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What happened in history on this day: December 8?
On December 8 in ...
- 1776 - George Washington's retreating army crosses Delaware River from New Jersey.
- 1792 - First cremation in US, Henry Laurens.
- 1812 - In Southern California, a magnitude 6.9 earthquake occurs, destroying the San Juan Capistrano Church and damaging several mission buildings. Forty people attending church services are killed.
- 1837 - The Charlotte Branch Mint officially opens for receipt and assay of bullion.
- 1863 - US President Abraham Lincoln announces plan for Reconstruction of South.
- 1874 - Jesse James gang takes a train at Muncie, Kansas.
- 1886 - American Federation of Labor (AFL) is formed by 26 craft unions; Samuel Gompers is elected first president.
- 1902 - Oliver Wendell Holmes Junior became Associate Justice on US Supreme Court.
- 1936 - NAACP files suit to equalize the salaries of black and white teachers.
- 1941 - American President Franklin Roosevelt makes a speech in Congress, declaring December 7 "a date which will live in infamy". Congress declares war on Japan.
- 1941 - Japanese bombers and fighters attack Luzon in the Philippine Islands. They destroy many Curtiss P-40 fighters, B-17 bombers, and one of two operational radar stations.
- 1946 - Army rocket plane XS-1 makes first powered flight.
- 1949 - Jule Styne's Gentlemen Prefer Blondes premieres at Ziegfeld Theater in New York City for 740 performances.
- 1956 - First test firing of the Vanguard satellite program, TV-0.
- 1958 - Robert Henry Winborne Welch Junior begins the John Birch Society, named after US military intelligence officer John Morrison Birch, killed in North China in 1945 on spying mission. The Society is created in Indianapolis, Indiana, USA, with a group of 11 conservative industrialists.
- 1962 - 114-day newspaper strike begins in New York City, New York, USA.
- 1963 - Three fuel tanks explode when jetliner is struck by lightning, crashing near Elkton Maryland; only case of lightning-caused crash, 81 die.
- 1966 - US and USSR sign treaty to prohibit nuclear weapons in outer space.
- 1972 - United Airlines airplane crashes at Chicago's Midway Airport killing 45.
- 1976 - US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site.
- 1980 - Death of John Lennon at age 40, shot dead outside his New York City home by Mark David Chapman; singer/songwriter/guitarist ("(Just Like) Starting Over", The Beatles, Rock and Roll Hall of Fame (1988), Lifetime Achievement Grammy (1991)).
- 1981 - The No. 21 Mine explosion in Whitwell, Tennessee kills 13.
- 1982 - Demanding an end to nuclear weapons, Norman Mayer holds the Washington Monument hostage; after ten hours, police kill him; he had no explosives.
- 1983 - 9th Space Shuttle Mission - Columbia 6 - lands at Edwards Air Force Base.
- 1983 - Richard Baker, Zen teacher, steps down from abbotship of San Francisco Zen Center.
- 1986 - US House Democrats select majority leader Jim Wright as 48th speaker.
- 1987 - US President President Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev sign the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty eliminating medium range nuclear missiles.
- 1999 - Circuit Court of Tennessee, Division 4, King Family vs. Jowers and Other Unknown Co-Conspirators: jury verdict that a conspiracy involving agencies of the US government was responsible for the assassination of Dr. Martin Luther King.
- 2005 - Southwest Airlines Flight 1248 overshoots the runway at Chicago Midway Airport, killing a 6-year-old boy and injuring 11 other people.
- 2008 - In the USA, the Tribune Company files for bankruptcy.
Births on December 8
- 1894 - Birth of James (Grover) Thurber in Columbus, Ohio, USA; humorist (Men, Women and Dogs).
- 1903 - Birth of Adele Simpson in New York City, New York, USA; fashion designer (Neiman-Marcus Award-1946).
- 1905 - Birth of Frank Faylen in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA; character actor (Lost Weekend film, It's a Wonderful Life film, Herbert Gillis - Life and Loves of Dobie Gillis TV show, That Girl TV show).
- 1907 - Birth of Frank Faylen in Saint Louis, Missouri, USA; actor (Dobie Gillis).
- 1911 - Birth of Leo Jacoby AKA Lee J. Cobb in New York City, New York, USA; character actor (The Virginian TV show, The Young Lawyers TV show, Death of a Salesman TV movie, 12 Angry Men, On the Waterfront).
- 1921 - Birth of Johnny Otis in California, USA; rhythm and blues talent scout (Cold Shot, Cuttin' Up).
- 1922 - Birth of John B (Jack) McKay; US test pilot (X-15).
