December 8

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December 8 in recent years

2010 (Wednesday)

2009 (Tuesday)

2008 (Monday)

2007 (Saturday)

2006 (Friday)

2005 (Thursday)

2004 (Wednesday)

2003 (Monday)

2002 (Sunday)

2001 (Saturday)

December 8 is the 342nd day of the year (343rd in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 23 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 1432 – the first battle between the forces of Švitrigaila and Sigismund Kęstutaitis is fought near the town of Oszmiana (Ashmyany), launching the most active phase of the civil war in the Grand Duchy of Lithuania.
• 1660 – Margaret Hughes becomes the first actress to appear on an English public stage, playing the role of Desdemona in a production of Shakespeare's play Othello.
• 1854 – In his Apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus, Pope Pius IX proclaims the dogmatic definition of Immaculate Conception, which holds that the Virgin Mary was born free of original sin.
• 1907 – King Gustaf V of Sweden accedes to the Swedish throne.
• 1912 – Leaders of the German Empire hold an Imperial War Council to discuss the possibility that war might break out.
• 1941 – United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt declares December 7 to be "a date which will live in infamy", after which the U.S. and the Republic of China declare war against Japan.
• 1941 – Japanese forces invade Thailand's southern peninsula. They face a heavy resistance, however, Plaek Phibunsongkhram ordered a ceasefire.
• 1941 – Japanese forces launch an invasion into Hong Kong. Battle of Hong Kong begins.
• 1953 – United States President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers his "Atoms for Peace" speech, and the U.S. launches its "Atoms for Peace" program that supplied equipment and information to schools, hospitals, and research institutions around the world.
• 1963 – Pan Am Flight 214, a Boeing 707, is struck by positive lightning and crashes near Elkton, Maryland, United States, killing all 81 people on board.
• 1966 – The Greek ship SS Heraklion sinks in a storm in the Aegean Sea, killing over 200.
• 1972 – United Airlines Flight 553 crashes after aborting its landing attempt at Chicago Midway International Airport, killing 45.
• 1974 – A plebiscite results in the abolition of monarchy in Greece.
• 1980 –John Lennon, an English musician and peace activist, is murdered by Mark David Chapman, a mentally unstable fan, in front of The Dakota apartment building in New York City.
• 1982 – In Suriname, several opponents of the military government are killed.
• 1987 – The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is signed.
• 1987 – Frank Vitkovic shoots and kills eight people at the Australia Post building in Melbourne, before jumping to his death.
• 1987 – The Alianza Lima air disaster occurs.
• 1991 – The leaders of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine sign an agreement dissolving the Soviet Union and establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States.
• 1991 – The Romanian Constitution is adopted in a referendum.
• 1993 – The North American Free Trade Agreement is signed into law by US President Bill Clinton.
• 1998 – Eighty-one people are killed by armed groups in Algeria.
• 1998 – The Australian Cricket Board's cover-up of Shane Warne and Mark Waugh's involvement with bookmakers is revealed.
• 2002 – The Caribbean Community Heads of Government meet with the Government of Cuba and declare the date to be "CARICOM-Cuba Day"—to celebrate diplomatic ties between the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Cuba.
• 2004 – The Cuzco Declaration is signed in Cuzco, Peru, establishing the South American Community of Nations.
• 2005 – Ante Gotovina, a Croatian army general accused of war crimes, is captured in the Playa de las Américas, Tenerife by the Spanish police.
• 2007 – Benazir Bhutto, first and only female former Prime Minister of Pakistan, had her PPP Office stormed by unidentified gunmen. Three supporters are killed.
• 2009 – Bombings in Baghdad, Iraq kill 127 and injure 448.
• 2010 – With the second launch of the SpaceX Dragon, SpaceX becomes the first privately held company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft.
• 2011 – Santiago Murillo premiered his short fillm.

