December 2

Pre-1600

 * 1244 – Pope Innocent IV arrives at Lyon for the First Council of Lyon.
 * 1409 – The University of Leipzig opens.

1601–1900

 * 1697 – St Paul's Cathedral, rebuilt to the design of Sir Christopher Wren following the Great Fire of London, is consecrated.
 * 1763 – Dedication of the Touro Synagogue, in Newport, Rhode Island, the first synagogue in what will become the United States.
 * 1766 – Swedish parliament approves the Swedish Freedom of the Press Act and implements it as a ground law, thus being first in the world with freedom of speech.
 * 1804 – At Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself Emperor of the French.
 * 1805 – War of the Third Coalition: Battle of Austerlitz: French troops under Napoleon decisively defeat a joint Russo-Austrian force.
 * 1823 – Monroe Doctrine: In a State of the Union message, U.S. President James Monroe proclaims American neutrality in future European conflicts, and warns European powers not to interfere in the Americas.
 * 1845 – Manifest Destiny: In a State of the Union message, U.S. President James K. Polk proposes that the United States should aggressively expand into the West.
 * 1848 – Franz Joseph I becomes Emperor of Austria.
 * 1851 – French President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte overthrows the Second Republic.
 * 1852 – Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte becomes Emperor of the French as Napoleon III.
 * 1859 – Militant abolitionist leader John Brown is hanged for his October 16 raid on Harpers Ferry, West Virginia.
 * 1865 – Alabama ratifies the 13th Amendment to the U.S. Constitution, followed by North Carolina, then Georgia; U.S. slaves were legally free within two weeks.
 * 1867 – At Tremont Temple in Boston, British author Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in the United States.
 * 1899 – Philippine–American War: The Battle of Tirad Pass, known as the "Filipino Thermopylae", is fought.

1901–present

 * 1908 – Puyi becomes Emperor of China at the age of two.
 * 1917 – World War I: Russia and the Central Powers sign an armistice at Brest-Litovsk, and peace talks leading to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk begin.
 * 1927 – Following 19 years of Ford Model T production, the Ford Motor Company unveils the Ford Model A as its new automobile.
 * 1930 – Great Depression: In a State of the Union message, U.S. President Herbert Hoover proposes a $150 million public works program to help generate jobs and stimulate the economy.
 * 1939 – New York City's LaGuardia Airport opens.
 * 1942 – World War II: During the Manhattan Project, a team led by Enrico Fermi initiates the first artificial self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.
 * 1943 – World War II: A Luftwaffe bombing raid on the harbour of Bari, Italy, sinks numerous cargo and transport ships, including the American SS John Harvey, which is carrying a stockpile of mustard gas.
 * 1947 – Jerusalem Riots of 1947: Arabs riot in Jerusalem in response to the United Nations Partition Plan for Palestine.
 * 1949 – Convention for the Suppression of the Traffic in Persons and of the Exploitation of the Prostitution of Others is adopted.
 * 1950 – Korean War: The Battle of the Ch'ongch'on River ends with a decisive Chinese victory and UN forces are completely expelled from North Korea.
 * 1954 – Cold War: The United States Senate votes 65 to 22 to censure Joseph McCarthy for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute".
 * 1954  – The Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, between the United States and Taiwan, is signed in Washington, D.C.
 * 1956 – The Granma reaches the shores of Cuba's Oriente Province. Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and 80 other members of the 26th of July Movement disembark to initiate the Cuban Revolution.
 * 1957 – United Nations Security Council Resolution 126 relating to the Kashmir conflict is adopted.
 * 1961 – In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist–Leninist and that Cuba will adopt Communism.
 * 1962 – Vietnam War: After a trip to Vietnam at the request of U.S. President John F. Kennedy, U.S. Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield becomes the first American official to comment adversely on the war's progress.
 * 1968 – Wien Consolidated Airlines Flight 55 crashes into Pedro Bay, Alaska, killing all 39 people on board.
 * 1970 – The United States Environmental Protection Agency begins operations.
 * 1971 – Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai, and Umm al-Quwain form the United Arab Emirates.
 * 1975 – Laotian Civil War: The Pathet Lao seizes the Laotian capital of Vientiane, forces the abdication of King Sisavang Vatthana, and proclaims the Lao People's Democratic Republic.
 * 1976 – Fidel Castro becomes President of Cuba, replacing Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado.
 * 1977 – A Tupolev Tu-154 crashes near Benghazi, Libya, killing 59.
 * 1980 – Salvadoran Civil War: Four American missionaries are raped and murdered by a death squad.
 * 1982 – At the University of Utah, Barney Clark becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart.
 * 1988 – Benazir Bhutto is sworn in as Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman to head the government of a Muslim-majority state.
 * 1988  – Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on STS-27, a classified mission for the United States Department of Defense.
 * 1989 – The Peace Agreement of Hat Yai is signed and ratified by the Malayan Communist Party (MCP) and the governments of Malaysia and Thailand, ending the over two-decade-long communist insurgency in Malaysia.
 * 1990 – Space Shuttle Columbia is launched on STS-35, carrying the ASTRO-1 spacelab observatory.
 * 1991 – Canada and Poland become the first nations to recognize the independence of Ukraine from the Soviet Union.
 * 1993 – Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar is shot and killed by police in Medellín.
 * 1993  – Space Shuttle program: STS-61: NASA launches the Space Shuttle Endeavour on a mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.
 * 1999 – The United Kingdom devolves political power in Northern Ireland to the Northern Ireland Executive following the Good Friday Agreement.
 * 2001 – Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
 * 2015 – San Bernardino attack: Syed Rizwan Farook and Tashfeen Malik kill 14 people and wound 22 at the Inland Regional Center in San Bernardino, California.
 * 2016 – Thirty-six people die in a fire at a converted Oakland, California, warehouse serving as an artist collective.
 * 2020 – Cannabis is removed from the list of most dangerous drugs of the international drug control treaty by the UN Commission on Narcotic Drugs.

