Wikipedia:Selected anniversaries/July 8
- 1497 - Vasco da Gama set sail on the first direct European voyage to India.
- 1709 - Great Northern War: At Poltava, Ukraine, Peter I of Russia defeated Charles XII of Sweden in the Battle of Poltava, effectively ending Sweden's role as a major power in Europe.
- 1889 - The first issue of the Wall Street Journal was published.
- 1947 - Newspapers in Roswell, New Mexico reported the capture of a "flying saucer" by the U.S. military.
- 1997 - Researchers at the Mayo Clinic warned that the dieting drug "fen-phen" can cause severe damage to the heart and the lungs.