Also on this day
Lead Story
1943
On this day in 1943, Japanese troops evacuate Guadalcanal, leaving the island in Allied possession after a prolonged campaign. The American victory paved the way for other Allied wins in the Solomon Islands.
Guadalcanal is the largest of the Solomons, a group of 992 islands and atolls, 347 of which are...
American Revolution
1777
Just six months after his release as a prisoner-of-war, Major Timothy Bigelow becomes colonel of the 15th Massachusetts Colonial Line of the Continental Army on this day in 1777.
Bigelow, a blacksmith who was born in Worcester, Massachusetts, on August 12, 1739, began his Patriot involvement when he, upon learning of...
Automotive
1985
On February 8, 1985, Sir William Lyons, the founder of the British luxury automaker Jaguar, dies at the age of 84 in Warwickshire, England.
Lyons was born in Blackpool, England, on September 4, 1901. In 1922, the motorcycle enthusiast co-founded the Swallow Sidecar Company with his neighbor William Walmsley. The company...
Civil War
1862
On this day in 1862, Union General Ambrose Burnside scores a major victory whenhis troopscapture Roanoke Island in North Carolina.It was one of the first major Union victories of the Civil War andgave the Yankees control of the mouth of Albemarle Sound, allowing them to threaten the Rebel capital of...
Cold War
1949
Joseph Cardinal Mindszenty, the highest Catholic official in Hungary, is convicted of treason and sentenced to life imprisonment by the Communist People’s Court. Outraged observers in Western Europe and the United States condemned both the trial and Mindszenty’s conviction as “perversions” and “lynchings.” Mindszenty was no stranger to...
Crime
1983
Gunmen steal the champion Irish race horse Shergar from a stud farm owned by the Aga Khan in County Kildare, Ireland. The five-year-old thoroughbred stallion, named European horse of the year in 1981, was worth $13.5 million and commanded stud fees of approximately $100,000.
On the night of the heist, armed...
Disaster
1978
A classic “Nor’easter” storm that brought a severe blizzard to New England finally subsides on this day in 1978, and the region begins to dig out from under several feet of snow. Over the previous 72 hours, some areas of Rhode Island and Massachusetts had received as many as 55...
General Interest
1587
After 19 years of imprisonment, Mary Queen of Scots is beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in England for her complicity in a plot to murder Queen Elizabeth I.In 1542, while just six days old, Mary ascended to the Scottish throne upon the death of her father, King James V. Her mother...
1725
On February 8, 1725, Peter the Great, emperor of Russia, dies and is succeeded by his wife, Catherine.The reign of Peter, who became sole czar in 1696, was characterized by a series of sweeping military, political, economic, and cultural reforms based on Western European models. Russian victories in major conflicts...
1904
Following the Russian rejection of a Japanese plan to divide Manchuria and Korea into spheres of influence, Japan launches a surprise naval attack against Port Arthur, a Russian naval base in China. The Russian fleet was decimated.During the subsequent Russo-Japanese War, Japan won a series of decisive victories over the...
1915
On February 8, 1915, D.W. Griffith’s Birth of a Nation, a landmark film in the history of cinema, premieres at Clune’s Auditorium in Los Angeles. The silent film was America’s first feature-length motion picture and a box-office smash, and during its unprecedented three hours Griffith popularized countless filmmaking techniques that...
1924
The first execution by lethal gas in American history is carried out in Carson City, Nevada. The executed man was Tong Lee, a member of a Chinese gang who was convicted of murdering a rival gang member. Lethal gas was adopted by Nevada in 1921 as a more humane method...
Hollywood
1994
Years later, he would play a therapist counseling Adam Sandler in the black comedy Anger Management (2003), but on February 8, 1994, it was the Oscar-winning actor Jack Nicholson who let his anger get out of control.
In a criminal lawsuit filed against the actor, Robert Blank stated that Nicholson, then...
Literary
1955
On this day in 1955, John Grisham, the best-selling author known for his legal thrillers, is born in Jonesboro, Arkansas. Grisham’s books have sold over 250 million copies worldwide, and over half a dozen of his novels have been turned into films.
The son of a construction worker and a...
Music
1990
Born Charles Westover in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1934, the singer/songwriter known as Del Shannon committed suicide on this day in 1990. In a period when the American pop charts were dominated by cookie-cutter teen idols and novelty acts, he stood out as an all-too-rare example of an American pop...
Presidential
1887
On this day in 1887, President Grover Cleveland signs the Dawes Severalty Act into law. The act split up reservations held communally by Native American tribes into smaller units and distributed these units to individuals within the tribe. Also called the General Allotment Act, the law changed the legal...
Sports
1986
On February 8, 1986, Spud Webb, who at 5’7” was one of the shortest players in the history of professional basketball, wins the NBA slam dunk contest, beating his Atlanta Hawks teammate and 1985 dunk champ, the 6’8” Dominique Wilkins.
Anthony Jerome “Spud” Webb was born July 13, 1963, in Dallas,...
Vietnam War
1962
The Military Assistance Command Vietnam (MACV), headed by Gen. Paul D. Harkins, former U.S. Army Deputy Commander-in-Chief in the Pacific, is installed in Saigon as the United States reorganizes its military command in South Vietnam.
Before MACV, the senior U.S. military command in South Vietnam was the U.S. Military Assistance and...
1971
South Vietnamese army forces invade southern Laos. Dubbed Operation Lam Son 719, the mission goal was to disrupt the communist supply and infiltration network along Route 9 in Laos, adjacent to the two northern provinces of South Vietnam.
The operation was supported by U.S. airpower (aviation and airlift) and artillery...
World War I
1918
On this day in 1918, the United States Army resumes publication of the military newsletter Stars and Stripes. Begun as a newsletter for Union soldiers during the American Civil War, Stars and Stripes was published weekly during World War I from February 8, 1918, until June 13, 1919. The...
World War II
1943
Under the command of Major General Orde Wingate, the 77th Indian Brigade, also called the Chindits, launch guerrilla raids behind Japanese lines in Burma.
Wingate was an eccentric British officer famous both for quoting the Bible and advocating irregular warfare tactics. His career as a guerrilla fighter began when he organized...