December 8

Birthdays:

1961 ~ Ann Coulter, American conservative journalist.

1953 ~ Kim Basinger, American actress.

1951 ~ Bill Bryson, American author.

1948 ~ Luis Caffarelli, Argentine mathematician.

1947 ~ Thomas Cech, American chemist and recipient of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.

1943 ~ Jim Morrison (né James Douglas Morrison, d. July 3, 1971), American frontman for the band The Doors.  He died at age 27.

1936 ~ David Carradine (né John Arthur Carradine, d. June 3, 2009), American actor, best known for his role as Kwai Chang Caine in the TV show, Kung Fu.  He died at age 72.

1934 ~ Eloy Gutiérrez-Menoyo (d. Oct. 26, 2012), Cuban ex-revolutionary who was jailed by Castro.  He died at age 77.

1933 ~ Flip Wilson (né Clerow Wilson, Jr., d. Nov. 25, 1998), American actor and comedian.  He died of liver cancer 13 days before his 65^th birthday.

1930 ~ Maximilian Schell (d. Feb. 1, 2014), Austrian actor who explored World War II’s legacy.  He is best known for his role in Judgment at Nurenberg.  He died at age 83.

1927 ~ Dr. Ferdie Pacheco (né Ferando Pacheco, d. Nov. 16, 2017), American physician who stood in Muhammad Ali’s corner.  He was known as the Fight Doctor.  He died 22 days before his 90^th birthday.

1925 ~ Sammy Davis, Jr. (né Samuel George Davis, Jr., d. May 16, 1990), American entertainer.  He died of throat cancer at age 64.

1922 ~ Lucian Freud (d. July 20, 2011), German-English artist and grandson of Sigmund Freud.  He was the painter who put the brutal truth into the modern portrait.  He died at age 88.

1919 ~ Julia Robinson (d. July 30, 1985), American mathematician.  She died at age 65 of leukemia.

1908 ~ John Anthony Volpe (d. Nov. 11, 1994), 2^nd United States Secretary of Transportation.  He served in the Richard Nixon administration from January 1969 until February 1973.  He previously served as the 61^st and 63^rd Governor of Massachusetts.  He died less than a month before his 86^th birthday.

1894 ~ E.C. Segar (né Elzie Crisier Segar, d. Oct. 13, 1938), American cartoonist and creator of Popeye.  He died of leukemia at age 43.

1894 ~ James Thurber (d. Nov. 2, 1961), American writer and humorist.  He died about a month before his 67^th birthday.

1886 ~ Diego Rivera (d. Nov. 24, 1957), Mexican painter.  He was married to the artist Frida Kahlo.  He died 2 weeks before his 71^st birthday.

1865 ~ Jean Sibelius (d. Sept. 20, 1957), Finnish composer best known for his famous work, Finlandia, which was first performed in Helsinki in 1900.  He died at age 91.

1865 ~ Jacques Salomon Hadamard (d. Oct. 17, 1963), French mathematician.  He died at age 97.

1864 ~ Camille Claudel (d. Oct. 19, 1943), French sculptor and illustrator.  She died at age 78.

1861 ~ William C. Durant (d. Mar. 18, 1947), American businessman and co-founder of General Motors and Chevrolet.  He died at age 85.

1832 ~ Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson (d. Apr. 26, 1910), Norwegian author and recipient of the 1903 Nobel Prize in Literature.  He was 77 years old.

1818 ~ Prince Charles III of Monaco (d. Sept. 10, 1889), founder of the Monte Carlo casino.  He died at age 70.

1813 ~ August Belmont, Sr. (d. Nov. 24, 1890), Prussian-born financier.  He served as the 16^th United States Ambassador to the Netherlands.  The Belmont Stakes are named in his honor.  He died 2 weeks before his 77^th birthday.

1795 ~ Peter Andreas Hansen (d. Mar. 28, 1874), Danish astronomer and mathematician.  He died at age 78.

1765 ~ Eli Whitney (d. Jan. 8, 1825), American inventor who developed the cotton gin.  He died in New Haven, Connecticut a month after his 59^th birthday.

1708 ~ Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. Aug. 18, 1765).  He died at age 56.

1678 ~ Horatio Walpole, 1^st Baron Walpole (d. Feb. 5, 1757), British politician and diplomat.  He died at age 78.

1542 ~ Mary, Queen of Scots (d. Feb. 8, 1587).  She was Queen of Scots from December 1542 until July 1567.  She died at age 44.

65 BCE ~ Horace (d. Nov. 27, 8 BCE), the traditional date ascribed to the birth of this Roman poet.  He is believed to have died 11 days before his 57^th birthday.

Events that Changed the World:

2007 ~ An assassination attempt was made on Benazir Bhutto, Pakistan’s only female Prime Minister.  She was killed 19 days later.

