December 30

Pre-1600

 * 534 – The second and final edition of the Code of Justinian comes into effect in the Byzantine Empire.
 * 999 – Battle of Glenmama: The combined forces of Munster and Meath under king Brian Boru inflict a crushing defeat on the allied armies of Leinster and Dublin near Lyons Hill in Ireland.
 * 1066 – Granada massacre: A Muslim mob storms the royal palace in Granada, crucifies Jewish vizier Joseph ibn Naghrela and massacres most of the Jewish population of the city.
 * 1419 – Hundred Years' War: Battle of La Rochelle.
 * 1460 – Wars of the Roses: Lancastrians kill the 3rd Duke of York and win the Battle of Wakefield.

1601–1900

 * 1702 – Queen Anne's War: James Moore, Governor of the Province of Carolina, abandons the Siege of St. Augustine.
 * 1813 – War of 1812: British soldiers burn Buffalo, New York.
 * 1816 – The Treaty of St. Louis between the United States and the united Ottawa, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi Indian tribes is proclaimed.
 * 1825 – The Treaty of St. Louis between the United States and the Shawnee Nation is proclaimed.
 * 1853 – Gadsden Purchase: The United States buys land from Mexico to facilitate railroad building in the Southwest.
 * 1890 – Following the Wounded Knee Massacre, the United States Army and Lakota warriors face off in the Drexel Mission Fight.
 * 1896 – Filipino patriot and reform advocate José Rizal is executed by a Spanish firing squad in Manila.
 * 1896 – Canadian ice hockey player Ernie McLea scores the first hat-trick in Stanley Cup play, and the Cup-winning goal as the Montreal Victorias defeat the Winnipeg Victorias 6–5.
 * 1897 – The British Colony of Natal annexes Zululand.

1901–present

 * 1902 – The Discovery Expedition under Robert Falcon Scott attained a Farthest South at 82°17′S in Antarctica.
 * 1903 – A fire at the Iroquois Theater in Chicago, Illinois kills at least 605.
 * 1905 – Former Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg is assassinated at the front gate of his home in Caldwell.
 * 1906 – The All-India Muslim League is founded in Dacca, East Bengal, British India (later Dhaka, Bangladesh).
 * 1916 – Russian mystic and advisor to the Tsar Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin is murdered by a loyalist group led by Prince Felix Yusupov. His frozen, partially-trussed body was discovered in a Petrograd river three days later.
 * 1916 – The last coronation in Hungary is performed for King Charles IV and Queen Zita.
 * 1922 – The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) is formed.
 * 1927 – The Ginza Line, the first subway line in Asia, opens in Tokyo, Japan.
 * 1935 – The Italian Air Force bombs a Swedish Red Cross hospital during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War.
 * 1936 – The Flint sit-down strike hits General Motors.
 * 1943 – Subhas Chandra Bose raises the flag of Indian independence at Port Blair.
 * 1944 – King George II of Greece declares a regency, leaving the throne vacant.
 * 1947 – Cold War: King Michael I of Romania is forced to abdicate by the Soviet Union-backed Communist government of Romania.
 * 1952 – An RAF Avro Lancaster bomber crashes in Luqa, Malta after an engine failure, killing three crew members and a civilian on the ground.
 * 1954 – The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation is established to consolidate criminal investigation and intelligence into a single agency.
 * 1958 – The Guatemalan Air Force sinks several Mexican fishing boats alleged to have breached maritime borders, killing three and sparking international tension.
 * 1967 – Aeroflot Flight L-51 crashes near Liepāja International Airport in Liepāja, Latvia, killing 43.
 * 1972 – Vietnam War: Operation Linebacker II ends.
 * 1987 – Stella Sigcau, Prime minister of the South African Bantustan of Transkei, is ousted from power in a bloodless military coup led by General Bantu Holomisa.
 * 1993 – Israel establishes diplomatic relations with Vatican City and also upgrades to full diplomatic relations with Ireland.
 * 1996 – Proposed budget cuts by Benjamin Netanyahu spark protests from 250,000 workers who shut down services across Israel.
 * 1997 – In the worst incident in Algeria's insurgency, the Wilaya of Relizane massacres, 400 people from four villages are killed.
 * 2000 – Rizal Day bombings: A series of bombs explode in various places in Metro Manila, Philippines within a period of a few hours, killing 22 and injuring about a hundred.
 * 2004 – A fire in the República Cromagnon nightclub in Buenos Aires, Argentina, kills 194.
 * 2005 – Tropical Storm Zeta forms in the open Atlantic Ocean, tying the record for the latest tropical cyclone ever to form in the North Atlantic basin.
 * 2006 – Madrid–Barajas Airport is bombed.
 * 2006 – The Indonesian passenger ferry MV Senopati Nusantara sinks in a storm, resulting in at least 400 deaths.
 * 2006 – Former President of Iraq Saddam Hussein is executed.
 * 2009 – A segment of the Lanzhou–Zhengzhou–Changsha pipeline ruptures in Shaanxi, China, and approximately 150000 L of diesel oil flows down the Wei River before finally reaching the Yellow River.
 * 2009 – A suicide bomber kills nine people at Forward Operating Base Chapman, a key facility of the Central Intelligence Agency in Afghanistan.
 * 2013 – More than 100 people are killed when anti-government forces attack key buildings in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.

