May 8 in History

The 2025 papal conclave elects Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost, taking the name Leo XIV as the 267th Pope of the Catholic Church.

A car bomb explodes in front of a school in Kabul, capital city of Afghanistan killing at least 55 people and wounding over 150.

British 17-year-old Isabelle Holdaway is reported to be the first patient ever to receive a genetically modified phage therapy to treat a drug-resistant infection.

China Southern Airlines Flight 3456 crashes on approach into Bao'an International Airport, killing 35 people.

A fire at Illinois Bell's Hinsdale Central Office triggers an extended 1AESS network outage once considered to be the "worst telecommunications disaster in US telephone industry history".

The SAS kills eight Provisional Irish Republican Army volunteers and a civilian during an ambush in Loughgall, Northern Ireland.

Corporal Denis Lortie enters the Quebec National Assembly and opens fire, killing three people and wounding 13. René Jalbert, Sergeant-at-Arms of the Assembly, succeeds in calming him, for which he will later receive the Cross of Valour.

The Soviet Union announces a boycott upon the Summer Olympics at Los Angeles, later joined by 14 other countries.

The Thames Barrier is officially opened, preventing the floodplain of most of Greater London from being flooded except under extreme circumstances.

The World Health Organization confirms the eradication of smallpox.

The first ascent of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen, by Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler.

The rollercoaster The New Revolution, the first steel coaster with a vertical loop, opens at Six Flags Magic Mountain.

A 71-day standoff between federal authorities and the American Indian Movement members occupying the Pine Ridge Reservation at Wounded Knee, South Dakota ends with the surrender of the militants.

Vietnam War: U.S. President Richard Nixon announces his order to place naval mines in major North Vietnamese ports in order to stem the flow of weapons and other goods to that nation.

The Beatles release their 12th and final studio album Let It Be.

The Philippine province of Davao is split into three: Davao del Norte, Davao del Sur, and Davao Oriental.

South Vietnamese soldiers under the Roman Catholic President Ngo Dinh Diem open fire on Buddhists defying a ban on the flying of the Buddhist flag on Vesak, killing nine and sparking the Buddhist crisis.

South Vietnamese President Ngo Dinh Diem begins a state visit to the United States, his regime's main sponsor.

The Tollund Man is discovered in a peat bog near Silkeborg, Denmark.

Estonian schoolgirls Aili Jõgi and Ageeda Paavel blow up the Soviet memorial which preceded the Bronze Soldier of Tallinn.

World War II: The German Instrument of Surrender signed at Berlin-Karlshorst comes into effect. This is commemorated as Victory in Europe Day.

End of the Prague uprising, celebrated now as a national holiday in the Czech Republic.

Hundreds of Algerian civilians are killed by French Army soldiers in the Sétif massacre.

The Halifax riot starts when thousands of civilians and servicemen rampage through Halifax, Nova Scotia.

World War II: The German 11th Army begins Operation Trappenjagd (Bustard Hunt) and destroys the bridgehead of the three Soviet armies defending the Kerch Peninsula.

World War II: The Battle of the Coral Sea comes to an end with Imperial Japanese Navy aircraft carrier aircraft attacking and sinking the United States Navy aircraft carrier USS Lexington.

World War II: Gunners of the Ceylon Garrison Artillery on Horsburgh Island in the Cocos Islands rebel in the Cocos Islands Mutiny. Their mutiny is crushed and three of them are executed, the only British Commonwealth soldiers to be executed for mutiny during the Second World War.

World War II: The German Luftwaffe launches a bombing raid on Nottingham and Derby.

Mohandas Gandhi begins a 21-day fast of self-purification and launched a one-year campaign to help the Harijan movement.

Attempting to make the first non-stop transatlantic flight from Paris to New York, French war heroes Charles Nungesser and François Coli disappear after taking off aboard The White Bird biplane.

The Klaipėda Convention is signed formally incorporating Klaipėda Region (Memel Territory) into Lithuania. It would come back to Germany in 1939.

The creation of the Communist Party of Romania.

