October 8: Date

October 8 is the 281st day of the year (282nd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 84 days remaining until the end of the year.

Up to 1900

• 1075 – Dmitar Zvonimir is crowned King of Croatia.
• 1480 – Stand-off on the Ugra River, between the forces of Akhmat Khan of the 'Great Horde', and those of Grand Duke Ivan III of Russia, resulting in the retreat of the Tataro-Mongols.
• 1573 – End of the Spanish Siege of Alkmaar (Netherlands) - First Dutch victory in the Eighty Years' War.
• 1600 – San Marino adopts its own constitution.
• 1806 – Napoleonic Wars: Forces of the British Empire lay siege to the port of Boulogne-sur-Mer, on France's English Channel coast.
• 1813 – The Treaty of Ried is signed between Bavaria and Austria.
• 1814 – The first election to Norway's Storting (Parliament) takes place.
• 1821 – The Government of Jose de San Martin creates the Peruvian Navy.
• 1822 – A volcanic eruption begins on the island of Java.
• 1856 – The Second Opium War between China and Western powers begins.
• 1860 – The telegraph line linking San Francisco and Los Angeles, California, opens.
• 1862 – American Civil War: Battle of Perryville, Kentucky.
• 1871 – The Great Chicago Fire occurs.
• 1879 – War of the Pacific: In the naval Battle of Angamos, Chile defeats Peru.
• 1895 – Empress Myeongseong of Korea is murdered by Japanese forces at Geongbok Palace, before her corpse is burned.
• 1897 – Gustav Mahler becomes director of the Vienna Court Opera.

1901 – 2000

• 1904 – Edmonton, Alberta and Prince Albert, Saskatchewan become cities.
• 1912 – The First Balkan War begins: Montenegro declares war on the Ottoman Empire.
• 1918 – World War I: In the Argonne Forest, France, US Corporal Alvin C. York kills 28 German soldiers and captures 132.
• 1928 – Joseph Szigeti gives the first performance of Alfredo Casella's violin concerto.
• 1932 – The Indian Air Force is created.
• 1939 – World War II: Germany annexes Western Poland.
• 1941 – World War II: In their invasion of the Soviet Union, Germany reaches the Sea of Azov with the capture of Mariupol.
• 1952 – United Kingdom: The Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash occurs. It is the UK's deadliest peacetime rail disaster.
• 1956 – The New York Yankees player Don Larsen pitches the only perfect game in a World Series.
• 1962 – Algeria joins the UN.
• 1962 – Germany's Der Spiegel publishes an article on the Bundeswehr (German army), which leads to a major scandal.
• 1967 – Che Guevara is captured in Bolivia, leading to his execution the next day.
• 1973 – Yom Kippur War: Gabi Amir's armored brigade attack Egyptian-occupied positions on Israel's side of the Suez Canal, in hope of driving them away. The attack fails, destroying over 150 Israeli tanks.
• 1974 – Baja California Sur becomes a state of Mexico.
• 1978 – Australian Ken Warby sets the a water speed record, which still stands.
• 1982 – Trade Unions, including Solidarity, are banned in Poland.
• 1982 – The musical Cats opens on Broadway.
• 1990 – Israel-Palestinian Conflict: In Jerusalem, Israeli police kill 17 Palestinian and injure over 100 near the Dome of the Rock.
• 1991 – Croatia decides to sever constitutional relations with Yugoslavia.
• 1998 – In Oslo, Gardermoen Airport replaces Fornebu Airport.
• 2000 – Aleksander Kwasniewski is re-elected as President of Poland.

