On This Day in History

February 8

Historical Events

Depiction of the execution on Mary, Queen of Scots at Fotheringhay Castle in Northamptonshire

1587 Mary, Queen of Scots, is beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle aged 44 after being convicted of plotting to assassinate Elizabeth I in the Babington Plot.

1807 Battle of Eylau ends inconclusively between Napoleon's forces and the Russian Empire, first battle Napoleon isn't victorious.

1936 First-ever NFL Draft: Jay Berwanger from the University of Chicago is first pick by Philadelphia Eagles.

1960 Queen Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom issues an Order-in-Council, stating that she and her family would be known as the House of Windsor, and that her descendants will take the name "Mountbatten-Windsor".

1971 Nasdaq Composite stock market index debuts with 50 companies and a starting value of 100.

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Famous Birthdays

William Tecumseh Sherman 1820 - 1891 Jules Verne 1828 - 1905

Dmitri Mendeleev 1834 - 1907 Klay Thompson 34th Birthday

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Famous Deaths

Peter the Great 1672 - 1725 Anna Nicole Smith 1967 - 2007

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Earthquakes and a Book Rock London

In the 18th Century, Englishmen went into a panic when London, of all places, was hit by earthquakes. But was there a stronger force than Mother Nature at work?

An Earthquake Shakes London