Today in History: Dec. 8

President Abraham Lincoln is shown in a photograph by Alex Hessler, November 1860 shortly after he won the election on Nov. 6 in Chicago, Ill. (AP Photo/Alex Hessler)
In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction for the South. President Abraham Lincoln is shown in a photograph by Alex Hessler, November 1860 shortly after he won the election on Nov. 6 in Chicago, Ill. (AP Photo/Alex Hessler)
Tense faces of Congressmen, cabinet members, Supreme Court justices, crowded galleries looked to a grim President Franklin D. Roosevelt as he asked for war against Japan, said: "With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounding determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us, God."  President Roosevelt spoke in the House of Representatives, addressing a joint session of Congress, Dec. 8, 1941. (AP Photo)
In 1941, the United States entered World War II as Congress declared war against Imperial Japan, a day after the attack on Pearl Harbor. In this image, tense faces of Congressmen, cabinet members, Supreme Court justices, crowded galleries looked to a grim President Franklin D. Roosevelt as he asked for war against Japan, saying: “With confidence in our armed forces – with the unbounding determination of our people – we will gain the inevitable triumph – so help us, God.” (AP Photo)
Singer-songwriter and political activist John Lennon is seen Dec. 8, 1980 in New York City, the day Lennon was shot in front of his apartment house at the Dakota on Manhattan's Upper West Side.  (AP Photo)
In 1980, rock star John Lennon was shot to death outside his New York City apartment building by an apparently deranged fan.  (AP Photo)
Associated Press reporter Steve Komarow, left, talks to anti-nuclear weapons activist Norman Mayer near the base of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., Dec. 8, 1982. Mayer drove a white truck up to the monument and threatened to blow it up with 1,000 pounds of dynamite. Komarow was picked from a pool of reporters after Mayer requested to speak to a member of the news media. (AP Photo/Scott Stewart)
In 1982, a man demanding an end to nuclear weapons held the Washington Monument hostage, threatening to blow it up with explosives he claimed were inside a van. After a 10-hour standoff, Norman D. Mayer was shot dead by police; it turned out there were no explosives. Here, Associated Press reporter Steve Komarow, left, talks to Mayer near the base of the Washington Monument. (AP Photo/Scott Stewart)
U.S. Marines are pictured running onto the beach while being pursued by photographers and other media during the beginning of Operation Restore Hope, Dec. 9, 1992 in Somalia. (AP Photo/Denis Paquin)
In 1992, Americans got to see live television coverage of U.S. troops landing on the beaches of Somalia as Operation Restore Hope began (because of the time difference, it was early Dec. 9 in Somalia). Here, U.S. Marines are pictured running onto the beach while being pursued by photographers and other media during the beginning of Operation Restore Hope, Dec. 9, 1992 in Somalia. (AP Photo/Denis Paquin)
In 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. The statue of the Virgin Mary is carried on procession by faithful prior to he start of a mass at the Sanctuary of Our Lady of Fatima Saturday, May 13, 2017, in Fatima, Portugal. Pope Francis will canonize on Saturday two poor, illiterate shepherd children whose visions of the Virgin Mary 100 years ago marked one of the most important events of the 20th-century Catholic Church. (AP Photo/Alessandra Tarantino)
In 2018, Japanese pitching and hitting star Shohei Ohtani announced that he would sign with the Los Angeles Angels. In this Sept. 21, 2018 photo Los Angeles Angels’ Shohei Ohtani, of Japan, waits to stretch during batting practice before a baseball game against the Houston Astros in Houston. Ohtani has been voted American League Rookie of the Year after becoming the first player since Babe Ruth with 10 homers and four pitching wins in the same season. Ohtani, a 24-year-old right-hander who joined the Angels last winter after five seasons with Japan’s Nippon Ham Fighters, received 25 first-place votes and four seconds for 137 points from the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in balloting announced Monday, Nov. 12, 2018. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
(1/7)
President Abraham Lincoln is shown in a photograph by Alex Hessler, November 1860 shortly after he won the election on Nov. 6 in Chicago, Ill. (AP Photo/Alex Hessler)
Tense faces of Congressmen, cabinet members, Supreme Court justices, crowded galleries looked to a grim President Franklin D. Roosevelt as he asked for war against Japan, said: "With confidence in our armed forces - with the unbounding determination of our people - we will gain the inevitable triumph - so help us, God."  President Roosevelt spoke in the House of Representatives, addressing a joint session of Congress, Dec. 8, 1941. (AP Photo)
Singer-songwriter and political activist John Lennon is seen Dec. 8, 1980 in New York City, the day Lennon was shot in front of his apartment house at the Dakota on Manhattan's Upper West Side.  (AP Photo)
Associated Press reporter Steve Komarow, left, talks to anti-nuclear weapons activist Norman Mayer near the base of the Washington Monument in Washington, D.C., Dec. 8, 1982. Mayer drove a white truck up to the monument and threatened to blow it up with 1,000 pounds of dynamite. Komarow was picked from a pool of reporters after Mayer requested to speak to a member of the news media. (AP Photo/Scott Stewart)
U.S. Marines are pictured running onto the beach while being pursued by photographers and other media during the beginning of Operation Restore Hope, Dec. 9, 1992 in Somalia. (AP Photo/Denis Paquin)

