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Gunmen steal the champion Irish race horse Shergar from a stud farm owned by the Aga Khan in County Kildare, Ireland. The five-year-old thoroughbred stallion, named European horse of the year in 1981, was worth $13.5 million and commanded stud fees of approximately $100,000. On the night of the heist, armed men arrived at the home of one of Shergar’s grooms, James Fitzpatrick, and forced him to lead them to the horse and help load him onto a trailer. The kidnappers dropped Fitzpatrick on a remote road later that night and then demanded a ransom of more than $2 million for Shergar’s return. More...
1968 - Three protestors die in the Orangeburg Massacre
On the night of February 8, 1968, police officers in Orangeburg, South Carolina open fire on a crowd of young people during a protest against racial segregation, killing three and wounding around 30 others. The killing of three young African Americans by state officials, four ...read more
1915 - “The Birth of A Nation” opens, glorifying the KKK
On February 8, 1915, D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation, a landmark film in the history of cinema, premieres at Clune’s Auditorium in Los Angeles. The film was America’s first feature-length motion picture and a box-office smash, and during its unprecedented three hours ...read more
1924 - First execution by lethal gas
The first execution by lethal gas in American history is carried out in Carson City, Nevada. The executed man was Tong Lee, a member of a Chinese gang who was convicted of murdering a rival gang member. Lethal gas was adopted by Nevada in 1921 as a more humane method of carrying ...read more
1990 - Del Shannon, a ‘60s songwriter, dies of a self-inflicted gunshot wound
Born Charles Westover in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1934, the singer-songwriter known as Del Shannon dies by suicide on February 8, 1990. In a period when the American pop charts were dominated by cookie-cutter teen idols and novelty acts, he stood out as an all-too-rare example ...read more
1994 - Jack Nicholson smashes windshield in episode of road rage
Years later, he would play a therapist counseling Adam Sandler in the black comedy Anger Management (2003), but on February 8, 1994, it was the Oscar-winning actor Jack Nicholson who let his anger get out of control. In a criminal lawsuit filed against the actor, Robert Blank ...read more
1587 - Mary, Queen of Scots beheaded
After 19 years of imprisonment, Mary, Queen of Scots is beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in England for her complicity in a plot to murder Queen Elizabeth I. In 1542, while just six days old, Mary ascended to the Scottish throne upon the death of her father, King James V. Her ...read more
Historic Trivia pick
Herostratus burned down the temple of Artemis at Ephesus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, on July 21, 356 B.C., just so that his name would live forever in the history books. After his execution, the officials of Ephesus tried to thwart his plan by obliterating his name from all records. Obviously, they were unsuccessful.
Irish Racehorse 'Shergar' is Stolen
Gunmen steal the champion Irish race horse Shergar from a stud farm owned by the Aga Khan in County Kildare, Ireland. The five-year-old thoroughbred stallion, named European horse of the year in 1981, was worth $13.5 million and commanded stud fees of approximately $100,000. On the night of the heist, armed men arrived at the home of one of Shergar’s grooms, James Fitzpatrick, and forced him to lead them to the horse and help load him onto a trailer. The kidnappers dropped Fitzpatrick on a remote road later that night and then demanded a ransom of more than $2 million for Shergar’s return. More...
1968 - Three protestors die in the Orangeburg Massacre
On the night of February 8, 1968, police officers in Orangeburg, South Carolina open fire on a crowd of young people during a protest against racial segregation, killing three and wounding around 30 others. The killing of three young African Americans by state officials, four ...read more
1915 - “The Birth of A Nation” opens, glorifying the KKK
On February 8, 1915, D.W. Griffith’s The Birth of a Nation, a landmark film in the history of cinema, premieres at Clune’s Auditorium in Los Angeles. The film was America’s first feature-length motion picture and a box-office smash, and during its unprecedented three hours ...read more
1924 - First execution by lethal gas
The first execution by lethal gas in American history is carried out in Carson City, Nevada. The executed man was Tong Lee, a member of a Chinese gang who was convicted of murdering a rival gang member. Lethal gas was adopted by Nevada in 1921 as a more humane method of carrying ...read more
1990 - Del Shannon, a ‘60s songwriter, dies of a self-inflicted gunshot wound
Born Charles Westover in Grand Rapids, Michigan, in 1934, the singer-songwriter known as Del Shannon dies by suicide on February 8, 1990. In a period when the American pop charts were dominated by cookie-cutter teen idols and novelty acts, he stood out as an all-too-rare example ...read more
1994 - Jack Nicholson smashes windshield in episode of road rage
Years later, he would play a therapist counseling Adam Sandler in the black comedy Anger Management (2003), but on February 8, 1994, it was the Oscar-winning actor Jack Nicholson who let his anger get out of control. In a criminal lawsuit filed against the actor, Robert Blank ...read more
1587 - Mary, Queen of Scots beheaded
After 19 years of imprisonment, Mary, Queen of Scots is beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in England for her complicity in a plot to murder Queen Elizabeth I. In 1542, while just six days old, Mary ascended to the Scottish throne upon the death of her father, King James V. Her ...read more
Historic Trivia pickHerostratus burned down the temple of Artemis at Ephesus, one of the seven wonders of the ancient world, on July 21, 356 B.C., just so that his name would live forever in the history books. After his execution, the officials of Ephesus tried to thwart his plan by obliterating his name from all records. Obviously, they were unsuccessful.
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61-BLUES
