Year 1497
Vasco da Gama embarked on his first voyage from Europe to India.
JULY 8
Daily Historical Chronicle
UPSC CSE • State PSC • SSC CGL Matrix
8 July: What Happened On This Day in History
Curated historical timeline of momentous political pacts, freedom struggle uprisings, constitutional developments, scientific breakthroughs, and prominent birthdays recorded on 8 July.
Observances & Special Days
World Oceans Day
World Oceans Day is held every year on 8th June
to raise awareness of the vital importance of our oceans and the role they play in sustaining a healthy planet.
The purpose of the day is to develop a worldwide movement of citizens and mobilize and unite the world's population on a project for the sustainable management of the world's oceans
Year 1856
Charles Byrne received a US patent for a machine gun.
Year 1889
American newspaper ‘The Wall Street Journal’ began publication.
Year 1918
Montagu-Chelmsford Report was published seeking reforms in the Indian legislature.
Year 1958
An Indian film ‘Do Ankhein Barah Hath’ won Best Picture at the World Film Festival in Berlin.
Year 1970
Richard Nixon delivers a special congressional message enunciating Native American self-determination as official US Indian policy, leading to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975.
Born 1903
Umaid Singh, Maharaja of Jodhpur.
Born 1908
V. K. R. Varadaraja Rao, Indian economist, politician, professor, and educator (d. 1991): Vijayendra Kasturi Ranga Varadaraja Rao was born on July 8, 1908, at Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu to Kasturirangachar and Bharati Bai. Notable among his works are: Taxation of Income in India (1931), An essay on India’s National Income -1925-29 – (1936); The National Income of British India (1940); India and International Currency Plans (1945); Post-War Rupee (1948); Gandhian Alternative to Western Socialism (1970); Values and Economic Development – The Indian Challenge (1971); the Nehru Legacy (1971); Swami Vivekananda – Prophet of Vedantic Socialism (1978); Many Languages and One Nation – the Problem of Integration (1979); India’s National Income 1950-80 (1983) Food, Nutrition and Poverty (1982); Indian socialism: Retrospect and Prospect (1982),
Born 1914
Jyoti Basu, Indian politician, 6th Chief Minister of West Bengal (d. 2010): Jyoti Basu was an Indian politician who served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal state from 1977 to 2000. He was one of the co-founders of the Communist Party of India and a member of the Polit Bureau of the party since its inception in 1964 till 2008.
Born 1949
Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Indian politician, 14th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (d. 2009): Yeduguri Sandinti Rajasekhara Reddy, popularly known as YSR, was the 14th chief minister of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, serving from 2004 to 2009.
Born 1958
Neetu Singh, an Indian actress.
Born 1966
Revathi, an Indian film actress, and director.
Born 1972
Sourav Ganguly, Indian cricketer: Sourav Chandidas Ganguly, affectionately known as Dada, is an Indian cricket administrator, commentator, and former national cricket team captain. He is also the chairman of BCCI.
Born 1978
Vijay Shekhar Sharma, an Indian billionaire businessman. He is the founder of financial technology company Paytm.
Died 2003
Subhash Mukhopadhyay, an Indian Bengali poet.
Died 2006
Raja Rao, an Indian English-language short stories and novels writer.
Died 2007
Chandra Shekhar Singh, the eighth Prime Minister of India.
Died 2013
Sundri Uttamchandani, Indian author (b. 1924)
Died 2020
Jagdeep, an Indian film actor and comedian.