February 8

On This Day In History
	1587: Mary, Queen of Scots, beheaded Mary, Queen of Scots, rival of Queen Elizabeth I of England, was beheaded this day in 1587 at Fotheringhay Castle, her execution a chilling scene redeemed by the great personal dignity with which she met her fate.
Execution of Mary, Queen of Scots, woodcut from Adam Blackwood's Martyre de la royne
Biography Of The Day
	II Guercino Italian painter II Guercino ("The Squinting One"), whose frescoes freshly exploited the illusionistic ceiling and made a profound impact on the evolution of 17th-century Roman High Baroque art, was born this day in 1591.
Abraham Driving Out Hagar and Ishmael, oil on canvas by II Guercino
More Events On This Day In History
2002	2002 The XIX Winter Olympic Games opened in Salt Lake City, Utah.
	1974 The use of Skylab, a U.S. space station, came to an end after 171 days.
	1920/21 American actress Lana Turner, a sultry Hollywood glamour queen with a tumultuous private life, was born.
1915	1915 The landmark film The Birth of a Nation, by D.W. Griffith, made its premiere at Clune's Auditorium in Los Angeles.
1887	1887 The United States passed the Dawes General Allotment Act, providing for the distribution of American Indian reservation land among individual tribesmen.
1867	1867 The Ausgleich ("Compromise") established the Dual Monarchy of Austria-Hungary.