September 8
Activity of the day
Today is . . .
- World Literacy Day
- National day of Andorra
- Independence Day in Macedonia
- National Day in North Korea
On this day . . .
- Michelangelo’s statue of David is unveiled in Florence, Italy
- The Dutch colony of New Amsterdam is surrendered to the British who later rename it New York (1664)
- Johannesburg, South Africa, is founded after the discovery of gold there (1886)
- The first English Football league matches are played (1888)
- The Ernest Hemingway novel The Old Man and the Sea is published (1952)
- The first
episode of the science fiction TV series Star Trek is broadcast
(1966)
Births
- Richard the Lion Heart, King of England (1157)
- Antonin Dvorak, Czech composer (1841)
- Siegfried Sassoon, English poet and author (1886)
- Peter Sellers, English comic actor (1925)
- Patsy Cline, American musician (1932)
- Michael Frayn, English playwright (1933)
Deaths
- Richard Strauss, German composer (1949)
- André Derain, French painter (1954)
- Jean Seberg, American actress (1979)
- Moondog, American composer, musician and poet (1999)