Pre–1600

 * AD 39 – Titus, Roman emperor (probable; d. 81)
 * 159 – Empress Dowager Bian, second wife of Cao Cao, mother of Cao Wei's first emperor, Cao Pi (d. 230)
 * 1204 – Abû 'Uthmân Sa'îd ibn Hakam al Qurashi, ruler of Minorca (d. 1282)
 * 1371 – Vasily I of Moscow (d. 1425)
 * 1490 – Ebussuud Efendi, Ottoman lawyer and jurist (d. 1574)
 * 1548 – David Pareus, German theologian (d. 1622)
 * 1578 – Ulrik of Denmark, Danish prince-bishop (d. 1624)

1601–1900

 * 1642 – Vincenzo da Filicaja, Italian poet (d. 1707)
 * 1673 – Ahmed III, Ottoman sultan (d. 1736)
 * 1678 – William Croft, English organist and composer (d. 1727)
 * 1722 – Charles Yorke, English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (d. 1770)
 * 1724 – Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée, French painter and educator (d. 1805)
 * 1757 – Sebastián Kindelán y O'Regan, colonial governor of East Florida, Santo Domingo and Cuba (d. 1826)
 * 1760 – Charles Sapinaud de La Rairie, French general (d. 1829)
 * 1792 – Sylvester Jordan, German lawyer and politician (d. 1861)
 * 1819 – Theodor Fontane, German author and poet (d. 1898)
 * 1819 – John W. Geary, American lawyer and politician, 16th Governor of Pennsylvania (d. 1873)
 * 1825 – Samuel Newitt Wood, American lawyer and politician (d. 1891)
 * 1842 – Osman Hamdi Bey, Ottoman administrator, intellectual, art expert and painter (d. 1910)
 * 1849 – John Milne, English seismologist and geologist (d. 1913)
 * 1851 – Asa Griggs Candler, American businessman and politician, 44th Mayor of Atlanta (d. 1929)
 * 1853 – André Messager, French pianist, composer, and conductor (d. 1929)
 * 1857 – Sylvio Lazzari, French-Austrian composer (d. 1944)
 * 1865 – Rudyard Kipling, Indian-English author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1936)
 * 1869 – Stephen Leacock, English-Canadian political scientist and author (d. 1944)
 * 1869 – Ōzutsu Man'emon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 18th Yokozuna (d. 1918)
 * 1873 – Al Smith, American lawyer and politician, 42nd Governor of New York (d. 1944)
 * 1878 – William Aberhart, Canadian evangelist and politician, seventh Premier of Alberta (d. 1943)
 * 1879 – Ramana Maharshi, Indian guru and philosopher (d. 1950)
 * 1883 – Archer Baldwin, American-English farmer and politician (d. 1966)
 * 1883 – Lester Patrick, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 1960)
 * 1884 – Hideki Tōjō, Japanese general and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Japan (d. 1948)
 * 1886 – Austin Osman Spare, English artist and occultist (d. 1956)
 * 1887 – William Kolehmainen, Finnish-American runner and coach (d. 1967)
 * 1887 – K. M. Munshi, Indian politician, writer and educationist, founder of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (d. 1971)
 * 1890 – Adolfo Ruiz Cortines, Mexican soldier and politician, 47th President of Mexico (d. 1973)
 * 1897 – Alfredo Bracchi, Italian songwriter and screenwriter (d. 1976)
 * 1899 – Helge Ingstad, Norwegian explorer, lawyer, and politician, 2nd Governor of Svalbard (d. 2001)