Pre-1600

 * 503 – Emperor Jianwen of Liang, emperor of the Chinese Liang dynasty (d. 551)
 * 1501 – Queen Munjeong, Korean queen (d. 1565)
 * 1578 – Agostino Agazzari, Italian composer and theorist (d. 1641)
 * 1599 – Thomas Bruce, 1st Earl of Elgin, Scottish nobleman (d. 1663)

1601–1900

 * 1629 – Wilhelm Egon von Fürstenberg, Catholic cardinal (d. 1704)
 * 1694 – William Shirley, English-American lawyer and politician, Governor of the province of Massachusetts Bay (d. 1771)
 * 1703 – Ferdinand Konščak, Croatian missionary and explorer (d. 1759)
 * 1738 – Richard Montgomery, Irish-American general (d. 1775)
 * 1754 – William Cooper, American judge and politician, founded Cooperstown, New York (d. 1809)
 * 1759 – James Edward Smith, English botanist and mycologist, founded the Linnean Society (d. 1828)
 * 1760 – John Breckinridge, American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 5th United States Attorney General (d. 1806)
 * 1760  – Joseph Graetz, German organist, composer, and educator (d. 1826)
 * 1798 – António Luís de Seabra, 1st Viscount of Seabra, Portuguese magistrate and politician (d. 1895)
 * 1810 – Henry Yesler, American businessman and politician, 7th Mayor of Seattle (d. 1892)
 * 1811 – Jean-Charles Chapais, Canadian farmer and politician, 1st Canadian Minister of Agriculture (d. 1885)
 * 1817 – Heinrich von Sybel, German historian, academic, and politician (d. 1895)
 * 1825 – Pedro II of Brazil (d. 1891)
 * 1827 – William Burges, English architect and designer (d. 1881)
 * 1846 – Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau, French lawyer and politician, 68th Prime Minister of France (d. 1904)
 * 1847 – Deacon White, American baseball player and manager (d. 1939)
 * 1859 – Georges Seurat, French painter (d. 1891)
 * 1860 – Charles Studd, England cricketer and missionary (d. 1931)
 * 1863 – Charles Edward Ringling, American businessman, co-founded the Ringling Brothers Circus (d. 1926)
 * 1866 – Harry Burleigh, American singer-songwriter (d. 1949)
 * 1876 – Yusuf Akçura, Tatar-Turkish activist and ideologue of Turanism (d. 1935)
 * 1877 – Cahir Healy, Northern Irish Anti Partitionist, writer and politician (d. 1970)
 * 1884 – Erima Harvey Northcroft, New Zealand soldier, lawyer, and judge (d. 1953)
 * 1884  – Yahya Kemal Beyatlı, Turkish poet and author (d. 1958)
 * 1885 – George Minot, American physician and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1950)
 * 1891 – Otto Dix, German painter and illustrator (d. 1969)
 * 1891  – Charles H. Wesley, American historian and author (d. 1987)
 * 1894 – Warren William, American actor (d. 1948)
 * 1895 – Harriet Cohen, English pianist (d. 1967)
 * 1897 – Ivan Bagramyan, Russian general (d. 1982)
 * 1897  – Rewi Alley, New Zealand writer and political activist (d. 1987)
 * 1898 – Indra Lal Roy, Indian lieutenant and first Indian fighter aircraft pilot (d. 1918)
 * 1899 – John Barbirolli, English cellist and conductor (d. 1970)
 * 1899  – John Cobb, English race car driver and pilot (d. 1952)
 * 1899  – Ray Morehart, American baseball player (d. 1989)
 * 1900 – Elisa Godínez Gómez de Batista, former First Lady of Cuba (d. 1993)
 * 1900  – Herta Hammerbacher, German landscape architect and professor (d. 1985)

