/year

August 8 in history

200 sourced entries recorded on August 8, from 117 CE to 2025 CE. Every line is quoted from the revision it came from.

Events

  • 870Treaty of Meerssen: King Louis the German forces his half-brother Charles the Bald to accept a peace treaty, which partitions the Middle Frankish Kingdom into two larger east and west divisions. Louis receives most of Austrasia (which evolves into the Kingdom of Germany), and Charles receives territory in Lower Burgundy (which evolves into the Kingdom of France). However, large parts of the Frisian coast are under Viking control.source
  • 1122A Venetian fleet under Doge Domenico Michiel with well over a hundred ships sets sail from Venice, carrying an army of around 15,000 men and siege-material on the Venetian Crusade. The fleet departs for Palestine – but the Venetians pause to attack Corfu (this in retaliation for the refusal of John II to renew exclusive trading privileges). For six months, throughout the winter of 1122–23, the Venetians lay siege to the Byzantine island.source
  • 1173The construction of a campanile, which will become the Leaning Tower of Pisa, begins.source
  • 1220Battle of Lihula: Estonian forces encircle the Lihula stronghold, occupied by an invading Swedish Crusader army. The Swedish troops along with Karl the Deaf try to make their way out, but they are killed.source
  • 1226Siege of Avignon: After two months without forcing the defenders of Avignon to surrender from lack of food, King Louis VIII gives the order to assault the walls of the city and Guy II, Count of Saint-Pol, begins the second phase of the siege, digging trenches facing the city walls – which are connected on both sides of the Rhône with pontoon bridges. Firing from the fortress towers, the defenders repulse the attack and Count Guy is killed by a catapulted stone on the same day.source
  • 1252by charter of Henry III of England, Maud de Lacy, Baroness Geneville and her husband Geoffrey de Geneville, 1st Baron Geneville, are granted rights in the lands in the eastern part of the Lordship of Meath surrounding Trim Castle which previously belonged to her grandfather, Walter de Lacy.source
  • 1264Mudéjar Revolt: Muslim rebel forces, aided by allies from Algeciras and Tarifa, take the town of Jerez de la Frontera after defeating the outnumbered Castilian garrison led by Nuño González de Lara ("the Good"). The rebels are supported by Muhammad I, ruler of the Emirate of Granada, while King Alfonso X of Castile ("the Wise") is allied with Aragon. The rebels manage to capture Murcia, as well as several smaller towns.source
  • 1288Pope Nicholas IV proclaims a crusade against the 26-year-old King Ladislaus IV, who had lost credibility by favoring his semi-pagan Cuman subjects in Hungary, and in general refusing to conform to the social standards of Western Europe. Meanwhile, the Hungarian government loses more power because the clergy and most of the nobles rule the kingdom independently.source
  • 13031303 Crete earthquake: An earthquake destroys the Lighthouse of Alexandria in Egypt, one of the Seven wonders of the World.source
  • 1304Treaty of Torrellas: The 18-year-old King Ferdinand IV of Castile signs a peace with King James II of Aragon ("James the Just"). In the terms, James agrees to restore the Kingdom of Murcia to Castile, except for Alicante, Elche, Orihuela, and lands north of the Segura River. In return for extensive patrimony, Prince Alfonso de la Cerda renounces his claim to the Castilian throne, ending a conflict that has disturbed the tranquility of the realm for nearly 30 years.source
  • 1313Emperor Henry VII begins a campaign against King Robert of Naples ("Robert the Wise"). Henry's allies are loath to join him and his 15,000-man army, supported by 4,000 knights, while the imperial fleet is prepared to attack King Robert's realm directly.source
  • 1345Peter, Duke of Bourbon was appointed French commander in Gascony and bases himself at Agen.source
