May 8
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Featured Event
© Keystone FeaturesâHulton Archive/Getty Images
On this day in 1980, the World Health Organization announced that smallpox had been eradicated. The deadly disease had been devastating populations for centuries, so a global vaccination campaign was launched in 1967, and the final case of the disease was recorded a decade later. After three more years of monitoring, the WHO declared victory. It remains one of the greatest achievements in public health. [Read todayâs edition of Today in History > >]
Featured Biography
Featured Biography
Courtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C., Chester Dale Collection, 1963.10.150
French painter Paul Gauguin, who sought to achieve a âprimitiveâ expression of spiritual and emotional states in his work and who was noted for his artistic experimentation, died in the Marquesas Islands this day in 1903.
Famous Birthdays
More on May 8
© Alberto PizzoliâAFP/Getty Images
2025
Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected the first American pope of the Roman Catholic Church and took the name Leo XIV. He succeeded Francis, who had died the previous month. [How is the pope elected?]
James KeyserâThe Chronicle Collection/Getty Images
2012
Maurice Sendak, who is best known for Where the Wild Things Are and his other illustrated childrenâs books, died at age 83. [Test your knowledge of childrenâs authors.]
© Michael BrochsteinâSipa USA/Reuters
1999
Nancy Mace became the first woman to graduate from The Citadel, a military college in Charleston, South Carolina. [How women with military backgrounds are changing the face of politics in the United States.]
Hulton Archive/Getty Images
1970
A month after Paul McCartney announced that he had left the Beatles, the British rock group released Let It Be, their last original studio album to hit the record shops.[How much do you know about the Fab Four?]
Tim Graham/Alamy
1950
Police in Silkeborg, Denmark, were alerted to the discovery of a corpse in a bog. It was revealed to be a remarkably preserved bog body and was given the name Tollund Man. [Read about nine noteworthy bog bodies.]
EncyclopĂŠdia Britannica, Inc.
1945
Following Nazi Germanyâs unconditional surrender, World War II in Europe officially ended at midnight. The day was celebrated as Victory in Europe (V-E) Day. [How much do you know about World War II?]
National Archives, Washington, D.C.
1942
In the Battle of the Coral Sea, the USS Lexington became the first U.S. aircraft carrier to be sunk during World War II. [Watch footage of the Battle of the Coral Sea.]
© Albert Barr/Shutterstock.com
1902
Mount PelĂ©e on Martinique erupted, destroying the port of Saint-Pierre and killing approximately 30,000 people, 15 percent of the islandâs population. [How much do you know about volcanoes?]
Popular Graphic Arts Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (Digital file no. cph 3g12222)
1886
American pharmacist John S. Pemberton developed Coca-Cola, a drink he originally billed as a cure-all tonic. He based it on cocaine from the coca leaf and caffeine-rich extracts of the kola nut. [Take our quiz about popular drinks.]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-USZ62-13033)
1884
Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States (1945â53), was born in Lamar, Missouri. [Can you identify where each president was born?]
© Debby Wong/Shutterstock.com
1877
The first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show (then known as the First Annual New York Bench Show of Dogs) began, attracting large crowds over four days. It is one of the oldest continuously running sporting events in the United States, second only to the Kentucky Derby. [Take our quiz about dogs.]
Courtesy Meserve-Kunhardt Collection
1864
During the American Civil War, the Union forces of Lieutenant General Ulysses S. Grant engaged the Confederate troops of General Robert E. Lee at Spotsylvania Court House, Virginia. [How much do you know about the American Civil War?]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (Digital file no. cph 3b50309)
1846
U.S. troops under Zachary Taylor defeated a Mexican force under General Mariano Arista in the Battle of Palo Alto, the first clash of the Mexican-American War (1846â48). [Sort fact from fiction in our wars throughout history quiz.]
Courtesy of The National Portrait Gallery, London
1737
Edward Gibbon, who is best known for his sweeping The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire (1776â88), was born in Putney, Surrey.
© DeAgostini/Getty Images
1429
Largely due to the efforts of Joan of Arc, English troops ended their siege of the French city of OrlĂ©ans, which was the military turning point of the Hundred Yearsâ War between France and England. [Read about six teenagers who made history.]