May 8

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May 8 is the 128th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (129th in leap years). There are 237 days remaining.

Events

1450 - Jack Cade's Rebellion: Kentishmen revolt against King Henry VI.
1541 - Hernando de Soto reaches the Mississippi River naming it Rio de Espiritu Santo.
1794 - French chemist Antoine Lavoisier is executed by guillotine.
1846 - Mexican-American War: The Battle of Palo Alto - Zachary Taylor defeats a Mexican force north of the Rio Grande at Palo Alto, Texas in the first major battle of the war.
1861 - American Civil War: Richmond, Virginia is named the capital of the Confederate States of America.
1877 - At Gilmore's Gardens in New York City, the first Westminster Dog Show opens (ends May 11).
1886 - Pharmacist Dr. John Styth Pemberton invents a carbonated beverage that would be named "Coca-Cola."
1902 - In Martinique, Mount Pelee erupts destroys the town of St. Pierre and kills over 30,000 people. Only a small handful of St. Pierre's residents survived the blast.
1914 - Paramount Pictures is formed.
1933 - Mohandas Gandhi begins a 21 day fast in protest of British oppression in India.
1942 - World War II: The Battle of the Coral Sea comes to an end. This is the first time in the naval history where two enemy fleets fought without visual contact between warring ships.
1945 - World War II: V-E Day, the day the German forces agreed to an unconditional surrender.
1967 - The Philippine province of Davao was split into three: Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental.
1973 - A 71-day standoff between federal authorities and the American Indian Movement who were occupying the Pine Ridge Reservation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota, ends with the surrender of the militants.
1984 - The Soviet Union announces that it will boycott the 1984 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, California.
1985 - New Coke is released on the 99th anniversary of Coca-Cola.
1997 - A China Southern Airlines Boeing 737 crashed on approach into Shenzhen's Huangtian Airport killing 35
1999 - Nancy Mace becomes the first female cadet to graduate from The Citadel military college.