  • 1373Bristol perambulation: Bristol is made a county corporate, the first town in he Kingdom of England outside London to be granted this status.source
  • 1375In Switzerland, the Roman Catholic bishop Guichard Tavel becomes a victim of the long-standing feud between the Tavel family and the de la Tour family. Antoine de la Tour and a group of soldiers enter the Soie Castle (now in the Canton of Valais), ostensibly to arrest Bishop Tavel. The la Tour gang drags the Bishop up to the top of the castle walls and throws him off to his death.source
  • 1381The Treaty of Turin is signed between the Republic of Venice and the Republic of Genoa to end the three-year War of Chioggia against Genoa, on terms favorable to Venice. The settlement comes more than a year after Venice's triumph in the Battle of Chioggia on June 24, 1380.source
  • 1386King Richard II of England summons the members of the House of Commons and the House of Lords to assemble at Westminster Abbey on October 1 for his 14th Parliament, dubbed by historians as the "Wonderful Parliament". Although the King's purpose is to secure funding to defend against an imminent invasion from France, the parliament members begin plans to reform the unpopular king's government.source
  • 1460Sigismund, the Duke of Austria, is excommunicated from the Roman Catholic Church by Pope Pius II and has his domains placed under an interdict.source
  • 1474The siege of Shkodra by the Ottoman Empire ends when the city is freed by a combined army of 25,000 troops from the Republic of Venice commanded by Antonio Loredan, supplemented by the Principality of Zeta and Albanian resistance forces. Nearly all of the 8,000 Ottoman troops commanded by Hadım Suleiman Pasha are killed.source
  • 1476Lady Suk-ui, daughter of Yun Gi-Gyeon of the Haman Yun clan is installed as the new Queen Consort of Korea's King Seongjong of Joseon, two years after the death of Queen consort Han Song-yi, who produced no heir to the throne. Suk-ui, also known as Queen Yun, gives birth to an heir, Yeonsangun of Joseon, three months later. Queen Yun is deposed three years later and executed by poisoning.source
  • 1492The papal conclave, the first to be held in the Sistine Chapel, begins balloting with 23 of the 27 members of the College of Cardinals in attendance. With 16 votes needed for the required two-thirds majority, the first ballot is split among three candidates, with Oliviero Carafa receiving 9, Rodrigo Borja 7 and Giuliano della Rovere 5, while two cast a blank vote.source
  • 1503King James IV of Scotland marries Margaret Tudor, daughter of King Henry VII of England, at Holyrood Abbey, Edinburgh, Scotland.source
  • 1503marriage of James IV and Margaret Tudorsource
  • 1509The French, along with support from the Holy Roman Empire, begin a siege of Padua that would last for months to retake the city.source
  • 1542St Macartan's Cathedral, Clogher, is created from the former abbey church.source
  • 1549England and France declare war.source
  • 1567Dr. Robert Weston is sworn in as Lord Chancellor of Ireland. Although a layman, he is also appointed Dean of St. Patrick's Cathedral, Dublin.source
  • 1570King Charles IX signs the Peace of Saint-Germain-en-Laye, ending the third war of the French wars of religion.source
  • 1570The Peace of Saint-Germain ends the Third War of Religion in France. Again, the Huguenots are promised religious freedom and political autonomy.source
  • 1585English explorer John Davis enters Cumberland Sound in Baffin Island, in his quest for the Northwest Passage.source
  • 1588August 8 (July 29 Old Style) – Battle of Gravelines: The Spanish Armada is defeated by the English naval force off the coast of Gravelines, in the Spanish Netherlands (modern France).source
  • 1616The Tokugawa shogunate (Bakufu) in Japan forbids foreigners other than Chinese from traveling freely, or trading outside of the ports of Nagasaki and Hirado.source
  • 1617King James of England and Scotland returns to England after having spent three months in Scotland, arriving at Wharton, Cumbria.source