1901–present

 * 1901 – Raimundo Orsi, Argentinian-Italian footballer (d. 1986)
 * 1906 – Peter Carl Goldmark, Hungarian-American engineer (d. 1977)
 * 1909 – Arvo Askola, Finnish runner (d. 1975)
 * 1909  – Walenty Kłyszejko, Estonian–Polish basketball player and coach (d. 1987)
 * 1909  – Joseph P. Lash, American activist and author (d. 1987)
 * 1910 – Russell Lynes, American photographer, historian, and author (d. 1991)
 * 1910  – Taisto Mäki, Finnish runner (d. 1979)
 * 1912 – George Emmett, English cricketer and coach (d. 1976)
 * 1913 – Marc Platt, American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 2014)
 * 1914 – Bill Erwin, American actor (d. 2010)
 * 1914  – Adolph Green, American playwright and composer (d. 2002)
 * 1915 – Takahito, Prince Mikasa of Japan (d. 2016)
 * 1916 – Howard Finster, American minister and painter (d. 2001)
 * 1917 – Sylvia Syms, American singer (d. 1992)
 * 1921 – Carlo Furno, Italian cardinal (d. 2015)
 * 1922 – Iakovos Kambanelis, Greek author, poet, and screenwriter (d. 2011)
 * 1923 – Maria Callas, American-Greek soprano and actress (d. 1977)
 * 1924 – Jonathan Frid, Canadian actor (d. 2012)
 * 1924  – Alexander Haig, American general and politician, 59th United States Secretary of State (d. 2010)
 * 1924  – Else Marie Pade, Danish composer (d. 2016)
 * 1924  – Vilgot Sjöman, Swedish actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2006)
 * 1925 – Julie Harris, American actress (d. 2013)
 * 1927 – Ralph Beard, American basketball player (d. 2007)
 * 1928 – Guy Bourdin, French photographer (d. 1991)
 * 1929 – Dan Jenkins, American journalist and author (d. 2019)
 * 1929  – Leon Litwack, American historian and author (d. 2021)
 * 1930 – Gary Becker, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2014)
 * 1930  – David Piper, English race car driver
 * 1931 – Nigel Calder, English journalist, author, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
 * 1931  – Masaaki Hatsumi, Japanese martial artist and educator, founded Bujinkan
 * 1931  – Wynton Kelly, American pianist and composer (d. 1971)
 * 1931  – Edwin Meese, American lawyer, 75th United States Attorney General
 * 1931  – Gareth Wigan, British film studio executive (d. 2010)
 * 1933 – Peter Robin Harding, English marshal and pilot (d. 2021)
 * 1933  – Mike Larrabee, American sprinter and educator (d. 2003)
 * 1934 – Tarcisio Bertone, Italian cardinal
 * 1935 – David Hackett Fischer, American historian, author, and academic
 * 1937 – Manohar Joshi, Indian lawyer and politician, 15th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (d. 2024)
 * 1939 – Yael Dayan, Israeli journalist, author, and politician
 * 1939  – Francis Fox, Canadian lawyer and politician, 48th Secretary of State for Canada
 * 1939  – Harry Reid, American lawyer and politician, 25th Lieutenant Governor of Nevada (d. 2021)
 * 1940 – Willie Brown, American football player, coach, and manager (d. 2019)
 * 1941 – Mike England, Welsh footballer and manager
 * 1941  – Tom McGuinness, English guitarist, songwriter, author, and producer
 * 1942 – Anna G. Jónasdóttir, Icelandic political scientist and academic
 * 1943 – Wayne Allard, American veterinarian and politician
 * 1944 – Cathy Lee Crosby, American actress and tennis player
 * 1944  – Ibrahim Rugova, Kosovan journalist and politician, 1st President of Kosovo (d. 2006)
 * 1944  – Dionysis Savvopoulos, Greek singer-songwriter
 * 1944  – Botho Strauß, German author and playwright
 * 1945 – Penelope Spheeris, American director, producer, and screenwriter
 * 1945  – Alan Thomson, Australian cricketer (d. 2022)
 * 1946 – John Banks, New Zealand businessman and politician, 38th Mayor of Auckland City
 * 1946  – David Macaulay, English-American author and illustrator
