1329 The city of Orleans was the northernmost city that remained loyal to the French during the Hundred Years War. The English began laying siege to it and appeared to be winning until King Charles VII sent Joan of Arc to the Siege of Orléans as part of a relief army. She initiated several attacks gaining victory on May 8, 1429 by taking the southern approach to the bridge, nine days after her arrival. Several additional swift victories followed turning the tide of the war.
1541 On May 8, 1541, the expedition led by Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto became the first documented Europeans to reach the Mississippi River. When De Soto's 400 troops were confronted by the broad Mississippi River, constantly patrolled by hostile natives, it was an obstacle to the conquistador's mission. After about one month, and the construction of several floats, they finally crossed the Mississippi at or near Memphis, Tennessee and continued their travels westward.
1873 Much of the last five years of English economist and political philosopher John Stuart Mill’s life were much spent at his Avignon, France home, often with his step daughter Helen Taylor. Mill suddenly died on May 8, 1873 at his Avignon home aged 66. The cause of death was erysipelas, a skin infection caught a few days earlier, which caused his face to swell. Mill was buried with his beloved wife Harriet at the Cimetiere Saint-Veron, Avignon.
1876 The last of the Tasmanian aboriginals, Truganini died on May 8, 1876. Born in 1812 on Bruny Island, she endured the impact of colonization, surviving the violent conflicts of the Black War. After suffering immense displacement and hardships, she became an advocate for her people. Truganini's passing marked a tragic milestone, highlighting the effects of colonization and the need to preserve Indigenous cultures and histories.
1877 The first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show opened at Gilmore's Garden (Madison Square Garden) in New York on May 8, 1877. It was initiated by a group of hunters who met regularly at the Westminster Hotel in Manhattan and was originally a show for gun dogs, primarily Setters and Pointers.The "First Annual New York Bench Show of Dogs" drew over 1200 dogs and proved so popular that it took four days instead of the three days originally scheduled for the competition.
1879 Inspired by the huge internal combustion engine invented by George Brayton, which was displayed at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, New York inventor George B. Selden began working on a smaller lighter version. He succeeded by 1878, and filed for a patent on May 8, 1879. Selden then filed a series of amendments to his application which stretched out the legal process resulting in a delay of 16 years before the patent was granted on November 5, 1895.
1884 Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States, was born on May 8, 1884, in Lamar, Missouri. Harry spent most of his youth on his family's 550-acre farm near Independence, Missouri. Harry S. Truman had no middle name. His parents gave him the middle initial S to honor his grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young. Truman was the last U.S. President to not have a college degree. However, he was a voracious reader and remained so all of his life.
1886 John Pemberton, a former Confederate officer turned pharmacist, created a new beverage at his Atlanta Pemberton Chemical Company on March 29, 1886. It was called Coca-Cola after two of its ingredients, coca leaves and kola nuts. Coca Cola was originally sold as a patent medicine. Pemberton started selling his carbonated beverage on May 8, 1886 touting it as a cure for headaches, hysteria and melancholia.
1895 The Roman Catholic bishop Fulton J. Sheen was born on May 8, 1895. For 20 years as Father Sheen, later Monsignor, he hosted the night-time radio program The Catholic Hour on NBC between 1930–1950. Sheen successfully switched to television in 1951, presenting Life Is Worth Living for six years. Sheen's final presenting role was on the syndicated The Fulton Sheen Program (1961–1968). For this work, Sheen twice won an Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Television Personality.
1899 In 1896 French physicist Henri Becquerel discovered the principle of radioactive decay when he exposed photographic plates to uranium. Hearing of Becquerel's experience with uranium, New Zealand-born British physicist Ernest Rutherford started to explore its radioactivity. Rutherford proved that radioactivity involved the nuclear transmutation of one chemical element to another. He coined the terms alpha ray and beta ray to describe the two distinct types of radiation on May 8, 1899.