  • 1621Huguenot rebellions: The French Protestant city of La Rochelle joins in the revolt by Benjamin, Duke of Soubise.source
  • 1647Battle of Dungan's Hill: Irish forces are defeated by English Parliamentary forces.source
  • 1647Irish Confederate Wars: An English Parliamentary army defeats the Irish Confederate's Leinster army.source
  • 1648Mehmed IV (1648–1687) succeeds Ibrahim I (1640–1648), as Ottoman Emperor.source
  • 1649Dubhaltach Mac Fhirbhisigh completes Book VIII of Leabhar na nGenealach, in Galway, within days of an outbreak of the plague.source
  • 1653The petite post, a system of postage using prepaid labels and post boxes, is inaugurated in Paris by Jean-Jacques Renouard de Villayer for the mailing of letters within the city, an event noted by Madeleine de Scudéry in her manuscript Chroniques du samedi.source
  • 1665The Great Plague forces the closure of the University of Cambridge, where Isaac Newton is a student. Newton retires to his home in Lincolnshire for safety, and stays there for two years. During this time alone, Newton will make groundbreaking discoveries in mathematics, calculus, mechanics and optics, and lay the foundations for his books Philosophiæ Naturalis Principia Mathematica and Optiks.source
  • 1673In the American colonies, a Dutch battle fleet of 23 ships demands the surrender of New York.source
  • 1689a thanksgiving service for the relief of Derry is held in St Columb's Cathedral.source
  • 1695The Wren Building is started in Williamsburg, Virginia (completed in 1700).source
  • 1709The hot air balloon of Bartolomeu de Gusmão flies in Portugal.source
  • 1713The Parliament of Great Britain, third since the Act of Union, is dissolvedsource
  • 1735Wade's Bridge, Aberfeldy, built and opened in 1733, is formally opened in the presence of General George Wade.source
  • 1750In advance of the Province of Georgia changing in status from a corporate-owned American settlement to a British colony, Royal Assent is given to an act that lifts the province's ban on slavery; effective January 1, "it shall and may be lawful to import or bring Black Slaves or Negroes in to the Province of Georgia of America and to keep and to use the same therein".source
  • 1757August 3–9 – French and Indian War: A French army under Louis-Joseph de Montcalm forces the English to surrender Fort William Henry. The French army's Indian allies slaughter the surviving men, women and children.source
  • 1771The first recorded town cricket match is played, at Horsham, England.source
  • 1771first recorded town cricket match played at Horsham; Horsham Cricket Club formed here soon after 1806.source
  • 1781construction of The Custom House, Dublin, to the design of James Gandon, begins.source
  • 1786Mont Blanc is climbed for the first time, by Michel-Gabriel Paccard and Jacques Balmat.source
  • 1788King Louis XVI agrees to convene the Estates-General meeting in May 1789, the first time since 1614.source
  • 1788Louis XVI agreed to convene the Estates-General meeting in May 1789, for the first time since 1614.source
  • 1809Seventy disciples of Vilna Gaon arrive in Palestine.source
  • 1822Bernardo O'Higgins institutes a new constitution, which is seen by opponents to be an attempt to keep himself in power, leading to O'Higgins being deposed and replaced by Ramón Freire in 1823.source
  • 1822August 5–13 – A sequence of earthquakes occurs in the northern part of the Ottoman Empire, causing severe damage from Gaziantep to Antakya in modern Turkey and from Aleppo to Khan Sheikhun in modern Syria. At least 20,000 people are killed.source
  • 1828William Howley elected as Archbishop of Canterbury (enthroned by proxy 28 August) in succession to Charles Manners-Sutton.source
  • 1828the Ballochney Railway (near Airdrie, horse worked) is completed throughout.source
  • 1829The Prince de Polignac succeeds the Vicomte de Martignac as Prime Minister of France.source
  • 1839The Fraternity of Beta Theta Pi is founded by John Reily Knox at Miami University.source
  • 1843Border convention between Belgium and the Netherlands concluded at Maastricht.source
