8 August in history
8 events that happened on 8 August, from 870 to 1974.
870 CE 1,156 years ago
Treaty of Meerssen partitions Lotharingia
Charles the Bald and Louis the German divided the lands of their late nephew Lothair II between West and East Francia. The partition helped shape the later frontier between France and Germany.
1164 CE 862 years ago
Hassan II of Alamut proclaims the qiyama to the Nizari Ismailis
At a public gathering at the fortress of Alamut, the Nizari imam Hassan II proclaimed the qiyama and announced that Ismaili practice would change from traditional Islamic practice. In standard Islamic eschatology the qiyama comes at the end of time.
1220 CE 806 years ago
Estonians defeat the Swedes at the Battle of Lihula
Estonians defeated invading Swedes in a battle for control of the castle at Lihula, described in the Chronicle of Henry of Livonia and the Livonian Rhymed Chronicle. The exact date is uncertain, but some historians place it on 8 August.
1264 CE 762 years ago
Mudéjar rebels take the Alcázar of Jerez de la Frontera
Early in the Mudéjar revolt against Castile, the Muslim inhabitants of Jerez, aided by allies from Algeciras and Tarifa, took the town's alcázar after its commander, Nuño González de Lara, deserted his post. Reinforcements from Seville arrived two days too late.
✦ Anniversary of the day
1576 CE 450 years ago
Foundation stone is laid for Tycho Brahe's Uraniborg
Work began on Tycho Brahe's observatory on the island of Hven, granted to him by Frederick II of Denmark. Its precise naked-eye observations later allowed Kepler to derive his laws of planetary motion.
1918 CE 108 years ago
Allied attack at Amiens breaks the German line
British, Australian, Canadian and French troops, with hundreds of tanks, broke through near Amiens. Ludendorff called it the 'black day of the German army'; the Hundred Days Offensive had begun.
1945 CE 81 years ago
The Soviet Union declares war on Japan
Moscow declared war on Japan and, within hours, launched a massive invasion of Manchuria. Coming between the atomic bombings, it helped persuade Japan's leaders to surrender.
1974 CE 52 years ago
Richard Nixon announces his resignation
In a televised address, Richard Nixon said he would resign the presidency at noon the next day. Released tapes had proved his role in the Watergate cover-up, leaving him facing certain impeachment.
Born on 8 August 4
Died on 8 August 3
Dates as the sources give them: in the Julian calendar before 1582, and in some countries for longer (Britain until 1752, Russia until 1918). Only people whose day of birth or death the records agree on are listed.