April 8 is the 98th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (99th in leap years). There are 267 days remaining.
- 1730 - Shearith Israel[?], the first synagogue in New York City, is dedicated.
- 1832 - Black Hawk War: Around 300 United States 6th Infantry troops leave Jefferson Barracks, St. Louis[?] to fight the Sauk Native Americans.
- 1904 - France and Great Britain sign the Entente cordiale.
- 1913 - The 17th Amendment to the United States Constitution[?] is ratified requiring direct election of Senators.
- 1935 - The Works Progress Administration is formed by when the Emergency Relief Appropriation Act of 1935[?] becomes law.
- 1942 - World War II: Siege of Leningrad[?] - Soviet Union forces open a much-needed railway link to Leningrad.
- 1952 - In a radio address to the nation from the White House, President Harry S. Truman calls for the seizure of all steel mills[?] in the United States in order to prevent a nationwide strike.
- 1974 - At the Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium, Hank Aaron breaks baseball great's Babe Ruth's record by hitting his 715th home run.
- 1975 - Frank Robinson of the Cleveland Indians manages his first game as major league baseball's first African American manager.
- 1985 - Bhopal disaster[?]: India files suit against Union Carbide[?] for the disaster which killed an estimated 2,000 and injured another 200,000.
- 1986 - Clint Eastwood is elected mayor of Carmel-by-the-Sea, California receiving 72% of the vote (voter turnout was also doubled over the previous mayoral election).
- 1987 - Los Angeles Dodgers executive Al Campanis[?] resigns amid great controversy over racially-charged remarks he had made while on Nightline. Campanis said that blacks "may not have some of the necessities" to retain managerial-level positions in major-league baseball.
- 2002 - Ed McMahon[?] files a US$20 million lawsuit against his insurance company and others for alleged breach of contract, negligence and intentional infliction of emotional distress that was allegedly caused by a toxic mold infecting McMahon's Beverly Hills, California home.
- 563 BC - Gautama Buddha, religious leader (+ 483 BC
- 1868 - King Christian IX of Denmark (+ 1906)
- 1872 - Ivan Bloch[?], physician (+ 1922)
- 1875 - King Albert I of Belgium (+ 1934)
- 1859 - Edmund Husserl, philosopher (+ 1938)
- 1892 - Mary Pickford, actress, studio founder (+ 1979)
- 1911 - Emil Cioran[?], philosopher and essayist (+ 1995)
- 1912 - Sonja Henie, Olympic and World Champion figure skater (+ 1969)
- 1918 - Betty Ford[?], former First Lady
- 1919 - Ian Smith, former Prime Minister of Rhodesia
- 1926 - Jürgen Moltmann[?], theologian
- 1928 - John Gavin[?], actor
- 1929 - Jacques Brel, composer (+ 1978)
- 1933 - Fred Ebb, composer
- 1938 - Kofi Annan, United Nations Secretary General
- 1940 - John Havlicek[?], basketball star
- 1944 - Barbara Kingsolver[?], novelist
- 1949 - John Madden[?], director
- 1963 - Julian Lennon, musician and singer
- 1492 - Lorenzo de Medici, Italian statesman and de facto ruler of the Florentine Republic
- 1848 - Gabriel Donizetti[?], composer
- 1973 - Pablo Picasso, artist
- 1983 - Omar Bradley, general
- 1945 - Dietrich Bonhoffer, theologian
- 1950 - Vaslav Nijinsky, ballet dancer
- 1990 - Ryan White, AIDS activist
- 1993 - Marian Anderson, singer
- 1996 - Ben Johnson[?], actor
- 1997 - Laura Nyro[?], singer, composer
- 2000 - Claire Trevor[?], actress
- Worldwide Roma Nation Day
See Also: January,
February,
March,
April,
May,
June,
July,
August,
September,
October,
November,
December
April 7 - April 9 - March 8 - May 8 - more historical anniversaries