December 1

Pre-1600

 * 800 – A council is convened in the Vatican, at which Charlemagne is to judge the accusations against Pope Leo III.
 * 1420 – Henry V of England enters Paris alongside his father-in-law King Charles VI of France.
 * 1577 – Courtiers Christopher Hatton and Thomas Heneage are knighted by Queen Elizabeth I of England.

1601–1900

 * 1640 – End of the Iberian Union: Portugal acclaims as King João IV of Portugal, ending 59 years of personal union of the crowns of Portugal and Spain and the end of the rule of the Philippine Dynasty.
 * 1662 – Diarist John Evelyn records skating on the frozen lake in St James's Park, London, watched by Charles II and Queen Catherine.
 * 1768 – The former slave ship Fredensborg sinks off Tromøya in Norway.
 * 1821 – José Núñez de Cáceres wins the independence of the Dominican Republic from Spain and names the new territory the Republic of Spanish Haiti.
 * 1822 – Pedro I is crowned Emperor of Brazil.
 * 1824 – United States presidential election: Since no candidate received a majority of the total electoral college votes in the election, the United States House of Representatives is given the task of deciding the winner in accordance with the Twelfth Amendment to the United States Constitution.
 * 1828 – Argentine general Juan Lavalle makes a coup against governor Manuel Dorrego, beginning the Decembrist revolution.
 * 1834 – Slavery is abolished in the Cape Colony in accordance with the Slavery Abolition Act 1833.
 * 1862 – In his State of the Union Address President Abraham Lincoln reaffirms the necessity of ending slavery as ordered ten weeks earlier in the Emancipation Proclamation.
 * 1865 – Shaw University, the first historically black university in the southern United States, is founded in Raleigh, North Carolina.
 * 1878 – President Rutherford B. Hayes gets the first telephone installed in the White House.
 * 1900 – Nicaragua sells canal rights to U.S. for $5 million. The canal agreement fails in March 1901. Great Britain rejects amended treaty

