EVENTS OF THIS DAY IN THE PAST

[edit]

• 63 BC – Cicero gives the fourth and final of the Catiline Orations.
• 633 – Fourth Council of Toledo takes place.
• 1082 – Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona is assassinated.
• 1408 – Emir Edigu of Golden Horde reaches Moscow.
• 1484 – Pope Innocent VIII issues the Summis desiderantes affectibus, a papal bull that deputizes Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger as inquisitors to root out alleged witchcraft in Germany.
• 1492 – Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to set foot on the island of Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic).
• 1496 – King Manuel I of Portugal issues a decree of expulsion of "heretics" from the country.
• 1757 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Leuthen – Frederick II of Prussia leads Prussian forces to a decisive victory over Austrian forces under Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine.
• 1766 – In London, James Christie holds his first sale.
• 1775 – At Fort Ticonderoga, Henry Knox begins his historic transport of artillery to Cambridge, Massachusetts.
• 1815 – Foundation of Maceió, Brazil.
• 1831 – Former U.S. President John Quincy Adams takes his seat in the House of Representatives.
• 1847 – Jefferson Davis is elected to the U.S. senate, his first political post.
• 1848 – California Gold Rush: In a message to the United States Congress, U.S. President James K. Polk confirms that large amounts of gold had been discovered in California.
• 1865 – Chincha Islands War: Peru allies with Chile against Spain.
• 1876 – The Brooklyn Theater Fire kills at least 278 people in Brooklyn, New York.
• 1916 – British premier H. H. Asquith resigns from his post.
• 1920 – Dimitrios Rallis forms a government in Greece.
• 1932 – German-born Swiss physicist Albert Einstein is granted an American visa.
• 1933 – Prohibition in the United States ends: Utah becomes the 36th U.S. state to ratify the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution, thus establishing the required 75% of states needed to enact the amendment. (This overturned the 18th Amendment which had made the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcohol illegal in the United States.)
• 1934 – Abyssinia Crisis: Italian troops attack Wal Wal in Abyssinia, taking four days to capture the city.
• 1936 – The Soviet Union adopts a new constitution and the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic is established as a full Union Republic of the USSR.
• 1941 – World War II: In the Battle of Moscow, Georgy Zhukov launches a massive Soviet counter-attack against the German army, with the biggest offensive launched against Army Group Centre.
• 1941 – World War II: Great Britain declares war on Finland, Hungary and Romania.
• 1943 – World War II: U.S. Army Air Force begins attacking Germany's secret weapons bases in Operation Crossbow.
• 1945 – Flight 19 is lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
• 1952 – Great Smog: A cold fog descends upon London, combining with air pollution and killing at least 12,000 in the weeks and months that follow.
• 1955 – The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merge and form the AFL–CIO.
• 1955 – E. D. Nixon and Rosa Parks lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
• 1957 – Sukarno expels all Dutch people from Indonesia.
• 1958 – Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) is inaugurated in the United Kingdom by Queen Elizabeth II when she speaks to the Lord Provost in a call from Bristol to Edinburgh.
• 1958 – The Preston By-pass, the UK's first stretch of motorway, opens to traffic for the first time. (It is now part of the M6 and M55 motorways.)
• 1964 – Vietnam War: For his heroism in battle earlier in the year, Captain Roger Donlon is awarded the first Medal of Honor of the war.
• 1969 – The four node ARPANET network is established.
• 1977 – Egypt breaks diplomatic relations with Syria, Libya, Algeria, Iraq and South Yemen. The move is in retaliation for the Declaration of Tripoli against Egypt.
• 1978 – The Soviet Union signs a "friendship treaty" with the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.
• 1983 – Dissolution of the Military Junta in Argentina.
• 1993 – The mayor of Vienna, Helmut Zilk, is injured by a letter bomb.
• 1995 – Sri Lankan Civil War: The Sri Lankan government announces the conquest of the Tamil stronghold of Jaffna.
• 2004 – The Civil Partnership Act comes into effect in the United Kingdom, and the first civil partnership is registered there.
• 2005 – The Lake Tanganyika earthquake causes significant damage, mostly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• 2006 – Commodore Frank Bainimarama overthrows the government in Fiji.
