History of 8 July
- 1997 – The Mayo Clinic and the U.S. government warned that the diet-drug combination known as “fen-phen” could cause serious heart and lung damage.
- 1997 – NATO invited Poland, Hungary, and the Czech Republic to join the alliance in 1999.
- 2000 – J.K. Rowling’s “Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire” was released in the U.S. It was the fourth Harry Potter book.
- 2010 – The Solar Impulse completed the first 24-hour flight by a solar-powered plane.
- 2011 – Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched in the final mission of the U.S. Space Shuttle program.
- 2014 – Israel launches an offensive on Gaza amid rising tensions following the kidnapping and murder of three Israeli teenagers.
Celebrating Birthday Today
- 1981 – Wolfram Müller, German runner
- 1981 – Anastasia Myskina, Russian tennis player
- 1982 – Sophia Bush, American actress and director
- 1982 – Hakim Warrick, American basketball player
- 1983 – John Bowker, American baseball player
- 1983 – Rich Peverley, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1986 – Jaime Garcia, Mexican baseball player
- 1986 – Renata Costa, Brazilian footballer
- 1988 – Miki Roqué, Spanish footballer (d. 2012)
- 1988 – Jesse Sergent, New Zealand cyclist
- 1988 – Dave Taylor, Australian rugby league player
- 1989 – Yarden Gerbi, Israeli world champion and Olympic bronze medalist judoka
- 1989 – Tor Marius Gromstad, Norwegian footballer (d. 2012)
- 1991 – Virgil van Dijk, Dutch footballer
- 1992 – Ariel Camacho, Mexican singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
- 1992 – Son Heung-min, Korean footballer
- 1992 – Xander Mobus, American voice actor
- 1997 – Bryce Love, American football player
- 1998 – Jaden Smith, American actor and rapper