December 8

1660 – A woman (either Margaret Hughes or Anne Marshall) appears on an English public stage for the first time, in the role of Desdemona in a production of Shakespeare’s play Othello.

1912 – With the several defeats of Ottoman Empire forces in the Balkan War, leaders of the German Empire hold an Imperial War Council to discuss the possibility that war might break out across Europe.

1941 – President Roosevelt delivers a request for Congress to declare a state of war exists between the U.S. and Japan after their Naval attack on Hawaii.
Japanese forces simultaneously invade Shanghai International Settlement, Malaya, Thailand, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and the Dutch East Indies after their attack on Hawaii the previous day.

1953 – President Eisenhower delivers his “Atoms for Peace” speech, which leads to an American program to supply equipment and information on nuclear power to schools, hospitals, and research institutions.

1963 – Pan Am Flight 214, a Boeing 707, is struck by lightning and crashes near Elkton, Maryland, killing all 81 passengers and crew on board.

1972 – United Airlines Flight 553, a Boeing 737, crashes after aborting its landing attempt at Chicago Midway International Airport, killing 43 passengers and crew of the 61 aboard the aircraft and 2 more on the ground.

1980 – John Lennon is murdered in front of The Dakota apartments in New York City

1987 – The Intermediate Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is signed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in the White House.

1988 – A U.S. Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II crashes into an apartment complex in Remscheid, Germany, killing the pilot, 5 people on the ground and injuring 50 others.

1991 – The leaders of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine sign an agreement dissolving the Soviet Union and establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States.

2004 – Nathan Gale opens fire at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio, killing former Pantera guitarist ‘Dimebag’ Darrell Abbott and 3 others before being shot dead by a police officer.

2010 – With the second launch of Falcon 9 and the first launch of Dragon, SpaceX becomes the first private company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft.

2019 – The first openly confirmed case of COVID-19 is diagnosed in China.