July 8 in Pop Culture History

1776 – The Liberty Bell rang at Pennsylvania State House (now Independence Hall) in Philadelphia, inviting citizens to the first public reading of the Declaration of Independence.

1800 – Dr. Benjamin Waterhouse gave the smallpox vaccination to his son, Daniel. It was performed in the US, using cowpox serum to prevent smallpox.

1876 – White supremacists killed five Black Republicans in Hamburg, South Carolina.

1889 – The first issue of The Wall Street Journal was published.

1932 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average reached its lowest level of the Great Depression, closing at 41.22.

1947 – Newspapers begin reporting on a UFO crash in Roswell, NM that had happened one day earlier.

1948 – The United States Air Force accepted its first female recruits into the Women in the Air Force (WAF) program.

1972 – #1 Hit July 8, 1972 – July 28, 1972: Bill Withers – Lean On Me

1988 – License To Drive, Arthur 2: On The Rocks, Phantasm II and Short Circuit 2 debuted in theaters.

1989 – #1 Hit July 8, 1989 – July 14, 1989: Fine Young Cannibals – Good Thing

1991 – Shop Til’ You Drop premiered on Lifetime

1992 – Melrose Place made its’ debut on FOX as a follow-up to 90210

1994 – Kim Jong-il assumed supreme leadership of North Korea upon the death of his father, Kim Il-sung.

1995 – #1 Hit July 8, 1995 – August 25, 1995: TLC – Waterfalls

2005 – Fantastic Four and Dark Water were released in theaters.

2006 – #1 Hit July 8, 2006 – August 18, 2006: Nelly Furtado featuring Timbaland – Promiscuous

2011 – Horrible Bosses and Zookeeper debuted in theaters.

2016 – The Secret Life of Pets and Mike and Dave Need Wedding Dates were released in theaters.