8th July

The events happened on 8th July are :



1497 : Vasco da Gama's first voyage to India : On this day in 1497, Vasco da Gama sailed from Lisbon with a fleet of four vessels—two medium-size three-masted sailing ships named the São Gabriel and the São Rafael, a 50-ton caravel named the Berrio, and a storeship. In the service of the Portuguese crown, da Gama opened a sea route from western Europe to Asia, sailing first to the Cape Verde Islands, then taking a circular course through the South Atlantic to the Cape of Good Hope, which he rounded on November 22. Along the way, the fleet set up padrões (stone pillars) as marks of discovery and overlordship.



1994 : Kim Il-sung, the communist leader of North Korea, died.



1950 : Douglas MacArthur was appointed commander of UN forces in Korea.



1896 : William Jennings Bryan delivered his “Cross of Gold” speech at the Democratic National Convention in Chicago.



1889 : Journalist Charles Henry Dow published the first issue of The Wall Street Journal.



1889 : John L. Sullivan beat Jake Kilrain in 75 rounds to defend his title in the last heavyweight championship bout held under London Prize Ring rules.



1833 : The Treaty of Hünkâr İskelesi, a defensive alliance between the Ottoman Empire and Russia, was signed at the village of Hünkâr İskelesi, near Istanbul.



1815 : Louis XVIII returned to Paris following the Hundred Days.



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