This Day in USA History
January 8

Copyright © 2006-2012 Ken Polsson
internet e-mail: ken@kpolsson.com
URL: http://thisdayinhistoryinfo.info/usa/
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What happened in history on this day: January 8?

On January 8 in ...

  • 1812 - Congress proposes a second Bank of the United States.
  • 1815 - US 7th Infantry Regiment plus others (total 4500) defeat a British force of 8000 in the Battle of New Orleans under Major General Andrew Jackson. The battle was fought on the grounds of Chalmette Plantation, downriver from New Orleans. British killed/wounded/captured: 2055; American: 101.
  • 1835 - The United States national debt is zero for the only time.
  • 1918 - Mississippi becomes first state to ratify 18th amendment (alcohol prohibition).
  • 1918 - US President Woodrow Wilson outlines to the American Congress his 14 points for peace after war in Europe.
  • 1937 - -50 degrees F (-45.6 degrees C), San Jacinto, Nevada (state record low).
  • 1947 - American General George Marshall becomes Secretary of State.
  • 1949 - Make Mine Manhattan play closes at Broadhurst Theater in New York City, New York after 429 performances.
  • 1962 - Leonardo Da Vinci's painting Mona Lisa is exhibited in the United States for the first time.
  • 1963 - Mona Lisa painting, on loan, is unveiled in America's National Gallery of Art.
  • 1964 - US President Lyndon B Johnson declares "War on Poverty".
  • 1965 - Senator Everett Dirksen introduces a bill to make marigold the national flower (doesn't pass).
  • 1965 - Star of India returned to American Museum of Natural History.
  • 1971 - 29 pilot whales beach themselves and die at San Clemente Island, California.
  • 1971 - Voyageurs National Park, Minnesota established.
  • 1973 - Secret peace talks between US and North Vietnam resume near Paris, France.
  • 1975 - US Judge Sirica orders release of Watergate's John W Dean III, Herbert W Kalmbach and Jeb Stuart Magruder from prison.
  • 1981 - Pirates of Penzance opens at Uris Theater in New York City, New York for 772 performances.
  • 1981 - Stack's sells Brasher doubloon of Yale University for $650,000.
  • 1981 - Disneyland welcomes its 200-millionth guest, Gert Schelvis.
  • 1982 - The US government and AT&T settle their antitrust suit, with AT&T splitting its 22 regional companies into individual entities.
  • 1982 - The US Justice Department decides to drop its antitrust suit against IBM, which was launched 13 years ago. One of its aims had been to break IBM up into several companies.
  • 1983 - A riot breaks out at Sing Sing prison, New York.
  • 1986 - US President Ronald Reagan freezes Libyan assets in the US.
  • 1987 - Dow Jones Industrial Index closes above 2,000 for first time (2,002.25).
  • 1988 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 140.58 points (6.85 percent) to close at 1,911.31 in a mini-crash.
  • 1989 - 42nd Street closes at Winter Garden Theater in New York City, New York after 3,486 performances.
  • 1992 - US President George H. W. Bush is televised falling violently ill at a state dinner in Japan, vomiting into the lap of Prime Minister Kiichi Miyazawa and fainting.
  • 1997 - Intel releases the 166 MHz and 200 MHz Pentium processors with MMX multimedia extension instructions. Bus speed is 66 MHz. They incorporate 4.5 million transistors. Performance of the 200 MHz version is 350 MIPS. Code-name during development was P55C. MMX originally stood for "matrix-multiplication extensions".
  • 2002 - IBM announces it will no longer manufacture desktop personal computers in most of the world. It will sell its desktop facilities in US and Europe to Sanmina-SCI.
  • 2003 - US Airways Express Flight 5481 crashes at Charlotte/Douglas International Airport in Charlotte, North Carolina, killing all 21 people aboard.
  • 2008 - In New Hampshire, USA, the Democratic caucuses choose Hillary Clinton as candidate for the presidential election on November. The Republican caucuses choose John McCain.
  • 2009 - In Los Angeles, California, the Critics' Choice Awards are announced.
    • Best picture: Slumdog Millionaire
    • Best director: Danny Boyle for Slumdog Millionaire
    • Best writer: Simon Beaufoy for Slumdog Millionaire
    • Best young actor: Dev Patel for Slumdog Millionaire
    • Best composer: A.R. Rahman for Slumdog Millionaire
    • Best song: "The Wrestler" by Bruce Springsteen
    • Best actor: Sean Penn for Milk
    • Best acting ensemble: Milk
    • Best actress: Meryl Streep for Doubt, and Anne Hathaway for Rachel Getting Married
    • Best supporting actor: Heath Ledger for The Dark Knight
    • Best action film: The Dark Knight
    • Best supporting acrtess: Kate Winslet for The Reader

  • 2011 - Jared Loughner shoots at a political event in Tucson, Arizona, killing 6, wounding 13 others.