1901–present

 * 1913 – The Buenos Aires Metro, the first underground railway system in the Southern Hemisphere and in Latin America, begins operation.
 * 1913 – Crete, having obtained self rule from Turkey after the First Balkan War, is annexed by Greece.
 * 1918 – Transylvania unites with Romania, following the incorporation of Bessarabia (March 27) and Bukovina (November 28) and thus concluding the Great Union.
 * 1918 – Iceland becomes a sovereign state, yet remains a part of the Danish kingdom.
 * 1918 – The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes (later known as the Kingdom of Yugoslavia) is proclaimed.
 * 1919 – Lady Astor becomes the first female Member of Parliament (MP) to take her seat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom. (She had been elected to that position on November 28.)
 * 1924 – The National Hockey League's first United States-based franchise, the Boston Bruins, plays their first game in league play at home, at the still-extant Boston Arena indoor hockey facility.
 * 1934 – Sergei Kirov is assassinated, paving way for the repressive Great Purge, and Vinnytsia massacre by General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin.
 * 1939 – World War II: A day after the beginning of the Winter War in Finland, the Cajander III Cabinet resigns and is replaced by the Ryti I Cabinet, while the Finnish Parliament move from Helsinki to Kauhajoki to escape the Soviet airstrikes.
 * 1939 – The Soviet Union establishes the Finnish Democratic Republic puppet state in Terijoki.
 * 1941 – World War II: Emperor Hirohito of Japan gives his tacit approval to the decision of the imperial council to initiate war against the United States.
 * 1941 – World War II: Fiorello La Guardia, Mayor of New York City and Director of the Office of Civilian Defense, signs Administrative Order 9, creating the Civil Air Patrol.
 * 1952 – The New York Daily News reports the news of Christine Jorgensen, the first notable case of sex reassignment surgery.
 * 1955 – American Civil Rights Movement: In Montgomery, Alabama, seamstress Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat to a white man and is arrested for violating the city's racial segregation laws, an incident which leads to that city's bus boycott.
 * 1958 – The Central African Republic attains self-rule within the French Union.
 * 1958 – The Our Lady of the Angels School fire in Chicago kills 92 children and three nuns.
 * 1959 – Cold War: Opening date for signature of the Antarctic Treaty, which sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and bans military activity on the continent.
 * 1960 – Patrice Lumumba is arrested by Mobutu Sese Seko's men on the banks of the Sankuru River, for inciting the army to rebellion.
 * 1963 – Nagaland, became the 16th state of India.
 * 1964 – Vietnam War: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson and his top-ranking advisers meet to discuss plans to bomb North Vietnam.
 * 1969 – Vietnam War: The first draft lottery in the United States is held since World War II.
 * 1971 – Cambodian Civil War: Khmer Rouge rebels intensify assaults on Cambodian government positions, forcing their retreat from Kompong Thmar and nearby Ba Ray.
 * 1971 – Purge of Croatian Spring leaders starts in Yugoslavia at the meeting of the League of Communists at the Karađorđevo estate.
 * 1973 – Papua New Guinea gains self-government from Australia.
 * 1974 – TWA Flight 514, a Boeing 727, crashes northwest of Dulles International Airport, killing all 92 people on board.
 * 1974 – Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 6231, another Boeing 727, crashes northwest of John F. Kennedy International Airport.
 * 1981 – Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 1308, a McDonnell Douglas MD-80, crashes in Corsica, killing all 180 people on board.
 * 1984 – NASA conducts the Controlled Impact Demonstration, wherein an airliner is deliberately crashed in order to test technologies and gather data to help improve survivability of crashes.
 * 1988 – World AIDS Day is proclaimed worldwide by the UN member states.
 * 1988 – Benazir Bhutto, is named as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first female leader to lead a Muslim nation.
 * 1989 – Philippine coup attempt: The right-wing military rebel Reform the Armed Forces Movement attempts to oust Philippine President Corazon Aquino in a failed bloody coup d'état.
 * 1989 – Cold War: East Germany's parliament abolishes the constitutional provision granting the Communist Party the leading role in the state.
 * 1990 – Channel Tunnel sections started from the United Kingdom and France meet beneath the seabed.
 * 1991 – Cold War: Ukrainian voters overwhelmingly approve a referendum for independence from the Soviet Union.
 * 1997 – In the Indian state of Bihar, Ranvir Sena attacks the CPI (ML) Party Unity stronghold Lakshmanpur-Bathe, killing 63 lower caste people.
 * 1997 – Fourteen year-old Michael Carneal opens fire at a group of students in Heath High School in West Paducah, Kentucky, killing three and injuring five.
 * 2000 – Vicente Fox Quesada is inaugurated as the president of Mexico, marking the first peaceful transfer of executive federal power to an opposing political party following a free and democratic election in Mexico's history.
 * 2001 – The United Russia political party was founded.
 * 2005 – As a result of the merger of the Perm Oblast and the Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug, a new subject of the Russian Federation, the Perm Krai, was created.
 * 2006 – The law on same-sex marriage comes into force in South Africa, legalizing same-sex marriage for the first time on the African continent.
 * 2009 – The Treaty of Lisbon entered into force in the European Union.
 * 2011 – The Alma-Ata Metro was opened.
 * 2018 – The Oulu Police informed the public about the first offence of the much larger child sexual exploitation in Oulu, Finland.
 * 2019 – Arsenal Women 11–1 Bristol City Women breaks the record for most goals scored in a FA Women's Super League match, with Vivianne Miedema involved in ten of the eleven Arsenal goals.
 * 2019 – The outbreak of coronavirus infection began in Wuhan.
 * 2020 – The Arecibo Telescope collapsed.

Pre-1600

 * 624 – Hasan ibn Ali, the second Shia Imam (d. 670)
 * 1081 – Louis VI, French king (d. 1137)
 * 1083 – Anna Komnene, Byzantine physician and scholar (d. 1153)
 * 1415 – Jan Długosz, Polish historian (d. 1480)
 * 1438 – Peter II, Duke of Bourbon, son of Charles I (d. 1503)
 * 1443 – Magdalena of France, French princess (d. 1495)
 * 1521 – Takeda Shingen, Japanese daimyō (d. 1573)
 * 1525 – Tadeáš Hájek, Czech physician and astronomer (d. 1600)
 * 1530 – Bernardino Realino, Italian Jesuit (d. 1616)
 * 1561 – Sophie Hedwig of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Duchess consort of Pomerania-Wolgast (d. 1631)
 * 1580 – Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, French astronomer and historian (d. 1637)