From 2001

• 2001 – Two airplanes collide in heavy fog from take-off from Milan, Italy, killing 118 people.
• 2001 – George W. Bush announces the creation of the Department of Homeland Security.
• 2004 – Wangari Maathai wins the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 2005 – 2005 Pakistan earthquake: At 03:50:38 UTC, an earthquake measuring 7.6 on the Richter scale happens in the Pakistan region of Kashmir, killing thousands of people.
• 2010 – Chinese activist Liu Xiaobo wins the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 2013 – Peter Higgs and François Englert share the Nobel Prize in Physics for the discovery of the Higgs boson.
• 2015 – President Sepp Blatter is suspended from FIFA for ninety days, along with senior officials Michel Platini and Jerome Valcke, during a major corruption scandal.
• 2018 – The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change releases a special report, warning that "rapid, far-reaching and unprecedented changes in all aspects of society" would need to be made to prevent global warming by more than 1.5 degrees Celsius over the upcoming century.

Up to 1900

• 1515 – Margaret Douglas, Scottish noblewoman (d. 1578)
• 1585 – Heinrich Schütz, German composer (d. 1672)
• 1661 – Michel Le Quien, French history writer (d. 1733)
• 1676 – Benito Jeronimo Feijoo, Galician monk and scholar (d. 1764)
• 1713 – Yechezkel Landau, Polish rabbi (d. 1793)
• 1715 – Michel Benoist, French Jesuit missionary (d. 1774)
• 1720 – Jonathan Mayhew, American minister (d. 1766)
• 1747 – Jean-Francois Rewbell, French politician (d. 1807)
• 1789 – William John Swainson, English-New Zealand ornithologist and entomologist (d. 1855)
• 1789 – John Ruggles, American politician (d. 1874)
• 1807 – Harriet Taylor Mill, English philosopher and activist (d. 1858)
• 1818 – John Henninger Reagan, American politician (d. 1905)
• 1823 – Ivan Aksakov, Russian writer (d. 1876)
• 1826 – Emily Blackwell, American physician and activist (d. 1910)
• 1834 – Walter Kittredge, American violinist and composer (d. 1905)
• 1843 – Kitty Kielland, Norwegian artist (d. 1914)
• 1846 – Bjorn Jonsson, Prime Minister of Iceland (d. 1912)
• 1850 – Henry Louis Le Chatelier, French chemist (d. 1936)
• 1863 – Edythe Chapman, American actress (d. 1948)
• 1864 – Ozias Leduc, Canadian painter (d. 1955)
• 1868 – Max Slevogt, German painter (d. 1932)
• 1868 – Coleman Livingston Blease, Governor of South Carolina (d. 1942)
• 1870 – Louis Vierne, French composer (d. 1937)
• 1871 – Ivan Poddubny, Russian wrestler (d. 1949)
• 1873 – Ejnar Hertzsprung, Danish chemist and astronomer (d. 1967)
• 1873 – Alexey Shchusev, Russian architect (d. 1949)
• 1875 – Laurence Doherty, English tennis player (d. 1919)
• 1877 – Hans Heysen, German-born landscape artist (d. 1968)
• 1883 – Otto Heinrich Warburg, German chemist, won the 1931 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1970)
• 1883 – Dick Burnett, American musician (d. 1977)
• 1884 – Walther von Reichenau, German general (d. 1942)
• 1889 – Collett E. Woolman, American businessman (d. 1966)
• 1890 – Edward Rickenbacker, American fighter pilot (d. 1973)
• 1890 – Philippe Thys, Belgian cyclist (d. 1971)
• 1892 – Marina Tsvetaeva, Russian poet (d. 1941)
• 1893 – Clarence Williams, American pianist and composer (d. 1965)
• 1895 – Juan Perón, President of Argentina (d. 1974)
• 1895 – Zog I, King of Albania (d. 1961)
• 1896 – Julien Duvivier, French director, producer and screenwriter (d. 1967)
• 1897 – Rouben Mamoulian, Armenian director (d. 1987)