Births on January 8

  • 1902 - Birth of Alexander Gray in Wrightsville, Pennsylvania, USA; actor (This is Music).
  • 1903 - Birth of Gene Roth [Eugene Stutenroth] in South Dakota, USA; actor (She Demons, Spider).
  • 1904 - Birth of Peter Arno in New York City, New York, USA; cartoonist (The New Yorker).
  • 1910 - Birth of Richard Cromwell [LeRoy Melvin Radabaugh] in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor (Jezebel).
  • 1917 - Birth of Stanley Prager in New York City, New York, USA; comedian (College Bowl).
  • 1923 - Birth of Larry Storch in New York City, New York, USA; comedian (F Troop, Larry Storch Show).
  • 1926 - Birth of Milton "Soupy Sales" Hines in North Carolina, USA; comedian (Soupy Sales Show).
  • 1928 - Birth of Sander Vanocur in Cleveland, Ohio, USA; news anchor (NBC Weekend News).
  • 1930 - Birth of May Wynn [Donna Lee Hickey] in New York City, New York, USA; actress (Caine Mutiny, Noah's Ark).
  • 1933 - Birth of Charles Osgood in New York City, New York, USA; news anchor (CBS Weekend News).
  • 1935 - Birth of Elvis Aaron Presley in Tupelo, Mississippi, USA; musician/actor ("Blue Suede Shoes", "Hounddog").
  • 1935 - Birth of Jesse Garon Presley, stillborn twin brother of Elvis.
  • 1935 - Birth of Nolan Miller in Burkburnett, Texas, USA; fashion designer (Dynasty, The Love Boat).
  • 1937 - Birth of Bob Eubanks in Flint, Michigan, USA; TV host (Newlywed Game).
  • 1938 - Birth of Bob Eubanks in Flint Michigan, USA; TV host (Newlywed Game).
  • 1939 - Birth of Yvette Mimieux in Hollywood, California, USA; actress (Time Machine, Where the Boys Are).
  • 1946 - Birth of Elaine Cheris in Dotham, Alabama, USA; fencer-epee (Olympics-1996).
  • 1946 - Birth of Robbie Kreiger in Los Angeles, California, USA; guitarist (The Doors - "Come on Baby Light My Fire").
  • 1951 - Birth of John McTiernan in Albany, New York, USA; actor (Predator, Die Hard, Medicine Man).
  • 1952 - Birth of Laurie Walters in San Francisco, California, USA; actress (Joannie - Eight is Enough).
  • 1964 - Birth of Virgil Hill in Missouri, USA; middleweight boxer (Olympics-silver-1984).
  • 1965 - Birth of Maria Pitillo in Elmira, New York, USA; actress (Dear God, Nancy Don Lewis - Ryan's Hope).
  • 1967 - Birth of Hollis Conway in Chicago, Illinois, USA; high jumper (Olympics-silver/bronze-1988, 1992).
  • 1967 - Birth of Kent Jones in Portales, New Mexico, USA; golfer (NM State Amateur-1990-91).
  • 1967 - Birth of Roger Rowland in Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Nike golfer (1990 Macon Open-second).
  • 1967 - Birth of Willie Anderson; American NBA guard (New York Knicks, Olympics-bronze-1988).
  • 1968 - Birth of Ami Dolenz in Los Angeles, California, USA; actress (General Hospital, Can't Buy Me Love).
  • 1968 - Birth of Brian Johnson in Oakland, California, USA; catcher (San Diego Padres).
  • 1968 - Birth of Mark Duane Croghan in Akron, Ohio, USA; 3k steeplechase (Olympics-5th-1996).
  • 1968 - Birth of Paul Carey; US baseball infielder (Baltimore Orioles).
  • 1969 - Birth of Brian Boehringer in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA; pitcher (New York Yankees).
  • 1971 - Birth of Brenda Lee Armstrong in Albert Lea, Minnesota, USA; Miss Minnesota-America (1990).
  • 1971 - Birth of Brook Mahealani Lee; Miss Universe/Miss USA-1997 (Hawaii).
  • 1971 - Birth of Jason Giambi in West Covina, California, USA; infielder (Oakland Athletics).
  • 1972 - Birth of Brandie Burton in San Bernardino, California, USA; LPGA golfer (1993 du Maurier Ltd).
  • 1972 - Birth of Devlin Murphy in Honolulu, Hawaii, USA; canoe (alternate-Olympics-1996).
  • 1976 - Birth of Jenny Lewis in Las Vegas, Nevada; actress (Becky - Life With Lucy).
  • 1980 - Birth of Rachel Nichols; American actress.
  • 1981 - Birth of Genevieve Cortese; American actress.
  • 1983 - Birth of Chris Masters; American wrestler.
  • 1984 - Birth of Jeff Francoeur, American baseball player.

Deaths on January 8

  • 1935 - Birth of Jesse Garon Presley, stillborn twin brother of Elvis.
  • 1950 - Joseph A Schumpeter, Austrian/American economist/Minister of Finance, dies at age 66.
  • 1963 - Stark Young, US writer (So Red the Rose), dies at age 81.
  • 1972 - Kenneth Patchen, American writer (See You in the Morning), dies at age 60.
  • 1975 - Richard Tucker [Reuben Ticker], US tenor (La Gioconda), dies at age 61.
  • 1980 - Death of John Mauchly, American physicist and inventor (born 1907).
  • 1988 - Frank Pace Jr, US Secretary of Army (1950-53), dies at age 76.
  • 1994 - Jay Blackton, US conductor/arranger (Oklahoma!), dies at age 84.
  • 1994 - Pat Buttram, American actor (Haney - Green Acres), dies of kidney failure at 78 (born 1915).
  • 2002 - Death of Dave Thomas, American fast food entrepreneur (born 1932).
  • 2007 - Death of Yvonne de Carlo, American actress (born 1922).

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  • Chronology of World War II
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  • Copyright © 2006-2012 Ken Polsson (email: ken@kpolsson.com).
    URL: http://thisdayinhistoryinfo.info/usa/
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