EVENTS OF THIS DAY IN THE PAST

[edit]

• 333 – Roman Emperor Constantine the Great elevates his youngest son Constans to the rank of Caesar.
• 336 – First documentary sign of Christmas celebration in ancient Rome
• 350 – Vetranio meets Constantius II at Naissus (Serbia) and is forced to abdicate his title (Caesar). Constantius allows him to live as a private citizen on a state pension.
• 496 – Clovis I, king of the Franks, is baptized into the Catholic faith at Reims, by Saint Remigius.
• 597 – Augustine of Canterbury and his fellow-labourers baptise in Kent more than 10,000 Anglo-Saxons.
• 800 – Coronation of Charlemagne as Holy Roman Emperor, in Rome.
• 1000 – The foundation of the Kingdom of Hungary: Hungary is established as a Christian kingdom by Stephen I of Hungary.
• 1025 – Coronation of Mieszko II Lambert as King of Poland
• 1066 – William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy is crowned king of England, at Westminster Abbey, London.
• 1076 – Coronation of Bolesław II the Generous as king of Poland.
• 1100 – Baldwin of Boulogne is crowned the first King of Jerusalem in the Church of the Nativity.
• 1130 – Count Roger II of Sicily is crowned the first King of Sicily.
• 1261 – John IV Laskaris of the restored Eastern Roman Empire is deposed and blinded by orders of his co-ruler Michael VIII Palaiologos.
• 1492 – Carrack Santa María captained by Christopher Columbus runs onto reefs off Haiti due to a proper watch not being kept. Local natives help to save food, armory and ammunition but not the ship.
• 1553 – Battle of Tucapel: Mapuche rebels under Lautaro defeat the Spanish conquistadors and executes the governor of Chile, Pedro de Valdivia.
• 1559 – Pope Pius IV is elected.
• 1643 – Christmas Island in the Indian Ocean found and named by Captain William Mynors of the English East India Company vessel, the Royal Mary.
• 1776 – George Washington and the Continental Army cross the Delaware River at night to attack Hessian forces serving Great Britain at Trenton, New Jersey, the next day.
• 1809 – Dr. Ephraim McDowell performs the first ovariotomy, removing a 22 pound tumor.
• 1814 – Rev. Samuel Marsden holds the first Christian service on land in New Zealand at Rangihoua Bay.
• 1815 – The Handel and Haydn Society, oldest continuously performing arts organization in the United States, gives its first performance.
• 1826 – The Eggnog Riot at the United States Military Academy concludes after beginning the previous evening.
• 1837 – Second Seminole War: American general Zachary Taylor leads 1100 troops against the Seminoles at the Battle of Lake Okeechobee.
• 1868 – United States President Andrew Johnson grants unconditional pardon to all Civil War Confederate soldiers.
• 1914 – A series of unofficial truces occur across the Western Front to celebrate Christmas.
• 1926 – Emperor Taishō of Japan dies. His son, Prince Hirohito, succeeds him as Emperor Shōwa.
• 1927 – The Vietnamese Nationalist Party is founded.
• 1932 – A magnitude 7.6 earthquake in Gansu, China kills 275 people.
• 1941 – Admiral Chester W. Nimitz arrives at Pearl Harbor to assume command of the U.S. Pacific Fleet
• 1941 – World War II: Battle of Hong Kong ends, beginning the Japanese occupation of Hong Kong.
• 1941 – Admiral Émile Muselier seizes the archipelago of Saint Pierre and Miquelon, which become the first part of France to be liberated by the Free French Forces.
• 1946 – The first in Europe artificial, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction is initiated within Soviet F-1 nuclear reactor.
• 1947 – The Constitution of the Republic of China goes into effect.
• 1950 – The Stone of Scone, traditional coronation stone of British monarchs, is taken from Westminster Abbey by Scottish nationalist students. It later turns up in Scotland on April 11, 1951.
• 1963 – Turkish Cypriot Bayrak Radio begins transmitting in Cyprus after Turkish Cypriots are forcibly excluded from Cyprus Broadcasting Corporation.
• 1965 – The Yemeni Nasserist Unionist People's Organisation is founded in Ta'izz
• 1968 – Apollo program: Apollo 8 performs the very first successful Trans-Earth injection (TEI) maneuver, sending the crew and spacecraft on a trajectory back to Earth from Lunar orbit.
