April 8 in history: • 876 – Abbasid forces decisively defeated the Saffarid emir Ya'qub ibn Laith, forcing the latter to halt his advance into Iraq. → go there • 1630 – Kiliaen van Rensselaer purchased land near present-day Albany, New York, to establish Rensselaerswyck, which became the most successful patroonship under the Dutch West India Company. → go there • 1820 – The Venus de Milo (pictured), an ancient Greek statue of a woman with its arms missing, was discovered on the island of Milos. → go there • 1961 – A large explosion on board the MV Dara in the Persian Gulf killed 238 people. → go there • 2008 – On board Soyuz TMA-12, Yi So-yeon became the first Korean astronaut. → go there Died 1321: Thomas of Tolentino Wiki link Born 1900: Marie Byles Wiki link Born 1926: Shecky Greene Wiki link Born 1970: Mirsada Burić Wiki link Pictured: Venus de Milo.