Historical Events
- Dec 1 1st certified public accountants receive certificates (NY)
Die versunkene Glocke
Dec 2 Gerhart Hauptmann's play "Die versunkene Glocke" premieres in Berlin
Emperor and Galilean
Dec 5 Henrik Ibsen's play "Kejsor og Galileer" (Emperor and Galilean) premieres in Leipzig
"Telegraphy without Wires"
Dec 11 Chief Electrical Engineer of the British Post Office, William Preece, gives a public lecture in London called "Telegraphy without Wires", praising the work of 22-year-old Guglielmo Marconi
- Dec 14 The Glasgow Underground Railway is opened by the Glasgow District Subway Company
"Stars & Stripes Forever"
Dec 25 "Stars & Stripes Forever" written by John Philip Sousa
José Rizal
Dec 30 Filipino nationalist José Rizal is executed by firing squad in Manila by the Spanish
- Dec 30 Stanley Cup, Granite Rink, Winnipeg, Manitoba: Ernie McLea scores a hat-trick as Montreal Victorias beat Winnipeg Victorias, 6-5; first SC Challenge game played outside of Montreal
Famous Birthdays
Georgy Zhukov (1896-1974)
Dec 1 Russian deputy commander-in-chief of the Red Army during WWII (Battles of Stalingrad, Kursk and Berlin) and Minister of Defense, born in Strelkovka, Kaluga
- Dec 1 Petko Staynov, Bulgarian composer, born in Kazanlak, Bulgaria (d. 1977)
- Dec 3 Bolesław Szabelski, Polish organist and composer, born in Radoryż Smolany, Russian Poland (d. 1979)
- Dec 3 John Urzidil, Austrian-American writer (Die erbeuteten Frauen), born in Prague (d. 1970)
- Dec 4 Larry Stock, American songwriter ("Blueberry Hill"; "You're Nobody till Somebody Loves You"), born in New York City (d. 1984)
- Dec 4 Nikolai Tichonov, Russian writer (against Pasternak), born in St. Petersburg, Russian Empire (d. 1979)
- Dec 5 Carl Ferdinand Cori, Czech-American bio-chemist (Nobel 1947-discovery of how glycogen (animal starch) – a derivative of glucose – is broken down and resynthesized in the body, for use as a store and source of energy), born in Prague (d. 1984)
- Dec 5 Lady Huxley [Marie Juliette Baillot], Swiss sculptor and author, born in Auvernier, Switzerland (d. 1994)
- Dec 5 Willem Frederik Meinhardt Lampe, Dutch ambassador of the Dutch Antilles, born in the Netherlands Antilles (d. 1973)
- Dec 6 Arnold Foster, English composer, born in Sheffield, England (d. 1963)
- Dec 6 George Trafton, American NFL center (Chicago Bears), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1971)
Ira Gershwin (1896-1983)
Dec 6 American lyricist ("Embraceable You"; "I Got Rhythm"; "They Can't Take That Away From Me"), born in New York City
- Dec 7 Juan María Thomas Sabater, Spanish composer, born in Palma de Mallorca, Spain (d. 1966)
- Dec 9 Games Slayter, American engineer and inventor of fiberglass, born in Argos, Indiana (d. 1964) [1]
- Dec 12 Eslanda Goode, American anthropology, civil rights activist and actor under Paul Robeson, born in Washington, D.C. (d. 1965)
Jimmy Doolittle (1896-1993)
Dec 14 American air force general who conducted the raid on Tokyo in 1942, born in Alameda, California
- Dec 15 Betty Smith, American novelist (A Tree Grows in Brooklyn), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1972)
- Dec 15 George Cressey, American geographer (Asia's Lands & Peoples), born in Tiffin, Ohio (d. 1963)
- Dec 15 Margaret Bannerman, Canadian actress (Elopement), born in Toronto, Ontario (d. 1976)
Miles Dempsey (1896-1969)
Dec 15 British WWII general (XIII Corps, Second Army), born in New Brighton, Cheshire
- Dec 15 Paul Citroen, Dutch sculptor, born in Berlin (d. 1983)
- Dec 19 John Seldon Whale, British theologian and lecturer, born in Cornwall, England (d. 1997)
- Dec 21 Carl Romme, Dutch politician (Catholic People's Party), born in Oirschot, Netherlands (d. 1980)
- Dec 21 Constantine Rokossovski, Russian marshal and vice-premier of Poland, born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 1968)
- Dec 21 Leroy Robertson, American composer and music educator, born in Fountain Green, Utah (d. 1971)
- Dec 22 Nikolay Semyonovich Tikhonov, Russian poet and writer, born in St Petersburg, Russia (d. 1979)
- Dec 23 Alberto Hemsi, Turkish composer (Sephardic Melodies), born in Turgutlu, Ottoman Empire (d. 1975)
- Dec 23 Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Sicilian prince and writer (The Leopard), born in Palermo, Sicily (d. 1957)
- Dec 27 Arch Ward, American sportswriter (Chicago Tribune - proposed baseball's all-star game), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1955)
- Dec 27 Carl Zuckmayer, German-Swiss-American playwright (Second Wind), born in Nackenheim, Germany (d. 1977)
- Dec 27 Louis Bromfield, American writer (Early Autumn, Pulitzer-1926), born in Mansfield, Ohio (d. 1956)
Roger Sessions (1896-1985)
Dec 28 American Pulitzer Prize winning composer (Concerto for Orchestra; The Black Maskers), musicologist, and educator (Princeton, 1936-45, 53-65; Berkeley, 1945-53), born in Brooklyn, New York
- Dec 29 David Alfaro Siqueiros, Mexican social realist painter and muralist (Lib of Chile), born in Chihuahua, Mexico (d. 1974)
- Dec 30 Tom Keene, American actor (Our Daily Bread), born in Rochester, New York (d. 1963)
- Dec 31 Ronald Adam, British actor (Lost Horizon, The Prisoner of Zenda, Phantom Shot), born in Herefordshire, England (d. 1958)
Famous Weddings
José Rizal
Dec 30 Filipino Nationalist Jose Rizal (35) weds girlfriend Josephine Bracken (20) before his execution in Fort Santiago, Manila
Famous Deaths
- Dec 8 Ernst Engel, German statistician and economist (Law of Engel), dies at 75
Alfred Nobel (1833-1896)
Dec 10 Swedish chemist who invented dynamite and founded the Nobel Prize ceremony on this date, dies at 63
José Rizal (1861-1896)
Dec 30 Filipino nationalist and novelist ('Noli Me Tángere', 'El Filibusterismo'), executed by firing squad at 35
- Dec 31 Leland Hone, Irish cricket wicketkeeper (1 Test; first Irishman to represent England; MCC), dies at 43
