December 8 in recent years
2009 (Tuesday)
2008 (Monday)
2007 (Saturday)
2006 (Friday)
2005 (Thursday)
2004 (Wednesday)
2003 (Monday)
2002 (Sunday)
2001 (Saturday)
2000 (Friday)
December 8 is the 343rd day of the year (344th in leap years ) in the Gregorian calendar . There are 22 days remaining until the end of the year.
Events [ ]
1541 - Thomas Culpeper and Francis Dereham are executed for having affairs with Catherine Howard , Queen of England and wife of Henry VIII .
1609 - Biblioteca Ambrosiana opens its reading room, the second public library of Europe.
1659 - Mexican border town Ciudad Juárez is founded by Fray García de San Francisco.
1854 - Pope Pius IX proclaims the dogma of Immaculate Conception , which holds that the Virgin Mary was born free of original sin .
1864 - The Clifton Suspension Bridge over the River Avon was officially opened.
1869 - Timothy Eaton founds T. Eaton Co. Limited in Toronto , Canada .
1886 - The American Federation of Labor is founded in Columbus .
1904 - Konservativ Ungdom (Young Conservatives) in Denmark is founded by Carl F. Herman von Rosen. Still existing today, it is the oldest youth political organisation in Denmark and believed to be one of the oldest remaining in the world.
1907 - King Gustaf V of Sweden accedes to the Swedish throne.
1912 - First Balkan War : The Greek army captures Korçë that had been under Ottoman rule.
1914 - World War I : Battle of the Falkland Islands - The Kaiserliche Marine under the command of Admiral Graf Maximilian von Spee is engaged by the Royal Navy .
1935 - The Japanese military police launches a violent suppression of the religious sect Oomoto , beginning with a crackdown on the sect's operational bases of Ayabe and Kameoka in Kyoto Prefecture and the arrest of its leader Onisaburo Deguchi .
1940 - The Chicago Bears defeat the Washington Redskins 73-0, in the NFL Championship Game . This is the most lopsided game in NFL history.
1941 - World War II : The Japanese invade the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong , Malaya and the Dutch East Indies .
1941 - World War II : Pacific War - After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the U.S. Congress pass a declaration of war against Japan.
1941 - World War II : Pacific War - the Republic of China officially declares war against Japan .
1941 - World War II : Pacific War - The Provisional Government of the Republic of Korea in China issues a proclamation which declared war against Japan and Germany on behalf of Korean people, who were under Japanese occupation since 1910 .
1941 - World War II : First Japanese attack on Wake Island .
1941 - Holocaust : Gas vans are first used as a means of execution, at the Chelmno extermination camp near Łódź in Poland .
1942 - Holocaust : in Ternopil , Ukraine , German SS organise the last deportation of Ternopil Jews to death camp in Belzec , when 1,400 Jews were sent there. The chief of the Gestapo , SS -Sturmbannführer Hermann Müller , bore overall responsibility for the mass murder of the Jews of Ternopil and Berezhany county.
1949 - Chinese Civil War : The capital of the Republic of China is moved from Nanjing to Taipei , Taiwan .
1953 - Dwight D. Eisenhower gives the Atoms for Peace speech.
1966 - The Greek SS Heraklion sinks in a storm in the Aegean Sea , killing over 200.
1969 - An Olympic Airways Douglas DC-6 crashes in Keratea during a storm, killing 93 people.
1972 - United Airlines Flight 533 crashes near Chicago Midway Airport , killing 45 people.
1974 - A plebiscite results in the abolition of monarchy in Greece .
1980 - Mark David Chapman shoots John Lennon in front of The Dakota apartment building with five bullets, murdering him.
1982 - Activist Norman Mayer threatens to blow up the Washington Monument , before being killed by United States Park Police .
1982 - In Suriname several opponents of the military government are killed .
1987 - The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is signed.
1987 - The Queen Street Massacre : Frank Vitkovic shoots and kills 8 people at the offices of Australia Post in Melbourne before being killed himself.
1987 - Alianza Lima air disaster
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 (NAFTA) is signed into law by US President Bill Clinton .
