What are the important events that happened on October 8? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.

October 8: Facts & Myths About This Day

October 8 is the 281^st day of the year 2025 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 84 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Wednesday.

Under the Julian calendar, this day is September 25, 2025 – a Wednesday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?

When this day started, 1,759,881,600 seconds has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.

Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘dihectaoctacontahenagon’ day.

Libra is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Opal is the modern birthstone for this month. Jasper is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.

According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 132 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.

The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,674 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.

October 8 Historical Events

• 1573 –
  End of the Spanish siege of Alkmaar, the first Dutch victory in Eighty Years War.
• 1645 –
  Jeanne Mance opened the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal, the first lay hospital in North America.
• 1806 –
  Napoleonic Wars: Forces of the British Empire lay siege to the port of Boulogne in France by using Congreve rockets, invented by Sir William Congreve.
• 1813 –
  The Treaty of Ried is signed between Bayern and Austria.
• 1829 –
  Rail transport: Stephenson’s The Rocket wins The Rainhill Trials.
• 1856 –
  The Second Opium War between several western powers and China begins with the Arrow Incident on the Pearl River.
• 1895 –
  Eulmi incident- Queen Min of Joseon, the last empress of Korea, is assassinated and her corpse burnt by the Japanese in Gyeongbok Palace.
• 1944 –
  World War II: The Battle of Crucifix Hill occurs on Crucifix Hill just outside Aachen. Capt. Bobbie Brown receives a Medal of Honor for his heroics in this battle.
• 1962 –
  Spiegel scandal: Der Spiegel publishes the article “Bedingt abwehrbereit” (“Conditionally prepared for defense”) about a NATO manoeuver called “Fallex 62”, which uncovered the sorry state of the Bundeswehr (Germany’s army) facing the communist threat from the east at the time. The magazine is soon accused of treason.
• 2001 –
  U.S. President George W. Bush announces the establishment of the Office of Homeland Security.

Who were born on October 8?

• 1921 –
  Abraham Sarmiento, Filipino Supreme Court jurist (d. 2010)
• 1927 –
  Jim Elliot, American missionary (d. 1956)
• 1951 –
  Jack O'Connell, American politician
• 1956 –
  Jeff Lahti, American baseball player
• 1965 –
  Peter Greene, American actor
• 1966 –
  Art Barr, American wrestler (d. 1994)
• 1969 –
  Dylan Neal, Canadian actor
• 1978 –
  Mick O'Driscoll, Irish rugby player
• 1985 –
  Bruno Mars, American singer-songwriter
• 1989 –
  Armand Traoré, French footballer

Who died on October 8?

• 1656 –
  John George I, Elector of Saxony (b. 1585)
• 1735 –
  Yongzheng Emperor of China (b. 1678)
• 1772 –
  Jean Joseph de Mondonville, French composer (b. 1711)
• 1936 –
  Red Ames, American baseball player (b. 1882)
• 1945 –
  Felix Salten, Austrian author (b. 1869)
• 1953 –
  Nigel Bruce, British actor (b. 1895)
• 1958 –
  Ran Bosilek, Bulgarian author (b. 1886)
• 1990 –
  B.J. Wilson, English musician (Procol Harum) (b. 1947)
• 1992 –
  Willy Brandt, Chancellor of Germany, Nobel laureate (b. 1913)
• 2008 –
  George Emil Palade, Romanian cell biologist (b. 1912)