- Dec 6 Hara Prasad Shastri, Indian academic, Sanskrit scholar, archivist and historian of Bengali literature, born in Khulna, Bengal Presidency (d. 1931)
- Dec 9 Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn, American HOF pitcher (won MLB record 60 games & Triple Crown 1884; no-hitter 1883; Providence Grays), born in Rochester, New York (d. 1897)
- Dec 12 Johan Petter Johansson, Swedish inventor and industrialist (modern adjustable spanner), born in Vårgårda, Sweden (d. 1943)
- Dec 13 Joseph Sickman Corsen, Curacao musician, composer and poet, born in Curacao (d. 1911)
- Dec 14 Salvador Díaz Mirón, Mexican poet (Los Cien Mejores Poemas), born in Veracruz, Mexico (d. 1928)
- Dec 15 Jean Baptiste August Kessler, Dutch entrepreneur and director of oil on Dutch Indies, born in Batavia, Dutch East Indies (d. 1900)
Émile Roux (1853-1933)
Dec 17 French physician, bacteriologist, immunologist who developed the 1st diphtheria vaccine and co-founded the Pasteur Institute, born in Confolens, France
- Dec 19 Charles Fitzpatrick, Canadian politician who was the 12th Lieutenant Governor of Quebec and 5th Chief Justice of Canada, born in Quebec City, Canada (d. 1942)
- Dec 21 Isolde Kurz, German poet & short-story writer (Meine Mutter), born in Stuttgart, Germany (d. 1944)
- Dec 22 Maria Teresa Carreno, Venezuelan pianist, singer, composer, and conductor, born in Caracas, Venezuela (d. 1917)
- Dec 22 Yevgraf Fyodorov, Russian mathematician, born in Orensburg, Russia (d. 1919)
- Dec 26 René Bazin, French novelist (d. 1932)
- Dec 30 André Charles Prosper Messager, French organist, composer and conductor (Les Deux Pigeons, Véronique), born in Montluçon, France (d. 1929)