Fiorello La Guardia (1882-1947)
Dec 11 American politician and Mayor of New York City (Republican: 1933-45), born in NYC, New York
- Dec 11 Max Born, German physicist (quantum mechanics, Nobel 1954), born in Breslau, Germany (d. 1970)
- Dec 11 Subramania Bharati, Indian poet and independence activist, born in Ettayapuram, Tirunelveli district, British India (d. 1921)
- Dec 12 Akiba Rubinstein, Polish chess player (openings theorist), born in Stawiski, Poland (d. 1961)
Jack Hobbs (1882-1963)
Dec 16 English cricket batsman (61 Tests, 5,410 runs @ 56.94, 15 x 100s; leading 1st-class run-scorer [61,760] and century-maker [199]; Surry), born in Cambridge, England
- Dec 16 Walther Meissner, German physicist (Meissner effect), born in Berlin, German Empire (d. 1974)
- Dec 16 Zoltán Kodály, Hungarian composer and ethno-musicologist, (Psalmus Hungaricus; Hary Janos), born in Kecskemét, Hungary (d. 1967)
- Dec 19 Ralph DePalma, Italian-American auto racer (Indianapolis 500 1915; American AAA Dirt Track C'ships 1908, 09, 10, 11; International Motorsports Hall of Fame), born in Biccari, Italy (d. 1956)
- Dec 19 Walter Braunfels, German composer (Die Vögel -The Birds), born in Frankfurt am Main (d. 1954)
- Dec 28 Arthur Eddington, English astrophysicist, cosmologist and mathematician (stars), born in Kendal, Westmorland, England (d. 1944)
Lili Elbe (1882-1931)
Dec 28 Danish transgender woman, former painter, and 1st identifiable recipient of sex reassignment surgery (autobiography: Man into Woman), born in Vejle, Denmark
- Dec 31 Ben A. Jones, American horse trainer (US Champion trainer by earnings 1941, 43, 44, 52; Kentucky Derby x 6 including Citation, Whirlaway), born in Parnell, Missouri (d. 1961)
- Dec 31 David Cohen, Dutch historian and chairman of the Jewish Council, born in Deventer, Holland (d. 1967)