• 2007 – Westroads Mall shooting: A gunman opens fire with a semi-automatic rifle at an Omaha, Nebraska, mall, killing eight people before taking his own life.
• 2012 – At least 8 people are killed and 12 others injured after a 5.6 earthquake strikes Iran's South Khorasan Province.

Births[edit]

• 852 – Zhu Wen, Chinese emperor (d. 912)
• 1377 – Jianwen Emperor of China (d. 1402)
• 1443 – Pope Julius II (d. 1513)
• 1495 – Nicolas Cleynaerts, Flemish philologist and lexicographer (d. 1542)
• 1537 – Ashikaga Yoshiaki, Japanese shogun (d. 1597)
• 1539 – Fausto Sozzini, Italian theologian (d. 1604)
• 1547 – Ubbo Emmius, Dutch historian and geographer (d. 1625)
• 1595 – Henry Lawes, English composer (d. 1662)
• 1661 – Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, English politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (d. 1724)
• 1666 – Francesco Scarlatti, Italian composer (d. 1741)
• 1687 – Francesco Geminiani, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1762)
• 1697 – Giuseppe de Majo, Italian organist and composer (d. 1771)
• 1782 – Martin Van Buren, American lawyer and politician, 8th President of the United States (d. 1862)
• 1803 – Fyodor Tyutchev, Russian poet (d. 1873)
• 1820 – Afanasy Fet, Russian poet and author (d. 1892)
• 1822 – Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz, American philosopher and academic, co-founded Radcliffe College (d. 1907)
• 1829 – Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière, French-Canadian politician, 4th Premier of Quebec (d. 1908)
• 1830 – Christina Rossetti, English poet and author (d. 1894)
• 1839 – George Armstrong Custer, American general (d. 1876)
• 1841 – Marcus Daly, Irish-American businessman (d. 1900)
• 1855 – Clinton Hart Merriam, American zoologist, ornithologist, entomologist, and ethnographer (d. 1942)
• 1859 – John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, English admiral and politician, 2nd Governor-General of New Zealand (d. 1935)
• 1863 – Paul Painlevé, French mathematician and politician, 84th Prime Minister of France (d. 1933)
• 1867 – Antti Aarne, Finnish author (d. 1925)
• 1867 – Józef Piłsudski, Polish field marshal and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Poland (d. 1935)
• 1868 – Arnold Sommerfeld, German physicist and academic (d. 1951)
• 1869 – Ellis Parker Butler, American author (d. 1937)
• 1870 – Vítězslav Novák, Czech composer and educator (d. 1949)
• 1871 – Bill Pickett, American rodeo performer (d. 1932)
• 1872 – Harry Nelson Pillsbury, American chess player (d. 1906)
• 1875 – Arthur Currie, Canadian general (d. 1933)
• 1879 – Clyde Vernon Cessna, American pilot and businessman, founded the Cessna Aircraft Corporation (d. 1954)
• 1881 – René Cresté, French actor (d. 1922)
• 1886 – Pieter Oud, Dutch historian, academic, and politician, Minister of Finance of the Netherlands (d. 1968)
• 1886 – Rose Wilder Lane, American journalist and author (d. 1968)
• 1890 – David Bomberg, English painter, illustrator, and academic (d. 1957)
• 1890 – Fritz Lang, Austrian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1976)
• 1891 – Paul Kogerman, Estonian chemist and academic (d. 1951)
• 1894 – Charles Robberts Swart, South African lawyer and politician, 1st State President of South Africa (d. 1982)
• 1895 – Elbert Frank Cox, American mathematician and academic (d. 1969)
• 1896 – Ann Nolan Clark, American historian, author, and educator (d. 1995)
• 1896 – Carl Ferdinand Cori, Czech-American biochemist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)
• 1897 – Nunnally Johnson, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1977)
• 1897 – Gershom Scholem, German-Israeli philosopher and historian (d. 1982)
• 1898 – Josh Malihabadi, Indian-Pakistani poet (d. 1982)
