Important Events From This day in History November 8

 

 1960 U.S.A. - - John F. Kennedy

1960 : Senator John F. Kennedy is elected the 35th President of the United States, at 43 years of age the youngest president to be elected in the nation's history .

8 Nov, 1940 World War II - - Blanket Request

A Request for Blankets for People Sleeping in Underground Tunnels and Shelters during the bombing blitz of London. Times were hard in many areas of the world during World War II. Many Londoners spent winter nights in underground tunnels and shelters. Supplies of any new or old blankets that could be spared were called for in order to provide additional warmth for these people.

More about the Blitz of London

1917

Russia - - Lenin

Lenin makes his first appearance before the Congress of Soviets, in which the Bolsheviks hold a 60% majority. announcing "We shall now proceed to the construction of the socialist order,".

1922 Britain - - Curzon

Curzon, the British Foreign Secretary made an address today. In this speech he spoke out against false pretensions made by the Turkish government at this time. This was during the time of great battle within Turkey, Greece, and surrounding countries.

1923 Germany - - Beer Hall Putsch

Adolf Hitler leads the Nazi Party in failed coup d etat attempt to gain power in Munich, Bavaria, and Germany. The attempt fails and Hitler is arrested and charged with high treason. The Nazi party headquarters are raided, and its newspaper, the Volkischer Beobachter is banned.

1933 U.S.A. - - Jobs Creation

President Franklin D. Roosevelt announced plans for the Civil Works Administration that will create 4 million additional jobs for the unemployed he made available $400,000,000 of public works funds.

1935 Bahamas - - Hurricane

1935: A large hurricane swept through the Bahamas, hitting areas such as the capital city, Nassau. This was the same storm that hit Miami, Florida, resulting in three million dollars of property damage. At least 10 passengers aboard the Great Abaco were drowned and other fishing vessels were destroyed. This storm passed through a wide area of the Gulf of Mexico .

1939 Germany - - Assassination Attempt On Hitler

Johann Georg Elser plants a bomb at the Burgerbrau Beer Cellar in Munich where Hitler is due to give a speech, Hitler gives his speech and leaves 8 minutes before the bomb detonates killing eight people and injuring dozens more.

1944 Egypt - - Jewish Terrorists

Egyptian police had just announced a nationwide search for Jewish terrorists. Word got out that there was at least several dozen of them-two of which had apparently admitted to the assassination of Lord Moyne, a Middle Eastern British resident minister. The suspects were known as members of the Sternist Organization. There names were Mosche Cohen Itzak and Ch. Salzmann .

1953 China - - POWs

Only two more prisoners of war (POWs) interviewed had returned to Communist China. The rest of them remained bound in prison, taking an active stance against the Reds (Communist Party). Some of these prisoners were intended to be returned to North Korea while others were intended to be returned to Communist China. These interviews had been going on for at least a week in order to win more people over to the cause of the Communist Party active in this area. However, out of 493 people imprisoned only a handful of them complied with the wishes of the Reds. .

1957 UK - - Windscale Nuclear Power Plant

1957 : An inquiry into a fire on October 10th at Windscale nuclear power plant has blamed the accident on a combination of human error, poor management and faulty instruments.

1963 Vatican - - Roudy Debate

A debate was started in Vatican City, an independent city-state located in the vicinity of Rome, Italy. The initiator of this verbal conflict was Joseph Frings, a German cardinal from Cologne (Germany's fourth largest city). Frings spoke out regarding the matter of Congregation of the Holy Office Procedures during a formal council meeting. He believed that this church's procedures were unjust. Upon Frings' revelation of injustices, a roar of forbidden applause echoed throughout the meeting place. Normally clapping and cheering was not allowed during Holy Office council meetings. However, this was a very progressive day-as quite a bit needed to change at this time.

1965 U.S.A. - - Higher Education Act of 1965

The Higher Education Act of 1965 signed into law as part of President Johnson's Great Society domestic agenda. One of the primary purposes of the act was to provide financial assistance for students in higher education by increasing federal funding for universities to create scholarship programs, and to provide low-interest loans for students through Free Application for Federal Student Aid ( FAFSA ).

1965 UK - - Death Penalty Abolished

The Murder (Abolition of the Death Penalty) Act 1965 is given Royal Assent, formally abolishing the death penalty for murder in the United Kingdom.

1966 U.S.A. - - NFL / AFL Merger

U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signs Public Law 89-800 which allows the National Football League ( NFL ) to merge with American Football League ( AFL ) and exempted the action from Anti-Trust restrictions.

1973 Australia - - Bomb

A homemade bomb exploded on top of a Brisbane, Queensland, Australia's teacher's desk. The teacher lost both hands, one student was killed, and 11 other students were injured-one losing both arms.

1974 England - - Lord Lucan

British aristocrat Lord Lucan is being searched for by British Police following the murder of his children's nanny and an attack on his estranged wife. An inquest jury later in the year declared Lord Lucan was guilty of murder. Lord Lucan was never found and was not officially declared dead until 1999.

1974 U.S.A. - - Serial Killer Ted Bundy

1974: The Serial Killer Ted Bundy is defeated in an abduction attempt when Carol DaRonch narrowly escapes being abducted. Utah authorities were trying to figure out what had happened to several young women who disappeared earlier. Seattle area officials were looking for a young man named Ted who was the suspected culprit in many murder cases. On August 16 , 1975, an officer noticed a suspicious Volkswagen driving around his patrol area. After pulling the vehicle over, he found handcuffs in the back of the automobile and arrested the driver--Ted Bundy. In March 1976, he was convicted of aggravated kidnapping, which put him behind bars while investigators tried to connect him to the many unsolved murders in Washington, Colorado, and Utah but December 30, 1977, Bundy managed to escape from jail. A few months later, he was added to the FBI's Ten Most Wanted Fugitives List, and on February 15, 1978, he was finally captured. He eventually confessed to the murders of 28 women, and was executed in Florida on January 24th , 1989.

1985 Lebanon - - Hostages

A letter of plea had arrived in Beirut, Lebanon from the hostages held in Lebanon. In the letter was text which pleaded for Reagan to negotiate to let the hostages go free. However, Reagan would not budge, saying "we" (America) do not negotiate with terrorists. The letter that had arrived in Beirut was dated the day after anonymous callers in Beirut said these hostages were shot by firing squads. The letter written regarding the hostages left little clue to the whereabouts-except for the nature of the "cell" in which they were kept. Signatures of four hostages were given in the letter, . AP Correspondent Terry Anderson, Reverend Lawrence Jenco, Beirut Hospital Director David Jacobson, and Beirut University Dean of Agriculture Thomas Sutherland had all signed it.