September 8
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1504
Michelangelo’s David is revealed
When Michelangelo’s David was unveiled today in 1504, outside Florence’s town hall in the Piazza della Signoria, it was impossible to ignore. Towering 17 feet high, the biblical hero appears poised to confront Goliath: muscles tense, sling at the ready, eyes fixed on an unseen enemy. At the time, the figure was adorned with a wreath on its head and a garland around its hips. Yes, that’s right, the world’s most famous nude sculpture was once outfitted with a belt of 28 copper leaves to hide its genitalia.
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Joan of Arc attacks Paris
On this day in 1429, Joan of Arc, a French farmer’s daughter who believed she was acting under divine guidance, attempted to oust the duke of Burgundy and take Paris for newly crowned King Charles VII. [Watch an overview of the life and death of Joan of Arc.]
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No one will tell me the cause of my sorrow / Why they have made me a prisoner here. / Wherefore with dolour I now make my moan; / Friends had I many but help have I none. / Shameful it is that they leave me to ransom, / To languish here two winters long.
Richard I (the Lion-Heart), born this day in 1157, was known for his knightly manner and prowess in the Third Crusade; though he was a popular king and was revered as a hero, scholars would later view him less kindly.
Famous Birthdays
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2025
Thousands of young demonstrators gathered in central Kathmandu to protest a ban on social media imposed by Nepal’s government. What began as a peaceful protest escalated to nationwide civil unrest.
Fadel Senna—AFP/Getty Images
2023
A severe earthquake struck near the town of Oukaïmedene in western Morocco, killing more than 2,900 people and injuring 5,500. It was felt as far away as Portugal and Algeria. [What are the deadliest earthquakes since 1950?]
Bill Ingalls/Goddard Space Flight Center/NASA
2022
After more than seven decades on the British throne, Elizabeth II died at the age of 96; her eldest son became King Charles III. [Explore Elizabeth II: A Life in Pictures.]
© Featureflash/Dreamstime.com
2015
© Olympia-Film/Kobal/Shutterstock.com
2003
Leni Riefenstahl—a stylistically influential German director and actor who is best known for her association with Adolf Hitler and her creation of Nazi propaganda films—died at age 101.
AP Images
1998
Mark McGwire of the St. Louis Cardinals broke Roger Maris’s 1961 record for most home runs in a regular professional baseball season by hitting his 62nd of the season (he finished the season with 70 home runs). [Take our baseball quiz.]
The Gerald R. Ford Presidential Library and Museum
1974
Richard Nixon, who had resigned the U.S. presidency on August 8, 1974, was pardoned by his successor, Gerald Ford. [Test your knowledge of modern U.S. political scandals.]
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© 1960 Paramount Pictures Corporation
1960
The psychological thriller Psycho, directed by Alfred Hitchcock and based on real-life serial killer Ed Gein, was released in American theatres; it became a classic, especially known for the scene in which Janet Leigh’s character is murdered in the shower. [Take our quiz about scary movies.]
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1945
At the end of World War II, the first U.S. troops entered the Korean peninsula south of the 38th parallel to receive the Japanese surrender; north of the parallel, Japanese troops surrendered to Soviet forces. [How much do you know about World War II?]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (LC-USZ62-25900)
1941
German and Finnish armies began a siege of Leningrad (now St. Petersburg), Russia, that lasted for 872 days. [Sort fact from fiction in our World War II quiz.]
© Retro AdArchives/Alamy
1930
The American company 3M began marketing a transparent adhesive tape under the trademarked name Scotch tape. [Take our quiz about everyday technology.]
United Artists Corporation
1925
British actor Peter Sellers, who portrayed an astonishing range of characters but was perhaps best known as inept Inspector Jacques Clouseau in the Pink Panther films, was born.
© Georgios Kollidas/stock.adobe.com
1781
American troops commanded by General Nathanael Greene defeated British forces under Lieutenant Colonel Alexander Stewart in the Battle of Eutaw Springs during the American Revolution. [How much do you know about the American Revolution?]
Courtesy of The National Portrait Gallery, London
1664
As part of the Anglo-Dutch Wars, the duke of York (later James II) took the city of New Amsterdam, whose name was changed to New York. [Test your knowledge of New York City.]