August 8 Birthday
On August 8, 1974, Richard Nixon addressed the nation: "I shall resign the Presidency effective at noon tomorrow." He was the first and only president to resign. He had lost the support of Republican congressional leaders, who told him the votes for impeachment and conviction were there. He did not admit wrongdoing — he said he no longer had "a strong enough political base" to govern. His farewell to staff the next morning was self-pitying: "Always remember, others may hate you, but those who hate you don't win unless you hate them, and then you destroy yourself." He flew to California. Gerald Ford was sworn in at noon. In 1963, sixteen men stopped a Royal Mail train in Buckinghamshire, England, and stole £2.6 million — equivalent to about £55 million today. The Great Train Robbery used a fake signal to stop the train. The train driver, Jack Mills, was hit with a metal bar and never fully recovered. The robbers hid at a farmhouse, where they played Monopoly with real money. Most were caught because they left fingerprints on the Monopoly set. People born on August 8 fall under the zodiac sign of Leo. The birthstone is Peridot and the birth flower is Gladiolus. Historical events on August 8 include 1974: President Nixon announces his resignation on national television, 1945: Soviet Union declares war on Japan and invades Manchuria, 1963: Great Train Robbery — £2.6 million stolen from mail train in England. Famous people born on August 8 include Matthew Henson (1866), Dusty Springfield (1939), Keith Carradine (1949).