1901–present

 * 1904 – Dmitry Kabalevsky, Russian composer and academic (d. 1987)
 * 1905 – Daniil Kharms, Russian poet, author, and playwright (d. 1942)
 * 1906 – Alziro Bergonzo, Italian architect and painter (d. 1997)
 * 1906  – Carol Reed, English director and producer (d. 1976)
 * 1910 – Paul Bowles, American composer and author (d. 1999)
 * 1911 – Jeanette Nolan, American actress (d. 1998)
 * 1913 – Lucio Agostini, Italian-Canadian conductor and composer (d. 1996)
 * 1913  – Elyne Mitchell, Australian author (d. 2002)
 * 1914 – Bert Parks, American actor, singer, television personality, and beauty pageant host (d. 1992)
 * 1917 – Seymour Melman, American engineer and author (d. 2004)
 * 1919 – Dick Spooner, English cricketer (d. 1997)
 * 1919  – David Willcocks, English organist, composer, and conductor (d. 2015)
 * 1921 – Rashid Karami, Lebanese lawyer and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Lebanon (d. 1987)
 * 1922 – Jane Langton, American author and illustrator (d. 2018)
 * 1923 – Prakash Vir Shastri, Indian academic and politician (d. 1977)
 * 1924 – Yvonne Brill, Canadian-American propulsion engineer (d. 2013)
 * 1925 – Ian MacNaughton, Scottish actor, producer, and director (d. 2002)
 * 1926 – Stan Tracey, English pianist and composer (d. 2013)
 * 1927 – Jan Kubíček, Czech painter and sculptor (d. 2013)
 * 1928 – Bo Diddley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2008)
 * 1929 – Rosalinde Hurley, English physician, microbiologist, and academic (d. 2004)
 * 1930 – Roy Yorke Calne, English surgeon and academic (d. 2024)
 * 1930  – Elmira Minita Gordon, Belizean educator, 1st Governor-General of Belize (d. 2021)
 * 1930  – Red Rhodes, American pedal steel guitarist (d. 1995)
 * 1930  – Tu Youyou, Chinese chemist and pharmacist, Nobel Prize laureate
 * 1931 – Skeeter Davis, American singer-songwriter (d. 2004)
 * 1931  – John T. Houghton, Welsh physicist and author (d. 2020)
 * 1931  – Frank Torre, American baseball player and manager (d. 2014)
 * 1933 – Timité Bassori, Ivorian filmmaker, actor, and writer
 * 1934 – John N. Bahcall, American astrophysicist and astronomer, co-developed the Hubble Space Telescope (d. 2005)
 * 1934  – Joseph Bologna, American actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2017)
 * 1934  – Barry Briggs, New Zealand motorcycle racer and sportscaster
 * 1934  – Joseph P. Hoar, American general (d. 2022)
 * 1934  – Del Shannon, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 1990)
 * 1934  – Russ Tamblyn, American actor
 * 1935 – Omar Bongo, Gabonese lieutenant and politician, President of Gabon (d. 2009)
 * 1935  – Sandy Koufax, American baseball player and sportscaster
 * 1935  – Jack Riley, American actor (d. 2016)
 * 1937 – Gordon Banks, English footballer and manager (d. 2019)
 * 1937  – John Hartford, American singer-songwriter and fiddler (d. 2001)
 * 1937  – Jim Marshall, American football player
 * 1937  – Paul Stookey, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1938 – Ron Wolf, American Football Hall of Fame General Manager
 * 1939 – Glenda Adams, Australian author and academic (d. 2007)
 * 1939  – Felix Pappalardi, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (d. 1983)
 * 1940 – James Burrows, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
 * 1941 – Mel Renfro, American football player and coach
 * 1942 – Vladimir Bukovsky, Russian author and activist (d. 2019)
 * 1942  – Guy Edwards, English race car driver
 * 1942  – Michael Nesmith, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (d. 2021)
 * 1942  – Janko Prunk, Slovenian historian, academic, and politician
 * 1942  – Robert Quine, American guitarist (d. 2004)
 * 1942  – Toomas Savi, Estonian physician and politician
 * 1942  – Fred Ward, American actor (d. 2022)
 * 1944 – William J. Fallon, American admiral
