June 8, 1748

1748 William Few, Jr. was born in Baltimore County, Maryland. After self educating himself in law, Few moved to Georgia in 1776, where he launched a political career that involved all three branches of state government, local government, and federal government. He was elected to the Georgia Provincial Congress, and later to the state General Assembly. He served twice as a delegate to the Continental Congress and was a member of the 1787 constitutional convention that met in Philadelphia. Few was one of Georgia’s two signers of the U.S. Constitution. He later served as U.S. Senator from Georgia and held several other positions in state and local government in Georgia before moving to New York in 1799, where he continued to remain active in politics before dying at age 80 on July 16, 1828.

June 8, 1774

1774 Savannah learned of Britain’s passage of the Boston Port Bill, which blocked the port to any commerce.

June 8, 1824

1824 Future Confederate general William M. Gardner was born in Augusta, Ga.

June 8, 1861

1861 Tennessee became the 11th southern state to secede. On May 6, 1861, Tennessee’s legislature had passed a "Declaration of Independence" and ratified the Confederate Constitution. Both actions, however, were subject to a popular referendum on June 8 (which passed 104,471 to 47,183).

June 8, 1864

1864 The 18th Corps of the Army of the Tennessee under Maj. Gen. Frank P. Blair Jr. joined Sherman’s army north of Marietta.

June 8, 1948

1948 Martin Luther King, Jr., received his bachelor of arts degree in sociology from Morehouse College in Atlanta.

June 8, 1956

1956 The Andrews Raid was immortalized when Walt Disney released the "Great Locomotive Chase" to theaters across America on this day.

June 8, 1962

1962 Trustees of the Atlanta Art Associatioon voted to create a living memorial for association members killed in the June 3 plane crash in Paris in the form of a new art school.

June 8, 1968

1968 Martin Luther King’s alleged assassin, James Earl Ray, was captured in London.

June 8, 2004

2004 The G-8 Summit, an annual meeting of the leaders of the eight of the world’s most powerful nations, was held on Sea Island, Georgia.

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Today in History

1976 Six presidential primaries were held on this day. Jimmy Carter won three -- Arkansas, Tennessee, and Kentucky -- giving him 103 delegates and 848 of the 1505 needed to … read more