Events in History
- Dec 16 Earthquake hits New Madrid, Missouri, causing widespread damage
- Dec 26 A theater fire in Richmond, Virginia kills the Governor of Virginia George William Smith and the president of the First National Bank of Virginia Abraham B. Venable.
Birthdays in History
- Dec 2 Jean-Charles Chapais, Canadian politician (considered Father of the Canadian Confederation), born in Rivière-Ouelle, Lower Canada (d. 1885)
- Dec 18 Alexander Sandor Asboth, Hungarian-American Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Keszthely, Hungary (d. 1868)
- Dec 25 Wilhelm E Freiherr von Ketteler, German politician/bishop of Mainz