- 660 Eligius [Eloy], French patron saint of horses, goldsmiths and metalworkers who as bishop of Tournay-Noyon spent 20 years converting the pagan population of Flanders to Christianity, dies at around 72
- 1018 Thietmar, German chronicler and Bishop of Merseburg, dies at 43
- 1135 Henry I Beauclerc, King of England (1100-1135) and the 1st English King after the Norman conquest to be fluent in the English language, dies at around 66 of fever after eating "a surfeit of lampreys"
- 1241 Isabella of England, wife of Frederick II, Holy Roman Emperor (b. 1214)
- 1374 Magnus Eriksson, king of Norway/Sweden, dies
- 1377 King Magnus II of Sweden (b. 1316)
- 1417 Walraven I van Brederode, viceroy of Holland, dies
- 1433 Emperor Go-Komatsu of Japan, 100th Emperor of Japan, dies at 56
- 1455 Lorenzo Ghiberti, Italian sculptor, dies at 77
- 1530 Margaretha of Austria, governess of the Netherlands, dies at 51
- 1580 Edmund Campion, English jesuit, hanged at 42
- 1580 Giovanni Morone, Italian theologian/diplomat/cardinal, dies at 71
- 1581 Ralph Sherwin, English Catholic saint (b. 1550)
- 1581 Alexander Briant, English saint (b. around 1556)
- 1602 Kobayakawa Hideaki, Japanese samurai and warlord (b. 1582)
- 1633 Isabella Clara Eugenia, Sovereign of the Netherlands (1598-1621), dies at 67
- 1635 Melchior Teschner, German composer, dies at 51
- 1660 Pierre d'Hozier, French genealogist, dies at 68
- 1700 Willem ten Rhijne, Dutch physician in Batavia, dies at about 53
- 1709 Abraham a Sancta Clara, [Johann Ulrich Megerle], German court preacher and friar, dies at 65
- 1729 Giacomo F. Maraldi, French-Italian astronomer and mathematician, dies at 64
- 1736 Simon van Slingelandt, Dutch grand pensionary (1727-36), dies at 72
- 1750 Doppelmayr, mathematician
- 1767 Henry Erskine, 10th Earl of Buchan, British Freemason
- 1797 Oliver Wolcott, American judge, signed US Declaration of Independence, dies at 71
- 1825 Tsar Alexander I of Russia (b. 1777). Reigned from 1801
- 1842 Philip Spencer, 1st US naval officer condemned for mutiny, hanged
- 1865 Constant van Crombrugghe, Flemish monastery founder, dies at 76
- 1865 Abraham Emanuel Fröhlich, Swiss poet (b. 1796)
- 1866 George Everest, Welsh surveyor and namesake of Mt. Everest, dies at 76
- 1884 William Swainson (lawyer), second, and last, Attorney-General (New Zealand) of the Crown Colony of New Zealand (b. 1809)
- 1887 Albertus J Duymaer van Twist, gov-gen of Dutch-Indies, dies at 78
- 1892 Joseph Lippens, Belgian lieutenant in Congo, murdered
- 1892 Lucius E. Polk, American Brigadier General (Confederate Army), dies at 59
- 1913 Juhan Liiv, Estonian poet (I Saw Estonia Yesterday), dies at 49
- 1914 Alfred Thayer Mahan, American naval officer (Influence of Sea Power), dies at 74
- 1916 Charles Eugène, vicomte de Foucauld, French explorer and a hermit, dies at 58
- 1923 Virginie Loveling, Flemish writer (Sophie) and poet, dies at 87
- 1928 José Eustasio Rivera, Colombian writer (b. 1888)
- 1934 Sergei M Kirov, Josef Stalin's collaborator, assassinated in Leningrad
- 1935 Bernard Schmidt, inventor (Schmidt camera), dies
- 1943 Damrong Rajanubhab, Thai prince, son of King Mongkut and brother of King Chulalongkorn and historian, dies at 81
- 1947 Aleister Crowley, British occultist, founded the religion of Thelema, dies at 72
- 1947 G. H. Hardy, English mathematician (Hardy–Weinberg principle, A Mathematician's Apology), dies at 70
- 1952 Victor E Orlando, Italian premier (1917-19), dies at 92
- 1964 J. B. S. Haldane, Scottish geneticist (b. 1892)
- 1971 Arthur B Springarn, US NAACP chairman (1940-65), dies at 93
- 1972 Antonio Segni, Italian politician, Prime Minister (1955-57, 59-60, 62-64), dies at 81
David Ben-Gurion
1973 David Ben-Gurion, founding father of Israel, dies in Tel Aviv at 87
David Ben-Gurion
- 1974 Lajos Zilahy, Hungarian/American author (Angry Angel), dies at 83
- 1974 Stephen Gill Spottswood, US bishop/chairman (NAACP), dies at 77
- 1975 Anna E. Roosevelt, American radio personality (b. 1906)
- 1977 Paul Hardy, Belgian designer (Italian Country, dies at 69
- 1977 Teun Struycken [Antoon Arnold Marie Struycken], Dutch Minister of Justice (1950-51) and Governor of the Netherlands Antilles (1951-56), dies at 70
- 1983 Mirsky, mathematician, dies
- 1984 Roelof Frankot, Dutch painter (b. 1911)
- 1987 Donn Fulton Eisele, Col USAF/astronaut, dies of a heart attack at 57
- 1987 James Arthur Baldwin, writer (Another Country), dies at 63
- 1990 Jan H de Groot, Dutch co-founder (Vrij Nederland), dies
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
1990 Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit, Indian diplomat and politician, dies at 90
Vijaya Lakshmi Pandit
- 1991 George Joseph Stigler, US economist (Nobel 1982), dies at 80
- 1996 Barbak Karmal, politician, dies at 67
- 1997 Denis Gerald Barrington, artist, dies at 67
- 1997 Michel Bélanger, French Canadian businessman and banker (b. 1929)
- 1997 Endicott Peabody, 62nd Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1920)
- 2003 Clark Kerr, first Chancellor of the University of California, Berkeley (b. 1911)
- 2004 Prince Bernhard of the Netherlands (b. 1911)
- 2005 Gust Avrakotos, American intelligence case officer (b. 1938)
- 2006 Bruce Trigger, Canadian archaeologist (McGill University) (b. 1937)
- 2007 Sally L. Smith, American educator and founder (Lab School of Washington), dies at 78
- 2008 Joseph B Wirthlin, American businessmen, religious leader, member of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (LDS Church), dies at 91
- 2010 Hillard Elkins, American theatre and film producer (b. 1929)
- 2011 Christa Wolf, German writer (b. 1929)
- 2016 Ousmane Sow, Senegalese sculptor, dies at 81
George H. W. Bush
2018 George H. W. Bush, 41st US President (R, 1989-93) and 43rd US Vice President (R, 1981-89), dies at 94
George H. W. Bush
December in History
How the First Sherlock Holmes Story was Sold for a Song
How did an English publisher most famous for giving the world Mrs Beeton’s Book of Household Management come to publish the first Sherlock Holmes story?
December 1, 1887Fish Dish Finishes Off a King
Doctors warned King Henry I against eating lampreys. But he enjoyed the slippery fish and happily devoured a plateful of them leading to his death on this day.
December 1, 1135Mozart, the Incomparable Musical Genius
Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, a musical genius who composed over 600 works in his short lifetime, died mysteriously on this day and was buried unceremoniously.
December 5, 1791Real-life Tragedy for Theatrical Family
On this day a tragedy engulfed one of Britain’s noted theatrical families of the early 20th century.
December 8, 1926
