What happened this day in history: August 8
1786 - Mont Blanc was climbed for the first time, by Jacques Balmat and Dr Michel-Gabriel Paccard.
1937 - Actor Dustin Hoffman was born
1940 - The Battle of Britain began. It continued into the following October.
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Hide Ad1963 - The Great Train Robbery took place near Bletchley. More than £2.5 million was stolen from an ambushed mail train.
1970 - The Match of the Day theme tune was aired for the first time.
1974 - Richard Nixon became the first American president to resign from office, in the face of threats to impeach him for his implication in the Watergate scandal.
1988 - The Duke and Duchess of York announced the birth of their first child, Princess Beatrice.
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Hide Ad1990 - Benazir Bhutto was sacked as Pakistan’s prime minister, over allegations of corruption.
1991 - Journalist John McCarthy, Britain’s longest-held hostage in Lebanon,was set free after more than five years in captivity.