Historical Events
- Dec 1 Railroad museum opens in Utrecht Neth
- Dec 1 National League President John Heydler first to propose a baseball rule change calling for a 10th man, or 'designated hitter', to bat in place of the pitcher; ironically, the NL vote in favour of proposal, but the American League turn it down
- Dec 1 CFL Grey Cup, AAA Grounds, Hamilton: Hamilton Tigers win 3rd Cup with 30-0 shutout of Regina Roughriders
- Dec 2 Cardinals' 1B Jim Bottomley is voted NL MVP
- Dec 4 Walter Donaldson & Gus Kahn's musical "Whoopee" premieres in NYC
- Dec 5 England defeats Australia by record 675 runs at Brisbane
- Dec 5 Wilhelm Miklas elected president of Austria
Event of Interest
Dec 11 Buenos Aires police thwart an attempt on President-elect Herbert Hoover
Herbert Hoover
Event of Interest
Dec 13 George Gershwin's "An American In Paris" premieres (NYC)
George Gershwin
Donald Bradman
- Dec 16 National Football League Championship: Providence Steam Roller (8-1-2) win first past the post title
- Dec 17 John McGraw backs NL President John Heydler's designated hitter idea
- Dec 19 1st autogyro flight in US
- Dec 20 1st international dogsled mail leaves Minot, Maine for Montreal, Quebec
- Dec 20 Ethel Barrymore Theater opens at 243 W 47th St NYC
- Dec 23 NBC sets up a permanent, coast-to-coast radio network
- Dec 24 George Abbott Theater (Adelphi, 54 St) opens at 152 W 54th St NYC
- Dec 25 Christmas Day attendance at cricket MCG (Vic v NSW) Australia is 14,887
- Dec 25 NSW (v Vic) go from 8-74 to 9-113 to be 9-367 at stumps
- Dec 26 Johnny Weissmuller announces his retirement from amateur swimming
- Dec 26 World record 10th wicket stand 307 (Kippax / Hooker) NSW v Vic
- Dec 28 Last recording of Ma Rainey, "Mother of the Blues," made
Famous Birthdays
- Dec 2 Dan Jenkins, American author, sportswriter (Sports Illustrated), born in Fort Worth, Texas (d. 2019)
- Dec 4 Russell L. Rogers, American electrical engineer and astronaut (X-20), born in Lawrence, Kansas (d. 1967)
- Dec 4 Dena Dietrich, American actress (Mother Nature in Chiffon margarine), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Dec 6 Bert Geoffrey Achong, inventor (electron microscopist)
- Dec 6 Bobby Van, American singer (d. 1980)
Noam Chomsky
Dec 7 Noam Chomsky, American linguist (founded transformational grammar), philospher and political activist, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Noam Chomsky
- Dec 7 Raymond Warren, British composer
- Dec 8 Ulric Neisser, America psychologist (Intelligence: Knowns and Unknowns, Bell Curve task force head), born in Kiel, Germany (d. 2012)
- Dec 9 Richard "Dick" Van Patten, American actor, businessman, and animal welfare advocate (Tom Bradford in 8 is Enough), born in Queens, New York (d. 2015)
- Dec 9 André Milhoux, Belgian racing driver
- Dec 10 John Colicos, Canadian actor (Battlestar Galactica), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 2000)
- Dec 10 Dan Blocker, American actor (Tiny-Cimarron City, Hoss-Bonanza), born in DeKalb, Bowie County, Texas (d. 1972)
- Dec 10 Barbara Nichols, American actress (Dear Heart, Disorderly Orderly), born in Queens, New York (d. 1976)
- Dec 11 Tomás Gutiérrez Alea, Cuban filmmaker (Muerte de un burócrata), born in Havana, Cuba (d. 1996)
- Dec 12 Helen Frankenthaler, American abstract expressionist artist (Arden), born in Manhattan, New York (d. 2011)
- Dec 12 Lonesome Sundown [Cornelius Green III], American blues singer and guitarist, born in Donaldsonville, Louisiana (d. 1995)
- Dec 12 Lionel Blair [Ogus], Canadian choreographer (Give Us a Clue), born in Montréal, Québec
