Sunday, 8th June 2025 in London

8th June in the Stars – Star Sign Gemini

Today, the zodiac sign Gemini celebrates its birthday.

Personality Profile

Personality People born on 8 June are lively Geminis with a strong thirst for knowledge and natural communication skills. They quickly become enthusiastic about new ideas and people, though they may sometimes appear superficial. Their restlessness constantly drives them toward new experiences and adventures.

Strengths & Weaknesses These individuals shine with flexibility, quick thinking, and genuine sociability. However, impatience, nervousness, and the habit of abandoning projects midway can hinder progress. Their scattered focus sometimes creates misunderstandings.

Love Those born on 8 June seek partners who share their intellectual interests and curiosity. They need freedom and mental stimulation rather than emotional intensity. Boredom is their greatest relationship challenge.

Caree & Finance Careers in journalism, marketing, or sales suit these natives perfectly. Their gift with words and ideas leads to genuine success. Financial stability comes through focused, deliberate action rather than impulsive decisions.

Health Nervous tension and sleep issues stem from their overactive minds. Regular physical activity and meditation help maintain inner balance. Social engagement also has a stabilizing effect on their wellbeing.

That night, the moon was in its waning crescent phase.

Chinese year of the Snake (Wood).

Fun Facts About 8th June

Name Days in Your Language: Cain, Caine, Calliope, Genesis, Jewel, Kane, Kanye, Kayne, Opal

Someone born on this day would be just 357 days old today — roughly 8,584 hours, 515,042 minutes, or 30,902,575 seconds spent on Earth so far.

It's the 159. day of the year. In 2025, 8th June falls on a Sunday.

There are 206 days still to come.

We’re currently in Week 23 — the year marches on.

Famous Birthdays on 8th June

On this day, 135 notable people were born on 8th June — spanning from 862 to 2004. From world leaders to artists and scientists, discover who shares this birthday.

08/06/2004

Francesca Capaldi, American actress

Francesca Angelucci Capaldi is an American actress. She is best known for her roles as Chloe James in the Disney Channel sitcom Dog with a Blog (2012–15) and Nellie Chambers in the Brat web series Crown Lake (2019–20).

08/06/1997

Jeļena Ostapenko, Latvian tennis player

Jeļena "Aļona" Ostapenko is a Latvian professional tennis player. She has been ranked by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) as high as world No. 5 in singles, which she achieved on 19 March 2018, and No. 3 in doubles, attained on 14 July 2025. She is the current No. 1 player from Latvia.

08/06/1995

Ferland Mendy, French footballer

Ferland Sinna Mendy is a French professional footballer who plays as a left-back for La Liga club Real Madrid and the France national team.

08/06/1994

Liv Morgan, American professional wrestler

Gionna Jene Daddio is an American professional wrestler and actress. She has been signed to WWE since October 2014, where she performs on the Raw brand under the ring name Liv Morgan. She is the current Women's World Champion in her third reign, and is the de facto leader of The Judgment Day stable. She is also a former four-time WWE Women's Tag Team Champion. Additionally, she won the 2022 Money in the Bank ladder match, the inaugural 2024 WWE Women's Crown Jewel Championship, and the 2026 Royal Rumble match.

08/06/1989

Timea Bacsinszky, Swiss tennis player

Timea Bacsinszky is a Swiss former professional tennis player. A former top ten singles player, Bacsinszky reached a career-high singles ranking of world No. 9, on 16 May 2016. She won four singles and five doubles titles on the WTA Tour, as well as 13 singles and 14 doubles titles on the ITF Circuit

08/06/1986

Keith Gill, American financial analyst and investor

Keith Patrick Gill is an American financial marketer, educator, and individual investor known for his posts on the subreddits r/wallstreetbets and r/SuperStonk. His analyses of GameStop stock and details of his resulting investment gains — posted on Reddit under the username DeepFuckingValue (DFV) and on YouTube and Twitter as Roaring Kitty — were cited as a driving factor in the GameStop short squeeze of January 2021, and as a spark for the subsequent trading frenzy in retail stocks. The rising stock value allowed Gill to turn an initial US$53,000 investment into $50 million by January 2021. Between 2021–2024, Gill kept a low profile but continued to increase his GameStop ownership. As of June 2024, Gill also owned 9 million Class A shares of Chewy, Inc.

08/06/1984

Javier Mascherano, Argentinian footballer and manager

Javier Alejandro Mascherano is an Argentine football manager and former player who was most recently the head coach of Major League Soccer club Inter Miami. As a player, he played as a centre-back or defensive midfielder, most notably for Liverpool, Barcelona and the Argentina national team, being heralded as one of the best defenders and midfielders of his generation.

08/06/1983

Kim Clijsters, Belgian tennis player; winner of six Grand Slam tournament titles.

Kim Antonie Lode Clijsters is a Belgian former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 20 weeks, and as the world No. 1 in women's doubles for 4 weeks, having held both rankings simultaneously in 2003. She won 41 singles titles and 11 doubles titles on the WTA Tour, including four singles majors and two doubles majors, as well as three singles titles at the Tour Finals.

08/06/1982

Nadia Petrova, Russian tennis player

Nadezhda Viktorovna "Nadia" Petrova is a Russian former professional tennis player. A former top-five player in both singles and doubles, she reached a career-high ranking of No. 3 in the world in both disciplines. Petrova won a total of 37 titles on the WTA Tour in her career, 13 in singles and 24 in doubles, as well as over $12.4 million in prize money, making her one of the most successful Russian tennis players of all time.

08/06/1981

Rachel Held Evans, American Christian author (died 2019)

Rachel Held Evans was an American columnist and author. Her book A Year of Biblical Womanhood was a New York Times bestseller in e-book non-fiction, and Searching for Sunday was a New York Times bestseller nonfiction paperback.

08/06/1978

Maria Menounos, American television personality, professional wrestler, author, and actress

Maria Menounos is an American and Greek television host. She has hosted Extra and E! News; she was a TV correspondent for Today, Access Hollywood, and co-hosted the Eurovision Song Contest 2006 in Athens, Greece. She also co-created and is currently CEO of online podcast series network AfterBuzz TV. She is currently signed to WWE where she has served as an ambassador since 2013, having even competed in some tag team events as a pro since 2009. She hosted the podcast Conversations with Maria Menounos. She also co-hosted the Miss Universe 2023 pageant.

08/06/1977

Kanye West, American rapper, producer, director, and fashion designer

Ye is an American rapper, songwriter, record producer, and businessman. He has been listed among the greatest rappers of all time and referred to as one of the most prominent figures in hip-hop. His music, characterized by frequent stylistic shifts, has been credited with facilitating the emergence of rappers who did not conform to gangsta rap conventions. He is also known for his controversial public persona, including his polarizing cultural and political commentary.

08/06/1976

Lindsay Davenport, American tennis player

Lindsay Ann Davenport Leach is an American former professional tennis player. She was ranked as the world No. 1 in women's singles by the Women's Tennis Association (WTA) for 98 weeks, and as the world No. 1 in women's doubles for 32 weeks. Davenport won 55 WTA Tour-level singles titles, including three majors, the gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, and the 1999 Tour Finals. She also won 38 doubles titles, including three majors and three consecutive Tour Finals.

08/06/1975

Mark Ricciuto, Australian footballer and sportcaster

Mark Anthony Ricciuto is a former Australian rules footballer who played for the Adelaide Football Club in the Australian Football League (AFL). From Ramco, South Australia, Ricciuto started as a junior with the local Waikerie Magpies Football Club. He joined the West Adelaide Football Club in the South Australian National Football League (SANFL), making his debut at the age of 16, before being recruited by Adelaide as a zone selection prior to the 1993 season.

08/06/1974

Lauren Burns, Australian taekwondo practitioner

Lauren Chantel Burns is an Australian taekwondo practitioner and Olympic champion. She won Australia's first Olympic gold medal in taekwondo at the 2000 Summer Olympics in Sydney, competing in the women's under 49 kg class. Burns holds the rank of 3rd dan black belt in taekwondo. Following her competitive taekwondo career, she has been involved in a range of activities, including motivational speaking and community work.

08/06/1971

Bernard Grech, Maltese lawyer and politician

Bernard Grech is a Maltese politician and lawyer who was the leader of the Nationalist Party and the Leader of the Opposition from 2020 until 2025.

08/06/1970

Kelli Williams, American actress and director

Kelli Renee Williams is an American actress and director. She is known for her roles as lawyer Lindsay Dole on the ABC legal drama The Practice, psychologist and deception expert Dr. Gillian Foster on the Fox series Lie to Me, Jackie Clarke on the Lifetime series Army Wives, and Margaret Reed on the NBC drama series Found.

08/06/1967

Russell E. Morris, Welsh chemist and academic

Russell Edward Morris is a British chemist and Bishop Wardlaw Professor of Chemistry at the University of St Andrews since 2016. He played first-class cricket while he was a student at the University of Oxford, and also represented the university in association football playing in Varsity matches at various venues, including Wembley Stadium and Highbury.

08/06/1966

Julianna Margulies, American actress

Julianna Margulies is an American actress. After several small television roles, Margulies received wide recognition for her starring role as Carol Hathaway in the NBC medical drama series ER, for which she received a Primetime Emmy Award and six Screen Actors Guild Awards, in addition to four Golden Globe Award nominations. In 2009, she took on the lead role of Alicia Florrick in the CBS legal drama series The Good Wife (2009–2016). Her performance garnered critical acclaim, winning an additional two Primetime Emmy Awards, two Screen Actors Guild Awards, a Golden Globe Award, and a Television Critics Association Award.

08/06/1965

Kevin Farley, American screenwriter

Kevin Prindiville Farley is an American actor. He is best known for playing the lead role in David Zucker’s comedy film An American Carol (2008) and voiced several characters in F Is for Family (2015–2021). He is the younger brother of the late American comedian and actor Chris Farley, who died in 1997.

08/06/1964

Butch Reynolds, American runner and coach

Harry Lee "Butch" Reynolds Jr. is an American former track and field athlete who competed in the 400 meter dash. He held the world record for the event for 11 years 9 days with his personal best time of 43.29 seconds set in 1988. That year, he was the silver medalist at the 1988 Seoul Olympics and a relay gold medalist.

08/06/1961

Mary Bonauto, American lawyer and gay rights activist

Mary L. Bonauto is an American lawyer and civil rights advocate who has worked to eradicate discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity, and has been referred to by US Representative Barney Frank as "our Thurgood Marshall." She began working with the Massachusetts-based Gay & Lesbian Advocates & Defenders, now named GLBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders (GLAD) organization in 1990. A resident of Portland, Maine, Bonauto was one of the leaders who both worked with the Maine legislature to pass a same-sex marriage law and to defend it at the ballot in a narrow loss during the 2009 election campaign. These efforts were successful when, in the 2012 election, Maine voters approved the measure, making it the first state to allow same-sex marriage licenses via ballot vote. Bonauto is best known for being lead counsel in the case Goodridge v. Department of Public Health which made Massachusetts the first state in which same-sex couples could marry in 2004. She is also responsible for leading the first strategic challenges to section three of the Defense of Marriage Act (DOMA).

08/06/1960

Neil Baker, Australian rugby league player

Neil Baker is a former professional rugby league footballer who played in the 1980s. Baker played mostly at fullback and five-eighth for Canterbury, Salford, South Sydney Rabbitohs and Penrith.

Mick Hucknall, English singer-songwriter

Michael James Hucknall is an English singer and songwriter. Hucknall achieved international fame in the 1980s as the lead singer and songwriter of the soul-influenced pop band Simply Red, with whom he had a 25-year career and sold over 50 million albums. Hucknall was described by the Australian Rhythms Magazine as "one of the truly great blue-eyed soul singers", while Q credited him with "the most prodigious voice this side of Motown".

Thomas Steen, Swedish ice hockey player and coach

Anders Thomas Steen is a Swedish former professional ice hockey player and coach. Steen is the former city councillor for the Winnipeg ward of Elmwood-East Kildonan. Steen played professional ice hockey in the Elitserien, National Hockey League and Deutsche Eishockey Liga. In his time in the NHL, he spent the entirety of his career with the original Winnipeg Jets.

08/06/1959

Mohsen Kadivar, Iranian philosopher

Mohsen Kadivar is an Iranian mujtahid, Islamic theologian, philosopher, writer, leading intellectual reformist, and research professor of Islamic Studies at Duke University. A political Iranian dissident, Kadivar has been a vocal critic of the doctrine of clerical rule, also known as Velayat-e Faqih, and a strong advocate of democratic and liberal reforms in Iran as well as constructional reform in understanding of shari'a and Shi'a theology. Kadivar has served time in prison in Iran for his political activism and beliefs.

08/06/1958

Louise Richardson, Irish political scientist and academic

Dame Louise Mary Richardson is an Irish political scientist whose specialist field is the study of terrorism. In January 2023, she became president of the philanthropic foundation, Carnegie Corporation of New York. In January 2016, she became the first female vice-chancellor of the University of Oxford, having formerly been the principal and vice-chancellor of the University of St Andrews, and as the executive dean of the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. Her leadership at the University of Oxford played an important role in the successful development of a vaccine to combat COVID-19.

08/06/1957

Scott Adams, American author and illustrator (died 2026)

Scott Raymond Adams was an American cartoonist, author, and conservative commentator. He was best known as the creator of the Dilbert comic strip and nonfiction works of business, self-improvement, commentary, and satire.

08/06/1955

Tim Berners-Lee, English computer scientist, invented the World Wide Web

Sir Timothy John Berners-Lee, also known as TimBL, is an English computer scientist best known as the inventor of the World Wide Web, HTML, the URL system, and HTTP. He is a professorial research fellow at the University of Oxford and a professor emeritus at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).

José Antonio Camacho, Spanish footballer and manager

José Antonio Camacho Alfaro is a Spanish former football left-back and a former manager.

08/06/1954

Kiril of Varna, Bulgarian metropolitan (died 2013)

Metropolitan Kiril ; June 8, 1954 – July 9, 2013), was the Bulgarian Orthodox metropolitan of Varna and Veliki Preslav, Bulgaria.

