This Day In History : July 8

1948 United States

The Women in the Air Force (WAF) program in the United States Air Force accepts its first female recruits

The Women in the Air Force (WAF) program in the United States Air Force accepted its first female recruits on July 8, 1948. This was part of the larger integration of women into the U.S. military following the Women's Armed Services Integration Act, which allowed women to serve as permanent, regular members of the armed forces.

Also on This Day in History July 8

Discover what happened on July 8 with HISTORY's summaries of major events, anniversaries,
famous births and notable deaths.

Births on This Day, July 8
  • 1831 John Pemberton

    American chemist and pharmacist who invented Coca-Cola

  • 1839 John D. Rockefeller

    American businessman who founded the Standard Oil Company

  • 1838 Ferdinand von Zeppelin

    German General and businessman who founded the Zeppelin Airship Company

  • 1851 Sir Arthur Evans

    British archaeologist who first visited Crete in 1894 to study and decipher an unknown script seen on seal stones

  • 1857 Alfred Binet

    French child psychologist who invented the first practical IQ test (Binet–Simon test)

Deaths on This Day, July 8
  • 1784 Torbern Olof Bergman

    Swedish mineralogist, chemist and naturalist who experimented with carbon dioxide, which he named aerial acid

  • 1695 Christiaan Huygens

    Dutch mathematician, astronomer (discovered Saturn's rings) and scientist (dynamics)

  • 1986 Hyman G. Rickover

    US Admiral (father of modern nuclear navy, at 63 years the longest serving US naval officer)

  • 1994 Kim Il-sung

    Founder, dictator and Supreme Leader of North-Korea (1948-94)

  • 1999 Pete Conrad

    American US Navy pilot and NASA astronaut (Gemini 5, Gemini 11, Apollo 12, Skylab 2)

2011

Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched in the final mission of the U.S. Space Shuttle program

Space Shuttle Atlantis was launched on July 8, 2011, in the final mission of the U.S. Space Shuttle program. This mission, known as STS-135, marked the end of the 30-year Space Shuttle era, which began with the launch of Space Shuttle Columbia on April 12, 1981.
1870

US Congress authorizes registration of trademarks

The US Congress authorized the registration of trademarks on July 8, 1870. This was part of the first federal trademark law, which aimed to provide legal protection for trademarks used in commerce.
1913

Erector Set Patented

Alfred Carlton Gilbert's patent for the Erector Set is issued, it becomes one of the most popular toys of all time
2008

The Pickens Plan

American businessman T. Boone Pickens announced his "Pickens Plan" on July 8, 2008. The plan proposed a strategy to reduce the United States' dependence on imported oil by increasing the use of domestic renewable energy sources, particularly wind and natural gas.
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