June 8
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June 8 is the 159th day of the year (160th day in a leap year) in the Gregorian calendar. This is followed by 206 days until the end of the year.
Events
General
1783 - An eight-month eruption begins in Iceland's Laki volcano, killing more than 9,000 people. This is also the beginning of an eight-year famine.
Media
1995 - Judge orders Weekend weekly to rectify an article about singer René Froger after allegations that he stayed with his wife thanks to a strangulation contract his father-in-law made him sign.
2017 - Marc Peeperkorn, correspondent of de Volkskrant in Brussels, wins the Anne Vondeling Prize 2016 "for clear political journalism".
Music
1937 - World premiere of Carl Orff's Carmina Burana at the Alte Oper in Frankfurt am Main.
War
218 – Battle of Antioch: 14-year-old Elagabalus, with the support of the Syrian legions, defeats the army of Emperor Macrinus. He is later executed in Cappadocia.
1529 – The warring armies of the First Kappeler War peacefully drink Kappel's milk soup.
1943 - Nearly 1,300 Jewish children are transported in one train from Camp Westerbork to Sobibór, where they are gassed three days later.
1972 - In Vietnam, photographer Nick Ut famously captures the girl Kim Phuc running screaming after a napalm bombing.
Politics
1042 - Edward the Confessor succeeds his deceased half-brother Harthacnut as King of England.
1922 - Marriage of King Alexander I of Yugoslavia and Princess Marie of Hohenzollern-Sigmaringen in Belgrade.
1961 - Wedding of Duke Edward of Kent and Katharine Worsley in York.
1986 - Kurt Waldheim wins the second round of the Austrian presidential election, despite revelations about his wartime past.
2013 - Former South African President Nelson Mandela, 94, is hospitalized again in Pretoria. He has a lung infection.
Religion
328 - Athanasius of Alexandria is consecrated as Bishop of Alexandria and persecutes Arianism.
632 - Muhammad, Islamic prophet, dies in Medina after a short illness and is succeeded by Abu Bakr.
1772 – Beatification of Paolo Burali d'Arezzo, Italian Cardinal Archbishop of Naples.
1920 - Establishment of the Roman Catholic Apostolic Vicariate of Finland.
Sport
1914 - The Brazilian Football Federation ("Confederação Brasileira de Futebol") is founded in Brazil.
1978 - New Zealand's Naomi James completes a solo sailing trip around the world in a record time of 272 days.
1984 - West Germany swimmer Michael Gross breaks his own world record in the 200-meter freestyle to 1.47.55 in Munich.
1990 - In the opening game of the World Cup, defending champion Argentina loses 1-0 to Cameroon by a goal by François Omam-Biyik.
1997 - In Berlin, the Dutch women's hockey team finishes third in the battle for the Champions Trophy.
1998 - Swiss Sepp Blatter is elected president of FIFA, succeeding Brazilian João Havelange.
2004 - Rens Blom sets the Dutch record pole vault at 5.81 meters in Zaragoza.
2013 - Serena Williams wins the women's singles at Roland Garros 2013 (women). She beats defending champion Maria Sharapova in the final.
2014 - Rafael Nadal wins the Roland Garros tournament for the ninth time. In the final he beats Novak Djokovic 3-6, 7-5, 6-2, 6-4. It is the Spaniard's fourteenth victory at a grand slam tournament, equaling the performance of Pete Sampras.
Science and technology
1637 - Discours de la Méthode by René Descartes is published.
1959 - A NASA X-15 experimental aircraft equipped with a rocket engine makes its first glide.
2004 - First solar transit of the planet Venus since 1882, next is on June 6, 2012.
2022 - Launch of the Egyptian c