 * 1944  – Joseph Hilbe, American mathematician and philosopher (d. 2017)
 * 1945 – Davy Jones, English singer-songwriter and actor (d. 2012)
 * 1945  – Lloyd Kaufman, American director, producer, and screenwriter, co-founded Troma Entertainment
 * 1945  – Paola Pigni, Italian runner (d. 2021)
 * 1945  – Concetta Tomei, American actress
 * 1946 – Clive Bunker, English drummer and songwriter
 * 1946  – Patti Smith, American singer-songwriter and poet
 * 1946  – Berti Vogts, German footballer and coach
 * 1947 – James Kahn, American author, screenwriter, and producer
 * 1947  – Jeff Lynne, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
 * 1947  – Steve Mix, American basketball player and coach
 * 1948 – Jed Johnson, American interior designer and director (d. 1996)
 * 1949 – David Bedford, English runner
 * 1949  – Jerry Coyne, American biologist and author
 * 1949  – Jim Flaherty, Canadian lawyer and politician, 37th Canadian Minister of Finance (d. 2014)
 * 1950 – Timothy Mo, Chinese-English author
 * 1950  – Lewis Shiner, American journalist and author
 * 1950  – Bjarne Stroustrup, Danish computer scientist, created the C++ programming language
 * 1950  – Martti Vainio, Finnish runner
 * 1951 – Doug Allder, English footballer and coach
 * 1951  – Chris Jasper, American musician, singer-songwriter, and producer
 * 1951  – Nick Rose, English runner
 * 1952 – June Anderson, American soprano and actress
 * 1953 – Daniel T. Barry, American engineer and astronaut
 * 1953  – Dana Key, American singer, guitarist, and producer (d. 2010)
 * 1953  – Graham Vick, English director and producer (d. 2021)
 * 1953  – Meredith Vieira, American journalist and game show host
 * 1954 – Barry Greenstein, American poker player and philanthropist
 * 1956 – Ingus Baušķenieks, Latvian singer-songwriter and producer
 * 1956  – Suzy Bogguss, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1956  – Patricia Kalember, American actress
 * 1956  – Sheryl Lee Ralph, American actress and singer
 * 1957 – Matt Lauer, American journalist and television host
 * 1958 – Pedro Costa, Portuguese director, screenwriter, and cinematographer
 * 1958  – Steven Smith, American engineer and astronaut
 * 1959 – Antonio Pappano, English pianist and conductor
 * 1959  – Kåre Thomsen, Norwegian guitarist and graphic designer
 * 1959  – Tracey Ullman, English-American actress, singer, director, and screenwriter
 * 1959  – Josée Verner, Canadian politician, 8th Canadian Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
 * 1960 – Richard M. Durbin, English biologist and academic
 * 1961 – Douglas Coupland, German-Canadian author and playwright
 * 1961  – Bill English, New Zealand farmer and politician, 39th Prime Minister of New Zealand
 * 1961  – Sean Hannity, American radio and television host
 * 1961  – Ben Johnson, Jamaican-Canadian sprinter
 * 1961  – Charlie Nicholas, Scottish footballer and sportscaster
 * 1963 – Chandler Burr, American journalist and author
 * 1963  – Mike Pompeo, American diplomat and politician; 70th United States Secretary of State
 * 1963  – Johnny Rogers, American-Spanish basketball player
 * 1963  – Milan Šrejber, Czech tennis player
 * 1964 – Almir Kayumov, Russian footballer and referee (d. 2013)
 * 1964  – Sylvie Moreau, Canadian actress and screenwriter
 * 1964  – George Newbern, American actor
 * 1965 – Heidi Fleiss, American procurer
 * 1966 – Gary Chartier, American philosopher, scholar, and academic
 * 1966  – Bennett Miller, American director and producer
 * 1967 – Carl Ouellet, Canadian wrestler and sportscaster
 * 1968 – Bryan Burk, American screenwriter and producer
 * 1968  – Adam Dale, Australian cricketer
 * 1968  – Sandra Glover, American hurdler
 * 1968  – Albano Mucci, Australian activist
 * 1969 – Emmanuel Clérico, French race car driver
 * 1969  – Dave England, American snowboarder and stuntman
