July 8th in History

Commodore Matthew Perry’s expedition to Japan arrives in Edo Bay, July 8, 1853. The art (Gasshukoku suishi teitoku kōjōgaki, or Oral statement by the American Navy admiral) is a Japanese print showing three men, believed to be Commander Anan, age 54; Perry, age 49; and Captain Henry Adams, age 59, who opened up Japan to the west. The text being read may be President Fillmore’s letter to Emperor of Japan.  (Courtesy Library of Congress Prints and Photographs Division)

Today in History

  • Commodore Matthew Perry arrives in Japan’s Edo Bay (1853)
  • White supremacists kill five black Republicans in South Carolina (1876)
  • The first issue of The Wall Street Journal is published (1889)
  • The Soviet Union charges downed U-2 pilot Francis Gary Powers with espionage (1960)
  • The final mission of the US Space Shuttle program is launched (2011)

Birthdays

  • Jean de La Fontaine, author (1621)
  • John Pemberton, pharmacist, inventor of Coca-Cola (1831)
  • Eli Lilly, chemist and industrialist (1838)
  • Ferdinand von Zeppelin, airship manufacturer (1838)
  • John D. Rockefeller, founder of Standard Oil (1839)
  • Alfred Binet, psychologist (1857)
  • Hugo Boss, fashion designer (1885)
  • Philip Johnson, architect (1906)
  • George Romney, politician (1907)
  • Louis Jordan, singer-songwriter and actor (1908)
  • Billy Eckstein, singer and trumpet player (1914)
  • Elizabeth Kübler-Ross, psychiatrist (1926)
  • Jerry Vale, singer and actor (1930)
  • Marty Feldman, actor (1934)
  • Steve Lawrence, singer (1935)
  • Phil Gramm, politician (1942)
  • Jeffrey Tambor, actor (1944)
  • Kim Darby, actress (1947)
  • Raffi, singer-songwriter (1948)
  • Wolfgang Puck, chef (1949)
  • Anjelica Huston, actress (1951)
  • Jack Lambert, football player (1952)
  • Marianne Williamson, author (1952)
  • Toby Keith, singer-songwriter (1961)
  • Billy Crudup, actor (1968)
  • Beck, singer-songwriter (1970)
  • Jaden Smith, actor and rapper (1998)

Deaths

  • Christiaan Huygens, astronomer (1695)
  • Elihu Yale, merchant and philanthropist (1721)
  • Percy Bysshe Shelley, poet (1822)
  • Soapy Smith, gangster (1898)
  • Havelock Ellis, psychiatrist (1939)
  • Skeeter Webb, baseball player (1986)
  • Howard Duff, actor (1990)
  • Kim Il-sung, North Korean leader (1994)
  • Dick Sargent, actor (1994)
  • Pete Conrad, astronaut (1999)
  • June Allyson, actress and singer (2006)
  • John Templeton, financier (2008)
  • Betty Ford, first lady (2011)
  • Ernest Borgnine, actor (2012)

Holidays and Celebrations

  • Air Force and Air Defense Forces Day (Ukraine)
  • Math 2.0 Day
  • Peter and Fevronia Day (Russia)
  • SCUD Day
  • Video Games Day
July 8 is the 189th day of the year (190th in leap years). There are 176 days remaining until the end of the year.