December 8

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Template:Linked-title is the 342nd day (343rd in leap years) of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 23 days remaining.

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 by Samuel Gompers in Columbus, Ohio.
• 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.
• 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: Pacific War - After the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor the U.S. Congress passes a declaration of war against Japan.
• 1941 - World War II: Pacific War - the Republic of China officially declares war against Japan, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
• 1941 - World War II: Pacific War - The Netherlands issues a proclamation in which it declares war against Japan, after the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor.
• 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: Battle of Hong Kong - The Japanese invade the British Crown Colony of Hong Kong less than 8 hours after the attack on Pearl Harbor.
• 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.
• 1959 - U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower watches Pakistan vs Australia cricket test match at Karachi.
• 1966 - The Greek ferry Heraklion sinks in a storm in the Aegean Sea, killing over 200.
• 1969 - An Olympic Airways DC-6B crashes near Athens during a storm, killing 93 people.
• 1972 - United Airlines Flight 533 crashes near Chicago Midway Airport, killing 45 people.
• 1976 - The Eagles release the album Hotel California.
• 1980 - John Lennon is murdered by Mark David Chapman in New York City.
• 1981 - No. 21 Mine explosion in Whitwell, Tennessee kills 13.
• 1982 - Activist Norman Mayer threatens to blow up the Washington Monument, before being killed by United States Park Police.
• 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, Australia 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.
• 1994 - U.S. President Bill Clinton signs a bill enacting United States participation in the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.
• 1995 - Jean-Dominique Bauby suffers a stroke.
• 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.
• 2006 - Israeli serial rapist Benny Sela is caught by police, two weeks after his escape from prison.

Births

• 65 BC - Horace, Roman poet (d. 8 BC)
• 1542 - Mary Queen of Scots (d. 1587)
• 1626 - Queen Christina of Sweden (d. 1689)
• 1678 - Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole of Wolterton, English diplomat (d. 1757)
• 1708 - Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (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, Sr., Prussian-born American financier (d. 1890)
• 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)
• 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)
• 1909 - Gratien Gélinas, Quebec playwright, actor, director and producer (d. 1999)
• 1911 - Lee J. Cobb, American actor (d. 1976)
• 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)
• 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
• 1936 - David Carradine, American actor
• 1937 - James MacArthur, American actor
• 1937 - Arne Næss Jr., Norwegian mountain climber and businessman (d. 2004)
• 1939 - Sir James Galway, Northern Irish flautist
• 1939 - Jerry Butler, American soul singer
• 1939 - Red Berenson, National Hockey League player
• 1940 - Brant Alyea, Baseball player
• 1941 - Sir Geoff Hurst, Ex-English footballer
• 1941 - Ed Brinkman, Baseball player
• 1941 - Bob Brown, National Football League player
• 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 - Thomas R. Cech, American chemist and Nobel Prize laureate
• 1949 - Mary Gordon, American writer
• 1949 - Robert Sternberg, Proposed the Triarchic Theory of Intelligence
• 1950 - Rick Baker, American film makeup artist
• 1950 - Tim Foli, Major League Baseball player
• 1951 - Jan Eggum, Norwegian singer-songwriter
• 1951 - Bill Bryson, American author
• 1953 - Kim Basinger, American actress
• 1953 - Sam Kinison, American comedian (d. 1992)
• 1955 - Kevin Armstrong, American Computer Programmer
• 1956 - Warren Cuccurullo, American musician
• 1957 - Phil Collen, British guitarist (Def Leppard)
• 1961 - Ann Coulter, American author, political commentator, and attorney
• 1962 - Marty Friedman, American guitarist
• 1964 - Sandy Burnett, British record producer
• 1964 - Teri Hatcher, American actress
• 1965 - Carina Lau, Hong Kong actress
• 1966 - Sinéad O'Connor, Irish musician
• 1966 - Michael Cole, American professional wrestling commentator
• 1967 - Jeff George, American football player
• 1967 - Kotono Mitsuishi, Japanese seiyu (voice actress)
• 1968 - Mike Mussina, American baseball player
• 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)
• 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
• 1978 - Ian Somerhalder, American actor
• 1978 - Vernon Wells, American baseball player
• 1981 - Jeremy Accardo, American baseball player
• 1981 - Philip Rivers, American football player
• 1982 - Michael Essien, Ghanaian international footballer
• 1982 - James Guffey, American professional wrestler
• 1983 - Neel Jani, Swiss racing driver
• 1985 - Dwight Howard, American basketball player
• 1986 - Amir Khan, British boxer
• 1993 - AnnaSophia Robb, American child actress

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, 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
• 1768 - Jean Denis Attiret, French Jesuit missionary (b. 1702)
• 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, British musician and activist (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 - 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)
• 2004 - Dimebag Darrell (Darrell Abbott), American guitarist (b. 1966)
• 2005 - Georgiy Zhzhonov Russian actor and author (b. 1915)
• 2006 - José Uribe, Dominican baseball player (b. (1959)

Holidays and observances

• Buddhism - The Enlightenment of Gautama Buddha (Bodhi Day)
• R.C. Saints - The solemnity of the Immaculate Conception of the Virgin Mary (Holy Day of Obligation in Ireland, USA)
• Bulgaria - Day of the Student (Студентски празник)
• Italy - In Milan, the opera season starts.
• Austria - Public Holiday.
• Malta - Public Holiday.
• Romania - Constitution Day
• Afflux (50 Aftermath) (Discordianism)
• Panama - Mother's Day
• Spain - Immaculate Conception - Day of the National Army
• CARICOM-Cuba Day - To celebrate diplomatic ties between the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Cuba.
• France - Fête des Lumières (Festival of Lights) held in Lyon to honor the Virgin Mary.

External links

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

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