Browse Historical Events by Day: What Happened on May 8th?

The Treaty of Brétigny is signed between England and France, marking a temporary end to the first phase of the Hundred Years' War and granting substantial territorial concessions to England.

Spanish conquistador and explorer Hernando De Soto reaches the Mississippi River at a point below Natchez. De Soto was the first European documented to have seen the river.

A legal process by which the Protestant Church of England was restored becomes official as Queen Elizabeth gives the Royal assent to the Revised Act of Supremacy of 1558, which re-established the Church of England’s independence from Rome. and the the Act of Uniformity of 1559 which outlined what form the English Church should take.

Martinique's Mount Pelée erupts and destroys the town of Saint-Pierre, killing approximately 30,000 people, 15 percent of the island’s population. in the space of a few minutes. This is considered the worst volcanic disaster of the 20th century. Mount Pelée is still classified as an active volcano.