Dec 1 Oliver Wolcott, American judge, signed US Declaration of Independence, dies at 71 Dec 11 Richard Brocklesby, English physician (b. 1722) Dec 22 Giovanni Marco Rutini, Italian composer, dies at 74 Dec 26 John Wilkes, English radical, journalist (The North Briton) and politician, dies at 72 1796 Famous Deaths by Year 1798