 * 1946  – Gianni Versace, Italian fashion designer, founded Versace (d. 1997)
 * 1947 – Isaac Bitton, Moroccan-French drummer and songwriter
 * 1947  – Tommy Jenkins, English footballer and manager
 * 1947  – Ivan Atanassov Petrov, Bulgarian neurologist and author
 * 1948 – Elizabeth Berg, American nurse and author
 * 1948  – T. Coraghessan Boyle, American novelist and short story writer
 * 1948  – Patricia Hewitt, Australian-English educator and politician, English Secretary of State for Health
 * 1948  – Toninho Horta, Brazilian guitarist and composer
 * 1948  – Antonín Panenka, Czech footballer
 * 1950 – John Wesley Ryles, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1950  – Amin Saikal, Afghan-Australian political scientist and academic
 * 1950  – Benjamin Stora, Algerian-French historian and author
 * 1950  – Paul Watson, Canadian activist, founded the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
 * 1952 – Carol Shea-Porter, American social worker, academic, and politician
 * 1952  – Keith Szarabajka, American actor
 * 1954 – Dan Butler, American actor, director, and screenwriter
 * 1956 – Steven Bauer, Cuban-American actor and producer
 * 1957 – Dagfinn Høybråten, Norwegian political scientist and politician, Norwegian Minister of Health
 * 1958 – Randy Gardner, American figure skater
 * 1958  – Andrew George, English politician
 * 1958  – Vladimir Parfenovich, Belarusian canoe racer and politician
 * 1958  – George Saunders, American short story writer and essayist
 * 1959 – Kelefa Diallo, Guinean general (d. 2013)
 * 1960 – Peter Blakeley, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1960  – Deb Haaland, American politician, 54th United States Secretary of the Interior
 * 1960  – Razzle, English rock drummer (d. 1984)
 * 1960  – Rick Savage, English singer-songwriter and bass player
 * 1960  – Silk Smitha, Indian film actress
 * 1962 – John Dyegh, Nigerian businessman and politician
 * 1963 – Brendan Coyle, English actor
 * 1963  – Ann Patchett, American author
 * 1963  – Rich Sutter, Canadian ice hockey player and scout
 * 1963  – Ron Sutter, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
 * 1965 – Shane Flanagan, Australian rugby league player and coach
 * 1966 – Philippe Etchebest, French chef and television host
 * 1966  – Jinsei Shinzaki, Japanese wrestler and promoter, co-founded Sendai Girls' Pro Wrestling
 * 1967 – Mary Creagh, English scholar and politician, Shadow Secretary of State for Transport
 * 1968 – David Batty, English footballer
 * 1968  – Jiří Dopita, Czech ice hockey player
 * 1968  – Darryl Kile, American baseball player (d. 2002)
 * 1968  – Lucy Liu, American actress and producer
 * 1968  – Nate Mendel, American singer-songwriter and bass player
 * 1968  – Rena Sofer, American actress
 * 1969 – Ulrika Bergquist, Swedish journalist
 * 1969  – Chris Kiwomya, English footballer
 * 1969  – Pavel Loskutov, Estonian runner
 * 1969  – Tanya Plibersek, Australian journalist and politician, 45th Australian Minister of Health
 * 1970 – Joe Lo Truglio, American actor and comedian
 * 1970  – Maksim Tarasov, Russian pole vaulter
 * 1970  – Treach, American rapper and actor
 * 1971 – Wilson Jermaine Heredia, American actor and singer
 * 1971  – Rachel McQuillan, Australian tennis player
 * 1971  – Jüri Reinvere, Estonian-German composer and poet
 * 1971  – Francesco Toldo, Italian footballer
 * 1971  – Mine Yoshizaki, Japanese illustrator
 * 1972 – Alan Henderson, American basketball player
 * 1972  – Sergei Zholtok, Latvian ice hockey player (d. 2004)
 * 1973 – Graham Kavanagh, Irish footballer and manager
 * 1973  – Monica Seles, Serbian-American tennis player
 * 1973  – Lee Steele, English footballer
 * 1973  – Jan Ullrich, German cyclist
 * 1975 – Mark Kotsay, American baseball player and manager
