Events

Pre-1600

• 497 BC The first Saturnalia festival is celebrated in ancient Rome.

• 546 Siege of Rome: The Ostrogoths under king Totila plunder the city, by bribing the Eastern Roman garrison.

• 920 Romanos I Lekapenos is crowned co-emperor of the underage Constantine VII.

• 942 Assassination of William Longsword, Count of Normandy.

• 1297 King Kyawswa of Pagan is overthrown by the three Myinsaing brothers, marking the de facto end of the Pagan Kingdom.

• 1354 Margaret II, Countess of Hainaut and Holy Roman Empress and her son William I, Duke of Bavaria, sign a peace treaty ending the Hook and Cod wars.

• 1398 Sultan Nasir-u Din Mehmud's armies in Delhi are defeated by Timur.

• 1538 Pope Paul III excommunicates Henry VIII of England.

• 1583 Cologne War: Forces under Ernest of Bavaria defeat troops under Gebhard Truchsess von Waldburg at the Siege of Godesberg.

• 1586 Go-Yōzei becomes Emperor of Japan.

1601–1900

• 1665 The first account of a blood transfusion is published, in the form of a letter from physician Richard Lower to chemist Robert Boyle, in Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society

• 1718 War of the Quadruple Alliance: Great Britain declares war on Spain.

• 1777 American Revolution: France formally recognizes the United States.

• 1790 The Aztec calendar stone is discovered at El Zócalo, Mexico City.

• 1807 Napoleonic Wars: France issues the Milan Decree, which confirms the Continental System.

• 1812 War of 1812: U.S. forces attack a Lenape village in the Battle of the Mississinewa.

• 1819 Simón Bolívar declares the independence of Gran Colombia in Angostura (now Ciudad Bolívar in Venezuela).

• 1835 The second Great Fire of New York destroys of New York City's Financial District.

• 1837 A fire in the Winter Palace of Saint Petersburg kills 30 guards.

• 1862 American Civil War: General Ulysses S. Grant issues General Order No. 11, expelling Jews from parts of Tennessee, Mississippi, and Kentucky.

• 1865 First performance of the Unfinished Symphony by Franz Schubert.

• 1892 First issue of Vogue is published.

• 1896 Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania's Schenley Park Casino, which was the first multi-purpose arena with the technology to create an artificial ice surface in North America, is destroyed in a fire.

1901–present

• 1903 The Wright brothers make the first controlled powered, heavier-than-air flight in the Wright Flyer at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.

• 1907 Ugyen Wangchuck is crowned first King of Bhutan.

• 1918 Darwin Rebellion: Up to 1,000 demonstrators march on Government House in Darwin, Northern Territory, Australia.

• 1926 Antanas Smetona assumes power in Lithuania as the 1926 coup d'état is successful.

• 1927 Indian revolutionary Rajendra Lahiri is hanged in Gonda jail, Uttar Pradesh, India, two days before the scheduled date.

• 1928 Indian revolutionaries Bhagat Singh, Sukhdev Thapar and Shivaram Rajguru assassinate British police officer James Saunders in Lahore, Punjab, to avenge the death of Lala Lajpat Rai at the hands of the police. The three were executed in 1931.

• 1933 The first NFL Championship Game is played at Wrigley Field in Chicago between the New York Giants and Chicago Bears. The Bears win 23–21.

• 1935 Douglas DC-3: The twin-engine airliner makes its maiden flight from Santa Monica.

• 1938 Otto Hahn discovers the nuclear fission of the heavy element uranium, the scientific and technological basis of nuclear energy.

• 1939 World War II: Battle of the River Plate: The Admiral Graf Spee is scuttled by Captain Hans Langsdorff outside Montevideo.

• 1943 All Chinese are again permitted to become citizens of the United States upon the repeal of the Act of 1882 and the introduction of the Magnuson Act.

• 1944 World War II: Battle of the Bulge: Malmedy massacre: American 285th Field Artillery Observation Battalion POWs are shot by Waffen-SS Kampfgruppe Joachim Peiper.

