Nov 8
1895
X-rays seen for the first time
On this day in 1895, the invisible became visible. German physicist Wilhelm Conrad Röntgen discovered the X-ray—by accident. His original experiment focused on something else: whether cathode rays could pass through glass. At one point, a glowing green light emanated from a tube onto a screen nearby. Röntgen dubbed this mysterious glow the X-ray, with the “X” standing for ”unknown.” What happened next? And why did people start buying “X-ray proof underclothing”?
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Featured Event
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On this day in 2013, the Philippines endured its worst natural disaster when the country was struck by Super Typhoon Haiyan, one of the most powerful cyclones ever recorded to strike land.
Featured Biography
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John Milton, whose Paradise Lost is regarded as the greatest epic poem in the English language and who exerted a major influence on the history of English literature, culture, and libertarian thought, died this day in 1674.
More on November 8
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2020
Canadian-born American television personality Alex Trebek, best known as the host (1984–2020) of the TV game show Jeopardy!, died at age 80. [Who succeeded Alex Trebek as Jeopardy! host?]
© Josh Edelson—AFP/Getty Images
2018
The Camp Fire began in northern California. Over the following two weeks, it burned 153,000 acres (61,900 hectares) of land, including nearly all of the town of Paradise, destroyed an estimated 19,000 structures, and killed 85 people. [What caused the Camp Fire?]
© Bastiaan Slabbers—NurPhoto/Getty Images
2016
Republican Donald Trump was elected president of the United States. His Democratic opponent, Hillary Clinton, won the popular vote by more than 2.8 million. [Which other U.S. presidents lost the popular vote?]
Americana/Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1994
In the U.S. midterm elections, the Republicans won control of the House of Representatives and the Senate for the first time in 40 years. The sweeping victory was partly because of Democratic President Bill Clinton’s low popularity at the time. [How much do you know about the history of American politics?]
Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1978
American illustrator Norman Rockwell, best known for his covers of The Saturday Evening Post, died. [Take our quiz about artists.]
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1972
The American cable television company HBO officially debuted as it aired the 1971 film Sometimes a Great Notion, which starred Paul Newman. [Test your knowledge of pop culture.]
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1966
U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson signed a tax bill that included a rider allowing the National Football League to merge with the American Football League, thus preventing legal challenges involving antitrust issues. [Sort fact from fiction in our quiz about American football.]
© 1962 Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer Inc.
1962
The epic film Mutiny on the Bounty, which recounts the 1789 mutiny on the HMS Bounty. was released in American theaters; it was perhaps best known for its production difficulties, many of which centered on star Marlon Brando. [Test your knowledge of movie stars.]
© Arnie Sachs—Consolidated News Pictures/Archive Photos/Getty Images
1960
Democratic politician John F. Kennedy was narrowly elected president of the United States. [Watch: How John F. Kennedy became the Democratic presidential nominee in 1960.]
© Rye Hobie—Flagstaff/Alamy
1956
Comet Arend-Roland was discovered; it was remarkable for its anomalous second tail, which projected toward rather than away from the Sun. [Take our quiz about astronomy and celestial objects.]
Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (Digital File Number: cph 3c17121)
1932
During the Great Depression, Democrat Franklin D. Roosevelt easily defeated incumbent Republican Herbert Hoover to win the presidency of the United States. [How much do you know about U.S. presidential elections?]
Bundesarchiv, Bild 146-2007-0003 / CC-BY-SA
1923
Adolf Hitler and Erich Ludendorff attempted to start an insurrection in Germany against the Weimar Republic, but the Beer Hall Putsch, as it became known, was suppressed the following day. [Take our quiz about Adolf Hitler.]
William F. Warnecke, New—York World-Telegram & Sun Collection/Library of Congress, Washington, D.C. (neg. no. LC-USZ62-109613)
1900
Margaret Mitchell, author of Gone with the Wind, was born in Atlanta, Georgia. [Test your knowledge of famous writers.]
Science and Society/SuperStock
1884
Swiss psychiatrist Hermann Rorschach, who devised the inkblot test that bears his name and that was widely used clinically for diagnosing psychopathology, was born in Zürich. [Take our introduction to psychology quiz.]
Image: Encyclopædia Britannica, Inc.
1837
One of the first institutions of higher education for women in the United States, Mount Holyoke Female Seminary (now Mount Holyoke College) opened in Massachusetts.
Courtesy of the National Portrait Gallery, London
1656
Astronomer and mathematician Edmond Halley, the first to calculate the orbit of Halley’s Comet, was born in Greenwich, Kent, England. [Take our quiz about astronomy and space.]
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