On This Day - What Happened On December 8 | Britannica

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1980 John Lennon fatally shot On this day in 1980, British musician John Lennon—who rose to fame with the Beatles and had a successful solo career—was fatally shot by Mark David Chapman in New York City, causing a global outpouring of grief. STEPHEN MORLEY/REX/Shutterstock.com

Featured Biography

Sammy Davis, Jr. American entertainer bornDecember 8, 1925New York City, New YorkdiedMay 16, 1990 (aged 64)Los Angeles, CaliforniaJim Britt/© Archive Photos 1982 Nicki Minaj Trinidadian-born singer, songwriter, and television personality 1961 Ann Coulter American political commentator and author 1943 Jim Morrison American singer and songwriter 1925 Sammy Davis, Jr. American entertainer 1865 Jean Sibelius Finnish composer See All Biographies On This Day

More Events On This Day

2024 American pop star Taylor Swift staged the 149th and final show of her Eras Tour, which sold a record-setting $2 billion in tickets. Take our Taylor Swift quiz© Buda Mendes—TAS23/Getty Images for TAS Rights Management 2024 After 13 years of civil war in Syria, Bashar al-Assad was ousted as the country's leader; his attempt to repress the uprising against his rule included brutal tactics, most infamously the use of chemical weapons.© Orhan Qereman/Reuters 2022 American basketball player Brittney Griner was released from a Russian penal colony after several months of imprisonment that many saw as politically motivated. Read the stories of other civilians detained by foreign governmentsAP/Shutterstock.com 2019 American actor and puppeteer Caroll Spinney—who created the characteristics and mannerisms of Big Bird, a larger-than-life puppet he played for nearly 50 years—died at age 85.Mark Lennihan/AP Images 2016 American astronaut and politician John Glenn—who was the first U.S. astronaut to orbit Earth, for which he was regarded as a national hero—died at age 95. Take our quiz about famous astronauts and cosmonautsNASA 2010 SpaceX became the first commercial company to release a spacecraft—the Dragon capsule—into orbit and successfully return it to Earth. Test your knowledge of space explorationMike Altenhofen/SpaceX (A Britannica Publishing Partner) 2004 Mia Hamm, a leading figure in U.S. women's football (soccer), retired from the sport. Ever wonder why the British no longer use “soccer,” a term they invented?© Jerry Coli/Dreamstime.com 1991 Russia, Ukraine, and Belarus signed an agreement to form the Commonwealth of Independent States in the wake of the demise of the Soviet Union. Find out why the U.S.S.R. collapsedHanna Zelenko 1987 U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet General Secretary Mikhail Gorbachev signed a nuclear weapons reduction treaty. How much do you know about weapons and warfare?Courtesy Ronald Reagan Library/National Archives and Records Administration 1978 The American classic film The Deer Hunter—starring Robert De Niro and Christoper Walken, among others—had its world premiere; an emotionally shattering look at the effects of the Vietnam War on the young American men sent to fight in it, the movie later won an Oscar for best picture. Take our film buff quiz©1978 Universal Pictures Company, Inc.; photograph from a private collection 1903 English sociologist and philosopher Herbert Spencer, who introduced the term “survival of the fittest,” died in England. Test your knowledge of philosophyEdward Gooch Collection—Hulton Archive/Getty Images 1886 Diego Rivera, whose bold large-scale murals stimulated a revival of fresco painting in Latin America, was born in Mexico. Sort fact from fiction in our artists and painters quizLucas Vallecillos/Alamy 1854 Pope Pius IX proclaimed the doctrine of the Immaculate Conception, asserting that Mary, Jesus' mother, was preserved free from the effects of “original sin” from the first instant of her conception. Take our popes and antipopes quizCourtesy National Gallery of Art, Washington, D.C.; Samuel H. Kress Collection, accession no. 1939.1.290 1542 Mary, Queen of Scots, was born, and six days later she became queen of Scotland. How much do you know about kings and queens?Giraudon/Art Resource, New York SIGN UP FOR History's Biggest Headlines Discover the fascinating events that shaped the world, straight from our editors. SIGN UP Thanks for signing up for Today in History. Your first newsletter will arrive soon! SIGN UP By clicking "Sign Up" you are agreeing to our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy.