August 8
1588 - English forces attacked the Spanish Armada, permanently crippling Spain's "invincible" fleet.
1786 - Dr. Michael-Gabriel Paccard and Jacques Balmat became the first to climb Mont Blanc.
1814 - During the War of 1812, peace talks between Britain and the United States began in Ghent, Belgium.
1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte set sail for St. Helena to spend the rest of his days in exile.
1876 - Thomas Edison patented his mimeograph machine.
1911 - President William Howard Taft signed a measure raising the number of U.S. representatives from 391 to 433, effective with the next Congress, with a proviso to add two more when New Mexico and Arizona became states.
1942 - During World War II, six Nazi saboteurs who were captured after landing in the U.S. were executed in Washington, D.C.; two others who cooperated were spared.
1945 - President Harry S. Truman signed the U.S. instrument of ratification for the United Nations Charter.
1945 - The Soviet Union declared war on Japan during World War II.
1953 - The United States and South Korea signed a mutual security pact.
1963 - In "The Great Train Robbery," some 15 thieves robbed the Glasgow-to-London mail train, making off with more than $6 million in cash.
1969 - Sharon Tate, wife of director Roman Polanski, and four others were murdered by members of Charles Manson's "family."
1973 - Vice President Spiro T. Agnew branded as "damned lies" reports he had taken kickbacks from government contracts in Maryland, and vowed not to resign -- which he ultimately ended up doing.
1974 - President Richard Nixon, facing damaging new revelations in the Watergate scandal, announced he would resign the following day.
1994 - Israel and Jordan opened the first road link between the two once-warring nations.
2000 - The wreckage of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley, which sank in 1864 after attacking the Union ship Housatonic, was recovered off the South Carolina coast and returned to port.
2009 - Sonia Sotomayor was sworn in as the U.S. Supreme Court's first Hispanic and third female justice.
2017 - President Donald Trump said continued North Korean threats aimed at the United States would cause the U.S. to respond with “fire and fury like the world has never seen.”
2017 - Venezuela’s new constitutional assembly, created by embattled President Nicolas Maduro, took over the halls of the opposition-controlled congress and decreed itself to be superior to all other branches of government.
Birthdays
21 - Bebe Wood (actress)
21 - Aubrey Miller (actress)
21 - Faith Schroder (actress)
24 - Shawn Mendes (singer)
26 - Dani Dyer (actress)
29 - Jen Selter (model)
33 - Anthony Rizzo (baseball player)
33 - Ken Baumann (actor)
34 - Beatrice (Britain's Princess of York)
35 - Katie Leung (actress)
38 - Jackie Cruz (actress)
41 - Meagan Good (actress)
41 - Roger Federer (tennis player)
42 - Shayna Baszler (MMA fighter / professional wrestler)
42 - Michael Urie (actor)
44 - Countess Vaughn (actress)
45 - Lindsay Sloane (actress)
46 - Drew Lachey (singer)
46 - Tawny Cypress (actress)
46 - JC Chasez (singer)
48 - Kohl Sudduth (actor)
49 - Mark Wills (singer)
49 - Scott Stapp (singer)
54 - Suzy Favor Hamilton (runner)
61 - The Edge (musician)
64 - Deborah Norville (TV personality)
69 - Danny Most (actor)
70 - Robin Quivers (TV/radio personality)
73 - Keith Carradine (actor)
75 - Larry Wilcox (actor)
83 - Phil Balsley (singer)
84 - Connie Stevens (actress)
85 - Dustin Hoffman (actor)
92 - Nita Talbot (actress)
===================================
Today in Sports History - August 8
1900 - The first Davis Cup tennis tournament began at the Longwood Cricket Club in Brookline, Massachusetts; the United States defeated Britain three matches to zero.
1903 - Joe McGinnity of the New York Giants pitched two complete games in one day. He won 6-1 and 4-3 over the Brooklyn Dodgers.