 * 1976  – Masafumi Gotoh, Japanese singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
 * 1977 – Siyabonga Nomvethe, South African footballer
 * 1978 – Jarron Collins, American basketball player and coach
 * 1978  – Jason Collins, American basketball player
 * 1978  – Nelly Furtado, Canadian singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
 * 1978  – Luigi Malafronte, Italian footballer
 * 1978  – Peter Moylan, Australian baseball player
 * 1978  – Maëlle Ricker, Canadian snowboarder
 * 1978  – David Rivas, Spanish footballer
 * 1978  – Andrew Ryan, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster
 * 1978  – Christopher Wolstenholme, English singer-songwriter and bass player
 * 1979 – Yvonne Catterfeld, German singer-songwriter and actress
 * 1979  – Michael McIndoe, Scottish footballer
 * 1979  – Abdul Razzaq, Pakistani cricketer
 * 1980 – Adam Kreek, Canadian rower
 * 1980  – Darryn Randall, South African cricketer (d. 2013)
 * 1980  – Joel Ward, Canadian ice hockey player
 * 1981 – Maria Ferekidi, Greek canoe racer
 * 1981  – Eric Jungmann, American actor
 * 1981  – Thomas Pöck, Austrian ice hockey player
 * 1981  – Danijel Pranjić, Croatian footballer
 * 1981  – Britney Spears, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
 * 1982 – Christos Karipidis, Greek footballer
 * 1982  – Matt Walsh, American basketball player
 * 1983 – Action Bronson, American rapper, songwriter, chef, and television host
 * 1983  – Chris Burke, Scottish footballer
 * 1983  – Bibiana Candelas, Mexican volleyball player
 * 1983  – Jaime Durán, Mexican footballer
 * 1983  – Eugene Jeter, American-Ukrainian basketball player, coach, and executive
 * 1983  – Jana Kramer, American actress and singer
 * 1983  – Aaron Rodgers, American football player
 * 1983  – Daniela Ruah, Portuguese-American actress
 * 1984 – Péter Máté, Hungarian footballer
 * 1985 – Amaury Leveaux, French swimmer
 * 1985  – Dorell Wright, American basketball player
 * 1986 – Song Ha-yoon, South Korean actress
 * 1986  – Claudiu Keșerü, Romanian footballer
 * 1986  – Renee Montgomery, American basketball player and executive
 * 1986  – Tal Wilkenfeld, Australian bass player and composer
 * 1988 – Alfred Enoch, English actor
 * 1988  – Stephen McGinn, Scottish footballer
 * 1989 – Etta Bond, English singer-songwriter
 * 1989  – Matteo Darmian, Italian footballer
 * 1989  – Cassie Steele, Canadian singer-songwriter and actress
 * 1989  – Robert Turbin, American football player
 * 1990 – Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, Ghanaian footballer
 * 1990  – Gastón Ramírez, Uruguayan footballer
 * 1991 – Chloé Dufour-Lapointe, Canadian skier
 * 1991  – Brandon Knight, American basketball player
 * 1991  – Charlie Puth, American singer-songwriter and pianist
 * 1992 – Sim Bhullar, Canadian basketball player
 * 1992  – Gary Sánchez, Dominican baseball player
 * 1993 – Haruka Ishida, Japanese singer and actress
 * 1993  – Kostas Stafylidis, Greek footballer
 * 1994 – Zach Cunningham, American football player
 * 1994  – Aaron Jones, American football player
 * 1994  – Elias Lindholm, Swedish ice hockey player
 * 1994  – Fumika Shimizu, Japanese actress and model
 * 1994  – Tomokaze Yūta, Japanese sumo wrestler
 * 1995 – Uladzislau Hancharou, Belarusian trampolinist
 * 1995  – Inori Minase, Japanese actress, voice actress and singer
 * 1996 – Jake Doran, Australian cricketer
 * 1997 – De'Andre Hunter, American basketball player
 * 1998 – Annalise Basso, American actress
 * 1998  – Anna Kalinskaya, Russian tennis player
 * 1998  – Juice Wrld, American rapper, singer and songwriter (d. 2019)
 * 2003 – Neil Erasmus, South African-Australian footballer
 * 2004 – Ilia Malinin, American competitive figure skater

