Walter Scheel
b. 1919
German soldier and politician, 4th President of West Germany
On This Day · The 189th day of the year
July 8
July 8 carries 10 recorded events spanning between 1497 and 2022. Vasco da Gama sets sail on the first direct European voyage to India.
Compiled & reviewed by Roman Tailor · Last reviewed July 13, 2026
What happened on July 8?
July 8 is the 189th day of the year. It marks 10 notable events in history, dated between 1497 and 2022. Famous people born on July 8 include Walter Scheel, Nelson Rockefeller and Beck.
The shape of the day
July 8's record stretches 525 years, from 1497 to 2022. Its center of gravity is the 20th century, and disaster looms large.
Cancer is the sign for July 8 — read more on the Cancer page, or see July's birthstone & birth flower.
Released on July 8
Movies, games, albums & shows2022
- Game Madison
- TV Call of the Night
2021
- Game Boomerang X
- Game Eastern Exorcist
Release data from TMDB & IGDB.
Events
10 notable moments- 1497
Vasco da Gama
Vasco da Gama sets sail on the first direct European voyage to India.
- 1892
St. John's, Newfoundland and Labrador
St. John's, Newfoundland is devastated in the Great Fire of 1892.
- 1933
Rugby union
The first rugby union test match between the Wallabies of Australia and the Springboks of South Africa is played at Newlands Stadium in Cape Town.
- 1947
Unidentified flying object
Reports are broadcast that a UFO crash-landed in Roswell, New Mexico in what became known as the Roswell UFO incident.
- 1965
Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 21
Canadian Pacific Air Lines Flight 21 is destroyed by a bomb near 100 Mile House, Canada, killing 52.
- 1980
Aeroflot Flight 4225
Aeroflot Flight 4225 crashes near Almaty International Airport in the Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic (present day Kazakhstan), killing all 166 people on board.
- 1990
Germany national football team
West Germany win the FIFA World Cup final against defending champions Argentina, with Andreas Brehme scoring the game's only goal.
- 2003
Sudan Airways Flight 139
Sudan Airways Flight 139 crashes near Port Sudan Airport during an emergency landing attempt, killing 116 of the 117 people on board.
- 2014
Israel
Israel launches an offensive on Gaza amid rising tensions following the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers.
- 2022
Shinzo Abe
Former Japanese prime minister Shinzo Abe is shot and killed with an improvised firearm due to resentment against the Unification Church.
Famous birthday twins
Born on July 8Nelson Rockefeller
b. 1908
American businessman and politician, 41st Vice President of the United States
Beck
b. 1970
American singer-songwriter and producer
Karl Seglem
b. 1961
Norwegian saxophonist and record producer
Jean de La Fontaine
b. 1621
French author and poet
Todd Martin
b. 1970
American tennis player and coach
Ernst Bloch
b. 1885
German philosopher, author, and academic
Christian Abbiati
b. 1977
Italian footballer
Deaths
- 2022Shinzo Abe
- 1994Kim Il Sung
- 1943Jean Moulin
- 1859Oscar I of Sweden
- 1695Christiaan Huygens
- 1390Albert of Saxony (philosopher)
Holidays & observances
- —Christian Feast Day: Abda and Sabas
- —Christian Feast Day: Auspicius of Trier
- —Christian Feast Day: Grimbald
- —Christian Feast Day: Kilian and Totnan
- —Christian Feast Day: Saints Peter and Fevronia Day (Russian Orthodox)
- —Christian Feast Day: Procopius of Scythopolis
- —Christian Feast Day: Sunniva and companions
- —Christian Feast Day: Theobald of Marly
Historical facts, event summaries, and biographical lines above are adapted 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.
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