What are the important events that happened on December 8? Here are historical events, facts, and some myths about this day.
December 8: Facts & Myths About This Day
December 8 is the 343rd day of the year 2024 in the Gregorian calendar. There are 23 days remaining until the end of this year. The day of the week is Sunday.
Under the Julian calendar, this day is November 25, 2024 – a Sunday. Both day of the week are the same but did you notice the difference with the Gregorian calendar?
When this day started, 28,893,600 minutes has elapsed since midnight of January 1, 1970 – the Unix epoch.
Strange as it may, if we name this day after a polygon then it will be called ‘trihectatetracontatrigon’ day.
Sagittarius is the zodiac sign of a person born on this day. Turquoise is the modern birthstone for this month. Onyx is the mystical birthstone from Tibetan origin that dates back over a thousand years.
According to the lunisolar Chinese calendar, there are 52 days remaining before the start of the next Chinese New Year.
The ancient Maya civilization believes that the end of the world will happen on December 21, 2012. There are now 4,370 days since this fabled cataclysmic event.
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December 8 Historical Events
- 1432 –The first battle between the forces of Švitrigaila and Sigismund Kęstutaitis is fought near the town of Oszmiana (Ashmyany), launching the most active phase of the Lithuanian Civil War.
- 1907 –King Gustaf V of Sweden accedes to the Swedish throne.
- 1914 –A squadron of Britain’s Royal Navy defeats an inferior squadron of the Imperial German High Seas Fleet in the Battle of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic.
- 1941 –United States President Franklin D. Roosevelt declares December 7 to be “a date which will live in infamy”, after which the U.S. and the Republic of China declare war against Japan.
- 1962 –Workers at four New York City newspapers (this later increases to nine) go on strike for 114 days.
- 1980 –John Lennon, an English musician (former member of The Beatles), and peace activist, is murdered by Mark David Chapman, a mentally unstable fan, in front of The Dakota apartment building in New York City.
- 1987 –An Israeli army tank transporter kills four Palestinian refugees and injures seven others during a traffic accident at the Erez Crossing on the Israel–Gaza Strip border, sparking the First Intifada.
- 1993 –The North American Free Trade Agreement is signed into law by US President Bill Clinton.
- 1998 –Eighty-one people are killed by armed groups in Algeria.
- 2007 –Benazir Bhutto, first and only female former Prime Minister of Pakistan, had her PPP Office stormed by unidentified gunmen. Three supporters are killed.
Who were born on December 8?
- 1928 –Ulric Neisser, American cognitive psychologist
- 1941 –Sir Geoff Hurst, English footballer
- 1947 –Gregg Allman, American musician (The Allman Brothers Band)
- 1947 –Thomas R. Cech, American chemist, Nobel laureate
- 1962 –Nikos Karageorgiou, Greek footballer
- 1964 –Chigusa Nagayo, Japanese wrestler
- 1976 –Brettina Robinson, singer and songwriter
- 1977 –Elsa Benítez, Mexican supermodel
- 1978 –Anwar Siraj, Ethiopian footballer
- 1989 –Drew Doughty, Canadian ice hockey player
Who died on December 8?
- 1830 –Benjamin Constant, Swiss writer (b. 1767)
- 1869 –Narcisa de Jesús Martillo, Ecuadorian saint (b. 1832)
- 1914 –Maximilian von Spee, German naval officer, in the Battle of the Falkland Islands (b. 1861)
- 1938 –Friedrich Glauser, Swiss writer (b. 1896)
- 1967 –John Mills, Sr., American singer (Mills Brothers) (b. 1889)
- 1982 –Marty Robbins, American singer (b. 1925)
- 1984 –Razzle, English musician and drummer (Hanoi Rocks) (b. 1960)
- 1984 –Robert Jay Mathews, White Nationalist (b. 1953)
- 2007 –Gerardo García Pimentel, Mexican journalist (b. 1983)
- 2008 –Robert Prosky, American actor (b. 1930).
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