1. Birth of A. J. Hinch: On July 8, 1974, A. J. Hinch, a former Major League Baseball catcher and current manager of the Detroit Tigers, was born in Waverly, Iowa. Hinch grew up in Oklahoma and attended Stanford University before embarking on a nine-year career as a player.

2. The Great Flood of 1993: On July 8, 1993, the Mississippi River crested at a record level of 49.6 feet in Hannibal, Missouri, causing widespread flooding in the surrounding communities. The flood was one of the worst natural disasters in Missouri history, causing over $15 billion in damages across the Midwest.

3. Missouri admitted as a state: On July 8, 1821, Missouri was admitted to the Union as the 24th state. The decision to allow Missouri to enter as a slave state ignited controversy and raised tensions between Northern and Southern states.

4. St. Louis Cardinals win the World Series: On July 8, 1982, the St. Louis Cardinals won their ninth World Series championship by defeating the Milwaukee Brewers in seven hard-fought games. The series featured a classic Game 6 in which the Cardinals scored three runs in the bottom of the ninth inning to win 4-3.

5. Mark Twain publishes "The Gilded Age": On July 8, 1873, Mark Twain and his writing partner Charles Dudley Warner published their satirical novel "The Gilded Age: A Tale of Today". The book lampooned the greed and corruption of the post-Civil War era in America, and was a bestseller in its time.