Kennedy Center Honors
Receives Kennedy Center Honors with Roger Daltrey.
Permanent historical records · Updated 2026-11-03
2008 in United States of America — Page 5
Explore 196 historical events and records for United States of America in 2008.
Historical records for United States of America in 2008
Sorted by month and day. Records with no month are shown last. Showing 36 of 196 unique records.
196Unique records
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36Named events on this page
31Named people on this page
10Places on this page
December
Corruption Arrest
Is arrested on corruption charges involving the vacant Senate seat of Barack Obama
Credit Crunch
The Federal Reserve lowers its policy target to a range of zero to one-quarter percent as the recession and financial crisis deepen.
New Horizons
New Horizons begins another scheduled hibernation cycle while continuing its multi-year cruise toward Pluto.
Zero Interest Rate Policy
The Federal Reserve lowers the federal funds target range to near zero.
Auto Bailout
Announces emergency loans for General Motors and Chrysler from financial rescue funds
Automobile Industry Assistance
General Motors receives emergency federal financing through funds authorised under TARP.
Election
Time magazine names Barack Obama as its Person of the Year for his historic candidacy and election, which it described as "the steady march of seemingly impossible accomplishments"
Person of the Year
Time magazine names Barack Obama as its Person of the Year for his historic candidacy and election, which it described as "the steady march of seemingly impossible accomplishments"
Other events (month unknown)
A Mercy
Publication of "A Mercy"
Breaking Bad Series Premiere
Vince Gilligan created Breaking Bad, tracing a chemistry teacher's transformation after he enters the illegal drug trade.
Changeling
Directs Changeling, a period drama starring Angelina Jolie.
Cosmology
Publishes Cosmology, presenting the theoretical foundations and observational framework of modern cosmological physics.
Direct Imaging of HR 8799 Planets
Contributes to the direct imaging of three giant planets around HR 8799.
Emmy Award Breaking Bad Actor
Bryan Cranston won the Emmy for Outstanding Lead Actor in a Drama Series for his portrayal of chemistry teacher Walter White in Breaking Bad.
Gran Torino
Directs and stars in Gran Torino, playing Korean War veteran Walt Kowalski.
Gran Torino and Changeling
Directs Gran Torino and Changeling, two major late-career films released in 2008.
Health of Edward Moore "Ted" Kennedy
Diagnosed with a malignant brain tumor
Home
Publication of "Home"
Improved Electron g-Factor Measurement
With collaborators, improves the precision measurement of the electron magnetic moment using a single trapped electron.
Jefferson Lecture
The National Endowment for the Humanities selects Updike to present the Jefferson Lecture, the US federal Governments highest humanities honor
JFK and the Unspeakable
Douglass published JFK and the Unspeakable, arguing that Kennedy's movement toward Cold War accommodation brought him into conflict with national-security institutions that he believed were connected to his death.
Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa
Voice part in, "Madagascar: Escape 2 Africa"
Makemake Named
The large Kuiper Belt object 2005 FY9 receives the name Makemake and is recognized as a dwarf planet.
Medicine for Melancholy
Makes his feature directing debut with Medicine for Melancholy, following two young adults across San Francisco.
Mercury Exosphere
MESSENGER measurements show that Mercury possesses a structured and variable exosphere extending far above the planet.
Mercury Magnetosphere
MESSENGER observes an unusually dynamic Mercury magnetosphere driven strongly by changing solar-wind conditions.
Mercury Mapping
Images from MESSENGER's second Mercury flyby fill many gaps in spacecraft coverage and greatly expand the mapped surface.
Nights and Weekends
Co-directs, co-writes and stars in Nights and Weekends, an independent relationship drama.
Olive Kitteridge
Publication of "Olive Kitteridge"
The Hurt Locker
Directs The Hurt Locker, following a bomb-disposal team during the Iraq War.
Toby Award Gypsy Revival Actress
Patti LuPone won the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical for portraying Mama Rose in the Broadway revival of Gypsy.
Tropic Thunder
Stars in Tropic Thunder
Veteran Blackburn Goalkeeper Signing
Brad Friedel moved from Blackburn Rovers to Aston Villa and brought the experience of hundreds of Premier League appearances.
Vicky Cristina Barcelona
Writes, "Vicky Cristina Barcelona"
WMAP
Bennett releases improved WMAP results that strengthen the precision Big Bang model
How these records were prepared
Generated from the World History Database historical_events table. Identical display records are collapsed; descriptions otherwise retain the stored text. Coverage and source quality vary. Check primary and specialist sources before citing individual historical claims.