April 8 facts for kids

April 8 is the 98th day of the year (99th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 267 days remain until the end of the year.

April 8th is a special day in history, filled with many important events, births, and even some sad goodbyes. From ancient empires to modern discoveries, this date has seen a lot happen!

What Happened on April 8th?

Important Events Through History

Ancient Times and Middle Ages

• 217 – A Roman emperor named Caracalla was killed. After him, his guard leader, Marcus Opellius Macrinus, became the new emperor.
• 876 – A big battle called the Battle of Dayr al-'Aqul saved the city of Baghdad from an invading army called the Saffarids.
• 1232 – During the Mongol–Jin War, the powerful Mongols started to attack Kaifeng, which was the capital city of the Jin dynasty.
• 1250 – In the Seventh Crusade, the Egyptian Ayyubid army captured King Louis IX of France during the Battle of Fariskur.
• 1271 – In Syria, a powerful leader named Sultan Baibars took over the famous castle called Krak des Chevaliers.

From 1600 to 1900

• 1605 – The city of Oulu in Finland was founded by Charles IX of Sweden.
• 1730 – Shearith Israel, the very first synagogue (a Jewish house of worship) in North America, was officially opened.
• 1812 – Czar Alexander I, the Russian Emperor, announced that Helsinki would become the new capital of Finland, moving it from Turku.
• 1820 – The famous statue known as the Venus de Milo was found on the Greek island of Milos.
• 1866 – During the Austro-Prussian War, Italy and Prussia secretly agreed to work together against the Austrian Empire.
• 1886 – William Ewart Gladstone introduced a bill in the British Parliament that would give Ireland more control over its own government.

The 20th and 21st Centuries

• 1904 – France and the United Kingdom signed an important agreement called the Entente cordiale, which helped them become allies.
• 1908 – Harvard University decided to create the Harvard Business School, a famous place for studying business.
• 1911 – A Dutch scientist named Heike Kamerlingh Onnes discovered superconductivity, which is when materials can conduct electricity with no resistance.
• 1913 – The 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution became law. This change meant that people would directly vote for their Senators.
• 1918 – During World War I, famous actors Douglas Fairbanks and Charlie Chaplin helped sell war bonds in New York City to support the war effort.
• 1924 – In Turkey, religious courts called Sharia courts were ended as part of Atatürk's Reforms to modernize the country.
• 1935 – The Works Progress Administration (WPA) was created in the United States. This program helped put many people back to work during the Great Depression.
• 1942 – During World War II, the Japanese army took control of Bataan in the Philippines.
• 1943 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt froze wages and prices to control inflation during the war.
• 1945 – During World War II, after a train carrying concentration camp prisoners was accidentally bombed, many survivors were tragically killed by Nazis.
• 1959 – A group of computer experts met to create a new programming language that would later be called COBOL.
• 1968 – BOAC Flight 712 caught fire shortly after taking off. A flight attendant, Barbara Jane Harrison, showed great bravery and was given a special award called the George Cross.
• 1975 – Frank Robinson became the first African American manager in major league baseball when he led the Cleveland Indians.
• 1992 – Famous tennis player Arthur Ashe announced that he had AIDS, which he got from blood transfusions during surgery.
• 1993 – The Republic of North Macedonia officially joined the United Nations.
• 2004 – In the War in Darfur, a ceasefire agreement was signed by the government of Sudan and rebel groups.
• 2005 – A solar eclipse could be seen in parts of the Pacific Ocean and countries like Costa Rica and Colombia.
• 2008 – The Bahrain World Trade Center, the world's first skyscraper with built-in wind turbines, was finished in Bahrain.
• 2010 – U.S. President Barack Obama and Russian President Dmitry Medvedev signed the New START Treaty, which aimed to reduce nuclear weapons.
• 2014 – Windows XP, a popular computer operating system, officially stopped being supported by Microsoft.
• 2020 – Bernie Sanders ended his presidential campaign, making Joe Biden the main candidate for the Democratic Party.
• 2024 – A total solar eclipse was visible across North America, a spectacular event where the Moon completely blocks the Sun.

Who Was Born on April 8th?

Famous People Born Before 1900

• 1408 – Jadwiga of Lithuania, a Polish princess.
• 1533 – Claudio Merulo, an Italian organ player and composer.
• 1605 – Philip IV of Spain, a king of Spain.
• 1692 – Giuseppe Tartini, an Italian violin player and composer.
• 1732 – David Rittenhouse, an American astronomer and mathematician.
• 1818 – Christian IX of Denmark, a king of Denmark.
• 1818 – August Wilhelm von Hofmann, an important German chemist.
• 1859 – Edmund Husserl, an Austrian philosopher.
• 1869 – Harvey Cushing, an American surgeon who made big advances in brain surgery.
• 1875 – Albert I of Belgium, a king of Belgium.
• 1892 – Mary Pickford, a Canadian-American actress and film producer, known as "America's Sweetheart."