1601–1900

 * 1690 – Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke, English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom (d. 1764)
 * 1709 – Franz Xaver Richter, Czech composer, violinist, and conductor (d. 1789)
 * 1716 – Étienne Maurice Falconet, French sculptor (d. 1791)
 * 1743 – Martin Heinrich Klaproth, German chemist and academic (d. 1817)
 * 1761 – Marie Tussaud, French-English sculptor, founded Madame Tussauds Wax Museum (d. 1850)
 * 1792 – Nikolai Lobachevsky, Russian mathematician and geometer (d. 1856)
 * 1800 – Mihály Vörösmarty, Hungarian poet (d. 1855)
 * 1805 – 9th Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader (d. 1815)
 * 1844 – Alexandra of Denmark (d. 1925)
 * 1846 – Ledi Sayadaw, Burmese monk and philosopher (d. 1923)
 * 1847 – Julia A. Moore, American poet (d. 1920)
 * 1855 – John Evans, English-Australian politician, 21st Premier of Tasmania (d. 1943)
 * 1869 – Eligiusz Niewiadomski, Polish painter and critic (d. 1923)
 * 1871 – Archie MacLaren, English cricketer (d. 1944)
 * 1883 – Henry Cadbury, American historian, scholar, and academic (d. 1974)
 * 1884 – Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, German painter and etcher (d. 1976)
 * 1886 – Rex Stout, American detective novelist (d. 1975)
 * 1886 – Zhu De, Chinese general and politician, 1st Vice Chairman of the People's Republic of China (d. 1976)
 * 1894 – Afrânio Pompílio Gastos do Amaral, Brazilian herpetologist (d. 1982)
 * 1895 – Henry Williamson, English farmer, soldier, and author (d. 1977)
 * 1896 – Georgy Zhukov, Russian general and politician, 2nd Minister of Defence for the Soviet Union (d. 1974)
 * 1898 – Stuart Garson, Canadian lawyer and politician, 12th Premier of Manitoba (d. 1977)
 * 1898 – Cyril Ritchard, Australian-American actor and singer (d. 1977)
 * 1900 – Karna Maria Birmingham, Australian artist, illustrator and print maker (d. 1987)

