Births on May 8

John Snagge, English journalist (d. 1996)

John Derrick Mordaunt Snagge OBE (8 May 1904 – 25 March 1996) was a British newsreader and commentator on BBC Radio.

17 Jan

The Cherry Orchard
Anton Chekhov's The Cherry Orchard receives its premiere performance at the Moscow Art Theatre.
3 Mar

Thomas Edison
Kaiser Wilhelm II of Germany becomes the first person to make a sound recording of a political document, using Thomas Edison's phonograph cylinder.
8 Apr

The Book of the Law
British mystic Aleister Crowley transcribes the first chapter of The Book of the Law.
5 May

Cy Young
Pitching against the Philadelphia Athletics at the Huntington Avenue Grounds, Cy Young of the Boston Americans throws the first perfect game in the modern era of baseball.
16 Nov

Vacuum tube
English engineer John Ambrose Fleming receives a patent for the thermionic valve (vacuum tube).