8 January in history

6 events that happened on 8 January, from 1297 to 1959.

  1. 1297 CE 729 years ago

    François Grimaldi seizes the fortress of Monaco

    Disguised as a Franciscan friar, the Genoese Guelph François Grimaldi talked his way into the Rock of Monaco and took it. His descendants, the House of Grimaldi, still rule the principality.

  2. 1815 CE 211 years ago

    Andrew Jackson defeats the British at New Orleans

    Jackson's mixed force repulsed a British assault on New Orleans, inflicting some 2,000 casualties. Fought after the Treaty of Ghent was signed but before news arrived, it made Jackson a national hero.

  3. 1918 CE 108 years ago

    Woodrow Wilson presents his Fourteen Points

    Addressing Congress, President Wilson outlined a peace programme including open diplomacy, free seas, self-determination and a league of nations. It framed the armistice and the Paris Peace Conference.

    Austro-Hungarian EmpireFourteen PointsWoodrow WilsonParis

  4. ✦ Anniversary of the day

    1926 CE 100 years ago

    Abdulaziz ibn Saud proclaimed King of the Hejaz

    After conquering Mecca and Medina, the Sultan of Nejd was proclaimed King of the Hejaz in the Great Mosque of Mecca. In 1932 he merged his realms into the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

    MedinaHejaz

  5. 1940 CE 86 years ago

    Britain introduces food rationing

    Bacon, butter and sugar became the first foods rationed in wartime Britain. Rationing extended to most foods during the war and did not end entirely until 1954.

  6. 1959 CE 67 years ago

    Charles de Gaulle takes office as President of France

    De Gaulle became the first President of the Fifth Republic, whose constitution greatly strengthened the executive. He governed France until 1969, ending the war in Algeria in 1962.

    French EmpireCharles de GaulleAlgeria

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