Historical Events
- Dec 3 12th Heisman Trophy Award: Glenn Davis, Army (HB)
US Wants Franco Out
Dec 3 US government asks UN to order dictator Francisco Franco out of Spain
Committee on Civil Rights
Dec 5 US President Harry Truman creates Committee on Civil Rights by Exec Order #9808
Hesse Nobel Literature Prize
Dec 10 German/Swiss novelist Hermann Hesse wins the Nobel Prize in Literature "for his inspired writings which, while growing in boldness and penetration, exemplify the classical humanitarian ideals and high qualities of style"
Williams Records with Sterling
Dec 11 Hank Williams begins to record on Sterling label
- Dec 11 Spain suspended from UN
- Dec 11 United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) is established by resolution 57(I) of the UN General Assembly
- Dec 12 'Tide' laundry detergent introduced
- Dec 12 Abandoned ice plant in Manahttan, New York City, collapses during a fire, shearing a tenement building next door, killing 38
Rockefeller's Gift
Dec 12 The United Nations accepts six Manhattan blocks as a gift from John D. Rockefeller Jr.
- Dec 14 "Three to Make Ready" closes at Adelphi Theater NYC after 323 performances
- Dec 14 General Assembly of United Nations votes to construct headquarters in New York City [1]
- Dec 14 Togo made a trusteeship territory of UN
- Dec 15 Giants Filchock & Hapes suspended by NFL, didn't report bribe attempt
- Dec 15 National Football League Championship, Polo Grounds, NYC: Chicago Bears beat New York Giants, 24-14; record attendance 58,346 at final NFL title game played at Polo Grounds
- Dec 16 1947 NFL Draft: Bob Fenimore from University of Oklahoma A&M first pick by Chicago Bears
Christian Dior Founded
Dec 16 French fashion designer Christian Dior and his backer Marcel Boussac found fashion house Christian Dior
- Dec 16 Thailand joins the United Nations
- Dec 17 US V-2 rocket reaches 183 km, White Sands Proving Grounds, New Mexico
- Dec 18 TV's 1st network dramatic serial "Faraway Hill" ends 2 month run in US
"Pacific 1860"
Dec 19 Noël Coward's musical "Pacific 1860" premieres in London
Ho Chi Minh Attacks French
Dec 19 War breaks out in Indochina as Ho Chi Minh attacks French in Hanoi
"It's a Wonderful Life"
Dec 20 Christmas classic "It's a Wonderful Life" film, directed by Frank Capra, starring James Stewart, Donna Reed and Lionel Barrymore premieres in New York
Milhaud's 2nd Symphony
Dec 20 Darius Milhaud's 2nd Symphony, premieres with the Boston Symphony conducted by the composer; the work was commissioned as a memorial to the wife of group's music director Serge Koussevitzky
- Dec 21 "If the Shoe Fits" closes at Century Theater NYC after 20 performances
- Dec 21 Earthquake in South Japan, kills 1,086
"Minstrel Show"
Dec 21 Morton Gould's "Minstrel Show" premieres in Indianapolis
- Dec 22 "Bal Negre" closes at Belasco Theater NYC after 54 performances
- Dec 22 Cleveland Browns beat NY Yankees 14-9 in AAFC championship game
- Dec 23 Belgian Council of State forms
- Dec 23 Highest daily ridership in NYC subway history - 8.8 million fares
- Dec 23 University of Tennessee refuses to play Duquesne University after they suggested they may use a black player in their basketball game
- Dec 24 French Fourth Republic is founded
- Dec 24 US General MacNarney gives 800,000 "minor Nazis" amnesty
- Dec 25 Constitution accepted in Taiwan
Music Premiere
Dec 26 Duke Ellington and John La Touche's musical "Beggar's Holiday" opens at Broadway Theater, NYC; runs for 111 performances