- 1925 - Birth of Sammy Davis Junior in New York City, New York, USA; dancer, actor (Ocean's 11), singer ("Candy Man", "What Kind of Fool Am I", "Hey There", "Something's Gotta Give", "That Old Black Magic", "Mr. Wonderful", "Too Close for Comfort").
- 1933 - Birth of Clerow Wilson AKA Flip Wilson in Jersey City, New Jersey, USA; actor/comedian (Flip Wilson Show TV show (Emmy award), Laugh In TV show, Tonight Show TV show, Charlie and Company TV show, host - People Are Funny (1984)).
- 1936 - Birth of David Carradine in Hollywood, California, USA; actor (Kung Fu, Mean Streets, Boxcar Bertha, Young Guns).
- 1937 - Birth of James MacArthur in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor (Danny Williams - Hawaii Five-0).
- 1943 - Birth of James Douglas Morrison AKA Jim Morrison in Melbourne, Florida, USA; lead singer and lyricist (The Doors - "Light My Fire").
- 1943 - Birth of Mary Woronov in Brooklyn Heights, New York, USA; actress (Eating Raoul, Terror Vision).
- 1946 - Birth of John Rubinstein in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor/composer (Family, The Boys from Brazil, Day Break, Crazy Like a Fox, Family).
- 1947 - Birth of Belinda Balaski in Inglewood, California, USA; actor (Cannonball, Proud Men, Howling).
- 1947 - Birth of Gregg Allman in Nashville, Tennessee, USA; guitarist/vocalist (Allman Brothers Band).
- 1950 - Birth of Dan Hartman in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania, USA; singer ("Sometimes When We Touch").
- 1950 - Birth of Rick Baker in Binghamton, New York, USA; special effects makeup artist (The Exorcist).
- 1953 - Birth of Kim Basinger in Athens, Georgia, USA; actress (9 1/2 Weeks, Batman, From Here to Eternity, Dog and Cat).
- 1958 - Birth of Wayne Dickert in Chattanooga, Tennessee, USA; slalom double canoe (Olympics-11th-1996).
- 1959 - Birth of Marty Raybon in Sanford, Florida, USA; singer (Shenandoah - "Sunday in the South").
- 1964 - Birth of James Martinez in Santa Fe, New Mexico, USA; rower (Olympics-1996).
- 1964 - Birth of Teri Hatcher in Sunnyvale, California, USA; actress (Desperate Housewives, Lois Lane - Lois and Clark).
- 1966 - Birth of Douglas Allan Martin in Bluffton, Ohio, USA; PGA golfer (1995 Buick-second).
- 1966 - Birth of Matthew Laborteaux in Los Angeles, California, USA; actor (Albert - Little House on the Prairie).
- 1968 - Birth of Mike Mussina in Williamsport, Pennsylvania, USA; pitcher (Baltimore Orioles).
- 1969 - Birth of Lisa Marie Munzert in New Castle, Delaware, USA; Miss Delaware-America (1991).
- 1971 - Birth of Garvin Alston in Mount Vernon, New York, USA; pitcher (Colorado Rockies).
- 1978 - Birth of Kate Robinson in Peoria, Illinois; dance skater (and Peter Breen).
Deaths on December 8
- 1972 - George Collins, American politician (Representative-Illinois), dies at age 47, in airplane crash.
- 1983 - Slim Pickins, American western actor (Blazing Saddles, The Wide Country, Nashville Palace, Filthy Rich, Gunsmoke, Bonanza, Disneyland), dies after brain surgery at age 64 (born 1919).
- 1984 - Death of Luther Adler at 81; actor/director (Dr Bernard Altman - The Psychiatrist, Playhouse 90 TV show, Hawaii 5-0 TV show, 77 Sunset Strip TV show, The Untouchables TV show).
- 1988 - Death of Herbert "Tubo" Rhoad at age 44; US singer (Persuasions - "Good news").
- 1990 - Martin Ritt, American director/actor (Norma Rae), dies at age 70.
- 1991 - Death of Buck Clayton AKA Wilbur Dorsey Clayton at age 80; jazz trumpeter (with Duke Ellington, Count Basie, Jazz At The Philharmonic), arranger (for Benny Goodman, Harry James, Count Basie).
- 1992 - William Shawn, US editor-in-chief (New Yorker, 1952-87), dies at age 85.
- 2001 - Death of Betty Holberton, American programmer (ENIAC) (born 1917).
- 2004 - Nathan Gale shoots and kills guitarist Dimebag Darrell of DamagePlan onstage in Colombus, Ohio. Three others are also killed before a police officer shoots and kills Gale.
- 2019 - Death of Carroll Spinney (born 1933); American puppeteer (Big Bird - Sesame Street TV show).
- 2019 - Death of Paul Volcker at age 92; American economist, chairman of the US Federal Reserve System (1979-1987).
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