Notable Births in the 20th and 21st Centuries

• 1904 – John Hicks, an English economist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1911 – Melvin Calvin, an American chemist who won a Nobel Prize for his work on photosynthesis.
• 1912 – Sonja Henie, a Norwegian-American figure skater and actress who won many Olympic medals.
• 1914 – María Félix, a famous Mexican actress.
• 1918 – Betty Ford, the wife of U.S. President Gerald Ford and a strong advocate for women's health.
• 1920 – Carmen McRae, an American jazz singer.
• 1929 – Jacques Brel, a Belgian singer-songwriter and actor.
• 1938 – Kofi Annan, a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the Secretary-General of the United Nations.
• 1941 – Vivienne Westwood, an influential English fashion designer.
• 1947 – Steve Howe, an English guitarist and songwriter, known for the band Yes.
• 1949 – Brenda Russell, an American-Canadian singer-songwriter.
• 1951 – Joan Sebastian, a popular Mexican singer-songwriter.
• 1955 – Barbara Kingsolver, an American novelist and poet.
• 1960 – John Schneider, an American actor and country singer.
• 1963 – Julian Lennon, an English singer-songwriter and son of John Lennon.
• 1963 – Dean Norris, an American actor.
• 1964 – Biz Markie, an American rapper and producer.
• 1966 – Robin Wright, an American actress and director.
• 1968 – Patricia Arquette, an American actress.
• 1974 – Nnedi Okorafor, a Nigerian-American author of science fiction and fantasy.
• 1975 – Anouk, a Dutch singer.
• 1980 – Katee Sackhoff, an American actress.
• 1981 – Taylor Kitsch, a Canadian actor.
• 1982 – Gennady Golovkin, a famous boxer from Kazakhstan.
• 1986 – Igor Akinfeev, a Russian footballer.
• 1986 – Félix Hernández, a Venezuelan baseball player.
• 1990 – Kim Jong-hyun, a South Korean singer from the group SHINee.
• 1997 – Saygrace, an Australian singer and songwriter.
• 1999 – CeeDee Lamb, an American football player.
• 2002 – Skai Jackson, an American actress.

Who Passed Away on April 8th?

Notable Deaths Through History

• 217 – Caracalla, a Roman emperor.
• 622 – Shōtoku, an important Japanese prince.
• 1364 – John II, a king of France.
• 1450 – Sejong the Great, a Korean king known for creating the Korean alphabet, Hangul.
• 1492 – Lorenzo de' Medici, a powerful Italian ruler and patron of the arts during the Renaissance.
• 1848 – Gaetano Donizetti, a famous Italian composer.
• 1861 – Elisha Otis, an American businessman who invented the safety elevator.
• 1894 – Bankim Chandra Chattopadhyay, an Indian journalist and author.
• 1906 – Auguste Deter, the first person ever diagnosed with Alzheimer's disease.
• 1931 – Erik Axel Karlfeldt, a Swedish poet who won the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1936 – Róbert Bárány, an Austrian physician who won a Nobel Prize for his work on the inner ear.
• 1950 – Vaslav Nijinsky, a famous Polish dancer and choreographer.
• 1973 – Pablo Picasso, a world-famous Spanish painter and sculptor.
• 1981 – Omar Bradley, a highly respected American general during World War II.
• 1984 – Pyotr Kapitsa, a Russian physicist who won a Nobel Prize.
• 1990 – Ryan White, an American activist who helped raise awareness about AIDS.
• 1992 – Daniel Bovet, a Swiss-Italian scientist who won a Nobel Prize for his work in medicine.
• 1993 – Marian Anderson, a groundbreaking American opera singer.
• 1996 – Ben Johnson, an American actor and stuntman.
• 1997 – Laura Nyro, an American singer-songwriter.
• 2002 – María Félix, the famous Mexican actress.
• 2006 – Gerard Reve, a Dutch author.
• 2007 – Sol LeWitt, an American painter and sculptor.
• 2010 – Malcolm McLaren, an English singer-songwriter and manager of the Sex Pistols.
• 2012 – Jack Tramiel, a Polish-American businessman who founded Commodore International, a computer company.
• 2013 – Annette Funicello, an American actress and singer, famous from the Mickey Mouse Club.
• 2013 – Sara Montiel, a Spanish-Mexican actress and singer.
• 2013 – Margaret Thatcher, the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
• 2015 – Jayakanthan, an Indian journalist and author.
• 2020 – Rick May, an American-Canadian voice actor.

Holidays and Observances

• Buddha's Birthday, also known as Hana Matsuri, "Flower Festival" (Japan)
• Christian feast day:

* Anne Ayres (Episcopal Church (USA)) * Constantina * Julie Billiart of Namur * Perpetuus * Walter of Pontoise * William Augustus Muhlenberg (Episcopal Church (USA)) * April 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Earliest day on which Fast and Prayer Day can fall, while April 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Friday in April (Liberia)
• International Romani Day

See also

In Spanish: 8 de abril para niños