- Dec 26 Flamingo Hotel in Las Vegas opens (start of an era)
- Dec 26 Sammy Fain and George Marion Jr's musical "Toplitzky of Notre Dame" opens at Century Theater ,NYC; runs for 60 performances
US Defeats Australia
Dec 28 Davis Cup Men's Tennis, Melbourne, Australia: Jack Kramer & Ted Schroeder give US unassailable 3-0 lead; beat Australians John Bromwich & Adrian Quist 6-2, 7-5, 6-4; ends 5-0
- Dec 31 French troops leave Lebanon
- Dec 31 US President Harry Truman officially proclaims end of WW II
Famous Birthdays
- Dec 1 (Raymond) "Gilbert" O'Sullivan, Irish singer-songwriter ("Alone Again Naturally"), born in Waterford, Ireland
- Dec 1 Ho-Jun Li, North Korean shooter (Olympic gold 50m rifle 1972; DPR Korea first Olympic gold), born in North Korea
Gianni Versace (1946-1997)
Dec 2 Italian fashion designer (Versace), born in Reggio Calabria, Italy
- Dec 2 Pedro Borbón, Dominican baseball pitcher (World Series 1975, 76; Cincinnati Reds), born in Santa Cruz de Mao, Dominican Republic (d. 2012)
- Dec 3 Joop Zoetemelk, Dutch road cyclist (Vuelta a España 1979, Tour de France 1980; World Professional Road champion 1985), born in The Hague, Netherlands
- Dec 3 Vic Malcom, British rock guitarist and songwriter (Geordie - "All Because of You"), born in England
- Dec 4 Alexander Maykapar, Russian harpsichordist, organist, and musicologist, born in Moscow, USSR (d. 2021)
- Dec 5 Andy Kim [Andrew Joachim], Canadian rocker (Baby, I Love You), born in Montreal, Quebec
José Carreras (77 years old)
Dec 5 Spanish opera tenor (I Lombardi, Three Tenors), born in Barcelona
- Dec 6 Dean Parks, American session guitarist (Kenny Loggins; Steely Dan; Lyle Lovett), born in Fort Worth, Texas
- Dec 6 Frank Hayes, English cricket batsman (9 Tests, 1 x 100, HS 106no; Lancashire CCC), born in Preston, England
- Dec 6 Salif Keïta, Malian soccer striker (28 caps; African Footballer of the Year 1970; Saint-Étienne, Valencia CF, Sporting CP), born in Bamako, Mali (d. 2023)
- Dec 6 Willy van der Kuijlen, Dutch soccer forward (22 caps; PSV 528 games), born in Helmond, Netherlands (d. 2021)
- Dec 8 Graham Knight, Scottish musician (Marmalade)
- Dec 8 John Rubinstein, American stage and screen actor, and singer (Pippin; Family: Grumpy Old Men (The Musical)), born in Los Angeles, California
- Dec 8 Sharmila Tagore, Indian Actress
- Dec 9 Bill Church, American rock bass guitarist (Van Morrison; Montrose; Sammy Hagar), born in the USA
- Dec 9 Dennis Dunaway, American rock bassist and songwriter (Alice Cooper - "School's Out"), born in Cottage Grove, Oregon
- Dec 9 Shatrughan Sinha, Indian actor (Dostana) and politician (Member of Parliament, Lok Sabha 2009-19), born in Patna, Bihar, British India
- Dec 9 Sonia Gandhi, Italian-born Indian politician (President of the Indian National Congress 1998-2017), born in Lusiana, Veneto, Italy
- Dec 10 Ace Kefford, English bassist (The Move), born in Birmingham, England
- Dec 10 Gloria Loring, American actress and singer (Days of our Life), born in New York City
- Dec 10 Thomas Lux, American poet (Split Horizon), born in Northampton, Massachusetts (d. 2017)
- Dec 10 Walter Orange, American rocker (Commodores-Too Hot to Trot), born in Florida
- Dec 11 Rick McCosker, Australian cricket batsman (25 Tests, 4 x 100, 9 x 50, HS 127; NSW CA), born in Inverell, Australia
- Dec 12 Denny Dias, American rock guitarist (Steely Dan, 1972-77), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Emerson Fittipaldi (77 years old)
