Saint Nicholas
343 Saint Nicholas [Nikolaos of Myra], Greek Bishop who became the model for Santa Claus, dies at 73
Saint Nicholas
- 1185 Afonso I the Conqueror, King of Portugal (1143-85), dies at 76
- 1352 Clement VI, [Pierre Roger], Pope (1342-52), dies
- 1531 John Volkertsz Trimaker, Dutch anabaptist leader, beheaded
- 1550 Pieter Coecke van Aelst, Flemish painter, dies at 48
- 1562 Jan van Scorel, Dutch painter and architect, dies at 67
- 1598 Elbertus Leoninus, Dutch lawyer/politician, dies at about 78
- 1618 Jacques-Davy Duperron, French cardinal (b. 1556)
- 1640 Matthijs Elsevier, Flemish/Dutch book publisher/merchant, dies at 75
- 1651 Anna Roemers Visscher, Dutch poetess, dies at 68
- 1658 Baltasar Gracian, Spanish writer, dies at 57
- 1716 Benedictus Buns, Dutch Carmelite and composer (b. 1642)
- 1718 Nicholas Rowe, English poet and dramatist (Tamerlane) Poet Laureate (1715-18), dies at 45
- 1746 Lady Grizel Baillie, Scottish songwriter (b. 1665)
- 1771 Giovanni Battista Morgagni, Italian anatomist (b. 1682)
- 1779 Jean-Baptiste-Siméon Chardin, French painter, dies at 80
- 1788 Jonathan Shipley, British bishop and politician (b. 1714)
- 1793 Marie Jeanne Becu comtesse du Barry, mistress of Louis XV, beheaded
- 1799 Joseph Black, Scottish chemist and physicist known for his discoveries of magnesium, latent heat and carbon dioxide, dies at 71
- 1834 Jonas Daniel Meyer, Dutch lawyer, dies at 54
- 1855 William John Swainson, English naturalist and artist, dies at 66
- 1865 Sebastian de Iradier, Spanish composer (Arreglito), dies at 56
- 1867 Giovanni Pacini, composer, dies at 71
- 1867 Jean Pierre Flourens, French physiologist, dies at 73
- 1868 August Schleicher, German linguist (b. 1821)
- 1869 Jan de Liefde II, Dutch vicar/author (People's Welfare), dies at 54
- 1873 Manuel Acuña, Mexican poet (Ante un Cadaver), dies at 24
- 1879 Erastus Brigham Bigelow, American inventor of weaving machine, dies at 65
- 1882 Alfred Escher, Swiss politician and railroad entrepreneur (b. 1819)
- 1882 Anthony Trollope, English novelist and poet (Barchester Towers), dies at 67
Jefferson Davis
1889 Jefferson Davis, President of Confederate States of America (1861-65), dies at 81
Jefferson Davis
Werner von Siemens
1892 [Ernst] Werner von Siemens, German inventor and industrialist (siemens electrical conductance unit and Siemens corporation), dies at 75
Werner von Siemens
- 1903 Frederick Grant Gleason, composer, dies at 54
- 1914 Eduard Jacobs, Dutch cabaret artist, dies at 47
- 1920 Karel Kovařovic, Czech composer, dies at 57
- 1924 Gene Stratton-Porter, American author, screenwriter and naturalist (b. 1863)
- 1925 Dat So la Lee "Dabuda" or Louise Keyser, Native American (Washoe) basket weaver dies aged about 96
- 1934 Duke Charles Michael of Mecklenburg, head of the House of Mecklenburg-Strelitz (b. 1863)
- 1940 Charlie Hime, cricketer (one Test for South Africa 1895), dies
- 1941 Oskar Ernst Bernhardt, German author (In the Light of Truth: The Grail Message), dies at 66
- 1943 Firmin Baes, Flemish painter, dies at 69
- 1943 Hermann Löhr, British composer, dies at 72
- 1946 Maximilian Steinberg, Russian composer, dies at 63
Lead Belly
1949 Lead Belly, [Huddie William Ledbetter], blues singer, dies at 64
Lead Belly
Honus Wagner
1955 Honus Wagner, American Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop (8-time NL batting champion), dies at 81
