This Day in History on 8 July
The historical events hold a lot of value for aspirants who are sitting for UPSC competitive exams including the IAS Exam.
On this page, we will list all historical events that occurred on 8 July. The students can refer to them while preparing for all competitive exams and banking exams.
Important Days
World Oceans Day
World Oceans Day is held every year on 8th June
to raise awareness of the vital importance of our oceans and the role they play in sustaining a healthy planet.
The purpose of the day is to develop a worldwide movement of citizens and mobilize and unite the world’s population on a project for the sustainable management of the world’s oceans
Important Events
1497: Vasco da Gama embarked on his first voyage from Europe to India.
1856: Charles Byrne received a US patent for a machine gun.
1889: American newspaper ‘The Wall Street Journal’ began publication.
1918: Montagu-Chelmsford Report was published seeking reforms in the Indian legislature.
1958: An Indian film ‘Do Ankhein Barah Hath’ won Best Picture at the World Film Festival in Berlin.
1970: Richard Nixon delivers a special congressional message enunciating Native American self-determination as official US Indian policy, leading to the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act of 1975.
Birth/Birth Anniversary
1903: Umaid Singh, Maharaja of Jodhpur.
1908 – V. K. R. Varadaraja Rao, Indian economist, politician, professor, and educator (d. 1991): Vijayendra Kasturi Ranga Varadaraja Rao was born on July 8, 1908, at Kancheepuram in Tamil Nadu to Kasturirangachar and Bharati Bai. Notable among his works are: Taxation of Income in India (1931), An essay on India’s National Income -1925-29 – (1936); The National Income of British India (1940); India and International Currency Plans (1945); Post-War Rupee (1948); Gandhian Alternative to Western Socialism (1970); Values and Economic Development – The Indian Challenge (1971); the Nehru Legacy (1971); Swami Vivekananda – Prophet of Vedantic Socialism (1978); Many Languages and One Nation – the Problem of Integration (1979); India’s National Income 1950-80 (1983) Food, Nutrition and Poverty (1982); Indian socialism: Retrospect and Prospect (1982),
1914: Jyoti Basu, Indian politician, 6th Chief Minister of West Bengal (d. 2010): Jyoti Basu was an Indian politician who served as the Chief Minister of West Bengal state from 1977 to 2000. He was one of the co-founders of the Communist Party of India and a member of the Polit Bureau of the party since its inception in 1964 till 2008.
1949: Y. S. Rajasekhara Reddy, Indian politician, 14th Chief Minister of Andhra Pradesh (d. 2009): Yeduguri Sandinti Rajasekhara Reddy, popularly known as YSR, was the 14th chief minister of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh, serving from 2004 to 2009.
1958: Neetu Singh, an Indian actress.
1966: Revathi, an Indian film actress, and director.
1972: Sourav Ganguly, Indian cricketer: Sourav Chandidas Ganguly, affectionately known as Dada, is an Indian cricket administrator, commentator, and former national cricket team captain. He is also the chairman of BCCI.
1978: Vijay Shekhar Sharma, an Indian billionaire businessman. He is the founder of financial technology company Paytm.
Death/ Death Anniversary
2003: Subhash Mukhopadhyay, an Indian Bengali poet.
2006: Raja Rao, an Indian English-language short stories and novels writer.
2007: Chandra Shekhar Singh, the eighth Prime Minister of India.
2013: Sundri Uttamchandani, Indian author (b. 1924)
2020: Jagdeep, an Indian film actor and comedian.