Calendar date · January

What happened on January 8

On January 8, 307: Sima Chi becomes emperor of the Jin dynasty in succession to his brother, Sima Zhong, despite a challenge from his other brother, Sima Ying.

Events

57

across history

Notable births

50

Notable deaths

50

Zodiac

Capricorn

People

Born on January 8

Zach Charbonnet 2001– American football player (born 2001)
Noah Cyrus 2000– American singer and actress (born 2000)
Ignas Brazdeikis 1999– Lithuanian-Canadian basketball player (born 1999)
Damiano David 1999– Italian singer (born 1999)
Tony Bradley 1998– American basketball player (born 1998)
Jhoan Durán 1998– Dominican baseball player (born 1998)
Ryan Destiny 1995– American actress, singer and songwriter
Glenn Robinson III 1994– American basketball player (born 1994)
William Karlsson 1993– Swedish ice hockey player (born 1993)
Show 9 more — notable births on January 8
Sophie Pascoe 1993– New Zealand Paralympic swimmer
Stefanie Dolson 1992– American basketball player (born 1992)
Koke 1992– Spanish footballer
Valkyrae 1992– American online streamer and YouTuber (born 1992)
Josh Hazlewood 1991– Australian cricketer (born 1991)
Stefan Johansen 1991– Norwegian footballer (born 1991)
Stefan Savić 1991– Montenegrin footballer (born 1991)
Greg Smith 1991– American basketball player (born 1991)
Blair Walsh 1990– American football player (born 1990)

People

Died on January 8

Mangkra Souvanna Phouma Laotian royal (1938–2025)
Adan Canto Mexican actor (1981–2024)
Michael Lang American concert promoter and record producer (1944–2022)
Iancu Țucărman Romanian Jewish Holocaust and Iași pogrom survivor
Pat Dalton Australian rules footballer (1942–2020)
Buck Henry American actor (1930–2020)
Nicolai Gedda Swedish operatic tenor (1925–2017)
James Mancham President of Seychelles
Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani President of Iran from 1989 to 1997
Show 9 more — notable deaths on January 8
Peter Sarstedt British singer-songwriter (1941–2017)
Maria Teresa de Filippis Italian racing driver (1926–2016)
German Moreno Filipino television host, actor, comedian, and talent manager (1933–2016)
Andraé Crouch American gospel singer, songwriter, and choir leader (1942–2015)
Kep Enderby Australian politician (1926–2015)
Patsy Garrett American actress and singer (1921–2015)
Irma Heijting-Schuhmacher Dutch swimmer (1925–2014)
Antonino P. Roman Filipino politician (1939–2014)
Kenojuak Ashevak Inuk artist (1927–2013)

Timeline

Every January 8 on record

  1. 307 Sima Chi becomes emperor of the Jin dynasty in succession to his brother, Sima Zhong, despite a challenge from his other brother, Sima Ying.

    Emperor of Jin China from 307 to 313

    Emperor Huai of Jin, personal name Sima Chi (司馬熾), courtesy name Fengdu (豐度), was an emperor of the Jin dynasty.

  2. 871 Æthelred I and Alfred the Great lead a West Saxon army to repel an invasion by Danelaw Vikings.

    King of Wessex from 865 to 871

    Æthelred I was King of Wessex from 865 until his death in 871. He was the fourth of five sons of King Æthelwulf of Wessex, four of whom in turn became king. Æthelred succeeded his elder brother Æthelberht and was followed by his youngest brother, Alfred the Great.

  3. 1297 François Grimaldi, disguised as a monk, leads his men to capture the fortress protecting the Rock of Monaco, establishing his family as the rulers of Monaco.

    1309 Genoese nobleman; leader of the Guelphs

    Francesco Grimaldi, called il Malizia was the Genoese leader of the Guelphs who captured the Rock of Monaco on the night of 8 January 1297. He was the son of Guglielmo Grimaldi by his wife Giacobina or Giacoba, a Genoese noble.

  4. 1454 The papal bull Romanus Pontifex awards the Kingdom of Portugal exclusive trade and colonization rights to all of Africa south of Cape Bojador.

    Type of decree by the Catholic pope

    A papal bull is a type of public decree, letters patent, or charter issued by the pope of the Catholic Church. It is named after the leaden seal (bulla) traditionally appended to authenticate it.

  5. 1499 Louis XII of France marries Anne of Brittany in accordance with a law set by his predecessor, Charles VIII.

    King of France from 1498 to 1515

    Louis XII, also known as Louis of Orléans, was King of France from 1498 to 1515 and King of Naples from 1501 to 1504. The son of Charles I, Duke of Orléans, and Marie of Cleves, he succeeded his second cousin once removed and brother-in-law, Charles VIII, who died childless in 1498.

  6. 1547 The first Lithuanian-language book, the Catechism of Martynas Mažvydas, is published in Königsberg.
  7. 1735 The premiere of George Frideric Handel's Ariodante takes place at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
  8. 1746 Second Jacobite rising: Bonnie Prince Charlie occupies Stirling.
  9. 1790 George Washington delivers the first State of the Union address in New York City.
  10. 1806 The Dutch Cape Colony in southern Africa becomes the British Cape Colony as a result of the Battle of Blaauwberg.
  11. 1811 Charles Deslondes leads an unsuccessful slave revolt in the North American settlements of St. Charles and St. James, Louisiana.
  12. 1815 War of 1812: Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson leads American forces in victory over the British.
  13. 1828 The Democratic Party of the United States is organized.
  14. 1835 US President Andrew Jackson announces a celebratory dinner after having reduced the United States national debt to zero for the only time.
  15. 1863 American Civil War: Second Battle of Springfield.
Show 15 earlier entries from January 8
  1. 1867 The United States Congress passes the bill to allow African American men the right to vote in Washington, D.C.
  2. 1877 Crazy Horse and his warriors fight their last battle against the United States Cavalry at Wolf Mountain, Montana Territory.
  3. 1889 Herman Hollerith is issued US patent #395,791 for the 'Art of Applying Statistics' — his punched card calculator.
  4. 1900 President William McKinley places Alaska under military rule.
  5. 1912 The African National Congress is founded, under the name South African Native National Congress (SANNC).
  6. 1912 The city of San Diego passes an ordinance restricting free speech, provoking months of civil unrest between socialist Wobblies and business leaders that become the bloodiest free speech fight in history.
  7. 1918 U.S. President Woodrow Wilson announces his "Fourteen Points" as conditions for ending World War I.
  8. 1920 The steel strike of 1919 ends in failure for the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers labor union.
  9. 1926 Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuỵ is crowned emperor of Vietnam, the country's last monarch.
  10. 1926 Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz.
  11. 1933 Anarchist insurrection of January 1933 breaks out in Barcelona, Spain.
  12. 1936 Kashf-e hijab decree is made and immediately enforced by Reza Shah, Iran's head of state, banning the wearing of Islamic veils in public.
  13. 1940 World War II: Britain introduces food rationing.
  14. 1945 World War II: Philippine Commonwealth troops under the Philippine Commonwealth Army units enter the province of Ilocos Sur in Northern Luzon and attack invading Japanese Imperial forces.
  15. 1946 Andrei Zhdanov, Chairman of the Finnish Allied Commission, submits to the Finnish War Criminal Court an interrogation report by General Erich Buschenhagen, a German prisoner of war, on the contacts between Finnish and German military personnel before the Continuation War and a copy of Hitler's Barbarossa plan.

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