June 8 facts for kids

Today is a special day with many interesting events from history! From ancient battles to modern discoveries, people have been making history on this date for thousands of years. Let's explore some of the most important moments.

Important Events in History

Ancient Times and Middle Ages

• 218 – The Battle of Antioch took place. With help from Syrian Roman soldiers, Elagabalus defeated the army of Emperor Macrinus.
• 452 – Attila led his Hun army to invade Italy. They caused a lot of damage in the northern parts of the country as they moved towards Rome.
• 793 – Vikings attacked the abbey at Lindisfarne in Northumbria. Many people see this as the start of Viking actions in the British Isles.
• 1042 – Edward the Confessor became the King of England. He was one of the last Anglo-Saxon kings.
• 1191 – King Richard I arrived in Acre. This marked the beginning of the Third Crusade.

From the 1600s to the 1900s

• 1663 – In the Portuguese Restoration War, Portugal won the Battle of Ameixial. This victory helped Portugal stay independent from Spain.
• 1783 – The Laki volcano in Iceland began erupting. This eruption lasted for eight months, causing a huge famine and leading to the deaths of over 9,000 people.
• 1789 – James Madison introduced twelve suggested changes to the United States Constitution in Congress. These would later become the Bill of Rights.
• 1856 – A group of 194 people from the Pitcairn Islands arrived at Norfolk Island. These were descendants of the famous mutineers from the ship HMS Bounty.
• 1861 – During the American Civil War, Tennessee decided to leave the Union.
• 1867 – Franz Joseph was crowned King of Hungary. This happened after an agreement between Austria and Hungary.
• 1887 – Herman Hollerith applied for a US patent for his 'Art of Compiling Statistics'. This was for his punched card calculator, which was a very early computer.

The 1900s to Today

• 1906 – Theodore Roosevelt signed the Antiquities Act into law. This law allows the President to protect special public lands that have historical or natural value.
• 1912 – Carl Laemmle officially started Universal Pictures, a famous movie company.
• 1929 – Margaret Bondfield became the Minister of Labour. She was the first woman to be part of the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.
• 1940 – During World War II, Operation Alphabet was completed. This was the evacuation of Allied soldiers from Narvik at the end of the Norwegian Campaign.
• 1949 – George Orwell's famous book Nineteen Eighty-Four was published.
• 1953 – A very strong F5 tornado hit Beecher, Michigan. It killed 116 people and destroyed many homes.
• 1953 – The United States Supreme Court ruled that restaurants in Washington, D.C., could not refuse to serve black customers.
• 1959 – The USS Barbero submarine and the United States Postal Service tried to deliver mail using a missile!
• 1966 – The National Football League (NFL) and the American Football League (AFL) announced they would merge in 1970.
• 1984 – Homosexuality became legal in the Australian state of New South Wales.
• 1987 – New Zealand created a national nuclear-free zone. This meant no nuclear weapons or power could be used in the country.
• 1992 – The first World Oceans Day was celebrated. This day helps us remember how important our oceans are.
• 1995 – U.S. Air Force pilot Captain Scott O'Grady was rescued by U.S. Marines in Bosnia after his plane was shot down.
• 2004 – A rare event called the Venus Transit happened. This is when Venus passes directly in front of the Sun. The last time it happened was in 1882.

Famous Birthdays

Born Before the 1600s

• 862 – Emperor Xizong of Tang, a Chinese emperor.
• 1508 – Primož Trubar, an important Slovenian religious reformer.

Born Between 1601 and 1900

• 1625 – Giovanni Domenico Cassini, an Italian-French mathematician and astronomer. He discovered four moons of Saturn!
• 1724 – John Smeaton, an English engineer who designed famous bridges.
• 1810 – Robert Schumann, a famous German composer and music critic.
• 1829 – John Everett Millais, an English painter and illustrator.
• 1867 – Frank Lloyd Wright, a very famous American architect. He designed amazing buildings like Fallingwater.
• 1895 – Santiago Bernabéu Yeste, a Spanish footballer and manager. A famous stadium is named after him!

Born From 1901 to Today

• 1916 – Francis Crick, an English biologist and biophysicist. He won the Nobel Prize for helping discover the structure of DNA!
• 1925 – Barbara Bush, the wife of George H. W. Bush and a former First Lady of the United States.
• 1927 – Jerry Stiller, a popular American actor and comedian.
• 1933 – Joan Rivers, a well-known American comedian and television host.
• 1940 – Nancy Sinatra, an American singer and actress.
• 1951 – Bonnie Tyler, a Welsh singer known for her powerful voice.
• 1955 – Tim Berners-Lee, an English computer scientist who invented the World Wide Web!
• 1960 – Mick Hucknall, the lead singer of the band Simply Red.
• 1967 – Julianna Margulies, an American actress.
• 1976 & Lindsay Davenport, an American tennis player.
• 1977 – Kanye West, a famous American rapper and producer.
• 1983 – Kim Clijsters, a Belgian tennis player who won many Grand Slam titles.

Notable People Who Passed Away

Before the 1600s

• 632 – Muhammad, the central figure of Islam.
• 1042 – Harthacnut, an English-Danish king.
• 1376 – Edward, the Black Prince, a famous English prince and military leader.
• 1492 – Elizabeth Woodville, who was the Queen of England.

From the 1600s to the 1900s

• 1714 – Sophia of Hanover, an important German princess.
• 1795 – Louis XVII of France, a young French prince.
• 1809 – Thomas Paine, an English-American writer and thinker who was important during the American Revolution.
• 1831 – Sarah Siddons, a famous Welsh actress.
• 1845 – Andrew Jackson, an American general and the 7th President of the United States.
• 1874 – Cochise, a well-known Native American tribal chief.
• 1876 – George Sand, a famous French author and playwright.
• 1889 – Gerard Manley Hopkins, an English poet.

From 1901 to Today

• 1913 – Emily Davison, an English suffragette who fought for women's right to vote.
• 1924 – Two famous English mountaineers, Andrew Irvine and George Mallory, died during a British Mount Everest expedition.
• 1970 – Abraham Maslow, an American psychologist known for his ideas on human needs.
• 1982 – Satchel Paige, a legendary American baseball player.
• 1998 – Maria Reiche, a German mathematician and archaeologist who studied the Nazca Lines.
• 2018 – Anthony Bourdain, a popular American chef and travel show host.

Special Days and Celebrations

• Bounty Day (Norfolk Island) – This day celebrates the arrival of the Pitcairn Islanders on Norfolk Island.
• Primož Trubar Day (Slovenia) – A day to honor the Slovenian reformer Primož Trubar.
• World Brain Tumor Day – A day to raise awareness about brain tumors.
• World Oceans Day – A global day to celebrate and protect our oceans.

See also

In Spanish: 8 de junio para niños