81 years ago today
VE Day — Victory in Europe as Germany's Surrender Takes Effect
On May 8, 1945, the German instrument of surrender signed in Reims the day before came into force, officially ending World War II in Europe. Known ever since as VE Day — Victory in Europe Day — it was celebrated with extraordinary scenes of jubilation across Britain, the United States, and the liberated nations of Europe. In London, enormous crowds surged through the streets and Buckingham Palace, where the royal family and Winston Churchill appeared repeatedly on the balcony. In Moscow, Stalin held his own ceremony as Soviet forces accepted a second, formal German surrender. The six-year war in Europe had killed an estimated 70–85 million people and reduced entire cities to rubble. For those who had lived through the darkest years, VE Day was an almost incomprehensible relief — a sense that the world had pulled back from the abyss and that a different kind of future might now be possible.
Harry S. Truman
33rd President of the United States
The Missouri haberdasher who became President upon Franklin Roosevelt's death in 1945, Truman made the decision to drop atomic bombs on Japan, launched the Marshall Plan to rebuild Europe, recognised Israel, and led the United States into the Korean War. He left office with low approval ratings but is now ranked among the great presidents.
David Attenborough
English naturalist and broadcaster
The world's most celebrated nature broadcaster, Attenborough has narrated and produced landmark documentary series including Life on Earth, Planet Earth, and Our Planet over a career spanning more than seven decades. His voice and BBC blue-chip documentaries have shaped how billions of people understand the natural world.
Friedrich Hayek
Austrian-British economist
Nobel laureate and author of The Road to Serfdom (1944), Hayek argued that central economic planning inevitably leads to tyranny. His ideas, long dismissed by mainstream economists, became the intellectual foundation of the free-market revolution of the 1970s and 1980s under Thatcher and Reagan.
Roberto Rossellini
Italian film director
Pioneer of Italian neorealism and director of Rome, Open City (1945), one of the defining films of the postwar era. His affair and marriage to Ingrid Bergman created a Hollywood scandal of epic proportions in the 1950s.
Enrique Iglesias
Spanish-American singer
The son of Julio Iglesias became one of the world's best-selling Latin music artists, crossing over into the international pop mainstream with hits including Hero and Bailamos. He has sold over 180 million records worldwide.
Joan of Arc Lifts the Siege of Orléans
Joan of Arc leads French forces to break the English siege of Orléans after eight months, turning the tide of the Hundred Years' War in France's favour. The victory transforms her from unknown peasant girl into the saviour of France.
Hernando de Soto Reaches the Mississippi River
Spanish conquistador Hernando de Soto and his expedition become the first Europeans to reach and cross the Mississippi River, near present-day Memphis, Tennessee, opening the vast interior of North America to European knowledge.
Antoine Lavoisier Guillotined During the Reign of Terror
Antoine Lavoisier, the father of modern chemistry who identified oxygen and hydrogen and overturned phlogiston theory, is guillotined in Paris aged 50. The judge at his trial reportedly declared: "The Republic needs neither scientists nor chemists."
Coca-Cola First Sold in Atlanta
Pharmacist John Stith Pemberton first sells Coca-Cola as a patent medicine at Jacob's Pharmacy in Atlanta, Georgia, charging five cents a glass. The sweet, caramel-coloured drink will eventually become the world's most recognised commercial product.
Mount Pelée Eruption Destroys Saint-Pierre, Martinique
Mount Pelée on the French Caribbean island of Martinique erupts with catastrophic force, unleashing a pyroclastic flow that destroys the city of Saint-Pierre in minutes and kills over 30,000 people. It remains the deadliest volcanic eruption of the twentieth century.
VE Day — German Surrender Takes Effect
The German unconditional surrender signed at Reims comes into force, ending World War II in Europe. Scenes of mass jubilation erupt across the Allied world as millions celebrate the end of six years of devastating war.
The Beatles Release Their Final Studio Album
The Beatles' final studio album Let It Be is released in the United Kingdom, the same day as the release of the documentary film of the same name. The album closes one of the most influential chapters in the history of popular music.
World Health Organisation Declares Smallpox Eradicated
The WHO formally declares that smallpox — the only disease ever to have been completely eradicated through a coordinated global vaccination campaign — no longer exists as a natural human illness. The last natural case occurred in 1977.
Cardinal Robert Prevost Elected Pope Leo XIV
The College of Cardinals elects American cardinal Robert Francis Prevost as Pope Leo XIV, making him the first American-born pope in history. He succeeds Pope Francis, who died on April 21, 2025.
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French chemist, father of modern chemistry
The scientist who named oxygen and hydrogen, disproved the phlogiston theory, and wrote the first modern chemistry textbook was guillotined during the Reign of Terror, a victim of his earlier role as a tax collector. His execution prompted the mathematician Lagrange to remark: "It took only a moment to cut off that head, and a hundred years may not give us another like it."
Paul Gauguin
French Post-Impressionist painter
Gauguin abandoned his career as a stockbroker to devote himself to painting, eventually fleeing Europe for Tahiti where he produced the bold, symbolic works for which he is most celebrated. He died in poverty in the Marquesas Islands, aged 54, his genius unrecognised in his lifetime.
Maurice Sendak
American author and illustrator
Author and illustrator of Where the Wild Things Are (1963), one of the most celebrated children's books ever published, Sendak died in Connecticut aged 83. His work transformed children's picture books by treating childhood fears with psychological honesty.
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