Sergei Storchak, Ukrainian-Russian politician

Sergei Anatolievich Storchak is a Ukrainian-born Russian politician who had former served as the a Deputy Finance Minister of Russia. Storchak was born in Olevsk, Zhytomyr Oblast, Ukraine SSR, and became one of Russia's three deputy finance ministers in November 2005. He specialized in international financial relations, and was a prominent figure in negotiations over paying off Soviet-era debt. He negotiated Russia's repayment of its debt to the Paris Club of creditor nations, which it completed last year. In April 2009, he was charged with attempted fraud and embezzlement of state funds.

08/06/1953

Ivo Sanader, Croatian historian and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Croatia

Ivo Sanader is a Croatian former politician who served as Prime Minister of Croatia from 2003 to 2009. He was president of the Croatian Democratic Union (HDZ) from 2000 to 2009.

08/06/1951

Bonnie Tyler, Welsh singer-songwriter

Gaynor Sullivan, known professionally as Bonnie Tyler, is a Welsh singer and songwriter. Known for her distinctive husky voice, Tyler came to prominence with the release of her 1977 album The World Starts Tonight and its singles "Lost in France" and "More Than a Lover". Her 1977 single "It's a Heartache" reached number four on the UK Singles Chart, and number three on the US Billboard Hot 100.

Tony Rice, American bluegrass musician (died 2020)

David Anthony Rice was an American bluegrass guitarist and singer. He was an influential acoustic guitar player in bluegrass, progressive bluegrass, newgrass and acoustic jazz. He was inducted into the International Bluegrass Music Hall of Fame in 2013.

08/06/1950

Kathy Baker, American actress

Katherine Whitton Baker is an American actress. Baker began her career in theater and made her screen debut in the 1983 drama film The Right Stuff. She received the National Society of Film Critics Award for Best Supporting Actress and an Independent Spirit Award nomination for her performance in Street Smart (1987). Baker also has appeared in over 50 films, including Jacknife (1989), Edward Scissorhands (1990), The Cider House Rules (1999), Cold Mountain (2003), Nine Lives (2005), The Jane Austen Book Club (2007), Last Chance Harvey (2008), Take Shelter (2011), Saving Mr. Banks (2013), and The Age of Adaline (2015).

Sônia Braga, Brazilian actress and producer

Sônia Maria Campos Braga is a Brazilian actress. She is known in the English-speaking world for her Golden Globe Award–nominated performances in Kiss of the Spider Woman (1985) and Moon over Parador (1988). She also received a BAFTA Award nomination in 1981 for Dona Flor and Her Two Husbands. For the 1994 television film The Burning Season, she was nominated for an Emmy Award and a third Golden Globe Award. Her other television and film credits include The Cosby Show (1986), The Milagro Beanfield War (1988), The Rookie (1990), Angel Eyes (2001), Sex and the City (2001), American Family (2002), Alias (2005), Aquarius (2016), Bacurau (2019), and Fatima (2020). In 2020, The New York Times ranked her #24 in its list of the 25 Greatest Actors of the 21st Century.

08/06/1949

Emanuel Ax, Polish-American pianist and educator

Emanuel "Manny" Ax is a Polish-American classical pianist. He is known for his chamber music collaborations with cellist Yo-Yo Ma and violinists Isaac Stern and Young Uck Kim, as well as his piano recitals and performances with major orchestras in the world.

Hildegard Falck, German runner

Hildegard Falck is a retired West German runner. At the 1972 Olympics she won a gold medal in the 800 m and a bronze medal in the 4 × 400 m relay with West German team. In the 800 m final she finished 0.1 seconds ahead of Nijolė Sabaitė and Gunhild Hoffmeister.

08/06/1947

Annie Haslam, English singer-songwriter and painter

Annie Haslam is an English vocalist, songwriter and painter. She is best known as the lead singer of progressive rock band Renaissance since 1971, and for her long and diverse solo singing career. She has a five-octave vocal range. From 2002, Haslam has developed a parallel career as a visual artist, producing paintings on canvas, painted musical instruments and giclées.

Sara Paretsky, American author

Sara Paretsky is an American author of detective fiction, best known for her novels focused on the protagonist V. I. Warshawski.

Eric F. Wieschaus, American biologist, geneticist, and academic Nobel Prize laureate

Eric Francis Wieschaus is an American evolutionary developmental biologist and 1995 Nobel Prize-winner.

08/06/1946

Graham Henry, New Zealand rugby player and coach

Sir Graham William Henry is a New Zealand rugby union coach, and former head coach of the country's national team, the All Blacks. Nicknamed 'Ted', he led New Zealand to win the 2011 World Cup.

08/06/1945

Steven Fromholz, American singer-songwriter, producer, and poet (died 2014)

Steven John Fromholz was an American singer-songwriter who was selected as the Poet Laureate of Texas for 2007.

Derek Underwood, English cricketer (died 2024)

Derek Leslie Underwood was an English international cricketer. In retirement he became president of the Marylebone Cricket Club (MCC) in 2008.

08/06/1944

Marc Ouellet, Canadian archbishop and cardinal

Marc Armand Ouellet is a Canadian Catholic prelate who served as prefect of the Dicastery for Bishops and president of the Pontifical Commission for Latin America from 2010 to 2023. He is a member of the Sulpicians.

Boz Scaggs, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

William Royce "Boz" Scaggs is an American singer, songwriter, and guitarist. He was a bandmate of Steve Miller in the Ardells in the early 1960s and a member of the Steve Miller Band from 1967 to 1968.

08/06/1943

Colin Baker, English actor

Colin Charles Baker is an English actor. He is known for playing the sixth incarnation of the Doctor in the BBC science fiction series Doctor Who (1984–1986) and Paul Merroney in the BBC drama series The Brothers (1974–1976). He has also performed prolifically in stage productions across the UK, particularly pantomimes.

William Calley, American military officer

William Laws Calley Jr. was a United States Army officer and war criminal, convicted by court-martial of the murder of 22 unarmed South Vietnamese civilians in the My Lai massacre on March 16, 1968, during the Vietnam War. Calley was released to house arrest under orders by President Richard Nixon three days after his conviction. The United States District Court for the Middle District of Georgia granted him a new trial, but that ruling was overturned by the United States Court of Appeals for the Fifth Circuit. His initial life sentence having been modified to a term of 20 years and then further reduced to ten, Calley ultimately served three years of house arrest for the murders. Public opinion at the time about Calley was divided. After his dismissal from the U.S. Army and release from confinement, Calley avoided public attention.

Willie Davenport, American hurdler (died 2002)

William D. Davenport was an American sprint runner.

08/06/1942

Doug Mountjoy, Welsh snooker player (died 2021)

Douglas James Mountjoy was a Welsh snooker player. He was a member of the professional snooker circuit from the late 1970s and throughout the 1980s, and remained within the top 16 of the world rankings for 11 consecutive years. He began his professional snooker career by taking the 1977 Masters, which he entered as a reserve player. He won both the 1978 UK Championship and the 1979 Irish Masters. Mountjoy reached the final of the 1981 World Snooker Championship where he was defeated by Steve Davis. He was also runner-up at the 1985 Masters losing to Cliff Thorburn, but by 1988 he had dropped out of the top 16.

08/06/1941

Robert Bradford, Northern Irish politician and activist (died 1981)

Robert Jonathan Bradford was a Methodist Minister and a Vanguard Unionist and Ulster Unionist Member of Parliament for the Belfast South constituency in Northern Ireland until his murder by the Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) on 14 November 1981.

George Pell, Australian cardinal (died 2023)

George Pell was an Australian cardinal of the Catholic Church. In 2018, Pell was convicted of child sexual abuse, before the convictions were unanimously quashed on appeal by the High Court of Australia in 2020. Between conviction and acquittal, Pell served more than a year in prison, much of it in solitary confinement. In January 2025 it was announced that the Australian National Redress Scheme, a non-judicial program, had accepted that Pell abused two boys in Ballarat in the 1970s, with compensation paid to one of the boys five weeks prior to Pell's death. According to findings released by Royal Commission into Institutional Responses to Child Sexual Abuse in 2020, Pell knew of child sexual abuse by clergy by the 1970s but did not take adequate action to address it. Pell said he was "surprised" and that the royal commission's findings "are not supported by evidence".

08/06/1940

Nancy Sinatra, American singer and actress

Nancy Sandra Sinatra is an American singer, actress, film producer, and author. She is the elder daughter of Frank Sinatra and Nancy Sinatra and is known for her 1966 signature hit "These Boots Are Made for Walkin'".

08/06/1939

Herb Adderley, American football player (died 2020)

Herbert Anthony Adderley was an American professional football cornerback who played for the Green Bay Packers and the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL). In 1980, he was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.

08/06/1938

Angelo Amato, Italian cardinal

Angelo Amato, S.D.B. was an Italian cardinal of the Catholic Church who served as the Prefect of the Congregation for the Causes of Saints between 2008 and 2018. He served as Secretary of the Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith from 2002 to 2008 and became a cardinal in 2010.

08/06/1937

Gillian Clarke, Welsh poet and playwright

Gillian Clarke is a Welsh poet and playwright, who also edits, broadcasts, lectures and translates from Welsh into English. She co-founded Tŷ Newydd, a writers' centre in North Wales.

08/06/1936

James Darren, American actor (died 2024)

James William Ercolani, known by his stage name James Darren, was an American actor, singer, and television director. During the late 1950s and early 1960s, he had notable starring and supporting roles in films including the youth and beach-culture film Gidget (1959) and its sequels. He also appeared in The Gene Krupa Story (1959), All the Young Men (1960), The Guns of Navarone (1961), and Diamond Head (1962).

Kenneth G. Wilson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2013)

Kenneth Geddes "Ken" Wilson was an American theoretical physicist and a pioneer in using computers for studying particle physics. He was awarded the 1982 Nobel Prize in Physics for his work on phase transitions—illuminating the subtle essence of phenomena like melting ice and emerging magnetism. It was embodied in his fundamental work on the renormalization group.

08/06/1935

Molade Okoya-Thomas, Nigerian businessman and philanthropist (died 2015)

Chief Molade Alexander Okoya-Thomas FCNA, MFR, OFR, KSS was a Nigerian businessman and philanthropist.

08/06/1934

Millicent Martin, English actress and singer

Millicent Mary Lillian Martin is an English actress, singer, and comedian. She was the singer of topical songs on the weekly BBC Television satirical show That Was the Week That Was, and won a BAFTA TV Award in 1964. For her work on Broadway, she received Tony Award nominations for Side by Side by Sondheim (1977) and King of Hearts (1978), both for Best Featured Actress in a Musical. Other television roles include her recurring role as Gertrude Moon in the NBC sitcom Frasier (2000–04) and Joan Margaret in Grace & Frankie (2017–2022).

08/06/1933

Joan Rivers, American comedian, actress, and television host (died 2014)

Joan Alexandra Molinsky, known professionally as Joan Rivers, was an American comedian, actress, producer, writer and television host. She was noted for her blunt, often controversial comedic persona that was heavily self-deprecating and acerbic, especially towards celebrities and politicians, delivered in her signature New York accent. She is considered a pioneer of women in comedy. She received an Emmy Award and a Grammy Award, as well as nomination for a Tony Award.

08/06/1932

Ray Illingworth, English cricketer and sportscaster (died 2021)

Raymond Illingworth CBE was an English cricketer, cricket commentator and administrator. He is one of only nine players to have taken 2,000 wickets and made 20,000 runs in first-class cricket. He played for Yorkshire, Leicestershire (1969–1978) and England (1958–1973) and was a Wisden Cricketer of the Year in 1960.

Ian Kirkwood, Lord Kirkwood, Scottish lawyer and judge (died 2017)

Ian Candlish Kirkwood, Lord Kirkwood QC was a Senator of the College of Justice of the Supreme Courts of Scotland. He was appointed to the Inner House in 1987.

08/06/1931

Dana Wynter, British actress (died 2011)

Dana Wynter was a German-born British actress who was raised in the United Kingdom and southern Africa. She appeared in film and television for more than 40 years, beginning in the 1950s. One of her best-known film performances was in Invasion of the Body Snatchers (1956). A tall, dark, elegant beauty, she played both victim and villain. Her characters both in film and on television sometimes faced horrific dangers, which they often did not survive, but she also played scheming, manipulative women on television mysteries and crime procedural dramas.

08/06/1930

Robert Aumann, German-American mathematician and economist, Nobel Prize laureate

Robert John Aumann is an Israeli-American mathematician, and a member of the United States National Academy of Sciences. He is a professor at the Center for the Study of Rationality in the Hebrew University of Jerusalem. He also holds a visiting position at Stony Brook University, and is one of the founding members of the Stony Brook Center for Game Theory.

Marcel Léger, Canadian lawyer and politician (died 1993)

Marcel Léger was a Canadian politician, and a supporter of Quebec sovereignty. He also founded the Canadian polling firm that became Léger Marketing.

08/06/1929

Nada Inada, Japanese psychiatrist and author (died 2013)

Nada Inada was the pen-name of a Japanese psychiatrist, writer and literary critic active in late Shōwa period and early Heisei period Japan. His pen name is from the Spanish language phrase "nada y nada".

08/06/1928

Gustavo Gutiérrez, Peruvian philosopher, theologian and priest (died 2024)

Gustavo Gutiérrez-Merino Díaz was a Peruvian Catholic philosopher, theologian, and Dominican priest who was one of the founders of Latin American liberation theology. His 1971 book A Theology of Liberation is considered pivotal to the formation of liberation theology at large. He held the John Cardinal O'Hara Professorship of Theology at the University of Notre Dame and was a visiting professor at universities in North America and Europe.

Mimi Mariani, Indonesian actress, model, and singer (died 1971)

J. R. P. Suriyapperuma, Sri Lankan politician (died 2025)

J. R. P. Suriyapperuma was a Sri Lankan politician who was a National List member of the Parliament of Sri Lanka.

08/06/1927

Jerry Stiller, American actor, comedian and producer (died 2020)

Gerald Isaac Stiller was an American comedian and actor. He spent many years as part of the comedy duo Stiller and Meara with his wife, Anne Meara, to whom he was married for over 60 years until her death in 2015. Stiller saw a late-career resurgence starting in 1993, playing Frank Costanza on the sitcom Seinfeld, a part which earned him an Emmy nomination. In 1998, Stiller began his role as Arthur Spooner on the CBS comedy series The King of Queens, another role that garnered widespread acclaim.

