June 8 is the 159th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (160th in leap years), with 206 days remaining.
Events 452 - Attila the Hun invades Italy 536 - St. Silverius becomes Pope 570 - Islam is founded in Makkah 1776 - American invaders driven back at Trois Rivières 1783 - The volcano Laki, in Iceland, begins an eight-month eruption which kills over 9,000 people and starts a seven-year famine 1790 - King's College founded by United Empire Loyalist scholars from what is now Columbia University at Windsor, Nova Scotia 1824 - First patent issued in Canada 1843 - First students enrolled in King's College, later the University of Toronto 1861 - American Civil War: Tennessee secedes from the Union 1887 - Herman Hollerith receives a patent for his punch card calculator 1941 - World War II: Allies invade Syria and Lebanon 1942 - World War II: Tobruk falls to the Germans 1949 - Such celebrities as Helen Keller, Dorothy Parker, Danny Kaye, Fredric March, John Garfield, Paul Muni and Edward G. Robinson are named in an FBI report as Communist Party members 1950 - Sir Thomas Blamey becomes the only Field Marshal in Australian history 1959 - the first (and only) delivery of Missile Mail 1967 - Israeli attack on USS Liberty 1968 - James Earl Ray is arrested for the murder of Doctor Martin Luther King Jr 1969 - After the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) cancels the program, the last Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour airs. 1998 - Charlton Heston assumes the presidency of the National Rifle Association. 2004 - First solar transit of the planet Venus since 1882; the next one will occur on June 6, 2012. Births 1724 - John Smeaton, civil engineer (+ 1794) 1743 - Alessandro Cagliostro, adventurer (+ 1795) 1810 - Robert Schumann, composer (+ 1856) 1847 - Ida McKinley, former First Lady of the United States 1867 - Frank Lloyd Wright, architect (+ 1959) 1903 - Marguerite Yourcenar, author (+ 1987) 1910 - John W. Campbell Jr, science fiction writer, publisher, editor (+ 1971) 1916 - Francis Crick, scientist, Nobel laureate 1917 - Byron White, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court (+ 2002) 1918 - Robert Preston, actor (+ 1987) 1921 - Suharto, former President of Indonesia 1921 - Alexis Smith, actress (+ 1993) 1924 - Lyn Nofziger, political operative 1925 - Barbara Bush, former First Lady of the United States (to 41st President, George Bush, mother to 43rd President George W. Bush) 1927 - LeRoy Neiman, painter 1929 - Jerry Stiller, comedian, actor 1933 - Joan Rivers, comedienne, author 1934 - Millicent Martin, singer, actress 1940 - Nancy Sinatra, singer 1941 - Fuzzy Haskins, musician ("P Funk") 1944 - Boz Scaggs, singer, songwriter 1947 - Kathy Baker, actress 1948 - Jürgen von der Lippe, show master 1950 - Sonia Braga, actress 1951 - Bonnie Tyler, singer, guitarist 1955 - Griffin Dunne, actor 1957 - Scott Adams, cartoonist ("Dilbert") 1958 - Keenen Ivory Wayans, comedian, actor, director 1966 - Julianna Margulies, actress Deaths 218 - Macrinus, Roman Emperor 632 - Muhammad, founder of Islam 1042 - Harthacanute , King of England 1795 - King Louis XVII of France 1809 - Thomas Paine, American revolutionary and writer: Common Sense 1845 - Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the United States 1874 - Cochise, Apache leader 1876 - George Sand, author 1929 - Bliss Carman, poet 1966 - Anton Melik, Slovene geographer 1970 - Abraham Maslow, psychologist 1982 - Satchel Paige, baseball player 2000 - Jeff MacNelly, political cartoonist Holidays and observances Roman Empire - second day of the Vestalia in honor of Vesta See Also: June 7 - June 9 - May 8 - July 8 -- listing of all days January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
See Also:
June 7 - June 9 - May 8 - July 8 -- listing of all days
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December