• 1898 – Grace Moore, American soprano and actress (d. 1947)
• 1900 – Jimmy Dimmock, English footballer (d. 1972)
• 1901 – Walt Disney, American animator, director, producer, and screenwriter, co-founded The Walt Disney Company (d. 1966)
• 1901 – Milton H. Erickson, American psychiatrist and author (d. 1980)
• 1901 – Werner Heisenberg, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1976)
• 1901 – Marjorie Eaton, American painter and actress (d. 1986)
• 1902 – Emeric Pressburger, Hungarian-English director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1988)
• 1902 – Strom Thurmond, American educator, general, and politician, 103rd Governor of South Carolina (d. 2003)
• 1903 – Johannes Heesters, Dutch-German actor and singer (d. 2011)
• 1903 – C. F. Powell, English-Italian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1969)
• 1905 – Gus Mancuso, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 1984)
• 1906 – Otto Preminger, Austrian-American actor, director, and producer (d. 1986)
• 1907 – Lin Biao, Chinese general and politician, 2nd Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China (d. 1971)
• 1907 – Giuseppe Occhialini, Italian-French physicist and academic (d. 1993)
• 1909 – Musashiyama Takeshi, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1969)
• 1910 – Abraham Polonsky, American director and screenwriter (d. 1999)
• 1911 – Władysław Szpilman, Polish pianist and composer (d. 2000)
• 1912 – Sonny Boy Williamson II, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (d. 1965)
• 1913 – Esther Borja, Cuban soprano and actress (d. 2013)
• 1914 – Hans Hellmut Kirst, German lieutenant and author (d. 1989)
• 1916 – Margaret Hayes, American actress (d. 1977)
• 1916 – Hilary Koprowski, Polish-American virologist and immunologist, created the Polio vaccine (d. 2013)
• 1916 – Walt McPherson, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013)
• 1917 – Ken Downing, English race car driver (d. 2004)
• 1917 – Wenche Foss, Norwegian actress (d. 2011)
• 1919 – Alun Gwynne Jones, Baron Chalfont, English historian and politician
• 1921 – Alvy Moore, American actor and producer (d. 1997)
• 1925 – Anastasio Somoza Debayle, Nicaraguan politician, 73rd President of Nicaragua (d. 1980)
• 1927 – Bhumibol Adulyadej, Thai king
• 1929 – Madis Kõiv, Estonian physicist, philosopher, and author (d. 2014)
• 1931 – Ladislav Novák, Czech footballer and manager (d. 2011)
• 1932 – Alf Dubs, Baron Dubs, Czech-English politician
• 1932 – Sheldon Lee Glashow, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1932 – Jim Hurtubise, American race car driver (d. 1989)
• 1932 – Little Richard, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor
• 1933 – Gennadiy Agapov, Russian race walker (d. 1999)
• 1934 – Joan Didion, American author and screenwriter
• 1934 – Nikos Kourkoulos, Greek actor and director (d. 2007)
• 1935 – Marise Chamberlain, New Zealand runner
• 1935 – Calvin Trillin, American journalist, author, and poet
• 1935 – Yury Vlasov, Ukrainian-Russian weightlifter and politician
• 1936 – James Lee Burke, American author
• 1938 – JJ Cale, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Leathercoated Minds) (d. 2013)
• 1938 – J. D. McDuffie, American race car driver (d. 1991)
• 1939 – Minita Chico-Nazario, Filipino lawyer and jurist
• 1940 – Boris Ignatyev, Russian footballer and manager
• 1940 – Peter Pohl, Swedish author, director, and screenwriter
• 1940 – Adrian Street, Welsh-American wrestler and actor
• 1940 – Frank Wilson, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2012)
• 1943 – Eva Joly, Norwegian-French judge and politician
• 1944 – Jeroen Krabbé, Dutch actor, director, and producer
• 1944 – Loukas Sideras, Greek drummer and producer (Aphrodite's Child)
• 1945 – Serge Chapleau, Canadian cartoonist
