July 8

1099 – The army of the First Crusade begins the siege of Jerusalem

1663 – Charles II grants John Clarke a royal charter to Rhode Island.

1775 – After a revision, The Olive Branch Petition is signed by the Continental Congress as a last attempt at reconciliation with George III

1853 – A naval expedition to Japan under the command of Commodore Matthew Perry arrives in Edo Bay with a treaty requesting trade.

1889 – The first issue of The Wall Street Journal is published.

1932 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches its lowest level of the Great Depression, closing at 41.22.

1947 – Reports are broadcast that a UFO crash landed in Roswell, New Mexico

1960 – Francis Gary Powers is charged with espionage resulting from his flight over the Soviet Union.

2011 – Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched in the final mission of the U.S. Space Shuttle program.

Birthdays
1838 – Eli Lilly, Ferdinand von Zeppelin
1839 – John D. Rockefeller
1908 – Nelson Rockefeller
1926 – John Dingell
1934 – Marty Feldman
1947 – Kim Darby
1951 – Anjelica Huston
1958 – Kevin Bacon

Deaths
810 – Pepin of Italy
1695 – Christiaan Huygens
1898 – Soapy Smith
1994 – Kim Il-sung, Dick Sargent
1999 – Pete Conrad
2006 – June Allyson
2011 – Betty Ford
2012 – Ernest Borgnine
2018 – Tab Hunter