• 1945 Kurdistan flag day, the flag of Kurdistan is raised for the first time in Mahabad in eastern Kurdistan.

• 1947 First flight of the Boeing B-47 Stratojet strategic bomber.

• 1948 The Finnish Security Police is established to remove communist leadership from its predecessor, the State Police.

• 1950 The F-86 Sabre's first mission over Korea.

• 1951 The American Civil Rights Congress delivers "We Charge Genocide" to the United Nations.

• 1957 The United States successfully launches the first Atlas intercontinental ballistic missile at Cape Canaveral, Florida.

• 1960 Troops loyal to Emperor Haile Selassie in Ethiopia crush the coup that began December 13, returning power to their leader upon his return from Brazil. Haile Selassie absolves his son of any guilt.

• 1960 Munich C-131 crash: Twenty passengers and crew on board as well as 32 people on the ground are killed.

• 1961 Niterói circus fire: Fire breaks out during a performance by the Gran Circus Norte-Americano in the city of Niterói, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, killing more than 500.

• 1967 Harold Holt, Prime Minister of Australia, disappears while swimming near Portsea, Victoria, and is presumed drowned.

• 1969 Project Blue Book: The United States Air Force closes its study of UFOs.

• 1970 Polish protests: In Gdynia, soldiers fire at workers emerging from trains, killing dozens.

• 1973 Thirty passengers are killed in an attack by Palestinian terrorists on Rome's Leonardo da Vinci–Fiumicino Airport.

• 1981 American Brigadier General James L. Dozier is abducted by the Red Brigades in Verona, Italy.

• 1983 Provisional IRA members detonate a car bomb at Harrods Department Store in London. Three police officers and three civilians are killed.

• 1989 Romanian Revolution: Protests continue in Timișoara, Romania, with rioters breaking into the Romanian Communist Party's District Committee building and attempting to set it on fire.

• 1989 Fernando Collor de Mello defeats Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva in the second round of the Brazilian presidential election, becoming the first democratically elected President in almost 30 years.

• 1989 The Simpsons premieres on television with the episode "Simpsons Roasting on an Open Fire".

• 1997 Peruvian internal conflict: Fourteen members of the Túpac Amaru Revolutionary Movement provoke a hostage crisis by taking over the Japanese embassy in Lima.

• 1997 Aerosvit Flight 241: A Yakovlev Yak-42 crashes into the Pierian Mountains near Thessaloniki Airport in Thessaloniki, Greece, killing all 70 people on board.

• 2002 Second Congo War: The Congolese parties of the Inter Congolese Dialogue sign a peace accord which makes provision for transitional governance and legislative and presidential elections within two years.

• 2003 The Soham murder trial ends at the Old Bailey in London, with Ian Huntley found guilty of two counts of murder. His girlfriend, Maxine Carr, is found guilty of perverting the course of justice.

• 2003 SpaceShipOne, piloted by Brian Binnie, makes its first powered and first supersonic flight.

• 2003 Sex work rights activists establish December 17 (or "D17") as International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers to memorialize victims of a serial killer who targeted prostitutes, and highlight State violence against sex workers by police and others.

• 2005 Anti-World Trade Organization protesters riot in Wan Chai, Hong Kong.

• 2005 Jigme Singye Wangchuck abdicates the throne as King of Bhutan.

• 2009 sinks off the coast of Lebanon, resulting in the deaths of 44 people and over 28,000 animals.

• 2010 Mohamed Bouazizi sets himself on fire. This act became the catalyst for the Tunisian Revolution and the wider Arab Spring.

• 2014 The United States and Cuba re-establish diplomatic relations after severing them in 1961.