1920 - Howard Ehmke (Detroit Tigers) set an American League record when he defeated the New York Yankees 1-0 in 1 hour and 13 minutes.
1982 - Doug DeCinces hit three home runs against the California Angels. He had hit three home runs against Minnesota five days earlier.
1985 - Major League baseball players returned to work after a two-day walkout.
1992 - The "Dream Team" captured the gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain as the U.S. men's basketball team defeated Croatia, 117-85. Considered by most as the greatest basketball team ever assembled, the roster included: Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Clyde Drexler, Patrick Ewing, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Christian Laettner, Karl Malone, Chris Mullin, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson and John Stockton. The team was coached by Chuck Daly, P.J. Carlesimo, Mike Krzyzewski and Lenny Wilkens.
1996 - Eddie Murray (Baltimore Orioles) moved into 15th place on the career home run list when he hit his 494th.
1997 - Randy Johnson of the Seattle Mariners throws 19 strikeouts in a game against the Chicago White Sox.
1999 - Wade Boggs recorded the 3,000th hit of his major league career.
2002 - Major league baseball players and owners agreed to a $100,000 increase in baseball's minimum salary. The minimum was set at $300,000 starting in 2003.
2004 - John Elway is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
2005 - It was announced that Wayne Gretzky would be the next head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes.
2008 - The Summer Olympic Games opened in Beijing, China.
2012 - Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings of the United States became the first three-time gold medalists in Olympic beach volleyball history, beating Jennifer Kessy and April Ross in the all-American final.
2021 - Hall of Fame football coach Bobby Bowden, who built one of the most prolific college football programs in history at Florida State, died at his home in Tallahassee, Florida, at 91.
2021 - The United States women's basketball team won a record seventh consecutive Olympic gold medal after defeating Japan 90-75 at the Summer Games in Tokyo; guards Sue Bird and Diani Taurasi each garnered their fifth career Olympic gold medals.
1588 - English forces attacked the Spanish Armada, permanently crippling Spain's "invincible" fleet.
1786 - Dr. Michael-Gabriel Paccard and Jacques Balmat became the first to climb Mont Blanc.
1814 - During the War of 1812, peace talks between Britain and the United States began in Ghent, Belgium.
1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte set sail for St. Helena to spend the rest of his days in exile.
1876 - Thomas Edison patented his mimeograph machine.
1911 - President William Howard Taft signed a measure raising the number of U.S. representatives from 391 to 433, effective with the next Congress, with a proviso to add two more when New Mexico and Arizona became states.
1942 - During World War II, six Nazi saboteurs who were captured after landing in the U.S. were executed in Washington, D.C.; two others who cooperated were spared.
1945 - President Harry S. Truman signed the U.S. instrument of ratification for the United Nations Charter.
1945 - The Soviet Union declared war on Japan during World War II.
1953 - The United States and South Korea signed a mutual security pact.
1963 - In "The Great Train Robbery," some 15 thieves robbed the Glasgow-to-London mail train, making off with more than $6 million in cash.
1969 - Sharon Tate, wife of director Roman Polanski, and four others were murdered by members of Charles Manson's "family."
1973 - Vice President Spiro T. Agnew branded as "damned lies" reports he had taken kickbacks from government contracts in Maryland, and vowed not to resign -- which he ultimately ended up doing.
1974 - President Richard Nixon, facing damaging new revelations in the Watergate scandal, announced he would resign the following day.
1994 - Israel and Jordan opened the first road link between the two once-warring nations.
2000 - The wreckage of the Confederate submarine H.L. Hunley, which sank in 1864 after attacking the Union ship Housatonic, was recovered off the South Carolina coast and returned to port.
2009 - Sonia Sotomayor was sworn in as the U.S. Supreme Court's first Hispanic and third female justice.
2017 - President Donald Trump said continued North Korean threats aimed at the United States would cause the U.S. to respond with “fire and fury like the world has never seen.”
2017 - Venezuela’s new constitutional assembly, created by embattled President Nicolas Maduro, took over the halls of the opposition-controlled congress and decreed itself to be superior to all other branches of government.
