Historical Events on April 8
- 1740: The Spanish vessel Princesa is captured by 3 British ships during the War of Jenkins’ Ear.
- 1820: On the Island of Milos, the Venus de Milo is discovered.
- 1832: 300 U.S 6th Infantry soldiers leave St. Louis, Missouri to fight the Sauk Indians during the Black Hawk War.
- 1864: Confederate forces defeat Union troops at Mansfield, Louisiana during the Battle of Mansfield.
- 1903: Aleister Crowley transcribes the first chapter of the Book of the Law.
- 1904: Longacre Square has its name changed to Times Square.
- 1918: On the streets of New York City’s financial district, Charlie Chaplin and Douglas Fairbanks sell war bonds during World War I.
- 1942: At the Siege of Leningrad during World War II, Soviet troops manage to open a railway link to Leningrad.
- 1942: Bataan in the Philippines is seized by Japanese forces during World War II.
- 1943: United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt prohibits workers from changing jobs and bans public utilities from increasing rates in an attempt to keep inflation in check and to freeze prices.
- 1959: A team led by Grace Hooper assembles to discuss the creation of a new programming language that will be called COBOL.
- 1961: An explosion on the MV Dara in the Persian Gulf ends up killing almost 240 people.
- 1964: The test flight of Gemini 1 begins on this day.
- 1974: Hank Aaron hits his 715th career home run at Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium. This beats the previous record held by Babe Ruth.
Famous Birthdays on April 8
- English singer-songwriter Julian Lennon is born in 1963.
- American rapper Biz Markie is born in 1964.
- American actress Robin Wright is born in 1966.
- American actress Patricia Arquette is born in 1968.
- American actress Kathryn Ann Sackhoff is born in 1980.
- American actor Taran Noah Smith is born in 1984.