8 January

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

  1. Global Celebrations
  2. Historic Events
  3. Famous Birthdays
  4. Heartbreaking Deaths

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

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