8 October

October 8 is the 281st day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 84 days remain until the end of the year.

We have some interesting facts & historic events all about October 8^th, including areas in religion, crime, health and more.

Keep reading for more interesting facts about October 8^th in history!

Table of Contents

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

Global Celebrations

• World Octopus Day
• National Pierogi Day
• World Egg Day
• Vet Nurse Day

Historic Events

What Happened On This Day – October 8

1956: The first perfect game in Major League Baseball World Series

New York Yankees’ Don Larsen pitched the only no-hitter game against the Brooklyn Dodgers in the history of the World Series.

1948: World’s first internal pacemaker implanted

A 43-year-old man called Arne Larsson was the recipient of the pacemaker which worked only for a few hours. However, Larsson lived long after the pacemaker stopped working. He died in 2001 at the age of 86.

1919: World’s first transcontinental air race

63 airplanes – 15 from San Francisco and 48 from New York – took part in this 5400-mile round-trip race. The winner, Lieutenant Belvin Maynard, took 3 days and 21 hours to return to New York.

1912: First Balkan war begins

Montenegro started the conflict by declaring war on the Ottoman Empire. A few days later Greece, Bulgaria, and Serbia joined the war and created the Balkan League. The 7-month long war ended with a decisive Balkan League victory. Dissatisfaction over the spoils of the war led to the Second Balkan War a year later.

1871: Great Chicago fire begins

The fire that destroyed most of Chicago’s business district began in a barn on the evening of October 8, 1871. A very dry summer and an early autumn fanned the fire, which raged for 2 days. It killed over 300 people and destroyed property worth millions of dollars.

1997: Yahoo Mail was launched. It had a storage limit of 4MB.

Famous Birthdays

Births On This Day, October 8

1985: Bruno Mars, American singer-songwriter, producer, actor

1970: Matt Damon, American actor, screenwriter, producer

1943: Chevy Chase, American comedian, actor

1939: Harvey Pekar, American author

1895: Juan Perón, Argentine military officer, politician, 29th President of Argentina

Heartbreaking Deaths

Deaths On This Day, October 8

1992: Willy Brandt, German politician, 4th Chancellor of Germany, Nobel Prize laureate

1967: Clement Attlee, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom

1936: Premchand, Indian author

1869: Franklin Pierce, American politician, 14th President of the United States

1793: John Hancock, American politician, 1st Governor of Massachusetts