July 8 in Pop Culture History

July 8 Fun Facts, Trivia and History

July 8 History Highlights

  • 1775 – Representatives from the colonies sent an “Olive Branch Petition” to avoid a complete break with England.
  • July 8, 1865 Birthday (fictional) Dr. Watson, Sherlock Holmes
  • 1889 – The first issue of The Wall Street Journal was published.
  • 1932 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached the lowest level of the Great Depression, closing at 41.22.
  • 1947 – First reports of a UFO reportedly crash-landed in Roswell, New Mexico in what became known as the Roswell UFO incident.
  • If you were born on July 8th,
    You were likely conceived the week of… October 15th (prior year)

Be A Kid Again Day

Be a Kid Again Day is an opportunity to let your guard down and be silly. As adults, we worry so much about how others perceive us that it’s sometimes difficult for us not to go with the flow of society. It can get exhausting trying too hard all the time! Be a kid again on this day by letting loose and enjoying some simple pleasures in life like playing outside or making funny faces at mirrors just because you feel like doing so.

Your childhood was probably more magical than you give yourself credit for anyway- why don’t you have some fun now?

July 8 is…

Be a Kid Again Day
Math 2.0 Day
National Milk Chocolate with Almonds Day
SCUD Day aka Savor the Comic, Unplug the Drama Day

July 8 Birthday Quotes

“With my little band, I did everything they did with a big band. I made the blues jump.”
– Louis Jordan

“I like it when you read a script and there’s the part that you show to the other characters and then there’s the part that only the audience knows.”
– Anjelica Huston

“A man should make all he can, and give all he can.”
– Nelson Rockefeller

“I won’t eat anything that has intelligent life, but I’d gladly eat a network executive or a politician.”
– Marty Feldman

“They want you to believe the Sun is hot. I urge you to ask yourself ‘Have they ever touched it? Think about it.”
– Jaden Smith

“What I like to think, and perhaps it is an adolescent thought, is that anything can happen. As long as you think that anything can happen, it will. We’re all allowed to have our dreams.”
– Anjelica Huston

“Wherever we look upon this earth, the opportunities take shape within the problems.”
– Nelson Rockefeller

July 8 Birthdays

1621 – Jean de La Fontaine, French author and poet (died in 1695)
1831 – John Pemberton, American chemist and pharmacist, invented Coca-Cola (died in 1888)
1838 – Eli Lilly, American soldier, chemist, and businessman, founded Eli Lilly and Company (died in 1898)
1838 – Ferdinand von Zeppelin, German general and businessman, founded the Zeppelin Airship Company (died in 1917)
1839 – John D. Rockefeller, American businessman and philanthropist, founded the Standard Oil Company (died in 1937)
1885 – Hugo Boss, German fashion designer, founded Hugo Boss (died in 1948)
1908 – Louis Jordan, American singer-songwriter and saxophonist (died in 1975)
1908 – Nelson Rockefeller, American businessman and politician, 41st Vice President of the United States (died in 1979)
1914 – Billy Eckstine, American singer and trumpet player (died in 1993)
1918 – Craig Stevens, American actor (died in 2000)
1930 – Jerry Vale, American singer (died in 2014)
1934 – Marty Feldman, English actor (died in 1982)
1935 – Steve Lawrence, American actor and singer
1944 – Jeffrey Tambor, American actor
1947 – Kim Darby, American actress
1948 – Raffi, Egyptian-Canadian singer-songwriter
1948 – Ruby Sales, American civil-rights activist
1949 – Wolfgang Puck, Austrian-American chef and restaurateur
1951 – Anjelica Huston, American actress
1961 – Toby Keith, American singer-songwriter
1962 – Joan Osborne, American singer-songwriter
1968 – Billy Crudup, American actor
1970 – Beck, American singer-songwriter
1977 – Milo Ventimiglia, American actor
1998 – Jaden Smith, American actor and rapper

July 8 History

1776
The Liberty Bell rang at Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, inviting citizens to the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence.

1800
Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse gave the smallpox vaccination to his son, Daniel. It was performed in the US, using cowpox serum to prevent smallpox.

1865
July 8, 1865, Birthday (fictional) Dr. Watson, Sherlock Holmes

1876
White supremacists killed five Black Republicans in Hamburg, South Carolina.

1889
The first issue of The Wall Street Journal was published.

1932
The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached its lowest level of the Great Depression, closing at 41.22.

1936
Mount Steele – 16,470 ft (5,020 m) – Yukon, Canada – First ascent: July 8, 1936, by Walter Wood, Hans Fuhrer, and Joseph W. Fobes

1947
Newspapers begin reporting on a UFO crash in Roswell, NM, that had happened one day earlier.

July 6, 1947 Birthday (fictional) John Rambo, Rambo: First Blood, Film

1948
The United States Air Force accepted its first female recruits into the Women in the Air Force (WAF) program.

1951
Mount Hubbard – 14,950 ft (4,557 m) – Yukon, Canada – First ascent: July 8, 1951, by Walter Wood, Bob Bates, and Ed Bernd

1964
July 8, 1964, Birthday (fictional) Phil Coulson, S.H.I.E.L.D., Marvel Cinematic Universe

1972
#1 Hit July 8, 1972July 28, 1972: Bill Withers – Lean On Me

1989
#1 Hit July 8, 1989July 14, 1989: Fine Young Cannibals – Good Thing

1991
Shop Til’ You Drop premiered on Lifetime

1992
Melrose Place made its debut on FOX as a follow-up to 90210

1994
Kim Jong-il assumed supreme leadership of North Korea upon his father’s death, Kim Il-sung.

1995
#1 Hit July 8, 1995August 25, 1995: TLC – Waterfalls

2006
#1 Hit July 8, 2006August 18, 2006: Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland – Promiscuous

>Today’s Random Trivia and Shower Thoughts

There’s very little difference between perspective and opinion.

John Denver – Real Name: Henry John Deutschendorf Jr.

Shakespeare’s wife’s name was Anne Hathaway. (not OUR Anne Hathaway)

The coach in Air Bud would have looked really stupid if putting the dog in the game didn’t work.

“There are many ways to roll with the punches. Still, it’s probably best to avoid people who punch you.” – Alex Bosworth

The world premiere of Blazing Saddles took place at the Pickwick Drive-In theater in Burbank, CA where 200 guests watched the film on horseback.

A group of wild Horses is called a Herd.

It is illegal to be in possession of a US $100,000 bill, a Gold Certificate, due to Executive Order 6102.

Natural disasters only occur where they can cause the most damage and casualties. #moviecliches

“Never purchase beauty products in a hardware store.” – Miss Piggy

The monster that attacked Luke in the trash compactor in Star Wars was a ‘dianoga.’

The person who invented the tire reinvented the wheel.

“If you’re bored, you’re boring.” – Barbara “Cutie” Cooper

Rudolph Valentino – Real Name: Rudolpho D’Antonguolia

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