Tuesday, December 08th
The 342nd day of 2009.
There are 23 days left in the year.
Go to a previous date.
Go to lesson
Today's Highlights in History
On Dec. 8, 1941, the United States entered World War II as Congress declared war against Japan one day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. (Go to article.)
On Dec. 8, 1925, Sammy Davis Jr., the American performer famous for his singing, dancing and comedy routines , was born. Following his death on May 16, 1990, his obituary appeared in The Times. (Go to obit. | Other Birthdays)
Editorial Cartoon of the Day
On December 8, 1883, Harper's Weekly featured a cartoon about the centennial celebration of Evacuation Day, which marked the departure of British troops from New York City at the end of the Revolutionary War. (See the cartoon and read an explanation.)
On this date in:
1776 George Washington's retreating army crossed the Delaware River from New Jersey to Pennsylvania during the Revolutionary War.
1854 Pope Pius IX proclaimed the Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception, which holds that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was free of original sin from the moment of her own conception.
1863 President Abraham Lincoln announced his plan for the Reconstruction of the South.
1886 The American Federation of Labor was founded in Columbus, Ohio.
1949 The Chinese Nationalist government moved from the Chinese mainland to Taiwan as the Communists pressed their attacks.
1978 Former Israeli Prime Minister Golda Meir died at age 80.
1980 Rock musician John Lennon was shot to death outside his New York City apartment building by Mark David Chapman. The former Beatle was 40.
1986 House Democrats selected Jim Wright to be the chamber's 48th speaker, succeeding Thomas P. "Tip" O'Neill.
1987 Palestinians in the Israeli-occupied territories began an intefadeh, or uprising.
1987 President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev signed a treaty calling for destruction of intermediate-range nuclear missiles.
1991 Russia, Belarus and Ukraine declared the Soviet national government dead, forging a new alliance, the Commonwealth of Independent States.
1991 Kimberly Bergalis, who had contracted AIDS from her dentist, died in Florida at age 23.
1992 Americans saw live TV coverage of U.S. troops landing on the beaches of Somalia as Operation Restore Hope began.
1993 President Bill Clinton signed into law the North American Free Trade Agreement.
1995 The Grateful Dead announced they were breaking up after 30 years of making music. The news came four months after the death of lead guitarist Jerry Garcia.
2008 In a startling about-face, Khalid Sheikh Mohammed told the Guantanamo war crimes tribunal he would confess to masterminding the Sept. 11 attacks; four other men also abandoned their defenses. (The Obama administration has since decided to try the defendants in federal civilian court.)
Current Birthdays
Teri Hatcher turns 45 years old today.
AP Photo/Charles Sykes Actress Teri Hatcher ("Desperate Housewives") turns 45 years old today.
79 Maximilian Schell
Actor, director
72 James MacArthur
Actor ("Hawaii Five-O")
70 Jerry Butler
R&B singer
70 James Galway
Flutist
68 Bobby Elliott
Rock musician (The Hollies)
63 John Rubinstein
Actor
62 Gregg Allman
Rock singer, musician (The Allman Brothers)
61 Toots Hibbert
Reggae singer (Toots and the Maytals)
56 Kim Basinger
Actress
53 Warren Cuccurullo
Rock musician (Duran Duran)
52 Phil Collen
Rock musician (Def Leppard)
50 Marty Raybon
Country singer
47 Marty Friedman
Rock musician (Megadeth)
46 Wendell Pierce
Actor
43 Bushwick Bill
Rapper (Geto Boys)
43 Matthew Laborteaux
Actor
43 Sinead O'Connor
Rock singer
41 Mike Mussina
Baseball player
37 Ryan Newell
Rock musician (Sister Hazel)
33 Dominic Monaghan
Actor ("Lost")
31 Ian Somerhalder
Actor
30 Ingrid Michaelson
Rock singer
23 Kate Voegele
Rock singer, actress
16 AnnaSophia Robb
Actress
Historic Birthdays
Sammy Davis Jr.
12/8/1925 - 5/16/1990
American entertainer
(Go to obit.)
44 Queen of Scots Mary
12/8/1542 - 2/8/1587
Scottish queen
62 Queen of Sweden Christina
12/8/1626 - 4/19/1689
Swedish queen
59 Eli Whitney
12/8/1765 - 1/8/1825
American inventor of the cotton gin
52 Richard Carlile
12/8/1790 - 2/10/1843
English journalist
82 Aristide Maillol
12/8/1861 - 9/27/1944
French artist
78 Camille Claudel
12/8/1864 - 10/19/1943
French sculptor
91 Jean Sibelius
12/8/1865 - 9/20/1957
Finnish composer
70 Diego Rivera
12/8/1886 - 11/25/1957
Mexican painter
66 James Thurber
12/8/1894 - 11/2/1961
American writer and cartoonist
43 Elzie (Crisler) Segar
12/8/1894 - 10/13/1938
American cartoonist and creator of Popeye
89 Josephine Bell
12/8/1897 - 4/24/1987
English physician and novelist
Go to a previous date.
SOURCE: The Associated Press
Front Page Image Provided by UMI
Copyright 2009 The New York Times Company
Children's Privacy Notice