08/06/1925

Barbara Bush, American wife of George H. W. Bush, 41st First Lady of the United States (died 2018)

Barbara Bush was the first lady of the United States from 1989 to 1993, as the wife of George H. W. Bush, the 41st president of the United States. She was previously second lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989, when her husband was vice president under President Ronald Reagan, and founded the Barbara Bush Foundation for Family Literacy. Among her children are George W. Bush, the 43rd president of the United States, and Jeb Bush, the 43rd governor of Florida. Bush and Abigail Adams are the only two women to be the wife of one U.S. president and the mother of another. At the time she became first lady, she was the second oldest woman to hold the position, behind only Anna Harrison, who never lived in the capital. Bush was generally popular as first lady, recognized for her apolitical grandmotherly image.

08/06/1924

Billie Dawe, Canadian ice hockey player and manager (died 2013)

Billie Dawe was a Canadian amateur ice hockey player. He was a member of the 1950 World Champion team, the Edmonton Mercurys, and captained that team to a gold medal at the 1952 Winter Olympics.

Kenneth Waltz, American political scientist and academic (died 2013)

Kenneth Neal Waltz was an American political scientist who was a member of the faculty at both the University of California, Berkeley, and Columbia University and one of the most prominent scholars in the field of international relations. He was a veteran of both World War II and the Korean War.

08/06/1921

Gordon McLendon, American broadcaster and businessman (died 1986)

Gordon Barton McLendon was an American radio broadcaster. Nicknamed "the Maverick of Radio", McLendon is widely credited for perfecting, during the 1950s and 1960s, the commercially successful Top 40 radio format created by Todd Storz. He also developed offshore pirate radio broadcasting to both Scandinavia and the British Isles. In addition, he was active in circles of conservative business-political power in the 1960s until the time of his death.

Olga Nardone, American actress (died 2010)

Olga Nida Carmena Nardone was an American actress and one of the last surviving Munchkins from the 1939 film The Wizard of Oz, in which she played a member of the Lullaby League. She was known as "Little Olga" and "Princess Olga" and was one of the smallest of the Wizard of Oz Munchkins, standing at just 3 feet 4 inches (101.6 cm) tall.

LeRoy Neiman, American painter (died 2012)

LeRoy Neiman was an American artist known for his brilliantly colored, expressionist paintings and screenprints of athletes, musicians, and sporting events.

Alexis Smith, Canadian-born American actress and singer (died 1993)

Margaret Alexis Smith was an American actress, pin-up girl and singer. She appeared in several major Hollywood films in the 1940s and had a notable career on Broadway in the 1970s, winning a Tony Award in 1972 for the Stephen Sondheim-James Goldman musical Follies.

Suharto, Indonesian soldier and politician, 2nd President of Indonesia (died 2008)

Suharto was an Indonesian military officer and politician who served as the second president of Indonesia from 1967 to 1998. He is the longest serving president of Indonesia at 31 years.

08/06/1920

Gwen Harwood, Australian poet and playwright (died 1995)

Gwen Harwood was an Australian poet and librettist. Harwood is regarded as one of Australia's finest poets, publishing over 420 works, including 386 poems and 13 librettos. She won numerous poetry awards and prizes, and one of Australia's most significant poetry prizes, the Gwen Harwood Poetry Prize is named for her. Her work is commonly studied in schools and university courses.

08/06/1919

John R. Deane, Jr., American general (died 2013)

John Russell Deane Jr. was a highly decorated United States Army officer who rose to the rank of general and served as commander of the United States Army Materiel Command.

08/06/1918

George Edward Hughes, Irish-New Zealand philosopher and logician (died 1994)

George Edward Hughes was an Irish-born New Zealand philosopher and logician whose principal scholarly works were concerned with modal logic and medieval philosophy.

Robert Preston, American actor and singer (died 1987)

Robert Preston Meservey was an American stage and screen actor best-known for his role as Professor Harold Hill in the 1957 musical The Music Man, for which he received the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical. He reprised the role in the 1962 film adaptation, and received a Golden Globe Award for Best Actor – Motion Picture Musical or Comedy nomination.

John D. Roberts, American chemist and academic (died 2016)

John Dombrowski Roberts was an American chemist. He made contributions to the integration of physical chemistry, spectroscopy, and organic chemistry for the understanding of chemical reaction rates. Another characteristic of Roberts' work was the early use of NMR, focusing on the concept of spin coupling.

08/06/1917

Byron White, American football player, lawyer and judge (died 2002)

Byron Raymond "Whizzer" White was an American lawyer and professional football halfback who served as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States from 1962 to 1993. At the time of his retirement, he was the Supreme Court's only sitting justice appointed by a Democrat and the last-living member of the progressive Warren Court.

08/06/1916

Francis Crick, English biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2004)

Francis Harry Compton Crick was an English molecular biologist, biophysicist, and neuroscientist. He, James Watson, Rosalind Franklin, and Maurice Wilkins played crucial roles in deciphering the helical structure of the DNA molecule.

Luigi Comencini, Italian director and screenwriter (died 2007)

Luigi Comencini was an Italian film director. Together with Dino Risi, Ettore Scola, and Mario Monicelli, he was considered among the masters of the "commedia all'italiana" genre.

Richard Pousette-Dart, American painter and educator (died 1992)

Richard Warren Pousette-Dart was an American abstract expressionist artist most recognized as a founder of the New York School of painting. His artistic output also includes drawing, sculpture, and fine-art photography.

08/06/1915

Seán McCaughey, Irish Republican Army leader, died on hunger strike (died 1946)

Seán McCaughey was an Irish militant and Republican activist. He was an Irish Republican Army (IRA) leader in the 1930s and 1940s and hunger striker.

Kayyar Kinhanna Rai, Indian journalist, author, and poet (died 2015)

Kayyara Kinhanna Rai was an Indian independence activist, author, poet, journalist, teacher and farmer.

08/06/1912

Wilhelmina Barns-Graham, British abstract painter (died 2004)

Wilhelmina Barns-Graham CBE was one of the foremost British abstract artists, a member of the influential Penwith Society of Arts.

Maurice Bellemare, Canadian lawyer and politician (died 1989)

Maurice Bellemare, was a politician in Quebec, Canada. He was known as Le Vieux Lion de la Politique Québécoise because of his colourful style and his many years of public office. Bellemare was one of the last survivors of the Union Nationale party.

Harry Holtzman, American painter (died 1987)

Harry Holtzman was an American artist and founding member of the American Abstract Artists group.

08/06/1911

Edmundo Rivero, Argentinian singer-songwriter (died 1986)

Leonel Edmundo Rivero was an Argentine tango singer, composer, and impresario.

08/06/1910

John W. Campbell, American journalist and author (died 1971)

John Wood Campbell Jr. was an American science fiction writer and editor. He was editor of Astounding Science Fiction from late 1937 until his death and was part of the Golden Age of Science Fiction. Campbell wrote "super-science" space opera under his own name and other stories under his primary pseudonym, Don A. Stuart. Campbell also used the pen names Karl Van Kampen and Arthur McCann. His novella Who Goes There? (1938) was adapted as the films The Thing from Another World (1951) and The Thing (1982); as well as a prequel The Thing (2011).

Fernand Fonssagrives, French-American photographer, sculptor, and painter (died 2003)

Fernand Fonssagrives, born Fernand Vigoureux near Paris, was a photographer known for his 'beauty photography' in the early 1940s, and as the first husband of the model Lisa Fonssagrives. He died in 2003 at Little Rock, Arkansas, United States.

08/06/1903

Ralph Yarborough, American lawyer and politician (died 1996)

Ralph Webster Yarborough was an American politician and lawyer. A member of the Democratic Party, he represented Texas in the United States Senate from 1957 to 1971 and was a leader of the progressive wing of his party. Along with Senate Majority Leader Lyndon B. Johnson and Speaker of the House Sam Rayburn, but unlike most Southern congressmen, Yarborough refused to support the 1956 Southern Manifesto, which called for resistance to the racial integration of schools and other public places. Yarborough voted in favor of the Civil Rights Acts of 1957, 1960, 1964, and 1968, as well as the 24th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, the Voting Rights Act of 1965, and the confirmation of Thurgood Marshall to the U.S. Supreme Court. Yarborough was the only senator from a state that was part of the Confederacy to vote for all five bills.

Marguerite Yourcenar, Belgian-French author and poet (died 1987)

Marguerite Yourcenar was a Belgian-born French novelist and essayist who became a US citizen in 1947. Winner of the Prix Femina and the Erasmus Prize, she was the first woman elected to the Académie Française, in 1980. In 1965, she was nominated for the Nobel Prize in Literature.

08/06/1900

Lena Baker, African-American maid executed for capital murder, later pardoned posthumously (died 1945)

Lena Baker was an African American maid in Cuthbert, Georgia, United States, who was convicted of capital murder of a white man, Ernest Knight. She was executed by the state of Georgia in 1945. Baker was the only woman in Georgia to be executed by electrocution.

08/06/1899

Eugène Lapierre, Canadian organist, composer and arts administrator (died 1970)

Eugène Lapierre was a Canadian organist, composer, journalist, writer on music, arts administrator, and music educator. He was awarded the King George V Silver Jubilee Medal in 1935 and the King George VI Coronation Medal in 1937. In 1963 he was named Chevalier of the Order of Malta and in 1966 he received the Bene merenti de patria from the Saint-Jean-Baptiste Society. He is the great-uncle of composer Yves Lapierre.

Ernst-Robert Grawitz, German physician (died 1945)

Ernst-Robert Grawitz was a German physician and an SS functionary during the Nazi era. Grawitz funded Nazi programs involving experimentation on inmates in Nazi concentration camps and was part of the group in charge of the murder of mentally ill and physically disabled people in the Aktion T4 programme. In April 1945, as the Soviet Red Army advanced on Berlin, Grawitz killed himself and his family.

08/06/1897

John G. Bennett, English mathematician and technologist (died 1974)

John Godolphin Bennett was a British academic and writer. He is best known for his books on psychology and spirituality, particularly on the teachings of G. I. Gurdjieff. Bennett met Gurdjieff in Constantinople in October 1920 and later helped to co-ordinate the work of Gurdjieff in England after the guru had moved to Paris. He also was active in starting the British section of the Subud movement, and co-founded its British headquarters.

08/06/1895

Santiago Bernabéu Yeste, Spanish footballer and manager (died 1978)

Santiago Bernabéu de Yeste was a Spanish football player, coach, and administrator who played for Real Madrid as a forward, later serving as the club's manager and then president. He is widely regarded as one of the most important figures in the history of Real Madrid, having served as its president for 34 years and 264 days, from 11 September 1943 until his death on 2 June 1978.

08/06/1894

Erwin Schulhoff, Czech composer and pianist (died 1942)

Erwin Schulhoff was an Austro-Czech composer and pianist. He was one of the figures in the generation of European musicians whose successful careers were prematurely terminated by the rise of the Nazi regime in Germany and whose works have been rarely noted or performed beyond Czechoslovakia until the 1980s.

08/06/1893

Ernst Marcus, German zoologist (died 1968)

Ernst Gustav Gotthelf Marcus was a German zoologist, occupant of the chair of zoology at the University of São Paulo from 1936 to 1963, and co-founder of the Oceanographic Institute of the University of São Paulo.

Gaby Morlay, French actress (died 1964)

Gaby Morlay was a film actress from France.

08/06/1891

William Funnell, Australian public servant (died 1962)

William Funnell ISO was a senior Australian public servant, best known for his time as head of the Department of Labour and National Service between 1946 and 1952.

08/06/1885

Karl Genzken, German physician (died 1957)

Karl August Genzken was a Nazi physician who committed medical atrocities on prisoners of several concentration camps. He was an SS-Gruppenführer of the Waffen-SS and the Chief of the Medical Office of the Waffen-SS. After the war ended, he was tried and convicted as a war criminal and for crimes against humanity in the 1947 Doctors' Trial at Nuremberg. Genzken was sentenced to life imprisonment, but his sentence was commuted to 20 years and he was released in 1954.

08/06/1878

Evan Roberts, Welsh Revivalist minister (died 1951)

Evan John Roberts was a Welsh preacher and a leading figure of the 1904–1905 Welsh revival.

08/06/1876

Alexandre Tuffère, Greek-French triple jumper (died 1958)

Pierre Alexandre Tuffèri, also spelt Tuffère, was a French-Greek athlete, although he was born and lived in Athens, his father was French. He competed at the 1896 Summer Olympics and the 1900 Summer Olympics for France, and the 1906 Intercalated Games for Greece.

08/06/1872

Jan Frans De Boever, Belgian painter and illustrator (died 1949)

Jan Frans De Boever was a Belgian Symbolist painter, known for his paintings of voluptuous nude women in morbid contexts. Skeletons, death and eroticism flood his oeuvre. He made illustrations in gouache for Charles Baudelaire's famous Les Fleurs du mal for the Ghent collector and art patron Léon Speltinckx with 157 gouaches. While he was a successful artist during most of his lifetime, his megalomaniac character made him a solitary and isolated individual.

08/06/1868

Robert Robinson Taylor, American architect (died 1942)

Robert Robinson Taylor was an American architect and educator. Taylor was the first African-American student enrolled at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the first accredited African-American architect when he graduated in 1892. He was an early and influential member of the Tuskegee Institute faculty.

08/06/1867

Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect, designed the Price Tower and Fallingwater (died 1959)

Frank Lloyd Wright Sr. was an American architect, designer, writer, and educator. He designed more than 1,000 structures over a creative period of 70 years. Wright played a key role in the architectural movements of the twentieth century, influencing architects worldwide through his works and mentoring hundreds of apprentices in his Taliesin Fellowship. Wright believed in designing in harmony with humanity and the environment, a philosophy he called organic architecture. This philosophy was exemplified in Fallingwater (1935), which has been called "the best all-time work of American architecture".

