Events on January 8 51
Events on this day include: Jin Huidi, Chinese Emperor of the Jin dynasty, is poisoned and succeeded by Jin Huaidi. (307); Siyaj K'ak' conquers Waka (387); Alfred the Great leads a West Saxon army to repel an invasion by Danelaw Vikings. (871).
See the full January 8 overview.
Jin Huidi, Chinese Emperor of the Jin dynasty, is poisoned and succeeded by Jin Huaidi.
Alfred the Great leads a West Saxon army to repel an invasion by Danelaw Vikings.
François Grimaldi, disguised as a monk, leads his men to capture the fortress protecting the Rock of Monaco, establishing his family as the rulers of Monaco.
The papal bull Romanus Pontifex awards the Kingdom of Portugal exclusive trade and colonization rights to all of Africa south of Cape Bojador.
The first Lithuanian-language book, Simple Words of Catechism, is published in Königsberg.
Premiere performance of George Frideric Handel's Ariodante at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
George Washington delivers the first State of the Union address in New York City.
An unsuccessful slave revolt is led by Charles Deslondes in St. Charles and St. James, Louisiana.
War of 1812: Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson leads American forces in victory over the British.
Crazy Horse and his warriors fight their last battle against the United States Cavalry at Wolf Mountain, Montana Territory.
Herman Hollerith is issued US patent #395,791 for the 'Art of Applying Statistics' — his punched card calculator.
The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system.
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson announces his "Fourteen Points" for the aftermath of World War I.
The steel strike of 1919 ends in a complete failure for the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers labor union.
Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuỵ ascends the throne, the last monarch of Vietnam.
Kashf-e hijab decree is enforced by Reza Shah ordering the police to physically remove the Hijab from any woman in public.
World War II: Philippine Commonwealth troops under the Philippine Commonwealth Army units enter the province of Ilocos Sur in Northern Luzon and attack Japanese Imperial forces.
Operation Auca: Five U.S. missionaries are killed by the Huaorani of Ecuador shortly after making contact with them.
Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is exhibited in the United States for the first time, at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C.
Bowing to international pressure, President of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto releases Bengali leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from prison, who had been arrested after declaring the independence of Bangladesh.
Watergate scandal: The trial of seven men accused of illegal entry into Democratic Party headquarters at Watergate begins.
Ella T. Grasso becomes Governor of Connecticut, the first woman to serve as a Governor in the United States other than by succeeding her husband.
Three bombs explode in Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union, within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
A local farmer reports a UFO sighting in Trans-en-Provence, France, claimed to be "perhaps the most completely and carefully documented sighting of all time".
Breakup of the Bell System: AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty-two subdivisions.
Kegworth air disaster: British Midland Flight 92, a Boeing 737-400, crashes into the M1 motorway, killing 47 of the 126 people on board.
US President George H. W. Bush vomits on Japanese Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa
Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov on Soyuz TM-18 leaves for Mir. He would stay on the space station until March 22, 1995, for a record 437 days in space.
An Antonov An-32 cargo aircraft crashes into a crowded market in Kinshasa, Zaire, killing up to 223 on the ground; two of six crew members are also killed.
Turkish Airlines Flight 634 crashes near Diyarbakır Airport, Turkey, killing the entire crew and 70 of the 75 passengers.
Air Midwest Flight 5481 crashes at Charlotte-Douglas Airport, Charlotte, North Carolina, killing all 21 people on board.
The RMS Queen Mary 2, the largest ocean liner ever built, is christened by her namesake's granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II.
The nuclear sub USS San Francisco collides at full speed with an undersea mountain south of Guam. One man is killed, but the sub surfaces and is repaired.
A 6.1-magnitude earthquake in northern Costa Rica kills 15 people and injures 32.
Gunmen from an offshoot the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda attack a bus carrying the Togo national football team on its way to the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, killing three.
The attempted assassination of Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords and subsequent shooting in Casas Adobes, Arizona, in which five people were shot dead.