 * 1969  – Jay Kay, English singer and songwriter
 * 1969  – Kersti Kaljulaid, President of Estonia
 * 1969  – Michelle McGann, American golfer
 * 1969  – Meredith Monroe, American actress
 * 1971 – Sister Bliss, English keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
 * 1971  – C. S. Lee, Korean-American actor
 * 1971  – Ricardo, Spanish footballer and manager
 * 1971  – Daniel Sunjata, American actor
 * 1972 – Daniel Amokachi, Nigerian footballer and manager
 * 1972  – Maureen Flannigan, American actress and producer
 * 1972  – Paul Keegan, Irish footballer
 * 1972  – Dita Indah Sari, Indonesian trade union leader and activist
 * 1972  – Steven Wiig, American actor and drummer
 * 1973 – Jason Behr, American actor
 * 1973  – Ato Boldon, Trinidadian runner, sportscaster, and politician
 * 1974 – Alexandro Alves do Nascimento, Brazilian footballer (d. 2012)
 * 1974 – Dr. Jitheshji, Indian Speed Cartoonist and Pictorial Orator
 * 1975 – Scott Chipperfield, Australian footballer
 * 1975  – Tiger Woods, American golfer
 * 1976 – Kastro, American rapper
 * 1976  – Patrick Kerney, American football player
 * 1976  – A. J. Pierzynski, American baseball player and sportscaster
 * 1977 – Laila Ali, American boxer and actress
 * 1977  – Glory Alozie, Nigerian-Spanish sprinter and hurdler
 * 1977  – Grant Balfour, Australian baseball player
 * 1977  – Saša Ilić, Serbian footballer
 * 1977  – Kenyon Martin, American basketball player
 * 1977  – Lucy Punch, English actress
 * 1977  – Kazuyuki Toda, Japanese footballer
 * 1978 – Devin Brown, American basketball player
 * 1978  – Tyrese Gibson, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
 * 1978  – Phillips Idowu, English triple jumper
 * 1978  – Zbigniew Robert Promiński, Polish drummer
 * 1978  – Rob Scuderi, American ice hockey player
 * 1979 – Michael Grimm, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1980 – Eliza Dushku, American actress and producer
 * 1980  – D. J. Mbenga, Congolese-Belgian basketball player
 * 1980  – Alison McGovern, British politician
 * 1981 – Ali Al-Habsi, Omani footballer
 * 1981  – Cédric Carrasso, French footballer
 * 1981  – Michael Rodríguez, Costa Rican footballer
 * 1981  – Matt Ulrich, American football player
 * 1982 – Kristin Kreuk, Canadian actress
 * 1982  – Tobias Kurbjuweit, German footballer
 * 1982  – Dawan Landry, American football player
 * 1983 – Eddie Edwards, American professional wrestler
 * 1983  – Nick Symmonds, American runner
 * 1983  – Kevin Systrom, American computer programmer and businessman, co-founded Instagram
 * 1984 – Randall Azofeifa, Costa Rican footballer
 * 1984  – Andra Day, American singer and songwriter
 * 1984  – LeBron James, American basketball player, producer and businessman
 * 1985 – Lars Boom, Dutch cyclist
 * 1985  – Bryson Goodwin, Australian rugby league player
 * 1985  – Anna Wood, American actress
 * 1986 – Domenico Criscito, Italian footballer
 * 1986  – Ellie Goulding, English singer-songwriter and producer
 * 1986  – Caity Lotz, American actress
 * 1986  – Jeff Ward, American actor
 * 1986  – Gianni Zuiverloon, Dutch footballer
 * 1987 – Jakub Nakládal, Czech ice hockey player
 * 1989 – Tyler Anderson, American baseball player
 * 1989  – Yoon Bo-ra, South Korean singer, rapper and actress
 * 1989  – Ryan Sheckler, American skateboarder and entrepreneur
 * 1989  – Kateřina Vaňková, Czech tennis player
 * 1990 – Bruno Henrique, Brazilian footballer
 * 1990  – Joe Root, English cricketer
 * 1990  – C. J. Wilcox, American basketball player
 * 1991 – Camila Giorgi, Italian tennis player
 * 1992 – Ryan Tunnicliffe, English footballer
 * 1992  – Carson Wentz, American football player
 * 1995 – Igor Shesterkin, Russian hockey goaltender
 * 1995 – Ollie Watkins, English footballer
 * 1995  – V, South Korean singer

