1837: Richard Johnson is chosen as the Vice President of the U.S by the United States Senate – become the first vice president to be chosen in this manner.
1865: The state of Delaware refuses to ratify the 13th However, the requisite number of states required to ratify the 13th Amendment was reached on December 6, 1865.
1879: Universal Standard Time is first proposed by Sandford Fleming at a meeting of the Royal Canadian Institute.
1910: William D. Boyce incorporates the Boy Scouts of America.
1915: The Birth of a Nation by D.W. Griffith premiers in L.A.
1922: The first radio set is brought into the White House by U.S. President Warren G. Harding.
1924: Nevada performs the first gas chamber execution in the United States on this day.
1942: Singapore is invaded by Imperial Japanese forces during WWII.
1942: To avoid the capture of Banjarmasin, South Borneo by Japanese forces, the Dutch Colonial Army General Destruction Unit burns the city to the ground.
1971: In an attempt to stop infiltration by the communist and to cut off the Ho Chi Minh Trail, South Vietnamese forces launch an attack into Laos.
1974: The crew of Skylab 4 returns to Earth after 84-days in space.
1996: The Communications Decency Act was passed by the United States Congress.
Famous Birthdays on February 8
American General William Tecumseh Sherman is born in 1820.
French author and poet, Jules Verne is born in 1828.
American author Kate Chopin is born in 1850.
American actress Lana Turner is born in 1921.
American actress Audrey Meadows is born in 1922.
American actor Jack Lemmon is born in 1925.
American actor James Dean is born in 1931.
American actress Mary Steenburgen is born in 1953.
American author and lawyer, John Grisham is born in 1955.
American actor Gary Coleman is born in 1968.
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