Did you know
In 1547, The first Lithuanian-language book, the Catechism of Martynas Mažvydas, is published in Königsberg. This featured entry focuses on the immediate decision and its direct historical impact.
January 8 in History
1547 — The first Lithuanian-language book, the Catechism of Martynas Mažvydas, is published in Königsberg
January 8 spans 57 recorded events across recorded history, from 307 to 2023. Below is a curated digest of the most significant moments tied to this date.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Historical Events
57 events
307 – 2023
Today in history
More major events on January 8
The featured story and these ranked highlights form a quick summary. Every recorded event remains available in the chronology below.
- 1972 Bowing to international pressure, President of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto releases Bengali leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from prison, who had been arrested after declaring the independence of Bangladesh. Source
- 1811 Charles Deslondes leads an unsuccessful slave revolt in the North American settlements of St. Charles and St. James, Louisiana. Source
- 2002 President of the United States George W. Bush signs into law the No Child Left Behind Act. Source
Did you know
The Simple Words of Catechism by Martynas Mažvydas is the first printed book in the Lithuanian language. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.
Did you know
It was printed on 8 January 1547 by Hans Weinreich in Königsberg. This clarifies the institutional and public response around the event.
Did you know
The 79-page book followed the teachings of Martin Luther, but reflects both religious and secular needs. This shows how the event shaped policy and public communication in the same period.
Did you know
The book included the first Lithuanian-language poem, primer with alphabet, basic catechism, and 11 religious hymns with sheet music. This helps explain why the event mattered beyond the initial announcement.
307
Sima Chi becomes emperor of the Jin dynasty in succession to his brother, Sima Zhong, despite a challenge from his other brother, Sima Ying.
Emperor of Jin China from 307 to 313
871
Æthelred I and Alfred the Great lead a West Saxon army to repel an invasion by Danelaw Vikings.
King of Wessex from 865 to 871
1297
François Grimaldi, disguised as a monk, leads his men to capture the fortress protecting the Rock of Monaco, establishing his family as the rulers of Monaco.
1309 Genoese nobleman; leader of the Guelphs
1454
The papal bull Romanus Pontifex awards the Kingdom of Portugal exclusive trade and colonization rights to all of Africa south of Cape Bojador.
Type of decree by the Catholic pope
1499
Louis XII of France marries Anne of Brittany in accordance with a law set by his predecessor, Charles VIII.
King of France from 1498 to 1515
1735
The premiere of George Frideric Handel's Ariodante takes place at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden.
German-British composer (1685–1759)
1746
Second Jacobite rising: Bonnie Prince Charlie occupies Stirling.
Attempt by the House of Stuart to regain the British throne
1790
George Washington delivers the first State of the Union address in New York City.
U.S. Founding Father and president from 1789 to 1797
1806
The Dutch Cape Colony in southern Africa becomes the British Cape Colony as a result of the Battle of Blaauwberg.
Former Dutch supply station in Southern Africa (1652–1806)
1811
Charles Deslondes leads an unsuccessful slave revolt in the North American settlements of St.
Charles and St. James, Louisiana.
1815
War of 1812: Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson leads American forces in victory over the British.
1812–1815 conflict in North America
1828
The Democratic Party of the United States is organized.
Political party in the United States
1835
US President Andrew Jackson announces a celebratory dinner after having reduced the United States national debt to zero for the only time.
President of the United States from 1829 to 1837
1863
American Civil War: Second Battle of Springfield.
1861–1865 conflict in the United States
1867
The United States Congress passes the bill to allow African American men the right to vote in Washington, D.C.
Ethnic and cultural group in the United States
1877
Crazy Horse and his warriors fight their last battle against the United States Cavalry at Wolf Mountain, Montana Territory.
Lakota war leader (c. 1840–1877)
1889
Herman Hollerith is issued US patent #395,791 for the 'Art of Applying Statistics' — his punched card calculator.
American statistician and inventor
1900
President William McKinley places Alaska under military rule.
President of the United States from 1897 to 1901
1912
The African National Congress is founded, under the name South African Native National Congress (SANNC).
Political party in South Africa
1912
The city of San Diego passes an ordinance restricting free speech, provoking months of civil unrest between socialist Wobblies and business leaders that become the bloodiest free speech fight in history.
City in California, United States
1918
U.S.
President Woodrow Wilson announces his "Fourteen Points" as conditions for ending World War I.
1920
The steel strike of 1919 ends in failure for the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers labor union.
1919–20 nationwide steelworkers' strike in the United States
1926
Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuỵ is crowned emperor of Vietnam, the country's last monarch.
Last emperor of Vietnam from 1926 to 1945 (1913–1997)
1926
Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz.
