◆ On this day

August 8

4 sourced moments from August 8 in history: Mont Blanc Was First Summited (1786); The Great Train Robbery struck in England (1963); Richard Nixon Announced His Resignation (1974), plus 1 more.

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4 things happened on August 8

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2008 Sports · Olympics

The Beijing Summer Olympics opened

On the auspicious date of 8-8-08, China unveiled a four-hour opening spectacle that announced its arrival on the world stage.

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1974 Society & Economy · Politics & Law

Richard Nixon Announced His Resignation

Cornered by the Watergate scandal, Nixon went on live television to become the only US president ever to quit the office.

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1963 Society & Economy · Crime

The Great Train Robbery struck in England

In the dark hours of August 8, 1963, a 15-man gang stopped a Royal Mail train and made off with a then-record fortune in used banknotes.

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1786 Geography · Landmarks & Wonders

Mont Blanc Was First Summited

In 1786 two Chamonix men cracked the Alps' highest peak, lighting the spark that would ignite modern mountaineering.

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