Important Events From This day in History May 8th

 

8 May, 1945 VE Day / Victory In Europe Declared

1945 : President Truman and Prime minister Churchill declared victory in Europe today, celebrating the defeat of Nazi Germany. Following the announcement huge crowds, many dressed in red, white and blue, gathered outside Buckingham Palace in London and were cheered as the King, Queen and two Princesses came out onto the balcony.

8 May, 1970 UK The Beatles "Let It Be" Released

1970 : Just shortly after the Break Up of the Beatles is announced The Beatles Final original album "Let It Be" is released by Apple Records.

8 May, 1978 U.S.A. David Berkowitz ( Son of Sam )

1978 : David Berkowitz ( Son of Sam ) admitted guilty to 6 son of Sam killings in court, he has also claimed responsibility for 2000 fires in a 4 year period under the alias of "The Phantom of the Bronx," it was revealed a diary found detailed 1,411 of the fires during this time period.

8 May, 1942 World War II The Battle of Coral Sea

1942 : The Battle of Coral Sea, between the Japanese Navy and the United States and Australian Navies ends with the loss of the carrier USS Lexington and the Japanese carrier Shōhō.

1927 U.S.A. Mississippi Floods

1927 : The Mississippi floods are continuing the path of destruction. The Mississippi has seen many floods in previous years and thankfully most residents heeded the flood warnings saving many lives but this flood will be the most costly in many years.

8 May, 1929 U.S.A. Gangsters Murdered

1929 : Three gangsters from Chicago were found murdered today and riddled with bullets in retaliation for the "St Valentines Day Massacre" earlier in the year, so far 2 have been identified as 2 of Scarface Al Capone's henchmen.

1939 Europe On the Brink Of War

1939 : Calls for peace continue with Europe on the brink of war including Pope Pius XII who asks the nations involved to try to come to a peaceful settlement , Currently Britain is worried as if the Soviets and Nazis do make a pact to join forces, war could be that much closer and will involve all the countries in Europe.

1941 U.S.A. "Let Me Off Uptown"

1941 : Anita O’Day recorded "Let Me Off Uptown" with Gene Krupa and his band. O'Day was one of the more prominent jazz singers of her day and has often been compared to greats like Billie Holiday, Sarah Vaughn and Ella Fitzgerald.

1927 France Transatlantic White Bird

1927 : The Bi-Plane the "Transatlantic White Bird" Piloted by the french Aviator Captain Nungesser attempting to be the first to cross the Atlantic non stop from Paris to New York is spotted in the early morning off Nova Scotia fighting strong head winds and heading for the Maine Seaboard and had been in the Air for approximately 33 hours. Shortly after the sighting they mysteriously disappeared while trying to be the first to complete the non-stop transatlantic flight, flying from Paris to New York City . The plane, pilot and navigator have never been seen since and two weeks later American aviator Charles Lindbergh, flying solo, successfully crossed from New York to Paris.

1948 Germany Berlin Issue

1948 : Following the end of the World War more problems are appearing in how Germany will be split with the Russians stating the plan put forward by Britain, France and the United States will cause Germany and the rest Europe to be divided and is not in accordance with the Potsdam Agreement. So far no word has been given by Russia on what they will do. What did happen is that Berlin was split and the Berlin Wall was built as part of the cold war over the next 40 years.

1959 Egypt Pleasure Boat Sinks On The Nile

1959 : A 200 ton pleasure boat carrying some of Egypt's top agriculture engineers and their families on a picnic sank with loss of 200 lives on the Nile.

1967 U.S.A. Ralph Nader

1967 : Following the publication of his book "unsafe at any speed" published in 1965 which highlights the Chevrolet Corvair as an unsafe and unreliable example of automobiles offered to American Consumers. Ralph Nader is part of a symposium on "Automobile Crash Injuries" at the Upstate Medical Center as part of the pressure on the government and the automobile industry to improve safety in cars.

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