  • 1844During a meeting held in Nauvoo, Illinois, the Quorum of the Twelve, headed by Brigham Young, is chosen as the leading body of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints.source
  • 1846The planet Neptune is first observed but not recognised by James Challis, director of the Cambridge Observatory.source
  • 1858Ottoman Penal Code decriminalized homosexual sex between consenting adults in the Ottoman Empiresource
  • 1863American Civil War: Following his defeat in the Battle of Gettysburg, General Robert E. Lee sends a letter of resignation to Confederate President Jefferson Davis (Davis refuses the request upon receipt).source
  • 1868HDMS Lindormen is launched at Nyholm in Copenhagen.source
  • 1870The Republic of Ploiești, an uprising against Domnitor Carol of Romania, fails.source
  • 1873Paul Verlaine sentenced to two years in prison for injuring Arthur Rimbaud with a fire arm.source
  • 1876Thomas Edison receives a patent for his mimeograph.source
  • 1895The steamship SS Catterthun strikes Seal Rocks, NSW, and founders, killing 55 personssource
  • 1899The San Ciriaco hurricane strikes Puerto Rico and leaves 250,000 people homeless. The official death toll is later listed as 3,369 people.source
  • 1900Natal – Park Rynie to Umzinto, 10 mi 40 ch.source
  • 1908Wilbur Wright flies in France for the first time, demonstrating controlled powered flight in Europe.source
  • 1908The Hoover Company of Canton, Ohio, acquires manufacturing rights to the upright portable vacuum cleaner patented on June 22 by James M. Spangler.source
  • 1909The Rosicrucian Fellowship is launched at Seattle, Washington.source
  • 1909Max Heindel formally founds the Rosicrucian Fellowship in Seattle, Washington.source
  • 1914Sir Ernest Shackleton's Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition sets sail on the Endurance from Britain, in an attempt to cross Antarctica.source
  • 1914German colonial forces execute Martin-Paul Samba, for high treason.source
  • 1915Establishment of the Catholic Centre Party.source
  • 1918WWI: Battle of Amiens – British, Canadian and Australian troops begin a string of almost continuous victories, the 'Hundred Days Offensive', with an 8-mile push through the German front lines, taking 12,000 prisoners. German General Erich Ludendorff later calls this the "black day of the German Army".source
  • 1919The Anglo-Afghan Treaty of 1919, signed in Rawalpindi, ends the Third Anglo-Afghan War, with the United Kingdom recognising the right of the Emirate of Afghanistan to manage its own foreign affairs and Afghanistan recognising the Durand Line as the border with British India.source
  • 1919Prónay crosses the Danube from Solt to Dunaföldvársource
  • 1920July 30–August 8 – The 1st World Scout Jamboree is held at Olympia, London.source
  • 1921Establishment of the Vicariate Apostolic of Nganhoeisource
  • 1922Shogakukan was founded.source
  • 1925The Ku Klux Klan, the largest fraternal racist organization in the United States, demonstrates its popularity by holding a parade with an estimated 30,000-35,000 marchers in Washington, D.C.source
  • 1925South Sydney record the only perfect season in NSWRFL history, winning all twelve of their matches.source
  • 1929August 8–29 – German rigid airship LZ 127 Graf Zeppelin makes a circumnavigation of the Northern Hemisphere eastabout out of Lakehurst, New Jersey, including the first nonstop flight of any kind across the Pacific Ocean (Tokyo–Los Angeles).source
  • 1934The Wehrmacht swears a personal oath of loyalty to Adolf Hitler.source
  • 1942August 3–15 – WWII: Operation Pedestal – A British convoy of 14 merchant ships with a massive escort of two battleships, 4 aircraft carriers, 7 cruisers, 32 destroyers and smaller ships commanded by Admiral Edward Neville Syfret, sets sail to Malta under relentless attacks by day and night from enemy submarines, aircraft and Axis surface forces. The 55,000 tons of food and fuel (particularly from oil tanker SS Ohio) delivered by this convoy saves Malta from surrender and allows Malta-based aircraft and submarines to resume their attacks against Rommel's supply lines, although over 500 British sea- and airmen are killed and many ships (including carrier HMS Eagle (1918)) are lost.source
