- 1016 Edmund II, Ironsides, King of the Saxons (1016), dies at 27
- 1519 Michael Wolgemut, German painter (Weltchronik), dies at about 85
- 1528 Great Wierd, Dutch Gelderland army commander, beheaded
- 1603 William Gilbert, English physician and physicist (researcher into magnetism), dies probably of the plague at 59
- 1631 Rabbi Samuel Eliezer ben Judah ha-levi Edels, dies
- 1646 John C Lichthart, admiral (Cape Augustine), dies at about 45
- 1654 John Selden, English jurist and oriental scholar, dies at 69
- 1675 Cæcilius Calvert, 2nd Baron Baltimore, colonial Governor of Maryland (b. 1605)
- 1678 Andries de Graeff, mayor of Amsterdam (1657..71), dies at 67
- 1679 Pieter van Schooten, Dutch mathematician/fort architect, dies at 45
- 1694 Marcello Malpighi, Italian physician who founded the science of microscopic anatomy, dies at 66
- 1700 Artus Quellinus II, Flemish sculptor, dies at 75
- 1705 Catherine of Braganza, Portuguese Roman Catholic Queen of Charles II of England, dies at 67
- 1761 John Dollond, British optician and owner of 1st patent for achromatic lens, dies at 55
- 1765 George Glas, British merchant and adventurer (b. 1725)
- 1786 Bernardo de Gálvez, Spanish military leader and colonial administrator (Spanish Governor of Louisiana and Cuba, 1777-83, Viceroy of New Spain, 1785-6), dies of typhus at 40
- 1830 Pius VIII, [Francesco Saverio Castiglioni], Italian 253rd Pope (1829-30), dies at 69
- 1836 Pierre-Simon Girard, French mathematician and engineer (fluid mechanics), dies at 71
- 1837 Deaf Smith, American frontiersman and revolutionary, dies at 50
- 1841 Charles Louis W J van Keverberg, Dutch government official, dies at 73
- 1864 Hiram Bronson Granbury, Confederate brigadier general, dies in the Battle of Franklin at 33
- 1864 John Adams, US Confederate brigadier general, dies in the Battle of Franklin at about 39
- 1864 Otto French Strahl, US Confederate brigadier general, dies in the Battle of Franklin at 33
- 1864 Patrick Ronayne Cleburne, US Confederate brigadier general, dies in the Battle of Franklin at 33
- 1878 George Henry Lewes, English philosophical writer (Life of Goethe), dies at 61
- 1893 Jacobus J Backer, German sea historian, dies at 68
- 1894 Joseph E. Brown, American attorney and politician (42nd Governor of Georgia), dies at 73
- 1897 Abraham Carel Wertheim, Dutch banker and philanthropist, dies at 64
Oscar Wilde
1900 Oscar Wilde, Irish playwright and novelist (Importance of Being Earnest), dies in Paris at 46
Oscar Wilde
- 1901 Edward J Eyre, British explorer/governor (Jamaica), dies at 86
- 1909 Innokenti F Annenski, Russian poet and translator, dies at 53 [NS=Dec 13]
- 1930 Mother [Mary Harris] Jones, American labor organizer (cofounded Industrial Workers of the World), dies at 93
- 1933 Arthur Currie, Canadian soldier (fought in WWI), dies at 57
- 1934 Hélène Boucher, French aviatrix (b. 1908)
- 1935 Fernando Pessoa, Portuguese poet and writer (The Book of Disquiet), dies at 47
- 1938 Corneliu Zelea Codreanu, Romanian politician (founder and leader of the Iron Guard), dies at 39
- 1944 Max Halbe, German playwright (Jugend), dies at 79
Albert B. Fall
1944 Albert B. Fall, New Mexico Senator (Teapot Dome Scandal), dies at 83
Albert B. Fall
- 1958 Hubert Wilkins, Australian polar explorer (b. 1888)
- 1972 Neil H McElroy, soap manufacturer/minister of Defense (1957-59), dies
- 1977 Terence Rattigan, British playwright (Winslow Boy, Browning Version), dies at 66
- 1977 Miloš Crnjanski, Serbian poet (Seobe), dies at 84
- 1983 Richard Llewellyn, Welsh novelist (How Green Was My Valley), dies at 76
- 1987 Arthur H Dean, lawyer/advisor to FDR, dies at 89
James Baldwin
1987 James Baldwin, American novelist (Go Tell it on Mountain, Another Country) and playwright (The Amen Corner), dies at 63
James Baldwin
- 1987 Simon Carmiggelt, journalist/literary (Kronkel), dies at 74
- 1989 Alfred Herrhausen, German CEO (Deutsche Bank), murdered at 59
- 1990 Hilde Spiel, Austrian writer, dies at 78
- 1990 Norman Cousins, editor (Saturday Review), dies at 75
- 1993 Bob Wolf, agent (New Kids on the Block, Larry Bird), dies
- 1993 Sebastian Kappen, Indian theologian (b. 1924)
- 1994 Guy Debord, situationist, dies at 63
- 1995 June Rosemary Thorndycraft, teacher and trade unionist, dies at 66
- 1996 Koji Kobayashi, industrialist, dies at 89
- 1997 Clare Lucy Madeleine Evans, historian, dies at 37
- 1997 Kathy Acker, American experimental novelist (Blood and Guts in High School), dies at 54
- 1997 Ronald Gulliford, English educationalist (Dean of the Faculty of Education, Birmingham University 1979-81), dies at 76
Pierre Berton
2004 Pierre Berton, Canadian author, dies of heart failure at 84
Pierre Berton
- 2006 Rafael Buenaventura, Former BSP Governor (b. 1938)
Evel Knievel
2007 Evel Knievel, American motorcycle daredevil (Snake River Canyon), dies of pulmonary disease at 69
Evel Knievel
- 2007 Engin Arık, Turkish nuclear physicist, dies at 59
- 2008 Naomi Datta, British geneticist and bacteriologist (pioneer in investigating the development of resistance to antibiotics by bacteria), dies at 86
- 2010 Rajiv Dixit, Indian scientist and Swadeshi movement figure (b. 1967)
- 2010 Faye Wright, American spiritual figure (b. 1914)
- 2010 Garry Gross, American photographer (b. 1937)
- 2011 Leka, Crown Prince of Albania, referred to as King Leka I by Albanian monarchists (b. 1939)
- 2011 William L. Waller, American politician and ex-Governor of Mississippi, dies at 85
- 2012 I. K. [Inder Kumar] Gujral, Indian politician, Prime Minister of India (1997-98), dies at 92
- 2013 Paul Crouch, American televangelist (Trinity Broadcasting Network), dies at 79
- 2013 John Zochonis, British industrialist (PZ Cussons) and philanthropist, dies at 84
- 2014 Fred Catherwood, British politician, Vice President of the European Parliament (1989-1992), dies at 89
- 2015 Shigeru Mizuki, Japanese soldier and Manga artist (GeGeGe no Kitarō), dies at 93
- 2015 Marcus Klingburg, Israeli soviet spy and epidemiologist, dies at 97
Marina Popovich
2017 Marina Popovich, Soviet Air Force colonel, engineer and test pilot (102 world records), dies at 86
Marina Popovich
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