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October 8 is the 281st day of the year (282nd in leap years). There are 84 days remaining in the year.
Events
- 451 - At Chalcedon, a city of Bithynia in Asia Minor, the first session of the Council of Chalcedon begins (ends on November 1).
- 1600 - San Marino adopts its written constitution.
- 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 - Three major fires break out on the shores of Lake Michigan in Chicago, Illinois, Peshtigo, Wisconsin, and Holland, Michigan
- The Great Chicago Fire is the most famous of these, burning 1,200,000 acres (4,900 km²) in one day, eventually destroying about 17,450 buildings, and killing about 250 people while leaving another 90,000 homeless.
- The Peshtigo Fire burns 1,200,000 acres (4,900 km²) across six counties in one day and kills 1,200 to 2,500 people, making it the deadliest in United States history.
- The Holland Fire destroys at least two towns.
- 1895 - Queen Min of Joseon, the last empress of Korea, was assassinated.
- 1912 - First Balkan War begins: Montenegro declares war against Turkey.
- 1918 - World War I - In the Argonne Forest in France, United States Corporal Alvin C. York almost single-handedly kills 25 German soldiers and captures 132.
- 1932 - The Indian Air Force is established.
- 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.
- 1944 - The radio show, The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet debuts
- 1956 - New York Yankees baseball pitcher Don Larsen pitches first (and only) perfect game in World Series history in Game 5 of the 1956 World Series.
- 1957 - Baseball: Walter O'Malley announces that the Dodgers are going to move from Brooklyn, New York to Los Angeles, California
- 1962 - Spiegel scandal: Der Spiegel publishes the article "Bedingt abwehrbereit" ("Conditionally prepared for defense") about a NATO manoeuver 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 was soon accused of treason.
- 1967 - Guerrilla leader Che Guevara and his men are captured in Bolivia.
- 1968 - Vietnam War: Operation Sealords - United States and South Vietnamese forces launch a new operation in the Mekong Delta.
- 1970 - Vietnam War: In Paris, a Communist delegation rejects US President Richard Nixon's October 7 peace proposal as "a maneuver to deceive world opinion."
- 1982 - Poland bans Solidarity.
- 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
- 1991 - The Croatian Parliament cuts all remaining ties with Yugoslavia
- 1998 - Oslo Airport Gardermoen, Norway opens.
- 2001 - American radio talk show host, Rush Limbaugh announces to his listeners that he is completely deaf in his left ear and only has partial hearing in his right ear.
- 2001 - A twin engine Cessna and Scandinavian Airlines System (SAS) jetliner collide in heavy fog during takeoff from Milan, Italy killing 118.
- 2001 - U.S. President George W. Bush announces the establishment of the Office of Homeland Security, which will be headed by Tom Ridge.
- 2003 - Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark's engagement to Australian lawyer Mary Donaldson is announced
- 2004 - Martha Stewart goes to jail.
Births
- 1747 - Jean-François Rewbell, French politician (d. 1807)
- 1765 - Harman Blennerhassett, Irish lawyer
- 1789 - John Ruggles, American politician (d. 1874)
- 1818 - John Henninger Reagan, American and Confederate politician (d. 1905)
- 1834 - Walter Kittredge, American musician and composer during the Civil War. (d. 1905)
- 1870 - Louis Vierne, organist (d. 1937)
- 1887 - Huntley Gordon, pioneer Hollywood actor (d. 1956)
- 1889 - C. E. Woolman, founder of Delta Air Lines
- 1890 - Edward Rickenbacker, ace fighter pilot (d. 1973)
- 1895 - Juan Perón, former president of Argentina (d. 1974)
- 1901 - Doris Allen, Founder of CISV organization (d. 2002)
- 1901 - Eivind Groven, Norwegian composer and ethnomusicologist (d. 1977)
- 1917 - Walter Lord, author (d. 2002)
- 1917 - Billy Conn, boxer (d. 1993)
- 1917 - Danny Murtaugh, Major League Baseball player and manager (d. 1976)
- 1920 - Frank Herbert, American science fiction writer (d. 1986)
- 1927 - Jim Elliot, Christian martyr and missionary to Ecuador (d. 1956)
- 1928 - Bill Maynard, British actor
- 1930 - Toru Takemitsu, composer (d. 1996)
- 1932 - Ray Reardon, Welsh snooker player
- 1938 - Fred Stolle, tennis champion
- 1939 - Paul Hogan, Australian actor
- 1941 - Jesse Jackson, American reverend and civil rights activist
- 1943 - Chevy Chase, American comedian, actor
- 1943 - R. L. Stine, author
- 1946 - Dennis Kucinich, Congressman and Presidential Candidate
- 1947 - Tony Wilson, bassist, singer
- 1948 - Johnny Ramone, rock and roll musician (d. 2004)
- 1949 - Sigourney Weaver, American actress
- 1950 - Robert Bell, bassist and singer with Kool & the Gang
- 1954 - Michael Dudikoff, actor
- 1956 - Stephanie Zimbalist, actress
- 1959 - Nick Bakay actor/comedian, voice of Salem the Cat in Sabrina
- 1964 - CeCe Winans, singer
- 1965 - Ardal O'Hanlon, Irish comedian
- 1968 - Toni Braxton, singer
- 1969 - Dylan Neal, Canadian actor
- 1970 - Matt Damon, actor
- 1976 - Renate Groenewold, Dutch speed skater
- 1979 - Kristanna Loken, US actress and model
- 1984 - Stephen Elmore, humanitarian/enviromentalist, world renowned architect
Deaths
- 1286 - John I of Dreux, Duke of Brittany
- 1754 - Henry Fielding, author
- 1793 - John Hancock, revolutionary, businessman
- 1869 - Franklin Pierce, President of the United States
- 1894 - Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., physician, writer
- 1944 - Wendell Willkie, politician, candidate for President of the United States
- 1945 - Felix Salten, author (Bambi)
- 1953 - Nigel Bruce, actor
- 1953 - Kathleen Ferrier, American contralto (b. 1912)
- 1967 - Clement Attlee, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- 1972 - Prescott Bush, father of President George H. W. Bush
- 1982 - Fernando Lamas, actor
- 1992 - Willy Brandt, German politician
- 1996 - Mignon G. Eberhart, author
- 2004 - Jacques Derrida, philosopher
Holidays and observances
October 7 - October 9 - September 8 - November 8 - more historical anniversaries
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