April 8

April 8 is the 98th day of the year (99th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar, with 267 days remaining until the end of the year. It is a date marked by significant historical milestones, including landmark scientific discoveries, the signing of major diplomatic agreements, and the ratification of constitutional amendments, as well as the birth and death of numerous influential historical, cultural, and political figures.

Events

Pre-1600

• 217 – Roman Emperor Caracalla leaves Rome for the East to campaign against the Parthian Empire.
• 1271 – The city of Leuven is united with the Duchy of Brabant.
• 1341 – Petrarch is crowned poet laureate in Rome, becoming the first person to receive the honor since ancient times.

1601–1900

• 1820 – The Venus de Milo, one of the most famous works of ancient Greek sculpture, is discovered by a Greek peasant on the island of Milos.
• 1838 – The SS Sirius arrives in New York Harbor, becoming the first ship to cross the Atlantic Ocean under steam power alone.
• 1895 – The first official game of baseball is played at the Polo Grounds in New York City.

1901–present

• 1904 – The Entente Cordiale is signed between the United Kingdom and France, marking the end of centuries of intermittent conflict and the establishment of a formal diplomatic understanding.
• 1911 – Dutch physicist Heike Kamerlingh Onnes discovers superconductivity in solid mercury at the University of Leiden.
• 1913 – The 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified, establishing the direct election of United States Senators by popular vote.
• 1946 – The International Court of Justice holds its inaugural session at the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands.
• 1974 – American baseball player Hank Aaron hits his 715th career home run, breaking Babe Ruth's all-time record.
• 2009 – The hijacking of the MV Maersk Alabama by Somali pirates begins off the coast of Somalia, leading to a five-day standoff that ends with the rescue of the ship's captain by the United States Navy SEALs.

Births

• 1336 – Timur, Turco-Mongol conqueror and founder of the Timurid Empire (d. 1405)
• 1859 – Edmund Husserl, German philosopher, mathematician, and founder of phenomenology (d. 1938)
• 1892 – Mary Pickford, Canadian-American actress, producer, and co-founder of United Artists (d. 1979)
• 1908 – Simone de Beauvoir, French philosopher, author, and prominent feminist theorist (d. 1986)
• 1938 – Kofi Annan, Ghanaian diplomat and Nobel laureate, 7th Secretary-General of the United Nations (d. 2018)
• 1940 – John Havlicek, American professional basketball player and coach (d. 2019)
• 1968 – Patricia Arquette, American actress and director

Deaths

• 1483 – Edward IV, King of England (b. 1442)
• 1848 – Maria II, Queen of Portugal (b. 1819)
• 1973 – Pablo Picasso, Spanish painter, sculptor, printmaker, and co-founder of the Cubist movement (b. 1881)
• 2013 – Margaret Thatcher, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 1979 to 1990 (b. 1925)

Holidays and observances

• International Romani Day
• Buddha's Birthday (Japan, traditionally observed on this day in the Gregorian calendar, though it varies in other countries)
• Christian feast day: April 8 is the feast day of several saints in the Catholic Church, including Dionysius of Corinth and Julie Billiart.