August 8

1508 Juan Ponce de León, a lieutenant under Christopher Columbus, founded the first Spanish settlement on Puerto Rico, Caparra, on August 8, 1508. Caparra was abandoned in 1521, but it represents the oldest known European settlement on United States territory. De León later served as the first governor of the island.  

Ruins of Juan Ponce de Leon's residence at Caparra By Frederic Gleach

1576 The cornerstone for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg observatory on the island of Hven was laid  on August 8, 1576. The building was completed in 1580 (with a laboratory for his alchemical experiments in its cellar), Using large astronomical instruments, Brahe took many careful measurements. Later the observatory was expanded with an underground facility, His observatory and alchemical laboratory consumed over 1 per cent of Denmark’s GNP in the 1580s.

1786 Physician Dr Michel-Gabriel Paccard and mountain guide Jacques Balmat completed the first recorded ascent of Mont Blanc on the French – Italian border on August 8, 1786, an act considered to be the birth of modern mountaineering.

1878 Thomas Edison received a patent on August 8, 1878 for his mimeograph, a low-cost duplicating machine that works by forcing ink through a stencil onto paper. The patent for "Autographic Printing" covered the electric pen, used for making the stencil, and the flatbed duplicating press. Edison obtained a further patent two years later for his "Method of Preparing Autographic Stencils for Printing." 

The word mimeograph was first used by Albert Blake Dick, when he licensed Edison's patents in 1887.

The complete duplicating outfit including Edison's electric pen.

1911 The number of representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives was established at 435 on August 8, 1911. Back then that computed as one member of Congress for every 211,877 residents. The number was temporarily increased to 437 in 1959 upon the admission of Alaska and Hawaii, and returned to 435 four years later, after the reapportionment consequent to the 1960 census.

1918 The Allied counter offensive, known as the Hundred Days Offensive, began on August 8, 1918, with the Battle of Amiens. By now the American Expeditionary Force was present in France in large numbers and invigorated the Allied armies. The Allies pushed the German troops back after their gains from the Spring Offensive. The Germans eventually retreated to the Hindenburg Line. It ultimately led to the end of World War I.

1919 The Treaty of Rawalpindi, was an armistice made between the United Kingdom and Afghanistan following the Third Anglo-Afghan War, which was signed on August 8, 1919. The United Kingdom recognized Afghanistan's independence and agreed that British India would not extend past the Khyber Pass.

1946 The Convair B-36 Peacemaker, the first nuclear weapon delivery vehicle to be mass-produced,  made its first flight on August 8, 1946. It was a groundbreaking aircraft and played a significant role in the early years of the Cold War as a strategic nuclear bomber. The B-36 was notable for its massive size, long range, and ability to carry nuclear weapons, making it a key component of the United States' nuclear deterrence strategy during that era. 

1962 Marilyn Monroe's second husband Joe Di Maggio claimed the actress' body after her suicide, and arranged her funeral, paying for her casket and crypt. The funeral took place at 1:00pm on August 8, 1962, at the Mortuary Chapel on the grounds of Westwood Memorial Cemetery.

1974 A scandal called "Watergate" in which Richard Nixon attempted to protect men ordered to burglarize the Democratic National Headquarters cost him much of his political support in his second term. On August 8, 1974, Richard Nixon announced he was resigning — the first USA President to do so — in the wake of the Watergate scandal. Richard Millhouse Nixon was the first US president whose name contains all the letters from the word "criminal." The second was William Jefferson Clinton.

1976 On August 8, 1976, MLB baseball team the Chicago White Sox were nearly laughed off the field when they wore Bermuda shorts tin Game 1 of a doubleheader against the Royals at Comiskey Park. They ended up wearing the shorts in three games, winning two of the three.

1981 Tennis star Roger Federer was born at the Basel Cantonal Hospital in Basel, Switzerland on August 8, 1981. His father, Robert Federer, is Swiss and his mother, Lynette Federer (born Durand), is a South African whose ancestors were Dutch and French Huguenots. Roger Federer holds both Swiss and South African citizenship. He has won 20 Grand Slam singles titles—the most in history for a male player

1985 The actress Louise Brooks was found dead of a heart attack on August 8, 1985, after suffering from arthritis and emphysema for  many years. She was buried in Holy Sepulchre Cemetery in Rochester, New York. Brooks was known mostly for her Buster Brown-Page Boy bobbed hair style, which she'd worn since childhood. Thousands of women were attracted to that style and adopted it as their own. 

1988 Princess Beatrice of York, the elder daughter of Prince Andrew, Duke of York was born at 8:18 pm at London's Portland Hospital on August 8, 1988. She is a member of the British royal family and holds the title of Princess of York. 

2008 Beijing hosted the 2008 Summer Olympics. It opened on August 8, 2008, at 8:00 PM local time. The number eight is considered highly auspicious in Chinese culture and other parts of the Far East and is associated with good luck and prosperity. The Beijing Olympics were a major international event that showcased China's culture, achievements, and capabilities on a global stage.