February 8
1587 - Mary, Queen of Scots was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in England after she was implicated in a plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.
1693 - College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, received its charter, becoming the second institution of higher learning in the United States.
1870 - The National Weather Service was established under the U.S. Army Signal Corps.
1904 - The Russo-Japanese War began when the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the Russian fleet at Port Arthur in northeast China.
1910 - The Boy Scouts of America was incorporated.
1915 - D.W. Griffith's controversial epic, "The Birth of a Nation," premiered in Los Angeles.
1922 - President Warren G. Harding had a radio installed in the White House.
1924 - The gas chamber was used as a means of execution for the first time in the United States as gangster Gee Jon was put to death at the Nevada State Prison in Carson City.
1952 - Queen Elizabeth II proclaimed her accession to the British throne following the death of her father, King George VI.
1960 - Work began on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located on Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Los Angeles.
1960 - The payola (pay for broadcast play) hearings opened in the U.S. House of Representatives.
1965 - Eastern Air Lines Flight 663, a DC-7, crashed shortly after takeoff from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport; all 84 people on board were killed.
1968 - Three Black students were killed in a confrontation between demonstrators and highway patrolmen at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg in the wake of protests over a whites-only bowling alley.
1971 - NASDAQ, the world's first electronic stock exchange, held its first trading day.
1973 - Senate leaders named seven members of a select committee to investigate the Watergate scandal, including its chairman, Democrat Sam J. Ervin of North Carolina.
1980 - President Jimmy Carter announced his plan to reinstate selective service draft registration.
2007 - Model, actor and reality TV star Anna Nicole Smith died in Hollywood, Florida, at age 39 of an accidental drug overdose.
2020 - The U.S. Embassy in Beijing said a 60-year-old U.S. citizen who'd been diagnosed with the coronavirus had died on Feb. 5 in Wuhan; it was apparently the first American fatality from the virus.
2023 - Rescue teams in Turkey and Syria searched for signs of life in the rubble of thousands of buildings toppled by a catastrophic earthquake. The confirmed death toll from the world's deadliest quake in more than a decade approached 12,000 and eventually would be more than 50,000.
Birthdays
27 - Kathryn Newton (actress)
32 - Karle Warren (actor)
34 - Bethany Hamilton (surfer)
34 - Klay Thompson (basketball player)
35 - Dani Harmer (actress)
35 - Julio Jones (football player)
35 - Sophie Bennett (actress)
36 - Ryan Pinkston (actor)
40 - Cecily Strong (actress/comedian)
43 - Jim Parrack (actor)
44 - William Jackson Harper (actor)
50 - Joshua Morrow (actor)
50 - Seth Green (actor)
52 - Paul "Big Show" Wight (professional wrestler)
53 - Susan Misner (actress)
54 - Stephanie Courtney (comedian)
54 - Alonzo Mourning (basketball player)
55 - Mary McCormack (actress)
56 - Missy Yager (actress)
63 - Vince Neil (singer)
65 - Henry Czerny (actor)
68 - Marques Johnson (basketball player)
69 - John Grisham (author)
71 - Mary Steenburgen (actress)
75 - Brooke Adams (actress)
76 - Ron Tyson (singer)
81 - Creed Bratton (actor/singer)
82 - Robert Klein (comedian)
83 - Nick Nolte (actor)
84 - Ted Koppel (broadcast journalist)
92 - John Williams (composer/conductor)
=====================================
Today in Sports History - February 8
1896 - The Western Conference was formed by representatives from Chicago, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin. (The group would later change its name to the Big Ten Conference.)
1936 - The first National Football League (NFL) draft was held. Jay Berwanger was the first to be selected. He went to the Philadelphia Eagles.
1950 - The Associated Press named Jim Thorpe and Baby Didrikson Zaharias the greatest male and female athletes of the first half of the 20th century.
1960 - Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics becomes the first player in NBA history to record 50 rebounds in a game.
1963 - The AFL's Dallas Texans relocate and become the Kansas City Chiefs.
1984 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar broke Wilt Chamberlains record of 12,681 goals. He scored 15,836 goals before retiring in 1989.
1986 - At 5' 7" tall, Spud Webb of the Atlanta Hawks wins the NBA's Slam Dunk competition during All-Star festivities.
1991 - Roger Clemens signs a record $5,380,250 per year contract with the Boston Red Sox.
1996 - Charles Barkley became the 22nd player in NBA history to reach 20,000 points.
1996 - The NFL and city of Cleveland allow Art Modell to move his franchise to Baltimore, but order he must leave the "Browns" name behind.
1997 - Mike Gartner (Phoenix Coyotes) became only the sixth player in NHL history to get 600 career goals and 600 career assists.
2003 - Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins) became the second fastest NHL player to reach 1,000 career assists.
1587 - Mary, Queen of Scots was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in England after she was implicated in a plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.
