1953 – US President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers his “Atoms for Peace” speech, which leads to an American program to supply nuclear power equipment and information to schools, hospitals, and research institutions around the world. This program was the first in the world to turn this energy for the benefit of the people.
1974 – A plebiscite overthrows the monarchy in Greece. The junta had already organized a plebiscite, which resulted in the creation of the Republic. However, after the fall of the military regime, the new government, under Konstantin Karamanlis, decided to keep another one, as the legal acts of the Junta were considered illegal. King Constantine II was barred from ascending the throne.
1978 – Golda Meir dies at the age of 80. Meir, was a state woman, politician and the fourth Prime Minister of Israel. She was the only one in Israel to perform this task, and has been described as the “Iron Lady” of Israeli politics. Meir resigned as prime minister in 1974, a year after the Yom Kippur War.
1980 – The Beatles lead singer John Lennon is assassinated by Mark David Chapman in New York. Chapman planned the assassination over several months and hosted Lennon in Dakota on the morning of Dec. 8. During the evening, he met with Lennon, who signed his copy of the newly released Double Fantasy album. Chapman pleaded guilty and was sentenced to life in prison.
1982 – Nicki Minaj is born in Trinidad and Tobago. Minaj, is a rapper, singer, songwriter, and model. She gained public recognition after launching the albums Playtime Is Over, Sucka Free, and Beam Me Up Scotty. Minaj has been described as one of the most influential female rap artists of all time and has often been described as the “Queen of Rap” by the media.
1990 – 30 years ago in the capital of Albania, and precisely in the city “Student”, the students of the University of Tirana rose up for the first time in the 46-year history of communism, against this infamous regime. On December 8, the students decided to boycott classes and protest against the regime, initially for the power outage, the difficult economic conditions that Albania was going through at the time, the difficult conditions that students had in dormitories and schools. They staged a protest, in which another incident took place: police and the army used violence to disperse students, and some protesters were wounded by violence used by communist forces. This would further irritate the students and their demands expanded. In addition to demands for living conditions they demanded the permitting of pluralism as well as the punishment of student abusers. With the expression “We love Albania like all of Europe”, they demanded the establishment of the Western value system and the rule of law, integration in Europe and the guarantee of political pluralism as the main basis for a free and democratic society. Their act peacefully ended the long era of self-isolation and ideological rule, thus paving the way for the market economy and open society. The National Youth Day was designated as such by the Albanian Parliament on December 8, 2009, to commemorate the student movement in December 1990, which was the starting point of the fall of the communist regime.
1991 – Leaders of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine sign an agreement establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States following the dissolution of the Soviet Union. The CIS encourages co-operation in economic, political and military matters and has certain powers to coordinate trade, finance, law-making and security.
2013 – Metallica performs in Antarctica, making them the first band to perform on any continent. The band played a show called “Freeze ‘Em All”. The performance of this famous band of Metal, was filmed and released as a live album in the same month. Metallica is one of the most famous bands in the world of this stream.