• 1945 – Moshe Katsav, Iranian-Israeli politician, 8th President of Israel
• 1946 – José Carreras, Spanish tenor and actor
• 1946 – Andy Kim, Canadian singer-songwriter
• 1946 – Sarel van der Merwe, South African race car driver
• 1947 – Bruce Golding, Jamaican politician, 8th Prime Minister of Jamaica
• 1947 – Tony Gregory, Irish educator and politician (d. 2009)
• 1947 – Jim Messina, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Buffalo Springfield, Loggins and Messina, and Poco)
• 1947 – Jim Plunkett, American football player and radio host
• 1947 – Don Touhig, Welsh politician
• 1947 – Rick Wills, English bass player (Foreigner, Small Faces, Bad Company, Jokers Wild, and The Jones Gang)
• 1949 – John Altman, English composer and conductor
• 1949 – David Manning, English diplomat, British Ambassador to the United States
• 1949 – Abdullah Senussi, Sudanese-Libyan general
• 1950 – Camarón de la Isla, Spanish singer and guitarist (d. 1992)
• 1950 – Osvaldo Golijov, Argentinian composer
• 1950 – James Knaggs, American Salvation Army officer
• 1951 – Morgan Brittany, American actress
• 1951 – Anne-Mie van Kerckhoven, Belgian painter and illustrator
• 1951 – Larry Zbyszko, American wrestler
• 1952 – Bobby Barth, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Blackfoot)
• 1953 – Gwen Lister, South African-Namibian journalist, publisher, and activist
• 1954 – Hanif Kureishi, English author and playwright
• 1954 – Gary Roenicke, American baseball player
• 1955 – Juha Tiainen, Finnish hammer thrower (d. 2003)
• 1956 – Klaus Allofs, German footballer and manager
• 1956 – Brian Backer, American actor
• 1956 – Adam Thorpe, French-English author, poet, and playwright
• 1956 – Krystian Zimerman, Polish pianist and educator
• 1957 – Raquel Argandoña, Chilean model, actress, and politician
• 1957 – Patriz Ilg, German steeplechase runner
• 1957 – Art Monk, American football player
• 1958 – Dean Erickson, American actor
• 1958 – Dynamite Kid, English wrestler
• 1959 – Lee Chapman, English footballer
• 1959 – Oleksandr Yaroslavsky, Ukrainian businessman
• 1960 – Frans Adelaar, Dutch footballer and manager
• 1960 – Jack Russell, American singer-songwriter and producer (Great White)
• 1960 – Matthew Taylor, English politician
• 1961 – Ralf Dujmovits, German mountaineer
• 1961 – Sophia Vossou, Greek singer
• 1962 – José Cura, Argentinian tenor, conductor, and director
• 1962 – Pablo Morales, American swimmer
• 1962 – Nivek Ogre, Canadian singer-songwriter and actor (Skinny Puppy, ohGr, Ministry, and Rx)
• 1962 – Samart Payakaroon, Thai boxer
• 1962 – Fred Rutten, Dutch footballer and manager
• 1963 – Doctor Dré, American television and radio host
• 1963 – Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards, English ski jumper
• 1963 – Ty England, American singer and guitarist
• 1963 – Carrie Hamilton, American actress and singer (d. 2002)
• 1964 – Cliff Eidelman, American composer
• 1965 – Manish Malhotra, Indian costume designer
• 1965 – John Rzeznik, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Goo Goo Dolls)
• 1965 – Wayne Smith, Jamaican rapper
• 1965 – Valeriy Spitsyn, Russian race walker
• 1966 – Patricia Kaas, French singer-songwriter and actress
• 1966 – Lee Seung-chul, South Korean singer (Boohwal)
• 1967 – Gary Allan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1967 – Konstantin-Assen, Prince of Vidin
• 1967 – Amanda Lepore, American model, nightlife and fashion icon, performance artist, recording artist and transgender public figure
• 1968 – Margaret Cho, American comedian, actress, producer, and screenwriter
• 1968 – Lisa Marie, American model and actress
• 1968 – Lydia Millet, American author
• 1968 – Falilat Ogunkoya, Nigerian sprinter
• 1969 – Eric Etebari, American actor, director, and producer