1693 - College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, received its charter, becoming the second institution of higher learning in the United States.
1870 - The National Weather Service was established under the U.S. Army Signal Corps.
1904 - The Russo-Japanese War began when the Japanese launched a surprise attack on the Russian fleet at Port Arthur in northeast China.
1910 - The Boy Scouts of America was incorporated.
1915 - D.W. Griffith's controversial epic, "The Birth of a Nation," premiered in Los Angeles.
1922 - President Warren G. Harding had a radio installed in the White House.
1924 - The gas chamber was used as a means of execution for the first time in the United States as gangster Gee Jon was put to death at the Nevada State Prison in Carson City.
1952 - Queen Elizabeth II proclaimed her accession to the British throne following the death of her father, King George VI.
1960 - Work began on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located on Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Los Angeles.
1960 - The payola (pay for broadcast play) hearings opened in the U.S. House of Representatives.
1965 - Eastern Air Lines Flight 663, a DC-7, crashed shortly after takeoff from New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport; all 84 people on board were killed.
1968 - Three Black students were killed in a confrontation between demonstrators and highway patrolmen at South Carolina State University in Orangeburg in the wake of protests over a whites-only bowling alley.
1971 - NASDAQ, the world's first electronic stock exchange, held its first trading day.
1973 - Senate leaders named seven members of a select committee to investigate the Watergate scandal, including its chairman, Democrat Sam J. Ervin of North Carolina.
1980 - President Jimmy Carter announced his plan to reinstate selective service draft registration.
2007 - Model, actor and reality TV star Anna Nicole Smith died in Hollywood, Florida, at age 39 of an accidental drug overdose.
2020 - The U.S. Embassy in Beijing said a 60-year-old U.S. citizen who'd been diagnosed with the coronavirus had died on Feb. 5 in Wuhan; it was apparently the first American fatality from the virus.
2023 - Rescue teams in Turkey and Syria searched for signs of life in the rubble of thousands of buildings toppled by a catastrophic earthquake. The confirmed death toll from the world's deadliest quake in more than a decade approached 12,000 and eventually would be more than 50,000.
Birthdays
27 - Kathryn Newton (actress)
32 - Karle Warren (actor)
34 - Bethany Hamilton (surfer)
34 - Klay Thompson (basketball player)
35 - Dani Harmer (actress)
35 - Julio Jones (football player)
35 - Sophie Bennett (actress)
36 - Ryan Pinkston (actor)
40 - Cecily Strong (actress/comedian)
43 - Jim Parrack (actor)
44 - William Jackson Harper (actor)
50 - Joshua Morrow (actor)
50 - Seth Green (actor)
52 - Paul "Big Show" Wight (professional wrestler)
53 - Susan Misner (actress)
54 - Stephanie Courtney (comedian)
54 - Alonzo Mourning (basketball player)
55 - Mary McCormack (actress)
56 - Missy Yager (actress)
63 - Vince Neil (singer)
65 - Henry Czerny (actor)
68 - Marques Johnson (basketball player)
69 - John Grisham (author)
71 - Mary Steenburgen (actress)
75 - Brooke Adams (actress)
76 - Ron Tyson (singer)
81 - Creed Bratton (actor/singer)
82 - Robert Klein (comedian)
83 - Nick Nolte (actor)
84 - Ted Koppel (broadcast journalist)
92 - John Williams (composer/conductor)
=====================================
Today in Sports History - February 8
1896 - The Western Conference was formed by representatives from Chicago, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Northwestern, Purdue and Wisconsin. (The group would later change its name to the Big Ten Conference.)
1936 - The first National Football League (NFL) draft was held. Jay Berwanger was the first to be selected. He went to the Philadelphia Eagles.
1950 - The Associated Press named Jim Thorpe and Baby Didrikson Zaharias the greatest male and female athletes of the first half of the 20th century.
1960 - Bill Russell of the Boston Celtics becomes the first player in NBA history to record 50 rebounds in a game.
1963 - The AFL's Dallas Texans relocate and become the Kansas City Chiefs.
1984 - Kareem Abdul-Jabbar broke Wilt Chamberlains record of 12,681 goals. He scored 15,836 goals before retiring in 1989.
1986 - At 5' 7" tall, Spud Webb of the Atlanta Hawks wins the NBA's Slam Dunk competition during All-Star festivities.
1991 - Roger Clemens signs a record $5,380,250 per year contract with the Boston Red Sox.
1996 - Charles Barkley became the 22nd player in NBA history to reach 20,000 points.
1996 - The NFL and city of Cleveland allow Art Modell to move his franchise to Baltimore, but order he must leave the "Browns" name behind.
1997 - Mike Gartner (Phoenix Coyotes) became only the sixth player in NHL history to get 600 career goals and 600 career assists.
2003 - Mario Lemieux (Pittsburgh Penguins) became the second fastest NHL player to reach 1,000 career assists.
