July 8 facts for kids

July 8 is the 189th day of the year (190th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; 176 days remain until the end of the year.

July 8th is a day filled with many important events throughout history, from ancient battles and famous explorations to scientific discoveries and the births of well-known people. It's a day when explorers set sail, new countries were founded, and important figures were born or passed away. Let's look at some of the key moments that happened on this day.

Historical Events

Early History (Before 1600)

• 1099 – About 15,000 Christian soldiers began the siege of Jerusalem. They marched around the city in a religious parade while its Muslim defenders watched.
• 1283 – Roger of Lauria, leading the Aragonese navy, won a big victory against a fleet sent to stop a rebellion on Malta. This was known as the Battle of Malta.
• 1497 – The famous explorer Vasco da Gama started his journey. He was on the first direct European sea trip to India.
• 1579 – A very special holy icon called Our Lady of Kazan was found underground in the city of Kazan, Tatarstan. It is important to the Russian Orthodox Church.

Important Moments (1601–1900)

• 1663 – Charles II of England gave John Clarke a special paper, a Royal charter, for Rhode Island. This helped establish the colony.
• 1709 – Peter I of Russia won a major battle against Charles XII of Sweden at the Battle of Poltava. This battle greatly reduced Sweden's power in Europe.
• 1730 – A very strong earthquake, estimated at magnitude 8.7, caused a huge tsunami. This giant wave damaged over 1,000 km (620 mi) of Chile's coastline.
• 1760 – British forces defeated French forces in the Battle of Restigouche, which was the last naval battle in New France (now Canada).
• 1775 – The Continental Congress of the Thirteen Colonies in North America signed the Olive Branch Petition. This was a final attempt to avoid war with Britain.
• 1776 – Church bells rang out, possibly including the Liberty Bell, after John Nixon publicly read the Declaration of Independence of the United States for the first time.
• 1822 – The Chippewa people gave a large area of land in Ontario to the United Kingdom.
• 1853 – The Perry Expedition, led by Commodore Matthew Perry, arrived in Edo Bay (now Tokyo Bay) in Japan. They brought a request for trade between the United States and Japan.
• 1874 – The Mounties began their famous March West. This was a long journey across the Canadian prairies to establish law and order.
• 1889 – The very first issue of The Wall Street Journal, a famous newspaper about business and finance, was published.
• 1892 – The city of St. John's, Newfoundland was badly damaged by a huge fire known as the Great Fire of 1892.

Modern Times (1901–Present)

• 1932 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average, a measure of how the stock market is doing, reached its lowest point during the Great Depression.
• 1933 – The first ever rugby union test match between the Wallabies of Australia and the Springboks of South Africa was played in Cape Town.
• 1947 – News spread about a UFO that supposedly crashed in Roswell, New Mexico. This event became known as the Roswell UFO incident.
• 1948 – The United States Air Force welcomed its first female recruits into a program called Women in the Air Force (WAF).
• 1960 – Francis Gary Powers was accused of espionage (spying) after his U-2 spy plane was shot down over the Soviet Union.
• 1970 – President Richard Nixon announced a new official US policy for Native Americans, focusing on Native American self-determination. This led to important laws later on.
• 1980 – The first ever 1980 State of Origin game in rugby league was played. Queensland beat New South Wales 20–10.
• 1980 – Aeroflot Flight 4225 crashed near Almaty International Airport in what is now Kazakhstan, sadly killing all 166 people on board.
• 1994 – Kim Jong Il became the supreme leader of North Korea after his father, Kim Il Sung, passed away.
• 2003 – Sudan Airways Flight 139 crashed near Port Sudan Airport while trying to make an emergency landing. Sadly, 116 of the 117 people on board died.
• 2011 – Space Shuttle Atlantis was launched on its final mission. This was the very last flight of the U.S. Space Shuttle program.

Famous Births

Many notable people were born on July 8th, including scientists, artists, leaders, and entertainers.

Born Before 1900

• 1593 – Artemisia Gentileschi, a famous Italian painter.
• 1621 – Jean de La Fontaine, a well-known French author and poet.
• 1760 – Christian Kramp, a French mathematician.
• 1831 – John Pemberton, the American chemist who invented Coca-Cola.
• 1838 – Ferdinand von Zeppelin, a German general who founded the Zeppelin Airship Company.
• 1839 – John D. Rockefeller, a very rich American businessman and philanthropist who founded the Standard Oil Company.
• 1857 – Alfred Binet, a French psychologist known for his work on intelligence.
• 1867 – Käthe Kollwitz, a German painter and sculptor.
• 1885 – Hugo Boss, the German fashion designer who started the company Hugo Boss.
• 1894 – Pyotr Kapitsa, a Russian physicist and Nobel Prize winner.
• 1895 – Igor Tamm, another Russian physicist and Nobel Prize winner.

