Anti-government protests calling for free and fair elections began in Baku, Azerbaijan.
8 October 1481
A Saturday in history
Weekday
Saturday
Season
Autumn (N. Hemisphere)
Century
15th century
Records
395
2019- 2016
Yemen War: A funeral in Sanaa was hit by two consecutive airstrikes by a Saudi-led coalition, leaving 143–155 civilians dead and more than 525 injured.
2001At Linate Airport in Milan, Italy, Scandinavian Airlines Flight SK686 collided on take-off with a Cessna Citation II business jet, killing 118 people.
1998A new airport for Oslo, Norway, opened at Gardermoen, replacing a smaller one at the same location that had served as a backup to the city's previous main airport at Fornebu.
1995The Croatian Army and Croatian Defence Council launched Operation Southern Move, their last offensive in the Bosnian War.
1969Demonstrations organized by the Weather Underground known as the Days of Rage began in Chicago, aimed at ending U.S. involvement in the Vietnam War.
- 1967
Marxist revolutionary and guerrilla leader Che Guevara was captured near La Higuera, Bolivia.
1956Major League Baseball pitcher Don Larsen threw the only perfect game in World Series history.
1952Three trains collided (aftermath pictured) at Harrow & Wealdstone station in London, killing 112 people and injuring 340 others.
1932The Indian Air Force was founded as an auxiliary air force of the British Royal Air Force.
1918World War I: After his platoon suffered heavy casualties during the Meuse–Argonne offensive in France's Forest of Argonne, American Corporal Alvin York led the 7 remaining men on an attack against a German machine gun nest; 25 German soldiers were killed and 132 captured.
1871The Great Chicago Fire (pictured), began and proceeded to destroy much of the city's central business district, killing 300 people and leaving 90,000 others homeless.
1862In the American Civil War, the Battle of Perryville was fought west of Perryville, Kentucky.
451The Council of Chalcedon, a Christian ecumenical council, opened, and went on to repudiate the Eutychian doctrine of monophysitism and set forth the Chalcedonian Creed.
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.
Sources & fact check
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