  • 1945The United Nations Charter is ratified by the United States Senate.source
  • 1949Bhutan signs a Treaty of Friendship with newly independent India, agreeing non-interference in internal affairs, but allowing India to "guide" its foreign policy (similar to the previous arrangements with the British administration in India).source
  • 1949Turkey admitted to Council of Europe.source
  • 1950Winston Churchill supports the idea of a pan-European army, allied with Canada and the U.S.source
  • 1950American Florence Chadwick swims the English Channel in 13 hours, 22 minutes, beating the women's record for the crossing.source
  • 1953Soviet prime minister Georgi Malenkov announces that the Soviet Union has a hydrogen bomb.source
  • 1956262 miners (chiefly Italian nationals) die in a fire at the Bois du Cazier coal mine, in Marcinelle, Belgium.source
  • 1956Mining accident of Marcinelle claims 262 lives, including 136 Italian foreign workerssource
  • 1959A flood in Taiwan kills 2,000.source
  • 1963The Great Train Robbery takes place in Buckinghamshire, England.source
  • 1964A Rolling Stones gig in Scheveningen gets out of control. Riot police end the gig after about fifteen minutes, upon which spectators start to fight the riot police.source
  • 1967The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) is founded in Bangkok, Thailand.source
  • 1969MBC Television officially launched service to nationwide.source
  • 1973South Korean politician Kim Dae-jung is kidnapped in Tokyo by the KCIA.source
  • 1974U.S. President Richard Nixon announces his resignation on August 8, effective at noon on August 9.source
  • 1975The Banqiao Dam, in China's Henan Province, fails after Typhoon Nina; over 200,000 people perish.source
  • 1976As part of the American Basketball Association–National Basketball Association merger, a dispersal draft is conducted to assign teams for the players on the two ABA franchises which have folded.source
  • 1979Two American commercial divers, Richard Walker and Victor Guiel, die of hypothermia after their diving bell becomes stranded at a depth of over 160 m in the East Shetland Basin. The legal repercussions of the accident will lead to important safety changes in the diving industry.source
  • 1980July 31–August 11: Hurricane Allen.source
  • 1982The Dalai Lama visits Australia to mark the 30th anniversary of the establishment of Buddhism in the country.source
  • 1983The establishment of Taipei Fine Arts Museum in Zhongshan District, Taipei.source
  • 1989the Victory Arch monument is opened to the public in honor of the Iraqi soldiers who fell during the Iran–Iraq War, which concluded a year earlier.source
  • 1989The Ministry of Gas Industry changes Gazprom, an energy production and sales organization to a state-run enterprise.source
  • 1989STS-28: Space Shuttle Columbia takes off on a secret five-day military mission.source
  • 1989Prime Minister of New Zealand David Lange resigns for health reasons and is replaced by Geoffrey Palmer.source
  • 1990The government of Peru announces an austerity plan that results in huge increases in the price of food and gasoline. The plan sets off days of rioting and a national strike on August 21.source
  • 1991The Warsaw radio mast, the tallest structure in the world at the time, collapses.source
  • 1992The first edition of the Kazakhstan Cup concludes when Kairat defeats Fosfor at the final.source
  • 1994The Wadi Araba Crossing opens, becoming the first border crossing between Israel and Jordan.source
  • 1997August 3–11 – Two of the three islands of the Union of the Comoros – Anjouan and Mohéli – attempt to revert to colonial rule by France. The plan fails when the French government of President Jacques Chirac refuses to recolonize them, resulting in the two islands being reintegrated into the Comoros over the next two years.source
