Today in History: February 8, the Orangeburg Massacre

[Omaha Steve]

https://apnews.com/today-in-history/february-8


By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published 11:00 PM CST, February 7, 2026
Today in history:

On Feb. 8, 1968, three Black students were killed and 28 wounded as state troopers opened fire on student demonstrators on the campus of South Carolina State College in Orangeburg in the wake of protests over a whites-only bowling alley. The event would become known as the Orangeburg Massacre.

Also on this date:

In 1587, Mary, Queen of Scots was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in England after she was implicated in a plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.

In 1693, a charter was granted for the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg in the Virginia Colony.

In 1904, Japan launched a surprise attack on the Russian Navy at Port Arthur (now Dalian, China), marking the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War.

In 1910, the Boy Scouts of America was incorporated by William D. Boyce.

In 1915, D.W. Griffith’s controversial epic film “The Birth of a Nation” premiered in Los Angeles.

In 1924, the first execution by gas in the United States took place at the Nevada State Prison in Carson City as Gee Jon, a Chinese immigrant convicted of murder, was put to death.

In 1936, the first NFL draft was held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia.

In 1960, work began on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located on Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Los Angeles.

In 1971, NASDAQ, the world’s first electronic stock exchange, held its first trading day.

Click here to see who was born on February 8.