Edward George Honey proposes the idea of a moment of silence to commemorate the Armistice of 11 November 1918 which ended World War I.

In Martinique, Mount Pelée erupts, destroying the town of Saint-Pierre and killing over 30,000 people. Only a handful of residents survive the blast.

The first games of the Italian football league system are played.

Pharmacist John Pemberton first sells a carbonated beverage named "Coca-Cola" as a patent medicine.

At Gilmore's Gardens in New York City, the first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show opens.

Mexican–American War: American forces led by Zachary Taylor defeat a Mexican force north of the Rio Grande in the first major battle of the war.

A train derails and catches fire in Paris, killing between 52 and 200 people.

Greek War of Independence: The Greeks defeat the Turks at the Battle of Gravia Inn.

Branded a traitor during the Reign of Terror, French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, who was also a tax collector with the Ferme générale, is tried, convicted and guillotined in one day in Paris.

King Louis XVI of France attempts to impose the reforms of Étienne Charles de Loménie de Brienne by abolishing the parlements.

In the Papal States, Cardinal Michelangelo dei Conti is elected Pope, and takes the name Innocent XIII.

William Coddington founds Newport, Rhode Island.

A newly nationalized silver mine in Scotland at Hilderston, West Lothian is re-opened by Bevis Bulmer.

Hernando de Soto stops near present-day Walls, Mississippi, and sees the Mississippi River (then known by the Spanish as Río de Espíritu Santo, the name given to it by Alonso Álvarez de Pineda in 1519).

A group of imperial guards, led by Trịnh Duy Sản, murder Emperor Lê Tương Dực and flee, leaving the capital Thăng Long undefended.

The Hundred Years War: Joan of Arc lifts the Siege of Orléans, turning the tide of the war

Julian of Norwich, a Christian mystic and anchoress, experiences the deathbed visions described in her Revelations of Divine Love.

The Hundred Years War: the Treaty of Brétigny is drafted between King Edward III of England and King John II of France (the Good).

Reccared I opens the Third Council of Toledo, marking the entry of Visigothic Spain into the Catholic Church.

Emperor Honorius signs an edict providing tax relief for the Italian provinces Tuscia, Campania, Picenum, Samnium, Apulia, Lucania and Calabria, which were plundered by the Visigoths.

Spring and Autumn period: The house of Zhao defeats the house of Zhi, ending the Battle of Jinyang, a military conflict between the elite families of the State of Jin.

Oliver Bearman, English racing driver

Moulay Hassan, Crown Prince of Morocco

Jordyn Huitema, Canadian soccer player

6ix9ine, American rapper

Pat Cummins, Australian cricketer

Olivia Culpo, American model and actress

Kevin Hayes, American ice hockey player

Lane Johnson, American football player

Iyo Sky, Japanese wrestler

Kemba Walker, American basketball player

Lars Eller, Danish ice hockey player

Trisha Paytas, American media personality

Felix Jones, American football player

Mark Noble, English footballer

Kurt Tippett, Australian footballer

Galen Rupp, American runner

Tommaso Ciampa, American wrestler

Buakaw Banchamek, Thai kick-boxer

Adrián González, American baseball player

Stephen Amell, Canadian actor

Andrea Barzagli, Italian footballer

Evgeny Lebedev, Russian-English publisher and philanthropist

Michelle McManus, Scottish singer-songwriter and actress

Lúcio, Brazilian footballer

Joe Bonamassa, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Bad News Brown, Canadian rapper, harmonica player, and actor (died 2011)

Theodoros Papaloukas, Greek basketball player

Martha Wainwright, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and guitarist

Enrique Iglesias, Spanish-American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor

Korey Stringer, American football player (died 2001)

Jesús Arellano, Mexican footballer

Marcus Brigstocke, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter

Darren Hayes, Australian singer-songwriter

Ray Whitney, Canadian ice hockey player

Candice Night, American singer-songwriter

Michael Bevan, Australian cricketer and coach

Naomi Klein, Canadian author and activist

Luis Enrique, Spanish footballer and manager

Akebono Tarō, American-Japanese sumo wrestler, the 64th Yokozuna (died 2024)