  • 1998Afghan Civil War: The Taliban takes control of Mazar-i-Sharif.source
  • 2000The US Confederate submarine H. L. Hunley is raised to the surface after 136 years on the ocean floor.source
  • 2001The Genesis probe is launched from Cape Canaveral Space Launch Complex 17.source
  • 2002Judge Datuk James Foong of the Kuala Lumpur High Court, Wisma Denmark, Jalan Ampang, decides that seven out of the ten people being sued by 60 residents, relatives and families of the Highland Towers collapse tragedy were negligent.source
  • 2004August 7–13 – Typhoon Rananim causes widespread destruction as it strikes China.source
  • 2008August 8–24 – The 2008 Summer Olympics were held in Beijing, China.source
  • 2009A small plane and a tour helicopter collide over the Hudson River in the United States. (CNN)source
  • 2010wind flaw killed 4 people.source
  • 2014American-led intervention in Iraq: The United States military begins an air campaign in northern Iraq to stem the influx of ISIL militants.source
  • 2014The World Health Organization (WHO) declares the Ebola outbreak a Public Health Emergency of International Concern.source
  • 2014Five Nights at Freddy's is released by Scott Cawthon.source
  • 2019Nyonoksa radiation accident: Reports indicate that there may have been a nuclear explosion at the Nyonoksa weapons-testing site in Arkhangelsk Oblast, Russia. At least five people were killed and three others injured in the blast, with radiation levels in Severodvinsk, 47 km from the site, being 20 times above normal levels temporarily.source
  • 2022July 28–August 8 – The 2022 Commonwealth Games is held in Birmingham, England.source
  • 2022July 29 – August 8: Guyana at the 2022 Commonwealth Gamessource
  • 2025Armenia and Azerbaijan sign a peace deal to end 37-year-old hostilities regarding the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.source
  • 2025August 7–17 – The 2025 World Games are held in Chengdu, China.source

Births

  • 422Casper, ruler of the Maya city of Palenquesource
  • 1079Horikawa, emperor of Japan (died 1107)source
  • 1170Dominic, founder of the Dominican Order (died 1221)source
  • 1306Rudolf the Blind, Duke of Bavaria (died 1353)source
  • 1492Matteo Tafuri, Italian alchemist (died 1582)source
  • 1518Conrad Lycosthenes, Alsatian humanist and encyclopedist (died 1561)source
  • 1558George Clifford, 3rd Earl of Cumberland, English noble (died 1605)source
  • 1605Cecil Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, first Proprietor and Proprietary Governor of the Province of Maryland (died 1675)source
  • 1646Godfrey Kneller, German-born painter (died 1723)source
  • 1673John Ker, Scottish informer (died 1726)source
  • 1694Francis Hutcheson, Scottish philosopher (died 1746)source
  • 1779Benjamin Silliman, American chemist, educator and abolitionist (died 1864)source
  • 1839Nelson A. Miles, American general (died 1925)source
  • 1857Henry Fairfield Osborn, American geologist, paleontologist and eugenist (died 1935)source
  • 1866Matthew Henson, African-American explorer (died 1955)source
  • 1875Artur Bernardes, 12th President of Brazil (died 1955)source
  • 1880Sir Earle Page, 11th Prime Minister of Australia (died 1961)source
  • 1902Paul Dirac, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1984)source
  • 1951Mohamed Morsi, Egyptian politician, 5th President of Egypt (died 2019)source
  • 1953Lloyd Austin, 28th United States Secretary of Defensesource
  • 1964Giuseppe Conte, Italian Prime Minister (2018–2021)source
  • 2005Alysa Liu, American figure skatersource

Deaths

  • 117Trajan, Roman emperor (born AD 53)source
  • 118Primus, patriarch of Alexandriasource
  • 753Hildegar, bishop of Colognesource
  • 869Lothair II, king of Lotharingia (born 835)source
  • 869Lothair II, King of Middle Francia (Lotharingia), dies at Piacenza, on his way home from meeting Pope Adrian II at Rome, to get assent for a divorce. Lotharingia is subsequently divided between Lothair's uncles, Charles the Bald of France and Louis the German.source
