Some of the significant events which took place on August 8 taken from the leaf of History:
70 – Tower of Antonia destroyed by Romans 936 -German king Otto I the Great crowned.
1220 – Sweden is defeated by Estonian tribes in the Battle of Lihula.
1322 – Emperor Godaigo makes Sojiji the chief monastery of Soto Sect.
1910 – Spain Uprising Quelled: In San Sebastian, uprisings against the Spanish government ruled by King Alfonso XIII were quelled by cavalry, infantry, and other military men. A large bull fight took place on this day, however, some priests shouted, “Death to Spain! Long live the Pope!” One hundred and fifty people were arrested and the rest took flight. Troops were guarding the palace where the queen mother and her children were staying.
1921 – Off the coast of Alaska, the ship Alaska bound for San Francisco met with tragedy. In the fog the ship hit a rocky ledge twice. The boilers blew up as a result, blowing a lot of its passengers off the decks and out into the icy ocean. One hundred and sixty-six people were saved off of the vessel, but thirty-one were missing, and 28 were dead. The ship, Anyox, rescued the survivors, but risked the rocky reef in the fog.
1921, Inglewood, California, U.S. Died: June 6th, 2013, Los Angeles, California, U.S. Known For: Esther Williams is best known as an American Movie Actress and Top Class Swimmer, she began her acting career in Billy Rose’s Aquacade swimming alongside Olympic swimmer and Tarzan star, Johnny Weissmuller. She was signed under contract by MGM’s head, Louis B. Mayer. Her movies included Bathing Beauty (1944), Ziegfeld Follies (1945), Fiesta (1947), Million Dollar Mermaid (1952), and a series of movies starring opposite Howard Keel. Her trademark in many of the movies she was in featured synchronized swimming scenes which combined her acting skill with her passion for swimming. Due to the start of World War II the 1940 Summer Olympics were cancelled and she never had the opportunity to compete.
1929 – The airship Graf Zeppelin began its world tour today from Lakehurst, New Jersey, USA. The total trip flying time between taking off at Lakehurst to landing in Lakehurst took 12 days and 11 minutes and covered 19,500 miles. The overall elapsed times due to stops and refueling was 19 days.
1937 – In Hamilton, Ontario a man who was charged with beating his wife was deemed to be within his legal rights. Canadian judge, William McLeary cited the English Common Law made in 1879 which stated that a man has a right in certain cases to “chastise or confine” his wife.
1937- Dustin Hoffman was born on August 8th, 1937 in Los Angeles, California. Dustin Hoffman is an American actor who has had more than 40 years starring in major movies beginning in 1967 with his role of Benjamin Braddock in the movie The Graduate which won critical acclaim and was a major box office success. His movies over the 40 years include the award winning The Graduate, John and Mary, Lenny, Midnight Cowboy, All the President’s Men, Kramer vs. Kramer, Tootsie, Rain Man, Hook, Wag the Dog, Meet the Fockers and Last Chance Harvey picking up two Academy Awards, five Golden Globes, three BAFTAs, three Drama Desk Awards, and an Emmy Award.
1942 – Mahatma Gandhi launched the Quit India movement for freedom from British rule in Mumbai (then Bombay). The movement was accompanied by a mass protest on non-violent lines, in which Gandhi called for an orderly British withdrawal from India. The British responded to this by mass arrests and public flogging to Indians who were protesting in non-violent manner.
1942 – Six Members who were part of Operation Pastorius are executed in the electric chair at the District of Columbia jail. Operation Pastorius was a failed plan by German Nazi’s to sabotage American economic targets including hydro-electric plants, railway stations, and other key US targets, they were landed in the US by German U-Boats in June and the plan failed because two of the saboteurs (Dasch and Burger) decided they did not wish to proceed with the plan and informed the Federal Bureau of Investigation. The trial was before a seven-member military commission who sentenced all eight to death but President Roosevelt commuted Burger’s and Dasch’s to prison sentences because of their co-operation with the FBI.
1949 – Ecuador Earthquake: Ecuador was rocked by a devastating earthquake in 1949, killing 4,600 people and doing an estimated 20 million dollars damage. To add to the tragedy a plane on a mission of mercy crashed and killed 34 more people. In the plane crash were four government dignitaries, 28 Shell Oil Company employees, and the pilot and crew.
1956 – U.S.A. First State Bank Tuscola: In Tuscola, the First State Bank was burned out, but immediately re-opened the very next morning in a feed store. When the bank opened in 1912 customers made their deposits through chicken wire, this bank had survived the Great Depression when lesser banks went under and fire did not interrupt business much.
1956 – Belgium Coal Mine Fire Marcinelle: A fire in a coal mine in Marcinelle, Belgium leaves 262 miners dead.
1962 – Polio mass immunizations: A polio scare brought a decree from the Taylor-Jones County health authorities to do a mass immunization of all residents and encourage surrounding counties to do likewise. According to a spokesperson from the Medical Society, “The Sabin vaccine gives immunity to polio, whereas the Salk vaccine prevents paralytic polio.” They decided that the Sabin vaccine was the best, since it is given orally, not like the Salk vaccine which has to be injected.