John Timu, New Zealand rugby player

Viviana Durante, Italian ballerina and actress

Eileen Bowman, American actress

Cláudio Taffarel, Brazilian footballer and coach

Melissa Gilbert, American actress and director

Anthony Field, Australian guitarist, songwriter, producer, and actor

Michel Gondry, French director and screenwriter

Bill de Blasio, American politician, 109th Mayor of New York City

David Winning, Canadian-American director, producer, and screenwriter

Franco Baresi, Italian footballer and coach (died 2026)

Ronnie Lott, American football player and sportscaster

Roddy Doyle, Irish novelist, playwright, and screenwriter

Brooks Newmark, American-English businessman and politician, Lord of the Treasury

Bill Cowher, American football player, coach, and analyst

Jeff Wincott, Canadian actor and martial artist

Patrick Hanrahan, American computer graphics researcher

Mladen Markač, Croatian general

David Keith, American actor and director

Alex Van Halen, Dutch-American drummer

Peter McNab, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster (died 2022)

Philip Bailey, American singer-songwriter, drummer, and actor

Mike D'Antoni, American basketball player and coach

Chris Frantz, American drummer and producer

H. Robert Horvitz, American biologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

John Reid, Baron Reid of Cardowan, Scottish historian and politician, Secretary of State for Defence

Keith Jarrett, American pianist and composer

Gary Glitter, English singer-songwriter

Pat Barker, English author

Gamini Lokuge, Sri Lankan politician (died 2025)

Norman Lamont, Scottish banker and politician, Chancellor of the Exchequer

Terry Neill, Irish footballer and manager (died 2022)

Bill Lockyer, American academic and politician, 30th Attorney General of California

James Traficant, American lawyer and politician (died 2014)

Peter Benchley, American author and screenwriter (died 2006)

Irwin Cotler, Canadian lawyer and politician, 47th Canadian Minister of Justice

Emilio Delgado, Mexican-American actor (died 2022)

Ricky Nelson, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (died 1985)

Toni Tennille, American singer-songwriter and keyboard player

William B. Jordan, American art historian (died 2018)

Jean Giraud, French author and illustrator (died 2012)

Mike Cuellar, Cuban-American baseball player (died 2010)

Thomas Pynchon, American novelist

Jack Charlton, English footballer and manager (died 2020)

Leonard Hoffmann, Baron Hoffmann, South African-English lawyer and judge

Heather Harper, Northern Irish soprano (died 2019)

Doug Atkins, American football player (died 2015)

Gary Snyder, American poet, essayist, and translator

John C. Bogle, American businessman, investor, and philanthropist (died 2019)

Miyoshi Umeki, Japanese-American actress and singer (died 2007)

Ted Sorensen, American lawyer, 8th White House Counsel (died 2010)

David Attenborough, English environmentalist and television host

David Hurst, German actor (died 2019)

Don Rickles, American comedian and actor (died 2017)

Ali Hassan Mwinyi, Tanzanian politician, 2nd President of Tanzania (died 2024)

Saul Bass, American graphic designer and director (died 1996)

Barbara Howard, Canadian sprinter and educator (died 2017)

Tom of Finland, Finnish illustrator (died 1991)

Gordon McClymont, Australian ecologist and academic (died 2000)

Lex Barker, American actor (died 1973)

João Havelange, Brazilian water polo player, lawyer, and businessman (died 2016)

Chinmayananda Saraswati, Indian spiritual leader and educator (died 1993)

Bob Clampett, American animator, director, and producer (died 1984)

Sid James, South African-English actor and singer (died 1976)

George Woodcock, Canadian author and poet (died 1995)

Wilhelm Friedrich de Gaay Fortman, Dutch jurist and politician, Dutch Minister of The Interior (died 1997)

Robert Johnson, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1938)

Mary Lou Williams, American pianist and composer (died 1981)

Roberto Rossellini, Italian director and screenwriter (died 1977)

Red Nichols, American cornet player, composer, and bandleader (died 1965)

John Snagge, English journalist (died 1996)

