Truman Day: Victory, Coke, and the Birthday of a Plain-Speaking President
On May 8, 1945, Nazi Germany's surrender took effect, ending the war in Europe — a victory shared with the birthday of the man who would soon order the atomic bomb dropped: Harry S. Truman.
About Truman Day
Truman Day is a state holiday in Missouri, where Harry S. Truman was born on this date in 1884. Schools and state offices close to honor the only Missourian ever to occupy the Oval Office. A farmer, haberdasher, and artillery captain in World War I, Truman rose from near-obscurity to the vice presidency, then inherited the presidency upon Franklin Roosevelt's death in 1945. Within months he faced the most consequential decision any president has ever confronted.
Missourians remember him as a plainspoken man who kept a sign on his desk reading "The buck stops here." The Harry S. Truman Presidential Library in Independence draws visitors each May 8 for wreath-laying ceremonies and reflections on a presidency that shaped NATO, the Marshall Plan, and the postwar world order.
May 8 is also Victory in Europe Day across the Atlantic. When Germany's surrender took effect on this date in 1945, crowds flooded London and Paris. Truman, just shy of his 61st birthday, quietly marked the occasion — and his own birthday — while privately grappling with the Pacific war still raging ahead.
Holidays & Observances on May 8
- Emancipation Day (Columbus, Mississippi)
- Furry Dance (Helston, UK)
- Liberation Day (Czech Republic)
- Miguel Hidalgo's birthday (Mexico)
- Parents' Day (South Korea)
- Truman Day (Missouri)
- Veterans Day (Norway)
- Victory in Europe Day, and its related observances (Europe): Time of Remembrance and Reconciliation for Those Who Lost Their Lives during the Second World War, continues to May 9
Fun & National Days on May 8
- National Have a Coke Day — Pour a cold one — Coca-Cola was first sold on this very date back in 1886.
- National Give Someone a Cupcake Day — Hand a frosted cupcake to a stranger or friend and watch their afternoon improve instantly.
- National Coconut Cream Pie Day — Slice into a creamy coconut pie and pretend you're dining on a tropical veranda.
- No Socks Day — Ditch the socks, free your ankles, and let your toes breathe for twenty-four glorious hours.
- Iris Day — Stop and admire a blooming iris — those ruffled petals have inspired artists for centuries.
- Free Trade Day — Raise a toast to open markets and the economic debates that never seem to go out of style.
- Fintastic Friday: Giving Sharks a Voice
- Military Spouse Appreciation Day
- National Public Gardens Day
- National Student Nurses Day
On This Day in History
- -453 — The house of Zhao defeated the house of Zhi at the Battle of Jinyang, a power struggle among elite families controlling the Chinese State of Jin.
- 1429 — Joan of Arc broke the Siege of Orléans, a breakthrough that shifted momentum in the Hundred Years War toward the French cause.
- 1541 — Spanish explorer Hernando de Soto reached the Mississippi River near present-day Walls, Mississippi, calling it Río de Espíritu Santo.
- 1794 — French chemist Antoine Lavoisier, condemned as a traitor during the Reign of Terror, was guillotined in Paris within a single day of trial.
- 1877 — The first Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show opened at Gilmore's Gardens in New York City, launching America's longest-running canine competition.
- 1886 — Atlanta pharmacist John Pemberton sold his first batch of Coca-Cola, marketing the carbonated drink as a patent medicine.
- 1902 — Mount Pelée erupted on Martinique, obliterating the town of Saint-Pierre and killing more than 30,000 people in minutes.
- 1945 — Germany's signed surrender took effect at Berlin-Karlshorst, ending World War II in Europe and launching annual Victory in Europe Day observances.
- 1970 — The Beatles released Let It Be, their twelfth and final studio album, recorded before the band's acrimonious breakup.
- 1978 — Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler achieved the first summit of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen, redefining mountaineering limits.
- 1980 — The World Health Organization officially confirmed smallpox had been eradicated, the first human disease eliminated through deliberate effort.
- 1984 — The Thames Barrier was officially opened, protecting most of Greater London's floodplain from catastrophic North Sea surges.
Famous Birthdays on May 8
- 1737 — Edward Gibbon, English historian whose monumental Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire set the standard for narrative history.
- 1753 — Miguel Hidalgo y Costilla, Mexican priest whose 1810 call to revolt sparked the war of independence; his birthday is celebrated across Mexico today.
- 1828 — Henry Dunant, Swiss businessman who co-founded the Red Cross and won the first Nobel Peace Prize for humanitarian advocacy.
- 1884 — Harry S. Truman, America's 33rd president, born this day in Missouri; he authorized the atomic bomb and shaped the postwar world.
- 1899 — Friedrich Hayek, Austrian economist and philosopher whose defense of free markets earned him the Nobel Prize in Economic Sciences.
- 1906 — Roberto Rossellini, Italian director who pioneered neorealism with Rome, Open City, reshaping postwar cinema.
- 1926 — David Attenborough, British broadcaster and naturalist whose wildlife documentaries have educated generations about life on Earth.
- 1926 — Don Rickles, American comedian whose razor-sharp insult comedy made him a legend from Las Vegas to late-night television.
- 1937 — Thomas Pynchon, American novelist known for Gravity's Rainbow and a literary reputation built on brilliant, reclusive silence.
- 1975 — Enrique Iglesias, Spanish-born pop sensation who became one of the best-selling Latin recording artists of all time.