• 1968 – Kilvenmani massacre, 44 Dalits (untouchables) burnt to death in Kizhavenmani village, Tamil Nadu, a retaliation for a campaign for higher wages by Dalit laborers.
• 1974 – Cyclone Tracy devastates Darwin, Northern Territory Australia.
• 1974 – Marshall Fields drives a vehicle through the gates of the White House, resulting in a four-hour standoff.
• 1977 – Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin meets in Egypt with its president Anwar Sadat.
• 1989 – Deposed President of Romania Nicolae Ceaușescu and his wife, First-Deputy Prime-Minister Elena Ceaușescu are condemned to death and executed after a summary trial.
• 1991 – Mikhail Gorbachev resigns as General Secretary of the Soviet Union (the union itself is dissolved the next day). Ukraine's referendum is finalized and Ukraine officially leaves the Soviet Union.
• 2000 – Russian President Vladimir Putin signs a bill into law that officially establishes a new National Anthem of Russia, with music adopted from the anthem of the Soviet Union that was composed by Alexander Vasilyevich Alexandrov.
• 2003 – The ill-fated Beagle 2 probe, released from the Mars Express spacecraft on December 19, disappears shortly before its scheduled landing.
• 2004 – Cassini orbiter releases Huygens probe which successfully landed on Saturn's moon Titan on January 14, 2005.
• 2009 – Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab unsuccessfully attempts a terrorist attack against the US while on board a flight to Detroit Metro Airport Northwest Airlines Flight 253
• 2012 – An Antonov An-72 plane crashes close to the city of Shymkent, killing 27 people.

Births[edit]

• 1250 – John IV Laskaris, Byzantine emperor (d. 1305)
• 1461 – Christina of Saxony (d. 1521)
• 1583 – Orlando Gibbons, English organist and composer (d. 1625)
• 1584 – Margaret of Austria, Queen of Spain (d. 1611)
• 1628 – Noël Coypel, French painter (d. 1707)
• 1642 – Isaac Newton, English physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher (d. 1727)
• 1652 – Archibald Pitcairne, Scottish physician, anatomist, and scholar (d. 1713)
• 1665 – Lady Grizel Baillie, Scottish-English poet and songwriter (d. 1746)
• 1667 – Melusine von der Schulenburg, Duchess of Kendal (d. 1743)
• 1674 – Thomas Halyburton, Scottish minister and theologian (d. 1712)
• 1686 – Giovanni Battista Somis, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1763)
• 1696 – Prince Johann Ernst of Saxe-Weimar (d. 1715)
• 1700 – Leopold II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau (d. 1758)
• 1711 – Jean-Joseph de Mondonville, French violinist and composer (d. 1772)
• 1716 – Johann Jakob Reiske, German physician and scholar (d. 1774)
• 1717 – Pope Pius VI (d. 1799)
• 1728 – Johann Adam Hiller, German composer and conductor (d. 1804)
• 1730 – Philip Mazzei, Italian-American physician and philosopher (d. 1816)
• 1742 – Charlotte von Stein, German assistant of Duchess Anna Amalia of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel (d. 1827)
• 1745 – Chevalier de Saint-Georges, Caribbean-French violinist, composer, and conductor (d. 1799)
• 1757 – Benjamin Pierce, American general and politician, 17th Governor of New Hampshire (d. 1839)
• 1763 – Claude Chappe, French engineer (d. 1805)
• 1771 – Dorothy Wordsworth, English author and poet (d. 1855)
• 1776 – Sydney, Lady Morgan, Irish-English author (d. 1859)
• 1817 – John Hewitt Jellett, Irish priest and academic (d. 1888)
• 1821 – Clara Barton, American nurse and humanitarian, founded the American Red Cross (d. 1912)
• 1829 – Patrick Gilmore, Irish-American composer and bandleader (d. 1892)
• 1856 – Pud Galvin, American baseball player (d. 1902)
• 1856 – Hans von Bartels, German painter (d. 1913)
• 1860 – Manwel Dimech, Maltese journalist, author, and philosopher (d. 1921)