Fernandel, French actor and singer (died 1971)

André Michel Lwoff, French microbiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1994)

Turkey Stearnes, American baseball player (died 1979)

Arthur Q. Bryan, American actor, voice actor, comedian and radio personality (died 1959)

Friedrich Hayek, Austrian economist and philosopher, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1992)

Jacques Heim, French fashion designer (died 1967)

Aloysius Stepinac, Croatian cardinal (died 1960)

James H. Kindelberger, American businessman (died 1962)

Fulton J. Sheen, American archbishop (died 1979)

Edmund Wilson, American critic, essayist, and editor (died 1972)

Francis Ouimet, American golfer (died 1967)

Edd Roush, American baseball player and coach (died 1988)

Teddy Wakelam, English rugby player and sportscaster (died 1963)

Adriaan Pelt, Dutch journalist and diplomat (died 1981)

Thomas B. Costain, Canadian journalist and author (died 1965)

Harry S. Truman, American colonel and politician, 33rd President of the United States (died 1972)

Wesley Coe, American shot putter, discus thrower, and tug of war competitor (died 1926)

Ludvig Karsten, Norwegian painter (died 1926)

Margarete Böhme, German novelist (died 1939)

Johan Jensen, Danish mathematician and engineer (died 1925)

Heinrich Berté, Slovak-Austrian composer (died 1924)

J. Meade Falkner, English author and poet (died 1932)

Pedro Lascuráin, Mexican politician (died 1952)

Dan Brouthers, American baseball player and manager (died 1932)

Ross Barnes, American baseball player and manager (died 1915)

Oscar Hammerstein I, American businessman and composer (died 1919)

Emil Christian Hansen, Danish physiologist and mycologist (died 1909)

Adolphe-Basile Routhier, Canadian judge, author, and songwriter (died 1920)

Bertalan Székely, Hungarian painter and academic (died 1910)

Louis Moreau Gottschalk, American pianist and composer (died 1869)

Henry Dunant, Swiss businessman and activist, co-founded the Red Cross, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1910)

Charbel Makhluf, Lebanese monk and saint (died 1898)

George Bruce Malleson, English-Indian colonel and author (died 1898)

William Walker, American physician, lawyer, journalist and mercenary (died 1860)

William Henry Vanderbilt, American businessman and philanthropist (died 1885)

Samuel Leonard Tilley, Canadian pharmacist and politician, 3rd Premier of New Brunswick (died 1896)

Edward Tompkins, American lawyer and politician (died 1872)

John Vianney, French priest and saint (died 1859)

Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Mexican priest and rebel leader (died 1811)

Carl Stamitz, German violinist and composer (died 1801)

Edward Gibbon, English historian and politician (died 1794)

Nathaniel Dance-Holland, English painter and politician (died 1811)

William Cavendish, 4th Duke of Devonshire, English politician, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (died 1764)

Henry Baker, English naturalist (died 1774)

Charles Beauclerk, 1st Duke of St Albans, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire (died 1726)

Claude Louis Hector de Villars, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (died 1734)

Nicolaes Witsen, Mayor of Amsterdam, Netherlands (died 1717)

Giovanni Battista Gaulli, Italian artist (died 1709)

Heino Heinrich Graf von Flemming, German field marshal and politician (died 1706)

Niels Juel, Norwegian-Danish admiral (died 1697)

Angelo Italia, Sicilian Jesuit and architect (died 1700)

Claes Rålamb, Swedish politician (died 1698)

Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy (died 1637)

Thomas Drury, English government informer and swindler (died 1603)

Peter Canisius, Dutch-Swiss priest and saint (died 1597)

Charles Wriothesley, English Officer of Arms (died 1562)

Andrea Alciato, Italian jurist and writer (died 1550)

Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (died 1536)

John Tiptoft, 1st Earl of Worcester, Lord High Treasurer (died 1470)

Joan I, Countess of Auvergne (died 1360)

Simon Mann, British military officer and mercenary (born 1952)

Chris Cannon, American politician (born 1950)

Jimmy Johnson, American football player (born 1938)

