What Happened On
Dana Plato Dies of Overdose
May 8, 1999
Thirty-four-year-old former American child actress Dana Plato, feeling unwell, takes a several doses of the painkiller Lortab, along with the muscle-relaxant Soma, dying shortly after from the lethal combination. Her death was ruled a suicide based on Plato's long history of drug abuse.
The previous day, Plato had done an interview on The Howard Stern Show in which she claimed to be sober and drug free for the past 10 years, with the exception of pain killers prescribed for the recent extraction of her wisdom teeth.
Plato starred as Kimberly Drummond in the TV show Diff'rent Strokes (1978-86).
In 1991 she robbed a video store with a pellet gun.
Smallpox Eradicated
May 8, 1980
Existing only as laboratory specimens, smallpox is certified by the World Health Assembly as obsolete. This was the first time a disease was eradicated by man. The last known case was in Birmingham, England (1978), when the virus escaped from a research lab. The researcher who accidentally let it escape committed suicide. It is estimated that smallpox killed 300-500 million people in the 20th century. It was eradicated by a massive vaccination and containment program. The eradication was aided by the facts that humans are the only reservoir for smallpox infection, and that asymptomatic carriers did not exist.
Dr. No
May 8, 1963
Dr. No, first in the James Bond series, premieres in the U.S. It starred Sean Connery as 007.
However, it was not the first James Bond movie. The first James Bond movie was a live TV-broadcast of Casino Royale.
Dr. No was based on the 1958 novel by Ian Fleming. Produced on a budget of $1.1 million, it took in over $59 million at the box office.
Connery wasn't the first choice for the role of Bond. Actor Patrick McGoohan who played spy John Drake in the television series Danger Man and David Niven both turned down the role. Niven later played Bond in the 1967 James Bond spoof Casino Royale.
Churchill waves to crowds in celebration of Germany's surrender
Churchill waves to crowds in celebration of Germany's surrender
VE (Victory in Europe) Day
May 8, 1945
British and Americans celebrate Germany's unconditional surrender the previous day.
The Man Who Lived Through Doomsday
May 8, 1902
A volcano outside the city of Saint-Pierre on Martinique island erupts killing almost all of the 30,000 inhabitants within a matter of minutes. Ludger Sylbaris, survived because he was locked in a prison solitary confinement cell. The night before the volcanic eruption, Sylbaris got into a fight and was thrown into jail overnight for assault. The single-person jail cell was a bomb-proof magazine with stone walls, partially underground, with no windows, and the only opening was a small slit in door facing away from the volcano. Early on the morning of May 8th, the Mount Pelée volcano on Martinique island erupted, sending a cloud of ash and rock at speeds of up to 100 mph (161 km/h) into the city of Saint-Pierre. The cloud reached temperatures of over 1,830 °F (1,000 °C), flattening the city and burning or suffocating almost the entire population in less than a minute. Sylbaris urinated on his clothing and used them to block the vent in his door. Although Sylbaris managed to avoid breathing the deadly searing hot fumes, he still received deep burns on his hands, arms, legs, and back. He wasn't found until four days later when rescue teams heard his cries for help.
The only other survivor of the 30,000 people in the direct path of the lava flow was a girl who when the volcano began to erupt jumped in a boat and rowed to a cave where she and friends used to play pirates. She was badly burned and was found unconscious after having washed out to sea on the boat.
Sylbaris later joined Barnum & Bailey's Circus billed as "The Man Who Lived Through Doomsday". He was the first black man ever to star in Barnum and Bailey's "Greatest Show on Earth".
Coca-Cola Invented
May 8, 1886
The soft drink Coca-Cola is invented by John S. Pemberton. He called it "Esteemed Brain Tonic and Intellectual Beverage." He had previously created an opium-free pain relief medicine to alleviate his addiction to morphine, which started as a result of wounds received in 1865 fighting in the Civil War. The result was the very popular "French Wine Coca", which was made from Peruvian Coca, wine, and kola nut. In 1886, Atlanta and Fulton County passed prohibition legislation, forcing him to make a non-alcoholic version in which he substituted the wine with syrup and called it "Coca-Cola". While experimenting with the formula, he accidentally mixed the base with carbonated water. He liked the result so much that he decided to make a fountain drink instead of a medicine. Nearly bankrupt and suffering health issues, Pemberton sold the rights to his business partners shortly before his death. He had wanted to retain a share of the ownership to leave to his son, but his son wanted the money instead.
The original formula, which was created as an alternative to morphine, contained about nine milligrams of cocaine per glass (a typical line of cocaine is 50-75 mg), but this was reduced to trace amounts by the early 1900s and eliminated altogether in 1929.