Pre-1600

 * 537 – Pope Silverius
 * 930 – Ma Yin, Chinese warlord, king of Chu (Ten Kingdoms) (b. 853)
 * 949 – Odo of Wetterau, German nobleman
 * 1022 – Elvira Menéndez, queen of Alfonso V of Castile (b. 996)
 * 1255 – Muhammad III of Alamut, Nizari Ismaili Imam
 * 1340 – Geoffrey le Scrope, Chief Justice of King Edward III of England
 * 1348 – Emperor Hanazono of Japan (b. 1297)
 * 1381 – John of Ruusbroec, Flemish priest and mystic (b. 1293)
 * 1455 – Isabel of Coimbra, queen of Portugal (b. 1432)
 * 1463 – Albert VI, Archduke of Austria (b. 1418)
 * 1469 – Piero di Cosimo de' Medici, Italian banker and politician (b. 1416)
 * 1510 – Muhammad Shaybani, Khan of Bukhara (b. 1451)
 * 1515 – Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, Spanish general (b. 1453)
 * 1547 – Hernán Cortés, Spanish general and explorer (b. 1485)
 * 1594 – Gerardus Mercator, Flemish mathematician, cartographer, and philosopher (b. 1512)

1601–1900

 * 1615 – Louis des Balbes de Berton de Crillon, French general (b. 1541)
 * 1665 – Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet, French author (b. 1588)
 * 1694 – Pierre Puget, French painter, sculptor, and architect (b. 1622)
 * 1719 – Pasquier Quesnel, French theologian and author (b. 1634)
 * 1723 – Philippe II, Duke of Orléans (b. 1674)
 * 1726 – Samuel Penhallow, English-American historian and author (b. 1665)
 * 1747 – Vincent Bourne, English poet and scholar (b. 1695)
 * 1748 – Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, English politician, Lord President of the Council (b. 1662)
 * 1774 – Johann Friedrich Agricola, German organist and composer (b. 1720)
 * 1814 – Marquis de Sade, French philosopher, author, and politician (b. 1740)
 * 1844 – Eustachy Erazm Sanguszko, Polish general and politician (b. 1768)
 * 1849 – Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (b. 1792)
 * 1859 – John Brown, American abolitionist (b. 1800)
 * 1881 – Jenny von Westphalen, German author (b. 1814)
 * 1885 – Allen Wright, Principal chief of the Choctaw Nation (1866-1870); proposed the name "Oklahoma", from Choctaw words okra and umma, meaning "Territory of the Red People." (b. 1826)
 * 1888 – Namık Kemal, Turkish journalist, poet, and playwright (b. 1840)
 * 1892 – Jay Gould, American businessman and financier (b. 1836)
 * 1899 – Gregorio del Pilar, Filipino general and politician, 1st Governor of Bulacan (b. 1875)

