australian singer.
• 1972 - Eduardo Falaschi was born. Singer (Angra (band))
• 1972 - Ray Whitney was born. Canadian ice hockey player
• 1973 - Hiromu Arakawa was born. Japanese artist
• 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.
• 1974 - The Canadian Government of Prime Minister Pierre Trudeau is defeated in the House of Commons.
• 1975 - Enrique Iglesias was born. Spanish-born singer.
• 1975 - Avery Brundage dies (b. 1887). President of the International Olympic Committee.
• 1976 - Martha Wainwright was born. Canadian musician and songwriter.
• 1978 - Lúcio was born. Brazilian footballer.
• 1980 - Michelle McManus was born. Scottish singer
• 1981 - Björn Dixgård was born. Swedish guitarist
• 1981 - The United States Air Force informed Simcha Goldman, an Orthodox Jew, that he was no longer permitted to wear a yarmulke because it violated the military dress code. Goldman challenged this decision in the courts in a case which became known as Goldman v. Weinberger.
• 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 - Mashio Miyazaki was born. Japanese actress
• 1985 - Theodore Sturgeon dies (b. 19018). American science fiction writer.
• 1987 - The SAS ambushes and kills the Loughgall Martyrs.
• 1988 - Robert A. Heinlein dies (b. 1907). American science fiction writer.
• 1990 - Luigi Nono dies (b. 1924). Italian composer.
• 1990 - Tomás Cardinal Ó Fiaich dies (b. 1923). Northern Irish clergyman.
• 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). American actor.
• 1995 - Teresa Teng dies (b. 1953). Asian superstar.
• 1996 - Beryl Burton dies (b. 1937). English cyclist.
• 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). British actor.
• 1999 - Dana Plato dies (b. 1964). American actress.
• 2000 - Guadalupe "Pita" Amor dies (b. 1918). Mexican poet.
• 2003 - Elvira Pagã dies. Brazilian actress
• 2004 - António Champalimaud dies (b. 1918). Portuguese industrialist and entrepreneur
• 2005 - The new Canadian War Museum opens, in commemoration of the 60th anniversary of V-E Day.
• World Red Cross Day
• VE Day