Historical Events
- Dec 2 1st Model A Ford sold, for $385
Historic Event
Dec 2 Paleoanthropologist Davidson Black announces to the Geological Society of China that the ancient human fossils from Zhoukoudian, China are a new species which he has named 'Sinanthropus pekinensis' (now known as 'Homo erectus')
Music Premiere
Dec 4 Dmitri Shostakovich's 2nd Symphony premieres in Moscow
Music History
Dec 4 Duke Ellington opens at the Cotton Club in Harlem
- Dec 4 Pittsburgh Pirates future Baseball Hall of Fame outfielder Paul Waner wins NL MVP
- Dec 10 "Grand Ole Opry" first named as such during Barn Dance radio broadcast, in Nashville, Tennessee
- Dec 14 Iraq gains independence from Britain, but British troops remain
- Dec 15 William Edward Hickman kidnaps 12 year-old Marion Parker in Los Angeles, whom he later kills
- Dec 17 Australian cricketing prodigy Don Bradman scores 118 in his 1st-class debut for NSW against South Australia at the Adelaide Oval
- Dec 17 US submarine S-4 sinks after collision killing all 34 aboard
- Dec 17 Victoria score 793 against Queensland, Bill Ponsford 437
- Dec 19 National Football League Championship: New York Giants (11-1-1) win first past the post title
- Dec 24 Test Cricket debut of Walter Hammond, who scored 51 & took 5-36 v S Af
Music History
Dec 27 Jerome Kern and Oscar Hammerstein II's "Show Boat" premieres in New York City
- Dec 27 Philip Barry's "Paris Bound" premieres in NYC
Music Premiere
Dec 28 Arthur Honegger's opera "Antigone" premieres with a libretto by Jean Cocteau, sets by Pablo Picasso and costumes by Coco Chanel at the Théâtre Royal de la Monnaie, Brussels
Famous Birthdays
- Dec 1 Grant Beglarian, Armenian-American composer (Of Fables, Foibles, and Fancies), educator (University of Southern California, 1969-86), and arts administrator, born in Tiflis, Georgia (d. 2002)
- Dec 2 Ralph Beard, American basketball guard (Olympic gold 1948; NBA All Star 1951; life ban point shaving scandal 1951), born in Hardinsburg, Kentucky (d. 2007)
- Dec 2 Jim David, American NFL defensive back (Pro Bowl 1954-59; NFL Champion 1952-53, 57; Detroit Lions), born in Florence, South Carolina (d. 2007)
- Dec 3 Isabelle Harriet Lucas, Canadian-born British actress and singer (Outland, Comics), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1997)
Andy Williams
Dec 3 Andy Williams, American pop singer ("Moon River"; "Days of Wine and Roses"), born in Wall Lake, Iowa (d. 2012)
Bhumibol Adulyadej
Dec 5 Bhumibol Adulyadej [Rama IX], King of Thailand (1946-2016), jazz saxophonist and composer, born in Cambridge, Massachusetts (d. 2016)
- Dec 6 Jacques Bondon, French composer, born in Boulbon, Bouches-du-Rhône, France (d. 2008)
- Dec 6 Akira Miyazawa, Japanese jazz saxophonist, born in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, Japan (d. 2000)
- Dec 7 Vlastimir Peričić, Serbian composer, born in Vršac, Kingdom of Yugoslavia (d. 2000)
- Dec 7 Helen Watts, British contralto, born in Milford Haven, Pembrokeshire, Wales (d. 2009)
- Dec 8 Vladimir Shatalov, Soviet cosmonaut (Soyuz 4, 8, 10), born in Petropavlovsk, Kazakh SSR
- Dec 8 Ferdie Pacheco, American physician (cornerman for Mohammad Ali) and boxing analyst (NBC, Showtime), born in Tampa, Florida (d. 2017)
- Dec 9 Pierre Henry, French composer (considered pioneer of musique concrète), born in Paris (d. 2017)
- Dec 9 Helmut Maucher, German businessman, CEO of Nestlé (1990-97), born in Eisenharz, Germany (d. 2018)
- Dec 10 Harvey Glatman, American rapist and serial killer, born in The Bronx, New York City (d. 1959)
- Dec 10 Agnes Nixon, American television producer, director and writer (One Life to Live, All My Children), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2016)
- Dec 11 Stein Eriksen, Norwegian alpine skier (first Olympic giant slalom gold 1952), born in Oslo, Norway (d. 2015)
- Dec 11 John Buscema, American comics artist (Conan the Barbarian), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2002)
- Dec 11 Glen Tuckett American college basbeall coach (Brigham Young Uni 1959-76) and administrator (BYU athletic director 1976-94), born in Murray, Utah (d. 2021)
- Dec 12 Robert Noyce, American inventor (co-founded Fairchild Semiconductor in 1957 and Intel Corporation in 1968), born in Burlington, Iowa (d. 1990)
- Dec 13 Geneviève Page [Bonjean], French actress (Madame Anais-Belle de Jour, Day & the Hour), born in Paris, France
- Dec 14 Koss Rietkerk, Dutch internal minister (VVD) (1982-86), born in Boskoop, Netherlands (d. 1986)
- Dec 14 Richard Cassilly, American tenor, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1998)
- Dec 16 G Randall P D Garrett, American sci-fi writer (Takeoff (too)!)