1901–present

 * 1901 – Ilona Fehér, Hungarian-Israeli violinist and educator (d. 1988)
 * 1903 – Nikolai Voznesensky, Soviet economic planner, member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (d. 1950)
 * 1905 – Alex Wilson, Canadian sprinter and coach (d. 1994)
 * 1910 – Alicia Markova, English ballerina and choreographer (d. 2004)
 * 1911 – Walter Alston, American baseball player and manager (d. 1984)
 * 1911 – Calvin Griffith, Canadian-American businessman (d. 1999)
 * 1912 – Billy Raimondi, American baseball player (d. 2010)
 * 1912 – Minoru Yamasaki, American architect, designed the World Trade Center (d. 1986)
 * 1913 – Mary Martin, American actress and singer (d. 1990)
 * 1916 – Wan Li, Chinese educator and politician, 4th Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China (d. 2015)
 * 1917 – Thomas Hayward, American tenor and actor (d. 1995)
 * 1917 – Marty Marion, American baseball player and manager (d. 2011)
 * 1920 – Peter Baptist Tadamaro Ishigami, Japanese priest, 1st Bishop of Naha (d. 2014)
 * 1921 – Vernon McGarity, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2013)
 * 1922 – Vsevolod Bobrov, Russian ice hockey player, footballer, and manager (d. 1979)
 * 1923 – Dick Shawn, American actor (d. 1987)
 * 1923 – Stansfield Turner, American admiral and academic, 12th Director of Central Intelligence (d. 2018)
 * 1924 – Masao Horiba, Japanese businessman, founded Horiba (d. 2015)
 * 1925 – Martin Rodbell, American biochemist and endocrinologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1998)
 * 1926 – Mother Antonia, American-Mexican nun and activist (d. 2013)
 * 1926 – Allyn Ann McLerie, Canadian-American actress, singer, and dancer (d. 2018)
 * 1926 – Keith Michell, Australian actor (d. 2015)
 * 1926 – Robert Symonds, American actor (d. 2007)
 * 1926 – Colin Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner, Scottish businessman (d. 2010)
 * 1927 – Micheline Bernardini, French dancer and model
 * 1928 – Emily McLaughlin, American actress (d. 1991)
 * 1928 – Malachi Throne, American actor (d. 2013)
 * 1929 – David Doyle, American actor (d. 1997)
 * 1930 – Marie Bashir, Australian psychiatrist, academic, and politician, 37th Governor of New South Wales
 * 1930 – Joachim Hoffmann, German historian and author (d. 2002)
 * 1931 – Jimmy Lyons, American saxophonist (d. 1986)
 * 1931 – Jim Nesbitt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2007)
 * 1931 – George Maxwell Richards, Trinidadian politician, 4th President of Trinidad and Tobago (d. 2018)
 * 1933 – Lou Rawls, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (d. 2006)
 * 1933 – Violette Verdy, French ballerina (d. 2016)
 * 1934 – Billy Paul, American soul singer (d. 2016)
 * 1935 – Sola Sierra, Chilean human rights activist (d. 1999)
 * 1936 – Igor Rodionov, Russian general and politician, 3rd Russian Minister of Defence (d. 2014)
 * 1937 – Muriel Costa-Greenspon, American soprano and actress (d. 2005)
 * 1937 – Gordon Crosse, English composer and academic (d. 2021)
 * 1937 – Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, Latvian psychologist and politician, President of Latvia
 * 1938 – Sandy Nelson, American rock and roll drummer (d. 2022)
 * 1939 – Lee Trevino, American golfer and sportscaster
 * 1940 – Mike Denness, Scottish cricketer and referee (d. 2013)
 * 1940 – Jerry Lawson, American electronic engineer and inventor (d. 2011)
 * 1940 – Richard Pryor, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2005)
 * 1940 – Tasso Wild, German footballer
 * 1942 – Mohamed Kamel Amr, Egyptian politician, Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs
 * 1942 – John Crowley, American author and academic
 * 1942 – Ross Edwards, Australian cricketer
 * 1943 – Kenny Moore, American runner and journalist (d. 2022)
 * 1944 – Eric Bloom, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1944 – John Densmore, American drummer and songwriter
 * 1944 – Michael Hagee, American general
 * 1944 – Tahar Ben Jelloun, Moroccan author and poet
 * 1945 – Lyle Bien, American vice admiral in the United States Navy
 * 1945 – Bette Midler, American singer-songwriter, actress and producer
 * 1946 – Jonathan Katz, American comedian and actor
 * 1946 – Kemal Kurspahić, Bosnian journalist and author (d. 2021)
 * 1946 – Gilbert O'Sullivan, Irish singer-songwriter and pianist
 * 1947 – Alain Bashung, French singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2009)
 * 1947 – Bob Fulton, English-Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 2021)
 * 1948 – George Foster, American baseball player and radio host
 * 1948 – Sarfraz Nawaz, Pakistani cricketer and politician
 * 1948 – John Roskelley, American mountaineer and author
 * 1948 – Neil Warnock, English footballer and manager
 * 1948 – N. T. Wright, English bishop and scholar
 * 1948 – Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, Nigerian civil servant and politician, Governor of Kaduna State (d. 2012)
 * 1949 – Jan Brett, American author and illustrator
 * 1949 – Pablo Escobar, Colombian drug lord and narcoterrorist (d. 1993)
 * 1949 – Sebastián Piñera, Chilean businessman and politician, 35th President of Chile (d. 2024)
 * 1950 – Manju Bansal, Indian biologist and academic
 * 1950 – Ross Hannaford, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2016)
 * 1950 – Richard Keith, American actor and drummer
 * 1950 – Gary Panter, American illustrator and painter
 * 1950 – Filippos Petsalnikos, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Justice (d. 2020)
 * 1951 – Aleksandr Panayotov Aleksandrov, Bulgarian cosmonaut
 * 1951 – Obba Babatundé, American actor, director, and producer
 * 1951 – Doug Mulray, Australian radio and television host (d. 2023)
 * 1951 – Jaco Pastorius, American bass player, songwriter, and producer (d. 1987)
 * 1951 – Nozipho Schroeder, South African lawn bowler
 * 1951 – Treat Williams, American actor (d. 2023)
 * 1952 – Stephen Poliakoff, English director, producer, and playwright
 * 1954 – Alan Dedicoat, English journalist
 * 1954 – Judith Hackitt, English chemist and engineer