• 1969 – Morgan J. Freeman, American director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1969 – Alex Kapp Horner, American actress
• 1969 – Sajid Javid, English banker and politician
• 1969 – Lewis Gordon Pugh, British swimmer and lawyer
• 1969 – Ramón Ramírez, Mexican footballer
• 1970 – Kevin Haller, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1971 – Ashia Hansen, British triple jumper
• 1971 – Kali Rocha, American actress
• 1971 – Kavus Torabi, Iranian-English guitarist (Knifeworld, Cardiacs, The Monsoon Bassoon, Guapo, and Chrome Hoof)
• 1971 – Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, German politician, Federal Minister of Defence
• 1972 – Cliff Floyd, American baseball player and sportscaster
• 1972 – Mike Mahoney, American baseball player
• 1972 – Duane Ross, American hurdler
• 1972 – Angela Shelton, American actress, producer, and screenwriter
• 1973 – Argo Arbeiter, Estonian footballer
• 1973 – Arik Benado, Israeli footballer and manager
• 1973 – Shalom Harlow, Canadian model and actress
• 1973 – Andrei Krasnopjorov, Estonian footballer
• 1973 – Mikelangelo Loconte, Italian singer-songwriter and producer
• 1973 – Luboš Motl, Czech physicist
• 1973 – Danielle Winits, Brazilian actress, singer, and dancer
• 1974 – Charlie Batch, American football player
• 1974 – Brian Lewis, American sprinter
• 1974 – Elbrus Tedeyev, Ukrainian wrestler
• 1975 – Ronnie O'Sullivan, English snooker player
• 1975 – Paula Patton, American actress
• 1976 – Amy Acker, American actress
• 1976 – Xavier Garbajosa, French rugby player
• 1976 – Rachel Komisarz, American swimmer
• 1977 – Peter van der Vlag, Dutch footballer
• 1978 – Pachrapa Chaichua, Thai actress
• 1978 – Olli Jokinen, Finnish ice hockey player
• 1978 – Marcelo Zalayeta, Uruguayan footballer
• 1979 – Matteo Ferrari, Italian footballer
• 1979 – Niklas Hagman, Finnish ice hockey player
• 1979 – Evonne Hsu, American-Taiwanese singer
• 1979 – Gareth McAuley, Irish footballer
• 1979 – Nick Stahl, American actor and producer
• 1980 – Tamara Feldman, American actress
• 1980 – Shizuka Itō, Japanese voice actress and singer
• 1980 – Ibrahim Maalouf, Lebanese-French trumpet player and composer
• 1981 – Leila Tong, Hong Kong actress
• 1982 – Eddy Curry, American basketball player
• 1982 – Trai Essex, American football player
• 1982 – Keri Hilson, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress (The Clutch)
• 1982 – Karl Palatu, Estonian footballer
• 1983 – Cooper Cronk, Australian rugby player
• 1983 – Samantha Lewthwaite, Irish wife of Germaine Lindsay
• 1983 – Tiffany Weimer, American soccer player
• 1983 – JP White, Swedish bass player (Vains of Jenna)
• 1984 – Chris Solinsky, American runner
• 1985 – Shikhar Dhawan, Indian cricketer
• 1985 – Frankie Muniz, American actor and race car driver
• 1985 – Josh Smith, American basketball player
• 1985 – Nico Verdonck, Belgian race car driver
• 1986 – LeGarrette Blount, American football player
• 1986 – James Hinchcliffe, Canadian race car driver
• 1987 – James Argent, English singer, actor and radio host
• 1987 – Tommy Fraser, English footballer
• 1988 – Joanna Rowsell, English cyclist
• 1988 – Miralem Sulejmani, Serbian footballer
• 1989 – Pamela Jelimo, Kenyan middle-distance runner
• 1989 – Linet Masai, Kenyan long-distance runner
• 1989 – Kwon Yuri, South Korean singer, dancer, and actress (Girls' Generation)
• 1990 – Montee Ball, American football player
• 1991 – Jacopo Sala, Italian footballer
• 1991 – Carolin Schäfer, German heptathlete
• 1992 – Ilja Antonov, Estonian footballer
• 1993 – Ross Barkley, English footballer
• 2009 – Ayelet Galena, American child born with Dyskeratosis congenita (d. 2012)

Deaths[edit]

• 63 BC – Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura, Roman politician
