It happened today
There was a lot of skepticism, especially among the French, about the American Wright brothers and their new invention (some newspapers branded them “bluffs”). Therefore, a public demonstration was urgently required. The first takeoff in front of spectators took place on August 8, 1908 at the Hunaudières racecourse near Le Mans. Wilbur hovered in his flying machine for only one minute and 45 seconds, but the audience was amazed that he managed to make a circle. And the French no longer doubted. For many years between the wars, airships were considered a worthy alternative to airplanes (then there was the Hindenburg disaster, but that’s another story). On August 8, 1929, Graf Zeppelin took off from Lakehurst, New Jersey, heading east on a world tour. He will complete it successfully in three weeks. It was the record for the first non-stop flight over the Pacific Ocean. © PLAYBACK PROTECTED (Luigi Gaetani)
born of the day
Emiliano Zapata (August 8, 1879) is a Mexican revolutionary, anarchist and general.
Achille Varzi, 8 August 1904, motorcyclist and racing driver
Dino De Laurentiis, August 8, 1919, film producer
Leo Chiosso, August 8, 1920, broadcaster and playwright
Esther Williams, born August 8, 1921, is an American swimmer and actress.
Joseph TaliercioAugust 8, 1927, engineer and business manager
Dustin Hoffman, born August 8, 1937, is an American actor and film producer.
Bruno Lausi, August 8, 1937, songwriter, composer and stand-up comedian
Massimo Dapporto, August 8, 1945, actor, voice actor and dialogue writer
Keith CarradineAugust 8, 1949 American actor, singer and songwriter
Lucia Annunziata, August 8, 1950, writer, journalist and television presenter
Louis van Gaal, 8 August 1951, Dutch football manager and former player
Giuseppe Conte, August 8, 1964, politician, jurist and jurist
Francesco Giorgino, August 8, 1967, journalist and broadcaster
Roger Federer, born 8 August 1981, Swiss former tennis player
Danilo Gallinari, August 8, 1988, basketball player
Ludovico Tersigni, August 8, 1995, actor, musician and television presenter
Shawn Mendes (August 8, 1998) is a Canadian singer, songwriter, musician, and model.
dead day
Trajan, August 8, 117, Roman Emperor
William PepeAugust 8, 1855, general, patriot and historian
Nikolai Yakovlevich MyaskovskyAugust 8, 1950, Russian composer
Luigi Sturzo, August 8, 1959, priest and politician
Olivia Newton-John (8 August 2022) is a British singer and actress.
Saint of the day
Saint Dominic of Guzman, founder of the Order of Monks-Preachers. He was born into a wealthy family who sent him to Palencia, where he took courses in the humanities and theology. In 1191, during a famine, he sold his property to feed the poor. After completing his studies, at the age of 24, he entered the canons regular of Osma Cathedral. He preached extensively in the south of France. In Toulouse, according to legend, the Virgin Mary appeared to him and gave him a rosary. He died on 6 August 1221.