Historical Events on October 8

  • 1582: Due to the new implementation of the Gregorian calendar, this day does not exist in 1582 in parts of Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.
  • 1645: The first non-religion affiliated hospital is opened up in North American by Jeanne Mance; It’s called the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal.
  • 1813: Austria and Bavaria sign the Treaty of Ried.
  • 1860: The telegraph line that connects San Francisco and Los Angeles is opened for the first time.
  • 1862: The Confederate invasion of Kentucky led by General Braxton Bragg, is stopped by Union forces led by General Don Carlos Buell at the Battle of Perryville during the American Civil War.
  • 1871: Four major fires erupt on the shores of Lake Michigan. This includes the Great Chicago Fire and the Peshtigo Fire.
  • 1918:S Corporal Alvin C. York kills 28 German soldiers and captures another 132 in the Argonne Forest in France. A feat for which he is awarded the U.S Medal of Honor.
  • 1921: The first live radio broadcast of a football field is carried by KDKA.
  • 1939: Poland is annexed by Germany during World War II.
  • 1943: Friedrich Schubert’s paramilitary group – Jagdkommando Schubert – execute over 40 civilians in Kallikratis, Crete during World War II.
  • 1944: The Battle of Crucifix Hill begins on this day. U.S Captain Bobbie Brown would receive the Medal of Honor for his heroics during this battle.

Famous Birthdays on October 8

  • German physiologist and Nobel Prize laureate Otto Heinrick Warburg is born in 1883.
  • Canadian engineer R. Fraser Armstrong is born in 1889.
  • American soldier, pilot and Medal of Honor recipient, Eddie Rickenbacker is born in 1890.
  • American author Shane Stevens is born in 1941.
  • English actor and screenwriter Stanley Bates is born in 1942.
  • American comedian, actor and screenwriter Chevy Chase is born in 1943.
  • American author R.L. Stine is born in 1943.
  • American baseball player Ed Kirkpatrick is born in 1944.
  • American songwriter and guitarist Johnny Ramone is born in 1948.
  • American cartoonist Jerry Bittle is born in 1949.
  • American actress Sigourney Weaver is born in 1949.
  • English author and poet Blake Morrison is born in 1950.