08/06/1860

Alicia Boole Stott, Irish-English mathematician and theorist (died 1940)

Alicia Boole Stott was a British mathematician. She made a number of contributions to the field and was awarded an honorary doctorate from the University of Groningen. She grasped four-dimensional geometry from an early age, and introduced the term "polytope" for a convex solid in four or more dimensions.

08/06/1858

Charlotte Scott, English mathematician (died 1931)

Charlotte Angas Scott was a British mathematician who made her career in the United States; she was influential in the development of American mathematics, including the mathematical education of women. Scott played an important role in Cambridge changing the rules for its famous Mathematical Tripos exam.

08/06/1855

George Charles Haité, English painter and illustrator (died 1924)

George Charles Haité was an English designer, painter, illustrator and writer. His most famous work is the iconic cover design of the Strand Magazine, launched in 1891, which helped popularise the Sherlock Holmes stories of Arthur Conan Doyle. Haité was also a founder member and the first president of the London Sketch Club.

08/06/1854

Douglas Cameron, Canadian politician, 8th Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba (died 1921)

Sir Douglas Colin Cameron KCMG was a Canadian politician. He served in the Ontario Legislature from 1902 to 1905, and was the eighth Lieutenant Governor of Manitoba from 1911 to 1916.

08/06/1852

Guido Banti, Italian physician and pathologist (died 1925)

Guido Banti was an Italian physician and pathologist. He also performed innovative studies on the heart, infectious diseases and bacteriology, splenomegaly, nephrology, lung disease, leukaemia and motor aphasia. He gave his name to Banti’s disease.

08/06/1851

Jacques-Arsène d'Arsonval, French physician and physicist (died 1940)

Jacques-Arsène d'Arsonval was a French physician, physicist and inventor of the moving-coil d'Arsonval galvanometer and the thermocouple ammeter. D'Arsonval was an important contributor to the emerging field of electrophysiology, the study of the effects of electricity on biological organisms, in the nineteenth century.

08/06/1842

John Q. A. Brackett, American lawyer and politician, 36th Governor of Massachusetts (died 1918)

John Quincy Adams Brackett was an American lawyer and politician from Massachusetts. A Republican and temperance advocate, he served one term as the 36th governor of Massachusetts, from 1890 to 1891. Born in New Hampshire and educated at Harvard, he practiced law in Boston before entering politics.

08/06/1831

Thomas J. Higgins, Canadian-American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (died 1917)

Thomas J. Higgins was a Union Army soldier during the American Civil War who was a recipient of America's highest military decoration, the Medal of Honor, for his actions at the Battle of Vicksburg.

08/06/1829

John Everett Millais, English painter and illustrator (died 1896)

Sir John Everett Millais, 1st Baronet was an English painter and illustrator who was one of the founders of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood. He was a child prodigy who, aged eleven, became the youngest student to enter the Royal Academy Schools. The Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood was founded at his family home in London, at 83 Gower Street. Millais became the most famous exponent of the style, his painting Christ in the House of His Parents (1849–50) generating considerable controversy, and he produced a picture that could serve as the embodiment of the historical and naturalist focus of the group, Ophelia, in 1851–1852.

08/06/1810

Robert Schumann, German composer and critic (died 1856)

Robert Schumann was a German composer, pianist, and music critic of the early Romantic era. He composed in all the main musical genres of the time, writing for solo piano, voice and piano, chamber groups, orchestra, choir and the opera. His works typify the spirit of the Romantic era in German music.

08/06/1788

Charles A. Wickliffe, American politician, 14th Governor of Kentucky (died 1869)

Charles Anderson Wickliffe was an American politician who was the 11th U.S. postmaster general from 1841 to 1845. He served as the 14th governor of Kentucky from 1839 to 1840 and as a U.S. representative from Kentucky from 1861 to 1863. He also served as Speaker of the Kentucky House of Representatives. Though he consistently identified with the Whig Party, he was politically independent, and often had differences of opinion with Whig founder and fellow Kentuckian Henry Clay.

08/06/1776

Thomas Rickman, English architect and architectural antiquary (died 1841)

Thomas Rickman was an English architect and architectural antiquary who was a major figure in the Gothic Revival. He is particularly remembered for his Attempt to Discriminate the Styles of English Architecture (1817), which established the basic chronological classification and terminology that are still in widespread use for the different styles of English medieval ecclesiastical architecture.

08/06/1757

Ercole Consalvi, Italian cardinal (died 1824)

Ercole Consalvi was a deacon and cardinal of the Catholic Church, who served twice as Cardinal Secretary of State for the Papal States and who played a crucial role in the post-Napoleonic reassertion of the legitimist principle of the divine right of kings, of which he was a constant supporter.

08/06/1745

Caspar Wessel, Norwegian-Danish mathematician and cartographer (died 1818)

Caspar Wessel was a Danish–Norwegian mathematician and cartographer. In 1799, Wessel was the first person to describe the geometrical interpretation of complex numbers as points in the complex plane and vectors.

08/06/1724

John Smeaton, English engineer, designed the Coldstream Bridge and Perth Bridge (died 1794)

John Smeaton was an English civil engineer responsible for the design of bridges, canals, harbours and lighthouses. He was also a capable mechanical engineer and an eminent scholar, who introduced various scientific methodologies into engineering. Smeaton was the first self-proclaimed "civil engineer", and is often regarded as the "father of civil engineering". He pioneered the use of hydraulic lime in concrete, using pebbles and powdered brick as aggregate. Smeaton was associated with the Lunar Society.

08/06/1717

John Collins, American lawyer and politician, 3rd Governor of Rhode Island (died 1795)

John Collins, was an American politician and a Founding Father of the United States who, as a member of the Continental Congress, signed the Articles of Confederation. He was the third governor of the U.S. state of Rhode Island from 1786 to 1790.

08/06/1671

Tomaso Albinoni, Italian violinist and composer (died 1751)

Tomaso Giovanni Albinoni was an Italian composer of the Baroque era. His output includes operas, concertos, sonatas for one to six instruments, sinfonias, and solo cantatas. While famous in his day as an opera composer, he is known today for his instrumental music, especially his concertos. He is best remembered today for a work called "Adagio in G minor", attributed to him but largely written by Remo Giazotto, a 20th-century musicologist and composer, who was a cataloguer of the works of Albinoni.

08/06/1625

Giovanni Domenico Cassini, Italian-French mathematician and astronomer (died 1712)

Giovanni Domenico Cassini was an Italian-French mathematician, astronomer, astrologer and engineer. Cassini was born in Perinaldo, near Imperia, at that time in the County of Nice, part of the Savoyard state. He discovered four satellites of Saturn and noted the division of its rings, later named the Cassini Division. Cassini was also the first of his family to begin work on the project of creating a topographic map of France. In addition, he also created the first scientific map of the Moon.

08/06/1593

George I Rákóczi, prince of Transylvania (died 1648)

George I Rákóczi was Prince of Transylvania from 1630 until his death in 1648. Prior to that, he was a leader of the Protestant faction in Hungary and a faithful supporter of Gabriel Bethlen, his predecessor as Prince. When Bohemian nobles requested military support in their struggles against the Habsburg monarchy, Rákóczi persuaded Bethlen to help and commanded Transylvanian forces in several battles. Rákóczi was elected prince after Bethlen's death, after short reigns by Bethlen's wife Catherine of Brandenburg and brother Stephen Bethlen.

08/06/1508

Primož Trubar, Slovenian Protestant reformer (died 1586)

Primož Trubar or Primus Truber was a Slovene Protestant Reformer of the Lutheran tradition, mostly known as the author of the first Slovene language printed book, the founder and the first superintendent of the Protestant Church of the Duchy of Carniola, and for consolidating the Slovenian language. Trubar introduced The Reformation in Slovenia, leading the Austrian Habsburgs to wage the Counter-Reformation, which a small Protestant community survived. Trubar is a key figure of Slovenian history and in many aspects a major historical personality.

08/06/0862

Emperor Xizong of Tang (died 888)

Emperor Xizong of Tang, né Li Yan, later name changed to Li Xuan, was an emperor of China's Tang dynasty. He reigned from 873 to 888. He was the fifth son of his predecessor Emperor Yizong and was the elder brother of his successor Emperor Zhaozong. His reign saw his realm overrun by the great agrarian rebellions led by Wang Xianzhi and Huang Chao, and while both were eventually defeated, by the end of Emperor Xizong's reign, the Tang state had virtually disintegrated into pieces ruled by individual warlords, rather than the imperial government, and would never recover, falling eventually in 907.

Lives Remembered on 8th June

On 8th June, 80 remarkable people passed away — from 632 to 2024. Remember the lives and legacies of those we lost on this day.

08/06/2024

Ramoji Rao, Indian businessman, media proprietor and film producer (born 1936)

Cherukuri Ramoji Rao was an Indian businessman, media proprietor and film producer. He was head of the Ramoji Group which owns the world's largest film production facility Ramoji Film City, Eenadu newspaper, ETV Network of TV channels, film production company Usha Kiran Movies.

Chet Walker, American basketball player (born 1940)

Chester Walker was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA), and was selected in 2012 to become a member of the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame. He was a seven-time NBA All-Star. He played 13 seasons in the NBA, seven with the Philadelphia 76ers, and he helped lead the 76ers to an NBA championship in 1967. He played his last six seasons for the Chicago Bulls from 1969 to 1975. He played college basketball for the Bradley Braves, twice earning first-team consensus All-American honors, and was famously "hijacked" to Bradley to keep him from attending the University of Nebraska instead. He also won an Emmy award as a television producer.

08/06/2023

Pat Robertson, American televangelist (born 1930)

Marion Gordon "Pat" Robertson was an American media mogul, televangelist, political commentator, presidential candidate, and charismatic minister. Robertson advocated a conservative Christian ideology and was known for his involvement in Republican Party politics. He was associated with the Charismatic movement within Protestant evangelicalism. He served as head of Regent University and of the Christian Broadcasting Network (CBN).

08/06/2022

Paula Rego, Portuguese-British visual artist (born 1935)

Dame Maria Paula Figueiroa Rego was a British-Portuguese visual artist, widely considered the pre-eminent woman artist of the late 20th and early 21st century, known particularly for her paintings and prints based on storybooks. Rego's style evolved from abstract towards representational, and she favoured pastels over oils for much of her career. Her work often reflects feminism, coloured by folk-themes from her native Portugal.

08/06/2019

Andre Matos, Brazilian heavy metal musician (born 1971)

Andre Coelho Matos was a Brazilian singer and musician. He was involved in the heavy metal bands Viper, Angra, Shaman and Symfonia. Since 2006, Matos had been dedicating his time to his solo career. In 2012, he was ranked No. 77 at the list of 100 Greatest Voices of Brazilian Music by Rolling Stone Brasil.

08/06/2018

Anthony Bourdain, American chef and travel documentarian (born 1956)

Anthony Michael Bourdain was an American celebrity chef, author and travel documentarian. He starred in programs focusing on the exploration of international culture, cuisine, and the human condition.

08/06/2015

Chea Sim, Cambodian commander and politician (born 1932)

Chea Sim was a Cambodian politician who served as President of the Cambodian People's Party from 1991 to 2015 and President of the National Assembly of Cambodia from 1981 to 1998 and President of the Senate from 1999 to 2015. His official title was Samdech Akka Moha Thamma Pothisal Chea Sim.

08/06/2014

Alexander Imich, Polish-American chemist, parapsychologist, and academic (born 1903)

Alexander Imich was a Polish-American chemist, parapsychologist, zoologist and writer who was the president of the Anomalous Phenomena Research Center in New York City. He was born in 1903 in Częstochowa, Poland to a Jewish family.

Yoshihito, Prince Katsura of Japan (born 1948)

Yoshihito, Prince Katsura was a member of the Imperial House of Japan and the second son of Takahito, Prince Mikasa and Yuriko, Princess Mikasa. He was a first cousin of Emperor Akihito. Originally known as Prince Yoshihito of Mikasa, he received the title Prince Katsura (Katsura-no-miya) and authorization to start a new branch of the Imperial Family on 1 January 1988 at age 39. He died of a heart attack on 8 June 2014, aged 66.

08/06/2013

Paul Cellucci, American soldier and politician, 69th Governor of Massachusetts (born 1948)

Argeo Paul Cellucci was an American politician, lawyer, and diplomat. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 69th governor of Massachusetts from 1999 to 2001 and as the United States Ambassador to Canada from 2001 to 2005. He also served as 68th lieutenant governor of Massachusetts from 1991 to 1999, as well as in the Massachusetts House of Representatives and Senate from 1977 to 1991.

Yoram Kaniuk, Israeli painter, journalist, and critic (born 1930)

Yoram Kaniuk was an Israeli writer, painter, journalist, and theatre critic.

Taufiq Kiemas, Indonesian politician, 5th First Spouse of Indonesia (born 1942)

Muhammad Taufiq Kiemas was an Indonesian politician who served as the Speaker of the People's Consultative Assembly of Indonesia from 2009 until his death in 2013. A member of the Indonesian Democratic Party of Struggle (PDI-P), he was the husband of party chairwoman Megawati Sukarnoputri, president of Indonesia from 2001 to 2004. He remains Indonesia's only first gentleman.

08/06/2012

Charles E. M. Pearce, New Zealand-Australian mathematician and academic (born 1940)

Charles Edward Miller Pearce was a New Zealand/Australian mathematician. At the time of his death on 8 June 2012 he was the Elder Professor of Mathematics at the University of Adelaide.

Ghassan Tueni, Lebanese journalist, academic, and politician (born 1926)

Ghassan Tueni was a Lebanese journalist, politician and diplomat who headed An Nahar, one of the Arab world's leading newspapers. Some call him "The Dean of Lebanese Journalism".

08/06/2010

Denise Narcisse-Mair, Canadian musician (born 1940)

Denise Lorraine Narcisse-Mair was a Canadian musicologist, music educator, choral conductor, and composer.

08/06/2009

Omar Bongo, Gabonese captain and politician, President of Gabon (born 1935)

Omar Bongo Ondimba was a Gabonese politician who was the second president of Gabon from 1967 until his death in 2009. A member of the Gabonese Democratic Party (PDG), Bongo was promoted to key positions as a young official under Gabon's first President Léon M'ba in the 1960s, before being elected the second vice president in his own right in 1966. In 1967, after M'ba's death, he became the country's president.

