8 October

319 BC      Pyrrhus of Epirus (born) (died 272 BC)

314      Roman Emperor Licinius is defeated by his colleague Constantine I at the Battle of Cibalae, and loses his European territories.

1582    Because of the implementation of the Gregorian calendar this day does not exist in this year in Italy, Poland, Portugal and Spain.

1645    Jeanne Mance opened the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal, the first lay hospital in North America.

1652    John Greaves (died), English mathematician and astronomer (born 1602)

1715     Michel Benoist (born), French scientist and missionary (died 1774)

1754    Henry Fielding (died), English author and playwright (born 1707)

1789    William John Swainson (born), English-New Zealand ornithologist and entomologist (died 1855)

1806   Napoleonic Wars: Forces of the British Empire lay siege to the port of Boulogne in France by using Congreve rockets, invented by Sir William Congreve.

1809   James Elphinston (died), Scottish orthographer, phonologist, and linguist (born 1721)

1834   Walter Kittredge (born), American violinist and composer (died 1905)

1845    Salomon Kalischer (born), German pianist, composer, and physicist (died 1924)

1850   Henry Louis Le Chatelier (born), French chemist (died 1936)

1860   Telegraph line between Los Angeles and San Francisco opens.

1862   American Civil War: Battle of Perryville – Union forces under General Don Carlos Buell halt the Confederate invasion of Kentucky by defeating troops led by General Braxton Bragg at Perryville, Kentucky.

1871    Four major fires break out on the shores of Lake Michigan in Chicago, Peshtigo, Wisconsin, Holland, Michigan, and Manistee, Michigan including the Great Chicago Fire, and the much deadlier Peshtigo Fire.

1883   Dick Burnett (born), American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1977)

1883   Otto Heinrich Warburg (born), German physiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1970)

1884   Walther von Reichenau (born), German general (died 1942)

1888   Ernst Kretschmer (born), German psychiatrist (died 1964)

1889   Collett E. Woolman (born), American businessman, co-founded Delta Air Lines (died 1966)

1890   Eddie Rickenbacker (born), American soldier and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (died 1973)

1890   Philippe Thys (born), Belgian cyclist (died 1971)

1895    Juan Perón (born), Argentinian general and politician, 29th President of Argentina (died 1974)

1904   Edmonton, Alberta is incorporated as a city.

1904   Prince Albert, Saskatchewan is incorporated as a city.

1917    Walter Lord (born), American historian and author (died 2002)

1918    World War I: In the Argonne Forest in France, United States Corporal Alvin C. York kills 28 German soldiers and captures 132, for which he is awarded the Medal of Honor.

1921    KDKA in Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field conducts the first live broadcast of a football game.

1932    Ray Reardon (born), Welsh snooker player

1932    The Indian Air Force is established.

1936    Rona Barrett (born), American journalist and businesswoman

1938   Walter Gretzky (born), Canadian ice hockey coach and author

1939    World War II: Germany annexes Western Poland.

1940   Fred Cash (born), American singer (The Impressions)

1941    Jesse Jackson (born), American minister and activist

1941    World War II: In their invasion of the Soviet Union, Germany reaches the Sea of Azov with the capture of Mariupol.

1943    Chevy Chase (born), American comedian, actor, and screenwriter

1944    World War II: The Battle of Crucifix Hill occurs on Crucifix Hill just outside Aachen. Capt. Bobbie Brown receives a Medal of Honor for his heroics in this battle.

1946    Dennis Kucinich (born), American politician, 53rd Mayor of Cleveland

1948   Johnny Ramone (born), American guitarist and songwriter (The Ramones) (died 2004)

1948   Sarah Purcell (born), American radio and television host

1949    Hamish Stuart (born), Scottish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Average White Band)

1949    Sigourney Weaver (born), American actress and producer

1950    Robert “Kool” Bell (born), American singer-songwriter and bass player (Kool & the Gang)

1951    Shannon C. Stimson (born), American political theorist

1951    Timo Salonen (born), Finnish rally driver

1952    Edward Zwick (born), American director, producer, and screenwriter

1955    Bill Elliott (born), American race car driver

1956    New York Yankees’s Don Larsen pitched the only perfect game in a World Series; one of only 21 perfect games in MLB history.

1956    Stephanie Zimbalist (born), American actress

1960   Reed Hastings (born), American businessman, co-founded Netflix

1962 –Der Spiegel publishes the article “Bedingt abwehrbereit” (“Conditionally prepared for defense”) about a NATO manoeuvre called “Fallex 62”, which uncovered the sorry state of the Bundeswehr (Germany’s army) facing the communist threat from the east at the time. The magazine is soon accused of treason.

1962    Algeria joins the United Nations.

1965    C. J. Ramone (born), American singer-songwriter and bass player (The Ramones, 22 Jacks, Los Gusanos, and The Ramainz)

1965    Matt Biondi (born), American swimmer

1967    Guerrilla leader Che Guevara and his men are captured in Bolivia.

1968   Emily Procter (born), American actress

1968   Vietnam War: Operation Sealords – United States and South Vietnamese forces launch a new operation in the Mekong Delta.

1969    The opening rally of the Days of Rage occurs, organized by the Weather Underground in Chicago, Illinois.

1970    Matt Damon (born), American actor, producer, and screenwriter

1973    Gabriel Marcel (died), French philosopher, playwright, and critic (born 1889)

1973    Yom Kippur War: Gabi Amir’s armored brigade attacks Egyptian occupied positions on the Israeli side of the Suez Canal, in hope of driving them away. The attack fails, and over 150 Israeli tanks are destroyed.

1974    Franklin National Bank collapses due to fraud and mismanagement; at the time it is the largest bank failure in the history of the United States.

1978    Australia’s Ken Warby sets the current world water speed record of 317.60 mph at Blowering Dam, Australia.

1982   Cats opens on Broadway and runs for nearly 18 years before closing on September 10, 2000.

1982   Philip Noel-Baker (died), Baron Noel-Baker, English runner, academic, and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1889)

1982   Poland bans Solidarity and all trade unions.

1983   Joan Hackett (died), American actress (born 1934)

1985    Bruno Mars (born), American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor

1985    Gordon Welchman (died), English-American mathematician and scholar (born 1906)

1985    Malcolm Ross (died), American captain, physicist, and balloonist (born 1919)

1990   B.J. Wilson (died), English drummer (Procol Harum) (born 1947)

1990   Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: In Jerusalem, Israeli police kill 17 Palestinians and wound over 100 near the Dome of the Rock mosque on the Temple Mount.

1992    Willy Brandt (died), German politician, 4th Chancellor of Germany, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1913)

2001   U.S. President George W. Bush announces the establishment of the Office of Homeland Security.

2011    Roger Williams (died), American pianist (born 1924)

2013   Rodolphe Kasser (died), Swiss archaeologist and philologist (born 1927)

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EO Smith

Interests include biological anthropology, evolution, social behavior, and human behavior. Conducted field research in the Tana River National Primate Reserve, Kenya and on Angaur, Palau, Micronesia, as well as research with captive nonhuman primates at the Yerkes National Primate Research Center and the Institute for Primate Research, National Museums of Kenya.
EO Smith
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