On This Day for August 8 - Resignation of U.S. President Nixon, Emiliano Zapata is featured, and more

Created: 2020-08-08 10:04 Updated: 2020-08-08 10:04 Notebook: On this Day in History

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August 08

FEATURED BIOGRAPHY

Emiliano Zapata

FEATURED EVENT

1974

Resignation of U.S. President Nixon

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MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY

2011: Tibetan scholar Lobsang Sangay was inaugurated as prime minister of the Tibetan government-in-exile, becoming the first non-monk and the first person born outside Tibet to hold the position.

2000: The wreckage of the Hunley, a Confederate submarine that was lost during the American Civil War , was raised from the ocean floor near Sullivans Island, South Carolina; it was the first submarine to sink (1864) an enemy ship (the Union sloop Housatonic). [Take our quiz about submarines, ships, and other watercraft.]

1992: The U.S. men's Olympic basketball team—which had been dubbed the “Dream Team” because of an all-star roster of NBA players that included Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, and Larry Bird—easily defeated Croatia to win the gold medal at the Barcelona Games. [How much do you know about basketball?]

1981: Swiss tennis player Roger Federer, who came to be regarded as one of the sport's greatest players, was born. [Test your knowledge of tennis.]

1963: Armed robbers stole £2.6 million from the Glasgow-London Royal Mail Train near Bridego Bridge, north of London, in the Great Train Robbery. [Take our quiz about criminality and famous outlaws.]

1945: The United States, the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and France signed the London Agreement, which authorized the Nürnberg trials, in which former Nazi leaders were indicted and tried as war criminals by the International Military Tribunal. [Take our quiz about infamous Nazis.]

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ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY

1981

Roger Federer
Swiss tennis player

1937

Dustin Hoffman
American actor

1966

Jimmy Wales
American entrepreneur

1921

Esther Williams
American swimmer and actress

1902

P.A.M. Dirac
English physicist