- Dec 1 Four sets of brothers play in one NHL game when Chicago Blackhawks beat NY Rangers, 4-1; Lynn & Muzz Patrick and Neil & Mac Colville (Rangers); Max & Doug Bentley and Bob & Bill Carse (Chicago)
- Dec 6 Gestapo arrest German resistance fighter/poster artist Helen Ernst
- Dec 6 Pietro Badoglio resigns as viceroy of Ethiopia
- Dec 7 CFL Grey Cup (Game 2), Lansdowne Park, Ottawa: Ottawa beats Toronto Balmy Beach, 12-5
- Dec 7 North Africa: British counter offensive under general O'Connor
- Dec 7 The first prototype Fairey Barracuda flew
- Dec 8 National Football League Championship, Griffith Stadium, Washington, D.C.: Chicago Bears beat Washington Redskins, 73-0; most one-sided victory in NFL history; first NFL title game broadcast on national radio
- Dec 9 British assault on Benghazi, Libya: first major allied offensive in North Africa
- Dec 9 Illegal Jewish immigrants to Haifa are deported to Mauritius
- Dec 9 South Australia all out for 47 v NSW, O'Reilly 5-11
- Dec 10 British anti-offensive in Libya (Sidi Barrani)
Sports History
Dec 10 1941 NFL Draft: Tom Harmon from University of Michigan first pick by Chicago Bears
Historic Event
Dec 11 Russian general Georgy Zhukov warns of German assault
- Dec 17 British troops occupy Sollum, Egypt
Sports History
Dec 20 Connie Mack acquires controlling interest in the Athletics for $42,000
- Dec 22 World War II: Himarë is captured by the Greek army.
Historic Event
Dec 23 John Van Druten's "Old Acquaintance" premieres in NYC
Music Premiere
Dec 25 Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart's musical "Pal Joey" premieres in NYC
Film Release
Dec 26 "The Philadelphia Story" film directed by George Cukor, based on the Broadway play of the same name, starring Cary Grant, Katharine Hepburn and James Stewart, is released (Academy Awards Best Actor 1941)
'Hitler Will Have to Break Us or Lose the War'
Dec 29 Worst German air raid on London as over 10,000 bombs including the 1st incendiary bombs are dropped on the city as part of the Blitz
- Dec 30 California's 1st freeway, (Arroyo Seco Parkway), opens