1. In 1804, the first permanent settlement in present-day Monroe County was established by William Caldwell on November 8.
2. On November 8, 1859, abolitionist John Brown and his small group of followers raided the U.S. Armory at Harpers Ferry, an event that is considered a significant precursor to the Civil War.
3. In 1880, the West Virginia Penitentiary in Moundsville received its first inmates on November 8, and would continue to operate as a prison for over 120 years before closing in 1995.
4. Basketball legend Jerry West, who was born in Chelyan, West Virginia, on May 28, 1938, played his first game for the West Virginia University Mountaineers on November 8, 1957, scoring 16 points in a win over Washington & Lee.
5. November 8, 1966, saw the establishment of the West Virginia Lottery, which has been generating revenue for the state ever since through various games like scratch-offs and Powerball.