8 November 1965

The Murder (Abolition of Death Penalty) Act 1965 is given Royal Assent, formally abolishing the death penalty in the United Kingdom for almost all crimes….

8 November 1895

While experimenting with electricity, Wilhelm Röntgen discovers the X-ray. Wilhelm Röntgen was a German physicist best known for discovering X-rays, a groundbreaking achievement in medical…

8 November 1972

American pay television network Home Box Office (HBO) launches. HBO is one of the most prominent and influential cable and satellite television networks in the…

8 November 1901

Gospel riots: Bloody clashes take place in Athens following the translation of the Gospels into demotic Greek.

8 November 2002

Iraq disarmament crisis: UN Security Council Resolution 1441: The United Nations Security Council unanimously approves a resolution on Iraq, forcing Saddam Hussein to disarm or…

8 November 1939

Adolf Hitler escapes the assassination attempt of Georg Elser while celebrating the 16th anniversary of the Beer Hall Putsch. On this day in 8 November 1939,…

8 November 1605

The ringleader of the Gunpowder Plotters, Robert Catesby, is killed. The Gunpowder Plot of 1605, in earlier centuries often called the Gunpowder Treason Plot or…

8 November 1965

The death penalty is formally abolished in the United Kingdom. The abolition of capital punishment was a major priority of the incoming Labour government of…

8 November 1602

The Bodleian Library at the University of Oxford is opened to the public for the first time.