This Day in History: February 8

1587 - Mary, the Queen of Scots, was executed.

1693 - A charter was granted for the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, VA.

1802 - Simon Willard patented the banjo clock.

1861 - The Confederate States of America was formed.

1861 - A Cheyenne delegation and some Arapaho leaders accepted a new settlement (Treaty of Fort Wise) with the U.S. Federal government. The deal ceded most of their land but secured a 600-square mile reservation and annuity payments.

1896 - The Western Conference was formed by representatives of Midwestern universities. The group changed its name to the Big 10 Conference.

1900 - In South Africa, British troops under Gen. Buller were beaten at Ladysmith. The British fled over the Tugela River.

1904 - The Russo-Japanese War began with Japan attacking Russian forces in Manchuria.

1910 - William D. Boyce incorporated the Boy Scouts of America.

1918 - "The Stars and Stripes" newspaper was published for the first time.

1922 - The White House began using radio after U.S. President Harding had it installed.

1924 - The first U.S. execution to make use of gas took place in Nevada State Prison.

1927 - The original version of "Getting Gertie’s Garter" opened at the Hippodrome Theatre in New York City.

1936 - The first National Football League draft was held. Jay Berwanger was the first to be selected. He went to the Philadelphia Eagles. (NFL)

1952 - Queen Elizabeth II ascended to the British throne. Her father, George VI, had died on February 6.

1963 - The Kennedy administration prohibited travel to Cuba and made financial and commercial transactions with Cuba illegal for U.S. citizens.

1963 - Lamar Hunt, owner of the American Football League franchise in Dallas, TX, moved the operation to Kansas City. The new team was named the Chiefs. (NFL)

1968 - In Orangeburg, SC, three college students died during a civil rights protest against a whites-only bowling alley after a confrontation with highway patrolmen.

1969 - The last issue of the "Saturday Evening Post" was published. It was revived in 1971 as a quarterly publication and later a 6 times a year.

1971 - The Nasdaq stock-market index debuted.

1973 - U.S. Senate leaders named seven members of a select committee to investigate the Watergate scandal.

1974 - The three-man crew of the Skylab space station returned to Earth after 84 days.

1978 - The U.S. Senate deliberations were broadcast on radio for the first time. The subject was the Panama Canal treaties.

1980 - U.S. President Jimmy Carter announced a plan to re-introduce draft registration.

1985 - "The Dukes of Hazzard" ended its 6-1/2 year run on CBS television.

1993 - General Motors sued NBC, alleging that "Dateline NBC" had rigged two car-truck crashes to show that some GM pickups were prone to fires after certain types of crashes. The suit was settled the following day by NBC.

1999 - In Sri Lanka, 23 rebels were killed in fighting with Sri Lankan forces.

2002 - The exhibit "Places of Their Own" opened at the National Museum of Women in the Arts. The works displayed were by Geogia O'Keeffe, Frida Kahlo and Emily Carr.