Births

Pre-1600

• 1239 Kujō Yoritsugu, Japanese shōgun (died 1256)

• 1267 Emperor Go-Uda of Japan (died 1324)

• 1554 Ernest of Bavaria, Roman Catholic bishop (died 1612)

• 1556 Abdul Rahim Khan-I-Khana, poet in Mughal Empire (died 1627)

• 1574 Pedro Téllez-Girón, 3rd Duke of Osuna, Spanish nobleman and politician (died 1624)

1601–1900

• 1616 Roger L'Estrange, English pamphleteer and author (died 1704)

• 1619 Prince Rupert of the Rhine (died 1682)

• 1632 Anthony Wood, English historian and author (died 1695)

• 1685 Thomas Tickell, English poet (died 1740)

• 1699 Charles-Louis Mion, French composer and educator (died 1775)

• 1706 Émilie du Châtelet, French mathematician and physicist (died 1749)

• 1734 Maria I of Portugal (died 1816)

• 1749 Domenico Cimarosa, Italian composer and educator (died 1801)

• 1778 Humphry Davy, English chemist and physicist (died 1829)

• 1796 Thomas Chandler Haliburton, Canadian judge and politician (died 1865)

• 1797 Joseph Henry, American physicist and engineer (died 1878)

• 1798 Wilhelmine von Wrochem, German flutist, singer and actress (died 1839)

• 1807 John Greenleaf Whittier, American poet and activist (died 1892)

• 1812 Vilhelm Petersen, Danish painter (died 1880)

• 1827 Alexander Wassilko von Serecki, Austrian lawyer and politician (died 1893)

• 1830 Jules de Goncourt, French author and critic (died 1870)

• 1835 Alexander Emanuel Agassiz, Swiss-American ichthyologist and engineer (died 1910)

• 1840 Nozu Michitsura, Japanese field marshal (died 1908)

• 1842 Sophus Lie, Norwegian mathematician and academic (died 1899)

• 1847 Émile Faguet, French author and critic (died 1916)

• 1853 Pierre Paul Émile Roux, French physician and immunologist, co-founded the Pasteur Institute (died 1933)

• 1858 Eva Nansen, Norwegian mezzo-soprano singer and pioneer on women skiing (died 1907)

• 1859 Paul César Helleu, French painter and illustrator (died 1927)

• 1866 Kazys Grinius, Lithuanian physician and politician, third President of Lithuania (died 1950)

• 1873 Ford Madox Ford, English novelist, poet, and critic (died 1939)

• 1874 William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canadian economist and politician, tenth Prime Minister of Canada (died 1950)

• 1881 Aubrey Faulkner, South African-English cricketer and coach (died 1930)

• 1884 Alison Uttley, English children's book writer (died 1976)

• 1887 Josef Lada, Czech painter and illustrator (died 1957)

• 1890 Prince Joachim of Prussia (died 1920)

• 1892 Sam Barry, American basketball player and coach (died 1950)

• 1893 Charles C. Banks, English captain and pilot (died 1971)

• 1893 Erwin Piscator, German director and producer (died 1966)

• 1894 Arthur Fiedler, American conductor (died 1979)

• 1894 Patrick Flynn, Irish-American runner and soldier (died 1969)

• 1894 Wim Schermerhorn, Dutch cartographer, engineer, and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (died 1977)

• 1895 Gerald Patterson, Australian tennis player (died 1967)

• 1898 Loren Murchison, American sprinter (died 1979)

• 1900 Mary Cartwright, English mathematician and academic, one of the first people to analyze a dynamical system with chaos (died 1998)

1901–present

• 1903 Erskine Caldwell, American novelist and short story writer (died 1987)

• 1903 Ray Noble, English bandleader, composer, and actor (died 1978)

• 1904 Paul Cadmus, American painter and illustrator (died 1999)

• 1905 Simo Häyhä, Finnish soldier and sniper (died 2002)

• 1905 Mohammad Hidayatullah, 11th Chief Justice of India, and politician, sixth Vice President of India (died 1992)

• 1905 Erico Verissimo, Brazilian author and translator (died 1975)

• 1906 Fernando Lopes-Graça, Portuguese composer and conductor (died 1994)

• 1906 Russell C. Newhouse, American pilot and engineer (died 1998)

• 1908 Willard Libby, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1980)

• 1910 Eknath Easwaran, Indian-American educator and author (died 1999)

• 1910 Sy Oliver, American singer-songwriter and trumpet player (died 1988)

• 1912 Edward Short, Baron Glenamara, English captain and politician, Lord President of the Council (died 2012)