Pete McCloskey, American politician (born 1927)

Ramón Fonseca Mora, Panamanian novelist and lawyer (born 1952)

Rita Lee, Brazilian musician and author (born 1947)

Robert Gillmor, British wildlife artist and illustrator (born 1936)

Dennis Waterman, English actor and singer (born 1948)

Helmut Jahn, German-American architect (born 1940)

Sprent Dabwido, President of Nauru from 2011 to 2013 (born 1972)

Big Bully Busick, American professional wrestler (born 1954)

Anne V. Coates, British film editor (Lawrence of Arabia, The Elephant Man, Erin Brockovich), Oscar winner (1963) (born 1925)

William Schallert, American actor; president (1979–81) of the Screen Actors Guild (born 1922)

Zeki Alasya, Turkish actor and director (born 1943)

Mwepu Ilunga, Congolese footballer (born 1949)

Juan Schwanner, Hungarian-Chilean footballer and manager (born 1921)

Atanas Semerdzhiev, Bulgarian soldier and politician, 1st Vice President of Bulgaria (born 1924)

Roger L. Easton, American scientist, co-invented the GPS (born 1921)

Nancy Malone, American actress, director, and producer (born 1935)

Jair Rodrigues, Brazilian singer (born 1939)

Joseph P. Teasdale, American lawyer and politician, 48th Governor of Missouri (born 1936)

Jeanne Cooper, American actress (born 1928)

Bryan Forbes, English actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1926)

Juan José Muñoz, Argentinian businessman (born 1950)

Hugh J. Silverman, American philosopher and theorist (born 1945)

Maurice Sendak, American author and illustrator (born 1928)

Ampon Tangnoppakul, Thai criminal (born 1948)

Roman Totenberg, Polish-American violinist and educator (born 1911)

Lionel Rose, Australian boxer (born 1948)

Dom DiMaggio, American baseball player (born 1917)

Eddy Arnold, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (born 1918)

François Sterchele, Belgian footballer (born 1982)

Philip R. Craig, American author and poet (born 1933)

Carson Whitsett, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer (born 1945)

Iain Macmillan, Scottish photographer and author (born 1938)

Jean Carrière, French author (born 1928)

Nicolás Vuyovich, Argentinian race car driver (born 1981)

Elvira Pagã, Brazilian vedette, singer, and artist (born 1920)

Pita Amor, Mexican poet and author (born 1918)

Dédé Fortin, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1962)

Henry Nicols, American activist (born 1973)

Dirk Bogarde, English actor and screenwriter (born 1921)

Ed Gilbert, American actor (born 1931)

Dana Plato, American actress (born 1964)

Soeman Hs, Indonesian author and educator (born 1904)

Johannes Kotkas, Estonian wrestler (born 1915)

Charles Rebozo, American banker and businessman (born 1912)

Beryl Burton, English cyclist (born 1937)

Luis Miguel Dominguín, Spanish bullfighter (born 1926)

Larry Levis, American poet, author, and critic (born 1946)

Garth Williams, American illustrator (born 1912)

Teresa Teng, Taiwanese singer (born 1953)

George Peppard, American actor and producer (born 1928)

Avram Davidson, American soldier and author (born 1923)

Joyce Ricketts, American baseball player (born 1933)

Jean Langlais, French pianist and composer (born 1907)

Rudolf Serkin, Czech-Austrian pianist and educator (born 1903)

Luigi Nono, Italian composer and educator (born 1924)

Robert A. Heinlein, American science fiction writer and screenwriter (born 1907)

Doris Stokes, English psychic and author (born 1920)

Ernle Bradford, English historian and author (born 1922)

Robert Halperin, American yachtsman (born 1908)

Karl Marx, German conductor and composer (born 1897)

Theodore Sturgeon, American author and critic (born 1918)

Dolph Sweet, American actor (born 1920)

Lila Bell Wallace, American publisher, co-founded Reader's Digest (born 1890)

Gino Bianco, Italian-Brazilian race car driver (born 1916)

John Fante, American author and screenwriter (born 1909)

Neil Bogart, American record producer, co-founded Casablanca Records (born 1943)