1901 – 1950

• 1901 – Eivind Groven, Norwegian composer and theorist (d. 1977)
• 1901 – Mark Oliphant, Australian physicist, humanitarian and politician, Governor of South Australia (d. 2000)
• 1903 – Georgy Geshev, Bulgarian chess player (d. 1937)
• 1908 – Martha Dodd, American writer (d. 1990)
• 1910 – Paulette Dubost, French actress (d. 2011)
• 1910 – Gus Hall, American Communist politician (d. 2000)
• 1913 – Robert Gilruth, American aviation and space travel pioneer (d. 2000)
• 1917 – Rodney Robert Porter, British biochemist (d. 1985)
• 1917 – Billy Conn, American boxer (d. 1993)
• 1917 – Walter Lord, American writer (d. 2002)
• 1918 – Jens Christian Skou, Danish chemist (d. 2018)
• 1919 – Kiichi Miyazawa, Prime Minister of Japan (d. 2007)
• 1920 – Frank Herbert, American science fiction writer (d. 1986)
• 1922 – Nils Liedholm, Swedish footballer (d. 2007)
• 1924 – Alphons Egli, Swiss politician (d. 2016)
• 1927 – César Milstein, Argentine scientist (d. 2002)
• 1927 – Raymond Chow, Hong Kong film producer (d. 2018)
• 1928 – Bill Maynard, English actor (d. 2018)
• 1929 – Betty Boothroyd, English politician
• 1929 – Valdir Pereira, Brazilian footballer (d. 2001)
• 1929 – Franklin Stahl, American geneticist and biologist
• 1930 – Alasdair Milne, English director and producer (d. 2013)
• 1931 – Bill Brown, Scottish footballer (d. 2004)
• 1932 – Kenneth Appel, American mathematician (d. 2013)
• 1932 – Ray Reardon, Welsh snooker player
• 1934 – James Holshouser, American politician, 68th Governor of North Carolina (d. 2013)
• 1935 – Albert Roux, French-English chef
• 1937 – Paul Schell, American politician, 50th Mayor of Seattle (d. 2014)
• 1938 – Walter Gretzky, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
• 1938 – Bronislovas Lubys, Lithuanian politician and businessman (d. 2011)
• 1939 – Paul Hogan, Australian actor
• 1939 – Harvey Pekar, American writer (d. 2010)
• 1939 – Tanhum Cohen-Mintz, Israeli basketball player (d. 2014)
• 1939 – Lynne Stewart, American attorney (d. 2017)
• 1941 – Jesse Jackson, American clergyman and activist
• 1943 – Chevy Chase, American comedian and actor
• 1946 – Dennis Kucinich, American politician
• 1946 – Hanan Ashrawi, Pakistani scholar, activist and politician
• 1946 – Jean-Jacques Beineix, French director and producer
• 1948 – Gottfried Helnwein, Austrian-Irish artist
• 1948 – Claude Jade, French actress (d. 2006)
• 1948 – Pedro Lopez, Colombian serial killer
• 1948 – Johnny Ramone, American musician (d. 2004)
• 1948 – Baldwin Spencer, former Prime Minister of Antigua and Barbuda
• 1949 – Sigourney Weaver, American actress
• 1950 – Blake Morrison, English writer
• 1950 – Miguel Brindisi, Argentine footballer