• 1861 – Madan Mohan Malaviya, Indian educator, lawyer, and politician, President of the Indian National Congress (d. 1946)
• 1864 – Thomas Cahill, American soccer player and coach (d. 1951)
• 1865 – Evangeline Booth, English 4th General of The Salvation Army (d. 1950)
• 1869 – Charles Finger, English-American journalist and author (d. 1941)
• 1870 – Lloyd Hildebrand, English cyclist (d. 1924)
• 1870 – Helena Rubinstein, Polish-American businesswoman (d. 1965)
• 1871 – Katherine McKinley, American daughter of William McKinley (d. 1875)
• 1873 – Otto Frederick Hunziker, Swiss-American agriculturalist and educator (d. 1959)
• 1874 – Lina Cavalieri, Italian soprano and actress (d. 1944)
• 1875 – Theodor Innitzer, Austrian cardinal (d. 1955)
• 1876 – Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Indian-Pakistani lawyer and politician, 1st Governor-General of Pakistan (d. 1948)
• 1876 – Adolf Otto Reinhold Windaus, German chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1959)
• 1877 – Noël Bas, French gymnast (d. 1960)
• 1878 – Louis Chevrolet, Swiss-American race car driver (d. 1941)
• 1878 – Noëlle, Countess of Rothes (d. 1956)
• 1878 – Joseph Schenk, Russian-born American film executive (d. 1961)
• 1883 – Hugo Bergmann, Czech-Israeli philosopher and academic (d. 1975)
• 1884 – Samuel Berger, American boxer (d. 1925)
• 1884 – Evelyn Nesbit, American actress (d. 1967)
• 1886 – Kid Ory, American trombonist and bandleader (d. 1973)
• 1887 – Conrad Hilton, American businessman, founded the Hilton Hotels & Resorts (d. 1979)
• 1889 – Lila Bell Wallace, American publisher, co-founded Reader's Digest (d. 1984)
• 1890 – Noel Odell, English geologist and mountaineer (d. 1987)
• 1890 – Robert Ripley, American anthropologist and publisher, founded Ripley's Believe It or Not! (d. 1949)
• 1891 – Clarrie Grimmett, New Zealand-Australian cricketer (d. 1980)
• 1899 – Humphrey Bogart, American actor and singer (d. 1957)
• 1901 – Princess Alice, Duchess of Gloucester (d. 2004)
• 1902 – Barton MacLane, American actor, singer, and playwright (d. 1969)
• 1902 – William Bell, American tuba player and educator (d. 1971)
• 1903 – Antiochos Evangelatos, Greek composer and conductor (d. 1981)
• 1904 – Gerhard Herzberg, German-Canadian physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1999)
• 1906 – Lew Grade, Ukrainian-English film producer (d. 1998)
• 1906 – Ernst Ruska, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1988)
• 1907 – Cab Calloway, American singer-songwriter and bandleader (d. 1994)
• 1907 – Mike Mazurki, Ukrainian-American wrestler and actor (d. 1990)
• 1907 – Glenn McCarthy, American businessman, founded the Shamrock Hotel (d. 1988)
• 1908 – Quentin Crisp, English actor, author, and illustrator (d. 1999)
• 1908 – Ernest L. Massad, American general (d. 1993)
• 1908 – Jo-Jo Moore, American baseball player (d. 2001)
• 1909 – Zora Arkus-Duntov, Belgian-American engineer (d. 1996)
• 1911 – Louise Bourgeois, French-American sculptor and painter (d. 2010)
• 1913 – Candy Candido, American singer, bass player, and voice actor (d. 1999)
• 1913 – Tony Martin, American singer and actor (d. 2012)
• 1913 – Henri Nannen, German journalist (d. 1966)
• 1914 – James Muir Cameron Fletcher, New Zealand businessman (d. 2007)
• 1915 – Pete Rugolo, Italian-American composer and producer (d. 2011)
• 1916 – Ahmed Ben Bella, Algerian soldier and politician, 1st President of Algeria (d. 2012)
• 1917 – Lincoln Verduga Loor, Ecuadorian journalist and politician (d. 2009)
• 1918 – Anwar Sadat, Egyptian lieutenant and politician, 3rd President of Egypt, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1981)
• 1919 – Naushad Ali, Indian composer and director (d. 2006)
• 1919 – Paul David, Canadian cardiologist and politician, founded the Montreal Heart Institute (d. 1999)
• 1919 – Noele Gordon, English actress (d. 1985)