Gilles Villeneuve, Canadian race car driver (born 1950)

Uri Zvi Greenberg, Israeli poet and journalist (born 1896)

Geoffrey Baker, English Field Marshal and Chief of the General Staff of the British Army (born 1920)

Avery Brundage, American businessman and art collector (born 1887)

Pandurang Vaman Kane, Indian Indologist and Sanskrit scholar, Bharat Ratna awardee (born 1880)

Beatrice Helen Worsley, Mexican-Canadian computer scientist (born 1921)

Remington Kellogg, American zoologist and paleontologist (born 1892)

Wally Hardinge, English cricketer and footballer (born 1886)

J. H. C. Whitehead, Indian-English mathematician and academic (born 1904)

John Fraser, Canadian soccer player (born 1881)

William Fox, Austrian businessman, founded Fox Theatres (born 1879)

Vital Brazil, Brazilian physician and immunologist (born 1865)

U Saw, Burmese politician, Prime Minister of Burma (born 1900)

Harry Gordon Selfridge, American-English businessman, founded Selfridges (born 1858)

Frank Bourne, British soldier, last survivor of the Battle of Rorke's Drift (born 1854)

Julius Hirsch, German footballer (born 1892)

Wilhelm Rediess, German SS officer (born 1900)

Bernhard Rust, German lieutenant and Nazi politician (born 1883)

Josef Terboven, German lieutenant and Nazi politician, commissioner of German occupied Norway (born 1898)

Themistoklis Diakidis, Greek high jumper (born 1882)

Mordechai Anielewicz, Polish commander (born 1919)

Nikolai Reek, Estonian general and politician, 11th Estonian Minister of War (born 1890)

Natalie, queen consort of Serbia (born 1859)

Tore Svennberg, Swedish actor and director (born 1858)

Oswald Spengler, German historian and philosopher (born 1880)

John Beresford, Irish polo player (born 1847)

Edmund G. Ross, American soldier and politician, 13th Governor of New Mexico Territory (born 1826)

Paul Gauguin, French painter and sculptor (born 1848)

Manuel González Flores, Mexican general and president, 1880–1884 (born 1833)

Helena Blavatsky, Russian-English mystic and author (born 1831)

John Robertson, English-Australian politician, 5th Premier of New South Wales (born 1816)

Gustave Flaubert, French novelist (born 1821)

Jan Roothaan, Dutch priest, 21st Superior General of the Society of Jesus (born 1785)

Jules Dumont d'Urville, French admiral and explorer (born 1790)

Alexander Balashov, Russian general and politician, Russian Minister of Police (born 1770)

Mauro Giuliani, Italian guitarist, cellist, and composer (born 1781)

John Stark, American general (born 1728)

Kamehameha I, king of the Hawaiian Islands (born 1738)

Antoine Lavoisier, French chemist and biologist (born 1743)

Giovanni Antonio Scopoli, Italian physician and botanist (born 1723)

Étienne François, duc de Choiseul, French general and politician, Prime Minister of France (born 1719)

Pietro Longhi, Italian painter (born 1701)

Sebastião José de Carvalho e Melo, 1st Marquis of Pombal, Portuguese politician, Prime Minister of Portugal (born 1699)

Richard Jago, English priest and poet (born 1715)

Ali Bey al-Kabir, Egyptian sultan (born 1728)

Samuel Chandler, English minister and author (born 1693)

Catherine of St. Augustine, French-Canadian nun and saint (born 1632)

Barbara Radziwiłł, queen of Poland (born 1520)

Edward Foxe, English bishop and academic (born 1496)

John Stafford, 1st Earl of Wiltshire, English politician (born 1420)

Haakon V, king of Norway (born 1270)

Duan Zong, Chinese emperor (born 1269)

Rikissa of Denmark, queen of Sweden

Ottokar IV, duke of Styria (born 1163)

Ahmed Sanjar, Seljuk sultan (born 1086)

Tai Zong, Chinese emperor (born 939)

Pope Benedict II

Pope Boniface IV (born 550)

Pope John II