Today is Saturday, Feb. 8, the 39th day of 2025. There are 326 days left in the year.

Today in history:

On Feb. 8, 1915, D.W. Griffith’s controversial epic film “The Birth of a Nation” premiered in Los Angeles.

Also on this date:

In 1587, Mary, Queen of Scots was beheaded at Fotheringhay Castle in England after she was implicated in a plot to murder her cousin, Queen Elizabeth I.

In 1693, a charter was granted for the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg in the Virginia Colony.

In 1904, Japan launched a surprise attack on the Russian Navy at Port Arthur (now Dalian, China), marking the beginning of the Russo-Japanese War.

In 1910, the Boy Scouts of America was incorporated by William D. Boyce.

In 1924, the first execution by gas in the United States took place at the Nevada

See Full Page