April 8 is the 98th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 267 days remain until the end of the year.
We have some interesting facts & historic events all about April 8th, including areas in religion, crime, health and more.
Keep reading for more interesting facts about April 8th in history!
Table of Contents
Global Celebrations
- World Pagent Day.
- International Romani Day.
- Draw a Picture of a Bird Day
- National Zoo Lovers Day
- National Day of Silence
Historic Events
What Happened On This Day – April 8
2005: Over 4 million people pay their last respects to Pope John Paul II
Karol Józef Wojtyła from Poland was an immensely popular Pope. He was succeeded by German Pope Benedict XVI, born Joseph Aloisius Ratzinger.
1977: The Clash release their debut album of the same name
The British combo around lead vocalist Joe Strummer is considered one of the most influential early punk rock bands.
1959: One of the first modern programming languages is created
The Common Business-Oriented Language or COBOL was primarily designed by a woman, Grace Hopper. Also known as Amazing Grace, she is regarded as one of the pioneers in the field.
1953: Jomo Kenyatta is sentenced to 7 years hard labor
Kenyatta led the Mau Mau movement against the British colonialists. He is considered to be Kenya’s founding father and became the country’s first President in 1964.
1904: France and the United Kingdom sign the Entente cordiale
The treaty, which was initially designed to regulate the countries’ colonial interests in Africa, later evolved into the Triple Entente to fight Germany in World War I.
1879: Milk sold in glass bottles for 1st time in 1879.
1781: Premiere of Mozart’s violin sonata K379 in 1781.
217: Roman Emperor Caracalla is assassinated by his Praetorian Guard prefect, Marcus Opellius Macrinus in 217.
1966: Barack Obama and his mother in 1966
1944: A Russian Girl tries to wake up her dead mother following the liberation of Ozarichi Concentration Camp – Belarus, March 1944
1914: William Harley and Arthur Davidson, 1914.
Famous Birthdays
Births On This Day, April 8
1938: Kofi Annan, Ghanaian diplomat, 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations
1929: Jacques Brel, Belgian singer-songwriter, actor
1918: Betty Ford, American wife of Gerald R. Ford, 40th First Lady of the United States
1859: Edmund Husserl, Austrian mathematician, philosopher
1827: Ramón Emeterio Betances, Puerto Rican doctor, politician
Gautam Buddha was born.
Allu Arjun was born.
Robin Wright was born.
Heartbreaking Deaths
Deaths On This Day, April 8
2013: Margaret Thatcher, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
1981: Omar Bradley, American general
1973: Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter, sculptor
1950: Vaslav Nijinsky, Russian dancer, choreographer
1857: Mangal Pandey, Indian freedom fighter
Pablo Picasso died.
Mangal Pandey died.
Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay died.