- Dec 12 Chinghiz Aitmatov, Soviet-Kyrgyz author and best-known figure in Kyrgyzstan's literature (Jamila), born in Kirghiz ASSR, Soviet Union (d. 2008)
- Dec 13 W Gordon Smith, Scottish playwright, born in Edinburgh (d. 1996)
- Dec 13 Jack Tramiel, American Businessman (Amiga, Commodore 64), born in Łódź, Poland (d. 2012)
- Dec 15 Jimmy Nelson, American ventriloquist (Nestles, Farfel), born in Chicago, Illinois
- Dec 15 Friedensreich Hundertwasser, Austrian artist (d. 2000)
- Dec 15 Jerry Wallace, American singer
- Dec 16 Peter Nailor, civil servant/historian
- Dec 16 Philip K[indred] Dick, US, sci-fi author (Hugo-1963, Blade Runner), born in Chicago, Illinois
- Dec 17 Marilyn Beck, newspaper columnist
- Dec 17 Eli Beeding, Sherman, TX, Air Force Captain and rocket test pilot, (d. 2013)
- Dec 18 Józef Glemp, Polish cardinal
- Dec 19 Galt MacDermot, Canadian composer (Hair), born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 2018)
- Dec 19 Michael Hurd, composer
- Dec 19 Nathan Oliveira, American artist
- Dec 20 Charles Donald Adams, English opera singer and actor, born in Bristol, United Kingdom
- Dec 20 Jack Christiansen, American football player and coach (Lions), born in Sublette, Kansas
- Dec 21 Edwin "Ed" Nelson, American actor (Peyton Place, Along Came a Spider), born in New Orleans, Louisiana,(d. 2014)
- Dec 21 Thomas Rajna, Hungarian-born composer, born in Budapest, Hungary
- Dec 22 Piero Angela, Italian television host & writer (Control), born in Turin, Italy
- Dec 23 Chronis Aidonidis, Greek singer, born in Karoti, Greece
- Dec 23 Buddy Harman, American drummer (Grand Ole Opry, Elvis Presley), born in Nashville, Tennessee (d. 2008)
- Dec 25 Irish McCalla, American actress and artist (Sheena Queen of Jungle), born in Pawnee City, Nebraska (d. 2002)
- Dec 25 Harry Klein, English jazz saxophonist, born in London, United Kingdom (d. 2010)
- Dec 28 Kamillo Lendvay, composer
- Dec 28 Moe Koffman, Canadian musician (d. 2001)
- Dec 29 Bernard Cribbins, British character actor, voice-over artist and musical comedian (Val Doonican Show), born in Oldham, Lancashire
- Dec 30 Bo Diddley [Ellas Bates McDaniels], American rock `n' roll pioneer (Bo Diddley), born in McComb, Mississippi (d. 2008)
- Dec 31 Hugh McElhenny, American NFL halfback (SF, Minnesota, Giants, Detroit), born in Los Angeles, California
- Dec 31 Ross Barbour, American singer (4 Freshmen), born in Columbus, Indiana (d. 2011)
- Dec 31 Veijo Meri, Finnish writer, born in Viipuri (d. 2015)
- Dec 31 Siné [Maurice Sinet], French cartoonist, born in Paris, France (d. 2016)
- Dec 31 Amarillo Slim [Thomas Preston], American hall of fame professional poker player (1971 World Series main event), born in Amarillo, Texas (d. 2012)
Famous Deaths
- Dec 1 José Eustasio Rivera, Colombian writer (b. 1888)
- Dec 1 Arthur Gore, British tennis player (Wimbledon 1901, 08-09), dies at 60
- Dec 5 Johannes "Johan" Bakker Sr, Dutch actor and husband of Truus Soete, dies at 61
- Dec 10 Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Scottish architect, designer, and illustrator, dies at 60
- Dec 11 Lewis Howard Latimer, American inventor (carbon filament lightbulb), dies at 80
- Dec 14 Theodore Roberts, American actor (Roaring Road, 10 Commandments), dies at 77
- Dec 16 Elinor Wylie, American poet and writer (b. 1885)
- Dec 18 Lucien Capet, French composer and violinist, dies at 55
- Dec 21 Harry Butt, cricketer (England wicket-keeper v South Africa 1895-96), dies
- Dec 21 Luigi Cadorna, Italian fieldmarshal (WW I, Caporetto), dies at 78