History for August 8

History for August 8 - On-This-Day.com:
Matthew Henson 1866 - Explorer, along with Robert Peary and their Eskimo guide, were the first people to reach the North Pole, Dino DeLaurentis 1919, Dustin Hoffman 1937 

Connie Stevens 1938, Keith Carradine 1949, Donny Most 1953 


1588 - The Spanish Armada was defeated by the English fleet ending an invasion attempt. 


1815 - Napoleon Bonaparte set sail for St. Helena, in the South Atlantic. The remainder of his life was spent there in exile. 


1844 - After the killing of Joseph Smith on June 27, Bringham Young was chosen to lead the Mormons. 


1876 - Thomas Edison received a patent for the mimeograph. The mimeograph was a "method of preparing autographic stencils for printing." 


1899 - The refrigerator was patented by A.T. Marshall. 


1911 - The number of representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives was established at 435. There was one member of Congress for every 211,877 residents. 


1966 - Michael DeBakey became the first surgeon to install an artificial heart pump in a patient. 


1995 - Saddam Hussein's two eldest daughters, their husbands, and several senior army officers defected.