• 1913 Burt Baskin, American businessman, co-founded Baskin-Robbins (died 1967)

• 1914 Mushtaq Ali, Indian cricketer (died 2005)

• 1914 Fernando Alonso, Cuban ballet dancer, co-founded the Cuban National Ballet (died 2013)

• 1916 Penelope Fitzgerald, English author and poet (died 2000)

• 1917 Kenneth Dike, Nigerian historian, author, and academic (died 1983)

• 1920 Kenneth E. Iverson, Canadian computer scientist, developed the APL programming language (died 2004)

• 1921 Lore Berger, German-Swiss author and translator (died 1943)

• 1922 Alan Voorhees, American engineer and academic (died 2005)

• 1923 Jaroslav Pelikan, American historian and scholar (died 2006)

• 1925 Calvin Tomkins, American author and art critic (died 2026)

• 1926 Ray Jablonski, American baseball player (died 1985)

• 1926 John Hans Krebs, American lawyer and politician (died 2014)

• 1926 Stephen Lewis, English actor, director, screenwriter, and playwright (died 2015)

• 1927 Richard Long, American actor and director (died 1974)

• 1927 Edward Meneeley, American painter and sculptor (died 2012)

• 1928 Marilyn Beck, American journalist (died 2014)

• 1928 Eli Beeding, American captain and pilot (died 2013)

• 1928 Doyle Conner, American farmer and politician, seventh Florida Commissioner of Agriculture (died 2012)

• 1929 William Safire, American journalist and author (died 2009)

• 1930 Bob Guccione, American photographer and publisher, founded Penthouse (died 2010)

• 1930 Armin Mueller-Stahl, German actor and painter

• 1930 Dorothy Rowe, Australian psychologist and author (died 2019)

• 1931 Gerald Finnerman, American director and cinematographer (died 2011)

• 1931 Dave Madden, Canadian-American actor (died 2014)

• 1931 James McGaugh, American neurobiologist and psychologist

• 1932 John Bond, English footballer and manager (died 2012)

• 1934 Irving Petlin, American painter and academic (died 2018)

• 1934 Ray Wilson, English footballer and manager (died 2018)

• 1935 Brian Langford, English cricketer (died 2013)

• 1935 Cal Ripken Sr., American baseball player, coach, and manager (died 1999)

• 1936 Pope Francis, Argentinian Pope of the Catholic Church (died 2025)

• 1936 Tommy Steele, English singer, guitarist, and actor

• 1937 Brian Hayes, Australian-English radio host (died 2025)

• 1937 Art Neville, American singer and keyboard player (died 2019)

• 1937 Kerry Packer, Australian businessman, founded World Series Cricket (died 2005)

• 1937 John Kennedy Toole, American novelist (died 1969)

• 1937 Calvin Waller, American general (died 1996)

• 1938 Peter Snell, New Zealand runner (died 2019)

• 1939 James Booker, American pianist (died 1983)

• 1939 Eddie Kendricks, American R&B singer-songwriter (died 1992)

• 1940 Kåre Valebrokk, Norwegian journalist (died 2013)

• 1940 María Elena Velasco, Mexican actress, singer, director, and screenwriter (died 2015)

• 1941 Dave Dee, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2009)

• 1941 Stan Mudenge, Zimbabwean historian and politician, Zimbabwean Minister of Foreign Affairs (died 2012)

• 1942 Muhammadu Buhari, Nigerian general and politician, 7th & 15th President of Nigeria (died 2025)

• 1942 Paul Butterfield, American singer and harmonica player (died 1987)

• 1943 Ron Geesin, Scottish pianist and composer

• 1944 Jack L. Chalker, American author and educator (died 2005)

• 1944 Carlo M. Croce, Italian-American oncologist and academic

• 1944 Bernard Hill, English actor (died 2024)

• 1945 Ernie Hudson, American actor

• 1945 David Mallet, English director

• 1945 Chris Matthews, American journalist and author

• 1945 Jüri Talvet, Estonian poet and critic

• 1945 Jacqueline Wilson, English author and academic

• 1946 Simon Bates, English radio host

• 1946 Eugene Levy, Canadian actor, director, and screenwriter

• 1947 Wes Studi, American actor and producer

• 1948 Valery Belousov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (died 2015)

