This Year in History:
2008
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
On January 1, 2008, with snowflakes falling around him in Buffalo, Pittsburgh Penguins star Sidney Crosby slips a shot past Ryan Miller to win the NHL’s inaugural Winter Classic—the first…
At the close of business on January 6, 2008, the Walt Disney World Resort theme park known as Disney‑MGM Studios officially shut its doors after almost a decade of operation.…
At the New Delhi Auto Expo in India, Tata Motors debuts the Nano, billing it as the world’s cheapest car: The anticipated price tag is around $2,500. Tata, India’s largest…
On January 22, 2008, Hollywood mourns a talented young actor’s life cut tragically short, after the body of 28‑year‑old Heath Ledger is found by his masseuse and housekeeper on the…
Hollywood’s longest work stoppage since 1988 ends on February 12, 2008, when members of the Writers Guild of America (WGA) vote by a margin of more than 90 percent to…
On March 16, 2008, Bear Stearns, the 85‑year‑old investment bank, narrowly avoids bankruptcy by its sale to J.P. Morgan Chase and Co. at the shockingly low price of $2 per…
On April 20, 2008, 26‑year‑old Danica Patrick wins the Indy Japan 300 at Twin Ring Motegi in Motegi, Japan, making her the first female winner in IndyCar racing history. Danica…
On June 1, 2008, a massive, early morning fire at the Universal Studios Hollywood theme park and studio backlot in Universal City, California destroys a trove of irreplaceable recordings by…
On August 3, 2008, the first published photos of former couple Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie’s newborn twins, Vivienne Marcheline and Knox Leon, go up on People magazine’s website. A…
On August 8, 2008, a long‑simmering conflict between Russia and Georgia boiled over into a shooting war between the small Caucasian nation and the superpower of which it was once…
On September 10, 2008, scientists successfully flip the switch for the first time on the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) at the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN) lab in Geneva,…
On September 15, 2008, the venerable Wall Street brokerage firm Lehman Brothers seeks Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection, becoming the largest victim of the subprime mortgage crisis that would devastate financial…
On September 21, 2008, the last game at historic Yankee Stadium—”The House That Babe Ruth Built”—is played. In the finale, the New York Yankees beat the Baltimore Orioles, 7‑3, as…
On September 29, 2008, after Congress failed to pass a $700 billion bank bailout plan, the Dow Jones Industrial Average falls 777.68 points—at the time, the largest single‑day point loss…
With over 13 million votes cast, California voters approve Proposition 8 on November 4, 2008, amending the state’s constitution to ban same‑sex marriage. Only months earlier, in May 2008, the…
On November 4, 2008, Senator Barack Obama of Illinois defeats Senator John McCain of Arizona to become the 44th U.S. president, and the first African American elected to the White…
On December 11, 2008, financier Bernard Madoff is arrested at his New York City apartment and charged with masterminding a long‑running Ponzi scheme later estimated to involve around $65 billion,…
