Historical Events
Edison Demonstrates Incandescent Light
Dec 20 Thomas Edison privately demonstrated incandescent light at Menlo Park
"Tragic Ouverture"
Dec 26 Johannes Brahms' "Tragic Ouverture" premieres in Vienna, Austria
- Dec 28 North British Railway's train falls as Tay bridge collapses (Scotland)
The Pirates of Penzance
Dec 30 W. S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan's comic opera "The Pirates of Penzance" premieres in Paignton, England and at Fifth Avenue Theatre NYC the next day
- Dec 31 Cornerstone laid for Honolulu's Iolani Palace (only royal palace in US)
- Dec 31 Edison gives 1st public demonstration of his incandescent lamp
Famous Birthdays
- Dec 3 Albert Asher, New Zealand dual-code rugby union and rugby league winger (RU 11 caps; RL Australasia 2 Tests, NZ 1), born in Tauranga, New Zealand (d. 1965)
- Dec 4 Hamilton Harty, Irish composer and conductor called "the prince of accompanists", born in Hillsborough, Ireland (d. 1941)
- Dec 5 Clyde Cessna, American aviator and airplane manufacturer, born in Hawthorne, Louisiana (d. 1954)
- Dec 7 Rudolf Friml, Czech-American concert pianist and composer (Rose-Marie; The Vagabond King), born in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia (now Czech Republic) (d. 1972)
- Dec 10 James E. Norris, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame team owner (Detroit Red Wings), born in Montréal, Canada (d. 1952)
- Dec 12 Friedrich Christian Christiansen, German Luftwaffe officer (WWII - Chief Military Commander in the Netherlands; WWI - flying ace), and war criminal, born in Wyk auf Föhr, Province of Schleswig-Holstein, German Empire (d. 1972)
- Dec 12 Laura Hope Crews, American actress (Camille; Gone With The Wind), born in San Francisco, California (d. 1942)
- Dec 12 Percy Fletcher, British composer, best known for his brass and military band music, and musical director, born in Derby, England (d. 1932)
- Dec 15 Hugo Willem Constantijn Bordewijk, Dutch lawyer, born in The Hague, Netherlands (d. 1939)
- Dec 15 Rudolf von Laban, Czech-German choreographer (modern dance), born in Bratislava, Austria-Hungary (d. 1958)
- Dec 16 William Duncan, Scottish actor (Hopalong Rides Again, Thunder Trail), born in Dundee, Tayside, Scotland (d. 1961)
- Dec 18 Paul Klee, Swiss-German abstract painter and educator at the Bauhaus (Twittering Machine), born in Münchenbuchsee Switzerland, (d. 1940)
Beals Wright (1879-1961)
Dec 19 American tennis player (US Nat C'ship 1905; doubles 1904-06), born in Boston, Massachusetts
- Dec 19 Otto Olsson, Swedish organist (Gustaf Vasa Church, 1907-56), composer, and teacher (Royal Swedish Academy, 1908-45), born in Stockholm, Sweden (d. 1964)
- Dec 21 Theodore Limperg, Dutch accountant, born in Amsterdam, Netherlands (d. 1961)
- Dec 22 Stanislas Bizot, French draughts champion (1925), born in Nice, France (d. 1950)
- Dec 24 Émile Nelligan, Canadian francophone poet, born in Montreal, Quebec (d. 1941)
- Dec 24 Stanislav Pylypovych Lyudkevych, Polish composer, born in Jarosław, Poland (d. 1979)
- Dec 26 Armen Tigran Tigranyan, Armenian music composer and conductor, born in Alexandropol, Armenia (d. 1950)
- Dec 26 Julius Weismann, German pianist, conductor, and composer (Schwanenweiß), born in Freiburg im Breisgau (d. 1950)
- Dec 27 Robert Greig, Australian actor (Sullivan's Travels, Horse Feathers), born in Melbourne, Victoria, Australia (d. 1958)
- Dec 27 Sydney Greenstreet, British actor (Casablanca, Maltese Falcon), born in Sandwich, Kent, England (d. 1954)
- Dec 29 Billy Mitchell, United States Army general (father of the US Air Force), born in Nice, France (d. 1936)
- Dec 30 Harry Barrett, British athlete (WR marathon 2:42:31 1909), born in London, England (d. 1927)
- Dec 30 Sri Ramana Maharshi, Indian Hindu philosopher and yogi (Maharshi Research Institute), born in Tiruchuli, British India (d. 1950)
Famous Weddings
John Philip Sousa
Dec 30 Composer John Philip Sousa (25) weds Jane van Middlesworth Bellis
