Historical Events
- Dec 1 Dom Pedro crowned emperor of Brazil
Music History
Dec 1 Franz Liszt, aged 11, debuts as a pianist in Vienna
Famous Birthdays
- Dec 3 Charles Adam Heckman, American Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Easton, Pennsylvania (d. 1896)
- Dec 5 Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz, American educator and the co-founder and first president of Radcliffe College, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1907)
- Dec 6 John Eberhard Faber, German-American pencil manufacturer and built 1st large-scale pencil factory in US, born in Stein Bavaria, Germany (d. 1879)
- Dec 8 Luther Prentice Bradley, American Brigadier General (Union Army), born in New Haven, Connecticut (d. 1910)
- Dec 10 Thomas Casimer Devin, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in NYC, New York (d. 1878)
- Dec 10 César Franck, Belgian composer and organist (Symphonic Variations), born in Liège, Belgium (d. 1890)
- Dec 15 Edward Stephen, Welsh musician and composer, born in Maentwrog, Merionethshire (d. 1885)
- Dec 16 Charles Edward Horsley, British organist, conductor and composer, born in London (d. 1876)
- Dec 23 Wilhelm Bauer, German engineer (built the Brandtaucher an incendiary submarine), born in Dillingen, Bavaria (d. 1875)
- Dec 24 Charles Hermite, French mathematician (proof that e is transcendental), born in Dieuze, France (d. 1901)
Matthew Arnold
Dec 24 Matthew Arnold, English poet and critic (Dover Beach), born in Laleham, England (d. 1888)
Dion Boucicault
Dec 26 Dion Boucicault [Dionysus Lardner Boursiquot], Irish actor and playwright (Rip van Winkle, London Assurance), born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 1890)
- Dec 27 John Roberts, Welsh composer, minister and poet, born in Aberystwyth, Wales (d. 1877)
Louis Pasteur
Dec 27 Louis Pasteur, French bacteriologist (invented pasteurization), born in Dole, France (d. 1895)
- Dec 28 William Booth Taliaferro, Brigadier-General (Confederate Army), born in Gloucester County, Virginia (d. 1898)