1963 – Great Britain “The Great Train Robbery”: The date of “The Great Train Robbery” in United Kingdom when thieves held up a train carrying the Royal Mail and stole 120 mail sacks , the mail sacks contained cash and gems valued in excess of 7 Million.
1974 – Richard Nixon Announces his resignation following the Watergate Scandal during a nationally televised broadcast.
1976 – U.S.A. Legionnaire’s Disease: In Philadelphia, Pennsylvania ten thousand legionnaires who attended a convention from July 21st – July 24th were in a panic after the outbreak of a mystery disease among their ranks. Twenty-four persons have already died and 87 are ill. Doctors are completely baffled as to what virus or fungus could have caused this illness. Also, it is costing $25,000 a day to try and target the culprit. Meanwhile, street names for the mystery diagnosis have arisen. It is dubbed Legionnaire’s disease, Philadelphia fever, or Veteran’s Virus.
1988 – Students begin protesting for a return to democracy and are joined Burmese citizens from all walks of life, including Buddhist monks. The demonstrations were peaceful and spread from the Burmese capital to other cities in Burma. As the numbers of protesters grew Burma’s military government leader Ne Win put military soldiers on the streets with orders, “That Guns were not to shoot upwards,”, it is estimated that the soldiers killed in excess of 2,500 students and Buddhist monks before the uprising ended. In 2007 protests started again and the government response led to the use of force by the military.
1991 – Lebanon John McCarthy Released: John McCarthy a British journalist has been released after being held captive for more than five years by Islamic Jihad. The terrorist militant organisation are still holding a number of American and English hostages including Terry Anderson, Tom Sutherland and Terry Waite.
1992 – Croatia Children’s Charity Foundation: A Croatian relief foundation has had a flood of calls and donations lately. It started after a news reel showed a load of Croatian children get sprayed with bullets. Prior to this the Croatian Family Funds had received very little notice. However, many people now want to adopt a Croatian child from Bosnia-Herzegovina. Adoptions, will have to wait though, because it is too dangerous to enter the war zone.
2001 – Bahamas Human Cloning: In the Bahamas a company called Clonaid has intimated that they might be cloning human beings. Clonaid argues that it is ethical to clone human genetic material and complications like congenital defects or fetal death do not scare Ms. Boisseller, president of the company. She will not confirm or deny whether a human has actually been cloned in her laboratory. On December 27th, 2002, Clonaid’s Boisselier, a Raëlian bishop and CEO of Clonaid, announced that a baby clone, named Eve, was born. They have since claimed additional successful cloning of human beings but as of this date (July 2008) no proof has ever been substantiated by outside scientists that could confirm or deny Clonaid’s claims.
2001 – Hollywood Golden Couple superstars Nicole Kidman and Tom Cruise who have two adopted children, Isabella, 8, and Conor, 6, divorce.
2002 – Brazil IMF Loan: The (IMF) International Monetary Fund has announced details of an additional $30 billion dollar loan to Brazil to help stabilize the economy, this is in addition to the $15 billion last year. Brazil is the latest of the South American Economies to come under pressure because of super inflation in South America which started in 1999 and went as high as 1,000% to 5,000% per year in the area. IMF loans do come with a price for the country that borrows the money which need to match financial targets set by the International Monetary Fund in order to get the cash which includes targeting inflation and increasing output.
2006 – A total of 383 migrants, mostly from Morocco, who hid in trucks and fairground rides were arrested in the Spanish enclave of Ceuta in North Africa on this day. The migrants were headed for the Spanish mainland when they were intercepted by authorities.
2007 – Russia flew two bomber airplanes to Guam, an island that holds a large US military base on this day. The exercise was said to be the first of its kind since the Cold War ended. The US fighter pilots responded and the pilots exchanged smiles and visual contact.
2007 – China Baijis Dolphin Possible Extinct: Scientists announced that a rare type of dolphin was likely to be extinct. The Yangtze River dolphin, called Baijis, did not show up on researchers’ surveys of the river. The extinction of the Yangtze River dolphin would become the first extinction of the kind in nearly fifty years. It is thought one or two have been spotted since but that would be insufficient to stop the Baijis Dolphin from extinction.
2008 – China 2008 Summer Olympics Starts: Beijing marked the beginning of the 2008 Summer Olympic Games with a large opening ceremony lasting four hours that included a light show and fireworks.
2012 – Country Star Randy Travis Found Drunk and Naked: Country musician Randy Travis was charged with driving while intoxicated after being found drunk and naked after having crashed his car near his home in Texas. The musician was arrested and reportedly made threats towards police officers while being transported. He had been arrested for public intoxication earlier in the year as well.
2013 – Pakistan Suicide Bomber in Quetta: A suicide bombing at a funeral killed at least twenty-eight people and wounded at least fifty others in Quetta. The bomber attacked just before services were supposed to start at a funeral for a police officer.
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