King of Saudi Arabia from 1932 to 1953
1933
Anarchist insurrection of January 1933 breaks out in Barcelona, Spain.
Insurrection in Spain
1936
Kashf-e hijab decree is made and immediately enforced by Reza Shah, Iran's head of state, banning the wearing of Islamic veils in public.
1936 decree banning Islamic veils in Iran
1945
World War II: Philippine Commonwealth troops under the Philippine Commonwealth Army units enter the province of Ilocos Sur in Northern Luzon and attack invading Japanese Imperial forces.
U.S. unincorporated territory in southeast Asia from 1935 to 1946
1946
Andrei Zhdanov, Chairman of the Finnish Allied Commission, submits to the Finnish War Criminal Court an interrogation report by General Erich Buschenhagen, a German prisoner of war, on the contacts between Finnish and German military personnel before the Continuation War and a copy of Hitler's Barbarossa plan.
Soviet politician (1896–1948)
1956
Operation Auca: Five U.S.
missionaries are killed by the Waorani of Ecuador shortly after making first contact.
1959
Charles de Gaulle is proclaimed as the first President of the French Fifth Republic.
French general and statesman (1890–1970)
1961
In France a referendum supports Charles de Gaulle's policies in Algeria.
1961 vote in France and colonial Algeria on Algerian independence
1972
Bowing to international pressure, President of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto releases Bengali leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from prison, who had been arrested after declaring the independence of Bangladesh.
Head of state
1973
1973
Watergate scandal: The trial of seven men accused of illegal entry into Democratic Party headquarters at Watergate begins.
1970s political scandal in the U.S.
1975
Ella T.
Grasso becomes Governor of Connecticut, the first woman to serve as a governor in the United States other than by succeeding her husband.
1977
Three bombs explode in Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union, within 37 minutes, killing seven.
The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group.
1981
A local farmer reports a UFO sighting in Trans-en-Provence, France, claimed to be "perhaps the most completely and carefully documented sighting of all time".
1981 UFO sighting in France
1982
Breakup of the Bell System: In the United States, AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty-two subdivisions.
1982 US government action ending telephone monopoly
1989
Kegworth air disaster: British Midland Flight 92, a Boeing 737-400, crashes into the M1 motorway, killing 47 of the 126 people on board.
1989 aviation accident in England
1994
Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov on Soyuz TM-18 leaves for Mir.
He would stay on the space station until March 22, 1995, for a record 437 days in space.
1996
An Antonov An-32 cargo aircraft crashes into a crowded market in Kinshasa, Zaire, killing up to 223 people on the ground; two of six crew members are also killed.
Airliner and military tactical transport aircraft by Antonov
2002
President of the United States George W.
Bush signs into law the No Child Left Behind Act.
2003
Turkish Airlines Flight 634 crashes near Diyarbakır Airport, Turkey, killing the entire crew and 70 of the 75 passengers.
2003 aviation accident
2003
Air Midwest Flight 5481 crashes at Charlotte-Douglas Airport, in Charlotte, North Carolina, killing all 21 people on board.
2003 aviation accident in North Carolina
2004
The RMS Queen Mary 2, then the largest ocean liner ever built, is christened by her namesake's granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II.
British transatlantic ocean liner
2005
The nuclear sub USS San Francisco collides at full speed with an undersea mountain south of Guam.
One man is killed, but the sub surfaces and is repaired.
2009
A 6.1-magnitude earthquake in northern Costa Rica kills 15 people and injures 32.
Earthquake in northern Costa Rica
2010
Gunmen from an offshoot of the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda attack a bus carrying the Togo national football team on its way to the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, killing three people and injuring another nine.
Cabindan guerilla movement for the independence of Cabinda Territory
2011
Sitting US Congresswoman Gabby Giffords is shot in the head along with 18 others in a mass shooting in Tucson, Arizona.
Giffords survived the assassination attempt, but six others died, including John Roll, a federal judge.
2016
Joaquín Guzmán, widely regarded as the world's most powerful drug trafficker, is recaptured following his escape from a maximum security prison in Mexico.
Mexican drug lord incarcerated in a US federal prison (born 1957)
2016
West Air Sweden Flight 294 crashes near the Swedish reservoir of Akkajaure; both pilots, the only people on board, are killed.
2016 aviation accident in Sweden
2020
Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 crashes immediately after takeoff at Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport; all 176 on board are killed.
The plane was shot down by an Iranian anti-aircraft missile.
2021
Twenty-three people are killed in what is described as a police ″massacre″ in La Vega, Caracas, Venezuela.
2021 police raid on the gang controlling La Vega Parish, Caracas, Venezuela
2023
Supporters of former Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro storm the Brazilian Congress.
President of Brazil from 2019 to 2023