Today is Saturday, August 8, the 220th day of 2026. There are 145 days left in the year. Highlights in history on this date: 1217 — Coronation of the first Serbian king, Stefan Nemanjic (Stefan the First-Crowned). 1786 — The first ascent of the 4809m-high Mont Blanc in France is completed by Dr Michel Gabriel Paccard and his porter, Jacques Balmat. 1815 — Napoleon Bonaparte sails for St Helena, to spend the remainder of his life in exile. 1863 — The Lady Barkly, New Zealand’s first steam locomotive, is demonstrated on the Invercargill Jetty. 1871 — After considering a petition signed by 149 Dunedin women, the University of Otago decides to permit women to attend its classes and sit examinations, becoming the first university in the British Empire to do so. 1876 — In an early form of photocopying, Thomas Edison receives a patent for ‘‘Autographic Printing’’. He obtained a further patent in 1880 for his method of ‘‘Preparing Autographic Stencils for Printing’’, which covered the making of stencils using a file plate. But the word mimeograph was first used by Albert Blake Dick when he licensed Edison’s patents in 1887. In the 1960s, mimeographs, spirit duplicators, and hectographs were gradually replaced by photocopiers. 1900 — The first Davis Cup tennis competition begins at Brookline, Massachusetts, and is won by the United States two days later. 1908 — An Act imposing restrictions on immigration comes into force in New Zealand. 1915 — The Wellington Battalion occupies Chunuk Bair, but two days later it will be overrun in a counterattack by Turkish forces. 1918 — In World War 1 the Allies launch the Hundred Days Offensive, beginning with the Battle of Amiens. 1940 — Germany begins heavy bombing of Britain in World War 2. 1945 — US president Harry Truman signs the United Nations Charter. 1963 — Britain’s ‘‘Great Train Robbery’’ takes place, as thieves make off with £2.6 million in banknotes. 1965 — The city of Singapore withdraws from the Federation of Malaysia and becomes an independent state. 1967 — The foreign ministers of Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand sign a declaration leading to the formation of the Association of South East Asian Nations (Asean). 1973 — US vice-president Spiro Agnew brands reports that he took kickbacks while governor of Maryland as ‘‘damn lies’’ and vows not to resign. He retracts and resigns on October 10. 1974 — US president Richard Nixon announces on television that he is resigning because of his part in the Watergate scandal. 1975 — Dunedin’s historic Savoy Restaurant is saved from potential closure when purchased as a going concern by Dunedin businessman Stewart Clark. 1979 — After a period of wet weather, a massive landslip sweeps down a hillside in the Dunedin suburb of Abbotsford, destroying 69 homes. Largely through luck, there was no loss of life as many houses had already been evacuated. 1984 — Otago Boys' High School old boy Russell Coutts wins the Finn Class sailing gold medal at the Los Angeles Olympics. 1988 A ceasefire between Iran and Iraq takes effect after eight years of war. 1989 — Geoffrey Palmer (Labour) assumes office as New Zealand prime minister, replacing David Lange, who had resigned after disagreeing with party policy and direction. In the reshuffle, Helen Clark becomes New Zealand’s first female deputy prime minister; 10 people are killed when a scenic flight from Wanaka to Milford Sound crashes into the side of a mountain in the Upper Dart Valley. 1997—Iraq clears the last obstacle for a resumption of oil sales after a UN Security Council panel approves a formula for setting crude prices under an ‘‘oil for food’’ plan. 2022 — The FBI search of former US President Donald Trump's Florida home, Mar-a-Largo, seeking classified government documents. Today’s birthdays: Alfred Richard Barclay, New Zealand politician (1859-1912); Tuiti Makitanara, New Zealand politician (1874-1932); John Atirau Asher, New Zealand Maori leader/hotelier/interpreter and racehorse owner (1892-1966); Sir John Kennedy-Good, New Zealand politician (1915-2005); Dino De Laurentiis, Italian film producer (1919-2010); Dustin Hoffman, US actor (1937-); Connie Stevens, US actress/singer (1938-); Peter Posa, New Zealand musician/guitar player (1941-2019); John Dickson, New Zealand poet (1944-2017); Larry Wilcox, US actor (1947-); Keith Carradine, US actor (1949-); Sandra Lee-Vercoe, New Zealand politician (1952-); Nigel Mansell, British motor racing driver; The Edge (Dave Howell Evans), Irish guitarist of U2 (1961-); Patricia Arquette, US actress (1968-); Philippa Ballantine, New Zealand author (1971-); Scott Stapp, US singer/songwriter (1973-); Roger Federer, Swiss tennis player (1981-); Katie Leung, Scottish actress (1987-); Princess Beatrice of York (1988-); Kane Williamson, New Zealand cricket captain (1990-); Shawn Mendes,Canadian musician (1998-). Quote of the day: ‘‘I'm not playing to prove anything to journalists. I'm playing for myself, for my fans,to make people happy.’’ — Roger Federer, Swiss tennis player, who was born on this day in 1981. ODT and agencies
