8 February It Happened Today

1725  Death of Russia’s Peter the Great.

1819  Birth of the English writer John Ruskin.

1925  Birth of the American actor Jack Lemmon.

1931  Birth of the American actor James Dean.

1983  Racehorse Shergar is kidnapped from a stable in the Irish Republic and a ransom demand of £2 million is demanded. The horse is never seen again.