• 1920 – Artur Agostinho, Portuguese journalist (d. 2011)
• 1921 – Zaib-un-Nissa Hamidullah, Indian-Pakistani journalist and author (d. 2000)
• 1921 – Steve Otto, Canadian lawyer and politician (d. 1989)
• 1922 – William Demby, American author (d. 2013)
• 1923 – René Girard, French historian, philosopher, and critic
• 1924 – Rod Serling, American screenwriter and producer, created The Twilight Zone (d. 1975)
• 1924 – Atal Bihari Vajpayee, Indian poet and politician, 10th Prime Minister of India
• 1925 – Carlos Castaneda, Peruvian-American anthropologist and author (d. 1998)
• 1925 – Ned Garver, American baseball player
• 1925 – Sam Pollock, Canadian businessman (d. 2007)
• 1926 – Febo Conti, Italian actor (d. 2012)
• 1926 – Enrique Jorrín, Cuban composer and violinist (d. 1987)
• 1927 – Nellie Fox, American baseball player and coach (d. 1975)
• 1927 – Ram Narayan, Indian sarangi player
• 1927 – Leo Kubiak, American basketball and baseball player
• 1928 – Dick Miller, American actor, director, and screenwriter
• 1929 – Stuart Hall, English radio and television host
• 1929 – Christine M. Jones, American educator and politician (d. 2013)
• 1929 – Chris Kenner, American singer-songwriter (d. 1976)
• 1930 – Emmanuel Agassi, Iranian-American boxer
• 1930 – Armenak Alachachian, Armenian basketball player and coach
• 1930 – Salah Jahin, Egyptian poet and illustrator (d. 1986)
• 1932 – Mabel King, American actress and singer (d. 1999)
• 1933 – Basil Heatley, English long-distance runner
• 1935 – Sadiq al-Mahdi, Sudanese politician, Prime Minister of Sudan
• 1935 – Stephen Barnett, American academic and scholar (d. 2009)
• 1935 – Jeanne Hopkins Lucas, American politician (d. 2007)
• 1935 – Anne Roiphe, American author and activist
• 1936 – Princess Alexandra, The Honourable Lady Ogilvy
• 1936 – Ismail Merchant, Indian-English director and producer (d. 2005)
• 1937 – O'Kelly Isley, Jr., American singer-songwriter (The Isley Brothers) (d. 1986)
• 1938 – Duane Armstrong, American painter
• 1938 – David Borden, American composer and academic
• 1938 – Noel Picard, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1939 – Ghulam Ahmad Bilour, Pakistani businessman
• 1939 – Bob James, American keyboard player, songwriter, and producer (Fourplay)
• 1939 – Akong Rinpoche, Tibetan-Chinese spiritual leader (d. 2013)
• 1939 – Royce D. Applegate, American actor and screenwriter (d. 2003)
• 1940 – Pete Brown, English singer-songwriter
• 1940 – Hilary Spurling, English journalist and author
• 1941 – Kenneth Calman, Scottish physician, surgeon, and academic
• 1942 – Françoise Dürr, Algerian-French tennis player
• 1942 – Barbara Follett, Jamaican-English politician
• 1942 – Enrique Morente, Spanish singer-songwriter (d. 2010)
• 1943 – Wilson Fittipaldi Júnior, Brazilian race car driver
• 1943 – Hanna Schygulla, German actress and singer
• 1944 – Jairzinho, Brazilian footballer and manager
• 1944 – Kenny Everett, English comedian, actor, and radio host (d. 1995)
• 1944 – Nigel Starmer-Smith, English rugby player and journalist
• 1944 – Henry Vestine, American guitarist (Canned Heat and The Mothers of Invention) (d. 1997)
• 1945 – Rick Berman, American screenwriter and producer
• 1945 – Eve Pollard, English journalist and author
• 1945 – Mike Pringle, Zambian-Scottish politician
• 1945 – Noel Redding, English singer-songwriter and bass player (The Jimi Hendrix Experience, Fat Mattress, Road, and The Noel Redding Band) (d. 2003)
• 1945 – Gary Sandy, American actor
• 1945 – Ken Stabler, American football player and sportscaster
• 1946 – Jimmy Buffett, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, producer, and actor
• 1946 – Larry Csonka, American football player and sportscaster
• 1946 – Christopher Frayling, English academic and author
• 1946 – Gene Lamont, American baseball player and manager