 * 1954 – François Van der Elst, Belgian footballer (d. 2017)
 * 1955 – Veikko Aaltonen, Finnish actor, director, and screenwriter
 * 1955 – Verónica Forqué, Spanish actress (d. 2021)
 * 1955 – Udit Narayan, Indian playback singer
 * 1955 – Pat Spillane, Irish footballer and sportscaster
 * 1955 – Karen Tumulty, American journalist
 * 1956 – Julee Cruise, American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress (d. 2022)
 * 1957 – Chris Poland, American guitarist and songwriter
 * 1957 – Deep Roy, Kenyan-British actor
 * 1957 – Vesta Williams, American singer-songwriter and actress (d. 2011)
 * 1958 – Javier Aguirre, Mexican footballer and manager
 * 1958 – Candace Bushnell, American journalist and author
 * 1958 – Alberto Cova, Italian runner
 * 1958 – Gary Peters, American politician
 * 1958 – Charlene Tilton, American actress and singer
 * 1959 – Billy Childish, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and painter
 * 1959 – Wally Lewis, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster
 * 1960 – Carol Alt, American model and actress
 * 1960 – Shirin M. Rai, Indian-English political scientist and academic
 * 1960 – Jane Turner, Australian actress and producer
 * 1961 – Safra Catz, Israeli-American businesswoman
 * 1961 – Raymond E. Goldstein, American biophysicist and academic
 * 1961 – Jeremy Northam, English actor
 * 1962 – Sylvie Daigle, Canadian speed skater
 * 1962 – Pamela McGee, American basketball player and coach
 * 1963 – Marco Greco, Brazilian race car driver
 * 1963 – Nathalie Lambert, Canadian speed skater
 * 1963 – Arjuna Ranatunga, Sri Lankan cricketer and politician
 * 1964 – Salvatore Schillaci, Italian footballer
 * 1964 – Jo Walton, Welsh-Canadian author and poet
 * 1965 – Henry Honiball, South African rugby player
 * 1965 – Magnifico, Slovenian singer
 * 1966 – Andrew Adamson, New Zealand director, producer, and screenwriter
 * 1966 – Katherine LaNasa, American actress, ballet dancer, and choreographer
 * 1966 – Larry Walker, Canadian baseball player and coach
 * 1967 – Nestor Carbonell, American actor
 * 1967 – Reggie Sanders, American baseball player
 * 1968 – Justin Chadwick, English actor and director
 * 1968 – Sarah Fitzgerald, Australian squash player
 * 1968 – Anders Holmertz, Swedish swimmer
 * 1969 – Richard Carrier, American author and blogger
 * 1970 – Golden Brooks, American actress
 * 1970 – Jonathan Coulton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1970 – Kirk Rueter, American baseball player
 * 1970 – Sarah Silverman, American comedian, actress, and singer
 * 1970 – Tisha Waller, American high jumper and educator
 * 1971 – Christian Pescatori, Italian race car driver
 * 1971 – Mika Pohjola, Finnish-American pianist and composer
 * 1971 – John Schlimm, American author and educator
 * 1972 – Stanton Barrett, American race car driver and stuntman
 * 1972 – Bart Millard, American singer-songwriter
 * 1973 – Steve Gibb, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1974 – Costinha, Portuguese footballer and manager
 * 1975 – Matt Fraction, American author
 * 1975 – Isaiah "Ikey" Owens, American keyboard player and producer (d. 2014)
 * 1975 – Thomas Schie, Norwegian racing driver and sportscaster
 * 1975 – Farah Shah, Pakistani actress and host
 * 1975 – Sophia Skou, Danish swimmer
 * 1976 – Tomasz Adamek, Polish boxer
 * 1976 – Laura Ling, American journalist and author
 * 1976 – Dean O'Gorman, New Zealand actor, artist, and photographer
 * 1976 – Matthew Shepard, American hate crime victim (d. 1998)
 * 1976 – Evangelos Sklavos, Greek basketball player
 * 1977 – Brad Delson, American guitarist and producer
 * 1977 – Sophie Guillemin, French actress
 * 1977 – Lee McKenzie, Scottish journalist
 * 1977 – Nate Torrence, American actor and comedian
 * 1978 – Mat Kearney, American musician
 * 1979 – Stephanie Brown Trafton, American discus thrower
 * 1979 – Ryan Malone, American ice hockey player
 * 1980 – Iftikhar Anjum, Pakistani cricketer
 * 1980 – Mohammad Kaif, Indian cricketer and politician
 * 1980 – Mubarak Hassan Shami, Kenyan-Qatari runner
 * 1980 – Gianna Terzi, Greek singer
 * 1981 – Park Hyo-shin, South Korean singer-songwriter and actor
 * 1981 – Luke McPharlin, Australian footballer
 * 1981 – I Made Wirawan, Indonesian footballer
 * 1982 – Riz Ahmed, English actor and rapper
 * 1982 – Christos Kalantzis, Greek footballer
 * 1982 – Christos Melissis, Greek footballer
 * 1984 – Charles Michael Davis, American actor
 * 1984 – Yolandi Visser, South African rapper and actress
 * 1985 – Ilfenesh Hadera, American actress
 * 1985 – Janelle Monáe, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
 * 1985 – Emiliano Viviano, Italian footballer
 * 1986 – DeSean Jackson, American football player
 * 1987 – Simon Dawkins, English footballer
 * 1987 – Tabarie Henry, Virgin Islander sprinter
 * 1987 – Vance Joy, Australian singer-songwriter
 * 1987 – Brett Williams, English footballer
 * 1988 – Tyler Joseph, American musician and singer
 * 1988 – Zoë Kravitz, American actress, singer, and model
 * 1988 – Dan Mavraides, Greek-American basketball player
 * 1988 – Michael Raffl, Austrian ice hockey player
 * 1989 – Sotelúm, Mexican trumpet player, composer, and producer
 * 1990 – Tomáš Tatar, Slovak ice hockey player
 * 1991 – Rakeem Christmas, American basketball player
 * 1991 – Hilda Melander, Swedish tennis player
 * 1991 – Sun Yang, Chinese swimmer
 * 1992 – Masahudu Alhassan, Ghanaian footballer
 * 1992 – Javier Báez, Puerto Rican baseball player
 * 1992 – Linos Chrysikopoulos, Greek basketball player
 * 1992 – Gary Payton II, American basketball player
 * 1992 – Marco van Ginkel, Dutch footballer
 * 1993 – Reena Pärnat, Estonian archer
 * 1993 – Beau Webster, Australian cricketer
 * 1994 – Seedy Njie, English footballer
 * 1995 – Agnė Čepelytė, Lithuanian tennis player
 * 1995 – Jenna Fife, Scottish footballer
 * 1995 – James Wilson, English footballer
 * 1997 – Sada Williams, Barbadian sprinter
 * 1999 – Nico Schlotterbeck, German footballer
 * 2001 – Carole Monnet, French tennis player

