Today In History

Today In History – February 8

February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar

(L) Richard Mentor Johnson (October 17, 1780 – November 19, 1850) served as the ninth Vice President of the United States, serving from 1837 to 1841 under President Martin Van Buren. He is the only Vice President elected by the United States Senate under the provisions of the Twelfth Amendment. (R) Charles Curtis (January 25, 1860 – February 8, 1936) served as the 31st Vice President of the United States from 1929 to 1933 under Herbert Hoover. Curtis is the only Vice President known to have Native American heritage.

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There are many events that happened on this date in history. Here are just a few of them!

February 8 is the 39th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar; 326 days remain until the end of the year (327 in leap years).

EVENTS

1587 – Mary, Queen of Scots is executed on suspicion of having been involved in the Babington Plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.

1693 – The College of William & Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, the second-oldest institution of higher education in the Thirteen Colonies, is granted a charter by King William III and Queen Mary II.

1837 – Richard Johnson becomes the first and only Vice President of the United States chosen by the Senate.

1910 – The Boy Scouts of America is incorporated by William D. Boyce.

1915 – D. W. Griffith's controversial landmark film The Birth of a Nation premieres in Los Angeles.

1924 – The first state execution in the United States by gas chamber takes place in Nevada.

1960 – Queen Elizabeth II issues an Order-in-Council, proclaiming the House of Windsor and declaring that her descendants will take the name Mountbatten-Windsor.

1960 – The Hollywood Walk of Fame is founded.

1974 – The crew of Skylab 4, the last mission to visit the American space station Skylab, returns to Earth after 84 days in space.

2013 – A blizzard kills at least 18 and leaves hundreds of thousands of people without electricity in the northeastern United States and parts of Canada.

BIRTHS

1828 – Jules Verne, French author, poet, and playwright (d. 1905)

1894 – King Vidor, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1982)

1921 – Lana Turner, American actress (d. 1995)

1922 – Audrey Meadows, American actress and banker (d. 1996)

1925 – Jack Lemmon, American actor (d. 2001)

1930 – Alejandro Rey, Argentinian-American actor and director (d. 1987)

1931 – James Dean, American actor (d. 1955)

1932 – John Williams, American pianist, composer, and conductor

1940 – Ted Koppel, English-American journalist

1941 – Nick Nolte, American actor and producer

1942 – Robert Klein, American comedian, actor, and singer

1948 – Dan Seals, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2009)

1953 – Mary Steenburgen, American actress

1955 – John Grisham, American lawyer and author

1968 – Gary Coleman, American actor (d. 2010)

1974 – Seth Green, American actor, voice artist, comedian, producer, writer, and director[235]

DEATHS

1696 – Ivan V of Russia (b. 1666)

1725 – Peter the Great, Russian emperor (b. 1672)

1936 – Charles Curtis, American lawyer and politician, 31st Vice President of the United States (b. 1860)

1956 – Connie Mack, American baseball player and manager (b. 1862)

1960 – Giles Gilbert Scott, English architect and engineer, designed the Red telephone box and Liverpool Cathedral (b. 1880)

1990 – Del Shannon, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1934)

2020 – Robert Conrad, American actor (b. 1935)

2021 – Mary Wilson, American singer (b. 1944)