July 8
Subject to Britannica's Privacy Policy and Terms of Use
1947: The beginning of Roswell UFO mania
On this day in 1947, the Roswell Daily Record erroneously reported that the previous day, soldiers at the Roswell Army Air Field in New Mexico had recovered the remains of a flying saucer that had crashed on a local ranch. Although that claim was quickly refuted by authorities, the Roswell incident eventually became the center of a flying saucer mania that soon gripped the country.
READ MORE
© Archive PL/Alamy; Photo Illustration Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
Featured Event
© Dagli Orti/REX/Shutterstock.com
Vasco da Gama’s first voyage to India
On this day in 1497, Vasco da Gama sailed from Lisbon with a fleet of four vessels, and he ultimately opened a sea route from western Europe to Asia by way of the Cape of Good Hope, ushering in a new era in world history. [Take our quiz about explorers and exploration.]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
Jan Lonn/Ostman Agency
Kim Il-Sung, the communist leader of North Korea (1948–94) whose invasion of South Korea in 1950 launched the Korean War, died on this day in 1994 in P’yŏngyang and was succeeded by his son Kim Jong Il.
Famous Birthdays
More on July 8
Bill Ingalls/NASA
2011
The orbiter Atlantis was launched on the last space shuttle mission. [Sort fact from fiction in our space exploration quiz.]
Ray Burmiston—Avalon/Getty Images
1996
The British pop band the Spice Girls released their debut single, Wannabe, which helped make them an international sensation. [Test your knowledge of musical groups.]
The Harry S. Truman Library/NARA
1950
Douglas MacArthur was appointed commander of United Nations forces in the Korean War. [Take our history of war quiz.]
Bernard Gotfryd Photograph Collection, Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (reproduction no. LC-DIG-gtfy-01801)
1906
Philip Johnson, an architect and critic known for his promotion of the International Style and, later, for his role in defining postmodernist architecture, was born in Cleveland, Ohio. [Take our history of architecture quiz.]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C.
1896
William Jennings Bryan delivered his “Cross of Gold” speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago. [Test your knowledge of U.S. presidential elections.]
Courtesy of Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
1889
Journalist Charles Henry Dow published the first issue of The Wall Street Journal. [How much do you know about newspapers?]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (reproduction no. LC-USZ62-78647)
1889
John L. Sullivan beat Jake Kilrain in 75 rounds to defend his title in the last heavyweight championship bout held under London Prize Ring rules. [Sort fact from fiction in our sports quiz.]
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1833
The Treaty of Hünkâr İskelesi, a defensive alliance between the Ottoman Empire and Russia, was signed at the village of Hünkâr İskelesi, near Istanbul. [Take our quiz about the Ottoman Empire.]
© Heritage Art—Hulton Archive/Getty Images
1815