Dec 12 Brazilian auto racer (World F1 Champion, 1972, 1974; Indy 500 1989, 1993), born in São Paulo, Brazil
- Dec 12 George Santopietro, American restaurateur, and husband of TV personality Vanna White (1986-2002), born in Beverly Hills, California
- Dec 12 Marlous Fluitsma, Dutch actress (De Prooi; Apart; Alle Dagen Feest), born in Zuthphen, Netherlands
- Dec 13 Pierino Prati, Italian soccer forward (14 caps; 3 goals in European Cup Final 1969, AC Milan; Roma, Savona), born in Cinisello Balsamo, Italy (d. 2020)
- Dec 13 Radim Hladík, Czech guitarist (The Blue Effect), born in Prague, Czechoslovakia (d. 2016)
- Dec 14 Jackie McAuley, Irish rock pianist (Them - "Here Comes The Night"), born in Coleraine, Londonderry, Northern Ireland
- Dec 14 Jane Birkin, British-French pop singer ("Je t'aime... moi non plus"), actress (Dust; Death On The Nile), and fashion icon, born in Marylebone, London, England (d. 2023)
- Dec 14 Joyce Vincent Wilson, American pop singer (Tony Orlando & Dawn), born in Detroit, Michigan
- Dec 14 Michael Ovitz, American entertainment executive (president of Walt Disney Company, 1995-97; co-founder of Creative Artists Agency, 1975-95), born in Chicago, Illinois
- Dec 14 Peter Lorimer, Scottish soccer midfielder (21 caps; Leeds United 526 games), born in Dundee, Scotland (d. 2021)
- Dec 14 Ruth Fuchs, German javelin thrower (Olympic 2 gold-72, 76), born in Egeln, Sachsen-Anhalt, Germany
Stan Smith (77 years old)
Dec 14 American tennis player (US Open 1971, Wimbledon 1972), born in Pasadena, California
Patty Duke (1946-2016)
Dec 14 American Academy and Emmy awarding actress (The Miracle Worker; The Patty Duke Show), and mental health advocate, born in New York City [1]
- Dec 15 Art Howe, American baseball infielder (Houston Astros) and manager (Houston Astros, Oakland A's, NY Mets), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Dec 15 Carmine Appice, American musician (Have You Heard, Keep on Rolling), born in New York City
- Dec 15 Harry Ray, American soul singer (Ray, Goodman, Brown - "Special Lady"), born in Long Branch, New Jersey (d. 1992)
- Dec 15 Piet Schrijvers, Dutch soccer goalkeeper (46 caps; FC Twente, AFC Ajax 269 games), born in Jutphaas, Netherlands (d. 2022)
- Dec 16 Adriaan van Dis, Dutch author (Promised Country), born in Bergen aan Zee, Netherlands
Benny Andersson (77 years old)
Dec 16 Swedish pop composer and musician (ABBA), born in Stockholm, Sweden
- Dec 16 Chris Ellison [Ironside], British actor (The Bill - "Frank Burnside"), born in St Pancras, London, England
- Dec 16 Eduard Krieger, Austrian soccer defensive midfielder (25 caps; Austria Wien, Club Brugge K.V., LASK Linz), born in Vienna, Austria (d. 2019)
- Dec 16 Fred Borgman, Dutch 2nd chamber member (CDA), born in Aalsmeer, Netherlands (d. 1996)
- Dec 16 Goolam Rajah, South African cricket administrator (manager RSA national team 1991-2011), born in Johannesburg, South Africa (d. 2021)
- Dec 16 Terence Knox, American actor (Peter-St Elsewhere), born in Richland, Washington
- Dec 16 Trevor Pinnock, English conductor and harpsichordist (The English Concert), born in Canterbury, England
- Dec 17 Albert Padmore, West Indies cricketer (WI off-spinner mid-70s), born in St James, Barbados
Eugene Levy (77 years old)
Dec 17 Canadian comic actor, and writer (SCTV; American Pie; Schitt's Creek), born in Hamilton, Ontario
