Daily Calendar for Saturday, February 8, 2025

Died

  • Peter I of Russia (Peter the Great) –
  • John Hay Whitney (multimillionaire) –
  • Raymond Scott (composer) –
  • William Dillard, Sr. (founder of the retail chain Dillard’s) –
  • Joe Edwards (cartoonist) –

Born

  • Henry Walter Bates (naturalist) –
  • Jules Verne (writer) –
  • King Vidor (director of film) –
  • Jack Lemmon (actor) –
  • Thelma Chalifoux (politician) –
  • James Dean (actor) –
  • John Williams (composer) –
  • Ted Koppel (newscaster) –
  • Mary Steenburgen (actress) –
  • John Grisham (author) –
  • Seth Green (actor) –
  • Jordan Todosey (actress) –

Events

  • French and Indians attacked Schenectady, New York–
  • College of William & Mary chartered.–
  • Simon Willard granted patent for the banjo clock–
  • Sandford Fleming proposed Universal Standard Time, Toronto, Ontario–
  • Boy Scouts of America incorporated–
  • Stars and Stripes newspaper published for the first time–
  • President Harding had the first radio installed in the White House–
  • Jay Berwanger became the first player to be drafted by the National Football League–
  • JFK administration banned travel of U.S. citizens to Cuba–
  • Last issue of Saturday Evening Post until the magazine’s 1971 re-emergence–
  • Debi Thomas won Women’s Singles, U.S. National Figure Skating Championship–
  • Disney’s California Adventure Park opened–

Weather

  • Great Arctic outbreak in the Southeast. 8 degrees F in Jacksonville, Florida—extensive crop damage–
  • The Lindsay Storm left 20 inches of snow in New York City, where areas went unplowed for more than a week–
  • The beaches of Malibu were hit by a winter snowstorm, which also created traffic jams in the Los Angeles area–
  • Snow fell in Los Angeles, California–