Birthdays
August Belmont
Turns 46 on this date
Robert Bullock
Turns 31 on this date
William Downey
Turns 34 on this date
Clinton Bowen Fisk
Turns 31 on this date
Otis Gibson
Turns 33 on this date
Lewis Winans Ross
Turns 47 on this date
Henry Timrod
Turns 59 on this date
Events
| Crime/Disasters | A heavy earthquake strikes San Salvador in Central America |
12/08/1859 to 12/09/1859 |
| Lawmaking/Litigating | The 36th U.S. Congress is in session in Washington, D.C. |
12/06/1859 to 06/24/1860 |
| Personal | Thomas De Quincey, the English author and opium eater, dies in Edinburgh | 12/08/1859 |
Documents
| Newspaper | Chicago (IL) Press and Tribune, "Virginia Wants the Nation to Foot Her Bills," December 8, 1859 | 12/08/1859 |
| Newspaper | Fayetteville (NC) Observer, "Gov. Seward and Harpers Ferry," December 8, 1859 | 12/08/1859 |
| Newspaper | Hartford (CT) Courant, "Arrest of a Militia Officer," December 8, 1859 | 12/08/1859 |