1) On January 8, 1947, the Brooklyn Dodgers signed Jackie Robinson to a minor league contract with the Montreal Royals. This historic event paved the way for Robinson to break the color barrier in Major League Baseball the following year.

2) On January 8, 1967, the American Basketball Association (ABA) held its first All-Star game at the Rutgers Athletic Center in Piscataway, New Jersey. The East All-Stars defeated the West All-Stars 126-120 in front of a crowd of 6,058.

3) On January 8, 1982, snow fell in New Jersey that was so deep it caused the roof of the Alpine School to collapse. No one was injured in the incident, but it prompted the state to enact stricter building codes for schools.

4) On January 8, 1998, New Jersey Governor Christine Todd Whitman signed a bill making New Jersey the first state in the nation to ban the use of handheld cell phones while driving. The law took effect on July 1, 2004.

5) On January 8, 2020, New Jersey became the seventh state in the nation to allow terminally ill patients to end their lives with medical assistance. The Medical Aid in Dying for the Terminally Ill Act allows doctors to prescribe lethal medications to patients who have less than six months to live.