Historical Events
George Washington Re-elected
Dec 5 George Washington re-elected as US President
- Dec 8 1st cremation in US: Henry Laurens
Beethoven's Lesson with Hayden
Dec 12 In Vienna, Ludwig van Beethoven (22) receives 1st lesson in music composition from Franz Joseph Haydn (60)
Famous Birthdays
- Dec 1 Nikolai Lobachevsky, Russian mathematician (Lobachevskian geometry), born in Nizhny Novgorod (d. 1856)
- Dec 6 Abraham Jacob van der Aa, Dutch lexicographer (Biographic Dictionary), born in Amsterdam (d. 1857)
- Dec 6 William II, King of the Netherlands, Grand Duke of Luxembourg, and Duke of Limburg (1840-49), born in Noordeinde Palace, The Hague, Dutch Republic (d. 1849)
- Dec 12 Alexandros Ypsilanti, Greek resistance fighter, born in Constantinople, Ottoman Empire (d. 1828)
- Dec 19 Andries Hendrik Potgieter, Boer leader (led Voortrekkers group to settle Transvaal), born in Graaff-Reinet district, Cape Colony (d. 1852)
- Dec 20 Nicolas Charlet, French painter, born in Paris, France (d. 1845)
- Dec 29 Sir Archibald Alison, 1st Baronet, Scottish historian (History of Europe), born in Shropshire, England (d. 1867)
Famous Deaths
- Dec 15 Joseph Martin Kraus, German-Swedish composer, known as "the Swedish Mozart", conductor, and pedagogue, dies of tuberculosis at 36