1998 - Tadjena massacre : 81 people are killed by armed groups in Algeria .
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 , Croatian army general accused of war crimes, is captured in the Playa de las Américas , Tenerife by the Spanish police.
Births [ ]
65 BC - Horace , Roman poet (d. 8 BC )
1542 - Mary Queen of Scots (d. 1587 )
1574 - Maria Anna of Bavaria , Empress consort of the Holy Roman Empire (d. 1616 )
1626 - Queen Christina of Sweden (d. 1689 )
1678 - Horatio Walpole , English diplomat (d. 1757 )
1699 - Maria Josepha of Austria , queen of Poland (d. 1757 )
1708 - Francis I (d. 1765 )
1730 - Jan Ingenhousz , Dutch-born British physiologist and botanist (d. 1799 )
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 , Prussian-born American financier (d. 1890 )
1817 - Christian Emil Krag-Juel-Vind-Frijs , Danish nobleman and politician (d. 1896 )
1832 - Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson , Norwegian author and Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1910 )
1848 - Joel Chandler Harris , American author and folklorist (d. 1908 )
1861 - William C. Durant , American automobile pioneer (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 - Jean Sibelius , Finnish composer (d. 1957 )
1865 - Jacques Hadamard , French mathematician (d. 1963 )
1874 - Ernst Moro , Austrian physician (d. 1951 )
1886 - Diego Rivera , Mexican painter (d. 1957 )
1890 - Bohuslav Martinů , Czech composer (d. 1959 )
1894 - James Thurber , American writer (d. 1961 )
1894 - E.C. Segar , American cartoonist (Popeye ) (d. 1938 )
1900 - Sun Li-jen , Chinese general (d. 1990 )
1909 - Gratien Gélinas , Quebec playwright, actor, director and producer (d. 1999 )
1911 - Lee J. Cobb , American actor (d. 1976 )
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 (d. 1997 )
1922 - Jean Ritchie , American folk singer
1923 - Rudolph Pariser , Chinese-born American chemist
1925 - Sammy Davis Jr. , American actor and singer (d. 1990 )
1925 - Jimmy Smith , American jazz musician (d. 2005 )
1927 - Vladimir Shatalov , Soviet Union-born cosmonaut
1930 - Maximilian Schell , Austrian-born Swiss actor, film director, and author
1933 - Flip Wilson , American comedian (d. 1998 )
1935 - Dharmendra , Indian actor
1935 - Tatiana Zatulovskaya , Israeli chess player
1936 - David Carradine , American actor
1937 - James MacArthur , American actor
1937 - Arne Næss Jr. , Norwegian mountain climber and businessman (d. 2004 )
1939 - Red Berenson , National Hockey League player
1939 - Jerry Butler , American soul singer
1939 - Sir James Galway , Northern Irish flute player
1939 - Soko Richardson , American rhythm and blues drummer. (d. 2004 )
1940 - Brant Alyea , baseball player
1941 - Ed Brinkman , baseball player
1941 - Bob Brown , American football player
1941 - Randall "Duke" Cunningham , US Navy fighter pilot and Congressman
1941 - Sir Geoff Hurst , ex-English footballer
1943 - Jim Morrison , American singer (The Doors ) (d. 1971 )
1943 - Mary Woronov , American actress
1945 - John Banville , Irish novelist and journalist
1946 - John Rubinstein , American actor, composer, director
1947 - Gregg Allman , American musician
1947 - Kati-Claudia Fofonoff , Finnish writer
1947 - Thomas R. Cech , American chemist and Nobel Prize laureate
1949 - Mary Gordon , American writer
1949 - Ray Shulman , English musician
1949 - Robert Sternberg , Proposed the Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
1950 - Rick Baker , American film makeup artist
1950 - Tim Foli , American baseball player
1950 - Dan Hartman , American musician (Edgar Winter Group ) (d. 1994 )
1951 - Jan Eggum , Norwegian singer-songwriter
1951 - Bill Bryson , American author
1952 - Khaw Boon Wan , Singapore Health Minister
1953 - Kim Basinger , American actress
1953 - Sam Kinison , American comedian (d. 1992 )
