December 08
1854
Pope Pius IX proclaimed the dogma of the Immaculate Conception.
1886
The American Federation of Labor was founded at a convention of union leaders in Columbus, Ohio.
1941
Congress declared war on Japan and the U.S. entered World War II.
1949
Communist attacks forced the Chinese Nationalist government to flee to the island of Formosa (Taiwan).
1978
Former Israeli prime minister Golda Meir died.
1980
John Lennon, former member of the Beatles, was shot and killed in New York City by a deranged fan.
1987
President Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev signed the first treaty to reduce the nuclear arsenals of the two superpowers.
1993
President Bill Clinton signed The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) into law.
Birthdays
Eli Whitney
1765–1825, American inventor.
Mary, Queen of Scots
queen (1542)
Christina
queen of Sweden (1626)
Aristide Maillol
sculptor (1861)
Jean Sibelius
composer (1865)
Diego Rivera
painter (1886)
James Thurber
humorist (1894)
Lee J. Cobb
actor (1911)
Sammy Davis, Jr.
singer, actor (1925)
David Carradine
actor (1936)
Jim Morrison
rock musician (1943)
Kim Basinger
actor (1953)
Teri Hatcher
actor (1964)
Sinead O’Connor
singer, songwriter (1966)