Today
Thursday January 8 2026
- Day of the year
- 8/ 365
- Week
- 22,026
- Days left
- 3572%
- Moon
- 69%Waning gibbous
Today is Thursday, January 8, 2026. It is day 8 of 2026, a year of 365 days: 357 remain, and 2% of the year has gone. Under ISO 8601 this date falls in week 2.
What's celebrated on this date
No United Nations international day falls on this date.
Coming up
- January 24International Day of Education
- January 27International Holocaust Remembrance Day
- February 2World Wetlands Day
Saints and name days
Saints whose feast falls on this date, most widely known first.
- Abo of TiflisChristian martyr
- Severinus of NoricumItalian Roman Catholic saint
- Lawrence Giustinianifirst Patriarch of Venice
- GudulaSaint from Brabant, now Belgium
- Archbishop Atticus of ConstantinopleArchbishop of Constantinople
Sources : Wikidata (P841) · CC0 1.0
Astronomy
New York
- Sunrise
- 07:20
- Sunset
- 16:46
- Length of day
- 9h 26m+1 min vs yesterday
- Solar noon
- 12:03
Times shown for America/New_York
Season
Winter
began on December 21, 2025
Next season
Spring — 71 days, March 20, 2026 (March equinox)
Public holidays — United States
Not a public holiday in the United States.
Next public holiday : Birthday of Martin Luther King, Jr. — January 19, 2026
National holidays only. Regions, provinces and Länder add their own.
Moon
Waning gibbous
Illumination : 69%
Moon age : 19.6 days
- Next full moon
- February 1, 2026
- Next new moon
- January 18, 2026
Astrology
Today's zodiac sign
Capricorn
until January 20, 2026 — Aquarius
Zodiac dates are an astrological convention, not the Sun's actual position among the constellations. The astronomy above is measured; this is not.
On this day in history
871
Æthelred I and Alfred the Great lead a West Saxon army to repel an invasion by Danelaw Vikings. Wikipedia
1297
François Grimaldi, disguised as a monk, leads his men to capture the fortress protecting the Rock of Monaco, establishing his family as the rulers of Monaco. Wikipedia
1499
Louis XII of France marries Anne of Brittany in accordance with a law set by his predecessor, Charles VIII. Wikipedia
1806
The Dutch Cape Colony in southern Africa becomes the British Cape Colony as a result of the Battle of Blaauwberg. Wikipedia
1815
War of 1812: Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson leads American forces in victory over the British. Wikipedia
1877
Crazy Horse and his warriors fight their last battle against the United States Cavalry at Wolf Mountain, Montana Territory. Wikipedia
Show more (4)
1889
Herman Hollerith is issued US patent #395,791 for the 'Art of Applying Statistics' — his punched card calculator. Wikipedia
1918
U.S. President Woodrow Wilson announces his "Fourteen Points" as conditions for ending World War I. Wikipedia
1926
Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. Wikipedia
2011
Sitting US Congresswoman Gabby Giffords is shot in the head along with 18 others in a mass shooting in Tucson, Arizona. Giffords survived the assassination attempt, but six others died, including John Roll, a federal judge. Wikipedia
Sources : Wikipedia (en) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Data imported on 2026-08-26
Births and deaths
Born on this day January 8
- 1821James Longstreet, American general and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Turkey (died 1904)
- 1823Alfred Russel Wallace, Welsh geographer, biologist, and explorer (died 1913)
- 1830Hans von Bülow, German pianist and composer (died 1894)
- 1836Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Dutch-English painter and academic (died 1912)
- 1867Emily Greene Balch, American economist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1961)
- 1870Miguel Primo de Rivera, Spanish general and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (died 1930)
- 1904Karl Brandt, German physician and SS officer (died 1948)
- 1942Junichirō Koizumi, Japanese politician, 56th Prime Minister of Japanturns 84 years
Died on this day January 8
- 1198Celestine III, pope of the Catholic Church (born 1106)aged 92 years
- 1337Giotto, Italian painter and architect, designed Scrovegni Chapel and Giotto's Campanile (born 1266)aged 61 years
- 1570Philibert de l'Orme, French sculptor and architect, designed the Château d'Anet (born 1510)aged 56 years
- 1642Galileo Galilei, Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher (born 1564)aged 78 years
- 1713Arcangelo Corelli, Italian violinist and composer (born 1653)aged 60 years
- 1941Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, English general and founder of the Scout movement (born 1857)aged 84 years
- 1976Zhou Enlai, Chinese soldier and politician, 1st Premier of the People's Republic of China (born 1898)aged 78 years
- 1996François Mitterrand, French sergeant and politician, 21st President of France (born 1916)aged 80 years
Sources : Wikipedia (en) · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Data imported on 2026-08-26
The day in words
In New York the sun rises at 07:20 and sets at 16:46, giving 9h 26m of daylight — 1 minute more than yesterday. It has been winter since December 21, 2025; spring opens in 71 days, on March 20, 2026 (March equinox).
The moon is waning gibbous, 69% illuminated. The next full moon falls on February 1, 2026 and the next new moon on January 18, 2026.
The saints' calendar attaches January 8 to Abo of Tiflis, Severinus of Noricum and Lawrence Giustiniani.
No United Nations international day falls on January 8. The next one on the calendar is International Day of Education, on January 24.
It is not a public holiday in the United States.
On this day in history: Æthelred I and Alfred the Great lead a West Saxon army to repel an invasion by Danelaw Vikings (871); François Grimaldi, disguised as a monk, leads his men to capture the fortress protecting the Rock of Monaco, establishing his family as the rulers of Monaco (1297). English Wikipedia records 10 events for this date.
James Longstreet was born on January 8, 1821; Celestine III died on January 8, 1198.
351 days remain until Christmas and 358 until New Year's Day.
In astrology — kept separate from the measured astronomy above, deliberately — January 8 falls under the sign of Capricorn.
Calendar
By the numbers
- 2%
- of the year elapsed
- 351
- until Christmas
- 358
- until New Year
- 782
- until the next 29 February
2026 — Common year (365 days)
Work with dates
Sources
Every block on this page names where its data comes from. Nothing here is generated when the source is silent.
- United Nations — International Days— What's celebrated today
- Wikidata (P841)— Saints and name days · CC0 1.0
- Wikipedia (en)— On this day in history · CC BY-SA 4.0 · Data imported on 2026-08-26