On This Day for May 8 - World War II in Europe ended, Paul Gauguin is featured, and more

Created: 2020-05-08 10:03 Updated: 2020-05-08 10:03 Notebook: On this Day in History

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May 08

FEATURED BIOGRAPHY

Paul Gauguin

FEATURED EVENT

1945

World War II in Europe ended

MORE EVENTS ON THIS DAY

2012: American artist Maurice Sendak, who was best known for his illustrated children's books, died in Connecticut. [Test your knowledge of children's authors.]

1999: Nancy Mace became the first woman to graduate from The Citadel, a military college in Charleston, South Carolina. [Take our quiz about historic firsts.]

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?]

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. [Test your knowledge of World War battles.]

1886: American pharmacist John S. Pemberton developed Coca-Cola, a drink he originally billed as a cure-all tonic.

1884: Harry S. Truman, the 33rd president of the United States (1945–53), was born in Lamar, Missouri. [Can you identify where each president was born?]

SEE ALL EVENTS ON THIS DAY

ALSO BORN ON THIS DAY

1884

Harry S. Truman
president of United States

1926

David Attenborough
English broadcaster, writer, and naturalist

1926

Don Rickles
American comedian and actor

1940

Rick Nelson
American musician and actor

1930

Doug Atkins
American football player