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
- 1941 –Japanese forces simultaneously invade Malaya, Thailand, Hong Kong and the Philippines. These happen concurrently with the Attack on Pearl Harbor, which was on December 7 in the United States.
- 1966 –The Greek ship SS Heraklion sinks in a storm in the Aegean Sea, killing over 200.
- 1974 –A plebiscite results in the abolition of monarchy in Greece.
- 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.
- 1982 –In Suriname, several opponents of the military government are killed.
- 1988 –A United States Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II crashes into an apartment complex in Remscheid, Germany, killing 5 people and injuring 50 others.
- 1991 –The Romanian Constitution is adopted in a referendum.
- 1998 –The Australian Cricket Board’s cover-up of Shane Warne and Mark Waugh’s involvement with bookmakers is revealed.
- 2002 –The Caribbean Community Heads of Government meet with the Government of Cuba and declare the date to be “CARICOM-Cuba Day”—to celebrate diplomatic ties between the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Cuba.
- 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?
- 1864 –Camille Claudel, French graphic artist and sculptor (d. 1943)
- 1909 –Lesslie Newbigin, English theologian and bishop (d. 1998)
- 1935 –Dharmendra, Indian actor
- 1937 –Arne Næss Jr., Norwegian mountaineer and businessman (d. 2004)
- 1941 –Bob Brown, American football player
- 1941 –Randall Cunningham, First Navy Vietnam Ace, American politician
- 1943 –Mary Woronov, American actress
- 1947 –Chava Alberstein, Israeli singer, lyricist, composer, and musical arranger
- 1959 –Stephen Jefferies, South African cricketer
- 1982 –Jimmy Rave, American wrestler
Who died on December 8?
- 1626 –John Davies, English poet (b. 1569)
- 1643 –John Pym, English statesman (b. 1583)
- 1695 –Barthélemy d'Herbelot de Molainville, French orientalist (b. 1625)
- 1859 –Thomas De Quincey, English author (b. 1785)
- 1917 –Mendele Moykher Sforim, Russian writer (b. 1836)
- 1963 –Sarit Dhanarajata, Thai politician (b. 1908)
- 1978 –Golda Meir, Russian-born Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1898)
- 1984 –Luther Adler, American actor (b. 1903)
- 1992 –William Shawn, American magazine editor (b. 1917)
- 2005 –Georgiy Zhzhonov, Russian actor and author (b. 1915)
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