Famous Birthdays Eli Whitney Dec 8 Eli Whitney, American inventor (Cotton Gin), born in Westborough, Massachusetts (d. 1825) Inventor of the Cotton GinEli Whitney Dec 10 Alexander Gogel, Dutch minister of Finance, born in Vught, Netherlands (d. 1821) Dec 15 Philippe-Jacques Pfeffinger, composer, born in Strasbourg, France (d. 1821) Dec 22 Johann Friedrich Pfaff, German mathematician, born in Stuttgart, Germany (d. 1825) Dec 25 Joseph Mazzinghi, composer Famous Deaths Dec 3 Lord John Sackville, British cricketer (patron of Kent), dies at 52 Dec 16 Peter Frederick Haldimand, Swiss military officer and surveyor Dec 25 Antonio Tonelli, Italian cellist and composer, dies at 79 Dec 25 Václav Prokop Diviš, Czech theologian and natural scientist, dies at 67 1764 History by Year 1766