A Day in the Past

On this day: 8 July

120 things happened on 8 July, from AD 975 to 2026. UK stories come first, then the rest of the world.

Printable worksheet Take the quiz

In the UK 6

UK history first: stories from England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.

Around the world 29

1970 56 years ago

Richard Nixon delivers a special congressional message enunciating Native American self-determination as official US Indian policy, leading to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975.

Laws & government Find out more: Richard Nixon (Wikipedia)

Quick quiz

Every answer is somewhere on this page. Have a go, then check!

  1. In which year did this happen: “French and Indian War: French forces defeated the British at Fort Carillon in”?

    1. 1758
    2. 1822
    3. 1966
    Show the answer

    A: 1758. 1758 — that’s 268 years ago. Find it on the page

  2. In which year did this happen: “King Mwambutsa IV of Burundi was deposed in a coup d'état by his son, Prince”?

    1. 1966
    2. 1859
    3. 1892
    Show the answer

    A: 1966. 1966 — that’s 60 years ago. Find it on the page

  3. Which of these happened first?

    1. French and Indian War: French forces defeated the British at Fort Carillon in
    2. King Mwambutsa IV of Burundi was deposed in a coup d'état by his son, Prince
    3. King Charles XV & IV accedes to the throne of Sweden–Norway
    Show the answer

    A: French and Indian War: French forces defeated the British at Fort Carillon in. 1758: French and Indian War: French forces defeated the British at Fort Carillon in · 1966: King Mwambutsa IV of Burundi was deposed in a coup d'état by his son, Prince · 1859: King Charles XV & IV accedes to the throne of Sweden–Norway Find it on the page

  4. “King Charles XV & IV accedes to the throne of Sweden–Norway” happened in 1859. How many years ago was that?

    1. 167 years
    2. 157 years
    3. 177 years
    Show the answer

    A: 167 years. 2026 − 1859 = 167. Find it on the page

Born on this day 35

Famous people whose birthday is 8 July.

Remembering 21

Well-known people who died on 8 July.

Special days 8

Festivals, holidays and saints’ days celebrated on 8 July somewhere in the world.

For older readers 21 Show stories about war, disasters, crime and other difficult history

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.

Where these facts come from

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 “July 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.