Jair Bolsonaro
Supporters of former Brazil president Jair Bolsonaro storm the Brazilian Congress.
What happened on January 8
35 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1198 to 2025.
Standout on January 8
2016
El Chapo
Joaquín Guzmán, widely regarded as the world's most powerful drug trafficker, is recaptured following his escape from a maximum security prison in Mexico.
About January 8
January 8 is the 8th day of the year. These facts are computed from the calendar, not copied from anywhere.
- Day of the year
- Day 8 of 365 (8 in leap years)357 days left in the year (358 in leap years)
- Falls on
- Thursday in 2026, Friday in 2027, Saturday in 2028, Monday in 2029, Tuesday in 2030
- Week
- ISO week 2 of 2026 · Q1
- Zodiac sign
- ♑ Capricorn (December 22 – January 19)
- Season
- Winter in the north · Summer in the south
- January birthstone
- Garnetprotection, friendship and trust
- January birth flower
- Carnation / Snowdroplove, devotion and hope
- Next occurrence
- In 73 days
- Roman numerals
- VIII.Iday.month — see the Roman numeral date tool
Anniversaries in 2026
- 90thReza Shah1936
- 70thEvangelicalism1956
- 30thAntonov An-321996
- 25thZach Charbonnet2001
- 10thEl Chapo2016
- 10thGerman Moreno2016
- 10thMaria Teresa de Filippis2016
- 10thWest Air Sweden Flight 2942016
January 8 through the years
- 10 years ago2016
- West Air Sweden Flight 294 · El Chapo · German Moreno
- 25 years ago2001
- Zach Charbonnet
- 50 years ago1976
- Nothing recorded
- 100 years ago1926
- Nothing recorded
- 200 years ago1826
- Nothing recorded
Born on January 8 — ages this year
- 2001Zach Charbonnetturns 25
- 2000Noah Cyrusturns 26
- 1999Damiano Davidturns 27
- 1999Ignas Brazdeikisturns 27
- 1998Tony Bradley (basketball)turns 28
- 1998Jhoan Duránturns 28
Historical events 35
A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
La Vega raid
Twenty-three people are killed in what is described as a police ″massacre″ in La Vega, Caracas, Venezuela.
Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752
Ukraine International Airlines Flight 752 crashes immediately after takeoff at Tehran Imam Khomeini International Airport; all 176 on board are killed. The plane was shot down by an Iranian anti-aircraft missile.
West Air Sweden Flight 294
West Air Sweden Flight 294 crashes near the Swedish reservoir of Akkajaure; both pilots, the only people on board, are killed.
El Chapo
Joaquín Guzmán, widely regarded as the world's most powerful drug trafficker, is recaptured following his escape from a maximum security prison in Mexico.
Jared Lee Loughner
Jared Lee Loughner opened fire at a public meeting held by U.S. representative Gabby Giffords in Tucson, Arizona, killing six people and injuring twelve others.
Gabby Giffords
Sitting US Congresswoman Gabby Giffords is shot in the head along with 18 others in a mass shooting in Tucson, Arizona. Giffords survived the assassination attempt, but six others died, including John Roll, a federal judge.
Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda
Gunmen from an offshoot of the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda attacked the bus transporting the Togo national football team to the Africa Cup of Nations in Angola, killing three people.
2009 Cinchona earthquake
A 6.1-magnitude earthquake in northern Costa Rica kills 15 people and injures 32.
USS San Francisco (SSN-711)
The nuclear sub USS San Francisco collides at full speed with an undersea mountain south of Guam. One man is killed, but the sub surfaces and is repaired.
Queen Mary 2
The RMS Queen Mary 2, then the largest ocean liner ever built, is christened by her namesake's granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II.
Air Midwest Flight 5481
Air Midwest Flight 5481 crashes at Charlotte-Douglas Airport, in Charlotte, North Carolina, killing all 21 people on board.
Turkish Airlines Flight 634
Turkish Airlines Flight 634 crashes near Diyarbakır Airport, Turkey, killing the entire crew and 70 of the 75 passengers.
George W. Bush
President of the United States George W. Bush signs into law the No Child Left Behind Act.
Antonov An-32
An Antonov An-32 cargo aircraft crashes into a crowded market in Kinshasa, Zaire, killing up to 223 people on the ground; two of six crew members are also killed.
Astronaut
Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov on Soyuz TM-18 leaves for Mir. He would stay on the space station until March 22, 1995, for a record 437 days in space.
Richardson, Texas
Jeremy Wade Delle committed suicide in his high-school class in Richardson, Texas, an event that inspired the Pearl Jam song "Jeremy".
Kegworth air disaster
Kegworth air disaster: British Midland Flight 92, a Boeing 737-400, crashes into the M1 motorway, killing 47 of the 126 people on board.
Breakup of the Bell System
Breakup of the Bell System: In the United States, AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty-two subdivisions.
Trans-en-Provence
In Trans-en-Provence, France, a local farmer reported a UFO sighting claimed to be "perhaps the most completely and carefully documented sighting of all time".
Trans-en-Provence case
A local farmer reports a UFO sighting in Trans-en-Provence, France, claimed to be "perhaps the most completely and carefully documented sighting of all time".
