Events in History
- Dec 1 American Old West: Near Frisco, New Mexico, deputy sheriff Elfego Baca holds off a gang of 80 Texan cowboys who want to kill him for arresting Charles McCarthy.
Event of Interest
Dec 1 Society of Independent Artists hold 1st exhibition in Polychrome Pavilion, Paris, includes Georges Seurat's "Bathers at Asnières"
Historic Publication
Dec 10 "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain is first published in the UK and Canada (US Feb 1885, due to printing error)
- Dec 12 1st Test match played at the Adelaide Oval
- Dec 16 Great Britain recognizes King Leopold II's Congo Free State
- Dec 19 Italy recognizes King Leopold II's Congo Free State
- Dec 24 Austria-Hungary admits King Leopold II's Congo Free State
- Dec 27 Netherlands recognizes King Leopold II's Congo Free State
- Dec 30 William Morris, Eleanor Marx, and others establish the Socialist League, a revolutionary organization in the UK
Birthdays in History
- Dec 1 Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, German painter (d. 1976)
Rajendra Prasad (1884-1963)
Dec 3 Indian independence activist and 1st President of India (1950-62), born in Zeradai, British India
- Dec 3 Walther Stampfli, Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council, born in Büren, Solothurn, Switzerland (d. 1965)
- Dec 6 Rose Schneiderman, American socialist, feminist, trade union leader and secretary of labor for New York State (1937-44), born in Sawin, Poland (d. 1972)
- Dec 7 Petru Groza, Austro-Hungarian born Romanian communist and President of Romania (1945-58), born in Băcia, Austria-Hungary (d. 1958)
- Dec 10 Zinaida Serebriakova, Russian painter, born in Kharkov, Russian Empire (d. 1967)
- Dec 14 Regina Ullmann, Swiss poet and writer, born in St. Gallen, Switzerland (d. 1961)
- Dec 19 Antonin Zapotocky, Czech communist politician (President of Czechoslovakia 1953-57), born in Zákolany, Kingdom of Bohemia (d. 1957)
- Dec 26 Félix Éboué, French colonial administrator, born in Cayenne, French Guiana (d. 1944)
- Dec 28 Joseph Pholien, Belgian politician (Prime Minister of Belgian 1950-52), born in Liège, Belgium (d. 1968)
Hideki Tojo (1884-1948)
Dec 30 Japanese Prime Minister during WW II (1941-44), born in Tokyo
Civil Rights Activists
Inventors
Kings
Revolutionaries
Scientists