This is a list of selected May 8 anniversaries that appear in the "On this day" section of the Main Page. To suggest a new item, in most cases, you can be bold and edit this page. Before doing so, please review the selected anniversaries guidelines. If your suggestion is potentially controversial or relates to a day currently or soon to appear on the Main Page, post it on the talk page instead.
Please note:
- Events listed on the Main Page are selected based on article quality and to provide a diverse range of topics, rather than solely on the importance or significance of the events.
- Only four or five events are featured each day; therefore, not all important or significant events can be included.
- An event is generally excluded if it is already the subject of the scheduled featured article or picture of the day.
To report an error in content currently on the Main Page, see Wikipedia:Main Page/Errors. If a listed event is inaccurate, please first seek consensus and update the corresponding article before making changes here.
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Images
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State of Zhao
Hernando de Soto
Joan of Arc
Antoine Lavoisier
Alfred Jodl signing the WWII capitulation papers
Wilhelm Keitel signing the German Instrument of Surrender
The remains of Tollund Man shortly after his discovery
A glass of Coca-Cola
Sketch of the Versailles rail accident
Ineligible
| Blurb | Reason |
|---|---|
| ; Parents' Day in South Korea | unreferenced section |
| 453 BC – The house of Zhao defeated the house of Zhi, ending the Battle of Jinyang, a military conflict between the elite families of the State of Jin during the Spring and Autumn period of China. | refimprove section |
| 1429 – French troops led by Joan of Arc lifted the English siege of Orléans and turned the tide of the Hundred Years' War. | unreferenced section, numerous other paragraphs without citatinos |
| 1541 – Spanish conquistadors led by Hernando de Soto became the first documented Europeans to cross the Mississippi River. | unreferenced section |
| 1794 – The Reign of Terror: Branded a traitor, French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, a former royal tax collector with the Ferme générale, was tried, convicted, and guillotined on the same day. | refimprove section |
| 1846 – The first major battle in the Mexican–American War was fought at the Battle of Palo Alto near present-day Brownsville, Texas. | unreferenced section |
| 1886 – In Atlanta, American pharmacist John Pemberton first sold his carbonated beverage Coca-Cola as a patent medicine, claiming that it cured a number of diseases. | refimprove section |
| 1902 – An eruption of Mount Pelée destroyed the town of Saint-Pierre, Martinique, causing around 30,000 deaths. | refimprove section and other cites needed |
| 1945 – In the presence of Allied commanders the representatives of Oberkommando der Wehrmacht signed the German Instrument of Surrender, ending World War II in Europe. | refimprove section |
| 1984 – The Soviet Union announced the boycott of the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, citing security concerns and stated that "chauvinistic sentiments and an anti-Soviet hysteria [were] being whipped up in the United States". | refimprove |
| Pope Boniface IV |d|615 | date of death uncertain |
| Truganini |d|1876 | refimprove section |
| World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day; | Stubby (c. 1,400 characters) |
Eligible
- 1821 – Greek War of Independence: At the Battle of Gravia Inn, a 120-man Greek force led by Odysseas Androutsos repulsed an Ottoman army of 8,000 soldiers.
- 1924 – Lithuania signed the Klaipėda Convention, making the Klaipėda Region (taken from East Prussia) into an autonomous region under Lithuanian rule.
- 1927 – French aviators Charles Nungesser and François Coli aboard the biplane L'Oiseau Blanc took off from Paris, attempting to make the first non-stop flight to New York, only to disappear before arrival.
- 1942 – World War II: The Axis launched a major counteroffensive, turning the tide of the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula.
- 1950 – The Tollund Man (pictured), a naturally mummified corpse, was discovered in a peat bog near Silkeborg, Denmark.
- 1957 – South Vietnamese president Ngô Đình Diệm began a state visit to the United States, his regime's main sponsor.
- 1970 – Construction workers attacked students and others who were protesting the Vietnam War in New York City.
- 1987 – A British Special Air Service unit ambushed a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) unit in Loughgall, Northern Ireland, killing eight IRA members and one civilian.
- Born/died: | Edward Foxe |d|1538| Ali Bey al-Kabir |d|1773| Fern Hobbs |b|1883| Harry S. Truman |b|1884| Jacques Heim |b|1899| Friedrich Hayek |b|1899| Gordon McClymont |b|1920| Ethel D. Allen |b|1929| Jack Charlton |b|1935| Keith Lincoln |b|1939| Anthony Field |b|1963| Teresa Teng |d|1995| Soeman Hs |d|1999
Notes
- New Coke (1985) appears on April 23, so Coca-Cola should not appear in the same year.
- Kent State shootings (1970) appears on May 4, so Hard Hat Riots
- Ngô Đình Cẩn, who ordered the Huế Phật Đản shootings (1963) appears on May 9, so both should not be used in the same year.
May 8: Anniversary of the birth of Miguel Hidalgo in Mexico (1753); Victory in Europe Day (1945)
Lady Blanche Arundell
- 1643 – First English Civil War: The first siege of Wardour Castle ended after six days with the surrender of the Royalist garrison under Lady Blanche Arundell (pictured).
- 1842 – A train derailed and caught fire near Versailles, France, killing at least 52 people.
- 1945 – A parade in Sétif, French Algeria, celebrating the end of World War II in Europe became a riot and was followed by reprisals, carried out by colonial authorities over the following weeks, that killed thousands.
- 1963 – In Huế, South Vietnam, soldiers opened fire into a crowd of Buddhists protesting against a government ban on the flying of the Buddhist flag on Phật Đản, killing nine and sparking the Buddhist crisis.
- 1972 – Four members of Black September hijacked Sabena Flight 571 to demand the release of 315 Palestinians convicted on terrorism charges.
- Thomas Drury (b. 1551)
- Helena Blavatsky (d. 1891)
- Beatrice Worsley (d. 1972)