Browse Historical Events by Day: What Happened on October 8th?

The Battle of the Aisne takes place in present-day France, with Louis the Stammerer leading the West Franks against the Vikings.

The Second Peace of Thorn is signed, ending the Thirteen Years' War and defining the borders between the Teutonic Knights and Poland-Lithuania.

The Spanish army captures Lisbon, effectively uniting the crowns of Portugal and Spain under Philip II.

The Great Chicago Fire starts at about 9:00 p.m. in or around a small barn belonging to Patrick and Catherine O’Leary. The fire quickly spread and lasted two days. It killed about 300 people, and destroyed over 17,000 buildings, leaving 100,000 homeless. The estimated damage costs were $200 million dollars (roughly $4 billion in 2020 dollars). The real cause of the fire has never been determined by city officials. More

The most devastating forest fire in American history swept through northeast Wisconsin, claiming 1200+ lives.I t scorched 1.2 to 1.5 million acres, although it skipped over the waters of Green Bay to burn parts of Door and Kewaunee counties. The fire also burned 16 other towns, but the damage in Peshtigo was the worst. The city was gone in an hour. In Peshtigo alone, 800 lives were lost. The damage estimate was at $169 million,. The Peshtigo Fire usually receives little note outside the region because another horrific fire happened the same night -- the great Chicago Fire. More

Haiphong cyclone, Over 300,000 people perished in one of most catastrophic natural disasters in history. The cyclone smashed into the Gulf of Tonkin causing widespread destruction as tidal waves flooded the city of Haiphong in northeastern Vietnam.

Che Guevara is captured by Bolivian troops. He was executed the following day, on orders from the Bolivian President. More

The 7.6 magnitude Kashmir earthquake strikes northern Pakistan and India, causing widespread destruction and killing at least 86,000 people. More