1. On December 8, 1863, Union troops under General Frederick Steele captured the Confederate stronghold of Camden during the American Civil War. This victory gave the Union control of the important Red River Valley region of Arkansas.

2. The first Arkansas state capitol building was completed on December 8, 1836. Located in Little Rock, this building served as the seat of government for the state until it was destroyed by fire in 1911.

3. In 1881, famed outlaw Jesse James robbed a train near Malvern, Arkansas, on December 8. James and his gang made off with more than $3,000 in cash and other valuables before escaping into the surrounding countryside.

4. On December 8, 1965, the Arkansas Gazette newspaper won a Pulitzer Prize for its coverage of the Little Rock Central High School desegregation crisis. The paper's editorials and reporting during the crisis were instrumental in bringing national attention to the issue of school integration in the South.

5. A violent tornado outbreak struck parts of Arkansas on December 8, 1953. This series of storms killed 55 people and injured hundreds more, making it one of the deadliest tornado outbreaks in state history. The town of Mayflower was particularly hard hit, with nearly a quarter of its residents killed or injured in the storms.