• 1946 – Stuart Wilson, English actor
• 1947 – Twink Caplan, American actress and producer
• 1948 – Alia al-Hussein, Egyptian wife of Hussein of Jordan (d. 1977)
• 1948 – Barbara Mandrell, American singer-songwriter and actress
• 1948 – Joel Santana, Brazilian footballer and manager
• 1949 – Simone Bittencourt de Oliveira, Brazilian singer
• 1949 – Nawaz Sharif, Pakistani lawyer and politician, 12th Prime Minister of Pakistan
• 1949 – Sissy Spacek, American actress and singer
• 1949 – Joe Louis Walker, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer
• 1950 – Peter Boardman, English mountaineer and author (d. 1982)
• 1950 – Yehuda Poliker, Israeli singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1950 – Karl Rove, American journalist and diplomat, White House Deputy Chief of Staff
• 1950 – Manny Trillo, Venezuelan baseball player and manager
• 1952 – Desireless, French singer
• 1952 – Tolossa Kotu, Ethiopian athlete and coach
• 1952 – C. C. H. Pounder, Guyanese-American actress
• 1953 – Kaarlo Maaninka, Finnish long-distance runner
• 1954 – Annie Lennox, Scottish singer-songwriter and pianist (The Tourists and Eurythmics)
• 1954 – Steve Wariner, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1955 – Brett Vroman, American basketball player
• 1957 – Chris Kamara, English footballer and sportscaster
• 1957 – Shane MacGowan, English-Irish singer-songwriter (The Pogues, The Nips, and Shane MacGowan and The Popes)
• 1958 – Cheryl Chase, American voice actress and singer
• 1958 – Hanford Dixon, American football player, coach, and sportscaster
• 1958 – Rickey Henderson, American baseball player and coach
• 1958 – Konstantin Kinchev, Russian singer-songwriter and guitarist (Alisa)
• 1958 – Alannah Myles, Canadian singer-songwriter
• 1958 – Martin Wiesner, German footballer
• 1959 – Michael P. Anderson, American colonel, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2003)
• 1960 – Ron Bottitta, English actor
• 1961 – Íngrid Betancourt, Colombian politician
• 1962 – Dean Cameron, American actor
• 1964 – Ian Bostridge, English tenor
• 1964 – Gary McAllister, Scottish footballer and manager
• 1964 – Tim Royes, American director (d. 2007)
• 1964 – Bob Stanley, English keyboard player, songwriter, producer, and journalist (Saint Etienne)
• 1965 – Edward Davey, English politician
• 1965 – David Rath, Czech physician and politician
• 1966 – Toshi Arai, Japanese race car driver
• 1967 – Jason Thirsk, American bass player (Pennywise and Humble Gods) (d. 1996)
• 1968 – Helena Christensen, Danish model and actress
• 1968 – Jim Dowd, American ice hockey player
• 1969 – Frederick Onyancha, Kenyan middle-distance runner
• 1970 – Nagma, Indian actress
• 1970 – Emmanuel Amuneke, Nigerian footballer, coach, and manager
• 1970 – Rodney Dent, American basketball player
• 1971 – Dido, English singer-songwriter
• 1971 – Noel Hogan, Irish guitarist and producer (The Cranberries, Mono Band, and Arkitekt)
• 1971 – Justin Trudeau, Canadian educator and politician
• 1972 – Josh Freese, American drummer and songwriter (The Vandals and Devo)
• 1972 – Mac Powell, American singer-songwriter and producer (Third Day)
• 1972 – Qu Yunxia, Chinese middle-distance runner
• 1973 – Robbie Elliott, English footballer and coach
• 1973 – Chris Harris, American wrestler
• 1973 – Alexandre Trudeau, Canadian journalist and director
• 1974 – Heriberto Lazcano Lazcano, Mexican drug lord (d. 2012)
• 1975 – Rob Mariano, American reality show contestant, winner of Survivor: Redemption Island
• 1975 – Daniel Mustard, American singer-songwriter
• 1975 – Hideki Okajima, Japanese baseball player
• 1975 – Choi Sung-yong, South Korean footballer and manager
• 1975 – Marcus Trescothick, English cricketer
• 1976 – Tuomas Holopainen, Finnish keyboard player, songwriter, and producer (Nightwish and For My Pain...)
