Events in History
- Dec 25 Physician Ephraim McDowell performs the first abdominal surgery in the U.S, an ovariotomy to remove a 22 lb ovarian tumor
- Dec 26 British invasionary troop leaves Vlissingen
- Dec 30 Wearing masks at balls forbidden in Boston
Birthdays in History
- Dec 3 Thomas Alfred Davies, American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Black Lake, New York (d. 1899)
- Dec 6 Stephen Thomas, American Brigadier General (Union Army), born in Bethel, Vermont (d. 1903)
- Dec 16 Peter P van Bosse, Dutch attorney/liberal minister of Finance
- Dec 19 Pierre-Joseph van Beneden, Belg, paleont (life cycle of tapeworms)
Kit Carson
Dec 24 Kit Carson, American frontiersman, Indian fighter and army officer, born in Madison County, Kentucky (d. 1868)
William Gladstone
Dec 29 William Ewart Gladstone, British statesman and Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (Liberal: 1868-74, 1880-86, 1892-94), born in Liverpool, England (d. 1898)
Divorces in History
Napoléon Bonaparte
Dec 16 Napoleon Bonaparte divorces Empress Joséphine by French Senate
Authors
Civil Rights Activists
Inventors
Kings
Revolutionaries
Scientists