Historical Events
- Dec 10 The first western pilgrims welcomed at The House of `Abdu'lláh Páshá
Spain Declares War Against the United States
Dec 10 Treaty of Paris which ended the Spanish–American War is signed by US President McKinley; US acquires Philippines, Puerto Rico and Guam
Curies Discover Radium
Dec 21 Scientists Pierre and Marie Curie discover radium
- Dec 24 Herman Heijermans' "Ghetto" premieres in Amsterdam
Famous Birthdays
- Dec 2 Indra Lal Roy, Indian World War I flying ace, born in Calcutta, British India (d. 1918)
- Dec 3 Lev Knipper, Russian-Soviet composer (Poem of the Komsomol Fighter; Tales of a Plaster God), and secret agent, born in Tiflis, Russian Empire (now Tbilisi, Georgia) (d. 1974)
- Dec 5 Grace Moore, American soprano and actress (One Night of Love), born in Slabtown, Tennessee (d. 1947)
- Dec 5 Josh Malihabadi, Urdu poet of India and Pakistan, born in Malihabad, North-Western Provinces, British India (d. 1982)
- Dec 6 Alfred Eisenstaedt, German-American photojournalist (V-J Day in Times Square), born in Dirschau, West Prussia, German Empire (d. 1995)
- Dec 6 Gunnar Myrdal, Swedish sociologist and economist (Nobel 1974), born in Gagnef, Sweden (d. 1987)
- Dec 6 Herman Shumlin, American Broadway producer, director and actor (Watch on the Rhine), born in Atwood, Colorado (d. 1979)
- Dec 9 Duke Slater, American College/Pro Football HOF tackle (Uni of Iowa; 5 × First-team All-Pro; Milwaukee Badgers, Rock Island Independents, Chicago Cardinals), born in Normal, Illinois (d. 1966)
- Dec 9 Emmett Kelly, American circus clown (Weary Willie), born in Sedan, Kansas (d. 1979)
- Dec 10 Yuri Nikolayevich Libedinski, Ukrainian writer (Birth of Hero), born in Odessa, Ukraine (d. 1959)
- Dec 11 Nils Johan Einar Ferlin, Swedish poet (Barfotabarn), born in Karlstad, Sweden (d. 1961)
- Dec 13 Daniel Lazarus, French composer, born in Paris, France (d. 1964)
- Dec 14 Frederick Douglass Hall, American composer, born in Atlanta, Georgia (d. 1982)
- Dec 14 Lillian Randolph, American radio and screen actress (The Great Gildersleeve; Amos 'n Andy; It's A Wonderful Life: Roots; The Onion Field), born in Knoxville, Tennessee (d. 1978)
- Dec 15 Fernando Remacha, Spanish composer, born in Tudela, Navarre, Spain (d. 1984)
- Dec 18 Jacob Kruijt, Dutch sociologist (d. 1975)
Irene Dunne (1898-1990)
Dec 20 American actress (Cimarron, Theodora Goes Wild), born in Louisville, Kentucky
- Dec 21 Ira S. Bowen, American physicist and astronomer (Mt Wilson/Palomar), born in Seneca Falls, New York (d. 1973)
- Dec 22 Lionel Charles Robbins, British economist, born in Middlesex, England (d. 1984)
- Dec 22 Vladimir Aleksandrovich Fock, Soviet physicist, born in Saint Petersburg, Russia (d. 1974)
- Dec 24 Héctor Scarone, Uruguayan soccer forward (51 caps; Nacional, FC Barcelona, FC Inter Milan, Palermo FC), born in Montevideo, Uruguay (d. 1967)
- Dec 24 Warren "Baby" Dodds, American jazz drummer, born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 1959)
- Dec 25 Theo Swagemakers, Dutch portrait painter (d. 1994)
- Dec 28 Carl-Gustaf Rossby, Swedish meteorologist (d. 1957)
- Dec 28 Shigematsu Sakaibara, Japanese admiral (d. 1947)
- Dec 29 Jeanne Leleu, French pianist and composer, born in Saint-Mihiel, France (d. 1979)
- Dec 30 Vincent Lopez, American jazz pianist and big band bandleader ("Nola"), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 1975) [1]
Famous Deaths
- Dec 13 George Frederick Bristow, American composer (Rip Van Winkle), dies at 72
- Dec 16 Pavel Tretyakov, Russian businessman and art collector, dies at 65
- Dec 24 Eugeniusz Pankiewicz, Polish composer, dies at 41
- Dec 24 Sharbel Makhluf, Lebanese monk canonized in 1977 by Pope Paul VI, dies at 70 (b. 1828)
- Dec 29 Georg Goltermann, German cellist and composer, dies at 74