• 1976 – Tim James, American basketball player and coach
• 1976 – Atko Väikmeri, Estonian footballer
• 1976 – Armin van Buuren, Dutch DJ and producer
• 1977 – Uhm Ji-won, South Korean actress
• 1977 – Priya Anjali Rai, Indian-American porn actress
• 1977 – Israel Vázquez, Mexican boxer
• 1977 – Ali Tandoğan, Turkish footballer
• 1978 – Simon Jones, Welsh cricketer
• 1978 – Joel Porter, Australian footballer and manager
• 1978 – Bridgetta Tomarchio, American actress and model
• 1979 – Laurent Bonnart, French footballer
• 1979 – Robert Huff, English race car driver
• 1979 – Hyun Young-min, South Korean footballer
• 1980 – Kahi, South Korean singer, dancer, and actress (After School)
• 1980 – Locó, Angolan footballer
• 1980 – Joanna Angel, American porn actress, director, and producer
• 1980 – Reika Hashimoto, Japanese model and actress
• 1980 – Laura Sadler, English actress (d. 2003)
• 1980 – Marcus Trufant, American football player
• 1981 – Trenesha Biggers, American wrestler
• 1981 – Christian Holst, Danish-Faroese footballer
• 1981 – Willy Taveras, Dominican baseball player
• 1981 – Katie Wright, American actress
• 1982 – Dev, Indian actor and singer
• 1982 – Shawn Andrews, American football player
• 1982 – Rob Edwards, Welsh footballer
• 1982 – Ethan Kath, Canadian keyboard player, songwriter and producer (Crystal Castles and Kïll Cheerleadër)
• 1982 – Chris Rene, American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1984 – Chris Cahill, Samoan footballer
• 1984 – Alastair Cook, English cricketer
• 1984 – Georgia Moffett, English actress
• 1984 – Jessica Origliasso, Australian singer-songwriter and actress (The Veronicas)
• 1984 – Lisa Origliasso, Australian singer-songwriter and actress (The Veronicas)
• 1984 – Chris Richard, American basketball player
• 1985 – Martin Mathathi, Kenyan long-distance runner
• 1985 – Alexander Rusev, Bulgarian wrestler
• 1985 – Leon Pisani, Welsh singer-songwriter (V)
• 1985 – Perdita Weeks, Welsh actress
• 1986 – Aya Suzaki, Japanese voice actress
• 1987 – Ceyhun Gülselam, Turkish footballer
• 1987 – Julian Lage, American guitarist and composer
• 1987 – Jorgie Porter, English actress
• 1987 – Justin Sweeney, Australian footballer
• 1987 – LJ Reyes, Filipino actress and dancer
• 1988 – Joãozinho, Brazilian footballer
• 1988 – Eric Gordon, American basketball player
• 1988 – Lukas Hinds-Johnson, German rugby player
• 1989 – Djameleddine Benlamri, Algerian footballer
• 1989 – Michael Green, American soccer player
• 1989 – Shahzaib Hasan, Pakistani cricketer
• 1989 – Keri Wong, American tennis player
• 1990 – Conny Perrin, Swiss tennis player
• 1993 – Emi Takei, Japanese model, actress, and singer
• 1995 – Mimmi Sandén, Swedish singer and actress

Deaths[edit]

• 795 – Pope Adrian I (b. 700)
• 820 – Leo V the Armenian, Byzantine emperor (b. 775)
• 940 – Makan ibn Kaki, Iranian general
• 1156 – Peter the Venerable, French saint (b. 1092)
• 1553 – Pedro de Valdivia, Spanish-Chilean explorer and politician, 1st Royal Governor of Chile (b. 1500)
• 1635 – Samuel de Champlain, French soldier, geographer, and explorer (b. 1567)
• 1676 – William Cavendish, 1st Duke of Newcastle, English soldier and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Nottinghamshire (b. 1592)
• 1676 – Matthew Hale, English lawyer and jurist, Lord Chief Justice of England and Wales (b. 1609)
• 1683 – Kara Mustafa Pasha, Ottoman general (b. 1634)
• 1758 – James Hervey, English priest and author (b. 1714)
• 1763 – Suraj Mal, Indian ruler (b. 1707)
• 1784 – Yosa Buson, Japanese poet and painter (b. 1716)
• 1824 – Barbara von Krüdener, German mystic and author (b. 1764)
• 1868 – Linus Yale, Jr., American engineer and businessman (b. 1821)