Births

• 65 BC – Horace, Roman poet (d. 8 BC)
• 1542 – Mary, Queen of Scots (d. 1587)
• 1574 – Maria Anna of Bavaria, consort of Ferdinand II (d. 1616)
• 1626 – Queen Christina of Sweden (d. 1689)
• 1678 – Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole of Wolterton, English diplomat (d. 1757)
• 1699 – Queen Maria Josepha of Poland (d. 1757)
• 1708 – Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1765)
• 1730 – Jan Ingenhousz, Dutch physician, physiologist and botanist (d. 1799)
• 1756 – Archduke Maximilian Franz of Austria (d. 1801)
• 1765 – Eli Whitney, American inventor (d. 1825)
• 1795 – Peter Andreas Hansen, Danish astronomer (d. 1874)
• 1815 – Adolph Menzel, German painter and graphic artist (d. 1905)
• 1816 – August Belmont, Sr., Prussian-born American financier (d. 1890)
• 1817 – Christian Emil Krag-Juel-Vind-Frijs, Danish nobleman and politician (d. 1896)
• 1818 – Charles III, Prince of Monaco, founder of the Monte Carlo casino (d. 1889)
• 1832 – Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Norwegian author and Nobel laureate (d. 1910)
• 1860 – Amanda McKittrick Ros, Irish novelist and poet (d. 1939)
• 1861 – William C. Durant, American automobile executive (d. 1947)
• 1861 – Aristide Maillol, French sculptor (d. 1944)
• 1861 – Georges Méliès, French filmmaker (d. 1938)
• 1862 – Georges Feydeau, French playwright (d. 1921)
• 1864 – Camille Claudel, French graphic artist and sculptor (d. 1943)
• 1865 – Jacques Hadamard, French mathematician (d. 1963)
• 1865 – Jean Sibelius, Finnish composer (d. 1957)
• 1874 – Ernst Moro, Austrian physician (d. 1951)
• 1886 – Diego Rivera, Mexican painter (d. 1957)
• 1890 – Bohuslav Martinů, Czech composer (d. 1959)
• 1894 – E.C. Segar, American cartoonist (Popeye) (d. 1938)
• 1894 – James Thurber, American humorist and cartoonist (d. 1961)
• 1899 – John Qualen, Canadian actor (d. 1987)
• 1900 – Sun Li-jen, Chinese general (d. 1990)
• 1902 – Wifredo Lam, Cuban artist (d. 1982)
• 1908 – John A. Volpe, American politician and 2nd United States Secretary of Transportation (d. 1994)
• 1909 – Lesslie Newbigin, English theologian and bishop (d. 1998)
• 1909 – Gratien Gélinas, French-Canadian playwright and producer (d. 1999)
• 1911 – Nikos Gatsos, Greek poet and lyricist (d. 1992)
• 1913 – Delmore Schwartz, American poet (d. 1966)
• 1915 – Ernest Lehman, American screenwriter (d. 2005)
• 1916 – Richard Fleischer, American film director (d. 2006)
• 1918 – Gérard Souzay, French baritone (d. 2004)
• 1919 – Peter Tali Coleman, American politician and 43rd, 51st and 53rd Governor of American Samoa (d. 1997)
• 1922 – Lucian Freud, English painter (d. 2011)
• 1922 – Jean Ritchie, American folk singer
• 1923 – Rudolph Pariser, Chinese-born American chemist
• 1925 – Sammy Davis Jr., American actor and singer (d. 1990)
• 1925 – Carmen Martín Gaite, Spanish author (d. 2000)
• 1925 – Jimmy Smith, American jazz organist (d. 2005)
• 1927 – Ferdie Pacheco, American boxing trainer
• 1927 – Vladimir Shatalov, Soviet cosmonaut
• 1928 – Bill Hewitt, Canadian sportscaster (d. 1996)
• 1928 – Ulric Neisser, American cognitive psychologist
• 1930 – Julian Critchley, British politician (d. 2000)
