History for February 8

History for February 8 - On-This-Day.com

William Tecumsen Sherman 1820 - Union General during U.S. Civil War

• 1896 - The Western Conference was formed by representatives of Midwestern universities. The group changed its name to the Big 10 Conference.
• 1904 - The Russo-Japanese War began with Japan attacking Russian forces in Manchuria.
• 1910 - William D. Boyce incorporated the Boy Scouts of America.
• 1952 - Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the British throne. Her father, George VI, had died on February 6.
• 1963 - The Kennedy administration prohibited travel to Cuba and made financial and commercial transactions with Cuba illegal for U.S. citizens.
• 1963 - Lamar Hunt, owner of the American Football League franchise in Dallas, TX, moved the operation to Kansas City. The new team was named the Chiefs.
• 1971 - The Nasdaq stock-market index debuted.
• 1980 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter announced a plan to re-introduce draft registration.
• 1993 - General Motors sued NBC, alleging that "Dateline NBC" had rigged two car-truck crashes to show that some GM pickups were prone to fires after certain types of crashes. The suit was settled the following day by NBC.