• 1875 – Young Tom Morris, Scottish golfer (b. 1851)
• 1880 – Fridolin Anderwert, Swiss politician, President of the Swiss National Council (b. 1828)
• 1916 – Albert Chmielowski, Polish saint, founded the Albertine Brothers (b. 1845)
• 1916 – Solko van den Bergh, Dutch target shooter (b. 1854)
• 1921 – Vladimir Korolenko, Russian journalist, author, and activist (b. 1853)
• 1925 – Karl Abraham, German psychoanalyst (b. 1877)
• 1926 – Emperor Taishō of Japan (b. 1879)
• 1928 – Miles Burke, American boxer (b. 1885)
• 1933 – Francesc Macià i Llussà, Catalan colonel and politician, 122nd President of Catalonia (b. 1859)
• 1935 – Paul Bourget, French author and critic (b. 1852)
• 1938 – Karel Čapek, Czech author and playwright (b. 1890)
• 1940 – Agnes Ayres, American actress (b. 1898)
• 1941 – Richard S. Aldrich, American politician (b. 1884)
• 1944 – George Steer, South African-English journalist and author (b. 1909)
• 1945 – Franz Kröwerath, German rower (b. 1880)
• 1946 – W. C. Fields, American actor, singer, and screenwriter (b. 1880)
• 1947 – Gaspar G. Bacon, American politician, 51st Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1886)
• 1949 – Leon Schlesinger, American animator and producer, founded Warner Bros. Cartoons (b. 1884)
• 1950 – Neil Francis Hawkins, English politician (b. 1903)
• 1952 – Margrethe Mather, American photographer (b. 1886)
• 1953 – Patsy Donovan, Irish-American baseball player and manager (b. 1865)
• 1953 – William Haselden, Spanish-English cartoonist (b. 1872)
• 1954 – Johnny Ace, American singer (b. 1929)
• 1956 – Robert Walser, Swiss author (b. 1878)
• 1957 – Charles Pathé, French record producer, founded Pathé Records (b. 1863)
• 1961 – Owen Brewster, American captain, lawyer, and politician, 54th Governor of Maine (b. 1888)
• 1961 – Otto Loewi, German-American pharmacologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1873)
• 1963 – Tristan Tzara, Romanian-French poet, playwright, painter, and critic (b. 1896)
• 1970 – Michael Peto, Hungarian-English photographer and journalist (b. 1908)
• 1973 – İsmet İnönü, Turkish general and politician, 2nd President of Turkey (b. 1884)
• 1973 – Gabriel Voisin, French pilot and engineer (b. 1880)
• 1975 – Gaston Gallimard, French publisher, founded Éditions Gallimard (b. 1881)
• 1975 – Gunnar Kangro, Estonian mathematician and author (b. 1913)
• 1977 – Charlie Chaplin, English actor and director (b. 1889)
• 1979 – Joan Blondell, American actress and singer (b. 1906)
• 1979 – Jordi Bonet, Canadian painter and sculptor (b. 1932)
• 1983 – Joan Miró, Spanish painter and sculptor (b. 1893)
• 1988 – Shōhei Ōoka, Japanese author and critic (b. 1909)
• 1988 – Edward Pelham-Clinton, 10th Duke of Newcastle, English lepidopterist (b. 1920)
• 1989 – Benny Binion, American poker player and businessman (b. 1904)
• 1989 – Elena Ceaușescu, Romanian politician (b. 1919)
• 1989 – Nicolae Ceaușescu, Romanian general and politician, 1st President of Romania (b. 1918)
• 1989 – Betty Garde, American actress (b. 1905)
• 1989 – Frederick F. Houser, American judge and politician, 34th Lieutenant Governor of California (b. 1905)
• 1989 – Billy Martin, American baseball player and manager (b. 1928)
• 1989 – Florică Murariu, Romanian rugby player (b. 1955)
• 1989 – Robert Pirosh, American director and screenwriter (b. 1910)
• 1989 – Wally Ris, American swimmer (b. 1924)
• 1992 – Monica Dickens, English-American author (b. 1915)
• 1993 – Pierre Victor Auger, French physicist (b. 1899)
• 1994 – Zail Singh, Indian politician, 7th President of India (b. 1916)
• 1995 – Emmanuel Levinas, Lithuanian-French philosopher and academic (b. 1906)
• 1995 – Dean Martin, American singer and actor (b. 1917)
