May 8

Today in History
• 1360 - Treaty of Bretigny signed by English and French
• 1450 - Jack Cade's Rebellion-Kentishmen revolt against King Henry VI
• 1541 - Hernando de Soto discovers Mississippi River
• 1639 - William Coddington founds Newport, Rhode Island
• 1784 - Only known deaths by hailstones in U.S. in Winnsborough, South Carolina
• 1792 - U.S. establishes military draft
• 1794 - U.S. Post Office established
• 1879 - George Selden files for 1st patent for a gasoline-driven automobile


Holidays - Traditional and Obscure
• Free Trade Day
• Jamestown Day
• National Dakota Day
• National Have a Coke Day
• No Socks Day
• Victory in Europe Day
• White Lotus Day
• World Red Cross and Red Crescent Day

Birthdays
• 1326 - Joan I, Countess of Auvergne, queen of France
• 1460 - Frederick I, Margrave of Brandenburg-Ansbach (1486-1536)
• 1521 - Peter Canisius, Pieter de Hondt/Kanijs, jesuit/saint
• 1587 - Victor Amadeus I, Duke of Savoy (1630-37)
• 1653 - Claude-Louis-Hector de Villars, Marshal of France
• 1720 - William Cavendish, 5th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• 1753 - Miguel Hidalgo y Castilla, father of Mexican independence
• 1824 - William Walker, filibuster/president of Nicaragua, 1856-57