• 1948 Jim Bonfanti, American rock drummer

• 1948 Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu, Turkish economist and politician

• 1949 Joel Brooks, American actor

• 1949 Sotiris Kaiafas, Cypriot footballer

• 1949 Paul Rodgers, English singer-songwriter and producer

• 1950 Laurence F. Johnson, American educator and author

• 1950 Maurice Peoples, American sprinter and coach

• 1951 Pat Hill, American football player and coach

• 1951 Ken Hitchcock, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

• 1951 Tatyana Kazankina, Russian runner

• 1953 Bill Pullman, American actor

• 1954 Sergejus Jovaiša, Lithuanian basketball player

• 1955 Brad Davis, American basketball player, coach, and sportscaster

• 1956 Peter Farrelly, American director, producer, and screenwriter

• 1956 Dominic Lawson, English journalist and author

• 1956 Totka Petrova, Bulgarian runner

• 1957 Wendy Hoyte, English sprinter

• 1957 Bob Ojeda, American baseball player and coach

• 1958 Mike Mills, American bass player, songwriter, and producer

• 1958 Donald Payne Jr., American politician (died 2024)

• 1959 Bob Stinson, American songwriter and guitarist (died 1995)

• 1961 Mansoor al-Jamri, Bahraini journalist and author

• 1961 Sara Dallin, English singer

• 1962 Paul Dobson, English footballer

• 1962 Galina Malchugina, Russian sprinter

• 1962 Rocco Mediate, American golfer and journalist

• 1964 Frank Musil, Czech ice hockey player and coach

• 1964 Joe Wolf, American basketball player and coach (died 2024)

• 1965 Craig Berube, Canadian ice hockey player and coach

• 1965 Jeff Grayer, American basketball player and coach

• 1966 Tracy Byrd, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

• 1966 Kristiina Ojuland, Estonian politician, 23rd Estonian Minister of Foreign Affairs

• 1967 Vincent Damphousse, Canadian ice hockey player and sportscaster

• 1967 Gigi D'Agostino, Italian musician, singer and DJ.

• 1967 Karsten Neitzel, German footballer and manager

• 1968 Claudio Suárez, Mexican footballer

• 1968 Paul Tracy, Canadian race car driver and sportscaster

• 1969 Laurie Holden, American actress and model

• 1969 Inna Lasovskaya, Russian triple jumper

• 1969 Chuck Liddell, American mixed martial artist and kick-boxer

• 1969 Mick Quinn, English singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer

• 1970 Sean Patrick Thomas, American actor

• 1971 Claire Forlani, English actress

• 1971 Alan Khan, South African radio and TV presenter

• 1971 Nikki McCray-Penson, American basketball player and coach (died 2023)

• 1971 Antoine Rigaudeau, French basketball player

• 1972 John Abraham, Indian actor and producer

• 1972 Iván Pedroso, Cuban long jumper and coach

• 1973 Eddie Fisher, American drummer

• 1973 Konstadinos Gatsioudis, Greek javelin thrower

• 1973 Rian Johnson, American director, producer, and screenwriter

• 1973 Paula Radcliffe, English runner

• 1973 Hasan Vural, German-Turkish footballer

• 1974 Charl Langeveldt, South African cricketer

• 1974 Sarah Paulson, American actress

• 1974 Giovanni Ribisi, American actor

• 1974 Marissa Ribisi, American actress

• 1975 Nick Dinsmore, American wrestler and trainer

• 1975 Susanthika Jayasinghe, Sri Lankan sprinter

• 1975 Milla Jovovich, Ukrainian-American actress

• 1976 Éric Bédard, Canadian speed skater and coach

• 1976 Nir Davidovich, Israeli footballer and manager

• 1976 Patrick Müller, Swiss footballer

• 1976 Andrew Simpson, English sailor (died 2013)

