June 8 is the 159th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar (160th in leap years), with 206 days remaining.
- 452 - Attila the Hun invades Italy
- 536 - St. Silverius becomes Pope
- 570 - Islam is founded in Mecca
- 1776 - American invaders driven back at Trois Rivières[?]
- 1783 - The volcano Laki, in Iceland, begins an eight-month eruption which kills over 9,000 people and starts a seven-year famine
- 1790 - King's College founded by United Empire Loyalist[?] scholars from what is now Columbia University at Windsor, Nova Scotia
- 1824 - First patent issued in Canada
- 1843 - First students enrolled in King's College, later the University of Toronto
- 1861 - American Civil War: Tennessee secedes from the Union
- 1887 - Herman Hollerith receives a patent for his punch card calculator
- 1941 - World War II: Allies invade Syria and Lebanon
- 1942 - World War II: Tobruk[?] falls to the Germans
- 1949 - Such celebrities as Helen Keller, Dorothy Parker, Danny Kaye, Fredric March, John Garfield, Paul Muni and Edward G. Robinson are named in an FBI report as Communist Party members
- 1950 - Sir Thomas Blamey[?] becomes the only Field Marshal in Australian history
- 1959 - the first (and only) delivery of Missile Mail
- 1967 - Israeli attack on USS Liberty
- 1968 - James Earl Ray is arrested for the murder of Doctor Martin Luther King Jr.
- 1969 - After the Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) cancels the program, the last Smothers Brothers Comedy Hour airs.
- 1998 - Charlton Heston assumes the presidency of the National Rifle Association.
- 2004 - First solar transit of the planet Venus since 1882; the next one will occur on June 6, 2012.
- 1743 - Alessandro Cagliostro, adventurer (+ 1795)
- 1810 - Robert Schumann, composer (+ 1856)
- 1847 - Ida McKinley[?], former First Lady of the United States
- 1867 - Frank Lloyd Wright, architect (+ 1959)
- 1903 - Marguerite Yourcenar, author (+ 1987)
- John W. Campbell Jr.[?], science fiction writer, publisher, editor (+ 1971)
- 1916 - Francis Crick, scientist, Nobel laureate
- 1917 - Byron White, Associate Justice of the United States Supreme Court
- 1918 - Robert Preston[?], actor (+ 1987)
- 1921 - Suharto, former President of Indonesia
- 1921 - Alexis Smith[?], actress (+ 1993)
- 1924 - Lyn Nofziger[?], political operative
- 1925 - Barbara Bush, former First Lady of the United States (to 41st President, George Bush, mother to 43rd President George W. Bush
- 1927 - LeRoy Neiman[?], painter
- 1929 - Jerry Stiller, comedian, actor
- 1933 - Joan Rivers[?], comedienne, author
- 1934 - Millicent Martin[?], singer, actress
- 1940 - Nancy Sinatra, singer
- 1941 - Fuzzy Haskins, musician ("P Funk")
- 1944 - Boz Scaggs[?], singer, songwriter
- 1947 - Kathy Baker[?], actress
- 1948 - Jürgen von der Lippe[?], show master
- 1950 - Sonia Braga[?], actress
- 1951 - Bonnie Tyler, singer, guitarist
- 1955 - Griffin Dunne[?], actor
- 1957 - Scott Adams, cartoonist ("Dilbert")
- 1958 - Keenan Ivory Wayans[?], comedian, actor, director
- 1966 - Julianna Margulies[?], actress
- 218 - Macrinus, Roman Emperor
- 632 - Muhammad, founder of Islam
- 1042 - Harthacanute , King of England
- 1795 - King Louis XVII of France
- 1809 - Thomas Paine, American revolutionary and writer: Common Sense
- 1845 - Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the United States
- 1874 - Cochise[?], Apache leader
- 1876 - George Sand, author
- 1929 - Bliss Carman, poet
- 1966 - Anton Melik, Slovene geographer
- 1982 - Satchel Paige, baseball player
- 2000 - Jeff MacNelly[?], political cartoonist
See Also:
June 7 - June 9 - May 8 - July 8 -- listing of all days
January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December