- 217 Pope Zephyrinus, Bishop of Rome (199-217)
- 860 King Ethelbald of Wessex
- 910 Alfonso III the Great, King of Leon, Galicia and Asturias, dies
- 1022 Elvira Mendes, wife of Alfonso V of Castile (b. 996)
- 1073 Domingo, Spanish monastery founder/abbot/saint, dies
- 1355 Stefanus IX Uros IV Dusan, king (1331-46)/Serbia (1346-55), dies
- 1494 Matteo Maria Boiardo, Italian poet
- 1524 Thomas Linacre, English scholar and physician
- 1590 Ambroise Paré, French physician (b. 1510)
- 1632 Nicolas Antoine, French cath pastor who converted to Judaism, executed
- 1676 John Galle, Flemish engraver and printer, dies at 76
- 1679 Johan Maurits, count of Nassau-Siegen, dies at 75
- 1722 Kangxi Emperor of China, 4th Emperor of the Qing Dynasty, dies at 68
- 1723 Augustus Quirinus Rivinus, German physician and botanist, dies at 71
- 1740 Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon, English military officer and statesman (b. 1675)
- 1749 Pakubuwono II, susuhunan of Mataram Java, dies
- 1768 Carlo Innocenzio Maria Frugoni, Italian poet (b. 1692)
- 1798 Cornelis Ploos van Amstel, Dutch engraver/art collector, dies at 72
- 1815 Giovanni Meli, Sicilian poet (Buccolica), dies at 75
- 1856 Francesco Bentivegna, Italian revolutionary (b. 1820)
- 1862 Robert Knox Scottish surgeon, anatomist and zoologist
- 1875 Michail P Pogodin, Russian historian/writer (Povesti), dies at 75
- 1876 Hannah Omish, at 12 is youngest ever hanged in US
- 1921 Hans Hartwig von Beseler, German Colonel General, dies at 71
- 1929 Emile Loubet, French premier (1892)/president (1899-1906), dies at 90
- 1935 Martin O'Meara, Australian soldier (b. 1882)
- 1936 Baron De Borchgrave, Belgian ambassador, murdered in Madrid
Erich Ludendorff
1937 Erich Ludendorff, German general during World War I, dies of liver cancer at 72
Erich Ludendorff
- 1938 Annie Armstrong, American missionary leader, dies at 88
- 1939 Hans Langsdorff, German capt (Graaf Spee), commits suicide
- 1941 Igor Severyanin, Russian poet (b. 1887)
- 1944 Abbas Hilmi II, viceroy of Egypt (1892-1914), dies at 70
- 1953 Henry Horatio Dixon, Irish Biologist (cohesion-tension theory in plants), dies at 84
- 1954 James Hilton, English author (Lost Horizon), dies at 54
- 1956 Ramon Carrillo, Argentine neuroscientist and Public Health minister (b. 1906)
John Steinbeck
1968 John Steinbeck, American author (Grapes of Wrath, Nobel Prize 1940, 1962), dies at 66
John Steinbeck
- 1973 Luis Carrero Blanco, PM of Spain (1973), assassinated by ETA
- 1976 Richard J Daley, American politician (38th Mayor-Chicago-D:1955-76), dies of a heart attack at 74
- 1991 Andries D Copier, Dutch glass designer (Guild glass), dies
- 1991 Fop[pe] I Brouwer, biologist (Everything That Lives & Grows), dies
- 1991 Sam Rabin, speaker of house, dies at 88
- 1991 Stephen Birnbaum, US tourism writer, dies at 54
- 1991 Simone Beck, French chef (b. 1904)
- 1993 W Edwards Deming, US economist (helped Japan after WW II), dies at 93
- 1994 Dean Rusk, US Sect of State (1961-69), dies at 85
- 1994 J C "Jody" Bateman, fiddler, dies at 75
- 1995 John Henry Jacques, co-operative retailer, dies at 90
- 1996 Amata Kabua, President of Marshall Islands (1979-96), dies
- 1996 Carl Sagan, American scientist, astronomer, author, (Contact), dies at 62
- 1996 Roger Peacock, English writer (Thursday is missing, dies at 76
- 1997 Denise Levertov, poet, dies at 74
- 1997 Vincent Ciccone, inventor (Blow-Pops candy), dies at 81
- 1998 Chester P. Lyons, Canadian naturalist and author (b. 1915)
- 1998 Alan Lloyd Hodgkin, British biophysicist (Nobel 1963), dies at 84
- 2000 Mirza Ghulam Hafiz, Bangladesh statesman, politician, and philanthropist (b. 1920)
- 2000 Adrian Henri, British poet and founder of poetry-rock group (Liverpool Scene), dies at 68
- 2001 Léopold Sédar Senghor, Senegalese poet and 1st President of Senegal (1960-80), dies at 95
- 2005 Maniam Moorthy, Malaysian climber
- 2006 Shi Yuejun, Chinese serial killer
- 2007 Nataline Sarkisyan, American medical patient (b. 1990)
- 2009 Jack Hixon, English football talent scout (b. 1921)
- 2010 Brian Hanrahan, British journalist (b. 1949)
- 2010 James R. Mann, American attorney and politician (b. 1920)
- 2017 Bernard Francis Law, disgraced American cardinal of the Roman Catholic Church (1982-2002), dies at 86
December in History
Bowled Over by William and Harry
The royal princes are the latest celebrities to favour headgear that was introduced on this day
December 17, 1849
The Face that Launched a Thousand Quips...
The greatest and most famous clown of them all, and by whose name, Joey, all circus clowns became known, was born on this day, December 18, 1778.
December 18, 1778
'Good Sport' in The Trenches
Prime Minister's son, Raymond Asquith tells his wife of life and death on the battlefront in World War I on this day in 1915.
December 21, 1915
Business a Rocky Road for Hansom Cab Pioneer
Architect and inventor Joseph Hansom was a man of vision who somehow found it impossible to turn his great ideas into money-making ventures.
December 23, 1834