Date·Lore

On This Day · The 8th day of the year

January 8

Few dates reach as far back as January 8: its recorded history runs unusually deep, stretching to 307. Its center of gravity is the 20th century, and politics and nation-building recur.

♑ZodiacCapricorn ◈BirthstoneGarnet ❀Birth flowerCarnation

Capricorn is the sign for January 8 — read more on the Capricorn page, or see January's birthstone & birth flower.

Compiled & reviewed by · Last reviewed September 6, 2026

What happened on January 8?

January 8 is the 8th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 307 and 2010. Famous people born on January 8 include Elvis Presley, David Bowie and Stephen Hawking.

Released on January 8

Movies, games, albums & shows

2024

  • TV Adam's Sweet Agony

Release data from TMDB & IGDB.

Events

10 notable moments
  1. 307

    Emperor Huai of Jin

  2. 1735

    George Frideric Handel

  3. 1790

    George Washington

  4. 1889

    Herman Hollerith

  5. 1918

    Woodrow Wilson

  6. 1940

    World War II

  7. 1959

    Charles de Gaulle

  8. 1977

    1977 Moscow bombings

  9. 2002

    George W. Bush

  10. 2010

    Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda

Famous birthday twins

Born on January 8

Elvis Presley

b. 1935

David Bowie

b. 1947

Stephen Hawking

b. 1942

John Curtin

b. 1885

Graham Chapman

b. 1941

Galina Ulanova

b. 1910

Su Shi

b. 1037

John Carroll (archbishop of Baltimore)

b. 1735

Deaths

  • 1996François Mitterrand
  • 1941Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell
  • 1896Paul Verlaine
  • 1642Galileo Galilei
  • 1337Giotto
  • 307Emperor Hui of Jin

Holidays & observances

  • —Babinden (Belarus, Russia)
  • —Christian feast day: Abo of Tiflis
  • —Christian feast day: Apollinaris Claudius
  • —Christian feast day: Blessed Eurosia Fabris
  • —Christian feast day: Gauchito Gil (Folk Catholicism)
  • —Christian feast day: Gudula
  • —Christian feast day: Harriet Bedell (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • —Christian feast day: Lawrence Giustiniani

The factual record above — event titles, dates, names, and observances — is drawn from Wikipedia under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike (CC BY-SA) license. DateLore adds curation, structure, and original editorial commentary. DateLore is not affiliated with the Wikimedia Foundation.

About the author

Roman Tailor compiles and reviews every date on DateLore. He's the writer and editor behind the site's editorial essays and the day-by-day almanac. Corrections and questions are welcome — read more about DateLore or get in touch.

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