compareyourlife
On May 8
5 indexed birthdays · 14 historic events
Born today
Historic events
- 2025-05-08ConflictCardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected as Pope Leo XIV (pictured), making him the first pope born in the United States, the first to hold either U.S. or Peruvian citizenship, the first from the Order of Saint Augustine, and the second from the Americas after his immediate predecessor, Pope Francis.
- 1987-05-08ConflictA British Special Air Service unit ambushed a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) unit in Loughgall, Northern Ireland, killing eight IRA members and one civilian.
- 1972-05-08ConflictFour members of Black September hijacked Sabena Flight 571 to demand the release of 315 Palestinians convicted on terrorism charges.
- 1970-05-08ConflictConstruction workers attacked students and others who were protesting the Vietnam War in New York City.
- 1963-05-08ConflictIn Huế, South Vietnam, soldiers opened fire into a crowd of Buddhists protesting against a government ban on the flying of the Buddhist flag on Phật Đản, killing nine and sparking the Buddhist crisis.
- 1957-05-08ConflictSouth Vietnamese president Ngô Đình Diệm began a state visit to the United States, his regime's main sponsor.
- 1950-05-08DisasterThe Tollund Man (pictured), a naturally mummified corpse, was discovered in a peat bog near Silkeborg, Denmark.
- 1945-05-08ConflictA parade in Sétif, French Algeria, celebrating the end of World War II in Europe became a riot and was followed by reprisals, carried out by colonial authorities over the following weeks, that killed thousands.
- 1942-05-08ConflictWorld War II: The Axis launched a major counteroffensive, turning the tide of the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula.
- 1927-05-08Science & TechFrench aviators Charles Nungesser and François Coli aboard the biplane L'Oiseau Blanc took off from Paris, attempting to make the first non-stop flight to New York, only to disappear before arrival.
- 1924-05-08GeopoliticsLithuania signed the Klaipėda Convention, making the Klaipėda Region (taken from East Prussia) into an autonomous region under Lithuanian rule.
- 1842-05-08DisasterA train derailed and caught fire near Versailles, France, killing at least 52 people.
- 1821-05-08ConflictGreek War of Independence: At the Battle of Gravia Inn, a 120-man Greek force led by Odysseas Androutsos repulsed an Ottoman army of 8,000 soldiers.
- 1643-05-08ConflictFirst English Civil War: The first siege of Wardour Castle ended after six days with the surrender of the Royalist garrison under Lady Blanche Arundell