- Dec 1 50th Heisman Trophy Award: Doug Flutie, Boston College (QB)
- Dec 1 France performs nuclear test
- Dec 1 American boxer Greg Page KOs home town favourite Gerrie Coetzee in 8th round to win WBA heavyweight title in Sun City, South Africa
Film Premier
Dec 1 "Beverly Hills Cop" directed by Martin Brest and starring Eddie Murphy and Judge Reinhold premieres in Los Angeles
Eddie Murphy
- Dec 1 49th Iron Bowl: Alabama beats Auburn 17-15 in Birmingham
Event of Interest
Dec 1 American tennis icon Chris Evert wins her 1,000th career professional match; beats Pascale Paradis of France 6-1, 6-7, 6-2 in the round of 16 at the Australian Open; Evert goes on to win the event
Chris Evert
Event of Interest
Dec 2 Miami quarterback Dan Marino breaks NFL single-season touchdown pass record when he throws his 37th in the Dolphins' 45-34 loss to the Raiders; finishes season with 48 TD passes
Dan Marino
- Dec 3 Bhopal disaster: Union Carbide pesticide plant leak 45 tons of methyl isocyanate and other toxic compounds in Bhopal, India, kills 2,259 (official figure) - other estimates as high as 16,000 (including later deaths) and over half a million injured
Music Single
Dec 3 "Do They Know It's Christmas" single written by Bob Geldof and Midge Ure and sung by Band Aid is released in the UK
Bob Geldof
- Dec 4 Hezbollah militants hijack a Kuwait Airlines plane, killing four passengers.
Event of Interest
Dec 4 6th ACE Cable Awards: David Bowie: Serious Moonlight by Anthony Eaton and HBO
David Bowie
Event of Interest
Dec 5 A's trade Rickey Henderson to Yankees for Jay Howell & Jose Rijo
Rickey Henderson
Event of Interest
Dec 6 Helena Suková snaps Martina Navratilova's 74-match winning streak 1-6, 6-3, 7-5 in the semi finals of the Australian Open in Melbourne; ends Navratilova's hopes of completing the Grand Slam
Martina Navratilova
Event of Interest
Dec 7 Allan Border's 1st Test Cricket match as captain (v WI Adelaide)
Allan Border
- Dec 8 Europe & 64 developing countries sign Lome III treaty
Event of Interest
Dec 8 Ringo Starr appears on "Saturday Night Live"
Ringo Starr
Lorne Michaels
- Dec 8 Australian Open Women's Tennis: Chris Evert-Lloyd beats Helena Suková 6-7, 6-1, 6-3; continues streak of winning at least 1 major per year since 1973
- Dec 9 Great Britain performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Dec 9 Iranian commandos end day hijack of Kuwaiti plane
- Dec 9 LA Ram Eric Dickerson rushes 215 yards for season record 2,105 yards
Australian Men's Tennis Open
Dec 9 Australian Open Men's Tennis: Sweden's Mats Wilander wins 2nd straight Australian title; beats Kevin Curren of South Africa 6-7, 6-4, 7-6, 6-2
Mats Wilander
- Dec 9 PGA Seniors' Championship Men's Golf, PGA National GC: Australian Peter Thomson wins his lone Champions Tour major title by 3 strokes from Don January
- Dec 10 1st "planet" outside our solar system discovered
Nobel Prize
Dec 10 South African Archbishop Desmond Tutu is presented with his Nobel Peace Prize
Desmond Tutu
- Dec 10 WNSY-AM in Newport News VA returns from WGH
- Dec 11 "Doug Henning & His World..." opens at Lunt-Fontanne NYC for 60 performances
- Dec 11 Mauretania military coup under Col Maawiya Ould Sid'ahmed Taya
- Dec 13 Artificial heart recipient William Schroeder suffers 1st stroke
- Dec 14 Sportscaster Howard Cosell retires from Monday Night Football
- Dec 15 USSR launches Vega 1 for rendezvous with Halley's Comet
- Dec 18 73rd Davis Cup: Sweden beats USA in Gothenburg (4-1)
Film Premier
Dec 18 "A Christmas Carol" directed by Clive Donner starring George C. Scott premieres in the US
George C. Scott
Treaty of Interest
Dec 19 Chinese Premier Zhao Ziyang and British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher sign the Sino-British Joint Declaration to transfer Hong Kong back to China in 1997
Margaret Thatcher
Event of Interest
Dec 19 Wayne Gretzky, 23, is 18th & youngest NHL-er to score 1,000 points
Wayne Gretzky
Event of Interest
Dec 19 Scotty Bowman wins his 691st regular season game, the most wins by any coach in NHL history
Scotty Bowman
- Dec 20 33 unknown Bach keyboard works found in Yale library
- Dec 20 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Dec 21 Brigham Young University (BYU) beats Michigan, 24-17 in the Holiday Bowl at Jack Murphy Stadium, San Diego to remain undefeated and secure their first ever NCAA Division I-A football title
- Dec 21 Islander Kelly Hrudy's 1st shut-out win-Whalers 1-0
- Dec 21 USSR launches Vega 2 for fly-by of Halley's Come
- Dec 22 Bernhard Goetz shoots 4 black muggers on NYC subway train
- Dec 22 Test Cricket debut of Craig McDermott, v WI at the MCG
- Dec 23 West Indies batsman Viv Richards scores 208 vs Ausatralia in test match at the Melbourne Cricket Ground
- Dec 24 Palace coup in Mauritania
- Dec 25 NBA's Bernard King scores 60 points
- Dec 25 Ballon d'Or: Juventus' French midfielder Michel Platini is named Europe's best football player for the 2nd consecutive time; beats Bordeaux midfielder Jean Tigana and Verona striker Preben Elkjær
- Dec 27 Padres' free agent pitcher Ed Whitson signs with NY Yankees
- Dec 28 Creosote bush determined to be 11,700 years old
Election of Interest
Dec 28 Rajiv Gandhi's Congress party wins the general election in India
Rajiv Gandhi
Appointment of Interest
Dec 28 Ted Hughes is appointed British Poet Laureate by Queen Elizabeth II
Ted Hughes
Elizabeth II
- Dec 29 5th United Negro College Fund
- Dec 29 Blues took 27 shots against Islanders in 1 period
- Dec 29 Indian Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi claims victory in parliamentary elections
- Dec 29 Wayne Gretzky scores his NHL career 32nd hat trick & adds 3 assists in Edmonton's 6-3 win over Detroit Red Wings for his 100th point in just 35 games; 2nd fastest in history - recorded 100 points in 34 games in 1983
- Dec 31 Def Leppard drummer Rick Allen loses his arm in a car crash
- Dec 31 NYC subway gunman Bernhard Goetz surrenders to police in NH
- Dec 31 Test Cricket debut of Mohammad Azharuddin, v England at Calcutta
- Dec 31 US leaves UNESCO