- Dec 5 Daniel Stillson (Mass) patents 1st practical pipe wrench
- Dec 5 Fire at Brooklyn Theater kills 295, trampled or burned to death
- Dec 6 1st crematorium in US begins operation, Washington, Pennsylvania
Election of Interest
Dec 6 US Electoral College casts their votes in the disputed election between Rutherford B. Hayes and Samuel J. Tilden; two sets of conflicting results are returned to Congress the next day
