Summary of the Day ✨ 8 February (08/02)
Multiple tragedies unfolded across the globe as a soldier’s deadly shooting spree in Thailand became the country’s worst mass killing while avalanches in Afghanistan buried roads and killed over 170 people. In separate incidents, a bus crashed into a Canadian daycare center, a hotel fire in Saudi Arabia killed 15 Egyptian pilgrims, and a blizzard in North America left hundreds of thousands without power and claimed at least 18 lives.
Historical Events 📜
- 2023: Two children are killed and six others are injured when a bus crashes into a daycare centre in Laval, Quebec, Canada. The driver is arrested and charged with homicide and dangerous driving.
- 2020: A soldier opens fire in a military camp and a shopping center in Nakhon Ratchasima, Thailand, killing 29 people and injuring 58 others before being shot dead by police the next day. It is considered the deadliest mass shooting in the country’s history.
- 2014: A hotel fire in Medina, Saudi Arabia, kills 15 Egyptian pilgrims with 130 others injured.
- 2013: A blizzard kills at least 18 and leaves hundreds of thousands of people without electricity in the northeastern United States and parts of Canada.
- 2010: Over 2 miles (3.2 km) of road are buried after a storm in the Hindu Kush mountains of Afghanistan triggers a series of avalanches, killing at least 172 people and trapping over 2,000 others.
- 1993: An Iran Air Tours Tupolev Tu-154 and an Iranian Air Force Sukhoi Su-24 collide mid-air near Qods, Iran, killing all 133 people onboard both aircraft.
- 1989: Independent Air Flight 1851 strikes Pico Alto mountain while on approach to Santa Maria Airport in the Azores, killing all 144 passengers on board.
- 1986: Twenty-three people are killed when a VIA Rail passenger train collides with a Canadian National freight train near the town of Hinton, Alberta, making it one of the worst rail accidents in Canada.
- 1983: A dust storm hits Melbourne, resulting in the worst drought on record and severe weather conditions in the city.
- 1974: The crew of Skylab 4, the last mission to visit the American space station Skylab, returns to Earth after 84 days in space.
- 1971: South Vietnamese ground troops launch an incursion into Laos to try to cut off the Ho Chi Minh trail and stop communist infiltration into the country.
- 1968: American civil rights movement: An attack on Black students from South Carolina State University who are protesting racial segregation leaves three dead and 28 injured in Orangeburg, South Carolina.
- 1965: Eastern Air Lines Flight 663 crashes into the Atlantic Ocean and explodes, killing all 84 people onboard.
- 1963: The regime of Prime Minister of Iraq Abd al-Karim Qasim is overthrown by the Ba’ath Party.
- 1962: Nine protestors are killed at Charonne station, Paris, by French police under the command of ex-Vichy official and Parisian Prefect of Police Maurice Papon.
Famous Births 👶
- 2001: I.N, South Korean singer
- 1999: Alessia Russo, English footballer
- 1998: Rui Hachimura, Japanese basketball player
- 1997: Kathryn Newton, American actress
- 1996: Kenedy, Brazilian footballer
- 1996: Leighton Vander Esch, American football player
- 1995: Gabriel Deck, Argentine basketball player
- 1995: Joshua Kimmich, German footballer
- 1994: Hakan Çalhanoğlu, Turkish footballer
- 1994: Nikki Yanofsky, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1992: Bruno Martins Indi, Portuguese-Dutch footballer
- 1991: Nam Woo-hyun, South Korean singer
- 1990: Bethany Hamilton, American surfer
- 1990: Klay Thompson, American basketball player
- 1989: Zac Guildford, New Zealand rugby player
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2025: Dick Jauron, American football player and coach (born 1950)
- 2025: Sam Nujoma, Namibian politician, 1st President of Namibia (born 1929)
- 2025: Gyalo Thondup, Brother of the 14th Dalai Lama (born 1928)
- 2023: Arto Heiskanen, Finnish professional hockey player (born 1963)
- 2021: Marty Schottenheimer, American football player and coach (born 1943)
- 2021: Mary Wilson, American singer (born 1944)
- 2020: Robert Conrad, American actor (born 1935)
- 2017: Peter Mansfield, English physicist, Nobel laureate (born 1933)
- 2017: Rina Matsuno, Japanese idol singer (born 1998)
- 2017: Alan Simpson, English scriptwriter (born 1929)
- 2016: Amelia Bence, Argentine actress (born 1914)
- 2016: Nida Fazli, Indian poet and songwriter (born 1938)
- 2016: Margaret Forster, English historian, author, and critic (born 1938)
- 2016: Violette Verdy, French ballerina (born 1933)
- 2015: Rauni-Leena Luukanen-Kilde, Finnish physician and parapsychologist (born 1939)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Christian feast day:
Cuthmann of Steyning - Christian feast day:
Elffled of Whitby - Christian feast day:
Elisabetta Martinez - Christian feast day:
Gerolamo Emiliani - Christian feast day:
Josephine Bakhita - Christian feast day:
Juventius of Pavia - Christian feast day:
Mengold of Huy - Christian feast day:
Stephen of Muret - Christian feast day:
February 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Parinirvana Day (some Mahayana Buddhism traditions; most celebrate on February 15)
- Prešeren Day (Slovenia)
- Propose Day (India)
- Military Foundation Day (North Korea)