8 October in history

5 events that happened on 8 October, from 451 to 1967.

  1. ✦ Anniversary of the day

    451 CE 1,575 years ago

    The Council of Chalcedon opens

    Bishops summoned by Emperor Marcian met at Chalcedon, across the Bosporus from Constantinople. Its definition of Christ as one person in two natures became orthodoxy in the West and Byzantium but split the eastern churches.

  2. 1856 CE 170 years ago

    Chinese officials board the Arrow at Canton

    Qing officials boarded the Arrow, a Chinese-owned ship flying a British flag, and arrested its crew on suspicion of piracy. Britain used the incident as grounds for the Second Opium War.

  3. 1871 CE 155 years ago

    The Great Chicago Fire breaks out

    Fire broke out in a barn on DeKoven Street and, driven by strong winds, burned for two days across Chicago. About 300 people died and 100,000 lost their homes, but rebuilding made the city a centre of modern architecture.

  4. 1918 CE 108 years ago

    Corporal Alvin York captures 132 German soldiers

    In the Argonne Forest, Corporal Alvin York led a small patrol that silenced German machine guns, killing about 25 soldiers and taking 132 prisoners. He received the Medal of Honor and became a national hero.

  5. 1967 CE 59 years ago

    Che Guevara is captured in Bolivia

    Bolivian troops, aided by the CIA, wounded and captured Ernesto 'Che' Guevara in the Yuro ravine. He was executed the next day at La Higuera, and his image became an enduring icon of revolution.

    Bolivia

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