September 8
International Literacy Day & World Physical Therapy Day
September 8, 1831 
William IV and Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen were crowned King and Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland.
September 8, 1886
Thousands flocked to Witwatersrand in South Africa as public gold-digging was permitted.
September 8, 1887
Swami Sivananda (1887-1963), a religious leader and founder of the Divine Life Society, was born in Pattamadai, District Tirunelveli.
September 8, 1888
The first English Football League matches were played.
September 8, 1943
Italy surrendered to the Allies during World War II.
September 8, 1944
A German V-2 Rocket, a new terror weapon, struck London.
September 8, 1947
Large parts of India and Pakistan were paralyzed by communal riots following Partition, with Hindus and Muslims battling in bloody conflicts.
September 8, 1951
The office of Controller of Military Accounts (Pensions) was re-designated as CDA(P) in Allahabad.
September 8, 1952
The Copyright Bill was signed at the first World Convention in Geneva by 35 nations, including India.
September 8, 1962
The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) was established.
September 8, 1962
The Chinese army infiltrated India’s north-eastern border, crossing the McMahon Line.
September 8, 1965
Pakistan began its military drive into Indian Punjab during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1965, aiming to disrupt Indian forces north of the Beas-Sutlej river.
September 8, 1966
The American science fiction TV series Star Trek premiered with the episode “The Man Trap.”
September 8, 1972
Vijay Singh Chauhan set a national record in the decathlon with 7378/7306 points at the Munich Olympics.
September 8, 1990
Mother Teresa was re-elected head of the Missionaries of Charity.
September 8, 1990
Northern and Southern Korean delegates met for the first time in 45 years at the border for talks.
September 8, 1991
ONGC engineer T.S. Raju and mediator Bipul Mahanta were killed by ULFA militants in Assam.
September 8, 1993
The Andhra Pradesh cabinet was reshuffled, with four legislators dropped and 16 new members introduced.
September 8, 1993
The Mandal Commission’s recommendation of 27% job reservation for backward classes came into effect, with the exclusion of the ‘creamy’ layer.
September 8, 1995
Harcharan Singh Brar was sworn in as the Chief Minister of Punjab.
September 8, 1997
English was chosen as the official language of Dravidian University, set up at Kuppam, Andhra Pradesh, jointly by the southern states.
September 8, 2000
The Cable Television Network (Regulation) Amendment Bill was passed in the Indian Parliament, banning advertisements for alcoholic beverages and tobacco.
September 8, 2000
Dr. Surinder K. Vasal, Indian maize breeder, and Dr. Evangelina Villegas, Mexican cereal chemist, were jointly awarded the World Food Prize for their work on quality protein maize for developing countries.
Famous Birthdays & Birth Anniversaries on September 8
September 8, 1157
Richard I, King of England, also known as “the Lionheart,” was born. He famously led the Third Crusade.
September 8, 1790
Lord Edward Alanbaro, Governor-General of India from 1842 to 1844, was born.
September 8, 1846
Sir Catchick Paul Chater, a British-Indian businessman of Armenian descent, who became prominent in colonial Hong Kong, was born.
September 8, 1901
Hendrik Verwoerd, Prime Minister of South Africa, who instituted the policy of apartheid, was born.
September 8, 1911
Anand Gopal Sheorey, a renowned Hindi writer, litterateur, and journalist, was born in Sausar, Madhya Pradesh.
September 8, 1925
Peter Sellers, an English actor known for his roles in The Pink Panther films, was born.
September 8, 1926
Bhupen Hazarika, an iconic Indian singer, composer, and filmmaker, was born.
September 8, 1933
Asha Bhosle, a legendary Indian playback singer, was born.
September 8, 1979
Pink, an American singer-songwriter known for her powerful voice and distinctive style, was born.
Death Anniversaries on September 8
September 8, 1910
Saint Shri Gajanan Maharaj passed away.
September 8, 1933
Faisal I, King of Iraq, died.
September 8, 1953
Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, the Premier of Kashmir, survived an assassination attempt.
September 8, 1960
Feroze Gandhi, an Indian politician and husband of Indira Gandhi, passed away.
September 8, 1965
Hermann Staudinger, a German chemist and Nobel Prize laureate known for his research on macromolecules and polymers, died.
September 8, 1970
Percy Spencer, the American inventor of the microwave oven, passed away.
September 8, 1980
Willard Libby, an American chemist who developed radiocarbon dating, died.
September 8, 1981
Hideki Yukawa, a Japanese physicist and Nobel Prize laureate who predicted the existence of the pi meson, passed away.
September 8, 1982
Sheikh Mohammad Abdullah, the former Chief Minister of Jammu and Kashmir, died at the age of 77.
September 8, 1985
John Franklin Enders, an American virologist and Nobel Prize laureate known as “The Father of Modern Vaccines,” passed away.