1936 On May 8, 1936, jockey Ralph Neves was involved in a racing accident at Bay Meadows Racetrack in San Mateo, California and mistakenly pronounced dead by three different doctors. Neves revived shortly after and wearing only a hospital gown took a taxi back to the racetrack where he alarmed the crowd with his miraculous reappearance. He was not allowed to compete in any of the remaining races because of his 'death,' but rode again on the next day's racing card.
1942 The Battle of the Coral Sea was fought between May 4-8, 1942. During the battle, United States Navy aircraft attacked and sunk the Japanese Imperial Navy light aircraft carrier, Shōhō. The battle marked the first time in the naval history that two enemy fleets fought without visual contact between warring ships. It was the first battle of World War II in which the Allies were able to stop a major advance of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
1945 Victory in Europe Day, generally known as VE Day (United Kingdom) or V-E Day (US), is celebrated across Western European states on May 8. The day celebrates the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the end of World War II in Europe. The term VE Day existed as early as September 1944, in anticipation of victory.
 |
| Joan of Arc at the Siege of Orléans by Jules Lenepveu |
1541 On May 8, 1541, the expedition led by Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto became the first documented Europeans to reach the Mississippi River. When De Soto's 400 troops were confronted by the broad Mississippi River, constantly patrolled by hostile natives, it was an obstacle to the conquistador's mission. After about one month, and the construction of several floats, they finally crossed the Mississippi at or near Memphis, Tennessee and continued their travels westward.
1873 Much of the last five years of English economist and political philosopher John Stuart Mill’s life were much spent at his Avignon, France home, often with his step daughter Helen Taylor. Mill suddenly died on May 8, 1873 at his Avignon home aged 66. The cause of death was erysipelas, a skin infection caught a few days earlier, which caused his face to swell. Mill was buried with his beloved wife Harriet at the Cimetiere Saint-Veron, Avignon.
 |
| John Stuart Mill and Helen Taylor. |
1876 The last of the Tasmanian aboriginals, Truganini died on May 8, 1876. Born in 1812 on Bruny Island, she endured the impact of colonization, surviving the violent conflicts of the Black War. After suffering immense displacement and hardships, she became an advocate for her people. Truganini's passing marked a tragic milestone, highlighting the effects of colonization and the need to preserve Indigenous cultures and histories.
1877 The first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show opened at Gilmore's Garden (Madison Square Garden) in New York on May 8, 1877. It was initiated by a group of hunters who met regularly at the Westminster Hotel in Manhattan and was originally a show for gun dogs, primarily Setters and Pointers.The "First Annual New York Bench Show of Dogs" drew over 1200 dogs and proved so popular that it took four days instead of the three days originally scheduled for the competition.
1879 Inspired by the huge internal combustion engine invented by George Brayton, which was displayed at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia in 1876, New York inventor George B. Selden began working on a smaller lighter version. He succeeded by 1878, and filed for a patent on May 8, 1879. Selden then filed a series of amendments to his application which stretched out the legal process resulting in a delay of 16 years before the patent was granted on November 5, 1895.
1884 Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States, was born on May 8, 1884, in Lamar, Missouri. Harry spent most of his youth on his family's 550-acre farm near Independence, Missouri. Harry S. Truman had no middle name. His parents gave him the middle initial S to honor his grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young. Truman was the last U.S. President to not have a college degree. However, he was a voracious reader and remained so all of his life.
1886 John Pemberton, a former Confederate officer turned pharmacist, created a new beverage at his Atlanta Pemberton Chemical Company on March 29, 1886. It was called Coca-Cola after two of its ingredients, coca leaves and kola nuts. Coca Cola was originally sold as a patent medicine. Pemberton started selling his carbonated beverage on May 8, 1886 touting it as a cure for headaches, hysteria and melancholia.
1895 The Roman Catholic bishop Fulton J. Sheen was born on May 8, 1895. For 20 years as Father Sheen, later Monsignor, he hosted the night-time radio program The Catholic Hour on NBC between 1930–1950. Sheen successfully switched to television in 1951, presenting Life Is Worth Living for six years. Sheen's final presenting role was on the syndicated The Fulton Sheen Program (1961–1968). For this work, Sheen twice won an Emmy Award for Most Outstanding Television Personality.
