Historical Events
- Dec 16 Benjamin W. Edwards rides into Mexican controlled Nacogdoches, Texas and declares himself ruler of the Republic of Fredonia.
Famous Birthdays
George McClellan (1826-1885)
Dec 3 American Major General (Union Army), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Dec 5 John Benjamin Sanborn, American lawyer, politician, and Brevet Major General (Union Army), born in Epsom, New Hampshire (d. 1904)
- Dec 8 Friedrich Siemens, German industrialist, born in Menzendorf, Germany (d. 1904)
- Dec 18 Alexandre Chatrian [wrote as Erckmann-Chatrian jointly with Émile Erckmann], French writer (L'ami Fritz), born in Abreschviller, France (d. 1890)
- Dec 18 Mercer Brooke John, (Confederate Navy), (d. 1906)
- Dec 21 Ernst Pauer, Austrian composer and pianist, born in Vienna (d. 1905)
- Dec 22 James Scott Negley, American politician and Major General (Union Army), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1901)
- Dec 24 Ignacy Krzyzanowski, Polish composer, born in Opatów, Poland (d. 1905)
- Dec 26 Franz Coenen, Dutch violinist and composer, born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 1904)
- Dec 26 Martinus Nijhoff, Dutch publisher (Van Dale) and founder (Martinus Nijhoff Publishers), born in Arnhem, Netherlands (d. 1894)
- Dec 28 Conrad Busken Huet, Dutch vicar and writer (Country of Rubens) (d. 1886)
- Dec 31 Henry Hiles, English composer, born in Shrewsbury (d. 1904)
Famous Deaths
- Dec 7 John Flaxman, English Neoclassical sculptor (tombs at St Paul's Cathedral), dies at 71
- Dec 10 Benedikt Schack, Bohemian-Austrian singer, composer, and friend of Wolfgang Mozart (originated role of Tamino in Die Zauberflöte), dies at 68
- Dec 15 William Browser, American slave, executed in NYC for participating in the murder of two ship's officers during a slave revolt on board the Decatur