Born After 1900

• 1906 – Philip Johnson, a famous American architect.
• 1908 – Nelson Rockefeller, an American businessman and politician who became the 41st Vice President of the United States.
• 1914 – Billy Eckstine, an American singer and trumpet player.
• 1917 – Vivien Leigh, a British actress famous for her role in Gone with the Wind.
• 1924 – Johnnie Johnson, an American pianist and songwriter.
• 1926 – Elisabeth Kübler-Ross, a Swiss-American psychiatrist and author.
• 1934 – Marty Feldman, an English actor and screenwriter.
• 1935 – Steve Lawrence, an American actor and singer.
• 1945 – Micheline Calmy-Rey, a Swiss politician who became the 91st President of the Swiss Confederation.
• 1947 – Anjelica Huston, a well-known American actress and director.
• 1949 – Wolfgang Puck, a famous Austrian-American chef and restaurateur.
• 1958 – Kevin Bacon, a popular American actor and musician.
• 1961 – Toby Keith, an American country singer-songwriter and actor.
• 1962 – Joan Osborne, an American singer-songwriter.
• 1968 – Billy Crudup, an American actor.
• 1970 – Beck, an American singer-songwriter and producer.
• 1972 – Sourav Ganguly, a famous Indian cricketer.
• 1976 – Ellen MacArthur, an English sailor known for her record-breaking voyages.
• 1977 – Milo Ventimiglia, an American actor, director, and producer.
• 1982 – Sophia Bush, an American actress and director.
• 1991 – Virgil van Dijk, a Dutch footballer.
• 1992 – Son Heung-min, a Korean footballer.
• 1998 – Maya Hawke, an American actress, and Jaden Smith, an American actor and rapper.

Notable Deaths

Many important figures have also passed away on July 8th.

Passed Away Before 1900

• 975 – Edgar the Peaceful, an English king.
• 1153 – Pope Eugene III.
• 1538 – Diego de Almagro, a Spanish general and explorer.
• 1623 – Pope Gregory XV.
• 1695 – Christiaan Huygens, a brilliant Dutch mathematician, astronomer, and physicist.
• 1721 – Elihu Yale, an American-English merchant and philanthropist for whom Yale University is named.
• 1822 – Percy Bysshe Shelley, a famous English poet and playwright.
• 1859 – Oscar I of Sweden, a king of Sweden and Norway.

Passed Away After 1900

• 1930 – Joseph Ward, a businessman and politician who was the 17th Prime Minister of New Zealand.
• 1939 – Havelock Ellis, an English psychologist and author.
• 1942 – Refik Saydam, a Turkish physician and politician who was the 5th Prime Minister of Turkey.
• 1967 – Vivien Leigh, the British actress mentioned earlier, passed away on this day.
• 1979 – Sin-Itiro Tomonaga, a Japanese physicist and Nobel Prize winner.
• 1979 – Robert Burns Woodward, an American chemist and Nobel Prize winner.
• 1994 – Kim Il Sung, the former President of North Korea.
• 1999 – Pete Conrad, an American astronaut who walked on the Moon.
• 2006 – June Allyson, an American actress and singer.
• 2007 – Chandra Shekhar, an Indian lawyer and politician who was the 9th Prime Minister of India.
• 2011 – Betty Ford, the former First Lady of the United States.
• 2012 – Ernest Borgnine, a well-known American actor.
• 2015 – Ken Stabler, an American football player.
• 2016 – Abdul Sattar Edhi, a famous Pakistani philanthropist.
• 2018 – Tab Hunter, an American actor and pop singer.
• 2020 – Naya Rivera, an American actress and singer.
• 2022 – Shinzo Abe, a Japanese politician who was a former Prime Minister of Japan.
• 2022 – Tony Sirico, an American actor.

Holidays and Observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Abda and Sabas
  • Auspicius of Trier
  • Grimbald
  • Kilian and Totnan
  • Saints Peter and Fevronia Day (Russian Orthodox)
  • Procopius of Scythopolis
  • Sunniva and companions
  • Theobald of Marly
  • July 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Air Force and Air Defense Forces Day (Ukraine)

Images for kids

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  A friendly robot, representing learning and discovery.

See also

In Spanish: 8 de julio para niños