• 1976 Takeo Spikes, American football player and sportscaster

• 1977 Arnaud Clément, French tennis player

• 1977 Samuel Påhlsson, Swedish ice hockey player

• 1977 Katheryn Winnick, Canadian actress

• 1978 Alex Cintrón, Puerto Rican baseball player and sportscaster

• 1978 Riteish Deshmukh, Indian film actor, producer and architect

• 1978 Manny Pacquiao, Filipino boxer and politician

• 1978 Neil Sanderson, Canadian drummer and songwriter

• 1978 Chase Utley, American baseball player

• 1979 Matt Murley, American ice hockey player

• 1979 Paul Smith, English footballer

• 1980 Suzy Batkovic, Australian basketball player

• 1980 Ryan Hunter-Reay, American race car driver

• 1980 Alexandra Papageorgiou, Greek hammer thrower

• 1980 Eli Pariser, American activist and author

• 1981 Jerry Hsu, American skateboarder and photographer

• 1981 Tim Wiese, German footballer

• 1982 Josh Barfield, American baseball player

• 1982 Lorenzo Cittadini, Italian rugby player

• 1982 Craig Kielburger, Canadian activist and author

• 1982 Stéphane Lasme, Gabonese basketball player

• 1983 Gregory Campbell, Canadian ice hockey player and executive

• 1983 Erik Christensen, Canadian ice hockey player

• 1983 Mikky Ekko, American singer and songwriter

• 1983 Haron Keitany, Kenyan runner

• 1983 Sébastien Ogier, French race car driver

• 1984 Luis Alfageme, Argentinian footballer

• 1984 Julian Bennett, English footballer

• 1984 Andrew Davies, English footballer

• 1984 Shannon Woodward, American actress

• 1985 Fernando Abad, Dominican baseball player

• 1985 Łukasz Broź, Polish footballer

• 1985 Craig Reid, English footballer

• 1986 Emma Bell, American actress

• 1986 Frei Gilson, Brazilian Catholic priest and singer

• 1986 Frank Winterstein, Australian-Samoan rugby league player

• 1986 Vanessa Zima, American actress

• 1987 Maryna Arzamasova, Belarusian middle-distance runner

• 1987 Bo Guagua, Chinese businessman

• 1987 Chelsea Manning, American soldier and intelligence analyst

• 1987 Donovan Solano, Colombian baseball player

• 1988 Liisa Ehrberg, Estonian cyclist

• 1988 Grethe Grünberg, Estonian ice dancer

• 1988 Kris Joseph, Canadian basketball player

• 1988 David Rudisha, Kenyan runner

• 1988 Yann Sommer, Swiss footballer

• 1988 Craig Sutherland, Scottish footballer

• 1989 André Ayew, Ghanaian footballer

• 1989 Taylor York, American musician

• 1990 Graham Rogers, American actor

• 1991 Jordan Rankin, Australian rugby league player

• 1991 Atsedu Tsegay, Ethiopian runner

• 1992 Quinton de Kock, South African cricketer

• 1992 Buddy Hield, Bahamian basketball player

• 1992 Joshua Ingram, Canadian drummer and percussionist

• 1993 Kiersey Clemons, American actress

• 1993 Patricia Kú Flores, Peruvian tennis player

• 1994 Lloyd Perrett, New Zealand rugby league player

• 1994 Nat Wolff, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player and actor

• 1995 Guerschon Yabusele, French basketball player

• 1996 Elizaveta Tuktamysheva, Russian figure skater

• 1997 Naiktha Bains, British-Australian tennis player

• 1997 Shoma Uno, Japanese figure skater

• 1998 Jasmine Armfield, English actress

• 1998 Martin Ødegaard, Norwegian footballer

• 1999 Holly Humberstone, English singer-songwriter

• 1999 Mirei Sasaki, Japanese singer, model, and actress

• 2000 Wesley Fofana, French footballer

• 2002 Castello Lukeba, French footballer

Deaths

Pre-1600

• 779 Sturm, abbot of Fulda

• 908 al-Abbas ibn al-Hasan al-Jarjara'i, Abbasid vizier

• 908 Abdallah ibn al-Mu'tazz, Abbasid prince and poet, anti-caliph for one day

• 942 William I, duke of Normandy

• 1187 Pope Gregory VIII (born 1100)

