By Travis Saucedo

Information obtained at:  http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/

December 8, 1980- Former Beatles member John Lennon was shot by a crazed fan in front of his luxury apartment. Mark David Chapman shot Lennon four times at close range with a .38-caliber revolver. Lennon was rushed to the hospital but died before arriving. http://www.history.com/this-day-in-history/john-lennon-shot

December 9, 1992- 1,800 United States Marines arrived in Mogadishu, Somalia, to help restore order in the conflict-ridden country. Although they were there to help, violence still roared on in the country. In 1993, 24 U.N. soldiers were murdered along with two U.S. Army Black Hawks being shot down and killing 18 American soldiers. Finally in 1994 President Bill Clinton gave orders to pull out all troops from the country.

December 10, 1901- The first Nobel Prize was awarded in Stockholm, Sweden, in the fields of physics, chemistry, medicine, literature, and peace. It awarded on the fifth anniversary of the death of Alfred Nobel, the Swedish inventor of dynamite and other high explosives.

December 11, 1941- Just 3 days after U.S. declared war on Japan, Adolf Hitler declared war on the U.S. With that happening, World War 2 has emerged. A war that would go down in history and last an excruciating 4 years. The Allies would eventually end up winning the war, but a lot of central Europe was destroyed in the process.

December 12, 1980- American oil tycoon Armand Hammer pays $5,126,000 at auction for a notebook containing writings by the legendary artist Leonardo da Vinci. It contained 72 loose pages featuring some 300 notes and detailed drawings, all relating to the common theme of water and how it moved. Experts have said that da Vinci drew on it to paint the background of his masterwork, the Mona Lisa.