On This Day: 8 December

8 December in Indian history

• 2013After a fatal bus accident in the Little India subzone of Singapore, angry mobs of workers attacked the bus involved and emergency vehicles, the first riot in the country in over 40 years.India
• 1971Indo-Pakistani War: The Indian Navy launches an attack on West Pakistan's port city of Karachi.India

8 December in world history

• 2025Singapore, under the government's approval, published its now-declassified Albatross file, comprising information relating to the Proclamation of Singapore dating back six decades ago.
• 2024The Syrian civil war ended when Bashar al-Assad's party, the Syrian Ba'ath Party, surrendered to the Syrian opposition.
• 2010With the second launch of the Falcon 9, and the first launch of the Dragon, SpaceX becomes the first private company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft.
• 2004Columbus nightclub shooting: Nathan Gale opens fire at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio, killing former Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell and three others before being shot dead by a police officer.
• 1991Belarusian, Russian and Ukrainian leaders signed the Belovezh Accords, agreeing to dissolve the Soviet Union and establish the Commonwealth of Independent States.
• 1988A United States Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II crashes into an apartment complex in Remscheid, Germany, killing five people and injuring 50 others.
• 1987Arab–Israeli conflict: An Israeli army tank transporter killed four Palestinian refugees and injured seven others during a traffic accident at the Erez Crossing on the Israel–Gaza Strip border, sparking the First Intifada.
• 1987Cold War: The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is signed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in the White House.
• 1941The Holocaust: The Chełmno extermination camp in occupied Poland, the first such Nazi camp to kill Jews, began operations.
• 1941World War II: Japanese forces simultaneously invade Shanghai International Settlement, Malaya, Thailand, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and the Dutch East Indies. (See December 7 for the concurrent attack on Pearl Harbor in the Western Hemisphere.)
• 1922Two days after coming into existence, the Irish Free State executes four leaders of the Irish Republican Army: Dick Barrett, Joe McKelvey, Liam Mellows and Rory O'Connor.
• 1914World War I: A squadron of Britain's Royal Navy defeats the Imperial German East Asia Squadron in the Battle of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic.
• 1907King Gustaf V of Sweden accedes to the Swedish throne.
• 1854Pope Pius IX promulgated the apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus, proclaiming the dogmatic definition of the Immaculate Conception, which holds that the Virgin Mary was conceived free of original sin.
• 1777American Revolutionary War: British commander-in-chief Sir William Howe withdrew his troops from the Battle of White Marsh to Philadelphia.
• 1504Ahmad ibn Abi Jum'ah wrote his Oran fatwa, arguing for the relaxation of Islamic law for forcibly converted Muslims in Spain.

Born on 8 December

• 1967Andy Kapp, German curler
• 1935Dharmendra, Indian actor, producer, and politician (died 2025)India
• 1930Maximilian Schell, Austrian-Swiss actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2014)
• 1881Albert Gleizes, French painter (died 1953)
• 1832Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Norwegian-French author and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1910)
• 1765Eli Whitney, American engineer, invented the cotton gin (died 1825)

Died on 8 December

• 1946Tex O'Reilly, American mercenary (born 1880)
• 1942Albert Kahn, American architect, Fisher Building, Packard Automotive Plant, Ford River Rouge Complex (born 1869)
• 1815Mary Bosanquet Fletcher, Methodist preacher and philanthropist (born 1739)
• 899Arnulf of Carinthia (born 850)

Frequently asked questions

What happened on 8 December in history?

2025: Singapore, under the government's approval, published its now-declassified Albatross file, comprising information relating to the Proclamation of Singapore dating back six decades ago. 2024: The Syrian civil war ended when Bashar al-Assad's party, the Syrian Ba'ath Party, surrendered to the Syrian opposition. 2013: After a fatal bus accident in the Little India subzone of Singapore, angry mobs of workers attacked the bus involved and emergency vehicles, the first riot in the country in over 40 years. 2010: With the second launch of the Falcon 9, and the first launch of the Dragon, SpaceX becomes the first private company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft.

What happened on 8 December in Indian history?

2013: After a fatal bus accident in the Little India subzone of Singapore, angry mobs of workers attacked the bus involved and emergency vehicles, the first riot in the country in over 40 years. 1971: Indo-Pakistani War: The Indian Navy launches an attack on West Pakistan's port city of Karachi.

Which famous people were born on 8 December?

Andy Kapp, German curler (1967); Dharmendra, Indian actor, producer, and politician (died 2025) (1935); Maximilian Schell, Austrian-Swiss actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2014) (1930); Albert Gleizes, French painter (died 1953) (1881).

Which day is observed on 8 December?

Battle Day (Falkland Islands); Bodhi Day (Japan); CARICOM–Cuba Day (Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Cuba); Constitution Day (Romania); Constitution Day (Uzbekistan).