Abraham Lincoln Uses Moon to Defend Client
May 8, 1858
In what is considered his most famous case, lawyer and future U.S. President Abraham Lincoln uses the Moon to defend Duff Armstrong who was accused of murdering James Preston Metzker on August 29, 1857. Lincoln had been friends with Armstrong's recently deceased father and offered to defend him free of charge.
Charles Allen testified at the trial that at just before midnight he saw Armstrong strike Metzker with a slungshot (a weight tied to a leather thong). Allen claimed he was about 150 feet away at the time. When Lincoln asked Allen how he could identify Armstrong in the middle of the night from that distance, Allen claimed he could see by the light of the full Moon. Lincoln then took out an almanac and showed that at the time of the murder the Moon was in its first quarter and riding low on the horizon and just about to set. Lincoln claimed that not only was the witness lying about the full Moon, it would have been impossible to have enough moonlight to see clearly that night, thus proving he was lying. The jury agreed and acquitted Armstrong.
This case became known as "The Almanac Trial".
Gary Hart Scandal
May 8, 1987
U.S. Presidential candidate Gary Hart drops out of the race after a photo of 29-year-old model Donna Rice sitting in his lap was published.
Berkowitz and part of letter he left near victims
Berkowitz and part of letter he left near victims
Son of Sam Killer
May 8, 1978
David Berkowitz pleads guilty to killing six people in New York. He claimed he was acting under orders of his neighbor Sam's demon-possessed dog Harvey, but later stated that was a hoax. He was called "Son of Sam Killer" after he left a note near the bodies of two of his victims in which he referred to himself as "Son of Sam."
In the mid-1990s, he changed his confession to claim that he had been a member of a Satanic cult that orchestrated the incidents as ritual murder.
Berkowitz was also suspected in a number of unsolved arsons.
Kentucky Derby
May 8, 1915
First filly to win the Kentucky Derby. J. Nutter rides Regret to win the 41st running of the Kentucky Derby.
Mother's Day Established
May 8, 1914
Mother's Day is established by the U.S. Congress as the second Sunday in May.
Hernando de Soto
May 8, 1541
The Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reaches the mouth of the Mississippi River.
Birthdays
Ricky Nelson (Eric Hilliard Nelson)
Born May 8, 1940 d. 1985
American actor, Hall of Fame singer, teen-idol. When Nelson played the drums for the first time on The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet, he instantly became a teen-idol. He played drums and sang I'm Walkin' in the episode Ricky, the Drummer (1957). His recording of I'm Walkin' (reaching #4) was then released with A Teenager's Romance (reaching #2) as his first single.
His song Poor Little Fool (1958) was the first #1 song on Billboard magazine's Hot 100 chart and sold over 2,000,000 copies.
He once commented, "Anyone who knocks rock 'n' roll either doesn't understand it, or is prejudiced against it, or is just plain square."
He and his band members died when his private plane crashed en route to a New Year's Eve performance.
TV: The Adventures of Ozzie and Harriet (1952-66, playing himself). Music: Poor Little Fool (1958, #1) and Hello Mary Lou (1961, #1).
Author of Jaws
Peter Bradford Benchley
Born May 8, 1940 d. 2006
American author, journalist. Writings: Jaws (1974). In the 1975 film version of Jaws, Benchley made a cameo appearance as a news reporter on the beach. Reduced beach attendance in 1975 was attributed to this movie.
Bishop Fulton J. Sheen (Peter John Sheen)
Born May 8, 1895 d. 1979
American Emmy-winning Catholic evangelist. He was the first TV preacher of note. He won an Emmy as Most Outstanding TV Personality (1952).
The actor Ramón Estévez took the last name of his stage name Martin Sheen from him (Martin was from casting director, Robert Dale Martin, who gave him his first big break).
Quote: "Hearing nuns' confessions is like being stoned to death with popcorn."
Radio: The Catholic Hour on NBC (1930-50). TV: Life Is Worth Living (1952-57).
Harry S. Truman
Born May 8, 1884 d. 1972
American politician. 33rd U.S. President (1945-53) and 34th U.S. Vice-President (1945). He became President when Franklin D. Roosevelt died. The "S" in his name does not stand for any one name. That's why you never see it spelled out. The middle initial "S" was chosen to honor both of his grandfathers, Anderson Shipp Truman and Solomon Young.
