Summary of the Day ✨ 8 May (08/05)
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected as Pope Leo XIV, becoming the 267th pontiff, while a devastating car bombing in Kabul killed at least 55 people and injured over 150. In medical history, 17-year-old Isabelle Holdaway became the first patient to receive genetically modified phage therapy for a drug-resistant infection, as China Southern Airlines Flight 3456 crashed killing 35 people and a fire at Illinois Bell’s Hinsdale Central Office triggered the worst telecommunications disaster in US telephone history.
Historical Events 📜
- 2025: The 2025 papal conclave elects Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, taking the name Leo XIV as the 267th Pope of the Catholic Church.
- 2021: A car bomb explodes in front of a school in Kabul, capital city of Afghanistan killing at least 55 people and wounding over 150.
- 2019: British 17-year-old Isabelle Holdaway is reported to be the first patient ever to receive a genetically modified phage therapy to treat a drug-resistant infection.
- 1997: China Southern Airlines Flight 3456 crashes on approach into Bao’an International Airport, killing 35 people.
- 1988: A fire at Illinois Bell’s Hinsdale Central Office triggers an extended 1AESS network outage once considered to be the “worst telecommunications disaster in US telephone industry history”.
- 1987: The SAS kills eight Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers and a civilian during an ambush in Loughgall, Northern Ireland.
- 1984: Corporal Denis Lortie enters the Quebec National Assembly and opens fire, killing three people and wounding 13. René Jalbert, Sergeant-at-Arms of the Assembly, succeeds in calming him, for which he will later receive the Cross of Valour.
- 1984: The Soviet Union announces a boycott upon the Summer Olympics at Los Angeles, later joined by 14 other countries.
- 1984: The Thames Barrier is officially opened, preventing the floodplain of most of Greater London from being flooded except under extreme circumstances.
- 1980: The World Health Organization confirms the eradication of smallpox.
- 1978: The first ascent of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen, by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler.
- 1976: The rollercoaster The New Revolution, the first steel coaster with a vertical loop, opens at Six Flags Magic Mountain.
- 1973: A 71-day standoff between federal authorities and the American Indian Movement members occupying the Pine Ridge Reservation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota ends with the surrender of the militants.
- 1972: Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon announces his order to place naval mines in major North Vietnamese ports in order to stem the flow of weapons and other goods to that nation.
- 1970: The Beatles release their 12th and final studio album Let It Be.
Famous Births 👶
- 2005: Oliver Bearman, English racing driver
- 2003: Moulay Hassan, Crown Prince of Morocco
- 2001: Jordyn Huitema, Canadian soccer player
- 1996: 6ix9ine, American rapper
- 1993: Pat Cummins, Australian cricketer
- 1992: Olivia Culpo, American model and actress
- 1992: Kevin Hayes, American ice hockey player
- 1990: Lane Johnson, American football player
- 1990: Iyo Sky, Japanese wrestler
- 1990: Kemba Walker, American basketball player
- 1989: Lars Eller, Danish ice hockey player
- 1988: Trisha Paytas, American media personality
- 1987: Felix Jones, American football player
- 1987: Mark Noble, English footballer
- 1987: Kurt Tippett, Australian footballer
Notable Deaths 🕊️
- 2025: Simon Mann, British military officer and mercenary (born 1952)
- 2024: Chris Cannon, American politician (born 1950)
- 2024: Jimmy Johnson, American football player (born 1938)
- 2024: Pete McCloskey, American politician (born 1927)
- 2024: Ramón Fonseca Mora, Panamanian novelist and lawyer (born 1952)
- 2022: Robert Gillmor, British wildlife artist and illustrator (born 1936)
- 2022: Dennis Waterman, English actor and singer (born 1948)
- 2021: Helmut Jahn, German-American architect (born 1940)
- 2019: Sprent Dabwido, President of Nauru from 2011 to 2013 (born 1972)
- 2018: Big Bully Busick, American professional wrestler (born 1954)
- 2018: Anne V. Coates, British film editor (Lawrence of Arabia, The Elephant Man, Erin Brockovich), Oscar winner (1963) (born 1925)
- 2016: William Schallert, American actor; president (1979–81) of the Screen Actors Guild (born 1922)
- 2015: Zeki Alasya, Turkish actor and director (born 1943)
- 2015: Mwepu Ilunga, Congolese footballer (born 1949)
- 2015: Juan Schwanner, Hungarian-Chilean footballer and manager (born 1921)
Holidays & Observances 🎉
- Christian feast day:
Amato Ronconi - Christian feast day:
Apparition of Saint Michael - Christian feast day:
Arsenius the Great - Christian feast day:
Desideratus - Christian feast day:
Blessed Catherine of St. Augustine - Christian feast day:
Julian of Norwich (Anglican, Lutheran) - Christian feast day:
Magdalene of Canossa - Christian feast day:
Our Lady of Luján - Christian feast day:
Peter II of Tarentaise - Christian feast day:
Blessed Teresa Demjanovich (Ruthenian Catholic Church) - Christian feast day:
19 Martyrs of Algeria - Christian feast day:
May 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) - Emancipation Day (Columbus, Mississippi)
- Furry Dance (Helston, UK)
- Liberation Day (Czech Republic)