• 1082 – Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona (b. 1053)
• 1355 – John III, Duke of Brabant (b. 1300)
• 1560 – Francis II of France (b. 1544)
• 1570 – Johan Friis, Danish politician (b. 1494)
• 1624 – Gaspard Bauhin, Swiss botanist and physician (b. 1560)
• 1654 – Jean François Sarrazin, French author (b. 1611)
• 1663 – Severo Bonini, Italian organist and composer (b. 1582)
• 1749 – Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye, Canadian commander and explorer (b. 1685)
• 1758 – Johann Friedrich Fasch, German violinist and composer (b. 1688)
• 1770 – James Stirling, Scottish mathematician (b. 1692)
• 1784 – Phillis Wheatley, Senegalese-American slave and poet (b. 1753)
• 1791 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian pianist and composer (b. 1756)
• 1819 – Friedrich Leopold zu Stolberg-Stolberg, German poet and lawyer (b. 1750)
• 1870 – Alexandre Dumas, French author and playwright (b. 1802)
• 1887 – Eliza R. Snow, American poet and songwriter (b. 1804)
• 1891 – Pedro II of Brazil (b. 1825)
• 1895 – Gall, American tribal chief (b. 1840)
• 1918 – Schalk Willem Burger, South African commander, lawyer, and politician, 6th President of the South African Republic (b. 1852)
• 1925 – Władysław Reymont, Polish author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867)
• 1926 – Claude Monet, French painter (b. 1840)
• 1931 – Vachel Lindsay, American poet (b. 1879)
• 1940 – Jan Kubelík, Czech violinist and composer (b. 1880)
• 1941 – Amrita Sher-Gil, Hungarian-Pakistani painter (b. 1913)
• 1942 – Jock Delves Broughton, English captain (b. 1883)
• 1946 – Louis Dewis, Belgian-French painter (b. 1872)
• 1950 – Sri Aurobindo, Indian guru and poet (b. 1872)
• 1951 – Shoeless Joe Jackson, American baseball player and manager (b. 1887)
• 1951 – Abanindranath Tagore, Indian painter, author, and academic (b. 1871)
• 1953 – Jorge Negrete, Mexican-American singer and actor (b. 1911)
• 1953 – William Sterling Parsons, American admiral (b. 1901)
• 1955 – Glenn L. Martin, American pilot and businessman, founded the Glenn L. Martin Company (b. 1886)
• 1961 – Emil Fuchs, German-American lawyer and businessman (b. 1878)
• 1963 – Karl Amadeus Hartmann, German composer (b. 1905)
• 1963 – Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, Indian-Pakistani politician, 5th Prime Minister of Pakistan (b. 1892)
• 1964 – V. Veerasingam, Sri Lankan educator and politician (b. 1892)
• 1965 – Joseph Erlanger, American physiologist, neuroscientist, and academic Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874)
• 1966 – Sylvère Maes, Belgian cyclist (b. 1909)
• 1968 – Fred Clark, American actor (b. 1914)
• 1969 – Princess Alice of Battenberg (b. 1885)
• 1969 – Claudius Dornier, German businessman, founded Dornier Flugzeugwerke (b. 1884)
• 1973 – Robert Watson-Watt, Scottish engineer, invented the radar (b. 1892)
• 1975 – Constance McLaughlin Green, American historian and author (b. 1897)
• 1977 – Katherine Milhous, American author and illustrator (b. 1894)
• 1977 – Aleksandr Vasilevsky, Russian marshal and politician, Minister of Defence for the Soviet Union (b. 1895)
• 1979 – Jesse Pearson, American actor, singer, and screenwriter (b. 1930)
• 1983 – Robert Aldrich, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1918)
• 1986 – Edward Youde, Welsh-Chinese sinologist and diplomat, 26th Governor of Hong Kong (b. 1924)
• 1989 – John Pritchard, English conductor (b. 1921)
• 1989 – George Selden, American author (b. 1929)
• 1991 – Robert Karvelas, American actor (b. 1921)
• 1991 – Richard Speck, American murderer (b. 1941)
• 1993 – Doug Hopkins, American guitarist and songwriter (Gin Blossoms) (b. 1961)
• 1994 – Harry Horner, Czech-American director, producer, and production designer (b. 1910)
• 1994 – Günter Meisner, German actor (b. 1926)