08/06/2006

Jaxon, American illustrator and publisher, co-founded Rip Off Press (born 1941)

Jack Edward Jackson, also known by his pen name Jaxon, was an American cartoonist, illustrator, historian, and writer. He co-founded Rip Off Press, and some consider him to be the first underground comix artist, due to his most well-known satirical comic strip God Nose.

Matta El Meskeen, Egyptian monk, theologian, and author (born 1919)

Matta El Meskeen, born Youssef Iskandar, was a Coptic Orthodox monk. He was the key figure in the revival of Coptic monasticism, a movement which began in 1969 when he was appointed to the Monastery of St Macarius in the Wadi El Natrun in Egypt. By the time of his death the community had grown from 6 aged monks to 130 monks, and as many other monasteries were revived, new ones also began to open. He was twice nominated to become Coptic Pope, but was not chosen in either case.

08/06/2004

Charles Hyder, American astrophysicist and academic (born 1930)

Charles Latif Hyder was an American astrophysicist and dissident from Albuquerque, New Mexico, who campaigned against arms race, nuclear weapons and nuclear waste, and ran for the U.S. presidency. Media coverage of his hunger strike by the Communist press and television was seen as a Cold War retaliation to Andrei Sakharov, a Soviet scientist whose protest in turn was rallied by the Western media but received little or no coverage in the Soviet Bloc. By the end of his strike Hyder achieved superstar status in the USSR and the allied socialist countries, his name became nearly symbolic behind the Iron Curtain, though he remained little known in the United States, and apart from his wartime tour of duty never traveled outside the U.S.

Mack Jones, American baseball player (born 1938)

Mack Fletcher Jones, nicknamed "Mack The Knife", was an American Major League Baseball left fielder who played for the Milwaukee / Atlanta Braves (1961–1967), Cincinnati Reds (1968), and Montreal Expos (1969–1971). He batted left-handed, threw right-handed and was listed as 6 feet 1 inch (1.85 m) tall and 180 pounds (82 kg).

08/06/2001

Alex de Renzy, American director and producer (born 1935)

Alexander de Renzy was an American director and producer of pornographic movies.

08/06/2000

Frédéric Dard, French author and screenwriter (born 1921)

Frédéric Charles Antoine Dard ) also known under the pen name San-Antonio, was a French writer. Known as an author of crime fiction and as a humorist, he was noted for his ability to blend the two genres. Though Dard also wrote serious fiction, his most successful books used a farcical tone.

08/06/1998

Sani Abacha, Nigerian general and politician, 10th President of Nigeria (born 1943)

Sani Abacha was a Nigerian military dictator and statesman who ruled Nigeria as military head of state from 1993, following a palace coup d'état, until his death in 1998.

Maria Reiche, German mathematician and archaeologist (born 1903)

Maria Reiche Grosse-Neumann was a German-born Peruvian mathematician, archaeologist, and technical translator. She is known for her research into the Nazca Lines, which she first saw in 1941 together with American historian Paul Kosok. Known as the "Lady of the Lines", Reiche made the documentation, preservation and public dissemination of the Nazca Lines her life's work.

08/06/1997

George Turner, Australian author and critic (born 1916)

George Reginald Turner was an Australian writer and critic, best known for the science fiction novels written in the later part of his career. His first science fiction story and novel appeared in 1978, when he was in his early sixties. By this point, however, he had already achieved success as a mainstream novelist, including a Miles Franklin Award, and as a literary critic.

Karen Wetterhahn, American chemist and academic (born 1948)

Karen Elizabeth Wetterhahn, also known as Karen Wetterhahn Jennette, was an American professor of chemistry at Dartmouth College in Hanover, New Hampshire, who specialized in toxic metal exposure. She died of mercury poisoning at the age of 48 due to accidental exposure to the extremely toxic organic mercury compound dimethylmercury. Protective gloves in use at the time of the incident provided insufficient protection, and exposure to only one or two drops of the dimethylmercury absorbed through the gloves proved to be fatal after less than a year.

08/06/1995

Juan Carlos Onganía, Argentine general and politician, 35th President of Argentina (born 1914)

Juan Carlos Onganía Carballo was President of Argentina from 29 June 1966 to 8 June 1970. He rose to power as dictator after toppling the president Arturo Illia in a coup d'état self-named "Argentine Revolution".

08/06/1987

Alexander Iolas, Egyptian-American art collector (born 1907)

Alexander Iolas was an Egyptian-born Greek-American art gallerist and significant collector of classical and modern art works, who advanced the careers of René Magritte, Andy Warhol and many other artists. He established the modern model of the global art business, operating successful galleries in Paris, Geneva, Milan and New York.

08/06/1984

Gordon Jacob, English composer and academic (born 1895)

Gordon Percival Septimus Jacob CBE was an English composer and teacher. He was a professor at the Royal College of Music in London from 1924 until his retirement in 1966, and published four books and many articles about music. As a composer he was prolific: the list of his works totals more than 700, mostly compositions of his own, but a substantial minority of orchestrations and arrangements of other composers' works. Those music he orchestrated range from William Byrd to Edward Elgar to Noël Coward.

08/06/1982

Satchel Paige, American baseball player (born 1906)

Leroy Robert "Satchel" Paige was an American professional baseball pitcher who played in Negro league baseball and Major League Baseball (MLB). His career spanned five decades and culminated with his induction into the National Baseball Hall of Fame.

08/06/1976

Thorleif Schjelderup-Ebbe, Norwegian zoologist and psychologist (born 1894)

Thorleif Schjelderup-Ebbe was a Norwegian zoologist and comparative psychologist. He was the first person to describe a pecking order of hens, a discovery that contributed to understanding dominance hierarchies across species and influenced the field of ethology.

08/06/1971

J. I. Rodale, American author and playwright (born 1898)

Jerome Irving Rodale was a publisher, editor, and author who founded Rodale, Inc. in Emmaus, Pennsylvania, and The Rodale Institute, formerly the Soil Health Foundation.

08/06/1970

Abraham Maslow, American psychologist and academic (born 1908)

Abraham Harold Maslow was an American psychologist who created Maslow's hierarchy of needs, a theory of psychological health predicated on fulfilling innate human needs in priority, culminating in self-actualization.

08/06/1969

Arunachalam Mahadeva, Sri Lankan politician and diplomat (born 1885)

Arunachalam Mahadeva, KCMG was a Ceylon Tamil lawyer, politician and diplomat. He served as Minister of Home Affairs (1942-1946) and High Commissioner to India (1948-1949).

Robert Taylor, American actor (born 1911)

Robert Taylor was an American film and television actor and singer who was one of the most popular leading men of his era.

08/06/1968

Elizabeth Enright, American author and illustrator (born 1909)

Elizabeth Wright Enright Gillham was an American writer of children's books, an illustrator, writer of short stories for adults, literary critic and teacher of creative writing. Perhaps best known as the Newbery Medal-winning author of Thimble Summer (1938) and the Newbery runner-up Gone-Away Lake (1957), she also wrote the popular Melendy quartet. A Newbery Medal laureate and a multiple winner of the O. Henry Award, her short stories and articles for adults appeared in many popular magazines and have been reprinted in anthologies and textbooks.

Ludovico Scarfiotti, Italian racing driver (born 1933)

Ludovico Scarfiotti was an Italian racing driver, who competed in Formula One from 1963 to 1968. Scarfiotti won the 1966 Italian Grand Prix with Ferrari. In endurance racing, Scarfiotti won the 24 Hours of Le Mans and the 12 Hours of Sebring, both in 1963 with Ferrari.

08/06/1966

Anton Melik, Slovenian geographer and academic (born 1890)

Anton Melik was a Slovene geographer.

08/06/1956

Marie Laurencin, French painter and sculptor (born 1883)

Marie Laurencin was a French painter and printmaker. She became an important figure in the Parisian avant-garde as a member of the Cubists associated with the Section d'Or.

08/06/1951

Eugène Fiset, Canadian physician, general, and politician, 18th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec (born 1874)

Major-General Sir Marie-Joseph-Eugène Fiset, was a Canadian physician, military officer, Deputy Minister of Militia and Defence, Member of Parliament, the 18th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec, and the 3rd Canadian Surgeon General.

08/06/1919

Cora Agnes Benneson, American attorney (born 1851)

Cora Agnes Benneson was an American attorney, lecturer, and writer. She was one of the first women to practice law in New England. Benneson was raised in Quincy, Illinois, to parents involved in local politics, religious organizing, and philanthropy; her parents regularly invited prominent guests to their home, including the writers and philosophers Amos Bronson Alcott and Ralph Waldo Emerson. Benneson began her university studies in 1875 at the University of Michigan, where she earned a Bachelor of Arts in 1878, a Bachelor of Laws in 1880, and a Master of Arts in 1883. After earning her master's degree, she was admitted to the bars of Illinois and Michigan.

08/06/1913

Emily Davison, English suffragette (born 1872)

Emily Wilding Davison was an English suffragette who fought for votes for women in Britain in the early twentieth century. A member of the Women's Social and Political Union (WSPU) and a militant fighter for her cause, she was arrested on nine occasions, went on hunger strike seven times and was force-fed on forty-nine occasions. She died after being hit by King George V's horse Anmer at the 1913 Derby when she walked onto the track during the race.

08/06/1899

Mary of the Divine Heart, German nun and saint (born 1863)

Mary of the Divine Heart, born Maria Droste zu Vischering, was a German noblewoman and religious sister of the Catholic Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd. She is best known for having influenced Pope Leo XIII to consecrate the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Pope Leo XIII called the solemn consecration "the greatest act of my pontificate".

08/06/1889

Gerard Manley Hopkins, English poet (born 1844)

Gerard Manley Hopkins was an English poet and Jesuit priest, whose posthumous fame places him among the leading English poets. His prosody – notably his concept of sprung rhythm – established him as an innovator, as did his praise of God through vivid use of imagery and nature.

08/06/1885

Ignace Bourget, Canadian bishop (born 1799)

Ignace Bourget was a Canadian Catholic prelate who served as Bishop of Montreal from 1840 to 1876.

08/06/1876

George Sand, French author and playwright (born 1804)

Amantine Lucile Aurore Dupin de Francueil, best known by her pen name George Sand, was a French novelist, memoirist and journalist. Being more renowned than either Victor Hugo or Honoré de Balzac in Britain in the 1830s and 1840s, Sand is recognised as one of the most notable writers of the European Romantic era. She has more than 50 volumes of various works to her credit, including tales, plays and political texts, alongside her 70 novels.

08/06/1874

Cochise, American tribal chief (born 1805)

Cochise was the leader of the Chiricahui local group of the Chokonen and principal nantan of the Chokonen band of a Chiricahua Apache. A key war leader during the Apache Wars, he led an uprising that began in 1861 and persisted until a peace treaty was negotiated in 1872. Cochise County is named after him.

08/06/1857

Douglas William Jerrold, English journalist and playwright (born 1803)

Douglas William Jerrold was an English dramatist, journalist, and writer, best known for his satirical wit, his socially critical essays, and his association with the early years of Punch magazine. A prominent figure in Victorian literary and theatrical life, he achieved popular success with plays such as Black-Eyed Susan and was noted for his advocacy of social reform through journalism and drama.

08/06/1846

Rodolphe Töpffer, Swiss teacher, author, painter, cartoonist, and caricaturist (born 1799)

Rodolphe Töpffer was a Swiss teacher, author, painter, cartoonist, and caricaturist. He is best known for his illustrated books, which are possibly the earliest European comics. He is known as the father of comic strips and has been credited as the "first comics artist in history."

08/06/1845

Andrew Jackson, American general, judge, and politician, 7th President of the United States (born 1767)

Andrew Jackson was the seventh president of the United States from 1829 to 1837. He rose to fame as a U.S. Army general and served in both houses of the U.S. Congress. His political philosophy, which dominated his presidency, became the basis for the rise of Jacksonian democracy. His legacy is controversial: he has been praised as an advocate for white working Americans and preserving the union of states, and criticized for his racist policies, particularly towards Native Americans.

08/06/1835

Gian Domenico Romagnosi, Italian economist and jurist (born 1761)

Gian Domenico Romagnosi was an Italian philosopher, economist and jurist.

08/06/1831

Sarah Siddons, Welsh actress (born 1755)

Sarah Siddons was a Welsh actress, the best-known tragedienne of the 18th century. Contemporaneous critic William Hazlitt dubbed Siddons as "tragedy personified".

08/06/1809

Thomas Paine, English-American theorist and author (born 1737)

Thomas Paine was an English-born American Founding Father, inventor, political philosopher, and statesman. His pamphlets Common Sense (1776) and The American Crisis (1776–1783) framed the Patriot argument for independence from Great Britain at the outset of the American Revolution. Paine advanced Enlightenment-era arguments for human rights that shaped revolutionary discourse on both sides of the Atlantic.

08/06/1795

Louis XVII of France (born 1785)

Louis XVII was the younger son of King Louis XVI of France and Queen Marie Antoinette. His older brother, Louis Joseph, Dauphin of France, died in June 1789, a little over a month before the start of the French Revolution. At his brother's death he became the new Dauphin, a title he held until 1791, when the new constitution accorded the heir apparent the title of Prince Royal.

08/06/1771

George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (born 1716)

George Montagu-Dunk, 2nd Earl of Halifax was a British statesman of the Georgian era. Due to his success in extending commerce in the Americas, he became known as the "father of the colonies". President of the Board of Trade from 1748 to 1761, he aided the foundation of Nova Scotia, 1749, the capital Halifax being named after him. When Canada was ceded to the King of Great Britain by the King of France, following the Treaty of Paris of 1763, he restricted its boundaries and renamed it "Province of Quebec".

08/06/1768

Johann Joachim Winckelmann, German archaeologist and scholar (born 1717)

Johann Joachim Winckelmann was a German art historian and archaeologist. He was a pioneering Hellenist who first articulated the differences between Greek, Greco-Roman and Roman art. "The prophet and founding hero of modern archaeology", Winckelmann was one of the founders of scientific archaeology and first applied the categories of style on a large, systematic basis to the history of art. Many consider him the father of the discipline of art history. He was one of the first to separate Greek art into periods and time classifications.

