Events in History
- Dec 16 Battle of Blood River: Zulu impis defeated by Voortrekkers in South Africa (Great Trek)
Birthdays in History
- Dec 3 Cleveland Abbe, American meteorologist (Father of Weather Bureau), born in NYC, New York (d. 1916)
- Dec 3 Octavia Hill, British reformer, leader of open-space movement, born in London, England (d. 1912)
- Dec 11 Emil Rathenau, German industrialist (AEG), born in Berlin (d. 1915)
- Dec 11 John Labatt, Canadian brewer and businessman (Labatt Brewing Company), born in Westminster Township (d. 1915)
- Dec 12 Sherburne Wesley Burnham, American astronomer (binary stars), born in Thetford, Vermont (d. 1921)
- Dec 20 Edwin Abbott Abbott, English schoolmaster & theologian (Flatland), born in Marylebone, United Kingdom (d. 1926)
- Dec 31 Emile Loubet, French politician (President 1899-1906), born in Marsanne, France (d. 1929)
Deaths in History
- Dec 14 Jean-Olivier Chénier, French Canadian physician & Patriote, dies during Battle of Saint-Eustache at 32