Did you know
Naya Rivera began her career as a child actress and model, first appearing in national television commercials.
Notable Deaths on July 8
2020 — Naya Rivera
American actress, model and singer (born 1987)
July 8 has 98 recorded notable deaths across history, from 689 to 2026. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
98 source records
689 – 2026
Today in history
Major events on July 8
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1776 John Nixon delivers the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence of the United States. Source
- 1167 The Byzantines defeat the Hungarian army decisively at Sirmium, forcing the Hungarians to sue for peace. Source
- 1889 The first issue of The Wall Street Journal is published. Source
- 1876 The Hamburg massacre prior to the 1876 United States presidential election results in the deaths of six African-Americans of the Republican Party, along with one white assailant. Source
Did you know
For the latter role, she also won the Volpi Cup for Best Actress, and later won a Tony Award for her work in the Broadway musical version of Tovarich (1963).
Did you know
During the 1950s and 1960s, Hunter was a Hollywood heartthrob, acting in numerous roles and appearing on the covers of hundreds of magazines.
Did you know
American literary critic Harold Bloom describes him as "a superb craftsman, a lyric poet without rival, and surely one of the most advanced sceptical intellects ever to write a poem.
Did you know
As an engineer and inventor, he improved the design of telescopes and invented the pendulum clock, the most accurate timekeeper for almost 300 years.
More major people who died on July 8
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1967
Vivien Leigh
British actress (born 1913)
Vivian Mary Olivier, known professionally as Vivien Leigh and styled as Lady Olivier after 1947, was a British actress.
2018
Tab Hunter
American actor, pop singer, film producer and author (born 1931)
Tab Hunter was an American actor, singer, film producer, and author. Known for his blond hair and clean-cut good looks, Hunter starred in more than forty films.
1822
Percy Bysshe Shelley
English poet and playwright (born 1792)
Percy Bysshe Shelley was an English writer who is considered one of the major English Romantic poets.
1695
Christiaan Huygens
Dutch mathematician, astronomer, and physicist (born 1629)
Christiaan Huygens, Lord of Zeelhem was a Dutch mathematician, physicist, engineer, astronomer, and inventor who is regarded as a key figure in the Scientific Revolution.
1721
Elihu Yale
American-English merchant and philanthropist (born 1649)
Elihu Yale was a British colonial administrator. Born in Boston, Massachusetts Bay Colony, Yale lived in America only as a child, and spent the rest of his life in England, Wales, and India.
1538
Diego de Almagro
Spanish general and explorer (born 1475)
Diego de Almagro, also known as El Adelantado and El Viejo, was a Spanish conquistador known for his exploits and killings in western South America.
1973
Wilfred Rhodes
English cricketer and coach (born 1877)
Wilfred Rhodes was an English professional cricketer who played 58 Test matches for England between 1899 and 1930.
1956
Giovanni Papini
Italian journalist, author, and critic (born 1881)
Giovanni Papini was an Italian journalist, essayist, novelist, short story writer, poet, literary critic, and philosopher.
1623
Pope Gregory XV (born 1554)
Pope Gregory XV, born Alessandro Ludovisi, was the head of the Catholic Church and ruler of the Papal States from 9 February 1621 until his death in 1623.
1988
Ray Barbuti
American runner and football player (born 1905)
Raymond James Barbuti was an American football player and sprint runner who won two gold medals at the 1928 Summer Olympics in Amsterdam, Netherlands.
1965
Thomas Sigismund Stribling
American lawyer and author (born 1881)
Thomas Sigismund Stribling was an American writer. Although he acquired a law degree and practiced law for a few years, his career was mainly that of an author of fiction.
975
Edgar the Peaceful
English king (born 943)
Edgar, also known as Edgar the Peaceful, the Peacemaker and the Peaceable, was King of the English from 959 until his death in 975. He became king of all England on his brother Eadwig's death.
810
Pepin of Italy
son of Charlemagne (born 773)
Pepin or Pippin, was King of Italy from 781 until his death in 810. He was the third son of Charlemagne.
1973
Gene L. Coon
American screenwriter and producer (born 1924)
Eugene Lee Coon was an American screenwriter, television producer, and novelist.
2011
Roberts Blossom
American actor and poet (born 1924)
Roberts Scott Blossom was an American poet and character actor of theatre, film, and television. He is best known for his roles as Old Man Marley in Home Alone (1990) and as Ezra Cobb in the horror film Deranged (1974).
1942
Louis Franchet d'Espèrey
Algerian-French general (born 1856)
Louis Félix Marie François Franchet d'Espèrey was a French general during World War I.
1941
Moses Schorr
Polish rabbi, historian, and politician (born 1874)
Moses Schorr, Polish: Mojżesz Schorr was a rabbi, Polish historian, politician, Bible scholar, assyriologist and orientalist. Schorr was an expert on the history of the Jews in Poland.
1917
Tom Thomson
Canadian painter (born 1877)
Thomas John Thomson was a Canadian artist active in the early 20th century. During his short career, he produced roughly 400 oil sketches on small wood panels and approximately 50 larger works on canvas.
1979
Robert Burns Woodward
American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1917)
Robert Burns Woodward was an American organic chemist. He is considered by many to be the preeminent synthetic organic chemist of the twentieth century, having made many key contributions to the subject, especially in…