December 8

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

Events:

• 1854 - Pope Pius IX proclaims the dogma of Immaculate Conception, which holds that the Virgin Mary was born free of original sin.
• 1886 - American Federation of Labor[?] founded.
• 1914 - Battle of the Falkland Islands fought.
• 1941 - The United States Congress passes a declaration of war on Japan, bringing the United States of America officially into World War II. Hitler's Germany declares war on the United States. Congresswoman Jeannette Rankin casts the only "no" vote.
• 1949 - Nationalist China moves its capital to Taipei, Taiwan
• 1976 - The Eagles releases one of the biggest-selling albums of all time, Hotel California
• 1991 - Leaders of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine met and signed an agreement ending the U.S.S.R. and establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States (CIS) in the Belovezhskaya Pushcha Nature Reserve in Belarus
• 1993 - The North American Free Trade Agreement ( NAFTA) is signed into law by U.S. president Bill Clinton.

Births:

• 65 BC - Horace, poet (+ 8 BC)
• 1542 - Mary Queen of Scots (+ 1587)
• 1730 - Jan Ingenhousz[?], physiologist, botanist (+ 1799)
• 1765 - Eli Whitney, inventor (+ 1825)
• 1790 - Richard Carlille[?], reformer (+ 1843)
• 1813 - Adolf Kolping[?], theologian (+ 1865)
• 1815 - Adolph Menzel[?], painter and graphic artist (+ 1905)
• 1848 - Joel Chandler Harris, author and folklorist (+ 1908)
• 1861 - Aristide Maillol, sculptor (+ 1944)
• 1861 - William Durant[?], automobile pioneer
• 1862 - Georges Feydeau, French playwright (+ 1921)
• 1864 - Camille Claudel, graphic artist (+ 1943)
• 1865 - Jean Sibelius, composer (+ 1957)
• 1886 - Diego Rivera, painter (+ 1957)
• 1890 - Bohuslav Martinu, composer (+ 1959)
• 1894 - James Thurber, writer (+ 1961)
• 1911 - Lee J. Cobb[?], actor (+ 1976)
• 1923 - Rudolph Pariser, chemist
• 1925 - Sammy Davis Jr., actor, singer (+ 1990)
• 1927 - Vladimir Shatalov, cosmonaut
• 1930 - Maximilian Schell, actor, film director, author
• 1933 - Flip Wilson[?], comedian (+ 1998)
• 1936 - David Carradine[?], actor
• 1937 - James MacArthur, actor
• 1939 - James Galway, flautist
• 1943 - Jim Morrison, singer (The Doors) (+ 1971)
• 1946 - John Rubinstein[?], actor, composer
• 1947 - Gregg Allman[?], musician
• 1950 - Rick Baker[?], film makeup artist
• 1953 - Kim Basinger, actress
• 1956 - Warren Cuccurullo[?], musician
• 1964 - Teri Hatcher, actress
• 1966 - Sinead O'Connor, musician
• 1976 - Dominic Monaghan, actor

Deaths:

• 1864 - George Boole, mathematician
• 1859 - Thomas De Quincey[?], author
• 1958 - Tris Speaker, Baseball Hall of Famer
• 1964 - William Bendix[?], actor
• 1978 - Golda Meir, former prime minister of Israel
• 1980 - John Lennon, musician
• 1982 - Marty Robbins, country music singer
• 1983 - Slim Pickens, actor
• 1992 - Willy Brandt, German politician
• 1996 - Howard Rollins Jr.[?], actor

Holidays and Observances:

• The Feast of the Immaculate Conception

December 7 - December 9 - November 8 - January 8 -- listing of all days

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