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On this day in history - February 8

What Happened On This Day – February 8

  • 1971 The NASDAQ holds its first trading day

    The National Association of Securities Dealers Automated Quotations was the world's first electronic stock exchange.

  • 1960 The first 8 stars are added to the Hollywood Walk of Fame

    More than 2400 five-pointed stars have since been embedded in the sidewalks of Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street to honor stars of the entertainment industry.

  • 1950 The Stasi, East Germany's notorious secret police, is established

    The “Staatssicherheit”, which was dissolved in 1990, is considered one of the most repressive intelligence agencies in the world.

  • 1910 The Boy Souts of America is founded

    3 years earlier, British General Robert Baden-Powell had founded the Scout movement in England.

  • 1879 Sandford Fleming proposes the use of time zones

    The later introduction of Universal Standard Time, which is based on time zones, revolutionized time keeping.

Illustration of stork, signifying birth

Births On This Day,
February 8

  • 1941 Nick Nolte

    American actor

  • 1932 John Williams

    American pianist, composer, conductor

  • 1931 James Dean

    American actor

  • 1925 Jack Lemmon

    American actor, singer, director

  • 1828 Jules Verne

    French author

Illustration of tombstone, signifying death

Deaths On This Day,
February 8

  • 2007 Ian Stevenson

    American biochemist

  • 2007 Anna Nicole Smith

    American model, actress

  • 1998 Enoch Powell

    British politician

  • 1957 John von Neumann

    Hungarian/American mathematician

  • 1587 Mary, Queen of Scots