• 1930 – Maximilian Schell, Austrian-born Swiss actor and film director
• 1931 – Bob Arum, American boxing promoter
• 1933 – Flip Wilson, American comedian (d. 1998)
• 1935 – Dharmendra, Indian actor
• 1935 – Tatiana Zatulovskaya, Israeli chess player
• 1936 – David Carradine, American actor (d. 2009)
• 1937 – James MacArthur, American actor (d. 2010)
• 1937 – Arne Næss Jr., Norwegian mountain climber and businessman (d. 2004)
• 1939 – Red Berenson, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1939 – Jerry "The Iceman" Butler, American soul singer
• 1939 – Sir James Galway, Northern Irish flautist
• 1939 – Soko Richardson, American rhythm and blues drummer (d. 2004)
• 1940 – Brant Alyea, American baseball player
• 1941 – Ed Brinkman, American baseball player
• 1941 – Bob Brown, American football player
• 1941 – Randall Cunningham, First Navy Vietnam Ace, American politician
• 1941 – Sir Geoff Hurst, English footballer
• 1943 – Ken Johnson, American professional wrestling manager
• 1943 – Jim Morrison, American singer (The Doors) (d. 1971)
• 1943 – Bodo Tümmler, German middle-distance runner
• 1943 – Mary Woronov, American actress
• 1945 – John Banville, Irish novelist and journalist
• 1946 – John Rubinstein, American actor, composer, director
• 1946 – Sharmila Tagore, Indian Actress
• 1947 – Chava Alberstein, Israeli singer, lyricist, composer, and musical arranger
• 1947 – Gregg Allman, American musician (The Allman Brothers Band)
• 1947 – Thomas R. Cech, American chemist, Nobel laureate
• 1947 – Kati-Claudia Fofonoff, Finnish author
• 1947 – Gérard Blanc, French singer
• 1948 – Luis Caffarelli, Argentine-born American mathematician
• 1949 – Mary Gordon, American writer
• 1949 – Nancy Meyers, American film director, producer and screenwriter
• 1949 – Ray Shulman, English musician
• 1949 – Robert Sternberg, American psychologist and psychometrician
• 1950 – Rick Baker, American film makeup artist
• 1950 – Tim Foli, American baseball player
• 1950 – Dan Hartman, American musician (Edgar Winter Group) (d. 1994)
• 1951 – Bill Bryson, American author
• 1951 – Jan Eggum, Norwegian singer and songwriter
• 1952 – Khaw Boon Wan, Singapore Health Minister
• 1953 – Kim Basinger, American actress
• 1953 – Roy Firestone, American sports announcer
• 1953 – Norman Finkelstein, American professor
• 1953 – Sam Kinison, American comedian (d. 1992)
• 1954 – Harold Hongju Koh, American lawyer and Obama Administration advisor
• 1954 – Gadowar Singh Sahota, Indian professional wrestler
• 1956 – Warren Cuccurullo, American musician
• 1956 – Andrew Edge English musician
• 1957 – Phil Collen, English guitarist (Def Leppard)
• 1958 – Rob Curling, British television presenter
• 1958 – Bird McIntyre, Thai pop singer, musician
• 1959 – Stephen Jefferies, South African cricketer
• 1959 – Mark Steyn, Canadian writer and cultural critic
• 1960 – Lim Guan Eng, Malaysian statesman
• 1961 – Ann Coulter, American political commentator
• 1961 – Mikey Robins, Australian comedian
• 1962 – Steve Elkington, Australian golfer
• 1962 – Marty Friedman, American guitarist
• 1962 – Wendell Pierce, American actor
• 1963 – Greg Howe, Americal guitarist
