October 8 in history — What Happened Today in History

Spyros Markezinis begins his 48-day term as prime minister in an abortive attempt to lead Greece to parliamentary rule.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wins the Nobel Prize in literature.

The opening rally of the Days of Rage occurs, organized by the Weather Underground in Chicago.

Guerrilla leader Che Guevara and his men are captured in Bolivia. Guevara would be executed the next day.

Der Spiegel publishes an article disclosing the sorry state of the Bundeswehr, leading to accusations of treason.

The New York Yankees's Don Larsen pitches the only perfect game in a World Series.

The Harrow and Wealdstone rail crash in England kills 112 people.

World War II: Captain Bobbie E. Brown earns a Medal of Honor for his actions during the Battle of Crucifix Hill, just outside Aachen.

World War II: Around 30 civilians are executed by Friedrich Schubert's paramilitary group in Kallikratis, Crete.

World War II: During the preliminaries of the Battle of Rostov, German forces reach the Sea of Azov with the capture of Mariupol.

World War II: Germany annexes western Poland.

KDKA in Pittsburgh's Forbes Field conducts the first live broadcast of a football game.

World War I: Corporal Alvin C. York kills 28 German soldiers and captures 132, for which he was awarded the Medal of Honor.

The First Balkan War begins when Montenegro declares war against the Ottoman Empire.

Korean Empress Myeongseong is assassinated by Japanese infiltrators.

War of the Pacific: The Chilean Navy defeats the Peruvian Navy in the Battle of Angamos.

Slash-and-burn land management, months of drought, and the passage of a strong cold front cause the Peshtigo Fire, the Great Chicago Fire and the Great Michigan Fires to break out.

American Civil War: The Confederate invasion of Kentucky is halted at the Battle of Perryville.

The Second Opium War between several western powers and China begins with the Arrow Incident.

Stephenson's Rocket wins the Rainhill Trials.

The Peruvian Navy is established during the War of Independence.

The Treaty of Ried is signed between Bavaria and Austria.

Jeanne Mance opens the first lay hospital of North America in Montreal.

The Spanish siege of Alkmaar ends with the first Dutch victory in the Eighty Years' War.

Angus T. Jones, American actor

Garbiñe Muguruza, Spanish tennis player

Molly Quinn, American actress and producer

Bubba Wallace, American race car driver

Chelsea Gray, American basketball player

Jordan McLean, Australian rugby league player

Rachel Klamer, Zimbabwean-Dutch triathlete

Hassan Maatouk, Lebanese footballer

Camilla Herrem, Norwegian handball player

Bruno Mars, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor

Travis Pastrana, American motorcycle racer

Miloš Pavlović, Serbian racing driver

Annemiek van Vleuten, Dutch cyclist

Akong Rinpoche, Tibetan-Chinese spiritual leader (born 1939)

Varsha Bhosle, Indian singer and journalist (born 1956)

Marilou Diaz-Abaya, Filipino director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1955)

Nawal Kishore Sharma, Indian politician, 20th Governor of Gujarat (born 1925)

Al Davis, American football coach, general manager, and NFL team owner (born 1929)

Frank Bourgholtzer, American journalist (born 1919)

Eileen Crofton, British physician and author (born 1919)

Ângelo Carvalho, Portuguese footballer (born 1925)

Bob Friend, English journalist (born 1938)

Eileen Herlie, Scottish-American actress (born 1918)

George Emil Palade, Romanian-American biologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1912)

Constantine Andreou, Greek painter and sculptor (born 1917)

Mark Porter, New Zealand racing driver (born 1974)