• 1996 – Bill Hewitt, Canadian sportscaster (b. 1928)
• 1997 – Anatoli Boukreev, Kazakh mountaineer and explorer (b. 1958)
• 1997 – Denver Pyle, American actor, singer, and director (b. 1920)
• 1998 – Bryan MacLean, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Love) (b. 1946)
• 1998 – John Pulman, English snooker player (b. 1926)
• 1999 – Peter Jeffrey, English actor (b. 1929)
• 2000 – Neil Hawke, Australian cricketer and footballer (b. 1939)
• 2000 – Willard Van Orman Quine, American philosopher and academic (b. 1908)
• 2001 – Alfred A. Tomatis, French otolaryngologist (b. 1920)
• 2002 – William T. Orr, American actor and producer (b. 1917)
• 2003 – Nicholas Mavroules, American politician (b. 1929)
• 2004 – Gennadi Strekalov, Russian engineer and astronaut (b. 1940)
• 2004 – Robert Elliott, American actor (b. 1944)
• 2005 – Derek Bailey, English guitarist (b. 1930)
• 2005 – Robert Barbers, Filipino police officer, lawyer, and politician (b. 1944)
• 2005 – Birgit Nilsson, Swedish soprano (b. 1918)
• 2006 – James Brown, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (The Famous Flames) (b. 1933)
• 2006 – Hiroaki Hidaka, Japanese serial killer (b. 1962)
• 2007 – Des Barrick, English cricketer (b. 1927)
• 2007 – Jim Beauchamp, American baseball player and coach (b. 1939)
• 2007 – Mighty King Kong, Kenyan singer (b. 1973)
• 2008 – Eartha Kitt, American singer and actress (b. 1927)
• 2009 – Vic Chesnutt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (brute. and The Undertow Orchestra) (b. 1964)
• 2010 – Carlos Andrés Pérez, Venezuelan politician, 66th President of Venezuela (b. 1922)
• 2011 – Giorgio Bocca, Italian journalist (b. 1920)
• 2011 – Jim Sherwood, American saxophonist (The Mothers of Invention) (b. 1942)
• 2011 – Simms Taback, American author and illustrator (b. 1932)
• 2012 – Sita bint Fahd Al Damir, Saudi Arabian wife of Khalid of Saudi Arabia (b. 1922)
• 2012 – Erico Aumentado, Filipino journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1940)
• 2012 – Turki bin Sultan, Saudi Arabian politician (b. 1959)
• 2012 – Augusto Bracca, Venezuelan composer (b. 1918)
• 2012 – Frank Calabrese, Sr., American mobster (b. 1937)
• 2012 – Jane Dixon, American bishop (b. 1937)
• 2012 – Rachel Douglas-Home, 27th Baroness Dacre, English wife of William Douglas-Home (b. 1929)
• 2012 – Halfdan Hegtun, Norwegian radio host and politician (b. 1918)
• 2012 – Edward Hughes, American bishop (b. 1920)
• 2012 – Henry Ford Kamel, Ghanaian banker and politician (b. 1961)
• 2012 – Joe Krivak, American football player and coach (b. 1935)
• 2012 – Şerafettin Elçi, Turkish lawyer, politician (b. 1938)
• 2013 – Anthony J. Bryant, American historian and author (b. 1961)
• 2013 – Luis Humberto Gómez Gallo, Colombian engineer and politician (b. 1962)
• 2013 – David R. Harris, English geographer, anthropologist, archaeologist and academic (b. 1930)
• 2013 – Wayne Harrison, English footballer (b. 1967)
• 2013 – Mike Hegan, American baseball player and sportscaster (b. 1942)
• 2013 – Andy Malcolm, English-South African footballer (b. 1933)
• 2013 – Mel Mathay, Filipino politician, 8th Mayor of Quezon City (b. 1932)
• 2013 – Adnan Şenses, Turkish singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1935)

Holidays and observances[edit]

• Christian feast day:
  • Anastasia of Sirmium (Catholic Church)
  • December 25 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Christmas Day, Christian holiday commemorating the birth of Jesus. (International)
• Constitution Day (Taiwan)
• Malkh-Festival (Nakh peoples of Chechnya and Ingushetia)
• Quaid-e-Azam's Day (Pakistan)
• Takanakuy (Chumbivilcas Province, Peru)