1951 – 1975

• 1951 – Shannon C. Stimson, American political theorist
• 1952 – Takis Koroneos, Greek basketball player and coach
• 1952 – Edward Zwick, American director, producer and screenwriter
• 1953 – Robert Saxton, English composer
• 1954 – Brigitte Rohde, German sprinter
• 1956 – Janice E. Voss, American astronaut (d. 2012)
• 1956 – Stephanie Zimbalist, American actress
• 1957 – Martha Kearney, Irish-British broadcaster
• 1957 – Antonio Cabrini, Italian footballer
• 1958 – Ursula von der Leyen, German politician
• 1960 – Reed Hastings, American businessman, co-founder of Netflix
• 1960 – François Perusse, Canadian humorist
• 1964 – Jakob Arjouni, German writer (d. 2013)
• 1964 – CeCe Winans, American singer
• 1965 – C. J. Ramone, American musician
• 1965 – Ardal O'Hanlon, Irish comedian and actor
• 1965 – Harri Koskela, Finnish wrestler
• 1968 – Zvonimir Boban, Croatian footballer
• 1968 – Emily Procter, American actress
• 1970 – Matt Damon, American actor
• 1970 – Anne-Marie Duff, British actress
• 1970 – Sadiq Khan, British politician, Mayor of London
• 1970 – Tetsuya Nomura, Japanese video game designer and director
• 1971 – Monty Williams, American basketball player
• 1971 – David Gauke, British politician
• 1972 – Stanislav Varga, Slovakian footballer
• 1972 – Terry Balsamo, American guitarist
• 1972 – Kim Myung-min, South Korean actor
• 1974 – Fredrik Modin, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1974 – Koji Murofushi, Japanese hammer thrower

From 1976

• 1976 – Karina Bacchi, Brazilian model and actress
• 1976 – Renate Groenwold, Dutch speed skater
• 1976 – Seryoga, Belarussian rapper, actor and producer
• 1977 – Anne-Caroline Chausson, French cyclist
• 1977 – Jamie Marchi, American voice actress, director and screenwriter
• 1977 – Erna Siikavirta, Finnish musician (Lordi)
• 1977 – Travis Wester, American actor
• 1978 – Antonino D'Agostino, Italian footballer
• 1979 – Kristanna Loken, American actress
• 1980 – Nick Cannon, American actor, rapper and producer
• 1980 – The Miz, American professional wrestler
• 1981 – Chris Killen, New Zealand footballer
• 1984 – Anthony Le Tallec, French footballer
• 1985 – Eiji Wentz, Japanese entertainer
• 1985 – Simone Bolelli, Italian tennis player
• 1985 – Bruno Mars, American singer-songwriter
• 1987 – Aya Hirano, Japanese voice actress
• 1989 – Armand Traoré, French footballer
• 1993 – Angus T. Jones, American actor
• 1993 – Garbiñe Muguruza, Spanish tennis player
• 1993 – Barbara Palvin, Hungarian model
• 1993 – Molly Quinn, American actress
• 1996 – Sara Takanashi, Japanese ski jumper
• 1997 – Bella Thorne, American actress, singer and dancer

Up to 1900

• 976 – Helen of Zadar, Queen of Croatia
• 1286 – John I of Dreux, Duke of Brittany (b. 1217)
• 1317 – Emperor Fushimi of Japan (b. 1265)
• 1621 – Antoine de Montchrestien, French soldier, playwright and economist (b. 1575)
• 1647 – Christian Soren Longomontanus, Danish astronomer (b. 1562)
• 1652 – John Greaves, English mathematician and astronomer (b. 1602)
• 1656 – John George I, Elector of Saxony (b. 1585)
• 1735 – Yongzheng Emperor of China (b. 1678)
• 1754 – Henry Fielding, English writer (b. 1707)
• 1772 – Jean-Joseph de Mondonville, French violinist and composer (b. 1711)
• 1793 – John Hancock, American revolutionary and businessman (b. 1737)
• 1802 – Emmanuel Vitale, Maltese general (b. 1758)
• 1803 – Vittorio Alfieri, Italian writer (b. 1749)
• 1809 – James Elphinston, Scottish linguist, educator and orthographer (b. 1721)
• 1820 – Henri Christophe, King of Haiti (b. 1767)
• 1834 – François-Adrien Boieldieu, French composer (b. 1775)
• 1869 – Franklin Pierce, 14th President of the United States (b. 1804)
• 1879 – Miguel Grau Seminario, Peruvian naval officer (b. 1834)
• 1886 – Austin F. Pike, American politician (b. 1819)
• 1891 – Giovanni Caselli, Italian physicist (b. 1815)
• 1894 – Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., American physician and writer (b. 1809)
• 1895 – Empress Myeongseong of Korea (b. 1851)
• 1897 – Alexei Savrasov, Russian painter (b. 1830)

