June 8

Events

• 793 - Viking raid on the monastery of Lindisfarne, England
• 1191 – Richard I arrives in Acre thus beginning his crusade.
• 1861 - American Civil War: Tennessee secedes from the Union.
• 1941 - World War II: Allies invade Syria and Lebanon.
• 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.
• 1967 - Israel attacks the American ship USS Liberty killing 34 and wounding 171.
• 1968 - James Earl Ray is arrested for the murder of Martin Luther King Jr.
• 1978 - The Mormons allow Blacks into their “priesthood”.
• 1986 - Former United Nations Secretary-General Kurt Waldheim is elected president of Austria.
• 2009 - Nick Griffin of the British National Party wins a seat in the European Parliament

Births

• 1867 - Frank Lloyd Wright, American architect (d. 1959)
• 1916 - Francis Crick, English molecular biologist, co-discoverer of the structure of the DNA molecule (d. 2004)
• 1909 - Eldon Lee Edwards, 1950s Ku Klux Klan leader (d. 1960)
• 1924 - Lyn Nofziger, American political operative (d. 2006)
• 1925 - Barbara Bush, First Lady of the United States
• 1943 - William Calley, American war criminal

Deaths

• 632 - Muhammad, Prophet of Islam (b. 570)
• 1809 - Thomas Paine, American revolutionary and writer (b. 1737)
• 1845 - Andrew Jackson, 7th President of the United States (b. 1767)
• 1945 – Karl Hanke, NSDAP official (b. 1903)
• 1965 – Edmondo Rossoni, Italian fascist (b. 1884)
• 1979 - Reinhard Gehlen, German military intelligence officer and Cold War spymaster (b. 1902)