08/06/1727

August Hermann Francke, German-Lutheran pietist, philanthropist, and scholar (born 1663)

August Hermann Francke was a German Lutheran pastor, theologian, philanthropist, and Biblical scholar. His evangelistic fervour and Pietism got him expelled as lecturer from the universities of Dresden and Leipzig and as deacon from Erfurt. In 1691 he found his calling at the University of Halle, where he turned towards the education of underprivileged children; he founded an orphan asylum, a Latin school, a German school, a Gynaeceum, the first Protestant higher girls school, and a seminary for training teachers. Francke's schools provided a prototype, which greatly influenced later German education.

08/06/1716

Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine, German son of Landgravine Elisabeth Amalie of Hesse-Darmstadt (born 1658)

John William, Elector Palatine of the Wittelsbach dynasty was Elector Palatine (1690–1716), Duke of Neuburg (1690–1716), Duke of Jülich and Berg (1679–1716), and Duke of Upper Palatinate and Cham (1707–1714). From 1697 onwards Johann Wilhelm was also Count of Megen.

08/06/1714

Sophia of Hanover, German nobility, ancestress of all British Monarchs since 1714 (born 1630)

Sophia was Electress of Hanover from 1692 to 1698 as the consort of Prince-Elector Ernest Augustus. She was later the heiress presumptive to the thrones of England, and Ireland under the Act of Settlement 1701, as she was the granddaughter of King James VI and I. Sophia died less than two months before she would have become Queen of Great Britain and Ireland. Consequently, her son George succeeded her first cousin once removed, Queen Anne, to the British throne. The succession to the throne has since been composed entirely of, and legally defined as, Sophia's legitimate Protestant descendants.

08/06/1651

Tokugawa Iemitsu, Japanese shōgun (born 1604)

Tokugawa Iemitsu was a Japanese samurai, daimyo and the third shōgun of the Tokugawa dynasty. He was the eldest son of Tokugawa Hidetada with Oeyo, and the grandson of Tokugawa Ieyasu. Lady Kasuga was his wet nurse, who acted as his political adviser and was at the forefront of shogunate negotiations with the Imperial court. Iemitsu ruled from 1623 to 1651; during this period he crucified Christians, expelled all Europeans from Japan and closed the borders of the country, a foreign policy that continued for over 200 years after its institution.

08/06/1628

Rudolph Goclenius, German lexicographer and philosopher (born 1547)

Rudolph Goclenius the Elder was a German scholastic philosopher. He is sometimes credited with coining the term psychology in 1590, though the term had been used by Pier Nicola Castellani and Gerhard Synellius 65 years earlier.

08/06/1621

Anne de Xainctonge, French saint, founded the Society of the Sisters of Saint Ursula of the Blessed Virgin (born 1567)

Anne de Xainctonge was a French religious sister who founded of the Society of the Sisters of Saint Ursula of the Blessed Virgin. She was declared venerable by the Roman Catholic Church in 1991.

08/06/1612

Hans Leo Hassler, German organist and composer (born 1562)

Hans Leo Hassler was a German composer and organist of the late Renaissance and early Baroque eras, elder brother of lesser known composer Jakob Hassler. He was born in Nuremberg and died in Frankfurt.

08/06/1611

Jean Bertaut, French bishop and poet (born 1552)

Jean Bertaut, French poet, was born at Caen.

08/06/1600

Edward Fortunatus, German nobleman (born 1565)

Edward Fortunatus of Baden was Margrave of Baden-Rodemachern and Baden-Baden.

08/06/1505

Hongzhi Emperor of China (born 1470)

The Hongzhi Emperor, personal name Zhu Youcheng, was the tenth emperor of the Ming dynasty, reigning from 1487 to 1505. He succeeded his father, the Chenghua Emperor.

08/06/1501

George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly, Earl of Huntly and Lord Chancellor of Scotland (born 1440)

George Gordon, 2nd Earl of Huntly was a Scottish nobleman and Chancellor of Scotland from 1498 to 1501.

08/06/1492

Elizabeth Woodville, Queen consort of England (born 1437)

Elizabeth Woodville, known as Dame Elizabeth Grey during her first marriage, was Queen of England from 1 May 1464 until 3 October 1470 and from 11 April 1471 until 9 April 1483 as the wife of King Edward IV. She was a key figure in the Wars of the Roses, a dynastic civil war between the Lancastrian and the Yorkist factions between 1455 and 1487.

08/06/1476

George Neville, English archbishop and academic (born 1432)

George Neville was Archbishop of York from 1465 until 1476 and Chancellor of England from 1460 until 1467 and again from 1470 until 1471.

08/06/1405

Richard le Scrope, Archbishop of York (born c. 1350)

Richard le Scrope was an English cleric who served as Bishop of Coventry and Lichfield and Archbishop of York and was executed in 1405 for his participation in the Northern Rising against King Henry IV.

Thomas de Mowbray, 4th Earl of Norfolk (born 1385)

Thomas de Mowbray, 4th Earl of Norfolk, 2nd Earl of Nottingham, 8th Baron Segrave, 7th Baron Mowbray, English nobleman and rebel, was the son of Thomas de Mowbray, 1st Duke of Norfolk, and Lady Elizabeth FitzAlan.

08/06/1384

Kan'ami, Japanese actor and playwright (born 1333)

Kan'ami Kiyotsugu was a Japanese Noh actor, author, and musician during the Muromachi period. Born Yūzaki Kiyotsugu in Iga Province, Kan'ami also went by Miyomaru (観世丸) and Kanze Kiyotsugu . He is the father of the well-known playwright Zeami Motokiyo .

08/06/1383

Thomas de Ros, 4th Baron de Ros, English politician (born 1338)

Thomas Ros, 4th Baron Ros of Helmsley was the son of William Ros, 2nd Baron Ros and Margery de Badlesmere.

08/06/1376

Edward, the Black Prince, English son of Edward III of England (born 1330)

Edward of Woodstock, known as the Black Prince, was the eldest son and heir apparent of King Edward III of England. He died before his father, and his son Richard II therefore succeeded to the throne instead. Edward was one of the most successful English commanders of the Hundred Years' War (1337–1453). He was regarded by English contemporaries as a model of chivalry and one of the greatest knights of his era.

08/06/1290

Beatrice Portinari, object of Dante Alighieri's adoration (born 1266)

Beatrice "Bice" di Folco Portinari was an Italian woman who has been commonly identified as the principal inspiration for Dante Alighieri's Vita Nuova, and is also identified with the Beatrice who acts as his guide in the last book of his narrative poem the Divine Comedy, Paradiso, and during the conclusion of the preceding Purgatorio. In the Comedy, Beatrice symbolises divine grace and theology.

08/06/1154

William of York, English archbishop and saint

William of York was an English priest and twice Archbishop of York, before and after a rival, Henry Murdac. He was thought to be related to King Stephen of England, who helped to secure his election to the province after several candidates had failed to gain papal confirmation. William faced opposition from the Cistercians, who after the election of the Cistercian Pope Eugene III, had William deposed in favour of a Cistercian, Murdac. From 1147 until 1153, William worked to be restored to York, which he achieved after the deaths of Murdac and Eugene III. He did not hold the province long, dying shortly after his return, allegedly from poison in the chalice he used to celebrate Mass. Miracles were reported at his tomb from 1177. He was canonised in 1226.

08/06/1042

Harthacnut, English-Danish king (born 1018)

Harthacnut was King of Denmark from 1035, and King of England from 1040 until his death in 1042. He was the last monarch of the North Sea Empire, an empire consisting of England and Denmark, and was also the last monarch of the House of Knýtlinga.

08/06/0951

Zhao Ying, Chinese chancellor (born 885)

Zhao Ying, courtesy name Yuanhui (元輝), was a Chinese historian, military general, and politician of the Chinese Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms period Later Tang and Later Jin states, serving as a chancellor during Later Jin.

08/06/0696

Chlodulf, bishop of Metz (or 697)

Saint Chlodulf was bishop of Metz approximately from 657 to 697.

08/06/0632

Muhammad, the central figure of Islam. (born 570/571)

Muhammad was an Arab religious, military, and political leader, and the founder of Islam. According to Islam, he was the final prophet of God who was divinely inspired to preach and confirm the monotheistic teachings of Adam, Noah, Abraham, Moses, Jesus, and other prophets in Islam. He is believed by Muslims to be the Seal of the Prophets, and along with the Quran, his teachings and normative examples form the basis for Islamic religious belief.

Celebrations & Special Days Worldwide on 8th June

Christian feast day: Chlodulf of Metz

Saint Chlodulf was bishop of Metz approximately from 657 to 697.

Christian feast day: Jacques Berthieu, S.J.

Jacques Berthieu, SJ was a French Jesuit priest and missionary in Madagascar. He was murdered during the Menalamba rebellion of 1896. He is the first martyr of Madagascar to be beatified. He was canonized by Pope Benedict XVI in 2012.

Christian feast day: Jadwiga (Hedwig) of Poland

Jadwiga, also known as Hedwig, was the first female monarch of the Kingdom of Poland, as well as its last hereditary ruler. She reigned from 16 October 1384 until her death. Born in Buda, she was the youngest daughter of Louis I of Hungary and his wife, Elizabeth of Bosnia. Jadwiga was a member of the Capetian House of Anjou and had forebears among the Polish Piasts.

Christian feast day: Mariam Thresia Chiramel

Mariam Thresia was an Indian Syro-Malabar Catholic professed religious and the founder of the Congregation of the Holy Family. She was born in Puthenchira, a village in present day Kerala, India. Thresia Mankidiyan became known for receiving frequent visions and ecstasies as well as even receiving the stigmata which she kept well-guarded. She had been involved in apostolic work her entire life and pushed for strict adherence to the rule of her order amongst her fellow religious.

Christian feast day: Blessed Mary of the Divine Heart (Droste zu Vischering)

Mary of the Divine Heart, born Maria Droste zu Vischering, was a German noblewoman and religious sister of the Catholic Congregation of Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd. She is best known for having influenced Pope Leo XIII to consecrate the world to the Sacred Heart of Jesus. Pope Leo XIII called the solemn consecration "the greatest act of my pontificate".

Christian feast day: Medard

Medardus or Medard was the Bishop of Noyon. He moved the seat of the diocese from Vermand to Noviomagus Veromanduorum in northern France. Medardus was one of the most honored bishops of his time, often depicted laughing, with his mouth wide open, and therefore he was invoked against toothache.

Christian feast day: Melania the Elder

Melania the Elder, Latin Melania Maior was a Desert Mother who was an influential figure in the Christian ascetic movement that sprang up in the generation after the Emperor Constantine made Christianity a legal religion of the Roman Empire. She was a contemporary of, and well known to, Abba Macarius and other Desert Fathers in Egypt, Jerome, Augustine of Hippo, Paulinus of Nola, and Evagrius of Pontus, and she founded two religious communities on the Mount of Olives in Jerusalem. She stands out for the double monastery she founded - a convent for herself, and a second monastery for monks dedicated to her spiritual companion, Rufinus of Aquileia, which belong to the earliest Christian monastic communities, and because she promoted the asceticism which she, as a follower of Origen, considered indispensable for salvation.

Christian feast day: Roland Allen (Episcopal Church (USA))

Roland Allen was an English missionary to China sent by the Society for the Propagation of the Gospel (SPG).

Christian feast day: Thomas Ken (Church of England)

Thomas Ken was an English cleric who was considered the most eminent of the English non-juring bishops, and one of the developers of modern English hymnody. He is the writer of the hymn Awake My Soul and with the Sun.

Christian feast day: William of York

William of York was an English priest and twice Archbishop of York, before and after a rival, Henry Murdac. He was thought to be related to King Stephen of England, who helped to secure his election to the province after several candidates had failed to gain papal confirmation. William faced opposition from the Cistercians, who after the election of the Cistercian Pope Eugene III, had William deposed in favour of a Cistercian, Murdac. From 1147 until 1153, William worked to be restored to York, which he achieved after the deaths of Murdac and Eugene III. He did not hold the province long, dying shortly after his return, allegedly from poison in the chalice he used to celebrate Mass. Miracles were reported at his tomb from 1177. He was canonised in 1226.

Christian feast day: June 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

June 7 - Eastern Orthodox Church calendar - June 9

First Indochina War day (France)

The First Indochina War, known alternatively internationally as the French Indochina War, was fought in French Indochina between France and the Viet Minh and their respective allies, from 19 December 1946 until 11 August 1954. Most of the engagements of this conflict occurred in Vietnam.

Bounty Day (Norfolk Island)

Bounty Day is a holiday on both Pitcairn Island, destination of the Bounty mutineers, and on Norfolk Island. It is celebrated on 23 January on Pitcairn, and on 8 June on Norfolk Island, the day that the descendants of the mutineers arrived on the respective islands. It is named for HMS Bounty, although the ship never saw Norfolk Island.

Caribbean American HIV/AIDS Awareness Day

HIV.gov, formerly known as AIDS.gov, is an internet portal for all United States federal domestic HIV and AIDS resources and information. On World AIDS Day, December 1, 2006, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services launched AIDS.gov. The site contains content and links that guide users to their desired information.

Engineer's Day (Peru)

Engineer's Day is observed in several countries on various dates of the year.

Primož Trubar Day (Slovenia)

Primož Trubar or Primus Truber was a Slovene Protestant Reformer of the Lutheran tradition, mostly known as the author of the first Slovene language printed book, the founder and the first superintendent of the Protestant Church of the Duchy of Carniola, and for consolidating the Slovenian language. Trubar introduced The Reformation in Slovenia, leading the Austrian Habsburgs to wage the Counter-Reformation, which a small Protestant community survived. Trubar is a key figure of Slovenian history and in many aspects a major historical personality.

World Brain Tumor Day

The Deutsche Hirntumorhilfe e.V. is a non-profit organisation based in Leipzig which provides information and support to brain tumor patients. Since its founding in 1998 more than 500 members from fourteen nations have been registered. The association is supported by patients and their family members as well as health professionals and scientists. A key goal is to seek a cure for brain tumors.