1901 – 2000

• 1928 – Larry Semon, silent movie comedian (b. 1889)
• 1936 – Premchand, Indian writer (b. 1880)
• 1936 – Red Ames, American baseball player (b. 1882)
• 1942 – Sergei Chaplygin, Soviet engineer (b. 1869)
• 1944 – Wendell Willkie, American politician, candidate for President of the United States (b. 1892)
• 1945 – Felix Salten, Austrian writer (b. 1869)
• 1953 – Nigel Bruce, British actor (b. 1895)
• 1953 – Kathleen Ferrier, American contralto (b. 1912)
• 1967 – Clement Attlee, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1883)
• 1972 – Prescott Bush, father of President of the United States George H. W. Bush (b. 1895)
• 1973 – Gabriel Marcel, French philosopher, playwright and critic (b. 1889)
• 1977 – Giorgos Papasideris, Greek singer, composer and lyricist (b. 1902)
• 1982 – Fernando Lamas, Argentine actor (b. 1916)
• 1982 – Philip Noel-Baker, Baron Noel-Baker, English peace activist, Nobel Peace Prize winner (b. 1889)
• 1983 – Joan Hackett, American actress (b. 1934)
• 1983 – Robert Docking, American politician, 38th Governor of Kansas (b. 1925)
• 1985 – Malcolm Ross, American balloonist and atmospheric physicist (b. 1919)
• 1987 – Konstantinos Tsatsos, President of Greece (b. 1899)
• 1992 – Willy Brandt, Chancellor of the Federal Republic of Germany, Nobel Peace Prize winner (b. 1913)
• 1997 – Bertrand Goldberg, American architect (b. 1913)
• 1999 – John McLendon, American basketball player and coach (b. 1915)

From 2001

• 2002 – Jacques Richard, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1952)
• 2004 – Jacques Derrida, French philosopher (b. 1930)
• 2012 – Eric Lomax, Scottish captain and writer (b. 1919)
• 2012 – Ken Sansom, American actor and singer (b. 1927)
• 2012 – Nawal Kishore Sharma, Indian politician, 20th Governor of Gujarat (b. 1925)
• 2012 – John Tchicai, Danish-French saxophonist and composer (b. 1936)
• 2013 – Phil Chevron, Irish singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1957)
• 2014 – Thomas Eric Duncan, Liberian Ebola patient diagnosed in the US (b. 1972)
• 2014 – Jeen van den Berg, Dutch speed skater (b. 1928)
• 2014 – Mike Waugh, American politician (b. 1955)
• 2014 – Helmut Ruge, German comedian, actor and writer (b. 1940)
• 2015 – Paul Prudhomme, American chef (b. 1940)
• 2015 – Jim Diamond, Scottish singer (b. 1951)
• 2017 – Gianni Bonagura, Italian actor (b. 1925)
• 2017 – Slim Chaker, Tunisian politician (b. 1961)
• 2017 – Jerry Kleczka, American politician (b. 1943)
• 2017 – Grady Tate, American soul-jazz drummer and singer (b. 1932)
• 2017 – Y. A. Tittle, American football player (b. 1926)
• 2017 – Birgitta Ulfsson, Finnish-Swedish actress (b. 1928)
• 2017 – Beverly Reid O'Connell, American judge (b. 1965)
• 2018 – Arnold Kopelson, American film producer (b. 1935)
• 2018 – George Taliaferro, American football player (b. 1927)
• 2018 – Joseph Tydings, American lawyer and politician (b. 1928)
• 2018 – Hiroshi Wajima, Japanese sumo and professional wrestler (b. 1948)
• 2018 – Venantino Venantini, Italian actor (b. 1930)

• Independence Day (Croatia)
• Navy Day (Peru)
• Air Force Day (India)
• Children's Day (Iran)
• Arbor Day (Namibia)