May 8 is the 128th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 237 days remain until the end of the year.
We have some interesting facts & historic events all about May 8th, including areas in religion, crime, health and more.
Keep reading for more interesting facts about May 8th in history!
Table of Contents
Global Celebrations
- World Red Cross Day
- International Thalassaemia Day
- World Ovarian Cancer Day
- World Red Cross Day
- National No Socks Day
- Free Trade Day
- International Mothers Day
Historic Events
What Happened On This Day – May 8
1984: The USSR announced it would boycott the Olympics in 1984.
1984: Moscow announces that the USSR will not take part in the 1984 Olympics in Los Angeles
Several other countries, such as Cuba, Afghanistan, Bulgaria, Ethiopia, East Germany, Hungary, Poland, and Vietnam joined the boycott. 4 years earlier, the United States had not sent any athletes to the Summer Olympics in Moscow.
1978: Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler climb Mount Everest without oxygen supply
Prior to the Italian and Austrian mountaineers’ ascent, it was thought to be impossible to conquer the world’s highest mountain without supplemental oxygen.
1970: The Beatles release the album Let It Be
The recording was the last studio album ever released by the legendary English rock band.
1927: The White Bird and its crew mysteriously disappear
1945: President Truman and Prime minister Churchill declared victory in Europe today, celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany in 1945.
French aviators, Charles Nungesser and François Coli, had taken off from Paris in their Levasseur PL.8 biplane in an attempt to make the first non-stop transatlantic flight. Their disappearance remains a mystery. Charles Lindbergh succeeded two weeks later.
1886: Coca-Cola is invented
According to legend, Dr. John Styth Pemberton, an Atlanta pharmacist, produced the syrup in a brass pot in his backyard. It was first intended as a patent medicine. Today, Coca-Cola is one of the world’s most popular soft drinks and one of the most recognized trademarks.
1945: German prisoner sitting near Reichstag. May 1945.
1939: Hattie McDaniel accepted her Oscar in a segregated ‘No Blacks’ hotel in L.A. for her role in Gone With The Wind. She is the first African American to win an Oscar, 1939
1918 Grandfather (bottom left) during WW1. Survived the war and then the Spanish Flu of 1918.
1902: Frozen Niagara Falls (1902)
Famous Birthdays
Births On This Day, May 8
1970: Naomi Klein, Canadian author, activist
1945: Keith Jarrett, American pianist, composer
1926: David Attenborough, English television host
1911: Robert Johnson, American singer-songwriter, guitarist
1884: Harry S. Truman, American colonel, politician, 33rd President of the United States
Enrique Iglesias was born
David Attenborough was born
Harry S. Truman was born
Heartbreaking Deaths
Deaths On This Day, May 8
1990: Luigi Nono, Italian composer
1988: Robert A. Heinlein, American writer
1903: Paul Gauguin, French painter
1891: Helena Blavatsky, Russian scholar, theosophist
1873: John Stuart Mill, English economist, civil servant, philosopher
Antoine Lavoisier died
Paul Gauguin died
Kamehameha I died
