This Day in HistoryDecember 8
1775
American forces, led by Benedict Arnold and Richard Montgomery, begin a siege of Quebec, Canada, an effort that would end in a failed American assault on December 31
1863
President Lincoln issues his plan for the reunification of the U.S. and postwar reconstruction of the South
1940
The Chicago Bears defeat the Washington Redskins 73-0 in the NFL championship game
1941
One day after the surprise attack on Pearl Harbor, the United States enters World War II by declaring war on Japan
1941
Jeannette Rankin of Montana, an ardent pacifist, casts the only Congressional vote against the U.S. declaration of war on Japan
1949
Chinese Nationalists, after steadily losing ground to Mao Zedong’s communist revolutionary forces, move the capital to the island of Taiwan
1969
President Nixon states that the Vietnam War is coming to a conclusion, a declaration that would prove to be premature, as fighting continued until 1973
1980
John Lennon, a former member of the Beatles, is shot and killed outside his apartment building in New York City by an obsessed fan, Mark David Chapman
1993
With three former presidents (Ford, Carter, and Bush) looking on in support, President Clinton signs the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) into law
2007
Florida Gators sophomore quarterback Tim Tebow wins the 73rd
Heisman Trophy Award, given annually to the nation’s top college football player
2010
With the launch of the SpaceX Dragon, Elon Musk’s SpaceX becomes the first private company to successfully launch, orbit, and recover a spacecraft
2020
Today is the “safe harbor” deadline for states to resolve any presidential election disputes and certify the election—the Electoral College votes on December 14
2020
In what has been dubbed “V-Day” (“Victory Day”), the UK begins administering the Pfizer-produced COVID-19 vaccine to the public—90-year-old Margaret Keenan was the first recipient
2020
President Trump will hold a summit today at the White House to highlight the rapid development of a COVID-19 vaccine—the summit is designed to provide an update on the status of the administration’s ambitious vaccination plan
2020
Chuck Yeager, one of the U.S. Air Force’s most decorated test pilots, died yesterday at the age of 97—in 1947, he became the first human to fly faster than the speed of sound
2020
The Washington Football Team shocked the NFL world last night by beating the last undefeated team in the league, the Pittsburgh Steelers, 23-17—the Steelers are now 11-1 and the Football Team is now 5-7
2020
92% of all ICU bedsand 90% of all in-patient beds arecurrently in use inArizona hospitals—COVID-19 patients occupy 42% of ICU beds and 35% ofnon-ICU beds