- Dec 16 Peter [Malcolm] Dickinson, Zambia, sci-fi author (Heartsease)
- Dec 17 Richard Long, American actor (Prof-Nanny and the Professor), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1974)
- Dec 18 Ramsey Clark, American lawyer, US Attorney General (1967-69) and activist, born in Dallas, Texas (d. 2021)
- Dec 18 Sterling Lanier, American writer (Hiero's Journey), born in New York City (d. 2007)
- Dec 18 Roméo LeBlanc, Canadian politician, 25th Governor General of Canada (1995-99), born in Memramcook, New Brunswick (d. 2009)
- Dec 19 James Booth [David Geeves], British actor and screenwriter (Zulu, Keeping Mum), born in Croydon, Surrey (d. 2005)
- Dec 20 Jim Simpson, American sportscaster, (NBC, ESPN), born in Washington, D.C. (d. 2016)
- Dec 20 Kim Young-sam, South Korean politician and democratic activist (President of South Korea 1993-98), born in Geojedo, Geoje, South Korea (d. 2015)
- Dec 21 Michael Carreras, British film producer & director, born in London, United Kingdom (d. 1994)
- Dec 22 Peggy Castle, American actress (Lily Merrill-Lawman), born in Appalachia, Virginia (d. 1973)
- Dec 23 Joseph Castaldo, American composer, born in NYC, New York (d. 2000)
- Dec 23 (Cornelius) "Pinocchio" James, American jazz and R&B singer (Lionel Hampton Revue), born in Macon, Georgia
- Dec 23 Charlie Williams MBE, English soccer defender (Doncaster Rovers 151 games) and comedian, born in Royston, England (d. 2006)
- Dec 24 Mary Higgins Clark, American suspense novelist (Cry in the Night, Stillwatch), born in The Bronx, New York
- Dec 24 Teresa Stich-Randall, American soprano (Vienna State Opera), born in New Hartford, Connecticut (d. 2007)
- Dec 25 Nellie Fox, American Baseball Hall of Fame infielder (15 x MLB All Star; AL MVP 1959; Chicago White Sox), born in St. Thomas Township, Pennsylvania (d. 1975)
- Dec 26 Alan King [Irwin Kniberg], American comedian and actor (Anderson Tapes; Memories of Me), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2004)
- Dec 26 Denis Quilley, British actor (Anything Goes; The Lady's Not For Burning; Masada), born in London, England (d. 2003)
- Dec 26 Stu Miller, American MLB baseball pitcher, 1952-68 (St. Louis Cardinals; New York/San Francisco Giants, and 3 other teams), born in Northampton, Massachusetts (d. 2015)
- Dec 26 Bill Yeoman, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (University of Houston 1962-86; record 160–108–8), born in Elnora, Indiana (d. 2020)
- Dec 27 Antony Gardner, British politician
- Dec 28 Anne Armstrong, US ambassador and first female counsel to the President, born in New Orleans, Louisiana, (d. 2008)
- Dec 28 Simon Raven, English playwright and critic (Alms for Oblivion)
- Dec 28 Oleg Karavaichuk, Russian pianist and composer, born in Kiev (d. 2016)
- Dec 29 Andy Stanfield, American sprinter & Olympic medalist, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1985)
- Dec 30 Bernard Barrow, American actor (Ryan's Hope, Louie Slavinsky-Loving), born in NYC, New York (d. 1993)
- Dec 30 M Lawrence Antouin, college president (Emeritis)
- Dec 31 Dieter Noll, German writer (Die Abenteuer des Werner Holt), born in Riesa, Saxony (d. 2008)
Famous Weddings
Wedding of Interest
Dec 1 Chinese political and military leader Chiang Kai-shek (40) weds Soong Mei-ling (28) in Shanghai
Famous Deaths
- Dec 7 Albert Griffiths ("Young Griffo"), Australian boxer (World Featherweight champion 1890-92), dies of apoplexy at 56
- Dec 12 Heinrich Reitsch, composer, dies at 67
- Dec 14 Julian Sochocki, Russian-Polish mathematician, dies at 85
- Dec 16 Hugh Archibald Clarke, composer, dies at 88
- Dec 17 Hubert Harrison, West Indian-American writer and freedom fighter, dies at 44
- Dec 18 Harry Barrett, British athlete (WR marathon 2:42:31 1909), dies at 47
- Dec 21 Jack Saunders, cricketer (79 wickets-14 Tests for Aust 1902-08), dies
- Dec 25 Sergei D Sazonov, Russian Foreign minister (1910-16), dies at 66
