September 8 in history — What Happened Today in History

Nicholas Daniloff, a correspondent for U.S. News & World Report, is indicted on charges of espionage by the Soviet Union.

Black Friday, a massacre by soldiers against protesters in Tehran, results in 88 deaths, it marks the beginning of the end of the monarchy in Iran.

Gays in the military: US Air Force Tech Sergeant Leonard Matlovich, a decorated veteran of the Vietnam War, appears in his Air Force uniform on the cover of Time magazine with the headline "I Am A Homosexual". He is given a general discharge, later upgraded to honorable.

Watergate scandal: US President Gerald Ford signs the pardon of Richard Nixon for any crimes Nixon may have committed while in office.

World Airways Flight 802 crashes into Mount Dutton in King Cove, Alaska, killing six people.

In Washington, D.C., the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts is inaugurated, with the opening feature being the premiere of Leonard Bernstein's Mass.

Trans International Airlines Flight 863 crashes during takeoff from John F. Kennedy International Airport in New York City, killing all 11 aboard.

The landmark American science fiction television series Star Trek premieres with its first-aired episode, "The Man Trap".

Last run of the famous Pines Express over the Somerset and Dorset Railway line (UK) fittingly using the last steam locomotive built by British Railways, BR Standard Class 9F 92220 Evening Star.

In Huntsville, Alabama, US President Dwight D. Eisenhower formally dedicates the Marshall Space Flight Center (NASA had already activated the facility on July 1).

The Southeast Asia Treaty Organization (SEATO) is established.

The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation makes its first televised broadcast on the second escape of the Boyd Gang.

The flag of North Korea is adopted with the passing of the country's first constitution by the Supreme People's Assembly.

A referendum abolishes the monarchy in Bulgaria.

The division of Korea begins when United States troops arrive to partition the southern part of Korea in response to Soviet troops occupying the northern part of the peninsula a month earlier.

World War II: London is hit by a V-2 rocket for the first time.

World War II: The Armistice of Cassibile is proclaimed by radio. OB Süd immediately implements plans to disarm the Italian forces.

World War II: German forces begin the Siege of Leningrad.

US Senator from Louisiana Huey Long is fatally shot in the Louisiana State Capitol building.

Off the New Jersey coast, a fire aboard the passenger liner SS Morro Castle kills 137 people.

Ghazi bin Faisal became King of Iraq.

Germany is admitted to the League of Nations.

Rif War: Spanish forces including troops from the Foreign Legion under Colonel Francisco Franco landing at Al Hoceima, Morocco.

Honda Point disaster: Nine US Navy destroyers run aground off the California coast. Seven are lost, and twenty-three sailors killed.

Margaret Gorman, a 16-year-old, wins the Atlantic City Pageant's Golden Mermaid trophy; pageant officials later dubbed her the first Miss America.

In a bid to prove that women were capable of serving as military dispatch riders, Augusta and Adeline Van Buren arrive in Los Angeles, completing a 60-day, 5,500 mile cross-country trip on motorcycles.

World War I: Private Thomas Highgate becomes the first British soldier to be executed for desertion during the war.

The 7.2 Mw Calabria earthquake shakes southern Italy with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing between 557 and 2,500 people.

Georgie Gleeson, Australian representative

Matheus Leist, Brazilian racing driver

Tessa, Danish rapper

Lars Nootbaar, American baseball player

Tim Gajser, Slovenian motocross racer

Ellie Black, Canadian gymnast

Kimberley Woods, British slalom canoeist

Celya AB, French stand-up comedian, writer and actress based in England

Maya Kingma, Dutch triathlete

Ćamila Mičijević, Croatian-Bosnian handball player

Alayna Treene, American journalist

Azumi Waki, Japanese voice actress and singer

Paula Nicart, Spanish former footballer

Pierre Bergé, French businessman (born 1930)

Jerry Pournelle, American author and journalist (born 1933)

Ljubiša Samardžić, Serbian actor and director (born 1936)

Don Williams, American musician (born 1939)

Hannes Arch, Austrian race pilot (born 1967)

Dragiša Pešić, Montenegrin politician, 5th Prime Minister of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (born 1954)

Prince Buster, Jamaican singer-songwriter and producer (born 1938)

Joaquín Andújar, Dominican baseball player (born 1952)

Joost Zwagerman, Dutch author and poet (born 1963)

Marvin Barnes, American basketball player (born 1952)

S. Truett Cathy, American businessman, founder of Chick-fil-A (born 1921)

Sean O'Haire, American wrestler, mixed martial artist, and kick-boxer (born 1971)

Magda Olivero, Italian soprano (born 1910)