• 1995 – L. B. Cole, American illustrator and publisher (b. 1918)
• 1995 – Charles Evans, English mountaineer, surgeon, and educator (b. 1918)
• 1995 – Gwen Harwood, Australian poet and playwright (b. 1920)
• 1995 – Lisa McPherson, American homicide victim (b. 1959)
• 1998 – Albert Gore, Sr., American lawyer and politician (b. 1907)
• 2001 – Franco Rasetti, Italian-American physicist and academic (b. 1901)
• 2002 – Roone Arledge, American sportscaster (b. 1931)
• 2002 – Ne Win, Burmese general and politician, 4th President of Burma (b. 1911)
• 2005 – Edward L. Masry, American lawyer and politician (b. 1932)
• 2005 – Kevin McQuay, Australian businessman (b. 1949)
• 2005 – Frits Philips, Dutch businessman (b. 1905)
• 2006 – David Bronstein, Ukrainian-Belarusian chess player (b. 1924)
• 2007 – Andrew Imbrie, American composer (b. 1921)
• 2007 – George Paraskevaides, Greek-Cypriot businessman, co-founded Joannou & Paraskevaides (b. 1916)
• 2007 – Karlheinz Stockhausen, German composer and academic (b. 1928)
• 2008 – Alexy II of Moscow, Estonian-Russian patriarch (b. 1929)
• 2008 – Constantin Ticu Dumitrescu, Romanian politician (b. 1928)
• 2008 – Nina Foch, Dutch-American actress (b. 1924)
• 2008 – Anca Parghel, Romanian singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1957)
• 2009 – Vimolchatra, Thai princess (b. 1921)
• 2009 – William Lederer, American soldier and author (b. 1912)
• 2010 – Alan Armer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)
• 2010 – John Leslie, American porn actor, director, and producer (b. 1945)
• 2010 – Don Meredith, American football player, sportscaster, and actor (b. 1938)
• 2011 – Peter Gethin, English race car driver (b. 1940)
• 2011 – Gennady Logofet, Russian footballer and manager (b. 1942)
• 2012 – Sammy Arena, American singer (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Dave Brubeck, American pianist and composer (b. 1920)
• 2012 – Geoffrey Clatworthy, New Zealand activist (b. 1939)
• 2012 – Eduardo J. Corso, Uruguayan lawyer and journalist (b. 1920)
• 2012 – Michael A. Gorman, American lieutenant and politician (b. 1950)
• 2012 – Nakamura Kanzaburō XVIII, Japanese actor (b. 1955)
• 2012 – Sarah Kirsch, American singer and guitarist (Fuel, Pinhead Gunpowder, and Fifteen) (b. 1970)
• 2012 – Elisabeth Murdoch, Australian philanthropist (b. 1909)
• 2012 – Oscar Niemeyer, Brazilian architect, designed the United Nations Headquarters and Cathedral of Brasília (b. 1907)
• 2012 – Yves Niaré, French shot putter (b. 1977)
• 2012 – Ignatius IV of Antioch, Syrian patriarch (b. 1920)
• 2012 – Doug Smith, Scottish footballer (b. 1937)
• 2013 – Fred Bassetti, American architect, founded Bassetti Architects (b. 1917)
• 2013 – Iryna Charnushenka-Stasiuk, Belarusian long jumper (b. 1979)
• 2013 – William B. Edmondson, American diplomat, United States Ambassador to South Africa (b. 1927)
• 2013 – Monte Fresco, English photographer (b. 1936)
• 2013 – Barry Jackson, English actor and stuntman (b. 1938)
• 2013 – Nelson Mandela, South African lawyer and politician, 1st President of South Africa, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)
• 2013 – Danny Matt, German-Israeli general (b. 1927)
• 2013 – Colin Wilson, English philosopher and author (b. 1931)

Holidays and observances[edit]

• Christian feast day:
• Abercius
• Clement of Alexandria (Episcopal Church in the United States of America)
• Sabbas the Sanctified
• December 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

• Day of the Ninja (unofficial)
• Discovery Day (Haiti and Dominican Republic)
• Faunalia, in honor of Faunus (Roman Empire)
• International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development (International)
• Krampusnacht (Austria)
• The King's Birthday, National Day, and Father's Day (Thailand)