Did you know about John Hancock
John Hancock was the first and third governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts.
Notable Deaths on October 8
October 8 has 107 recorded notable deaths across history, from 705 to 2025. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
1793 — John Hancock
American merchant and politician, 1st Governor of Massachusetts (born 1737)
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
107 source records
705 – 2025
Today in history
Major events on October 8
See what else happened on this day in history.
Did you know about Joan Hackett
Joan Hackett played roles in The Group (1966), Will Penny (1968), Support Your Local Sheriff!
Did you know about Al Davis
Al Davis was the managing general partner, principal owner and de facto general manager for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) for 39 years, from 1972 until his death in 2011.
Did you know about Mikey Welsh
Following original bassist Matt Sharp's departure from Weezer, Welsh joined as bassist and played with them from the time that they unofficially regrouped in 1998 until August 2001, when he experienced mental health problems.
Did you know about Wendell Willkie
Willkie appealed to many convention delegates as the Republican field's only interventionist: although the U.S. remained neutral prior to Pearl Harbor, he favored greater U.S. involvement in World War II to support Britain and other Allies.
More major people who died on October 8
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1983
Joan Hackett
American actress (born 1934)
Joan Ann Hackett was an American actress. in film, television, and theater. She played roles in The Group (1966), Will Penny (1968), Support Your Local Sheriff! (1969), The Last of Sheila (1973), and The Terminal Man (1974). In 1982, Hackett was nominated for an Academy Award for Best Supporting Actress; she was also the recipient of a Golden Globe Award for Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture for her performance as Toby Landau in the 1981 film Only When I Laugh. During the course of her career, Hackett was nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award, a BAFTA Award, a Photoplay Award, and a Golden Laurel Award; she also received an Obie Award, a Drama Desk Award, and a Theatre World Award. In 1978, she starred as Christine Mannon in the PBS miniseries version of Mourning Becomes Electra.
2011
Al Davis
American football coach, general manager, and NFL team owner (born 1929)
Allen R. Davis was an American professional football executive and coach. He was the managing general partner, principal owner and de facto general manager for the Oakland Raiders of the National Football League (NFL) for 39 years, from 1972 until his death in 2011. Prior to becoming principal owner of the Raiders, he served as the team's head coach from 1963 to 1965 and as a part-owner from 1966 to 1971, assuming both positions while the Raiders were members of the American Football League (AFL). He served as the AFL commissioner in 1966.
2011
Mikey Welsh
American guitarist and painter (born 1971)
Michael Edward Welsh was an American artist and musician who played bass for several bands, including the rock band Weezer. During Weezer's hiatus, he played with Weezer frontman Rivers Cuomo in the band Homie, during Cuomo's time in Boston. Following original bassist Matt Sharp's departure from Weezer, Welsh joined as bassist and played with them from the time that they unofficially regrouped in 1998 until August 2001, when he experienced mental health problems. Shortly afterwards, he retired from music to focus on his painting career. Welsh died from a drug overdose on October 8, 2011.
1944
Wendell Willkie
American captain, lawyer, and politician (born 1892)
Wendell Lewis Willkie was an American lawyer, corporate executive and the 1940 Republican nominee for president of the United States. Willkie appealed to many convention delegates as the Republican field's only interventionist: although the U.S. remained neutral prior to Pearl Harbor, he favored greater U.S. involvement in World War II to support Britain and other Allies. His Democratic opponent, incumbent President Franklin D. Roosevelt, who had made campaign pledges against U.S. involvement in World War II, won the 1940 election with about 55% of the popular vote and took the electoral college vote by a wide margin.
2020
Whitey Ford
American professional baseball pitcher (born 1928)
Edward Charles "Whitey" Ford, nicknamed "the Chairman of the Board", was an American professional baseball pitcher who played his entire 16-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career with the New York Yankees. He was a 10-time All-Star and six-time World Series champion. In 1961, he won both the Cy Young Award and World Series Most Valuable Player Award. Ford led the American League (AL) in wins three times and in earned run average twice. He is the Yankees franchise leader in career wins (236), shutouts (45), innings pitched, and games started by a pitcher. Ford was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974.
1754
Henry Fielding
English novelist and playwright (born 1707)
Henry Fielding was an English writer and judge known for the use of humour and satire in his works. His famous novels include Shamela (1741), Joseph Andrews (1742), The History of Tom Jones, a Foundling (1749) and Amelia (1751). Along with Samuel Richardson, Fielding is seen as the founder of the traditional English novel. As well as being a novelist, Fielding was also a playwright, known for his satirical comedies The Author's Farce (1730), Tom Thumb (1730), The Letter Writers (1731) and The Tragedy of Tragedies (1731). He also played an important role in the history of law enforcement in the United Kingdom, using his authority as a magistrate to found the Bow Street Runners, London's first professional police force.
705
Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan
Umayyad caliph (born 646)
Abd al-Malik ibn Marwan ibn al-Hakam, was the fifth Umayyad caliph, ruling from April 685 until his death in October 705. A member of the first generation of born Muslims, his early life in Medina was occupied with religious pursuits. He held administrative and military posts under Caliph Mu'awiya I, founder of the Umayyad Caliphate, and his own father, Caliph Marwan I. By the time of Abd al-Malik's accession, Umayyad authority had collapsed across the Caliphate as a result of the Second Fitna and had been reconstituted in Syria and Egypt during his father's reign.
2013
Paul Desmarais
Canadian businessman and philanthropist (born 1927)
Paul Guy Desmarais Sr. was a Canadian financier and philanthropist, based in Montreal. With an estimated family net worth of US$4.5 billion, Desmarais was ranked by Forbes as the fourth wealthiest person in Canada, and 235th in the world in 2013. He was chairman and chief executive officer of Power Corporation of Canada until 1996, when he passed the reins of management of Power Corporation to his sons, Paul Jr. and André. He continued as a director and as chairman of the executive committee of the board, and remained the controlling shareholder. Power Corporation of Canada is a diversified international management and holding company with interests in companies in the financial services, asset management, sustainable and renewable energy, and other business sectors.
