- Dec 1 Patrice Lumumba caught in the Congo
Event of Interest
Dec 1 Paul McCartney and Pete Best arrested then deported from Hamburg, Germany for accusation of attempted arson.
Paul McCartney
Pete Best
Scientific Discovery
Dec 2 Paleoanthropologist Louis Leakey discovers 1.4 million year old Homo erectus (Olduvai Hominid 9) in Olduvai Gorge, Tanzania
Louis Leakey
- Dec 3 Frederick Loewe and Alan Jay Lerner's"Camelot" opens at Majestic Theater NYC for 873 performances
- Dec 5 Ghana drops diplomatic relations with Belgium
- Dec 6 AL grants American businessman Gene Autry a franchise, LA Angels
- Dec 7 Ivory Coast claims independence from France
- Dec 8 MLB expansion team Los Angeles Angels sign a 4 year lease to use Dodger Stadium
- Dec 8 Musical "Peter Pan", starring Mary Martin broadcast, for a 3rd time, on NBC as a special event, videotaped in color for future rebroadcasts
- Dec 9 1st broadcast of "Coronation Street" on British ITV
Nobel Prize
Dec 10 Willard Libby wins the Nobel prize in Chemistry for his work developing carbon-14 dating (radiocarbon dating).
Willard Libby
Music Premiere
Dec 11 Cy Coleman and Carolyn Leigh's musical "Wildcat" with Lucille Ball premieres in New York City
Lucille Ball
- Dec 11 Cleveland's Bernie Parrish sets club record for longest interception return with a 92 yard run
- Dec 13 Italy beats US in Davis cup (1st time in 24 years US not in finals)
- Dec 13 Laos General Fumi Nosavang occupies Vientiane
- Dec 13 Ballon d'Or: Barcelona midfielder Luis Suárez is named best football player in Europe ahead of Real Madrid's Hungarian forward Ferenc Puskás and Hamburg striker Uwe Seeler
- Dec 14 Australia v West Indies 1st Test Cricket at the Gabba ends in a tie
- Dec 14 Organization for Economic Cooperation & Development (OECD) forms
- Dec 14 Washington Senators joins American League
- Dec 16 "Wildcat" opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 172 performances
- Dec 16 TWA 266 & United 826 collide over Staten Island, kills 134
- Dec 17 "La Plume de Ma Tante" closes at Royale Theater NYC after 835 performances
- Dec 17 "Take Me Along" closes at Shubert Theater NYC after 448 performances
- Dec 17 Pablo Casals' oratorio "El Pesebrio" premieres
- Dec 18 General Meeting of UN condemns apartheid
- Dec 19 Fire aboard USS Constellation, under construction at Brooklyn (50 die)
Music Recording
Dec 19 Frank Sinatra's 1st session with Reprise Records (Ring-A-Ding-Ding)
Frank Sinatra
Music Recording
Dec 21 Ornette Coleman records his influential album "Free Jazz: A Collective Improvisation", establishes the name for the Free Jazz sound
Ornette Coleman
Music Premiere
Dec 26 Musical "Do re mi" with Phil Silvers premieres St James Theater in NYC
Phil Silvers
NFL Championship
Dec 26 National Football League Championship, Franklin Field, Philadelphia: Philadelphia Eagles beat Green Bay Packers, 17-13; lone playoff defeat for Packers coach Vince Lombardi before Packers establish dynasty
Vince Lombardi