1899 In 1896 French physicist Henri Becquerel discovered the principle of radioactive decay when he exposed photographic plates to uranium. Hearing of Becquerel's experience with uranium, New Zealand-born British physicist Ernest Rutherford started to explore its radioactivity. Rutherford proved that radioactivity involved the nuclear transmutation of one chemical element to another. He coined the terms alpha ray and beta ray to describe the two distinct types of radiation on May 8, 1899.
1936 On May 8, 1936, jockey Ralph Neves was involved in a racing accident at Bay Meadows Racetrack in San Mateo, California and mistakenly pronounced dead by three different doctors. Neves revived shortly after and wearing only a hospital gown took a taxi back to the racetrack where he alarmed the crowd with his miraculous reappearance. He was not allowed to compete in any of the remaining races because of his 'death,' but rode again on the next day's racing card.
1942 The Battle of the Coral Sea was fought between May 4-8, 1942. During the battle, United States Navy aircraft attacked and sunk the Japanese Imperial Navy light aircraft carrier, Shōhō. The battle marked the first time in the naval history that two enemy fleets fought without visual contact between warring ships. It was the first battle of World War II in which the Allies were able to stop a major advance of the Imperial Japanese Navy.
1945 Victory in Europe Day, generally known as VE Day (United Kingdom) or V-E Day (US), is celebrated across Western European states on May 8. The day celebrates the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Nazi Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945, marking the end of World War II in Europe. The term VE Day existed as early as September 1944, in anticipation of victory.
1945 The Sétif and Guelma massacre was a brutal event in Algeria. A parade held in Sétif, French Algeria on May 8, 1945, to commemorate the end of World War II in Europe turned violent, leading to French colonial forces harshly repressing Algerian civilians. Estimates range from 6,000 to 45,000 deaths, mostly Algerians. This massacre fueled Algerian independence movements.
1976 On May 8, 1976, Johnny Cash received an honorary degree, a Doctorate of Humane Letters, from National University in San Diego, Californa. San Diego’s mayor at the time, Mayor Frank Curran, also declared the day National Johnny Cash Day. The Man in Black had previously received a Doctor of Humanities degree in 1971 from Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina.
1978 The first ascent of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen was completed by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler on May 8, 1978. It was the first time anyone had been that high without bottled oxygen and Messner and Habeler proved what certain doctors, specialists, and mountaineers thought impossible.
2005 Prince Harry entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on May 8, 2005, where he was known as Officer Cadet Wales, and joined the Alamein Company. Harry completed his officer training eleven months later and was commissioned as a Cornet (second lieutenant) in the Blues and Royals, a regiment of the Household Cavalry in the British Army. He was given the service number 564673. On April 13, 2008, when he reached two years' seniority, Harry was promoted to lieutenant.
1976 On May 8, 1976, Johnny Cash received an honorary degree, a Doctorate of Humane Letters, from National University in San Diego, Californa. San Diego’s mayor at the time, Mayor Frank Curran, also declared the day National Johnny Cash Day. The Man in Black had previously received a Doctor of Humanities degree in 1971 from Gardner-Webb University in North Carolina.
1978 The first ascent of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen was completed by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler on May 8, 1978. It was the first time anyone had been that high without bottled oxygen and Messner and Habeler proved what certain doctors, specialists, and mountaineers thought impossible.
2005 Prince Harry entered the Royal Military Academy Sandhurst on May 8, 2005, where he was known as Officer Cadet Wales, and joined the Alamein Company. Harry completed his officer training eleven months later and was commissioned as a Cornet (second lieutenant) in the Blues and Royals, a regiment of the Household Cavalry in the British Army. He was given the service number 564673. On April 13, 2008, when he reached two years' seniority, Harry was promoted to lieutenant.
Comments
Post a Comment