1977 Moscow bombings
Three bombs attributed to Armenian nationalists exploded across Moscow, killing seven people and injuring 37 people.
Ella Grasso
Ella T. Grasso becomes Governor of Connecticut, the first woman to serve as a governor in the United States other than by succeeding her husband.
Pakistani Instrument of Surrender
Following Pakistan's defeat in the Bangladesh Liberation War, President Zulfikar Ali Bhutto released Bangladeshi politician Sheikh Mujibur Rahman (pictured) from prison in response to international pressure.
Evangelicalism
Five Evangelical Christian missionaries from the United States were killed by the Huaorani in the rainforest of Ecuador shortly after making contact with them.
New Deal for Aborigines
The New Deal for Aborigines was formally announced by the Australian government, providing for full civil rights for Indigenous Australians in exchange for cultural assimilation.
Reza Shah
Reza Shah issued the Kashf-e hijab decree, ordering Iranian police to remove hijabs from any women in public.
Comité Pro Acción Sindical
The Committee for Union Action is established in Guatemala.
Woodrow Wilson
U.S. president Woodrow Wilson announced his Fourteen Points for a moral cause and for post–World War I peace in Europe.
Blackstone Library
Blackstone Library (pictured), the first branch of the Chicago Public Library system, was dedicated.
Herman Hollerith
American statistician Herman Hollerith received a patent for his electromechanical tabulating machine for punched-card data.
George Washington
George Washington delivered the first State of the Union address in New York City, then the provisional capital of the United States.
George Frideric Handel
George Frideric Handel's opera Ariodante premiered at the Covent Garden Theatre (pictured) in London.
Thomas Aikenhead
Scottish student Thomas Aikenhead became the last person in Great Britain to be executed for blasphemy.
1198 papal election
Lotario dei Conti was elected as Pope Innocent III; he later worked to restore papal power in Rome.
Births 20
A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
Deaths 20
A notable person who died on this day.
Michael Lang (producer)
Michael Lang, American concert promoter and producer (born 1944)
Peter Sarstedt
Peter Sarstedt, Indian-British singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1941)
German Moreno
German Moreno, Filipino television host, actor, comedian and talent manager (born 1933)
Andraé Crouch
Andraé Crouch, American singer-songwriter, producer, and pastor (born 1942)
Kep Enderby
Kep Enderby, Australian lawyer, judge, and politician, 23rd Attorney-General for Australia (born 1926)
Irma Heijting-Schuhmacher
Irma Heijting-Schuhmacher, Dutch-Australian swimmer (born 1925)
Jeanne Manford
Jeanne Manford, American educator and activist, co-founded PFLAG (born 1920)
Holidays & observances 8
A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
Gauchito Gil
Christian feast day: Gauchito Gil (Folk Catholicism)
Gudula
Christian feast day: Gudula
Abo of Tiflis
Christian feast day: Abo of Tiflis
Babinden
Babinden (Belarus, Russia)
Lawrence Justinian
Christian feast day: Lawrence Giustiniani
Harriet Bedell
Christian feast day: Harriet Bedell (Episcopal Church (USA))
Apollinaris Claudius
Christian feast day: Apollinaris Claudius
Beatification
Christian feast day: Blessed Eurosia Fabris
Spread across the centuries
- 12th century1
- 17th century1
- 18th century2
- 19th century1
- 20th century35
- 21st century35
Earliest: 1198 papal election (1198). Most recent: Mangkra Souvanna Phouma (2025).
What the categories mean, and how the standout is chosen
- Historical events
- A dated happening — a battle, treaty, launch, discovery, disaster or decision — recorded on this calendar day.
- Births
- A notable person born on this day. Each links to a person page with their dates and story.
- Deaths
- A notable person who died on this day.
- Milestones
- A first, a founding or a turning point our editors flagged as a landmark moment.
- Holidays & observances
- A holiday, feast day, awareness day or national day observed every year on this date.
- Standout / notable
- Editor-written entries come first, then entries covered by the most Wikipedia language editions. For the standout tile we prefer an entry that has a picture.
Nearby and related
Questions about January 8
What day of the year is January 8?
January 8 is the 8th day of the year, with 357 days left after it.
What star sign is January 8?
January 8 falls under Capricorn (December 22 – January 19), a earth sign ruled by Saturn. The birthstone for the month is Garnet.
How many things happened on January 8?
We record 83 entries for January 8: 35 events · 20 births · 20 deaths · 8 observances. From 1198 to 2025.
Who was born on January 8?
Zach Charbonnet (2001) is among the notable births on January 8. The births section lists the rest.
How often is the January 8 page updated?
The day is filled the first time anyone opens it and then re-checked for new entries about every 90 days. Computed facts such as the weekday and the anniversaries update every year.
Get a daily entry like January 8
One short email a day from this calendar. Kept for this site only.
Text adapted from Wikipedia under CC BY-SA 4.0 and from Wikidata (CC0). Images come from Wikimedia Commons; credit and licence are shown with each image. Editorial entries are © What's On This Date. Sources & licensing · How this site works.