It happened on… August 8

The Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences announces that a new award category will be introduced at the Oscars: Best Popular Film.

The IXXXth Olympic Games begin in Beijing, China.

Metallica frontman James Hetfield suffers second- and third-degree burns in a pyrotechnic explosion during a concert at the Olympic Stadium in Montreal.

The original “Dream Team”—composed of Michael Jordan, Magic Johnson, Larry Bird, Scotty Pippen, Charles Barkley, and Patrick Ewing—wins the gold medal at the Barcelona Olympics.

Pete Rose begins a five-month prison sentence at the federal prison in Marion, Illinois.

U.S. President Richard Nixon announced on television that he would submit his resignation the following day at noon.

Dr. Michael DeBakey implants the first artificial heart in a patient.

Fidel Castro forms the “July 26 Movement,” a revolutionary organization.

The German airship Graf Zeppelin begins its round-the-world flight.

The first Davis Cup tennis tournament takes place in Boston between Great Britain and the United States.

The refrigerator is invented by A.T. Marshall.

Jeanne Mance arrives in New France. The following spring, she will found Ville-Marie and, later, the Hôtel-Dieu de Montréal.