On This Day in History — July 8

• 2014 — Israel launches an offensive on Gaza amid rising tensions following the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers.
• 2011 — Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched in the final mission of the U.S. Space Shuttle program.
• 1994 — Kim Jong-il begins to assume supreme leadership of North Korea upon the death of his father, Kim Il-sung.
• 1988 — The Island Express train travelling from Bangalore to Kanyakumari derails on the Peruman bridge and falls into Ashtamudi Lake, killing 105 passengers and injuring over 200 more.
• 1982 — Assassination attempt against Iraqi president Saddam Hussein in Dujail.
• 1980 — The inaugural 1980 State of Origin game is won by Queensland who defeat New South Wales 20-10 at Lang Park.

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Notable Births on July 8

• 1998 — Jaden Christopher Syre Smith, American actor and rapper
• 1996 — Braidon Burns, Australian rugby league player
• 1991 — Virgil van Dijk, Dutch footballer
• 1989 — Yarden Gerbi, Israeli world champion and Olympic bronze medalist judoka
• 1989 — Tor Marius Gromstad, Norwegian footballer (d. 2012)
• 1988 — Miki Roqué, Spanish footballer (d. 2012)

Notable Deaths on July 8

• 2016 — Abdul Sattar Edhi, Pakistani philanthropist (b. 1928)
• 2015 — Ken Stabler, American football player and sportscaster (b. 1945)
• 2015 — James Tate, American poet (b. 1943)
• 2014 — Plínio de Arruda Sampaio, Brazilian lawyer and politician (b. 1930)
• 2014 — John V. Evans, American soldier and politician, 27th Governor of Idaho (b. 1925)
• 2014 — Ben Pangelinan, Guamanian businessman and politician (b. 1956)

Public Holidays on July 9

• 🌍 Constitutionalist Revolution of 1932 (Brazil)
• 🌍 Día de la Independencia (Argentina)
• 🌍 Independence Day (Argentina)

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Religious Observances on July 9

• Buddhist: Asalha Puja

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On This Day in History — July 9

• 2011 — South Sudan gains independence and secedes from Sudan.
• 2006 — One hundred twenty-five people are killed when S7 Airlines Flight 778, a Airbus A310 passenger jet, veers off the runway while landing in wet conditions at Irkutsk Airport in Siberia.
• 2002 — The African Union is established in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia; its first chairman is Thabo Mbeki, President of South Africa.
• 1999 — Days of student protests begin after Iranian police and hardliners attack a student dormitory at the University of Tehran.
• 1995 — The Navaly church bombing is carried out by the Sri Lanka Air Force killing 125 Tamil civilian refugees.
• 1993 — The Parliament of Canada passes the Nunavut Act leading to the 1999 creation of Nunavut, dividing the Northwest Territories into arctic (Inuit) and sub-arctic (Dene) lands based on a plebiscite.

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Notable Births on July 9

• 2003 — Suzanitta, Bulgarian singer
• 1991 — Mitchel Musso, American singer and actor
• 1990 — Earl Bamber, New Zealand race car driver
• 1990 — Fábio Pereira da Silva, Brazilian footballer
• 1990 — Rafael, Brazilian footballer
• 1988 — Raul Rusescu, Romanian footballer

Notable Deaths on July 9

• 2015 — Christian Audigier, French fashion designer (b. 1958)
• 2015 — Saud bin Faisal bin Abdulaziz Al Saud, Saudi Arabian economist and politician, Saudi Arabian Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1940)
• 2015 — Jim Bede, American aircraft designer (b. 1933)
• 2014 — Lorenzo Álvarez Florentín, Paraguayan violinist and composer (b. 1926)
• 2014 — David Azrieli, Polish-Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1922)
• 2014 — Eileen Ford, American businesswoman, co-founded Ford Models (b. 1922)