What happened on December 8 ?

899 - Arnulf of Carinthia (b. 850)

1626 - John Davies, English poet (b. 1569)

1632 - Philippe van Lansberge, Flemish astronomer (b. 1561)

1638 - Ivan Gundulic, Croatian poet (b. 1589)

1643 - John Pym, English statesman (b. 1583)

1649 - Noël Chabanel, French Jesuit missionary (b. 1613)

1680 - Henry Pierrepont, 1st Marquess of Dorchester, English politician (b. 1606)

1691 - Richard Baxter, English clergyman (b. 1615)

1695 - Barthélemy d'Herbelot de Molainville, French orientalist (b. 1625)

1709 - Thomas Corneille, French dramatist (b. 1625)

1722 - Liselotte von der Pfalz, Duchess of Orléans and sister-in-law of King Louis XIV of France (b. 1652)

1744 - Marie-Anne de Mailly-Nesle, Duchess de Châteauroux, French mistress of King Louis XV of France (b. 1717)

1745 - Etienne Fourmont, French orientalist (b. 1683)

1746 - Charles Radclyffe, British politician (b. 1693)

1756 - William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington, British statesman and diplomat

1768 - Jean Denis Attiret, French Jesuit missionary and painter (b. 1702)

1830 - Benjamin Constant, Swiss writer (b. 1767)

1859 - Thomas de Quincey, British author (b. 1785)

1864 - George Boole, British mathematician and philosopher, inventor of Boolean algebra (b. 1815)

1907 - King Oscar II of Sweden (b. 1829)

1914 - Maximilian von Spee, German naval officer (b. 1861)

1917 - Mendele Moykher Sforim, Russian writer (b. 1836)

1938 - Friedrich Glauser, German-language Swiss writer (b. 1896)

1952 - Charles Lightoller, British second officer on the Titanic (b. 1874)

1958 - Tris Speaker, American baseball player (b. 1888)

1963 - Field Marshal Sarit Dhanarajata, Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1908)

1978 - Golda Meir, Russian-born Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1898)

1980 - John Lennon, British musician, singer, songwriter and peace activist (b. 1940)

1980 - Darby Crash, American singer and songwriter (The Germs) (b. 1958)

1982 - Marty Robbins, American singer (b. 1925)

1983 - Slim Pickens, American actor (b. 1919)

1984 - Luther Adler, American actor (b. 1903)

1992 - William Shawn, American magazine editor (b. 1917)

1994 - Tom Jobim, Brazilian composer and arranger (b. 1927)

1999 - Kuczka Péter, Hungarian writer, poet, and science fiction editor (b. 1923)

2001 - Don Tennant, American advertising executive (b. 1922)

2003 - Rubén González, Cuban pianist (Buena Vista Social Club)

2003 - Hans Hotter, German bass-baritone (b. 1909)

2004 - Dimebag Darrell (Darrell Abbott), American guitarist (b. 1966)

2005 - Georgiy Zhzhonov Russian actor and author (b. 1915)