Birthdays
21 - Bebe Wood (actress)
21 - Aubrey Miller (actress)
21 - Faith Schroder (actress)
24 - Shawn Mendes (singer)
26 - Dani Dyer (actress)
29 - Jen Selter (model)
33 - Anthony Rizzo (baseball player)
33 - Ken Baumann (actor)
34 - Beatrice (Britain's Princess of York)
35 - Katie Leung (actress)
38 - Jackie Cruz (actress)
41 - Meagan Good (actress)
41 - Roger Federer (tennis player)
42 - Shayna Baszler (MMA fighter / professional wrestler)
42 - Michael Urie (actor)
44 - Countess Vaughn (actress)
45 - Lindsay Sloane (actress)
46 - Drew Lachey (singer)
46 - Tawny Cypress (actress)
46 - JC Chasez (singer)
48 - Kohl Sudduth (actor)
49 - Mark Wills (singer)
49 - Scott Stapp (singer)
54 - Suzy Favor Hamilton (runner)
61 - The Edge (musician)
64 - Deborah Norville (TV personality)
69 - Danny Most (actor)
70 - Robin Quivers (TV/radio personality)
73 - Keith Carradine (actor)
75 - Larry Wilcox (actor)
83 - Phil Balsley (singer)
84 - Connie Stevens (actress)
85 - Dustin Hoffman (actor)
92 - Nita Talbot (actress)
===================================
Today in Sports History - August 8
1900 - The first Davis Cup tennis tournament began at the Longwood Cricket Club in Brookline, Massachusetts; the United States defeated Britain three matches to zero.
1903 - Joe McGinnity of the New York Giants pitched two complete games in one day. He won 6-1 and 4-3 over the Brooklyn Dodgers.
1920 - Howard Ehmke (Detroit Tigers) set an American League record when he defeated the New York Yankees 1-0 in 1 hour and 13 minutes.
1982 - Doug DeCinces hit three home runs against the California Angels. He had hit three home runs against Minnesota five days earlier.
1985 - Major League baseball players returned to work after a two-day walkout.
1992 - The "Dream Team" captured the gold medal at the Summer Olympic Games in Barcelona, Spain as the U.S. men's basketball team defeated Croatia, 117-85. Considered by most as the greatest basketball team ever assembled, the roster included: Charles Barkley, Larry Bird, Clyde Drexler, Patrick Ewing, Magic Johnson, Michael Jordan, Christian Laettner, Karl Malone, Chris Mullin, Scottie Pippen, David Robinson and John Stockton. The team was coached by Chuck Daly, P.J. Carlesimo, Mike Krzyzewski and Lenny Wilkens.
1996 - Eddie Murray (Baltimore Orioles) moved into 15th place on the career home run list when he hit his 494th.
1997 - Randy Johnson of the Seattle Mariners throws 19 strikeouts in a game against the Chicago White Sox.
1999 - Wade Boggs recorded the 3,000th hit of his major league career.
2002 - Major league baseball players and owners agreed to a $100,000 increase in baseball's minimum salary. The minimum was set at $300,000 starting in 2003.
2004 - John Elway is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
2005 - It was announced that Wayne Gretzky would be the next head coach of the Phoenix Coyotes.
2008 - The Summer Olympic Games opened in Beijing, China.
2012 - Misty May-Treanor and Kerri Walsh Jennings of the United States became the first three-time gold medalists in Olympic beach volleyball history, beating Jennifer Kessy and April Ross in the all-American final.
2021 - Hall of Fame football coach Bobby Bowden, who built one of the most prolific college football programs in history at Florida State, died at his home in Tallahassee, Florida, at 91.
2021 - The United States women's basketball team won a record seventh consecutive Olympic gold medal after defeating Japan 90-75 at the Summer Games in Tokyo; guards Sue Bird and Diani Taurasi each garnered their fifth career Olympic gold medals.
