A Brief History
This article presents a chronological list of notable events that happened on December 8th. For each date below, please click on the date to be taken to an article covering that date’s event.
Digging Deeper
On December 8, 395, Later Yan was defeated by Earlier Yan.
On December 8, 1854, Pope Pius IX issued his Apostolic constitution, Ineffabilis Deus, in which he established Catholic doctrine that the Virgin Mary, mother of Jesus, had been conceived without the ‘original sin’ that every other human is born with.
While the Pearl Harbor raid captures most of our historical attention for December 7, 1941, the Empire of Japan was up to plenty of other shenanigans on that same day (also December 8, 1941 for those areas West of the International Date Line), kicking off a wider war intended to bring stability and wealth to the people of Japan in the face of European hegemony and colonialism.
On December 8, 1941, the USA formally entered World War II, following the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor, by declaring war against Japan.
On December 8, 1980, John Lennon, the former Beatle and one of the most famous musicians of the 1960s and 1970s was mercilessly gunned down, shot in the back on a New York sidewalk, thus joining the ranks of peace lovers who were not allowed to be left in peace, men such as Abraham Lincoln, “Mahatma” Gandhi, Martin L. King Jr., and Robert F. Kennedy.
On December 8, 1980, John Lennon was shot and killed on the streets of New York City by a crazed fan.
On December 8, 1991, Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus signed a treaty called the Belovezha Accords, an agreement that dissolved the USSR and put in its place the Commonwealth of Independent States.
On December 8, 2012, Dallas Cowboys defensive lineman Josh Brent was driving drunk at high speed with fellow Cowboy, linebacker Jerry Brown, as a passenger.
On December 8, 2018, we took a look at some of the really nifty air powered weapons available for adults and kids, usually called “BB Guns” in a generic sort of way, but in these modern times so much more than that name implies.
Computer-animated superhero film fans had their chance to be among the first in Cleveland, Ohio to see Spider-Man: Into the Spider-Verse on Saturday, December 8, 2018 at 11:00 AM at Atlas Cinemas Eastgate 10 in Mayfield Heights, Ohio!
On December 8, 2022, we took the opportunity to review a new book by Stephen Dando-Collins, an author we have become familiar with through previous reviews.
Question for students (and subscribers) to ponder: Which event that occurred on today’s date would you like to learn more about?
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Historical Evidence
For more information, please see…
Andrews, John and Matt Baker. Timeline of World History. Thunder Bay Press, 2020.
You can also watch video versions of this article on YouTube.