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, last mistress of Louis XV, beheaded at 50
- 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, dies at 71
- 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, American popular music 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
- 1990 Bob Hamilton, American golfer (PGA C'ship 1944), dies at 74
- 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
- 1992 Yngve Sköld, Swedish composer, dies at 93
- 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
- 1993 Desmond Barel Hirshfield, Lord Hirshfield, British chartered accountant, dies at 80
- 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
- 2014 Fred Hawkins, American golfer (US Masters 1958 runner-up), dies at 91
- 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
- 2018 Ace Cannon, American saxophonist (Tuff Sax), dies at 84
December in History
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, 1887Mozart, 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, 1791Real-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, 1926Coronation Street, King of the Soaps
Thought to have no great future when launched on this day, Coronation Street still reigns supreme
December 9, 1960