  • 998Sŏ Hŭi, Korean politician and diplomat (born 942)source
  • 1002Al-Mansur dies after a 24-year reign and is succeeded by his son Abd al-Malik al-Muzaffar as ruler (hajib) of the Umayyad Caliphate of Córdoba (modern Spain).source
  • 1002Al-Mansur, Umayyad vizier and de facto ruler (born 938)source
  • 1086Conrad I, count of Luxembourg (born 1040)source
  • 1091Altmann of Passau, German bishop and saintsource
  • 1171Henry of Blois, bishop of Winchester (born 1096)source
  • 1202Simon I, German nobleman and knightsource
  • 1205Savaric FitzGeldewin, English bishopsource
  • 1220Karl the Deaf, Swedish noblemansource
  • 1226Guy II, Count of Saint-Pol, French nobleman and knightsource
  • 1228Rujing, Japanese Sōtō Zen patriarch (born 1163)source
  • 1266Sayyed Ibn Tawus, Abbasid theologian (born 1193)source
  • 1274Eudes de Lorris, French bishop (birth date unknown)source
  • 1295Ottone Visconti, Italian canon and archbishopsource
  • 1303Henry of Castile (the Senator), Spanish prince (born 1230)source
  • 1523Jean Vallière, a French friar who was the first protestant executed on a charge of heresy in France.source
  • 1545King Injong of Joseon, ruler of the Korean Empire, dies at the age of 30, after only eight months as monarch. His allies suspect that he had slowly been poisoned by his stepmother, Queen Janggyeong, who had been Queen consort as the wife of King Jungjong. Queen Janggyeong's 12-year-old son Myeongjong is enthroned as the new King, with Janggyeong as the regent.source
  • 1545Injong of Joseon, 12th king of the Joseon dynasty of Korea (born 1515)source
  • 1616Cornelis Ketel, Dutch painter (born 1548)source
  • 1651Countess Amalie Elisabeth of Hanau-Münzenberg, regent of Hesse-Kassel (born 1602)source
  • 1656In the Ayutthaya Kingdom, comprising most of the territory now occupied by Thailand, King Prasat Thong dies after a reign of more than 25 years. His eldest son, Prince Chao Fa Chai, is crowned as King Sanpet VI but Prasat's brother plots the new king's overthrow.source
  • 1674Maeda Toshitsugu, Japanese daimyō of the early Edo period (born 1617)source
  • 1684George Booth, 1st Baron Delamer, English royalist politician, soldier and landowner (born 1622)source
  • 1746Francis Hutcheson, Irish philosopher (born 1694)source
  • 1747Madeleine de Verchères, daughter of François Jarret, a seigneur in New France, and Marie Perrot (b.1678); Madeline (alt spelling) achieved recognition when, as a young girl, she successfully fought off Iroquois attackers and helped to save Fort Vercheres (Quebec).source
  • 1750Charles Lennox, 2nd Duke of Richmond, English aristocrat, philanthropist and cricket patron (born 1701)source
  • 1802Field Commandant Tjaart van der Walt is killed in a skirmish against the Xhosa and Khoi-Khoi in the Kouga Mountainssource
  • 1827George Canning, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1770)source
  • 1881Alexandru G. Golescu, Prime Minister of the United Principalities of Moldavia and Wallachia (born 1819).source
  • 1887Alexander William Doniphan, American lawyer, soldier (born 1808)source
  • 1895Howell Edmunds Jackson, American Supreme Court Justice (born 1832)source
  • 1897Jacob Burckhardt, historian of art and culture (born 1818)source
  • 1909Mary MacKillop, Australian Roman Catholic nun and saint (born 1842)source
  • 1942WWII: In Washington, D.C., six German saboteurs are executed for their role in the failed mission Operation Pastorius (2 others are cooperative and receive sentences of life imprisonment instead, being freed a few years after the end of the war).source
  • 1974Baldur von Schirach, Nazi German Hitler Youth leader (born 1907)source
  • 19888888 Uprising: Thousands of protesters in Burma, now known as Myanmar, are killed during anti-government demonstrations.source
  • 20232023 Hawaii wildfires: 17,000 acres of land are burned and at least 101 people are killed, with two others missing, when a series of wildfires break out on the island of Maui in Hawaii.source