Here’s a concise roundup of notable events that happened on July 8 throughout history: 🌍 Major Historical Events - 1497 – Vasco da Gama sets sail from Lisbon, Portugal, beginning the first European sea voyage to India. - 1776 – First public reading of the U.S. Declaration of Independence by Colonel John Nixon in Philadelphia. - 1853 – Commodore Matthew Perry arrives in Tokyo Bay, initiating U.S.-Japan relations and ending Japan’s isolation. - 1889 – First issue of The Wall Street Journal is published. - 1947 – Roswell UFO incident: A local newspaper reports the crash of a “flying saucer” in New Mexico.