• 1195 Count Baldwin V of Hainaut (born 1150)

• 1273 Rumi, Persian jurist, theologian, and poet (born 1207)

• 1316 Juan Fernández, bishop-elect of León

• 1419 William Gascoigne, Chief Justice of England

• 1471 Infanta Isabel, Duchess of Burgundy (born 1397)

• 1559 Irene di Spilimbergo, Italian Renaissance poet and painter (born 1538)

• 1562 Eleonora di Toledo, Grand Duchess of Tuscany (born 1522)

1601–1900

• 1663 Nzinga of Ndongo and Matamba (born 1583)

• 1721 Richard Lumley, 1st Earl of Scarbrough, English soldier and politician, Chancellor of the Duchy of Lancaster (born 1640)

• 1830 Simón Bolívar, Venezuelan general and politician, second President of Venezuela (born 1783)

• 1833 Kaspar Hauser, German feral child (born 1812?)

• 1847 Marie Louise, Duchess of Parma (born 1791)

• 1857 Francis Beaufort, Irish hydrographer and officer in the Royal Navy (born 1774)

• 1891 José María Iglesias, Mexican politician and interim President (1876–1877) (born 1823)

1901–present

• 1904 William Shiels, Irish-Australian politician, 16th Premier of Victoria (born 1848)

• 1907 William Thomson, 1st Baron Kelvin, Irish-Scottish physicist and engineer (born 1824)

• 1909 Leopold II of Belgium (born 1835)

• 1917 Elizabeth Garrett Anderson, English physician and activist (born 1836)

• 1927 Rajendra Lahiri, Indian activist (born 1892)

• 1928 Frank Rinehart, American photographer (born 1861)

• 1929 Manuel de Oliveira Gomes da Costa, Portuguese general and politician, tenth President of Portugal (born 1863)

• 1930 Peter Warlock, Welsh composer and critic (born 1894)

• 1932 Charles Winckler, Danish discus thrower, shot putter, and tug of war competitor (born 1867)

• 1933 13th Dalai Lama (born 1876)

• 1935 Lizette Woodworth Reese, American poet (born 1856)

• 1940 Alicia Boole Stott, Anglo-Irish mathematician and academic (born 1860)

• 1942 Allen Bathurst, Lord Apsley, English lieutenant and politician (born 1895)

• 1947 Christos Tsigiridis, Greek engineer (born 1877)

• 1956 Eddie Acuff, American actor (born 1903)

• 1957 Dorothy L. Sayers, English author, poet, and playwright (born 1893)

• 1962 Thomas Mitchell, American actor (born 1892)

• 1964 Victor Francis Hess, Austrian-American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1883)

• 1967 Harold Holt, Australian lawyer and politician, 17th Prime Minister of Australia (born 1908)

• 1970 Oliver Waterman Larkin, American historian, author, and educator (born 1896)

• 1978 Don Ellis, American trumpet player, composer, and bandleader (born 1934)

• 1981 Antiochos Evangelatos, Greek composer and conductor (born 1903)

• 1982 Homer S. Ferguson, American lawyer, judge, and politician (born 1889)

• 1986 Guillermo Cano Isaza, Colombian journalist (born 1925)

• 1987 Bernardus Johannes Alfrink, Dutch cardinal (born 1900)

• 1987 Linda Wong, American porn actress (born 1951)

• 1987 Marguerite Yourcenar, Belgian-American author and poet (born 1903)

• 1992 Günther Anders, German journalist and philosopher (born 1902)

• 1992 Dana Andrews, American actor (born 1909)

• 1999 Rex Allen, American singer-songwriter and actor (born 1920)

• 1999 Grover Washington Jr., American singer-songwriter and saxophonist (born 1943)

• 1999 C. Vann Woodward, American historian and academic (born 1908)

• 2002 K. W. Devanayagam, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, tenth Sri Lankan Minister of Justice (born 1910)

• 2003 Otto Graham, American football player and coach (born 1921)