World Oceans Day

World Ocean Day (WOD) is an international day that takes place annually on June 8. The concept was originally proposed in 1992 by Canada's International Centre for Ocean Development (ICOD) and the Ocean Institute of Canada (OIC) at the Earth Summit – UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. "World Oceans Day" was officially recognized by the United Nations in 2008. The international day supports the implementation of worldwide Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and fosters public interest in the protection of the ocean and the sustainable management of its resources. World Oceans Day is observed by all UN member states.

What Happened on 8th June?

49 significant events took place on Thursday, 8th June — stretching from 218 to 2023. Explore the moments that shaped history on this day.

08/06/2023

Former US President Donald Trump is indicted on federal charges of misusing classified information.

Donald John Trump is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party, he served as the 45th president from 2017 to 2021.

08/06/2007

Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, is hit by the State's worst storms and flooding in 30 years resulting in the death of nine people and the grounding of a trade ship, the MV Pasha Bulker.

Newcastle, also known as Greater Newcastle, is a large metropolitan area and the second-most-populous such area of New South Wales, Australia. It includes the cities of Newcastle and Lake Macquarie and it is the hub of the Lower Hunter region, which includes most parts of the cities of Newcastle, Lake Macquarie, Maitland, Cessnock, and Port Stephens Council. Newcastle is also known by its colloquial nickname, Newy. A Newcastle resident can also be known as a Novocastrian.

Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on STS-117 carrying two truss segments and solar arrays to the International Space Station.

Space Shuttle Atlantis is a retired Space Shuttle orbiter vehicle which belongs to NASA, the spaceflight and space exploration agency of the United States. Atlantis was manufactured by the Rockwell International company in Southern California and was delivered to the Kennedy Space Center in Eastern Florida in April 1985. Atlantis is the fourth operational and the second-to-last Space Shuttle built. Its maiden flight was STS-51-J made from October 3 to 7, 1985.

08/06/2004

The first Venus Transit in well over a century takes place, the previous one being in 1882.

A transit of Venus was observed from Earth on 8 June 2004. The event received significant attention, since it was the first Venus transit after the invention of broadcast media. No human alive at the time had witnessed a previous Venus transit since that transit occurred on 6 December 1882 in the 19th century.

08/06/2001

Mamoru Takuma kills eight and injures 15 in a mass stabbing at an elementary school in the Osaka Prefecture of Japan.

Mamoru Takuma was a Japanese mass murderer who killed eight children in the Ikeda school massacre in Ikeda, Osaka Prefecture, on 8 June 2001.

08/06/1995

Downed U.S. Air Force pilot Captain Scott O'Grady is rescued by U.S. Marines in Bosnia.

Captain in the U.S. Army (USA), U.S. Marine Corps (USMC), U.S. Air Force (USAF), and U.S. Space Force (USSF) is a company-grade officer rank, with the pay grade of O-3. It ranks above first lieutenant and below major. It is equivalent to the rank of lieutenant in the Navy/Coast Guard officer rank system and is different from the higher Navy/Coast Guard rank of captain. The insignia for the rank consists of two silver bars, with slight stylized differences between the Army/Air Force version and the Marine Corps version.

08/06/1992

The first World Oceans Day is celebrated, coinciding with the Earth Summit held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

World Ocean Day (WOD) is an international day that takes place annually on June 8. The concept was originally proposed in 1992 by Canada's International Centre for Ocean Development (ICOD) and the Ocean Institute of Canada (OIC) at the Earth Summit – UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. "World Oceans Day" was officially recognized by the United Nations in 2008. The international day supports the implementation of worldwide Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and fosters public interest in the protection of the ocean and the sustainable management of its resources. World Oceans Day is observed by all UN member states.

GP Express Airlines Flight 861 crashes on approach to Anniston Regional Airport in Anniston, Alabama, killing three.

GP Express Airlines Flight 861, from Hartsfield–Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia to Anniston Metropolitan Airport in Anniston, Alabama, crashed while attempting to land at approximately 8:04 a.m. CDT on June 8, 1992. The Beechcraft Model 99 had four passengers and a crew of two on board. Two passengers and the captain received fatal injuries. All three survivors were seriously injured.

08/06/1987

New Zealand's Labour government establishes a national nuclear-free zone under the New Zealand Nuclear Free Zone, Disarmament, and Arms Control Act 1987.

New Zealand is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island and the South Island —and over 600 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island country by area and lies east of Australia across the Tasman Sea and south of the islands of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga. The country's varied topography and sharp mountain peaks, including the Southern Alps, owe much to tectonic uplift and volcanic eruptions. New Zealand's capital city is Wellington, and its most populous city is Auckland.

08/06/1984

Homosexuality is decriminalized in the Australian state of New South Wales.

Homosexuality is romantic attraction, sexual attraction, or sexual behavior between people of the same sex or gender. It also denotes identity based on attraction, related behavior, and community affiliation.

08/06/1983

Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8 loses one of its propellers in flight resulting in damage to the flight controls. The Lockheed L-188 Electra makes an emergency landing at Anchorage International Airport and there are no injuries.

Reeve Aleutian Airways Flight 8 was an American domestic flight from Cold Bay, Alaska, to Seattle, Washington, on June 8, 1983. Shortly after takeoff, the Lockheed L-188 Electra of Reeve Aleutian Airways was travelling over the Pacific Ocean when one of the propellers broke away from its engine and struck the fuselage, damaging the flight controls. The pilots were able to make an emergency landing at Anchorage International Airport; none of the 15 passengers and crew on board were injured in the accident.

08/06/1982

Bluff Cove Air Attacks during the Falklands War: Fifty-six British servicemen are killed by an Argentine air attack on two landing ships, RFA Sir Galahad and RFA Sir Tristram.

The Bluff Cove air attacks or the Battle of Bluff Cove occurred 8 June 1982, during the Falklands War. British troop transport ships were bombed by Argentine Air Force (FAA) Douglas A-4 Skyhawk fighter bombers at Port Pleasant, off Fitzroy, while transferring troops to Bluff Cove, with significant damage and casualties.

VASP Flight 168 crashes in Pacatuba, Ceará, Brazil, killing 128 people.

VASP Flight 168, a Boeing 727-212 registered PP-SRK, was a scheduled domestic passenger flight from São Paulo to Fortaleza, Brazil which, on June 8, 1982, crashed into a mountainside, while descending into Fortaleza, killing all 137 people on board.

08/06/1972

Vietnam War: Nine-year-old Phan Thị Kim Phúc is burned by napalm, an event captured by Associated Press photographer Nick Ut moments later while the young girl is seen running naked down a road, in what would become an iconic, Pulitzer Prize-winning photo.

The Vietnam War was an armed conflict in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia fought between North Vietnam and South Vietnam and their allies. North Vietnam was supported by the Soviet Union and China, while South Vietnam was supported by the United States and other anti-communist nations. The conflict was the second of the Indochina wars and a proxy war of the Cold War between the Soviet Union and US. The Vietnam War was one of the postcolonial wars of national liberation, a theater in the Cold War, and a civil war, with civil warfare a defining feature from the outset. Direct US military involvement escalated from 1965 until US forces were withdrawn in 1973. The fighting spilled into the Laotian and Cambodian civil wars, which ended with all three countries becoming communist in 1975.

08/06/1968

James Earl Ray, the man who assassinated Martin Luther King Jr. is arrested at London Heathrow Airport.

James Earl Ray was an American fugitive who was convicted of the assassination of Martin Luther King Jr. at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, on April 4, 1968. After the assassination, Ray, who had planned on living in exile in Rhodesia, fled to London and was captured there. Ray was convicted in 1969 after entering a guilty plea—thus forgoing a jury trial and the possibility of a death sentence—and was sentenced to 99 years of imprisonment. He later made many attempts to withdraw his guilty plea and to be tried by a jury, but was unsuccessful.

08/06/1967

Six-Day War: The USS Liberty incident: A United States Navy spy ship is attacked by the Israeli Air Force and Navy, resulting in 34 deaths and 171 wounded.

The Six-Day War, or the 1967 Arab–Israeli war, was fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states, primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan, in the context of the Arab–Israeli conflict. In the war, Israel captured and occupied the West Bank from Jordan, the Gaza Strip and the Sinai Peninsula from Egypt, and the Golan Heights from Syria.

08/06/1966

An F-104 Starfighter collides with XB-70 Valkyrie prototype no. 2, destroying both aircraft during a photo shoot near Edwards Air Force Base. Joseph A. Walker, a NASA test pilot, and Carl Cross, a United States Air Force test pilot, are both killed.

The Lockheed F-104 Starfighter is an American single-engine, supersonic interceptor. Created as a day fighter by Lockheed as one of the "Century Series" of fighter aircraft for the United States Air Force (USAF), it was developed into an all-weather multirole aircraft in the early 1960s and extensively deployed as a fighter-bomber during the Cold War. It was also produced under license by other nations and saw widespread service outside the United States.

Topeka, Kansas, United States is devastated by a tornado that registers as an "F5" on the Fujita scale, exceeding US$200 million in damages. Seventeen people are killed, over five hundred more injured, and thousands of homes damaged or destroyed.

Topeka is the capital city of the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Shawnee County. It is along the Kansas River in the central part of Shawnee County, in northeastern Kansas, in the Central United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 126,587.

08/06/1961

Marriage of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent to Katharine Worsley at York Minster.

The wedding of Prince Edward, Duke of Kent, and Katharine Worsley took place on Thursday, 8 June 1961, at York Minster in York, England. The Duke of Kent is the eldest son of Prince George, Duke of Kent, and Princess Marina of Greece and Denmark, while Katharine Worsley was the only daughter and fourth child of landowner Sir William Worsley, 4th Baronet.

08/06/1959

USS Barbero and the United States Postal Service attempt the delivery of mail via Missile Mail.

USS Barbero (SS/SSA/SSG-317) was a Balao-class submarine of the United States Navy, named for a family of fishes commonly called surgeon fish.

08/06/1953

An F5 tornado hits Beecher, Michigan, United States, killing 116, injuring 844, and destroying 340 homes.

During the evening hours of Monday, June 8, 1953, a large and extremely violent tornado struck the north side of Flint, Michigan and the northern suburb of Beecher, causing catastrophic damage and hundreds of casualties. Rated as an F5 on the Fujita Scale, the tornado touched down in Genesee County, Michigan, at 8:30 p.m. EST and continued on a 18.6-mile-path (29.9 km), causing 116 fatalities, 844 injuries and an estimated $19 million in damage.

The United States Supreme Court rules in District of Columbia v. John R. Thompson Co. that restaurants in Washington, D.C., cannot refuse to serve black patrons.

The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that turn on questions of U.S. constitutional or federal law. It also has original jurisdiction over a narrow range of cases, specifically "all Cases affecting Ambassadors, other public Ministers and Consuls, and those in which a State shall be Party". In 1803, the court asserted itself the power of judicial review, the ability to invalidate a statute for violating a provision of the Constitution. It is also able to strike down presidential directives for violating either the Constitution or statutory law.

08/06/1949

George Orwell's dystopian novel Nineteen Eighty-Four is published in the United States

Eric Arthur Blair was an English novelist, poet, essayist, journalist, and critic who wrote under the pen name of George Orwell. His work is characterised by lucid prose, social criticism, opposition to all totalitarianism, and support of democratic socialism.

08/06/1943

World War II: The two-day Battle of Porta between the Royal Italian Army and the Greek People's Liberation Army begins.

The Battle of Porta was fought on 8–9 June 1943 at the Porta and Mouzaki passes in western Thessaly, between the partisans of the Greek People's Liberation Army (ELAS) and the Royal Italian Army, during the Axis occupation of Greece.

08/06/1942

World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy submarines I-21 and I-24 shell the Australian cities of Sydney and Newcastle.

The Imperial Japanese Navy (IJN) was the navy of the Empire of Japan from 1868 to 1945, when it was dissolved following Japan's surrender in World War II. The Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force (JMSDF) was formed between 1952 and 1954 after the dissolution of the IJN.

08/06/1941

World War II: The Allies commence the Syria–Lebanon Campaign against the possessions of Vichy France in the Levant.

The Allies, or Allied powers, formally referred to as the United Nations from 1942, were an international military coalition formed during World War II (1939–1945) to oppose the Axis powers. Its principal members were the "Big Four" — the United Kingdom, the Soviet Union, the United States, and China.

08/06/1940

World War II: The completion of Operation Alphabet, the evacuation of Allied forces from Narvik at the end of the Norwegian campaign.

World War II, or the Second World War, was a global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies and the Axis powers. Nearly all of the world's countries participated. Tanks and aircraft played major roles, the latter enabling the strategic bombing of cities and delivery of the only nuclear weapons used in war. World War II was the deadliest conflict in history, causing the death of 60 to 75 million people. Millions died as a result of massacres, starvation, disease, and genocides, including the Holocaust. After the Allied victory, Germany, Austria, Japan, and Korea were occupied, and German and Japanese leaders were tried for war crimes.

08/06/1929

Margaret Bondfield is appointed Minister of Labour. She is the first woman appointed to the Cabinet of the United Kingdom.

Margaret Grace Bondfield was a British Labour Party politician, trade unionist and women's rights activist. She became the first female cabinet minister, and the first woman to be a privy counsellor in the UK, when she was appointed Minister of Labour in the Labour government of 1929–31. She had earlier become the first woman to chair the General Council of the Trades Union Congress (TUC).

08/06/1928

Second Northern Expedition: The National Revolutionary Army captures Beijing, whose name is changed to Beiping ("Northern Peace").

The Northern Expedition was a military campaign launched by the National Revolutionary Army (NRA) of the Kuomintang (KMT) against the Beiyang government and other regional warlords in 1926. The purpose of the campaign was to reunify China, which had become fragmented in the aftermath of the 1911 Revolution. The expedition was led by Generalissimo Chiang Kai-shek, and was divided into two phases. The first phase ended in a 1927 political split between two factions of the KMT: the right-leaning Nanjing faction, led by Chiang, and the left-leaning faction in Wuhan, led by Wang Jingwei. The split was partially motivated by Chiang's Shanghai Massacre of Communists within the KMT, which marked the end of the First United Front. In an effort to mend this schism, Chiang Kai-shek stepped down as the commander of the NRA in August 1927, and went into exile in Japan.

