Birthdays in History
Emily Dickinson
Dec 10 Emily Dickinson, American poet (Collected Poems), born in Amherst, Massachusetts (d. 1886)
- Dec 12 Joseph O. Shelby, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Lexington, Kentucky (d. 1897)
- Dec 14 Allen Thomas, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), born in Howard County, Maryland (d. 1907)
- Dec 16 John Frederick Hartranft, American politician, 17th Governor of Pennsylvania (1873-1879), and Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in New Hanover Township, Pennsylvania (d. 1889)
- Dec 17 Jules de Goncourt, French novelist (Germinie), wrote with his brother Edmond de Goncourt, born in Paris (d. 1870)
- Dec 22 Justin M'Carthy, Irish politician and novelist (Miss Misanthrope), born in Cork, Ireland (d. 1912)
- Dec 31 Isma'il Pasha, Khedive of Egypt (1863-79), born in Cairo, Egypt (d. 1895)
Deaths in History
Simón Bolívar
Dec 17 Simón Bolívar, South American revolutionary and president (Colombia), dies at 47 in Santa Marta, Colombia