1956 - Warren Cuccurullo , American musician
1957 - Phil Collen , British guitarist (Def Leppard )
1958 - Bird McIntyre , Thai pop singer / musician
1961 - Ann Coulter , American author, political commentator, and attorney
1962 - Marty Friedman , American guitarist
1963 - Toshiaki Kawada , Japanese professional wrestler
1964 - Sandy Burnett , British record producer
1964 - Teri Hatcher , American actress
1964 - James Blundell , Australian country singer
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)
1968 - Mike Mussina , American baseball player
1968 - Michael Cole , American professional wrestling commentator
1969 - Jeff Tremaine , American television & film director
1972 - Marco Abreu , Angolan footballer
1972 - Frank Shamrock , American MMA-Fighter and younger brother of MMA-Fighter Ken Shamrock
1973 - Corey Taylor , American singer (Slipknot , Stone Sour )
1973 - Doron Bell Jr. , Canadian actor
1974 - Tony Simmons , American football player
1974 - Nick Zinner , American guitarist (Yeah Yeah Yeahs )
1975 - Kevin Harvick , American NASCAR driver
1976 - Dominic Monaghan , German-born British actor
1976 - Naimee Coleman , Irish singer and songwriter
1976 - Reed Johnson , American baseball player
1977 - Ryan Newman , American NASCAR driver
1977 - Elsa Benítez , Mexican supermodel
1977 - Sébastien Chabal , French international rugby player
1978 - John Oster , Welsh footballer
1978 - Anwar Siraj , Ethiopian footballer
1978 - Ian Somerhalder , American actor
1978 - Vernon Wells , American baseball player
1979 - Johan Forssell , Swedish politician
1979 - Daniel Fitzhenry , Australian rugby league footballer
1979 - Christian Wilhelmsson , Swedish footballer
1981 - Jeremy Accardo , American baseball player
1981 - Philip Rivers , American football player
1982 - Dee Dee 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 - Dwight Howard , American basketball player
1986 - Amir Khan , British boxer
1993 - AnnaSophia Robb , American actress and singer
Deaths [ ]
899 - Arnulf of Carinthia (b. 850 )
1626 - John Davies , English poet (b. 1569 )
1632 - Philippe van Lansberge , Flemish astronomer (b. 1561 )
1638 - Ivan Gundulic , Croatian poet (b. 1589 )
1643 - John Pym , English statesman (b. 1583 )
1649 - Noël Chabanel , French Jesuit missionary (b. 1613 )
1680 - Henry Pierrepont , 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 , British statesman and diplomat
1768 - Jean Denis Attiret , French Jesuit missionary (b. 1702 )
1779 - Nathan Alcock , English physician (b. 1707 )
1830 - Benjamin Constant , Swiss writer (b. 1767 )
1859 - Thomas de Quincey , British author (b. 1785 )
1864 - George Boole , British inventor of Boolean algebra (b. 1815 )
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 , German-language Swiss writer (b. 1896 )
1952 - Charles Lightoller , British second officer on the Titanic (b. 1874 )
1958 - Tris Speaker , American baseball player (b. 1888 )
1963 - Field Marshal Sarit Dhanarajata , Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1908 )
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 and peace activist (b. 1940 )
1982 - Bram Behr , Surinamese journalist (b. 1951 )
1983 - Slim Pickens , American actor (b. 1919 )
1984 - Luther Adler , American actor (b. 1903 )
1984 - Robert Jay Mathews , White Nationalist (b. 1953 )
1991 - Buck Clayton , American jazz trumpet player (b. 1911 )
1992 - William Shawn , American magazine editor (b. 1917 )
1994 - Tom Jobim , Brazilian composer and arranger (b. 1927 )
1996 - Howard Rollins , American actor (b. 1950 )
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 (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 )
Holidays and observances [ ]
External links [ ]
114 Familypedia people were born on December 8
134 Familypedia people died on December 8
62 Familypedia people were first married on December 8