April 8, 1968, marks a moment of collective mourning as garment workers at the Abe Schrader Shop tuned in to listen to a memorial service for Martin Luther King Jr. on a portable radio. This was the day before the official funeral ceremonies, reflecting the profound impact of Dr. King’s assassination on communities across the nation. It highlights how people from all walks of life paused to honor his legacy and grieve his loss.

Image from the Kheel Center, Cornell University via Wikimedia Commons, CC BY 2.0

On April 8, 1904, Longacre Square in Manhattan was called “Times Square” after the New York Times moved its operations from 41 Park Row to One Times Square.

Image: One Times Square under construction in 1903 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Born April 8, 1732 David Rittenhouse was an American astronomer. In 1768 David announced that, based on his calculations, Venus would transit the Sun on June 3, 1769. Poised at his telescope, he missed part of that celestial event, having fainted from excitement.

Image via National Portrait Gallery via Wikimedia Commons, public domain in the US.

Born April 8, 1842 in Monroe, Michigan, Elizabeth Bacon married her soldier husband George Custer during the Civil War. Libbie Custer followed her husband to his western postings, writing three books about their lives on the Plains. She did not remarry after his 1876 death in action, dying in 1933 at age 90 in New York.

Image from LOC via Wikimedia Commons, public domain in the US.

On April 8, 1913, the 17th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution was ratified.
It allowed voters to directly vote for the U.S. Senators of their state.

Before the 17th Amendment U.S. Senators were selected by state legislatures.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

On today’s date April 8, 1964, The Supremes recorded their hit song “Where Did Our Love Go”

Image: The Supremes in 1964 – CC BY-SA 3.0 by Joop Wijnand via Wikimedia Commons

Clint Eastwood became the 30th Mayor of Carmel-By-The-Sea, California on April 8, 1986.
It was just a few months before production of Heartbreak Ridge began and just three years after he delivered his famous “Go ahead, make my day” line in the 1983 Dirty Harry film, Sudden Impact.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

On April 8, 1974 Hank Aaron hit his 715th home run and surpassed Babe Ruth’s career home run record.

Image of Hank Aaron in 1974 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Movie star Mary Pickford holding a rose and roses on her lap c. 1918

Happy Birthday Mary…born on April 8, 1892

In 1920, Mary became an American Citizen.

Image via Alamy

In his TV special “The Magic of David Copperfield V” that aired on April 8, 1983,
American magician David Copperfield provided viewers with the illusion that the Statue of Liberty vanished and then reappeared.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

A young Betty Bloomer c. late 1930s before she married Gerald Ford in 1948. On April 8, 1918, First Lady of The United States, Betty Bloomer Ford, was born in Chicago, Illinois.

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

Mrs. Richard Nixon, First Lady Mamie Eisenhower, Mrs. Nelson, and actress Gloria DeHaven at the Cherry Blossom Fashion Show.

April 8, 1953

Image via Alamy

Anti-Waste Campaign – Women of the Food Conservation show held in Kansas City, Missouri, during the week of April 8 to 13, 1918

Image via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

American physician and pioneer in neurosurgery, Harvey Cushing, was born on April 8, 1869 in Cleveland, Ohio.

During WWI Cushing served in the U.S. Army Medical Corps and received the Distinguished Service Medal.

In 1926 he received a Pulitzer Prize for writing a three volume biography of Canadian physician William Osler who was one of the founding physicians at Johns Hopkins Hospital in Baltimore.

Image of Harvey Cushing c. 1900-1901 via Wikimedia Commons, public domain

On April 8, 1730, the Mill Street Synagogue, the first synagogue constructed in North America, was dedicated.

Image: Map of Manhattan in 1730 via NYPL Digital Collections, public domain

On April 8, 1926, President Calvin Coolidge took part in the cornerstone-laying ceremony for the National Press Club building in Washington, D.C. In his speech, he highlighted the press’s vital role in upholding liberty and promoting an informed public.

Image via LOC, no known restrictions