Pre-1600

 * 217 – Yehudah HaNasi, 'Nasi', Rabbi and editor of the Mishnah (b. 135)
 * 660 – Eligius, Frankish bishop and saint (b. 588)
 * 948 – Gao Conghui, Chinese governor and prince (b. 891)
 * 969 – Fujiwara no Morotada, Japanese statesman (b. 920)
 * 1018 – Thietmar of Merseburg, German bishop (b. 975)
 * 1135 – Henry I, king of England (b. 1068)
 * 1241 – Isabella of England, Holy Roman Empress (b. 1214)
 * 1255 – Muhammad III of Alamut, Nizari Ismaili Imam
 * 1335 – Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan, Mongol ruler of the Ilkhanate (b. 1305)
 * 1374 – Magnus Ericson, king of Sweden (b. 1316)
 * 1433 – Go-Komatsu, emperor of Japan (b. 1377)
 * 1455 – Lorenzo Ghiberti, Italian goldsmith and sculptor (b. 1378)
 * 1521 – Leo X, pope of the Catholic Church (b. 1475)
 * 1530 – Margaret of Austria, duchess of Savoy (b. 1480)
 * 1580 – Giovanni Morone, Italian cardinal (b. 1509)
 * 1581 – Alexander Briant, English Roman Catholic priest, martyr and saint (b. 1556)
 * 1581 – Edmund Campion, English Roman Catholic priest, martyr, and saint (b. 1540)
 * 1581 – Ralph Sherwin, English Roman Catholic priest, martyr, and saint (b. 1550)

1601–1900

 * 1633 – Isabella Clara Eugenia, infanta of Spain (b. 1566)
 * 1640 – Miguel de Vasconcelos, Portuguese politician, Prime Minister of Portugal (b. 1590)
 * 1660 – Pierre d'Hozier, French genealogist and historian (b. 1592)
 * 1729 – Giacomo F. Maraldi, French-Italian astronomer and mathematician (b. 1665)
 * 1750 – Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr, German mathematician, astronomer, and cartographer (b. 1671)
 * 1755 – Maurice Greene, English organist and composer (b. 1696)
 * 1767 – Henry Erskine, 10th Earl of Buchan, Scottish politician (b. 1710)
 * 1825 – Alexander I, emperor and autocrat of Russia (b. 1777)
 * 1865 – Abraham Emanuel Fröhlich, Swiss pastor, poet, and educator (b. 1796)
 * 1866 – George Everest, Welsh geographer and surveyor (b. 1790)
 * 1867 – Charles Gray Round, English lawyer and politician (b. 1797)
 * 1884 – William Swainson, English-New Zealand lawyer and politician, Attorney-General of the Crown Colony of New Zealand (b. 1809)

