First US execution using lethal gas takes place – Chicago Tribune
Today is Sunday, February 8, the 39th day of the year 2026. There are 326 days left in the year.
Today in history:
On February 8, 1924, the first American execution using lethal gas took place at the Nevada State Prison in Carson City. Chinese immigrant Gee Jon was put to death for murder.
Also on this date:
In 1587, Mary, Queen of Scots, was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in England after being implicated in a plot to assassinate her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.
In 1693, a charter was granted for the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg in the colony of Virginia.
In 1904, Japan launched a surprise attack on the Russian navy at Port Arthur (present-day Dalian, China), marking the start of the Russo-Japanese War.
In 1910, the Boy Scouts of America organization was formed by William D. Boyce, who was inspired by the British Boy Scout movement.
In 1936, the first NFL draft was held at the Ritz-Carlton Hotel in Philadelphia.
In 1949, Catholic Cardinal József Mindszenty was sentenced to life in prison for his opposition to the fascist and then communist Hungarian governments; Freed during the Hungarian Revolution of 1956, he sought asylum at the American embassy during the invasion of the Soviet Union and lived there for 15 years. Mindszenty left Hungary in 1971 and died in exile in Vienna in 1975.
In 1960, work began on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, located at Hollywood Boulevard and Vine Street in Los Angeles.
In 1968, three black students were killed and 28 others injured when state troopers opened fire on demonstrators at South Carolina State College in Orangeburg, following demonstrations against a whites-only bowling alley. The event would be known as the Orangeburg Massacre.
In 1971, the NASDAQ, the world’s first electronic stock exchange, held its first trading session.
In 1993, an Iranian airliner with 132 people on board collided with an air force plane after takeoff from Tehran and exploded, leaving no survivors.
In 2013, a massive two-day snowstorm began dumping up to 3 feet of snow in the northeastern United States, causing widespread power outages and leaving several people dead. The storm hit some areas with hurricane-force winds and coastal flooding.
In 2020, a soldier angry over a land dispute went on a 16-hour rampage in Thailand, killing at least 29 people and injuring dozens. Police and the army tracked down the shooter overnight and shot him dead.
Today’s birthdays: Composer and conductor John Williams is 94 years old. Broadcast journalist Ted Koppel is 86 years old. Actor Nick Nolte is 85 years old. Comedian Robert Klein is 84 years old. Actor and rock musician Creed Bratton is 83 years old. Actress Mary Steenburgen is 73 years old. Author John Grisham is 71 years old. Hockey Hall of Famer Dino Ciccarelli is 66 years old. Rock singer Vince Neil (Mötley Crüe) is 65. Basketball Hall of Famer Alonzo Mourning is 56. Actor Seth Green is 52 years old. Actor William Jackson Harper is 46 years old. Actress and comedian Cecily Strong is 42 years old. Hip-hop artist Anderson Paak is 40 years old. Professional surfer Bethany Hamilton is 36 years old. Actress Kathryn Newton is 29 years old.