Today is Saturday, Dec. 8, the 342nd day of 2018.

Today’s Highlight in History:

On Dec. 8, 1941, the United States entered World War II as Congress declared war against Imperial Japan, a day after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

On this date:

In 1813, Beethoven’s Symphony No. 7 in A Major, Op. 92, was first performed in Vienna, with Beethoven himself conducting.

In 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.

In 1863, President Abraham Lincoln issued his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction for the South.

In 1886, the American Federation of Labor was founded in Columbus, Ohio.

In 1972, a United Airlines Boeing 737 crashed while attempting to land at Chicago-Midway Airport, killing 43 of the 61 people on board, as well as two people on the ground; among the dead were Dorothy Hunt, wife of Watergate conspirator E. Howard Hunt, U.S. Rep. George W. Collins, D-Ill., and CBS News correspondent Michele Clark.

In 1980, rock star John Lennon was shot to death outside his New York City apartment building by an apparently deranged fan.

In 1982, a man demanding an end to nuclear weapons held the Washington Monument hostage, threatening to blow it up with explosives he claimed were inside a van. (After a 10-hour standoff, Norman D. Mayer was shot dead by police; it turned out there were no explosives.)

In 1987, President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail S. Gorbachev signed a treaty at the White House calling for destruction of intermediate-range nuclear missiles.

In 1991, AIDS patient Kimberly Bergalis, who had contracted the disease from her dentist, died in Fort Pierce, Fla., at age 23.

In 1992, Americans got to see live television coverage of U.S. troops landing on the beaches of Somalia as Operation Restore Hope began (because of the time difference, it was early Dec. 9 in Somalia).

In 1998, struggling to stave off impeachment, President Bill Clinton’s defenders forcefully pleaded his case before the House Judiciary Committee. The Supreme Court ruled that police cannot search people and their cars after merely ticketing them for routine traffic violations.

In 2001, the U.S. Capitol was reopened to tourists after a two-month security shutdown.

Ten years ago: 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. A malfunctioning F/A-18D Hornet military jet trying to reach Marine Corps Air Station Miramar slammed into a densely populated San Diego neighborhood, killing four members of a family and incinerating two homes; the pilot ejected safely. Mystery writer Hillary Waugh died in Torrington, Conn. at age 88. Character actor Robert Prosky died in Washington, D.C. five days short of his 78th birthday.

Five years ago: Hundreds of thousands of protesters poured into the streets of the Ukrainian capital of Kiev, toppling the statue of former Soviet leader Vladimir Lenin and blocking key government buildings in an escalating stand-off with the president on the future of the country. Zach Johnson rallied from four shots behind with eight holes to play and beat Tiger Woods, the No. 1 player in golf, at the World Challenge. Lydia Ko, a 16-year-old from New Zealand, rallied to win her first title as a professional, winning the Swinging Skirts World Ladies Masters with a three-stroke victory over South Korea’s So Yeon Ryu.

One year ago: During a campaign rally in the Florida panhandle, near the Alabama border, President Donald Trump urged Alabama voters to elect Republican Senate candidate Roy Moore, who had been dogged by allegations of sexual misconduct. Japanese pitching and hitting star Shohei Ohtani announced that he would sign with the Los Angeles Angels.

Copyright © 2024 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, written or redistributed.

Federal News Network Logo
Log in to your WTOP account for notifications and alerts customized for you.

Sign up