08/06/1924

British Mount Everest expedition: British mountaineers Andrew Irvine and George Mallory go missing.

The 1924 British Mount Everest expedition was—after the 1922 British Mount Everest expedition—the 2nd expedition with the goal of achieving the first ascent of Mount Everest. After two summit attempts in which Edward Norton set a world altitude record of 8,572.8 metres (28,126 ft), the mountaineers George Mallory and Andrew "Sandy" Irvine disappeared on the third attempt. Their disappearance has given rise to the long-standing speculation of whether or not the pair might have reached the summit. Mallory's body was found in 1999 at 8,156 metres (26,760 ft), but the resulting clues did not provide any conclusive evidence as to whether the summit was reached. Irvine's partial remains were later found in 2024 by a National Geographic team during a descent of the Rongbuk Glacier by the North Face.

08/06/1906

Theodore Roosevelt signs the Antiquities Act into law, authorizing the President to restrict the use of certain parcels of public land with historical or conservation value.

Theodore Roosevelt Jr. was the 26th president of the United States, serving from 1901 to 1909. Previously serving six months as vice president under William McKinley, Roosevelt became president after McKinley's assassination in 1901. He was 42 years old upon his first inauguration, making him the youngest person to hold the office.

08/06/1887

Herman Hollerith applies for US patent #395,781 for the 'Art of Compiling Statistics', which was his punched card calculator.

Herman Hollerith was a German-American statistician, inventor, and businessman who developed an electromechanical tabulating machine for punched cards to assist in summarizing information and, later, in accounting. His invention of the punched card tabulating machine, patented in 1884, marks the beginning of the era of mechanized binary code and semiautomatic data processing systems, and his concept dominated that landscape for nearly a century.

08/06/1867

Coronation of Franz Joseph as King of Hungary following the Austro-Hungarian compromise (Ausgleich).

Franz Joseph I or Francis Joseph I was Emperor of Austria, King of Hungary, and the ruler of the other states of the Habsburg monarchy from 2 December 1848 until his death in 1916. In the early part of his reign, his realms and territories were referred to as the Austrian Empire, but in 1867 they were reconstituted as the dual monarchy of Austria-Hungary. From 1 May 1850 to 24 August 1866, he was also president of the German Confederation.

08/06/1862

American Civil War: A Confederate victory by forces under General Stonewall Jackson at the Battle of Cross Keys, along with the Battle of Port Republic the next day, prevents Union forces from reinforcing General George B. McClellan in his Peninsula campaign.

The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or the South, was an unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United States from 1861 to 1865. It comprised 11 U.S. states that declared secession: South Carolina, Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, Texas, Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, and North Carolina. These states fought against the United States during the American Civil War.

08/06/1861

American Civil War: Tennessee secedes from the Union.

The American Civil War was a civil war in the United States between the Union and the Confederacy, which was formed in 1861 by states that had seceded from the Union to preserve slavery in the United States, which they saw as threatened because of the election of Abraham Lincoln and the growing abolitionist movement in the North. The war ended with Union victory, the dissolution of the Confederacy and the abolition of slavery, freeing four million African Americans.

08/06/1856

A group of 194 Pitcairn Islanders, descendants of the mutineers of HMS Bounty, arrives at Norfolk Island, commencing the Third Settlement of the Island.

The Pitcairn Islands, officially Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno Islands, are a group of four volcanic islands in the southern Pacific Ocean that form the sole British Overseas Territory in the Pacific Ocean. The four islands—Pitcairn, Henderson, Ducie and Oeno—are scattered across several hundred kilometres of ocean and have a combined land area of about 47 square kilometres. Henderson Island accounts for 86% of the land area, but only Pitcairn Island is inhabited. The inhabited islands nearest to the Pitcairn Islands are Mangareva, 688 km to the west, as well as Easter Island, 1,929 km to the east.

08/06/1794

Maximilien Robespierre inaugurates the French Revolution's new state religion, the Cult of the Supreme Being, with large organized festivals all across France.

Maximilien François Marie Isidore de Robespierre was a French lawyer and statesman, widely recognised as one of the most influential figures of the French Revolution. Robespierre fervently campaigned for the voting rights of all men and their unimpeded admission to the National Guard. Additionally, he advocated the right to petition, the right to bear arms in self-defence, and the abolition of the Atlantic slave trade.

08/06/1789

James Madison introduces twelve proposed amendments to the United States Constitution in Congress.

James Madison was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the "Father of the Constitution" for his pivotal role in drafting and promoting the Constitution of the United States and the Bill of Rights.

08/06/1783

Laki, a volcano in Iceland, begins an eight-month eruption which kills over 9,000 people and starts a seven-year famine.

Laki or Lakagígar is a volcanic fissure in the western part of Vatnajökull National Park, Iceland, not far from the volcanic fissure of Eldgjá and the small village of Kirkjubæjarklaustur. The fissure is properly referred to as Lakagígar, while Laki is a mountain that the fissure bisects. Lakagígar is part of a volcanic system centered on the volcano Grímsvötn and including the volcano Þórðarhyrna. It lies between the glaciers of Mýrdalsjökull and Vatnajökull, in an area of fissures that run in a southwest to northeast direction.

08/06/1776

American Revolutionary War: Continental Army attackers are driven back at the Battle of Trois-Rivières.

The American Revolutionary War, also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence or simply the American Revolution, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which American Patriot forces organized as the Continental Army and commanded by George Washington defeated the British Army. The conflict was fought in North America, the Caribbean, and the Atlantic Ocean. The war's outcome seemed uncertain for most of the war, but Washington and the Continental Army's decisive victory in the Siege of Yorktown in 1781 led King George III and the Kingdom of Great Britain to negotiate an end to the war. In 1783, in the Treaty of Paris, the British monarchy acknowledged the independence of the Thirteen Colonies, leading to the establishment of the United States as an independent and sovereign nation.

08/06/1772

Alexander Fordyce flees to France to avoid debt repayment, triggering the credit crisis of 1772 in the British Empire and the Dutch Republic.

Alexander Fordyce was a Scottish banker, centrally involved in the bank run on Neale, James, Fordyce and Down which led to the credit crisis of 1772. He fled abroad and was declared bankrupt, but in time he used the profits from other investments to cover the losses.

08/06/1663

Portuguese Restoration War: Portuguese victory at the Battle of Ameixial ensures Portugal's independence from Spain.

The Restoration War between Portugal and Spain began with the Portuguese revolution of 1640 and ended with the Treaty of Lisbon in 1668, bringing a formal end to the Iberian Union. The period from 1640 to 1668 was marked by periodic skirmishes between Portugal and Spain, as well as short episodes of more serious warfare, much of it occasioned by Spanish and Portuguese entanglements with non-Iberian powers. Spain was involved in the Thirty Years' War until 1648 and the Franco-Spanish War until 1659, while Portugal was involved in the Dutch–Portuguese War until 1663.

08/06/1191

English forces under King Richard I arrive in Acre, joining the already arrived French and German forces of the Third Crusade.

Richard I, known as Richard the Lionheart or Richard Cœur de Lion because of his reputation as a great military leader and warrior, was King of England from 1189 until his death in 1199. He also ruled as Duke of Normandy, Aquitaine, and Gascony; Lord of Cyprus; Count of Poitiers, Anjou, Maine, and Nantes; and was overlord of Brittany at various times during the same period. He was the third of five sons of Henry II of England and Eleanor of Aquitaine and was therefore not expected to become king, but his two elder brothers predeceased their father.

08/06/1057

The Byzantine general Isaac Komnenos is proclaimed Byzantine Emperor in opposition to reigning emperor Michael VI Bringas.

Isaac I Komnenos or Comnenus was Byzantine emperor from 1057 to 1059, the first reigning member of the Komnenian dynasty.

08/06/1042

Edward the Confessor becomes King of England – the country's penultimate Anglo-Saxon king.

Edward the Confessor was King of the English from 1042 until his death in 1066. He was the last reigning monarch of the House of Wessex.

08/06/0793

Vikings raid the abbey at Lindisfarne in Northumbria, commonly accepted as the beginning of Norse activity in the British Isles.

Lindisfarne, also known as Holy Island, is a tidal island off the northeast coast of England, which constitutes the civil parish of Holy Island in Northumberland. Holy Island has a recorded history from the 6th century AD; it was an important centre of Celtic Christianity under Saints Aidan, Cuthbert, Eadfrith, and Eadberht of Lindisfarne. The island was originally home to a monastery, which was destroyed during the Viking invasions but re-established as a priory following the Norman Conquest of England. Other notable sites built on the island are St Mary the Virgin parish church, Lindisfarne Castle, several lighthouses and other navigational markers, and a complex network of lime kilns. The island is part of the Northumberland Coast National Landscape and a hotspot for historical tourism and bird watching.

08/06/0536

Election of pope Silverius following the death of pope Agapetus I earlier that year.

Pope Silverius was bishop of Rome from 8 June 536 to his deposition in 537, a few months before his death. His rapid rise to prominence from a deacon to the papacy coincided with the efforts of Ostrogothic king Theodahad, who intended to install a pro-Gothic candidate just before the Gothic War. Later deposed by Byzantine general Belisarius, he was tried and sent to exile on the desolated island of Palmarola, where he starved to death in 537.

08/06/0452

Attila leads a Hun army in the invasion of Italy, devastating the northern provinces as he heads for Rome.

Attila, frequently called Attila the Hun, was the ruler of the Huns from 434 until his death in early 453. He was also the leader of an empire consisting of Huns, Ostrogoths, Alans, and Gepids, among others, in Central and Eastern Europe.

08/06/0218

Battle of Antioch: With the support of the Syrian legions, Elagabalus defeats the forces of emperor Macrinus.

The Battle of Antioch was fought between the Roman army of the Emperor Macrinus and his rival Elagabalus, whose troops were commanded by General Gannys, probably a short distance from Antioch. Gannys' victory over Macrinus led to the downfall of the emperor and his replacement by Elagabalus.

On this day

World Oceans Day

World Brain Tumor Day

What the Weather Had in Store for London on 8th June 2025

8th June in the Stars – Star Sign Gemini

Personality Profile

Fun Facts About 8th June

Famous Birthdays on 8th June

Francesca Capaldi, American actress

Jeļena Ostapenko, Latvian tennis player

Ferland Mendy, French footballer

Liv Morgan, American professional wrestler

Timea Bacsinszky, Swiss tennis player

Keith Gill, American financial analyst and investor

Javier Mascherano, Argentinian footballer and manager

Kim Clijsters, Belgian tennis player; winner of six Grand Slam tournament titles.

Nadia Petrova, Russian tennis player

Rachel Held Evans, American Christian author (died 2019)

Maria Menounos, American television personality, professional wrestler, author, and actress

Kanye West, American rapper, producer, director, and fashion designer

Lindsay Davenport, American tennis player

Mark Ricciuto, Australian footballer and sportcaster

Lauren Burns, Australian taekwondo practitioner

Bernard Grech, Maltese lawyer and politician

Kelli Williams, American actress and director

Russell E. Morris, Welsh chemist and academic

Julianna Margulies, American actress

Kevin Farley, American screenwriter

Butch Reynolds, American runner and coach

Mary Bonauto, American lawyer and gay rights activist

Neil Baker, Australian rugby league player

Mick Hucknall, English singer-songwriter

Thomas Steen, Swedish ice hockey player and coach

Mohsen Kadivar, Iranian philosopher

Louise Richardson, Irish political scientist and academic

Scott Adams, American author and illustrator (died 2026)

Tim Berners-Lee, English computer scientist, invented the World Wide Web

José Antonio Camacho, Spanish footballer and manager

Kiril of Varna, Bulgarian metropolitan (died 2013)

Sergei Storchak, Ukrainian-Russian politician

Ivo Sanader, Croatian historian and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Croatia

Bonnie Tyler, Welsh singer-songwriter

Tony Rice, American bluegrass musician (died 2020)

Kathy Baker, American actress

Sônia Braga, Brazilian actress and producer

Emanuel Ax, Polish-American pianist and educator

Hildegard Falck, German runner

Annie Haslam, English singer-songwriter and painter

Sara Paretsky, American author

Eric F. Wieschaus, American biologist, geneticist, and academic Nobel Prize laureate

Graham Henry, New Zealand rugby player and coach

Steven Fromholz, American singer-songwriter, producer, and poet (died 2014)

Derek Underwood, English cricketer (died 2024)

Marc Ouellet, Canadian archbishop and cardinal

Boz Scaggs, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Colin Baker, English actor

William Calley, American military officer

Willie Davenport, American hurdler (died 2002)

Doug Mountjoy, Welsh snooker player (died 2021)

Robert Bradford, Northern Irish politician and activist (died 1981)

George Pell, Australian cardinal (died 2023)

Nancy Sinatra, American singer and actress

Herb Adderley, American football player (died 2020)

Angelo Amato, Italian cardinal

Gillian Clarke, Welsh poet and playwright

James Darren, American actor (died 2024)

Kenneth G. Wilson, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2013)

Molade Okoya-Thomas, Nigerian businessman and philanthropist (died 2015)

Millicent Martin, English actress and singer

Joan Rivers, American comedian, actress, and television host (died 2014)

Ray Illingworth, English cricketer and sportscaster (died 2021)

Ian Kirkwood, Lord Kirkwood, Scottish lawyer and judge (died 2017)

Dana Wynter, British actress (died 2011)

Robert Aumann, German-American mathematician and economist, Nobel Prize laureate

Marcel Léger, Canadian lawyer and politician (died 1993)

Nada Inada, Japanese psychiatrist and author (died 2013)

Gustavo Gutiérrez, Peruvian philosopher, theologian and priest (died 2024)

Mimi Mariani, Indonesian actress, model, and singer (died 1971)

J. R. P. Suriyapperuma, Sri Lankan politician (died 2025)

Jerry Stiller, American actor, comedian and producer (died 2020)