Honus Wagner
B.R. Ambedkar
1956 B.R. Ambedkar [Baba Saheb], Indian politician, jurist (architect of the Constitution of India) and social reformer who inspired the Dalit Buddhist Movement, dies after suffering from diabetes at 65
B.R. Ambedkar
- 1957 Robert Esnault-Pelterie, French Engineer and aviation pioneer, dies at 76
- 1958 Erwin Bodky, German-American composer, dies at 62
- 1959 Len Doyle, actor (Harrington-Mr District Attorney), dies at 66
- 1961 Frantz Fanon, West Indian psychiatrist and philosopher (The Wretched of the Earth), dies of leukemia at 36
- 1963 Jozef Goossenaerts, Flem philologist (Language Boundary), dies at 81
- 1964 Consuelo Vanderbilt (b. 1877)
- 1965 Alberto Vaccari, Italian jesuit/old testament scholar, dies at 90
- 1966 Hermann Heiss, German composer, dies at 69
- 1970 Thomas S Power, American USAF-gen (Raid on Tokyo-March 1945), dies at 65
- 1971 Hugo Godron, Dutch composer, dies at 71
- 1971 Jan Altink, Dutch painter/co-founder (Plough), dies at 86
- 1972 Janet Munro, actress (Crawling Eye, Swiss Family Robinson), dies at 38
- 1973 Justus Hermann Wetzel, composer, dies at 94
- 1974 Nikolay Kuznetsov, Russian naval commander (Admiral of the Fleet during World War II), dies at 70
- 1976 João Goulart, President of Brazil (b. 1918)
- 1983 Lucienne Boyer, French singer (Parlez-moi d'amour), dies at 82
- 1984 Ruth Cummings, actress (Daybreak, Dream of Love), dies at 90
- 1985 Burleigh Grimes, American baseball player, dies at 92
- 1985 Burr Tillstrom, American puppeteer (Kukla Fran & Ollie), dies at 68
- 1986 Malik Oussekine, Algerian/French student, killed by police at 22
- 1987 James Dobson, actor (Impulse, Jet Attack, Okinawa), dies
- 1988 Bill Harris, American guitarist (Clovers-Love Potion No 9), dies at 63
- 1988 Roy Orbison, American musician (Pretty Woman), dies of a massive heart attack at 52
- 1989 Frances Beauvier, actress (Aunt Bee, Mayberry), dies at 86
- 1989 Sammy Fain, composer, dies at 87
- 1989 John Payne, American actor (The Restless Gun, Miracle on 34th Street), dies aged 77
- 1989 Gabor Jodal, Romanian composer, dies at 76
Tunku Abdul Rahman
1990 Tunku Abdul Rahman, Malaysia's founding father, 1st Prime Minister of Malaya (1957-63) and Malaysia (1963-70), dies at 87
Tunku Abdul Rahman
- 1991 Ann Sorg Coston, actress (Anna-Aldrich Family), dies at 62
- 1991 Headman Tshabalala, South African singer (Ladysmith Black Mambazo), shot and killed at 44
- 1992 Hank Worden, American actor (The Searcher, Red River), dies of natural causes at 91
- 1992 Percy Herbert, actor (Capt Apache), dies of heart attack at 72
- 1993 Dominic "Don" Ameche, American actor (Cocoon, Trading Places), dies of prostate cancer at 85
- 1993 Prof Wolfgang Paul, German physicist (Nobel 1989), dies at 80
- 1993 Rita Macedo, actress (Divinas Palabras), dies of heart attack at 65
- 1993 Rouaz Lakhdar, Algerian supreme court justice, murdered
- 1994 AJ Bronkhorst, vicar/theologist (Reform The Netherlands), dies at 80
- 1994 Alan Owen, English screenplay/actor (Hard Day's Night), dies at 69
- 1994 Gian Maria Volontè, Italian actor (Fistful of Dollars), dies at 61
- 1995 Dmitri Volkogonov, Russian soldier and historian, dies at 67
- 1995 James "Scotty" Reston, American journalist (New York Times), dies at 86
- 1995 John Trevor Key, British photographer, dies of brain tumour at 48
