In History, Today on August 8

The Spanish Armada was defeated by the English navy under the command of Lord Charles Howard and Sir Francis Drake, marking a significant turning point in the Anglo-Spanish War.

Bartolomeu de Gusmão demonstrated the lifting power of hot air in an early precursor to the hot air balloon, in front of King John V of Portugal.

Mont Blanc, the highest mountain in the Alps, was climbed for the first time by Jacques Balmat and Dr. Michel-Gabriel Paccard.

Wilbur Wright makes his first flight at a racecourse at Le Mans, France. It is the Wright brothers' first public flight.

During World War II, six convicted Nazi saboteurs who had secretly entered the United States were executed in Washington, D.C., following a military tribunal.

The Soviet Union declared war on Japan and invaded Manchuria, fulfilling a promise made to the Allies at the Yalta Conference.

The Great Train Robbery took place in England, where a gang of 15 robbers stole £2.6 million from a Royal Mail train heading from Glasgow to London.

The Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) was founded in Bangkok, Thailand, by Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand to promote political and economic cooperation and regional stability.

U.S. President Richard Nixon announced his resignation, effective the following day, due to the Watergate scandal, becoming the first U.S. president to resign from office.

8888 Uprising: A pro-democracy protest in Myanmar (Burma) began, which was violently suppressed by the military government, resulting in thousands of deaths.

Iraq occupies Kuwait and declares it as its 19th province, leading to international condemnation and the Gulf War.

The 2008 Summer Olympics officially opened in Beijing, China, with a spectacular opening ceremony at the Beijing National Stadium, also known as the Bird's Nest.

The Russo-Georgian War began as Georgia launched a military operation to regain control over the breakaway region of South Ossetia, leading to a conflict with Russia.

A mudslide in Gansu province, China, killed over 1,400 people and left thousands missing, marking one of the deadliest natural disasters in China in recent years.

The United States issued a global travel alert due to a terrorist threat from al-Qaeda, leading to the temporary closure of several embassies and consulates in the Middle East and Africa.

The 2016 Summer Olympics were underway in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, marking the first time the Olympics were held in South America.

Mass protests erupted in Belarus following the presidential election, which was widely regarded as rigged in favor of incumbent Alexander Lukashenko.