• 1963 – Toshiaki Kawada, Japanese wrestler
• 1964 – James Blundell, Australian country singer
• 1964 – Teri Hatcher, American actress
• 1964 – Chigusa Nagayo, Japanese wrestler
• 1965 – David Harewood, British actor
• 1965 – Carina Lau, Hong Kong actress
• 1966 – Sinéad O'Connor, Irish musician
• 1967 – Jeff George, American football player
• 1967 – Kotono Mitsuishi, Japanese seiyu (voice actress)
• 1967 – Darren Sheridan, English footballer and manager
• 1967 – Andy Kapp, German curler
• 1968 – Michael Cole, American professional wrestling commentator
• 1968 – Mike Mussina, American baseball player
• 1969 – Steve Van Wormer, American actor
• 1972 – Marco Abreu, Angolan footballer
• 1972 – Frank Shamrock, American mixed martial artist
• 1973 – Doron Bell Jr., Canadian actor
• 1973 – Corey Taylor, American singer (Slipknot, Stone Sour)
• 1974 – Cristian Castro, Mexican singer
• 1974 – Tony Simmons, American football player
• 1974 – Nick Zinner, American guitarist (Yeah Yeah Yeahs)
• 1975 – Jerrelle Clark, American wrestler
• 1975 – Kevin Harvick, American racing driver
• 1976 – Naimee Coleman, Irish singer and songwriter
• 1976 – Reed Johnson, American baseball player
• 1976 – Dominic Monaghan, English actor
• 1976 – Joshua Butler, Celebrity Chef
• 1976 – Brettina Robinson, singer and songwriter
• 1977 – Elsa Benítez, Mexican supermodel
• 1977 – Sébastien Chabal, French rugby union footballer
• 1977 – Ryan Newman, American racing driver
• 1978 – John Oster, Welsh footballer
• 1978 – Anwar Siraj, Ethiopian footballer
• 1978 – Ian Somerhalder, American actor
• 1978 – Vernon Wells, American baseball player
• 1978 – Park Kyung-lim, South Korean entertainer
• 1978 – Frédéric Piquionne, France footballer
• 1979 – Daniel Fitzhenry, Australian rugby league footballer
• 1979 – Johan Forssell, Swedish politician
• 1979 – Raymond Lam, Hong Kong actor and singer
• 1979 – Ingrid Michaelson, American indie-pop singer-songwriter
• 1979 – José Peña, Venezuelan track and field athlete
• 1979 – Christian Wilhelmsson, Swedish footballer
• 1980 – Lisa Kelly, American reality television personality
• 1981 – Jeremy Accardo, American baseball player
• 1981 – Philip Rivers, American football player
• 1982 – Alfredo Aceves, American baseball player
• 1982 – Hamit Altıntop, Turkish footballer
• 1982 – Halil Altıntop, Turkish footballer
• 1982 – Jang Ja-yeon, South Korean actress (d. 2009)
• 1982 – Nicki Minaj, rapper and singer-songwriter
• 1982 – Noelle Pikus-Pace, American skeleton racer
• 1982 – Jimmy Rave, American wrestler
• 1982 – DeeDee Trotter, American athlete
• 1983 – Neel Jani, Swiss racing driver
• 1983 – Liu Song, Chinese snooker player
• 1984 – Greg Halford, English footballer
• 1984 – Badr Hari, Dutch kickboxer
• 1985 – Meagan Duhamel, Canadian figure skater
• 1985 – Dwight Howard, American basketball player
• 1985 – Oleksiy Pecherov, American basketball player
• 1986 – Amir Khan, English boxer
• 1986 – Kate Voegele, American musician
• 1989 – Drew Doughty, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1989 – Jen Ledger, English drummer "Skillet"
• 1993 – AnnaSophia Robb, American actress and singer

