<p>Discover what happened on January 8 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.</p>


January 8

Discover what happened on January 8 with HISTORY&#8217;s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.

What Happened on January 8 | HISTORY

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After the highly contested 1876 U.S. presidential election, the Compromise of 1877 put Rutherford B. Hayes in the White House. In exchange, post-Civil War federal oversight of Southern affairs known as Reconstruction ended—and, with it, any effort toward protecting Black citizens’ civil and political rights. The first general strike in U.S. history—by more than 100,000 workers—halted the nation’s railroads. Thomas Edison demonstrated his latest invention, the phonograph, while in Moscow, Tchaikovsky’s opera “Swan Lake” premiered in Moscow.

1877

This Day In History: Wilson outlines the Fourteen Points

1972

1959

2002

1867

1835

2016

After a devastating Windsor Castle fire and assorted family crises, Britain’s Queen Elizabeth II called 1992 her “annus horribilis,” or horrible year. The police beating of Rodney King in Los Angeles sparked one of the worst riots in U.S. history, while exploding sewers in Mexico killed hundreds. On the brighter side, South Africa ended apartheid, the U.S. and Russia declared the Cold War over, Mae Jemison became the first Black woman in space and a big purple dinosaur named Barney hit TV, singing about love, kindness and cleaning up.

1992

The decade-long manhunt for 9/11 mastermind Osama bin Laden ended in 2011 with his killing by U.S. Navy SEALs in Pakistan. Japan faced disaster with the Fukushima nuclear reactor meltdown. Anti-government demonstrations spread through the Middle East in the Arab Spring, while the Occupy Wall Street movement protested America’s economic inequality. “Game of Thrones” premiered on TV, R-rated novel “Fifty Shades of Grey” published, becoming the decade’s bestselling book, and England’s Prince William wed Kate Middleton, watched by millions.

2011

1815

1963

1642

1916

1940

World War I ended in 1918, when Germany signed an armistice agreement with the victorious Allies. The war had cost the lives of more than 9 million combatants plus millions of civilians. Meanwhile, an even more deadly threat emerged: the influenza pandemic, which would take another 50 million lives worldwide. Bolshevik revolutionaries executed the Romanov family, ending 300 years of Russian imperial rule. On the U.S. homefront, Congress enacted daylight savings time, only to repeal it the following year.

1918

1901

1976

1946

After the surprise December 7, 1941 Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, the U.S. entered World War II. Earlier in the year, Germany invaded the Soviet Union and, in one of many Nazi atrocities, executed 30,000 Jews in the Babi Yar massacre. In the U.S., Mount Rushmore was completed, Wonder Woman made her debut, “Citizen Kane” launched at the box office and General Mills introduced a new breakfast cereal called Cheerioats.

1941

1790

<p>America’s Founding Fathers decided that one elected civilian—the U.S. president—would lead the executive branch of the federal government, a governmental structure that has remained in place for more than 200 years.</p>


U.S. Presidents

<p>World War I pitted Germany, Austria-Hungary and the Ottoman Empire against Great Britain, the United States, France, Russia, Italy and Japan. New military technology resulted in unprecedented carnage. By the time the war was over and the Allied Powers claimed victory, more than 16 million people—soldiers and civilians alike—were dead.</p>


World War I

<p>Native American history spans an array of diverse groups and leaders, including Sitting Bull, Crazy Horse and Tecumseh, and events like the Trail of Tears, the French and Indian War and the Battle of the Little Bighorn.</p>


Native American History

<p>Latin America encompasses Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking countries, including all of South America as well as Mexico, Central America, and islands of the Caribbean. Latin American history saw colonization by the Spaniards and Portuguese, from the 15th through the 18th century, as well as independence movements in the early 19th century.</p>


Latin American & Caribbean History

<p>Crime has been a dark and powerful undercurrent in human society throughout history. Uncover the facts behind some of the most daring robberies, brazen scams and brutal murders ever committed.</p>


Crime

<p>The U.S. government, with its three branches of government and a system of checks and balances, is responsible for governing the 50 states and all districts and territories of the United States.</p>


U.S. Government and Politics

<p>Sports and recreation are an integral part of human history, from the ancient Olympics to the Kentucky Derby, Jackie Robinson, Negro League Baseball, the Super Bowl and more.</p>


Sports

Videos

<p><a href="http://history.com/">HISTORY.com</a> works with a wide range of writers and editors to create accurate and informative content. All articles are regularly reviewed and updated by the HISTORY.com team. Articles with the “HISTORY.com Editors” byline have been written or edited by the HISTORY.com editors, including <a href="https://www.history.com/author/amanda-onion">Amanda Onion</a>, <a href="https://www.history.com/author/missy-sullivan">Missy Sullivan</a>, <a href="https://www.history.com/author/matt-mullen">Matt Mullen</a> and Christian Zapata.</p>


History.com Editors

<p>Art history tells the complex story of human civilization through art, literature and design. It ranges from prehistoric art of the Neolithic period through Renaissance masterpieces, Impressionism, Modernism, the Bauhaus and contemporary art.</p>


Art, Literature and Film History

<p>World War II was the biggest and deadliest war in history, involving more than 30 countries. Sparked by the 1939 Nazi invasion of Poland, the war dragged on for six bloody years until the Allies defeated the Axis powers of Nazi Germany, Japan and Italy in 1945. Explore the battles, leaders and atrocities from the war and its impact on geopolitics and humankind.</p>


World War II

<p>Inventions from the telephone to the Model T and the computer have defined human history, and inventors like Leonardo da Vinci, Nikola Tesla, Thomas Edison, Eli Whitney and Alexander Graham Bell have transformed our society.</p>


Inventions & Science

<p>Though the 19th century saw the rise of populism, the labor movement and Jacksonian democracy, it also ushered in the Gilded Age, when men like Cornelius Vanderbilt and J. P. Morgan wielded vast control over politics and business.</p>


19th Century

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<div class="p-rich_text_section">African Americans have played a central role in shaping U.S. history. From slavery and its abolition to the Great Migration, the civil rights movement and military, scientific, cultural and political achievements, explore key moments, milestones and figures in Black History.</div>
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This Day In History: January 8

Crazy Horse fights last battle

Also on This Day in History January | 8

NCAA grants freshmen eligibility in football, basketball

Fidel Castro arrives in Havana after deposing Batista’s regime

President George W. Bush signs No Child Left Behind Act into law

African American men gain the right to vote in Washington, D.C.

The U.S. national debt reaches $0 for the first time

Infamous drug lord “El Chapo” is captured by Mexican authorities

President George H.W. Bush vomits on the Prime Minister of Japan

This Day in History Video: What Happened on January 8

Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords injured in shooting rampage

The Battle of New Orleans

“Mona Lisa” exhibited in Washington

Astronomer Galileo dies in Italy

Allies retreat from Gallipoli

Mussolini questions Hitler’s plans

President Wilson delivers “Fourteen Points” speech

“Colorado Cannibal” Alferd Packer is paroled

“Ragtime” wins the National Book Critics Circle Award

Elvis Presley receives his first guitar

William Randolph Hearst stops “Citizen Kane” ads

Bugatti brother dies by suicide

President George Washington delivers first State of the Union

Also on This Day in History January | 8

Wake Up to This Day in History