Today is Tuesday, Dec. 8, the 342nd day of 2015. There are 23 days left in the year.
On this date:
In 1765, Eli Whitney, inventor of the cotton gin, was born in Westborough, Massachusetts.
In 1854, Pope Pius IX proclaimed the Catholic dogma of the Immaculate Conception, which holds that Mary, the mother of Jesus, was free of original sin from the moment of her own conception.
In 1865, Finnish composer Jean Sibelius was born in Haemeenlinna.
In 1914, “Watch Your Step,” the first musical revue to feature a score composed entirely by Irving Berlin, opened in New York.
In 1940, the Chicago Bears defeated the Washington Redskins, 73-0, in the NFL Championship Game, which was carried on network radio for the first time by the Mutual Broadcasting System (the announcer was Red Barber).
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