On this day, Dec. 8

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.

1863 President Abraham Lincoln issued his Proclamation of Amnesty and Reconstruction for the South.

1937 Pittsburgh became the center of national steel production when United States Steel decided to move its management headquarters to Pittsburgh.

1941 The United States entered World War II as Congress declared war against Imperial Japan, a day after the attack on Pearl Harbor.

1980 Rock star John Lennon was shot to death outside his New York City apartment building by an apparently deranged fan.

1987 Pittsburgh Bishop Anthony Bevilacqua was named to succeed John Cardinal Krol as Archbishop of Philadelphia. 1998 Struggling to stave off impeachment, President Bill Clinton’s defenders forcefully pleaded his case before the House Judiciary Committee.

2001 The U.S. Capitol was reopened to tourists after a two-month security shutdown. Some items are from Stefan Lorant’s

“Pittsburgh: The Story of an American City” (digital.library.pitt.edu/chronology).

— Compiled by Alyssa Brown

Today’s birthdays: Singer Jerry Butler,

79. Pop musician Bobby Elliott (The Hollies),

77. Actress Kim Basinger, 65. Actress Teri Hatcher, 54. Singer Sinead O’Connor, 52. Actress Wallis Currie-Wood, 27.

Thought for today: “The unknown is what it is. And to be frightened of it is what sends everybody scurrying around chasing dreams, illusions, wars, peace, love, hate, all that. Unknown is what it is. Accept that it’s unknown and it’s plain sailing.”