1901–present

 * 1913 – Juhan Liiv, Estonian poet and author (b. 1864)
 * 1914 – Alfred Thayer Mahan, American captain and historian (b. 1840)
 * 1916 – Charles de Foucauld, French priest and martyr (b. 1858)
 * 1923 – Virginie Loveling, Belgian author and poet (b. 1836)
 * 1928 – José Eustasio Rivera, Colombian-American lawyer and poet (b. 1888)
 * 1933 – Pekka Halonen, Finnish painter (b. 1865)
 * 1934 – Sergey Kirov, Russian engineer and politician (b. 1886)
 * 1935 – Bernhard Schmidt, Estonian-German optician, invented the Schmidt camera (b. 1879)
 * 1942 – Leon Wachholz, Polish scientist and medical examiner (b. 1867)
 * 1943 – Damrong Rajanubhab, Thai historian and educator (b. 1862)
 * 1944 – Charlie Kerins, Executed Irish Republican (b. 1918)
 * 1947 – Aleister Crowley, English magician, poet, and mountaineer (b. 1875)
 * 1947 – G. H. Hardy, English mathematician and theorist (b. 1877)
 * 1950 – Ernest John Moeran, English pianist and composer (b. 1894)
 * 1954 – Fred Rose, American pianist, composer, and publisher (b. 1898)
 * 1958 – Elizabeth Peratrovich, Alaskan-American civil rights activist (b. 1911)
 * 1964 – J. B. S. Haldane, English-Indian geneticist and biologist (b. 1892)
 * 1964 – Charilaos Vasilakos, Greek runner (b. 1877)
 * 1968 – Nicolae Bretan, Romanian opera singer, composer, and conductor (b. 1887)
 * 1968 – Darío Moreno, Turkish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (b. 1921)
 * 1973 – David Ben-Gurion, Israeli politician, 1st Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1886)
 * 1975 – Nellie Fox, American baseball player and coach (b. 1927)
 * 1975 – Ernesto Maserati, Italian race car driver and engineer (b. 1898)
 * 1975 – Anna Roosevelt Halsted, American journalist (b. 1906)
 * 1981 – Russ Manning, American author and illustrator (b. 1929)
 * 1984 – Roelof Frankot, Dutch painter and photographer (b. 1911)
 * 1986 – Frank McCarthy, American general and film producer (b. 1912)
 * 1987 – James Baldwin, American novelist, poet, and critic (b. 1924)
 * 1987 – Punch Imlach, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (b. 1918)
 * 1988 – J. Vernon McGee, American pastor and theologian (b. 1904)
 * 1989 – Alvin Ailey, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1931)
 * 1990 – Carla Lehmann, Canadian-English actress (b. 1917)
 * 1991 – Pat O'Callaghan, Irish athlete (b. 1906)
 * 1991 – George Stigler, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)
 * 1993 – Ray Gillen, American singer-songwriter (b. 1959)
 * 1995 – Hopper Levett, English cricketer (b. 1908)
 * 1995 – Colin Tapley, New Zealand-English actor (b. 1907)
 * 1995 – Maxwell R. Thurman, American general (b. 1931)
 * 1996 – Peter Bronfman, Canadian businessman (b. 1928)
 * 1997 – Michel Bélanger, Canadian banker and businessman (b. 1929)
 * 1997 – Stéphane Grappelli, French violinist (b. 1908)
 * 1997 – Endicott Peabody, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 62nd Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1920)
 * 1998 – Janet Lewis, American poet and novelist (b. 1899)
 * 2001 – Ellis R. Dungan, American director and producer (b. 1909)
 * 2002 – Edward L. Beach Jr., American captain and author (b. 1918)
 * 2002 – Dave McNally, American baseball player (b. 1942)
 * 2003 – Clark Kerr, American economist and academic (b. 1911)
 * 2003 – Eugenio Monti, Italian bobsledder (b. 1928)
 * 2004 – Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld (b. 1911)
 * 2004 – Bill Brown, Scottish footballer (b. 1931)
 * 2005 – Gust Avrakotos, American CIA officer (b. 1938)
 * 2005 – Mary Hayley Bell, English actress and playwright (b. 1911)
 * 2005  – Freeman V. Horner, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1922)
 * 2006 – Claude Jade, French actress (b. 1948)
 * 2006 – Bruce Trigger, Canadian archaeologist, anthropologist, and historian (b. 1937)
 * 2007 – Ken McGregor, Australian tennis player and footballer (b. 1929)
 * 2007 – Anton Rodgers, British actor (b. 1933)
 * 2007 – Ivo Rojnica, Croatian-Argentine war crimes suspect, businessman, diplomat, and intelligence agent (b. 1915)
 * 2008 – Paul Benedict, American actor (b. 1938)
 * 2008 – Joseph B. Wirthlin, American businessman and religious leader (b. 1917)
 * 2010 – Adriaan Blaauw, Dutch astronomer and academic (b. 1914)
 * 2010 – Hillard Elkins, American actor and producer (b. 1929)
 * 2011 – Christa Wolf, German author and critic (b. 1929)
 * 2012 – Jovan Belcher, American football player (b. 1987)
 * 2012 – Arthur Chaskalson, South African lawyer and judge, 18th Chief Justice of South Africa (b. 1931)
 * 2012 – Rick Majerus, American basketball player and coach (b. 1948)
 * 2012 – Ed Price, American soldier, pilot, and politician (b. 1918)
 * 2013 – Richard Coughlan, English drummer (b. 1947)
 * 2013 – Stirling Colgate, American physicist and academic (b. 1925)
 * 2013 – Edward Heffron, American soldier (b. 1923)
 * 2013 – Martin Sharp, Australian cartoonist and songwriter (b. 1942)
 * 2014 – Mario Abramovich, Argentinian violinist and composer (b. 1926)
 * 2014 – Dimitrios Trichopoulos, Greek epidemiologist, oncologist, and academic (b. 1938)
 * 2014 – Rocky Wood, New Zealand-Australian author (b. 1959)
 * 2015 – Rob Blokzijl, Dutch physicist and computer scientist (b. 1943)
 * 2015 – Joseph Engelberger, American physicist and engineer (b. 1925)
 * 2015 – John F. Kurtzke, American neurologist and academic (b. 1926)
 * 2015 – Jim Loscutoff, American basketball player (b. 1930)
 * 2015 – Trevor Obst, Australian footballer and coach (b. 1940)
 * 2018 – Vivian Lynn, New Zealand artist (b. 1931)
 * 2018 – Ken Berry, American actor, dancer, and singer (b. 1933)
 * 2019 – Paula Tilbrook, English actress (b. 1930)
 * 2020 – Arnie Robinson, American athlete (b. 1948)
 * 2022 – Gaylord Perry, American baseball player and coach (b. 1938)
 * 2023 – Sandra Day O'Connor, first female U.S. Supreme Court Justice (1981–2006) (b. 1930)