1901–present

 * 1918 – Edmond Rostand, French poet and playwright (b. 1868)
 * 1924 – Kazimieras Būga, Lithuanian linguist and philologist (b. 1879)
 * 1927 – Paul Heinrich von Groth, German scientist who systematically classified minerals and founded the journal Zeitschrift für Krystallographie und Mineralogie (b. 1843)
 * 1931 – Vincent d'Indy, French composer and educator (b. 1851)
 * 1936 – John Ringling, American businessman, co-founded Ringling Brothers Circus (b. 1866)
 * 1943 – Nordahl Grieg, Norwegian journalist and author (b. 1902)
 * 1944 – Josef Lhévinne, Russian pianist and educator (b. 1874)
 * 1944  – Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Egyptian-Italian poet and composer (b. 1876)
 * 1944  – Eiji Sawamura, Japanese baseball player and soldier (b. 1917)
 * 1950 – Dinu Lipatti, Romanian pianist and composer (b. 1917)
 * 1953 – Reginald Baker, Australian rugby player (b. 1884)
 * 1953  – Trần Trọng Kim, Vietnamese historian, scholar, and politician, Prime Minister of Vietnam (b. 1883)
 * 1957 – Harrison Ford, American actor (b. 1884)
 * 1957  – Manfred Sakel, Ukrainian-American neurophysiologist and psychiatrist (b. 1902)
 * 1966 – L. E. J. Brouwer, Dutch mathematician and philosopher (b. 1881)
 * 1966  – Giles Cooper, Irish author, playwright, and screenwriter (b. 1918)
 * 1967 – Francis Spellman, American cardinal (b. 1889).
 * 1969 – José María Arguedas, Peruvian anthropologist, author, and poet (b. 1911)
 * 1969  – Kliment Voroshilov, Ukrainian-Russian marshal and politician, 3rd Head of State of The Soviet Union (b. 1881)
 * 1974 – Sylvi Kekkonen, Finnish writer and wife of President of Finland Urho Kekkonen (b. 1900)
 * 1974  – Max Weber, Swiss lawyer and politician (b. 1897)
 * 1976 – Danny Murtaugh, American baseball player and manager (b. 1917)
 * 1980 – Chaudhry Muhammad Ali, Indian-Pakistani lawyer and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Pakistan (b. 1905)
 * 1980  – Romain Gary, Lithuanian-French author, director, and screenwriter (b. 1914)
 * 1981 – Wallace Harrison, American architect, co-founded Harrison & Abramovitz (b. 1895)
 * 1982 – Marty Feldman, English actor and comedian (b. 1933)
 * 1982  – Giovanni Ferrari, Italian footballer and manager (b. 1907)
 * 1983 – Fifi D'Orsay, Canadian-American actress and singer (b. 1904)
 * 1985 – Philip Larkin, English poet, author, and librarian (b. 1922)
 * 1986 – Desi Arnaz, Cuban-American actor, singer, businessman, and television producer (b. 1917)
 * 1986  – John Curtis Gowan, American psychologist and academic (b. 1912)
 * 1987 – Luis Federico Leloir, French-Argentinian physician and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
 * 1987  – Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich, Belarusian physicist, astronomer, and cosmologist (b. 1914)
 * 1988 – Karl-Heinz Bürger, German colonel (b. 1904)
 * 1988  – Tata Giacobetti, Italian singer-songwriter (b. 1922)
 * 1990 – Aaron Copland, American composer and conductor (b. 1900)
 * 1990  – Robert Cummings, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1908)
 * 1993 – Pablo Escobar, Colombian drug lord (b. 1949)
 * 1995 – Robertson Davies, Canadian author, playwright, and critic (b. 1913)