- 1995 Kathleen Harrison, English actress (Fast Lady, Big Money), dies at 103
- 1995 Leslie Wilkinson, journalist, dies at 97
- 1995 Claire Polin, American composer, dies at 69
- 1996 Bryan Clieve Roberts, lawyer/civil servant, dies at 83
Pete Rozelle
1996 Pete Rozelle, American NFL commissioner (1960-89), dies of brain cancer at 70
Pete Rozelle
- 1997 Alan Mouncer, film director and producer, dies at 68
- 1997 Eddie Myers, British WWII soldier and engineer, dies at 91
- 1997 Eliot Daniel, composer (I Love Lucy theme), dies at 89
- 2000 Werner Klemperer, German-American actor (Judgment at Nuremberg, Hogan's Heroes), dies of cancer at 80
- 2001 Sir Peter Blake, New Zealand yachtsman & winner of numerous Whitbread and America's Cup sailing contests, killed by pirates on the Amazon River at age 53
- 2001 Charles McClendon, Hall of Fame college football coach (b. 1923)
- 2002 Philip Berrigan, American peace activist and Roman Catholic priest, dies at 79
- 2003 Carlos Manuel Arana Osorio, President of Guatemala (b. 1918)
- 2003 Jerry Tuite, American professional wrestler (b. 1966)
- 2003 Hans Hotter, German bass-baritone (b. 1909)
- 2004 Raymond Goethals, Belgian football coach (b. 1921)
- 2005 Charly Gaul, Luxembourg cyclist (b. 1932)
- 2005 Devan Nair, 3rd President of Singapore (b. 1923)
- 2005 Danny Williams, South African-born singer (b. 1942)
- 2006 John Feeney, Documentary film-director (b. 1922)
- 2007 Katy French, Irish Supermodel and Socialite, dies at 24
- 2010 Mark Dailey, Canadian television journalist and announcer (b. 1953)
- 2010 Hugues Cuénod, Swiss tenor and musical educator, dies at 108
- 2011 Dobie Gray [Lawrence Brown], American musician and singer (Drift Away), dies of cancer at 71
- 2013 Stan Tracey, British jazz pianist, dies at 86
- 2015 Holly Woodlawn, transgender Puerto Rican actress (Warhol films), dies at 69
- 2016 Peter Vaughan, British actor (Porridge, Game of Thrones), dies at 93
- 2017 Cy Young, American athlete and only US male to win gold in javelin throwing (1952 Olympics), dies of complications from dementia at 89
- 2017 William H. Gass, American novelist and philosopher (Omensetter's Luck), dies at 93
- 2018 Pete Shelley [Peter McNeish], English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Buzzcocks "Going Steady"), dies at 63
- 2018 Andrew Frierson, pioneering African American opera singer, dies at 94
December in History
![How the First Sherlock Holmes Story was Sold for a Song]()
How the First Sherlock Holmes Story was Sold for a Song
How did an English publisher most famous for giving the world Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management come to publish the first Sherlock Holmes story?
December 1, 1887![Mozart, the Incomparable Musical Genius]()
Mozart, the Incomparable Musical Genius
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a musical genius who composed over 600 works in his short lifetime, died mysteriously on this day and was buried unceremoniously.
December 5, 1791![Real-life Tragedy for Theatrical Family]()
Real-life Tragedy for Theatrical Family
On this day a tragedy engulfed one of Britain’s noted theatrical families of the early 20th century.
December 8, 1926![Coronation Street, King of the Soaps]()
Coronation Street, King of the Soaps
Thought to have no great future when launched on this day, Coronation Street still reigns supreme
December 9, 1960