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Deaths

• 899 – Arnulf of Carinthia (b. 850)
• 1626 – John Davies, English poet (b. 1569)
• 1632 – Philippe van Lansberge, Flemish astronomer (b. 1561)
• 1638 – Ivan Gundulić, Croatian poet (b. 1589)
• 1643 – John Pym, English statesman (b. 1583)
• 1649 – Noël Chabanel, French Jesuit missionary (b. 1613)
• 1680 – Henry Pierrepont, 1st Marquess of Dorchester, English politician (b. 1606)
• 1691 – Richard Baxter, English clergyman (b. 1615)
• 1695 – Barthélemy d'Herbelot de Molainville, French orientalist (b. 1625)
• 1709 – Thomas Corneille, French dramatist (b. 1625)
• 1722 – Liselotte von der Pfalz, Duchess of Orléans (b. 1652)
• 1744 – Marie-Anne de Mailly-Nesle duchess de Châteauroux, mistress of King Louis XV of France (b. 1717)
• 1745 – Etienne Fourmont, French orientalist (b. 1683)
• 1746 – Charles Radclyffe, British politician (b. 1693)
• 1756 – William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington, British statesman and diplomat (b. 1690)
• 1768 – Jean Denis Attiret, French Jesuit missionary (b. 1702)
• 1779 – Nathan Alcock, English physician (b. 1707)
• 1793 – Madame du Barry, last royal mistress of France, guillotined (b. 1743)
• 1811 – Eliza Poe, English-born American actress and the mother of the American author Edgar Allan Poe (b. 1787)
• 1830 – Benjamin Constant, Swiss writer (b. 1767)
• 1859 – Thomas De Quincey, English author (b. 1785)
• 1864 – George Boole, British inventor of Boolean algebra (b. 1815)
• 1869 – Narcisa de Jesús Martillo, Ecuadorian saint (b. 1832)
• 1885 – William Henry Vanderbilt, member of the Vanderbilt family (b. 1821)
• 1894 – Pafnuty Chebyshev, Russian mathematician (b. 1821)
• 1907 – Oscar II of Sweden (b. 1829)
• 1914 – Maximilian von Spee, German naval officer (b. 1861)
• 1917 – Mendele Moykher Sforim, Russian writer (b. 1836)
• 1938 – Friedrich Glauser, Swiss writer (b. 1896)
• 1940 – George Lloyd (bishop of Saskatchewan), Anglican Bishop and theologian (b. 1861)
• 1952 – Charles Lightoller, English second officer on the Titanic (b. 1874)
• 1954 – Joseph B. Keenan, American political figure (b. 1888)
• 1954 – Gladys George, American stage and screen actress
• 1958 – Tris Speaker, American baseball player (b. 1888)
• 1963 – Sarit Dhanarajata, Thai politician (b. 1908)
• 1966 – Ward Morehouse, American theater critic and newspaper columnist (b. 1899)
• 1967 – John Mills, Sr., American singer (Mills Brothers) (b. 1889)
• 1971 – Eleni Ourani, Greek writer (b. 1896)
• 1975 – Gary Thain, New Zealand bassist (Uriah Heep) (b. 1948)
• 1978 – Golda Meir, Russian-born Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1898)
• 1980 – John Lennon, English musician (The Beatles) (b. 1940)
• 1982 – Bram Behr, Surinamese journalist (b. 1951)
• 1982 – Marty Robbins, American singer (b. 1925)
• 1983 – Slim Pickens, American actor (b. 1919)
• 1984 – Luther Adler, American actor (b. 1903)
• 1984 – Razzle, English musician and drummer (Hanoi Rocks) (b. 1960)
• 1984 – Robert Jay Mathews, White Nationalist (b. 1953)
• 1991 – Kimberly Bergalis, claimed to have contracted HIV from her dentist (b. 1968)
• 1991 – Buck Clayton, American jazz trumpeter (b. 1911)
• 1992 – William Shawn, American magazine editor (b. 1917)
• 1993 – Yevgeni Minaev, Soviet (Russian) weightlifter (b. 1933)
• 1994 – Antônio Carlos Jobim, Brazilian composer and arranger (b. 1927)
• 1996 – Howard Rollins, American actor (b. 1950)
• 1996 – Kashiwado Tsuyoshi, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 47th Yokozuna (b. 1938)
• 1997 – Bob Bell, played Bozo the Clown (b. 1922)
• 1998 – Michael Craze, British Actor (b.1942)
• 1999 – Péter Kuczka, Hungarian writer (b. 1923)
• 2001 – Don Tennant, American advertising executive (b. 1922)
• 2003 – Rubén González, Cuban pianist (Buena Vista Social Club) (b. 1919)
• 2004 – Dimebag Darrell (Darrell Abbott), American guitarist (Pantera, Damageplan) (b. 1966)
• 2005 – Georgiy Zhzhonov, Russian actor and author (b. 1915)
• 2006 – Martha Tilton, American singer (b. 1915)
• 2006 – José Uribe, Dominican baseball player (b. 1959)
• 2007 – Gerardo García Pimentel, Mexican journalist (b. 1983)
• 2008 – Kerryn McCann, Australian athlete (b. 1967)
• 2008 – Oliver Postgate, English animator, puppeteer and writer. (b. 1925)
• 2008 – Robert Prosky, American actor (b. 1930).
• 2009 – Kenneth Biros, American murderer (b. 1958)
• 2009 – Luis Días, Dominican Composer (b. 1952).

Holidays and observances

• Afflux (Discordianism)
• Bodhi Day (Japan)
• CARICOM-Cuba Day, celebrate diplomatic ties between the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Cuba.
• Christian Feast Day
  • Eucharius
  • Richard Baxter (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • Romaric
• Constitution Day (Romania)
• Constitution Day, official holiday since 1992. (Uzbekistan)
• Feast of the Immaculate Conception (public holidays in several countries, a Holy Day of Obligation in the United States, the Philippines and Ireland)
  • Christmas on Campus (University of Dayton)
  • Day of the National Army of Spain (Spain)
  • Festa da Conceição da Praia, celebrating Yemanjá, Queen of the Ocean (Salvador, Bahia)
  • Festival of Lights (Lyon)
  • Mother's Day (Panama)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

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