• 2004 Tom Wesselmann, American painter and sculptor (born 1931)

• 2005 Jack Anderson, American journalist and author (born 1922)

• 2005 Marc Favreau, Canadian actor and poet (born 1929)

• 2005 Haljand Udam, Estonian orientalist and academic (born 1936)

• 2006 Larry Sherry, American baseball player and coach (born 1935)

• 2008 Sammy Baugh, American football player and coach (born 1914)

• 2008 Freddy Breck, German singer-songwriter, producer, and journalist (born 1942)

• 2008 Dave Smith, American baseball player and coach (born 1955)

• 2008 Gregoire, Congolese chimpanzee, oldest recorded (born 1942)

• 2009 Chris Henry, American football player (born 1983)

• 2009 Jennifer Jones, American actress (born 1919)

• 2009 Alaina Reed Hall, American actress (born 1946)

• 2010 Captain Beefheart, American singer-songwriter (born 1941)

• 2010 Walt Dropo, American basketball and baseball player (born 1923)

• 2010 Ralph Coates, English footballer (born 1946)

• 2011 Eva Ekvall, Venezuelan journalist and author, Miss Venezuela 2000 (born 1983)

• 2011 Kim Jong-il, North Korean commander and politician, second Supreme Leader of North Korea (born 1941)

• 2012 Richard Adams, Filipino-American activist (born 1947)

• 2012 James Gower, American priest and activist, co-founded the College of the Atlantic (born 1922)

• 2012 Daniel Inouye, American captain and politician (born 1924)

• 2012 Laurier LaPierre, Canadian historian, journalist, and politician (born 1929)

• 2012 Frank Pastore, American baseball player and radio host (born 1957)

• 2013 Fred Bruemmer, Latvian-Canadian photographer (born 1929)

• 2013 Ricardo María Carles Gordó, Spanish cardinal (born 1926)

• 2013 Richard Heffner, American historian and television host (born 1925)

• 2013 Tetsurō Kashibuchi, Japanese drummer, songwriter, and producer (born 1950)

• 2013 Janet Rowley, American geneticist and biologist (born 1925)

• 2013 Conny van Rietschoten, Dutch sailor (born 1926)

• 2014 Dieter Grau, German-American scientist and engineer (born 1913)

• 2014 Richard C. Hottelet, American journalist (born 1917)

• 2014 Oleh Lysheha, Ukrainian poet and playwright (born 1949)

• 2014 Lowell Steward, American captain (born 1919)

• 2014 Ivan Vekić, Croatian colonel, lawyer, and politician, Croatian Minister of the Interior (born 1938)

• 2015 Hal Brown, American baseball player and manager (born 1924)

• 2015 Osamu Hayaishi, American-Japanese biochemist and academic (born 1920)

• 2015 Michael Wyschogrod, German-American philosopher and theologian (born 1928)

• 2016 Benjamin A. Gilman, American soldier and politician (born 1922)

• 2016 Henry Heimlich, American doctor (born 1920)

• 2016 Gordon Hunt, American voice director (born 1929)

• 2020 Jeremy Bulloch, English actor (born 1945)

• 2020 Allen Dines, American politician (born 1921)

• 2023 Ronaldo Valdez, Filipino actor (born 1947)

• 2023 James McCaffrey, American actor (born 1958)

• 2024 Igor Kirillov, Russian general (born 1970)

• 2024 Marisa Paredes, Spanish film actress (born 1946)

• 2025 William Rush, English actor (born 1994)

Holidays and observances

Christian feast day:

• Daniel the Prophet

• Josep Manyanet i Vives

• Lazarus of Bethany (local commemoration in Cuba)

• O Sapientia

• Olympias the Deaconess

• Wivina

• Sturm

• December 17 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Accession Day (Bahrain)

• International Day to End Violence Against Sex Workers

• Kurdish Flag Day (Global Kurdish population)

• National Day (Bhutan)

• Pan American Aviation Day (United States)

• Wright Brothers Day, a United States federal observance by Presidential proclamation

References

External links

• BBC: On This Day

• Historical Events on December 17