Melissa Gilbert
Born May 8, 1964
American actress. TV: Little House on the Prairie (1974-84, Laura Ingalls), Batman: The Animated Series (1992-95, voice of Batgirl), The Miracle Worker (1979, Helen Keller), and The Diary of Anne Frank (1980, Anne Frank).
Alex Van Halen
Born May 8, 1953
Dutch-born American drummer, Eddie Van Halen's older brother. Music: Runnin' With the Devil (1976) and Jump (1984, #1).
Philip Bailey
Born May 8, 1951
American singer, with Earth, Wind & Fire. Music: Shining Star (1975, #1, Grammy), Best of My Love (1977, #1), and After the Love has Gone (1979, #2, Grammy).
Captain and Tennille
Captain and Tennille
Toni Tennille
Born May 8, 1940
American singer, with Captain and Tennille. Music: Love Will Keep Us Together (1975, #1) and Muskrat Love (1976). TV: The Captain and Tennille (1976-77).
Don Rickles
Born May 8, 1926 d. 2017
American Emmy-winning comedian, famous for his insults. TV: C.P.O. Sharkey (1976-78, title role) and Daddy Dearest (1993, title role). Film: Toy Story (1995, voice of Mr. Potato Head).
Joking about his friend Frank Sinatra: "When you enter a room, you have to kiss his ring. I don't mind, but he has it in his back pocket."
Lex Barker (Alexander Crichlow Barker)
Born May 8, 1919 d. 1973
American actor. Film: played Tarzan in five of the movies between 1949 and 1953.
John Archer (Ralph Bowman)
Born May 8, 1915 d. 1999
American actor. Film: I Saw What You Did (1965).
Ruth Gilbert
Born May 8, 1912 d. 1993
American actress. TV: Milton Berle Show (1953-55, Max the scatterbrained secretary; Her plea, "Let's not fight this, Mil-l-ton, it's bigger than both of us," became a national catchphrase). Film: Alice in Wonderland (1931 - the first sound version of the classic, with Gilbert playing Alice).
Rudolf Flesch
Born May 8, 1911 d. 1986
Austrian-born American author. His book Why Johnny Can't Read (1955) advocated the use of phonics to sound out words. This book inspired Dr. Seuss to write The Cat in the Hat (1957).
Louis Moreau Gottschalk
Born May 8, 1829 d. 1869
American pianist, composer. He was the first internationally recognized U.S. pianist.
Jean Henri Dunant
Born May 8, 1828 d. 1910
Swiss philanthropist. He founded the International Red Cross (1864) and was co-winner of the first Nobel Peace Prize (1901).
Edward Gibbon
Born May 8, 1737 d. 1794
English author. Writings: The History of the Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire.
Deaths
Where the Wild Things Are
Maurice Sendak (Maurice Bernard Sendak)
Died May 8, 2012 b. 1928
American children's author, illustrator. Writings: Where the Wild Things Are (1963), In the Night Kitchen (1970), Outside Over There (1981), and illustrated the Little Bear books by Else Holmelund Minarik (1957-68).
The Tennessee Plowboy
Eddy Arnold (Richard Edward Arnold)
Died May 8, 2008 b. 1918
American Hall of Fame country-western singer. Known as "The Tennessee Plowboy," he is the all-time best-selling country singer, selling over 85 million records. Music: Bouquet of Roses (1948, #1) and I Really Don't Want to Know (1954, #1).
Real-Life Olive Oyl
Dora Paskel
Died May 8, 1953 b. 1872
American general store owner. She is said to be the real-life inspiration for the Popeye character Olive Oyl, created by E. C. Segar in 1919. She owned a general store in Segar's hometown of Chester, Illinois and was tall, thin, wore her hair in a bun on the nape of her neck, and dressed similar to Olive Oyl.
Chester drew inspiration for a number of his Popeye characters from real people he knew in his home town, such as Frank "Rocky" Fiegel from whom he based the Popeye character.
Eadweard James Muybridge (Edward James Muggeridge)
Died May 8, 1904 b. 1830
English-born pioneer in motion photography. His photographic studies of animal motion laid the foundation for modern motion pictures. He was hired by Leland Stanford to determine if a horse ever lifts all four hooves from the ground while galloping. Muybridge's work proved they did, though this occurs only when the feet are beneath the body, not when the fore and hindlimbs are extended, as sometimes depicted in older paintings.
The famous French sculptor Auguste Rodin responded to the contradiction of how horses are portrayed in artwork as opposed to how they actually gallop, "It is the artist who is truthful and it is photography which lies, for in reality time does not stop."
