May 8
From Wikipedia, a free encyclopedia written in simple English for easy reading.
[edit] Births
- 1884 - Harry S. Truman, President of the United States
- 1913 - Sid James, South African actor
- 1944 - Gary Glitter, musician
[edit] Deaths
- 1794 - Antoine Lavoisier, French chemist (executed) (b. 1743)
- 1828 - Mauro Giuliani, Italian composer (b. 1781)
- 1842 - Jules Dumont d'Urville, French explorer (b. 1790)
- 1873 - John Stuart Mill, English philosopher (b. 1806)
- 1880 - Gustave Flaubert, French novelist (b. 1821)
- 1891 - Helena Blavatsky, Russian-born author (b. 1831)
- 1947 - Harry Gordon Selfridge, department store founder (b. 1858)
- 1952 - William Fox, Austro-Hungarian-born American film producer (b. 1879)
- 1960 - J. H. C. Whitehead, British mathematician (b. 1904)
- 1975 - Avery Brundage, President of the International Olympic Committee (b. 1887)
- 1982 - Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver (b. 1950)
- 1985 - Theodore Sturgeon, science fiction writer (b. 1918)
- 1988 - Robert A. Heinlein, American science fiction writer (b. 1907)
- 1991 - Jean Langlais, French composer and pianist (b. 1907)
- 1991 - Rudolf Serkin, Austrian pianist (b. 1903)
- 1993 - Avram Davidson, science fiction writer (b. 1923)
- 1994 - George Peppard, actor (b. 1928)
- 1999 - Dirk Bogarde, American actor (b. 1921)
- 1999 - Dana Plato, actress (b. 1964)
[edit] Events
- 1978- Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler are the first humans to make it to the top of Mount Everest without oxygen tanks.
- 1945- End of World War II in Europe; this day is known as VE Day for "Victory in Europe".
