The past leaves a trace.

Les Misérables opens in London

The English-language production of Les Misérables officially opens at London's Barbican Theatre on October 8, 1985.

The London production was presented by Cameron Mackintosh and the Royal Shakespeare Company. Trevor Nunn and John Caird directed the musical, bringing its English-language version to the Barbican stage.

After the Barbican engagement, the production transferred to the Palace Theatre on December 4, 1985. October 8 is the anniversary of the official London opening, rather than the original French production or the earlier preview performances.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wins the Nobel Prize in literature.

Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn wins the Nobel Prize in literature.

Aleksandr Isayevich Solzhenitsyn was a Soviet and Russian author and dissident who helped to raise global awareness of political repression in the Soviet Union, especially the Gulag prison system. He was awarded the 1970 Nobel Prize in Literature "for the ethical force with which he has pursued the indispensable traditions of Russian literature". His nonfiction work The Gulag Archipelago "amounted to a head-on challenge to the Soviet state" and sold tens of millions of copies.

Birth of Zog I of Albania

Born: Zog I of Albania (died 1961).

The Great Chicago Fire begins

The Great Chicago Fire begins on October 8, 1871, spreading across the city over the next two days.

The fire started near DeKoven Street on Chicago's West Side on the evening of October 8. Burning debris and strong winds helped carry it across the river and into the central business district and North Side. Rain eventually helped bring the disaster to an end.

The fire destroyed homes, businesses and public buildings across a large part of the growing city. Recovery brought both extensive rebuilding and hardship for displaced residents; the date marks the beginning of a disaster that continued through October 10.

Franklin Pierce dies in New Hampshire

Franklin Pierce, the fourteenth president of the United States, dies in Concord, New Hampshire, on October 8, 1869.

Pierce served in the U.S. House of Representatives and Senate before becoming president. He held the presidency from March 4, 1853, to March 3, 1857, and later resumed legal practice in New Hampshire.

October 8 commemorates his death, not his birth. Pierce was born in Hillsborough, New Hampshire, on November 23, 1804, and was buried in Concord after his death in 1869.

Stephenson's Rocket wins the Rainhill Trials.

Stephenson's Rocket wins the Rainhill Trials.

Stephenson's Rocket is an early steam locomotive of 0-2-2 wheel arrangement. It was built for and won the Rainhill Trials of the Liverpool and Manchester Railway (L&MR), held in October 1829 to show that improved locomotives would be more efficient than stationary steam engines.

Death of Pilgrim I

Died: Pilgrim I, archbishop of Salzburg.

Pilgrim I was a Bavarian nobleman and churchman. He served as the archbishop of Salzburg from 907 until his death and was in charge of the East Frankish royal chapel and chancery under Conrad I from 911 until 918.

The first session of the Council of Chalcedon begins.

The first session of the Council of Chalcedon begins.

The Council of Chalcedon was the fourth ecumenical council of the Christian Church. It was convoked by the Roman emperor Marcian. The council convened in the city of Chalcedon, Bithynia from 8 October to 1 November 451. The council was attended by over 520 bishops or their representatives, making it the largest and best-documented of the first seven ecumenical councils. The principal purpose of the council was to re-assert the teachings of the ecumenical Council of Ephesus against the teachings of Eutyches and Nestorius. Such doctrines viewed Christ's divine and human natures as separate and distinct (Nestorianism), or viewed Christ as solely divine (monophysitism).