Cardinal Robert Francis Prevost was elected as Pope Leo XIV (pictured), making him the first pope born in the United States, the first to hold either U.S. or Peruvian citizenship, the first from the Order of Saint Augustine, and the second from the Americas after his immediate predecessor, Pope Francis.
8 May 2032
A Saturday in history
Weekday
Saturday
Season
Spring (N. Hemisphere)
Century
21st century
Records
350
2025
1987A British Special Air Service unit ambushed a Provisional Irish Republican Army (IRA) unit in Loughgall, Northern Ireland, killing eight IRA members and one civilian.
1984The Soviet Union announced the boycott of the Summer Olympics in Los Angeles, citing security concerns.
1976Great American Revolution opened at Six Flags Magic Mountain, California.
- 1972
Four members of Black September hijacked Sabena Flight 571 to demand the release of 315 Palestinians convicted on terrorism charges.
1970Construction workers attacked students and others who were protesting the Vietnam War in New York City.
1963In Huế, South Vietnam, soldiers opened fire into a crowd of Buddhists protesting against a government ban on the flying of the Buddhist flag on Phật Đản, killing nine and sparking the Buddhist crisis.
1957South Vietnamese president Ngô Đình Diệm began a state visit to the United States, his regime's main sponsor.
1950The Tollund Man, a naturally mummified corpse, was discovered in a peat bog near Silkeborg, Denmark.
1945A parade in Sétif, French Algeria, celebrating the end of World War II in Europe became a riot and was followed by reprisals, carried out by colonial authorities over the following weeks, that killed thousands.
1942World War II: The Axis launched a major counteroffensive, turning the tide of the Battle of the Kerch Peninsula.
1927French aviators Charles Nungesser and François Coli aboard the biplane L'Oiseau Blanc took off from Paris, attempting to make the first non-stop flight to New York, only to disappear before arrival.
1842A train derailed and caught fire near Versailles, France, killing at least 52 people.
1821Greek War of Independence: At the Battle of Gravia Inn, a 120-man Greek force led by Odysseas Androutsos repulsed an Ottoman army of 8,000 soldiers.
1643First English Civil War: The first siege of Wardour Castle ended after six days with the surrender of the Royalist garrison under Lady Blanche Arundell
1373Julian of Norwich experienced religious visions, later recorded in Revelations of Divine Love, the earliest surviving English-language work attributed to a woman.
Photo archive
24 historic images from this day — tap to open the gallery.
What was life like?
Prices, jobs, food, music and everyday routine — the world as it felt to live in.
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