Pre-1600

 * 274 – Pope Felix I
 * 717 – Egwin of Evesham, bishop of Worcester
 * 903 – Tian Jun, Chinese warlord (b. 858)
 * 925 – Wang Shenzhi, founder of Min (b. 862)
 * 1115 – Theodoric II, Duke of Lorraine
 * 1331 – Bernard Gui, inquisitor (b. 1261 or 1262)
 * 1435 – Bonne of Berry, Regent of Savoy (b. 1362)
 * 1436 – Louis III, Elector Palatine (b. 1378)
 * 1460 – Edmund, Earl of Rutland, Irish politician, Lord Chancellor of Ireland (b. 1443)
 * 1460 – Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York (b. 1411)
 * 1525 – Jakob Fugger, German banker and businessman (b. 1459)
 * 1572 – Galeazzo Alessi, Italian architect, designed the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli (b. 1512)
 * 1573 – Giovanni Battista Giraldi, Italian author and poet (b. 1504)
 * 1591 – Pope Innocent IX (b. 1519)

1601–1900

 * 1606 – Heinrich Bünting, German priest and cartographer (b. 1545)
 * 1621 – Job of Manyava, Ukrainian monk and saint (b. 1550)
 * 1640 – John Francis Regis, French priest and saint (b. 1597)
 * 1643 – Giovanni Baglione, Italian painter and historian of art (b. 1566)
 * 1644 – Jan Baptist van Helmont, Flemish chemist, physiologist, and physician (b. 1577)
 * 1662 – Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Austria (b. 1628)
 * 1769 – Nicholas Taaffe, 6th Viscount Taaffe, Irish-Austrian soldier and courtier (b. 1685)
 * 1777 – Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria (b. 1727)
 * 1788 – Francesco Zuccarelli, Italian painter and academic (b. 1702)
 * 1803 – Francis Lewis, Welsh-American merchant and politician (b. 1713)
 * 1879 – Manuel de Araújo Porto-Alegre, Baron of Santo Ângelo, Brazilian poet and painter (b. 1806)
 * 1885 – Martha Darley Mutrie, British painter (b. 1824)
 * 1896 – José Rizal, Filipino ophthalmologist, journalist, and author (b. 1861)

