116 things happened on 8 February, from AD 120 to 2017. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.
1948 · 78 years ago
The 1948 Winter Olympics closed in St. Moritz, Switzerland. They were the first Olympic Games held after the Second World War. It had been twelve years since the last Winter Games, in 1936. These Games, which began on 30 January, were also the first Winter Ol…
UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
UK story
Robert Devereux, Earl of Essex, led a rebellion against Queen Elizabeth I, but it failed. Essex had once been one of the queen's favourites. He lost her favour after he failed in his job as Lord Lieutenant of Ireland. With his rebellion, he hoped to win more influence at court against a rival group led by Sir Robert Cecil.
UK story
King William III and Queen Mary II gave a royal charter to set up the College of William & Mary in Virginia. It is now the second-oldest university in the United States. William and Mary ruled England, Scotland and Ireland together from 1689. Their joint reign lasted until Mary's death in 1694, after which William ruled alone.
UK story
Scottish-born engineer Sandford Fleming first suggested a Universal Standard Time, at a meeting of the Royal Canadian Institute. He wanted the world to use time zones, a prime meridian and the 24-hour clock, to help people share the exact time. His ideas helped lead to the time standard used around the world. Fleming also designed Canada's first postage stamp.
UK story
Queen Elizabeth II issued an order proclaiming that the royal family would remain the House of Windsor. She also declared that her descendants would take the surname Mountbatten-Windsor. The name Windsor had been chosen by King George V in 1917 and was inspired by Windsor Castle. Before then, the royal house had the German name Saxe-Coburg and Gotha.
UK story
World War II: British and Canadian forces commence Operation Veritable to occupy land between the Maas and Rhine rivers.
William, Prince of Orange, founded Leiden University in the Dutch city of Leiden. It is the oldest surviving university in the Netherlands. William led the Dutch revolt against Spanish rule, which eventually led to the independence of the Dutch Republic in 1648. He is the ancestor of the royal family of the Netherlands.
William D. Boyce founded the Boy Scouts of America, bringing the Scout Movement to the United States. Boyce was a newspaper owner and explorer who had loved the outdoors since he was young. The organisation is now called Scouting America and is one of the largest youth groups in the country. About 130 million Americans have taken part since it began.
The 1948 Winter Olympics closed in St. Moritz, Switzerland. They were the first Olympic Games held after the Second World War. It had been twelve years since the last Winter Games, in 1936. These Games, which began on 30 January, were also the first Winter Olympics held during the Cold War.
Building work officially began on the Walk of Fame in Hollywood, Los Angeles. It now has more than 2,800 five-pointed stars set into the pavements along Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street. Each star honours someone from the world of entertainment. Actors, film-makers, musicians and even fictional characters have been given stars.
The three astronauts of Skylab 4 returned to Earth after 84 days in space. Gerald Carr, Edward Gibson and William Pogue were the third and final crew to live on Skylab, the first American space station. They carried out many experiments, including studying the Sun and observing Comet Kohoutek. A space station is a spacecraft that stays in orbit where people can live for long periods.
Honorius declared Constantius III to be his co-emperor of the Western Roman Empire.
Seventh Crusade: The Ayyubid Sultanate of Egypt defeated and captured King Louis IX of France at the Battle of Fariskur.
The Byzantine civil war of 1341–47 ends with a power-sharing agreement between John VI Kantakouzenos and John V Palaiologos.
Napoleon defeats the coalition forces of Russian General Bennigsen and Prussian General L'Estocq at the Battle of Eylau.
An army led by Grand Marshal Las Heras crosses the Andes to join San Martín in the liberation of Chile from Spain.
Richard Mentor Johnson became the only person ever to be elected Vice President of the United States by the Senate.
Delaware refuses to ratify the Thirteenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, delaying the criminalization of slavery until the amendment's national adoption on December 6, 1865. The amendment is ultimately ratified by Delaware on February 12, 1901, the 92nd anniversary of Abraham Lincoln's birth.
The first Japanese immigrants arrive in Hawaii.
The Dawes Act is enacted, authorizing the U.S. President to divide Native American tribal land into individual allotments.
Japanese forces launch a surprise attack against Russian-controlled Port Arthur, marking the start of the Russo-Japanese war.
Spanish Civil War: Republican forces establish the Interprovincial Council of Santander, Palencia and Burgos in Cantabria.
World War II: Japan invades Singapore.
The People's Republic of Korea is dissolved in the North and replaced by the communist-controlled Provisional People's Committee of North Korea.
The Stasi, the secret police of East Germany, is established.
The regime of Prime Minister of Iraq Abd al-Karim Qasim is overthrown by the Ba'ath Party.
South Vietnamese ground troops launch an incursion into Laos to try to cut off the Ho Chi Minh trail and stop communist infiltration into the country.
Denis Sassou Nguesso (pictured) was chosen as the new President of the Republic of the Congo after Joachim Yhombi-Opango was forced from power.
A dust storm hits Melbourne, resulting in the worst drought on record and severe weather conditions in the city.
Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!
In which year did this happen: “William and Mary found a college in Virginia”?
A: 1693. 1693 — that’s 333 years ago. Find it on the page
In which year did this happen: “Elizabeth II names her descendants Mountbatten-Windsor”?
A: 1960. 1960 — that’s 66 years ago. Find it on the page
Which of these happened first?
A: The Earl of Essex leads a failed rebellion against Elizabeth I. 1601: The Earl of Essex leads a failed rebellion against Elizabeth I · 1960: Elizabeth II names her descendants Mountbatten-Windsor · 1693: William and Mary found a college in Virginia Find it on the page
“The Earl of Essex leads a failed rebellion against Elizabeth I” happened in 1601. How many years ago was that?
C: 425 years. 2026 − 1601 = 425. Find it on the page
Famous people whose birthday is 8 February.
Jules Verne was a French writer of exciting adventure novels. His books include Journey to the Centre of the Earth, Twenty Thousand Leagues Under the Seas and Around the World in Eighty Days. His stories used the science and technology of his time, and he is sometimes called the 'father of science fiction'. He is one of the most translated authors in the world.
Dmitri Mendeleev was a Russian chemist who created a version of the periodic table of elements. This is the chart that scientists use to organise all the chemical elements. Using his table, he correctly predicted the properties of three elements that had not yet been discovered. The element mendelevium is named in his honour.
Well-known people who died on 8 February.
Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 8 February somewhere in the world.
Content note: these entries mention things like war, violence, deaths, disasters or crime. They are part of history, but they can be upsetting. Grown-ups and teachers: you may want to read them first. They come straight from Wikipedia and have not been rewritten for children.
Stories with a heading have been written for young readers by A Day in the Past, using the linked articles as sources. Other entries show text from Wikipedia’s “February 8” page and its “On this day” feed, written by Wikipedia contributors and shared under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 licence. Each “Read more” link goes to the article an entry is based on. Photos are credited under each picture. Spotted a mistake? Please tell us.