Old Farmer's Almanac

Daily Calendar for Thursday, January 8, 2026

Daily Calendar

View daily calendar information including holidays, advice, and daily features.

Thursday, January 8, 2026

Died

  • Galileo (astronomer) –
  • Eli Whitney (American inventor who patented the cotton gin in 1793; died in New Haven, Connecticut) –
  • Terry-Thomas (comedian) –
  • Dave Thomas (Wendy’s fast food entrepreneur) –
  • Alexander Prokhorov (Russian scientist who shared the Nobel Prize in Physics in 1964 for work that led to the development of the laser) –
  • Yvonne De Carlo (actress best known as Lily Munster on The Munsters) –
  • Iwao Takamoto (cartoonist; created Scooby Doo) –
  • Art Clokey (creator of Gumby and Pokey) –

Born

  • Jonathan Belcher (Colonial governor and merchant) –
  • John Carrol (founded Georgetown University) –
  • Alfred Wallace (naturalist) –
  • Frank Nelson Doubleday (publisher) –
  • Larry Storch (actor) –
  • Bill Graham (producer) –
  • Elvis Presley (Iconic American entertainer; was born in Tupelo, Mississippi) –
  • Bob Eubanks (game show host) –
  • Graham Chapman (actor) –
  • Stephen Hawking (physicist) –
  • David Bowie (singer) –
  • Jeff Francis (baseball player) –
  • Gaby Hoffmann (actress) –

Events

  • First State of the Union message, delivered by President George Washington –
  • President George Washington delivered first State of the Union address –
  • The 11th Amendment of the U.S. Constitution, modifying the power of the Supreme Court, was ratified –
  • First soup kitchens opened in London for the relief of the poor –
  • Lewis and Clark saw a 105-foot-long whale skeleton in NW Oregon –
  • Andrew Jackson defeated the British at the Battle of New Orleans (War of 1812) –
  • French physicist Léon Foucault’s pendulum demonstrates the Earth’s rotation –
  • Joseph Lister published the results of his study of antiseptic surgical methods. His use of carbolic acid to sterilize instuments and wounds trebles the survival rate of his patients –
  • President Wilson delivered his Fourteen Points speech, suggesting the creation of a League of Nations –
  • The Dow Jones industrial stock average passed the 2,000 mark –
  • Fergie Jenkins became first Canadian elected to National Baseball Hall of Fame –
  • In Singapore, a barge accidentally rammed Jacques Cousteau’s Calypso, causing it to sink in the harbor (it was later raised) –

Weather

  • New York City stayed below zero degrees F all day –
  • Record cold hit Nevada, -50 degrees F at San Jacinto –
  • January 6 to 8: A Nor’easter dumped record snow along the U.S. East Coast –
  • 15,000+ troops began aid during a multiday ice storm in Ontario and Quebec. –
  • Operation Recuperation began after ice storm hit New Brunswick, Ontario, and Quebec –