Holidays and observances

 * Battle of the Sinop Day (Russia)
 * Christian feast day:
 * Alexander Briant
 * Ansanus
 * Blessed Bruna Pellesi
 * Castritian
 * Charles de Foucauld
 * Edmund Campion
 * Eligius
 * Evasius
 * Grwst
 * Nahum
 * Nicholas Ferrar (Episcopal Church)
 * Ralph Sherwin
 * Ursicinus of Brescia
 * December 1 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 * Damrong Rajanubhab Day (Thailand)
 * Earliest day on which Farmer's Day can fall, while December 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Friday in December. (Ghana)
 * Earliest day on which Good Neighborliness Day can fall, while December 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in December. (Turkmenistan)
 * Earliest day on which Sindhi Cultural Day can fall, while December 7 is the latest; celebrated on the first Sunday in December. (Sindhi diaspora)
 * First President Day (Kazakhstan)
 * Freedom and Democracy Day (Chad)
 * Great Union Day, celebrates the union of Transylvania with Romania in 1918 (Romania)
 * Military Abolition Day (Costa Rica)
 * National Day (Myanmar)
 * Republic Day (Central African Republic)
 * Restoration of Independence Day (Portugal)
 * Rosa Parks Day (Ohio and Oregon, United States)
 * Self-governance Day or Fullveldisdagurinn (Iceland)
 * Teachers' Day (Panama)
 * World AIDS Day, and its related observances:
 * Day Without Art