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1653 Claude Louis Hector de Villars, Prince de Martigues, Marquis then Duc de Villars, Vicomte de Melun (8 May 1653 â 17 June 1734) was a French military commander and an illustrious general of Louis XIV of France. He was one of only six Marshals to have been promoted Marshal General of France.
1753 Don Miguel Gregorio Antonio Francisco Ignacio Hidalgo-Costilla y Gallaga Mandarte Villaseñor (8 May 1753 â 30 July 1811), more commonly known as Don Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla or Miguel Hidalgo, was a Spanish Catholic priest, a leader of the Mexican War of Independence, and recognized as the Father of the Nation.
1810 American Civil War James Cooper (May 8, 1810 â March 28, 1863) was an American lawyer, soldier, and politician, who served in the United States Congress .
1833 Frank Wheaton (May 8, 1833 â June 18, 1903) was a career military officer in the United States Army during the American Civil War and Indian Wars. He also was military commander over south Texas during the Garza Revolution.
1919 Alexander Crichlow Barker Jr. (May 8, 1919 â May 11, 1973) was an American actor best known for playing Tarzan of the Apes and leading characters from Karl May’s novels. In February 1941, ten months before the attack on Pearl Harbor, Barker left his fledgling acting career and enlisted in the United States Army. He rose to the rank of major during the war. He was wounded in action (in the head and leg) fighting in Sicily. He was awarded the Purple Heart twice.
1926 Donald Jay Rickles (May 8, 1926 â April 6, 2017) was an American actor, author, and stand-up comedian. In 1944 he enlisted in the United States Navy and served during World War II in the Philippines on the motor torpedo boat tender USS Cyrene, , a motor torpedo tender ship, which served to resupply torpedo carriers with fuel and provisions in remote areas, as a seaman first class. He was honorably discharged in 1946.
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