TODAY IN HISTORY - DECEMBER 8TH

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.

1765 – Eli Whitney, American engineer, invented the cotton gin (d. 1825) is born.

1813 – Premiere of Beethoven's Seventh Symphony.

1861 – William C. Durant, American businessman, founded General Motors and Chevrolet (d. 1947) is born.

1894 – E. C. Segar, American cartoonist, created Popeye (d. 1938) is born.

1922 – Northern Ireland ceases to be part of the Irish Free State.

1925 – Sammy Davis, Jr., American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1990) is born.

1941 – World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt declares December 7 to be "a date which will live in infamy", after which the U.S. declares war on Japan.

1953 – U.S. President Dwight D. 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 around the world.

1955 – The Flag of Europe is adopted by Council of Europe.

1958 – Tris Speaker, American baseball player and manager (b. 1888) dies.

1962 – Workers at four New York City newspapers (this later increases to nine) go on strike for 114 days.

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

1966 – The Greek ship SS Heraklion sinks in a storm in the Aegean Sea, killing over 200.

1972 – United Airlines Flight 553, a Boeing 737, crashes after aborting its landing attempt at Chicago Midway International Airport, killing 45. The crash is the first-ever loss of a Boeing 737.

1980 – John Lennon is murdered by Mark David Chapman in front of The Dakota in New York City.

1981 – Philip Rivers, San Diego Chargers star quarterback football player is born.

1982 – Nicki Minaj, Trinidadian-American rapper and actress is born.

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

2015 – Douglas Tompkins, American businessman, co-founded The North Face and Esprit Holdings (b. 1943) dies.