- Dec 17 Simon Bates, British disk jockey and radio presenter (BBC Radio 1, Classic FM), born in Birmingham, England
- Dec 18 Alex Ligertwood, Scottish session and touring singer and guitarist (Santana, 1979-94 - "Winning"; Go Ahead), born in Glasgow, Scotland
- Dec 18 Hubert Green, American golfer (US Open 1977, PGA C'ship 1985), born in Birmingham, Alabama (d. 2018)
- Dec 18 Stephen (Steve) Biko, South African anti-apartheid activist, born in Ginsberg Township (d. 1977)
Steven Spielberg (77 years old)
Dec 18 American director (ET, Close Encounters, Jaws), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Dec 19 Robert Urich, actor (SWAT, Spenser for Hire, Vega$), born in Toronto, Ohio
- Dec 19 Rosemary Conley, English businesswoman, author and broadcaster
Dick Wolf (77 years old)
Dec 20 American television series creator (Miami Vice, Law & Order), born in New York City
- Dec 20 Doug Lubahn, American session psychedelic rock and jazz-fusion bassist (The Doors; Pierce Arrow; Billy Squier), born in the USA (d. 2019)
- Dec 20 John Spencer, American actor (LA Law, West Wing), born in New York City (d. 2005)
- Dec 20 Lesley Judd, British child actress, dancer, television presenter (Blue Peter, 1972-79), and radio host (BBC's Woman's Hour, 1982-88), born in London, England
Uri Geller (77 years old)
Dec 20 Israeli magician and psychic known for bending forks, born in Tel Aviv, Israel
- Dec 21 Carl Wilson, American rock vocalist and guitarist (The Beach Boys - "God Only Knows"), born in Hawthorne California (d. 1998)
- Dec 21 Christopher Keene, American conductor (La Traviata), born in Berkeley, California (d. 1995)
- Dec 21 Josh Mostel, American actor (Jesus Christ Superstar; Big Daddy), born in New York City
- Dec 21 Kevin Peek, Australian guitarist, born in Adelaide, Australia (d. 2013)
- Dec 22 Mary McCaslin, American contemporary folk singer-songwriter, guitarist, and banjo player ("Prairie In The Sky"), born in Indianapolis, Indiana (d. 2022)
- Dec 22 Pamela Courson, American woman and long-term companion of Jim Morrison, born in Weed, California (d. 1974)
- Dec 23 Edita Gruberova, Slovak operatic soprano, born in Bratislava, Slovakia (d. 2021)
- Dec 23 John Sullivan, English television scriptwriter, born in Balham, London (d. 2011)
Susan Lucci (77 years old)
Dec 23 American actress (All My Children; Mafia Princess), born in Scarsdale, New York
- Dec 23 Tony Craig [Kulasa], American actor (That Boy Next Door), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Dec 24 Brenda Howard, American bisexual activist, born in The Bronx, New York (d. 2005)
- Dec 24 Jan Akkerman, Dutch guitarist and composer (Focus - "Can't Stand Noise"), born in Amsterdam
Jeff Sessions (77 years old)
Dec 24 American Republican politician, US Attorney General (2017-18) and Alabama Senator (1997-2017), born in Selma, Alabama
- Dec 25 Gene Lamont, American baseball catcher (Detroit Tigers) and manager (Manager of the Year 1993 Chicago White Sox; Pittsburgh Pirates), born in Rockford, Illinois
Jimmy Buffett (1946-2023)
Dec 25 American country rock singer-songwriter ("Margaritaville") and restaurant entrepreneur (Margaritaville Cafe), born in Pascagoula, Mississippi [1]
- Dec 25 L V Johnson, American session soul and R&B guitarist and Chicago blues singer-songwriter ("Don't Cha Mess with My Money, My Honey or My Woman"), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1994)
- Dec 25 Larry Csonka, American College/Pro Football HOF running back (Super Bowl 1972, 73 [MVP]; First-team All-Pro 1971, 73; 5 × Pro Bowl; Miami Dolphins; Syracuse Uni), born in Stow, Ohio
