January 8 is the eighth day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 357 days remain until the end of the year.
We have some interesting facts & historic events all about January 8th, including areas in religion, crime, health and more.
Keep reading for more interesting facts about January 8th in history!
Table of Contents
Global Celebrations
- National Bubble Bath Day
- Earths Rotation Day
- National Argyle Day
- Show And Tell At Work Day
- National JoyGerm Day
Historic Events
1994: Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov begins his record spaceflight
Polyakov stayed aboard the Mir space station for a record-breaking 437 days and 18 hours.
1959: Charles de Gaulle becomes president of France
His right-wing political ideology, Gaullism, still influences French politics today.
1912: The African National Congress (ANC) is founded
The ANC, whose most famous member is Nelson Mandela, played an important role in the fight against the South African apartheid regime and it is now the country’s governing political party.
1889: Computer pioneer Herman Hollerith patents his punched card calculator
His invention paved the way for modern automatic computation.
1790: George Washington delivers the first State of the Union address
The U.S. president typically uses this annual speech to outline his political agenda.
Famous Birthdays
1967: R. Kelly, American singer-songwriter, producer, actor
1947: David Bowie, English singer-songwriter, producer, actor
1942: Stephen Hawking, English physicist, author
1935: Elvis Presley, American singer, guitarist, actor
1934: Jacques Anquetil, French cyclist
Heartbreaking Deaths
1996: François Mitterrand, French politician, 21st President of France
1990: Terry-Thomas, British actor
1976: Zhou Enlai, Chinese politician, 1st Premier of the People’s Republic of China
1942: Joseph Franklin Rutherford, American lawyer, religious leader
1642: Galileo Galilei, Italian astronomer, physicist
