Events in History
Nobel Prize
Dec 10 Karl Ziegler and Giulio Natta receive the 1963 Nobel Prize in Chemistry for their work on the technology of high polymers
- Dec 10 Zanzibar gains independenence from Great Britain
Event of Interest
Dec 12 Argentina asks for extradition of ex-President Juan Perón
- Dec 12 Frank Sinatra, Jr returned by kidnappersafter his father paid the $240,000 ransom demanded
- Dec 12 Kenya (formerly British East Africa) declares independence from UK
- Dec 14 Verne Gagne beats The Crusher in Minneapolis, to become NWA champ
- Dec 17 Tsjoi Doo Sun forms government in South Korea
- Dec 17 West & East Berlin sign accord about travel rules
- Dec 18 Muskegon, Michigan gets 3' of snow
- Dec 18 Ron Clarke runs world record 10k (28:15.6)
- Dec 20 Berlin Wall opens for 1st time to West Berliners
- Dec 20 Massemba-Debate elected President of Congo-Brazzaville
- Dec 20 Trial against 21 camp guards of Auschwitz begins
- Dec 22 Cruise ship Lakonia burns 180 miles north of Madeira with the loss of 128 lives
- Dec 22 Oakland Raider Tom Flores passes for 6 touchdowns vs Houston (52-49)
Event of Interest
Dec 22 Official 30-day mourning period for President John F. Kennedy ends
- Dec 23 Fire on Greek ship Laconia, 128 die
- Dec 23 The Beach Boys 1st appearance on "Shindig"
- Dec 24 Greek & Turks riot in Cyprus
- Dec 26 US furnishes cereal to USSR
- Dec 30 Congress authorizes Kennedy half dollar, in honor of John F. Kennedy
Birthdays in History
- Dec 2 Ann Patchett, American novelist (Bel Canto), born in Los Angeles, California
- Dec 3 Terri Schiavo, American right to die figure (d. 2005)
- Dec 9 Empress Masako, Empress of Japan as wife and consort of Naruhito, born in Tokyo, Japan
- Dec 10 Gillian Wearing, English conceptual artist (60 Minutes Silence), born in Birmingham, England
- Dec 10 Robin White, American tennis player (US Open doubles 1988), born in San Diego, California
- Dec 12 Juan Carlos Varela, President of Panama (2014-), born in Panama City
- Dec 15 Andrew Luster, American Max Factor heir and convicted sex offender, born in Las Vegas, Nevada
- Dec 20 Infanta Elena, Duchess of Lugo, born in Madrid, Spain
- Dec 22 Luna H. Mitani, Japanese-American surrealist painter, born in Hokkaido, Japan
- Dec 23 Donna Tartt, American writer (The Secret History, The Goldfinch), born in Greenwood, Mississippi
- Dec 27 Gaspar Noé, Argentinian-born director
- Dec 29 Francisco Bustamante, Filipino billiard player, born in Tarlac, Philippines
- Dec 30 Chandler Burr, American journalist (US New and World Report), author (A Separate Creation; The Emperor of Scent), and museum curator (Department of Scent Art), born in Chicago, Illinois
- Dec 30 Karen Lynch (née Rohan), America health care executive (CEO of CVS Health, largest US healthcare company), born in Ware, Massachusetts
Mike Pompeo (59 years old)
Dec 30 American politician, US Secretary of State (2018-21), born in Orange, California
Deaths in History
- Dec 5 Herbert H Lehman, (Gov-D-NY), dies
- Dec 5 Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, Prime Minister of Pakistan (b. 1892)
- Dec 6 Jozef Goossenaerts, Flem philologist (Language Boundary), dies at 81
- Dec 8 Field Marshal Sarit Dhanarajata, Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1908)
- Dec 13 Hubert ME Pierlot, Belgian advocate/premier (1939-45), dies at 79
- Dec 14 Erich Ollenhauer, German politician, leader of the Social Democratic Party of Germany (1952-63), dies at 62
- Dec 24 Raphaël Verwilghen, Belgian architect, and urban planner, dies at 78
- Dec 25 Tristan Tzara [Samuel Rosenfeld] Romanian-French poet (Approximate Man), dies at 67
- Dec 28 Abbott Joseph Liebling, American journalist/writer, dies
Authors
Civil Rights Activists
Inventors
Kings
Revolutionaries
Scientists