Holidays Calendar for October 8, 2026
Croatian Independence Day is celebrated on October 8. This national public holiday commemorates the independence of Croatia from Yugoslavia in 1991.
Battle of Angamos Day, also known as Navy Day, is a public holiday in Peru celebrated on October 8. It commemorates the anniversary of the creation of the Peruvian Navy (1821) and of the naval Battle of Angamos fought in 1879 during the War of the Pacific.
International Lesbian Day is an annual awareness day that celebrates the L in LGBTQ+. Predominantly observed in Australia and New Zealand, it is a celebration of lesbian culture and identity.
World Sight Day is an annual awareness day held by the International Agency for the Prevention of Blindness (IAPB) on the second Thursday in October. It focuses on raising public awareness of vision impairment and blindness.
International Podiatry Day is observed annually on October 8. It was inaugurated by the International Federation of Podiatrists to raise awareness of the importance of foot health and celebrate the contribution of podiatrists to global health.
International Birth Registration Day is observed annually on October 8. It is an awareness campaign that was launched to highlight issues with birth registration that are especially prevalent in certain regions and consolidate efforts to tackle these issues.
Lawyer's Day is a Ukrainian professional holiday celebrated on October 8 every year. It was officially established in September 1997 and has been observed ever since.
October 8 is celebrated as Air Force Day in IndiaA. It commemorates the anniversary of the official foundation of the Indian Air Force in 1932.
Agriculture Day in Tajikistan is celebrated annually on October 8. This is the day when all people working in the country’s agricultural sector, including the food processing industry, are congratulated on their professional holiday and thanked for their hard work and dedication.
Tank Crewman’s Day is a professional observance in the Armed Forces of Armenia. It is celebrated annually on October 8 to commemorate the formation of the tank forces of Armenia in 1992. The holiday is observed by all acting and retired members of tank crews in the Armenian Armed Forces.
National Children’s Hospice Palliative Care Day is observed in Canada on the second Thursday of October every year. It was created to raise awareness of the importance of children’s hospice palliative care for improving the quality of living and dying for children affected by serious illnesses.
Octopus Day, sometimes referred to as National Octopus Day, International Octopus Day and even World Octopus Day, is observed annually on October 8. It is dedicated to one of the most unusual creatures that live on our planet.
Day of the Heroic Guerrilla is an annual observance dedicated to Che Guevara, a famous Marxist revolutionary who played a key role in the Cuban Revolution. It commemorates the day Che Guevara was captured in Bolivia in 1967.
Although PB&J (peanut butter and jelly sandwich) is probably the most popular, there are other varieties of peanut butter sandwich as well. For example, a Fluffernutter (or a Fluffer nutter) is a sandwich made with peanut butter and marshmallow creme. It even has its own holiday, the National Fluffernutter Day, celebrated on October 8.
National Salmon Day is celebrated annually on October 8. It was created to raise awareness of the health and nutritional benefits of salmon, and to encourage Americans to include this delicious fish in their diet.
Children's Day is celebrated in Iran annually on October 8. This holiday is celebrated under the aegis of UNICEF.
National Pierogi Day is observed annually on October 8. It celebrates an Eastern European dish commonly known as pierogi or varenyky that was popularized in North America by Polish and Ukrainian immigrants.
This Day in History
- 2022 A bomb loaded onto a truck exploded on the Crimean Bridge connecting Russia and Russian-occupied Crimea. The explosion was the result of an operation carried out by the Security Service of Ukraine.
- 2011 Died: Al Davis, American football coach and executive. He was the principal owner and general manager of the Oakland Raiders of the NFL.
- 2008 Died: George Emil Palade, renowned Romanian-American cell biologist who was awarded the 1974 Nobel Prize in Physiology and Medicine.
- 2005 A 7.6 magnitude earthquake occurred in the Kashmir region of Pakistan, killing approximately 86,000 people. Over 2.8 million were displaced.
- 2001 Two aircraft collided at Linate Airport in Milan, Italy, killing 118 people (including 4 on ground). It is the deadliest air disaster in Italian aviation history.