2004 ~ The Cuzco Declaration was signed in Cuzco, Peru, which established the South American Community of Nations.

1993 ~ The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) was signed into law by President Bill Clinton.  It went into effect on January 1, 1994.

1991 ~ Leaders of Russia, Belarus and the Ukraine signed an agreement dissolving the Soviet Union and establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States.

1987 ~ The First Intifada began after an Israeli army tank transporter killed four Arabs in a traffic accident at the Erez Crossing on the Israel-Gaza Strip border.

1980 ~ John Lennon (1940 ~ 1980) was murdered by Mark Chapman in front of his apartment building in New York City.

1955 ~ The Flag of Europe, or European Flag was adopted by the Council of Europe.  The flag depicts 12 golden five-pointed stars in a circle on a blue background.

1941 ~ The United States Congress declared war on Japan on the day following the attack on Pearl Harbor.

1927 ~ The Brookings Institution was founded.  It is one of the oldest think tanks in the United States.

1907 ~ King Gustaf V (1858 ~ 1950) of Sweden ascended to the Swedish throne.

1886 ~ The American Federation of Labor was first organized.

1854 ~ Pope Pius IX (1792 ~ 1878) proclaimed the dogmatic definition of Immaculate Conception, which considers the Virgin Mary to be free of original sin.

1660 ~ A woman appeared on an English public stage for the first time.  The actress, whose name is not known, played the role of Desdemona in Shakespeare’s play Othello.  Prior to this occurrence, all roles were played by men.

Good-Byes:

2016 ~ John Glenn (b. July 18, 1921), American astronaut and politician.  He was the first American astronaut to circle the earth in Space.  He died at age 95.

2013 ~ Sir John Cornforth (b. Sept. 7, 1917), Australian chemist and recipient of the 1975 Nobel Prize in Chemistry.  He died at age 96.

1992 ~ William Shawn (b. Aug. 31, 1907), American journalist and long-time editor of The New Yorker.  He died at age 85.

1983 ~ Slim Pickens (né Louis Burton Lindley, Jr., b. June 29, 1919), American actor.   He is best remembered for his role in Dr. Strangelove.  He died following complications of surgery to remove a brain tumor.  He was 64 years old.

1980 ~ John Lennon (b. Oct. 9, 1940), founding member of the Beatles.  He was assassinated outside his apartment in New York City by Mark Chapman.  He was 40 years old at the time of his death.

1978 ~ Golda Meir (née Golda Mabovitz, aka Golda Meyerson, b. May 3, 1898), 4^th Prime Minister of Israel and first woman to hold that position.  She was born in Kiev, Russian Empire.  As a young child, her family left Russia to avoid the pogroms and moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin.  In the 1920s she moved to what is now Israel.  In March 1969 she became the 4^th Prime Minister of Israel.  She resigned following the Yom Kippur War in 1973.  She died of lymphoma at age 80.

1955 ~ Hermann Weyl (b. Nov. 9, 1885), German mathematician.  He died a month after his 70^th birthday.

1932 ~ Gertrude Jekyll (b. Nov. 29, 1843), British horticulturist and garden designer.  She created over 400 gardens in England, Europe and the United States.  She died 9 days after her 89^th birthday.

1917 ~ Mendele Movkher Sforim (b. Jan. 2, 1836), Russian-born Jewish writer.  He died 25 days before his 81^st birthday.

1907 ~ King Oscar II of Sweden (b. Jan. 21, 1829).  He died at age 78.

1894 ~ Pafnuty Chebyshev (b. May 16, 1821), Russian mathematician.  He died at age 73.

1864 ~ George Boole (b. Nov. 2, 1815), English mathematician and philosopher.  He died about a month after his 49^th birthday.

1793 ~ Madame du Barry (née Jeanne Bécu, Comtesse du Barry, b. Aug. 19, 1743), French courtesan and mistress of King Louis XV of France.  She was guillotined during the Reign of Terror during the French revolution.  She died at age 50.

1741 ~ Vitus Bering (b. Aug. 5, 1681), Danish explorer.  The Bering Sea and the Bering Strait are named in his honor.  The exact date of his birth is not known, but he was baptized on August 5, 1681.  He died at age 60.

1632 ~ Philippe van Lansberge (b. Aug. 25, 1561), Dutch mathematician.  He died at age 70.

1591 ~ Luis de Carabaja the younger (b. 1537), one of the first Jewish authors in the Americas.  He was born in Castile and became a resident of Mexico City.  He was killed in an auto-da-fé during the Spanish Inquisition for his Jewish writings.  The date of his birth is not known.

855 ~ Drogo of Metz (b. June 17, 801), illegitimate son of Charlemagne.  He died at age 54.