August 8: What Happened on This Day in History (High_school Level)?

(Page last edited 10/12/2017)

1. In 1709, Bartolomeu de Gusmao made the first known ascent in a hot air balloon.
2. In 1815, Napoleon began his second and final exile when he set sail for St. Helena in the South Atlantic Ocean to spend the remainder of his days in confinement.
3. In 1863, after his defeat at Gettysburg, Confederate General Robert E. Lee sent a letter of resignation as Commander of the Army of N. Virginia to Confederate President Jefferson Davis.
4. In 1864, the Red Cross is formed in Geneva, Switzerland.
5. In 1876, Thomas Alva Edison received a patent for the mimeograph machine, a precursor of the copy machine.
6. In 1929, the German airship Graf Zeppelin begins the first round the world flight.
7. In 1940, the Battle of Britain begins as Germany launches air attacks over England.
8. In 1945, the USSR establishes a Communist government in North Korea.
9. In 1974, Richard M. Nixon announced his resignation from the office of President of the United States, the first and only to do so.
10. In 1988, the first night game ever at Wrigley Field was called due to rain in the fourth inning.
11. Famous Birthdays: Marjorie Rawlings (author of The Yearling), Roger Federer (tennis player), Arthur Goldberg (US Supreme Court Justice), Emiliano Zapata (Mexican revolutionary)

For famous birthdays and other daily events in history, visit our Daily Dose Activities.

Click Here for Yesterday in History: August 7

Click Here for Tomorrow in History: August 9

For more history resources on Internet 4 Classrooms, visit our Social Studies and History index. For Pre K-8th Grade Level History and Social Studies Resources, visit our Grade Level Index.