Lavoisier (standing at table) conducting an experiment on respiration with his wife taking notes
Lavoisier (standing at table) conducting an experiment on respiration with his wife taking notes
Father of Modern Chemistry
Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier
Died May 8, 1794 b. 1743
French chemist, "Father of Modern Chemistry." He identified air as containing two principal elements (1778), one of which he named "oxygen", established the law of conservation of matter (1782), named hydrogen (1783), and showed that respiration was essentially a slow combustion of organic material using inhaled oxygen. In 1793, the arrest of former tax farmers, including Lavoisier, was ordered. Lavoisier and the other Farmers General faced nine accusations of defrauding the state of money owed to it, and of adding water to tobacco before selling it. Lavoisier was convicted and guillotined in Paris along with his 27 co-defendants. A year and a half later, Lavoisier was exonerated by the French government.
Edward Winslow
Died May 8, 1655 b. 1595
American colonist, Mayflower pilgrim. He was the first person married in New England (May, 1621), brought the first cattle to New England (1624), and was governor the Plymouth Colony (1633-34, 36-37, 44-45). His portrait is the only authentic likeness of any of the Mayflower pilgrims.
Siegfried & Roy (left)
Siegfried & Roy (left)
Roy Horn (Uwe Ludwig Horn)
Died May 8, 2020 b. 1944
German-born American magician with Siegfried and Roy. Their magic act, known for its flash and use of animals, was the highest-grossing production in Las Vegas history. Horn was severely injured on his birthday in 2003 by a white tiger during one of their performances. Horn died of COVID-19 complications during the pandemic.
In Texas Hold'em, two queens as hole cards are referred to as a "Siegfried & Roy."
William Schallert
Died May 8, 2016 b. 1922
American actor. President of the Screen Actors Guild (SAG, 1979-81). TV: The Patty Duke Show (1963-66, Patty's father), The Nancy Drew Mysteries (1977-78, Nancy's father), and The New Gidget (1986-88, Gidget's father).
Dana Plato (Dana Michelle Strain)
Died May 8, 1999 b. 1964
American actress. Plato starred as Kimberly Drummond in the TV show Diff'rent Strokes (1978-86).
In 1991 she robbed a video store with a pellet gun.
She was one of the first celebrities to star in a video game (1992, Night Trap).
She died of an overdose from a combination of the painkiller Lortab and the muscle-relaxant Soma. Her death was ruled a suicide due to her history of drug abuse. The previous day Plato had done an interview on The Howard Stern Show in which she claimed to be sober and drug free for the past 10 years, with the exception of pain killers prescribed for the recent extraction of her wisdom teeth.
George Peppard
Died May 8, 1994 b. 1928
American actor. Film: Pork Chop Hill (1959) and Breakfast at Tiffany's (1961). TV: Banacek (title role), Doctors' Hospital and The A-Team (Hannibal Smith).
Halcion Murder Defense
Nila Wacaser
Died May 8, 1992 b. 1948
American murderess. She killed her two sons in 1987, claiming the sleeping drug Halcion had caused her to do it. She killed her 8 and 11 year-old sons shortly after a judge granted legal custody of them to her ex-husband. She committed suicide after being convicted of first-degree murder earlier in the day.
Robert Anson Heinlein
Died May 8, 1988 b. 1907
American science fiction author. He won an unprecedented four Hugo awards. Writings: Starship Troopers (1959) and Stranger in a Strange Land (1961).
Lila Bell Acheson Wallace
Died May 8, 1984 b. 1889
American publisher. She and her husband DeWitt founded Reader's Digest (1921). It obtained the largest magazine circulation in the world.
LaVerne Andrews
Died May 8, 1967 b. 1911
American singer, with the Andrews sisters.
Henry McNeal Turner
Died May 8, 1915 b. 1834
American Methodist clergyman. He was the first black chaplain commissioned in the U.S. Army (1863).
Paul Gauguin
Died May 8, 1903 b. 1848
French post-impressionist painter and sculpture, known for his broad flat tones, bold colors, and use of distortion. In 1888 during a fit of dementia, Vincent van Gogh attacked Gauguin with a knife. After Gauguin left, Van Gogh used the knife to cut off part of his own ear.
Gustave Flaubert
Died May 8, 1880 b. 1821
French author. Writings: Madame Bovary.
Saint Benedict II
Died May 8, 685 b. ????
Italian religious leader, 81st Pope (684-685).
Saint Boniface IV
Died May 8, 615 b. circa 550
religious leader, 67th Pope (608-615).
John II (Mercury)
Died May 8, 535 b. ????
Italian religious leader, 56th Pope (532-535). He was the first pope to change his name.