8 December in history.

1660

A woman takes the English stage. A woman, thought to be Margaret Hughes, played Desdemona in Othello, believed to be the first time a woman acted on the English professional stage.

Wikipedia: Margaret Hughes

Photo: Peter Lely / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

More from 8 December

1. 

   1955

   Europe gets its flag

   The Council of Europe adopted the Flag of Europe, the circle of twelve gold stars on blue.

   Wikipedia: Flag of EuropeWikipedia: Council of Europe

   Photo: User:Verdy p , User:-xfi- , User:Paddu , User:Nightstallion , User:Funakoshi , User:Jel… / Wikimedia Commons (Public domain)

2. 

   2010

   A private spacecraft returns from orbit

   With the first flight of its Dragon capsule, SpaceX became the first private company to launch a spacecraft into orbit and bring it back.

   Wikipedia: SpaceX COTS Demo Flight 1Wikipedia: SpaceX Dragon 1

   Photo: SpaceX / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

3. 

   2010

   A solar sail flies past Venus

   Japan's IKAROS spacecraft passed Venus, completing its mission to show that a sail pushed by sunlight can steer a spacecraft.

   Wikipedia: IKAROSWikipedia: Solar sail

   Photo: Pavel Hrdlička (Czech Wikipedia user Packa ) / Wikimedia Commons (CC BY-SA 3.0)

4. 

   2013

   Metallica plays Antarctica

   Metallica played a concert in Antarctica, becoming the first band to perform on all seven continents.

   Wikipedia: MetallicaWikipedia: Freeze 'Em All

   Photo: Library of Congress Life / Wikimedia Commons (CC0)

Moments chosen for discovery, creativity and courage. Each one links to a source where you can read more; photos are credited to their owners.