On This Day in History for July 8
Events in History
- 939 The Major Occultation, or Ghaybat el-Kubra of Muhammad al-Mahdi
- 1099 First Crusade: 15,000 starving Christian soldiers march in religious procession around Jerusalem as its Muslim defenders look on
- 1283 War of the Sicilian Vespers: Battle of Malta
- 1497 Portuguese navigator Vasco da Gama departs on his first voyage, will become the 1st European to reach India by sea
- 1579 Our Lady of Kazan, a holy icon of the Russian Orthodox Church, was discovered underground in the city of Kazan, Tatarstan
- 1663 King Charles II of England grants a charter to Rhode Island
- 1672 William III is appointed stadholder by the States General in the Netherlands
- 1680 The first confirmed tornado in America kills a servant at Cambridge, Massachusetts
- More Events in History
John Pemberton
Ferdinand von Zeppelin
John D. Rockefeller
Nelson RockefellerWeddings in History
- 1290 Princess Margaret (15), daughter of Edward I of England marries Duke Brabant John II (14) at Westminster Abbey, London
- 1551 Willem of Orange weds countess Anna van Egmond & Buren
- 1800 Prime Minister of UK George Canning (30) weds heiress Joan Scott
More Weddings & Divorces in History
Diego de Almagro
Christiaan Huygens
Fatima Jinnah
Kim Il-sung
Betty Ford
Shinzō AbeJuly in History
Napoleon Meets the Tsar
Napoleon Bonaparte meets Alexander I of Russia aboard a raft in the Neman River to sign a peace treaty
July 7, 1806
The Age of Zeppelins
Through peace and war the sky was the limit for Zeppelin airships, named after their German inventor – until the Hindenburg disaster put an end to the dream.
July 8, 1838
Operation Desert Shield
US troops in Saudi Arabia during Operation Desert Shield
July 8, 1990
HMS Vanguard Disaster
HMS Vanguard in 1909
July 9, 1917