1901–present

 * 1906 – Josephine Butler, English feminist and social reformer (b. 1828)
 * 1908 – Thomas-Alfred Bernier, Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician (b. 1844)
 * 1916 – Grigori Rasputin, Russian mystic (b. 1869)
 * 1928 – Jean Collas, French rugby player and tug of war competitor (b. 1874)
 * 1937 – Hans Niels Andersen, Danish businessman, founded the East Asiatic Company (b. 1852)
 * 1940 – Childe Wills, American engineer (b. 1878)
 * 1941 – El Lissitzky, Russian photographer and architect (b. 1890)
 * 1944 – Romain Rolland, French author and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1866)
 * 1945 – Song Jin-woo, South Korean journalist and politician (b. 1889)
 * 1947 – Han van Meegeren, Dutch painter (b. 1889)
 * 1947 – Alfred North Whitehead, English-American mathematician and philosopher (b. 1861)
 * 1954 – Archduke Eugen of Austria (b. 1863)
 * 1955 – Rex Ingamells, Australian poet and author (b. 1913)
 * 1967 – Vincent Massey, Canadian lawyer and politician, 18th Governor General of Canada (b. 1887)
 * 1968 – Trygve Lie, Norwegian journalist and politician, first Secretary-General of the United Nations (b. 1896)
 * 1970 – Sonny Liston, American boxer (b. 1932)
 * 1971 – Jo Cals, Dutch lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (b. 1914)
 * 1971 – Vikram Sarabhai, Indian physicist and academic (b. 1919)
 * 1979 – Richard Rodgers, American playwright and composer (b. 1902)
 * 1982 – Alberto Vargas, Peruvian-American painter and illustrator (b. 1896)
 * 1983 – Violette Cordery, English race car driver (b. 1900)
 * 1986 – Era Bell Thompson, American journalist (b. 1905)
 * 1988 – Yuli Daniel, Russian author and poet (b. 1925)
 * 1988 – Isamu Noguchi, American sculptor and landscaper (b. 1904)
 * 1990 – Raghuvir Sahay, Indian author, poet, and critic (b. 1929)
 * 1992 – Romeo Muller, American actor, screenwriter, for screenplays like the 1964, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (TV special) (b. 1928)
 * 1993 – İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil, Turkish lawyer and politician, 20th Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs (b. 1908)
 * 1993 – Irving "Swifty" Lazar, American talent agent (b. 1907)
 * 1993 – Giuseppe Occhialini, Italian-French physicist and academic (b. 1907)
 * 1994 – Dmitri Ivanenko, Ukrainian-Russian physicist and academic (b. 1904)
 * 1995 – Ralph Flanagan, American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1914)
 * 1995 – Doris Grau, American voice actor and script supervisor (b. 1924)
 * 1996 – Lew Ayres, American actor (b. 1908)
 * 1997 – Shinichi Hoshi, Japanese author and illustrator (b. 1926)
 * 1998 – Sam Muchnick, American wrestling promoter, co-founded the National Wrestling Alliance (b. 1905)
 * 1999 – Joff Ellen, Australian comedian and actor (b. 1915)
 * 1999 – Fritz Leonhardt, German engineer, co-designed the Cologne Rodenkirchen Bridge and Fernsehturm Stuttgart (b. 1909)
 * 1999 – Des Renford, Australian swimmer (b. 1927)
 * 1999 – Sarah Knauss, American supercentenarian (b. 1880)
 * 2000 – Julius J. Epstein, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1909)
 * 2002 – Mary Brian, American actress (b. 1906)
 * 2002 – Eleanor J. Gibson, American psychologist and academic (b. 1910)
 * 2002 – Mary Wesley, English author (b. 1912)
 * 2003 – John Gregory Dunne, American novelist, screenwriter, and critic (b. 1932)
 * 2004 – Artie Shaw, American clarinet player, composer, and bandleader (b. 1910)
 * 2005 – Eddie Barlow, South African cricketer and coach (b. 1940)
 * 2005 – Rona Jaffe, American novelist (b. 1932)
 * 2006 – Saddam Hussein, Iraqi general and politician, fifth President of Iraq (b. 1937)
 * 2006 – Terry Peck, Falkland Islander police officer and spy (b. 1938)
 * 2006 – Michel Plasse, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1948)
 * 2009 – Rowland S. Howard, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1959)
 * 2009 – Abdurrahman Wahid, Indonesian journalist and politician, fourth President of Indonesia (b. 1940)
 * 2010 – Bobby Farrell, Dutch dancer and performer from Aruba (b. 1949)
 * 2011 – Ronald Searle, English-French cartoonist (b. 1920)
 * 2012 – Philip Coppens, Belgian-American journalist and author (b. 1971)
 * 2012 – Beate Sirota Gordon, Austrian-American director and producer (b. 1923)
 * 2012 – Rita Levi-Montalcini, Italian neurologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1909)
 * 2012 – Carl Woese, American microbiologist and biophysicist (b. 1928)
 * 2012 – Dennis Ferguson, Australian sex offender (b. 1948)
 * 2013 – Kinnaird R. McKee, American admiral (b. 1929)
 * 2013 – José María Maguregui, Spanish footballer and manager (b. 1934)
 * 2013 – Eiichi Ohtaki, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1948)
 * 2013 – Johnny Orr, American basketball player and coach (b. 1927)
 * 2013 – Paul Sally, American mathematician and academic (b. 1933)
 * 2014 – Terry Becker, American actor, director, and producer (b. 1921)
 * 2014 – Jim Galloway, Scottish-Canadian clarinet player and saxophonist (b. 1936)
 * 2014 – Luise Rainer, German-born American-British actress (b. 1910)
 * 2015 – Doug Atkins, American football player (b. 1930)
 * 2015 – Howard Davis, Jr., American boxer and trainer (b. 1956)
 * 2015 – Mangesh Padgaonkar, Indian poet, playwright, and translator (b. 1929)
 * 2015 – Howard Pawley, Canadian lawyer and politician, 18th Premier of Manitoba (b. 1934)
 * 2017 – Erica Garner, American civil rights activist (b. 1990)
 * 2020 – Dawn Wells, American actress, (b. 1938)
 * 2022 – Barbara Walters, American journalist, producer, and author (b. 1929)
 * 2023 – Bryan Ansell, British role-playing and wargame designer (b. 1955)
 * 2023  – Tom Wilkinson, English actor (b. 1948)
 * 2023  – Aki Yashiro, Japanese singer (b. 1950)

Holidays and observances

 * Christian feast day:
 * Abraham the Writer
 * Anysia of Salonika
 * Egwin of Evesham
 * Frances Joseph-Gaudet (Episcopal Church)
 * Liberius of Ravenna
 * Pope Felix I
 * Ralph of Vaucelles
 * Roger of Cannae
 * December 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 * Day of the Declaration of Slovakia as an Independent Ecclesiastic Province (Slovakia)
 * Rizal Day (Philippines)
 * The fifth day of Kwanzaa (United States)
 * The sixth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)