 * 1995  – Roxie Roker, American actress (b. 1929)
 * 1995  – Mária Telkes, Hungarian–American biophysicist and chemist (b. 1900)
 * 1997 – Shirley Crabtree, English wrestler (b. 1930)
 * 1997  – Michael Hedges, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1953)
 * 1999 – Charlie Byrd, American guitarist (b. 1925)
 * 2000 – Gail Fisher, American actress (b. 1935)
 * 2002 – Ivan Illich, Austrian priest and philosopher (b. 1926)
 * 2002  – Arno Peters, German cartographer and historian (b. 1916)
 * 2003 – Alan Davidson, British soldier, historian, and author (b. 1924)
 * 2004 – Alicia Markova, English ballerina and choreographer (b. 1910)
 * 2004  – Mona Van Duyn, American poet and academic (b. 1921)
 * 2005 – William P. Lawrence, American admiral and pilot (b. 1930)
 * 2005  – Van Tuong Nguyen, Australian convicted drug trafficker (b. 1980)
 * 2006 – Mariska Veres, Dutch singer (b. 1947)
 * 2007 – Jennifer Alexander, Canadian-American ballerina and actress (b. 1972)
 * 2007  – Elizabeth Hardwick, American literary critic, novelist, and short story writer (b. 1916)
 * 2008 – Odetta, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress (b. 1930)
 * 2008  – Henry Molaison, American memory disorder patient (b. 1926)
 * 2008  – Edward Samuel Rogers, Canadian lawyer and businessman (b. 1933)
 * 2008  – Renato de Grandis, Italian composer, musicologist, and writer (b. 1927)
 * 2009 – Foge Fazio, American football player and coach (b. 1938)
 * 2009  – Eric Woolfson, Scottish singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (b. 1945)
 * 2012 – Tom Hendry, Canadian playwright, co-founded the Manitoba Theatre Centre (b. 1929)
 * 2012  – Ehsan Naraghi, Iranian sociologist and author (b. 1926)
 * 2013 – William Allain, American soldier and politician, 58th Governor of Mississippi (b. 1928)
 * 2013  – Jean-Claude Beton, Algerian-French engineer and businessman, founded Orangina (b. 1925)
 * 2013  – Marcelo Déda, Brazilian lawyer and politician (b. 1960)
 * 2013  – Junior Murvin, Jamaican singer-songwriter (b. 1946)
 * 2014 – A. R. Antulay, Indian lawyer and politician, 8th Chief Minister of Maharashtra (b. 1929)
 * 2014  – Jean Béliveau, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1931)
 * 2014  – Josie Cichockyj, English basketball player and coach (b. 1964)
 * 2014  – Bobby Keys, American saxophonist (b. 1943)
 * 2014  – Don Laws, American figure skater and coach (b. 1929)
 * 2015 – Sandy Berger, American lawyer and politician, 19th United States National Security Advisor (b. 1945)
 * 2015  – Will McMillan, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1944)
 * 2015  – George T. Sakato, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1921)
 * 2020 – Pat Patterson, American wrestler (b. 1941)

Holidays and observances

 * Armed Forces Day (Cuba)
 * Christian feast day:
 * Avitus of Rouen
 * Bibiana
 * Channing Moore Williams (Anglicanism)
 * Chromatius
 * Habakkuk (Eastern Orthodox)
 * December 2 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 * International Day for the Abolition of Slavery (United Nations)
 * Lao National Day
 * National Day (United Arab Emirates)