May 8





May 8 is the 128th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (129th in leap
years). There are 237 days remaining.

Events

   * 1450 - Jack Cade's Rebellion: Kentishmen revolt against King Henry VI.
   * 1541 - Hernando de Soto reaches the Mississippi River naming it Rio de
     Espiritu Santo.
   * 1794 - French chemist Antoine Lavoisier is executed by guillotine.
   * 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.
   * 1861 - American Civil War: Richmond, Virginia is named the capital of
     the Confederate States of America.
   * 1877 - At Gilmore's Gardens in New York City, the first Westminster Dog
     Show opens (ends May 11).
   * 1886 - Pharmacist Dr. John Styth Pemberton invents a carbonated
     beverage that would be named "Coca-Cola."
   * 1902 - In Martinique, Mount Pelee erupts destroys the town of St.
     Pierre and kills over 30,000 people. Only a small handful of St.
     Pierre's residents survived the blast.
   * 1914 - Paramount Pictures is formed.
   * 1933 - Mohandas Gandhi begins a 21 day fast in protest of British
     oppression in India.
   * 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 waring ships.
   * 1945 - World War II: V-E Day, the day the German forces agreed to an
     unconditional surrender.
   * 1967 - The Philippine province of Davao was split into three: Davao del
     Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental.
   * 1973 - A 71-day standoff between federal authorities and the American
     Indian Movement who were occupying the Pine Ridge Reservation at
     Wounded Knee, South Dakota, ends with the surrender of the militants.
   * 1984 - The Soviet Union announces that it will boycott the 1984 Summer
     Olympics in Los Angeles, California.
   * 1985 - New Coke is released on the 99th anniversary of Coca-Cola.
   * 1999 - Nancy Mace becomes the first female cadet to graduate from The
     Citadel military college.

Births

   * 1521 - Petrus Canisius, Jesuit (+ 1597)
   * 1821 - Jean Henri Dunant, founder of the Red Cross and recipient of the
     Nobel Prize in peace 1901 (+ 1910)
   * 1842 - Emil Christian Hansen, fermentation physiologist (+ 1909)
   * 1884 - Harry S. Truman, former President of the United States (+ 1972)
   * 1892 - Ezio Pinza, opera singer (+ 1957)
   * 1895 - Fulton J. Sheen, bishop, television personality (+ 1979)
   * 1903 - Fernandel, actor (+ 1971)
   * 1906 - Roberto Rossellini, direcotr (+ 1977)
   * 1907 - Wof Stefan Traugott Graf von Baudissin, general (+ 1993)
   * 1911 - Robert Johnson, blues singer and guitarist (+ 1938)
   * 1914 - Romain Gary, writer (+ 1980)
   * 1916 - Jo‹o Havelange, industrialist and former FIFA president
   * 1919 - Lex Barker, actor (+ 1973)
   * 1926 - Don Rickles, comedian
   * 1928 - Theodore Sorenson, political operative, writer
   * 1932 - Sonny Liston, boxer (+ 1970)
   * 1932 - Pyllida Law, actress
   * 1937 - Thomas Pynchon, novelist
   * 1940 - Ricky Nelson, pop singer, (+ 1985)
   * 1943 - Toni Tennille, singer
   * 1944 - Gary Glitter, singer
   * 1945 - Keith Jarrett, jazz musician
   * 1946 - Candice Bergen, actress
   * 1954 - David Keith, actor
   * 1964 - Melissa Gilbert, actress, president of the Screen Actors Guild
   * 1975 - Enrique Iglesias, singer

Deaths

   * 1794 - Antoine Lavoisier, chemist
   * 1842 - Jules Dumont d'Urville, explorer
   * 1880 - Gustave Flaubert, novelist
   * 1975 - Avery Brundage, President of the International Olympic Committee
   * 1985 - Theodore Sturgeon, science fiction writer
   * 1988 - Robert A. Heinlein, science fiction author
   * 1993 - Avram Davidson, science fiction writer
   * 1994 - George Peppard, actor
   * 1999 - Dirk Bogarde, actor
   * 1999 - Dana Plato, actress

Holidays and observances

   * Commemoration of Julian of Norwich (Anglican)
   * Roman Empire - festival in honor of Mens