On August 8

The World Health Organization declared the Western African Ebola epidemic, which began in December 2013, to be a public health emergency of international concern.

A massive mudslide in the Chinese province of Gansu killed at least 1,471 people.

Nine people died when a tour helicopter and a small private airplane collided over the Hudson River in Hoboken, New Jersey.

A EuroCity train en route to Prague struck a part of a motorway bridge that had fallen onto the track near Studénka station and derailed, killing 8 people and injuring 64 others.

The Iranian consulate in Mazar-i-Sharif, Afghanistan, was raided by Taliban leading to the death of 10 Iranian diplomats and an Iranian journalist.

The Warsaw radio mast (pictured), then the tallest structure ever built, at 646.38 metres (2,120.7 ft), collapsed due to an error in exchanging the guys on the highest telecommunications equipment of the mast.

Hudson Volcano in Chile began to erupt, depositing volcanic ash over 150,000 square kilometres (58,000 sq mi).

A series of marches, demonstrations, protests, and riots, which became known as the 8888 Uprising, began against the one-party state of the Burma Socialist Programme Party.

Tropical Storm Beryl formed over southeastern Louisiana, making it one of the few tropical cyclones to form over land.

At a zebra crossing in London (pictured), photographer Iain Macmillan took the photo that was used for the cover of the Beatles' album Abbey Road.

At a zebra crossing (pictured) on Abbey Road in London, Iain Macmillan took the photograph that was used for the cover of the Beatles' album Abbey Road.

A mining disaster killed 262 workers, mainly Italian nationals, at the Bois du Cazier coal mine in Belgium.

The German airship Graf Zeppelin departed Lakehurst, New Jersey, on a flight to circumnavigate the world.

The Third Anglo-Afghan War ended with the United Kingdom signing a treaty to recognise the independence of the Emirate of Afghanistan.

The Battle of Amiens began in northern France, marking the start of the Allies' Hundred Days Offensive through the German front lines that ultimately led to the end of World War I.

The Endurance departed Plymouth, England, on the Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition.

The foundation for what is now known as the Wren Building, the oldest surviving college building in the United States, was laid in a ceremony at Middle Plantation, Virginia.

The cornerstone of Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe's observatory Uraniborg was laid on the island of Hven.

Reconquista: In the early stages of the Mudéjar revolt, Muslim rebels captured the Alcázar of Jerez de la Frontera in present-day Spain, holding it for about two months.