Today in History for 8th September 2026

[CoM Moderators]

Historical Events

1504 - Michelangelo's statue of David is unveiled in Florence
1796 - Battle of Bassano: Napoleon Bonaparte's French army defeats the Austrian forces during the French Revolutionary Wars
1960 - US 4 x 400 m relay team of Jack Yerman, Earl Young, Glenn Davis, and Otis Davis run a world record 3:02.2 to win the gold medal at the Rome Olympics
1972 - East German Annelie Ehrhardt sets a world record of 12.59 seconds to win the 100 m hurdles gold medal at the Munich Olympics, beating Romanian Valeria Bufanu by 0.25 seconds
2008 - US Open Men's Tennis: Roger Federer beats Scotsman Andy Murray 6-2, 7-5, 6-2 for his fifth consecutive US title

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Famous Birthdays

1915 - Frank Cady, American actor (The Beverly Hillbillies; Petticoat Junction; Green Acres - all as "Sam Drucker"), born in Susanville, California (d. 2012)
1958 - Michael Lardie, American rock keyboard player, guitarist and producer (Great White; Night Ranger), born in Anchorage, Alaska
1983 - Chris Judd, Australian rules football player, born in Melbourne, Australia
1986 - Matt Grothe, American football player, born in Lakeland, Florida
1991 - Joe Sugg, English Youtuber and actor (Strictly Come Dancing), born in Lacock, England

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Famous Deaths

1675 - Amalia, countess of Solms-Braunfels and wife of Frederick Henry, Prince of Orange, dies at 73
1871 - Etienne-Joseph Soubre, Belgian composer, dies at 57
1949 - Richard Strauss, German composer (Also sprach Zarathustra, Don Quixote), dies at 85
1956 - Fred Rich, Polish-American jazz pianist and dance band bandleader ("I'm Tickled Pink with a Blue-Eyed Baby"; The Abbott and Costello Show), dies at 58
1985 - John Franklin Enders, American microbiologist (1954 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for culturing poliovirus, developed measles vaccine), dies at 88

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