- 1997 Born: Bella Thorne, American actress, singer, and writer. She first received recognition for her roles in the series Dirty Sexy Money, My Own Worst Enemy, and Shake It Up.
- 1992 Died: Willy Brandt, German statesman and politician, chancellor of the FRG from 1969 to 1974. He was awarded the 1971 Nobel Peace Prize.
- 1985 Died: Malcolm Ross, American captain in the U. S. Naval Reserve, atmospheric scientist, and balloonist who set several records for altitude.
- 1985 Born: Bruno Mars (stage name of Peter Gene Hernandez), American singer-songwriter, voice actor, record producer, and choreographer.
- 1982 Died: Philip Noel-Baker, British politician, diplomat, academic, and outstanding amateur athlete who was awarded the 1959 Nobel Peace Prize.
- 1970 Born: Anne-Marie Duff, English actress, best known for her roles as Fiona Gallagher in Shameless and Elizabeth I in The Virgin Queen.
- 1970 Born: Matt Damon, American actor, producer, and screenwriter. He won an Academy Award for Best Original Screenplay (Good Will Hunting).
- 1969 The Days of Rage demonstrations began in Chicago. They were organized by the Weatherman faction of the group Students for a Democratic Society.
- 1962 German magazine Der Spiegel published the article "Conditionally prepared for defense" about the NATO exercise Fallex 62, causing a scandal.
- 1958 Born: Ursula von der Leyen, German politician who held several positions in Angela Merkel's cabinet and served as the 13th president of the European Commission.
- 1949 Born: Sigourney Weaver (born Susan Alexandra Weaver), American actress and producer, best known for her role as Ellen Ripley in the Alien franchise.
- 1945 American engineer and inventor Percy Spencer filed a patent for a microwave cooking oven. The oven was eventually named the Radarange.
- 1945 Died: Felix Salten, Austrian author and critic. His most famous work is the novel Bambi, a Life in the Woods (first published in 1923).
- 1943 Born: Chevy Chase, American comedian, actor, and writer who became the breakout cast member in the first season of Saturday Night Live with his Weekend Update segment.
- 1939 Born: Paul Hogan, Australian comedian and actor best known for his role as as Michael "Crocodile" Dundee in the 1986 film Crocodile Dundee.
- 1928 Died: Larry Semon, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter. He was considered a major movie comedian during the silent film era.
- 1920 Born: Frank Herbert, American science fiction author, journalist, photographer, book reviewer, and lecturer. Herbert is best known for the Dune saga.
- 1892 Born: Marina Tsvetaeva, Russian and Soviet poet and writer. She is considered one of the most important Russian poets of the 20th century.
- 1889 Born: Collett E. Woolman, American businessman, primarily remembered as a co-founder and CEO of Delta Air Service (now Delta Air Lines).
- 1883 Born: Otto Heinrich Warburg, renowned German medical doctor and physiologist who was awarded the 1931 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine.
- 1869 Died: Franklin Pierce, American lawyer, general, and politician who served as the 14th President of the United States from 1853 to 1857.
- 1862 The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills and the Battle for Kentucky, was fought during the American Civil War.
- 1856 The Second Opium War, also known as the Anglo-French expedition to China, began with the so-called Arrow Incident on the Pearl River.
- 1848 Born: Pierre De Geyter, Belgian socialist and composer, best known for writing the music of the left-wing anthem "The Internationale".
- 1813 Bavaria and Austria signed the Treaty of Ried. By this treaty, Bavaria joined the Sixth Coalition against Napoleon to retain its sovereign status.
- 1793 Died: John Hancock, American merchant, statesman, politician, and patriot. Hancock served as president of the Second Continental Congress.
- 1754 Died: Henry Fielding, English novelist and playwright, whose best known works include Love in Several Masques, The Modern Husband, and Amelia.
- 1600 The Constitution of San Marino was adopted. It is widely considered to be the oldest surviving constitution of any sovereign state in the world.
- 1573 The Siege of Alkmaar ended, resulting in a decisive English and Dutch victory over Spain. It was a turning point the Eighty Years' War.