- Dec 26 Gordon Edwards, rocker
- Dec 26 Lisette Hordijk, Dutch TV broadcaster
- Dec 27 Janet Street-Porter, British TV personality (Youth)
- Dec 27 Joe Kinnear, Irish soccer defender (26 caps Republic of Ireland; Tottenham) and manager (Wimbledon, Luton Town, Newcastle United), born in Dublin, Ireland (d. 2024)
- Dec 28 Edgar Winter, American rock musician ("Frankenstein"; "Free Ride"), born in Beaumont, Texas
- Dec 28 Jorge Velásquez, Panamanian Hall of Fame jockey (Kentucky Derby, Preakness Stakes 1981; 6,795 career wins), born in Chepo, Panama
- Dec 28 Tim Johnson, American politician, senior senator from South Dakota
Laffit Pincay Jr. (77 years old)
Dec 29 Panamanian jockey (Ky Derby 1984, Belmont 1982-84, Swale), born in Panama City, Panama
- Dec 29 Marianne Faithfull, British folk-rock and jazz singer-songwriter ("As Tears Go By"; "Broken English"), and actress, born in Hampstead, England
- Dec 29 Mike Gibbons, American rocker (Bo Donaldson & the Heywoods - "Billy Don't Be a Hero"), born in Cincinnati, Ohio (d. 2016)
- Dec 29 Paul Trible, American attorney and politician (Sen-R-Va), born in Baltimore, Maryland
- Dec 30 Clive Bunker, British rock drummer (Jethro Tull, 1968-71; Aviator; Blodwyn Pig), born in Luton, Bedfordshire, England
- Dec 30 Patti Smith, American poet and punk rock vocalist (Horses; "Because The Night"), born in Chicago, Illinois
- Dec 31 Cliff Richey, American tennis player (World #6 1970; Davis Cup 1969-70), born in San Angelo, Texas
Diane von Furstenberg (77 years old)
Dec 31 Belgian-born American fashion designer (wrap dress), born in Brussels
- Dec 31 Lyudmila Pakhomova, Russian ice dancer (World C'ship gold x 6; Olympic gold USSR 1976; with Alexandr Gorshkov), born in Moscow, Russia (d. 1986)
- Dec 31 Pius Ncube, Zimbabwean human rights advocate, born in Filabusi, Zimbabwe
Famous Weddings
Bill Haley
Dec 11 "Bill Haley & His Comets" rock 'n' roll musician Bill Haley (21) weds Dorothy Crowe; divorce in 1952
Jackie Coogan
Dec 26 American actor Jackie Coogan (32) weds American actress Ann McCormack (22); divorce in 1951
Famous Deaths
Damon Runyon (1880-1946)
Dec 10 American journalist and writer (Guys & Dolls-based on his work), dies at 66
Walter Johnson (1887-1946)
Dec 10 American Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (3 x Triple Crown of Pitching; World Series 1924; AL MVP 1913, 24; Washington Senators), dies from a brain tumour at 59
- Dec 12 Ben Carter, American actor (Crash Dive; Dark Alibi; Maryland), casting agent, and civil rights activist, dies from diphtheria at 36
- Dec 15 Frederic Norton, British composer (Chu Chin Chow), dies at 77
- Dec 15 Konrad Haebler, German historian (Hundert Kalenderinkunabeln), dies at 89
- Dec 17 Constance Garnett, English translator of Russian (first to translate Chekhov and Dostoevsky into English), dies at 84
- Dec 19 Paul Langevin, French physicist (b. 1872)
- Dec 23 John A. Sampson, American gynecologist (b. 1873)
- Dec 25 W C Fields, writer and comedian (Bank Dick, It's A Gift), dies at 67
- Dec 28 Carrie Jacobs-Bond, American singer, pianist, songwriter (I Love You Truly; A Perfect Day), dies of a cerebral hemorrhage at 85
- Dec 30 Charles Wakefield Cadman, American composer (Shanewis (or The Robin Woman); The Sky Hawk), dies at 65
- Dec 31 Frederik "Frits" Tartaud, Dutch actor and husband of Dutch actress Alida Klein, dies at 89