2002
Jacques Richard
Canadian ice hockey player (born 1952)
Joseph Alfred Gilles Jacques Richard was a Canadian professional ice hockey player who played in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Atlanta Flames, Buffalo Sabres, and Quebec Nordiques. After an impressive junior career, Richard was considered a potential NHL superstar, but, except for a single season late in his career, he failed to live up to the promise. He led a troubled life both in hockey and after. Six years after retiring, in 1989, he was arrested for attempting to smuggle cocaine and then in 2002, Richard died in a car accident driving back from a party celebrating his 50th birthday.
1879
Miguel Grau Seminario
Peruvian admiral (born 1834)
Miguel María Grau Seminario was a Peruvian Navy officer and politician renowned for his role in the War of the Pacific. He earned the nickname "Gentleman of the Seas" for his kind and chivalrous treatment of defeated enemies and remains highly respected by both Peruvians and Chileans. Grau is an iconic figure for the Peruvian navy, and one of the most famous naval officers from the Americas. He commanded the Peruvian ironclad Huascar during the War of the Pacific. Known for his skillful naval tactics, Grau repeatedly evaded Chilean pursuers and harassed the Chilean coast.
1928
Larry Semon
American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1889)
Lawrence Semon was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter during the silent film era. In his day, Semon was considered a major movie comedian, but he is now remembered mainly for working with both Stan Laurel and Oliver Hardy before they started working together. He directed and appeared in the 1925 silent film The Wizard of Oz, which had a slight influence on the better-known 1939 talkie The Wizard of Oz released by MGM. The film was included in the 2005 three-disc DVD version of the 1939 film, along with other silent Oz movies.
2024
Tim Johnson
American lawyer and politician (born 1946)
Timothy Peter Johnson was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from South Dakota from 1997 to 2015. A member of the Democratic Party, he served as the United States representative for South Dakota's at-large congressional district from 1987 to 1997 and in the South Dakota Legislature from 1979 to 1987. Johnson is the last Democrat to hold statewide and/or congressional office in South Dakota. He and Stephanie Herseth Sandlin are also the last Democrats to win a statewide election in South Dakota.
1973
Gabriel Marcel
French philosopher, playwright, and critic (born 1889)
Gabriel Honoré Marcel was a French philosopher, playwright, music critic and leading Christian existentialist. The author of over a dozen books and at least thirty plays, Marcel's work focused on the modern individual's struggle in a technologically dehumanizing society. Though often regarded as the first French existentialist, he dissociated himself from figures such as Jean-Paul Sartre, preferring the term philosophy of existence or neo-Socrateanism to define his own thought. The Mystery of Being is a well-known two-volume work authored by Marcel.
1886
Austin F. Pike
American lawyer and politician (born 1819)
Austin Franklin Pike was a United States representative and senator from New Hampshire. Born in Hebron, New Hampshire, he pursued an academic course, studied law, and was admitted to the bar of Merrimack County in 1845. He was a member of the New Hampshire House of Representatives from 1850 to 1852 and in 1865–1866, and served as speaker during the last two years. He was a member of the New Hampshire Senate in 1857–1858, serving as president the last year.
1992
Willy Brandt
German lawyer and politician, 4th Chancellor of Germany, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1913)
Willy Brandt was a German politician and statesman who was leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (SPD) from 1964 to 1987 and concurrently served as the chancellor of West Germany from 1969 to 1974. He was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1971 for his efforts to strengthen cooperation in Western Europe through the EEC and to achieve reconciliation between West Germany and the countries of Eastern Europe. He was the first Social Democratic chancellor since 1930.
1953
Kathleen Ferrier
English soprano (born 1912)
Kathleen Mary Ferrier was an English contralto singer who achieved an international reputation as a stage, concert and recording artist, with a repertoire extending from folksong and popular ballads to the classical works of Bach, Brahms, Mahler and Elgar. Her death from cancer, at the height of her fame, was a shock to the musical world and particularly to the general public, which was kept in ignorance of the nature of her illness until after her death.
1869
Franklin Pierce
American general, lawyer, and politician, 14th President of the United States (born 1804)
Franklin Pierce was the 14th president of the United States, serving from 1853 to 1857. A northern Democrat who believed that the abolitionist movement was a fundamental threat to national unity, he alienated anti-slavery groups by signing the Kansas–Nebraska Act and enforcing the Fugitive Slave Act. Conflict between North and South continued after Pierce's presidency, and, following Abraham Lincoln's victory in the 1860 presidential election, the Southern states seceded, resulting in the American Civil War.
1979
Jayaprakash Narayan
Indian politician (born 1902)
Jayaprakash Narayan Srivastava, also known as JP and Lok Nayak, was an Indian politician, theorist and independence activist. He is mainly remembered for leading the mid-1970s opposition against Prime Minister Indira Gandhi and calling for her overthrow in a "total revolution". In 1999, Narayan was posthumously awarded the Bharat Ratna, India's highest civilian award, in recognition of his social service. His other awards include the Ramon Magsaysay Award for public service in 1965.
976
Helen of Zadar
queen consort of the Kingdom of Croatia
Helen of Zadar, also known as Helen the Glorious, was the queen consort of the Kingdom of Croatia, as the wife of King Michael Krešimir II, from 946 to 969, a period which was marked by "peace, order and expeditious growth". She was the regent of Croatia after the death of her spouse during the minority of her son Stephen Držislav of Croatia, and ruled from 969 until 976.