Today in history June 8th

1783
The Laki fissure vent in Vatnajökull in southern Iceland began a massive eruption that lasted until February 1784.
1861
During the American Civil War, Tennessee, a state with close ties to the Confederate States of America, voted to secede from the Union.
1942
The Free French forces successfully blocked the offensive launched by Erwin Rommel at the Battle of Bir Hakeem, delaying the further offensive plans of the Axis Powers.
1949
Nineteen Eighty-Four, the classic dystopian novel by British leftist author George Orwell (pictured), has been published for the first time in London.
1972
Associated Press reporter Huang Yougong won a Pulitzer Prize for his photo of Vietnamese girl Phan Thi Kim Phuc escaping the napalm bombing.