November 8 in History

392 – Roman Emperor Theodosius declared the Christian religion the official state religion. He also dissolved the order of the Vestal Virgins in Rome, which had been in place for almost 400 years.

1519 – First meeting of Moctezuma II & Hernán Cortés in Tenochtitlan, Mexico. #bigmistake Little is known about him, except that was the the leader of the Aztecs and was killed in the Spanish conquest of Mexico. “Montezuma’s Revenge’ is named after him.

1601 –The Bodleian Library was established in Oxford, England.

1731 – In Philadelphia, Benjamin Franklin (with members of his Junto Club) opened the first US library. Plans had begun in earnest in July, and Ben retired as the Librarian in 1734.

1789 – Bourbon Whiskey was first distilled from corn (by Elijah Craig, Bourbon Ky). That’s what his namesake’s website says.

1895 – Wilhelm Röntgen observed X-rays for the first time during an experiment at Würzburg University, Germany. It earned him the first Nobel Prize in Physics in 1901, and element 111, roentgenium, was named after him.

1904 – US patent (#774,250) for a separable electric attachment plug was issued to inventor and manufacturer Harvey Hubbell of Bridgeport, Connecticut. It is essentially the plug we use today.

1910 – The first US patent (#974,785) for an “electric insect destroyer” (Bug Zapper) was issued to William H. Frost of Spokane, Washington.

1939 – Life With Father (Broadway Play) Opened on November 8, 1939 and closed on July 12, 1947

1960 – John F. Kennedy defeated Richard Nixon to become the 35th president of the United States.

1965 – Days of our Lives premiered on NBC. The original title sequence voiced by MacDonald Carey is still used.

1966 – Ronald Reagan was elected Governer of California. His career path also included lifeguard, actor, cheerleader and US President.

1969 – #1 Hit November 8, 1969 – November 28, 1969: The 5th Dimension – Wedding Bell Blues

1972 – Home Box Office (HBO) was launched, in Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania. The first broadcast was a 1971 film, Sometimes a Great Notion, starring Paul Newman and Henry Fonda.

1979 – Nightline premiered on ABC. Frank Reynolds was the original presenter, Ted Koppel too over shortly after the program began.

1980 – Voyager 1 space probe discovered the 15th moon of Saturn. We’ve counted 62 moons and dozens of moonlets around the planet to date.

1986 – #1 Hit November 8, 1986 – November 21, 1986: Boston – Amanda

1995 – General Hospital character Stone Cates died of AIDS on the show, right after he was informed that he had infected his lover Robin Scorpio with HIV.

2001 – The Tick premiered on FOX. Creator Ben Edlund published his first Tick comic book in 1988.

2010 – Conan debuted on TBS