Historical Events
Rosa Parks
Dec 1 Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to move to the back of a bus and give her seat to a white passenger in Montgomery, Alabama
- Dec 3 KTVE TV channel 10 in Monroe-El Dorado, LA (NBC) begins broadcasting
- Dec 5 American Federation of Labor (AFL) and the Congress of Industrial Organizations (CIO) merge to form the AFL-CIO, with George Meany as President
- Dec 5 Historic bus boycott begins in Montgomery, Alabama by Rosa Parks and other civil rights activists
Montgomery Improvement Association
Dec 5 Montgomery Improvement Association formed by Ralph Abernathy, Martin Luther King Jr. and Edgar Nixon to support the Montgomery bus protest in Montgomery, Alabama
Matchmaker
Dec 5 Thornton Wilder's play "Matchmaker" premieres on Broadway, NYC
The Ladykillers
Dec 8 Black Ealing comedy "The Ladykillers", directed by Alexander Mackendrick and starring Alec Guinness is released in the UK
Campanella's 3rd MVP
Dec 8 Brooklyn catcher Roy Campanella wins his 3rd MVP Award
- Dec 8 Turkish government of Menderes forms
- Dec 12 1st prototype of hovercraft patented by British engineer Christoper Cockerell
The Rose Tattoo
Dec 12 Film adaptation of "The Rose Tattoo", starring Anna Magnani and Burt Lancaster, premieres at the Astor Theatre in Times Square, NYC
- Dec 14 16 countries join the United Nations, including Austria, Finland, Italy, and Spain
- Dec 14 Tappan Zee Bridge in NY opens to traffic
Folsom Prison Blues
Dec 15 "Folsom Prison Blues" single released by Johnny Cash (Billboard Song of the Year 1968)
"Blue Suede Shoes"
Dec 19 Carl Perkins records "Blue Suede Shoes" for Sun Records at Memphis Recording Service studio
Huxley Takes LSD
Dec 24 Author Aldous Huxley takes LSD for the first time
- Dec 26 National Football League Championship, LA Memorial Coliseum: Cleveland Browns beat Los Angeles Rams, 38-14; Browns defend title and win their 3rd NFL Championship of the 1950s in a second straight rout
- Dec 26 RKO is 1st to announce sale of its film library to TV
- Dec 28 44th Davis Cup: Australia beats USA in New York (5-0)
"You'll Never Know"
Dec 29 Barbra Streisand's 1st recording "You'll Never Know" at age 13
- Dec 29 NHL officials wear new vertically striped black-and-white sweaters for the first time in Montreal Canadiens' 5-2 win over Toronto Maple Leafs
- Dec 31 James Mundy and John La Touche's musical "The Vamp" closes at the Winter Garden Theater, NYC, after 60 performances
General Motors First to $1 Billion
Dec 31 The General Motors Corporation becomes the first U.S. corporation to make over $1 billion USD in a year.
Famous Birthdays
- Dec 1 Mark Thompson, American disc jockey and actor, born in Florence, Alabama
- Dec 1 Pat Spillane, Irish Gaelic football left half forward and broadcaster (8 x All Ireland titles; Kerry), born in Templenoe, County Kerry, Ireland
- Dec 1 Uwe Benter, German rowing coxswain (Olympic gold coxed four 1972), born in Frankfurt am Main, Germany
- Dec 1 Verónica Forqué, Spanish actress, born in Madrid, Spain
- Dec 2 Paul Holmgren, American NHL right wing, 1975-85 (Philadelphia Flyers, Minnesota North Stars), coach, 1988-96 (Philadelphia, Hartford Whalers), and executive (Philadelphia Flyers), born in Saint Paul, Minnesota
- Dec 3 Alberto Tarantini, Argentine soccer defender (61 caps; FIFA World Cup 1978; Boca Juniors, River Plate, Toulouse), born in Ezeiza, Argentina
- Dec 3 Melody Anderson, Canadian actress (Flash Gordon), born in Edmonton, Alberta
- Dec 3 Warren Jeffs, American convicted polygamist
- Dec 4 Brian Prout, American singer (Diamond Rio - "Meet In The Middle"), born in Troy, New York
- Dec 4 Cassandra Wilson [née Fowlkes], American jazz singer-songwriter, born in Jackson, Mississippi
- Dec 4 Dave Taylor, Canadian ice hockey right wing and executive (NHL All-Star 1981-82, 86, 94; LA Kings; St. Louis Blues), born in Levack, Ontario
- Dec 6 Bill Lloyd, American country music singer (Foster & Lloyd - "Crazy Over You"), born in Bowling Green, Kentucky
- Dec 6 Bright Sheng, Chinese-American concert pianist, composer (Never Far Away; Hot Pepper), conductor, and music teacher, born in Shanghai, China
- Dec 6 Malcolm Jarvis, Zimbabwean cricket fast bowler (5 Tests including Zimbabwe's 1st Test side, 11 wickets), born in Fort Victoria, Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland
- Dec 6 Rick Buckler, British rock drummer (The Jam), born in Woking, Surrey, England
- Dec 6 Steven Wright, American stand-up comedian (Steven Wright Live), born in Cambridge, Massachusetts
- Dec 6 Tish Hinojosa, American country singer ("Something in the Rain"), born in San Antonio, Texas
- Dec 7 John Watkins, Australian politician (Deputy Premier of New South Wales), born in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
- Dec 7 Priscilla Barnes, American actress (License to Kill, 3s Company), born in Fort Dix, New Jersey
- Dec 8 Ian Greig, cricketer (brother of Tony Two Tests for England 1982)
- Dec 8 Kasim Sulton, American session and touring bass guitarist (Utopia; Todd Rundgren; Meatloaf), born in Staten Island, New York
- Dec 8 Nathan East, American jazz, R&B, and rock session and touring bass player (Fourplay; Phil Collins), born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Dec 9 Chamras Saewataporn, Thai composer and musician, born in Bangkok, Thailand
- Dec 9 Janusz Kupcewicz, Polish soccer midfielder (20 caps; KS Arka Gdynia, ASSE Saint-Étienne), born in Gdańsk, Poland (d. 2022)
- Dec 10 Garth Smith [Davies], British punk rock bassist (Buzzcocks), born in Tyldesley, Lancashire, England
- Dec 10 Jacquelyn Mitchard, American journalist and novelist (The Deep End of the Ocean), born in Chicago, Illinois
- Dec 11 Stu Jackson, American NBA coach (NY Knicks (1989-90), born in Reading, Pennsylvania
- Dec 12 Eddy Schepers, Belgian professional cyclist, born in Tienen, Belgium
- Dec 12 Gianna Angelopoulos-Daskalaki, Greek businesswoman and president of the bidding and organizing committee for the 2004 Summer Olympics in Athens, born in Heraklion, Greece
- Dec 13 Glenn Roeder, English soccer defender (QPR, Newcastle United), and manager (Watford, West Ham, Newcastle, Norwich), born in Woodford, England (d. 2021)
- Dec 14 Jane Crafter, Australian-American golfer (1987 JC Penney Mixed Teams), born in Perth, Australia
- Dec 15 Paul Simonon, British rock bassist (The Clash; Havana 3 AM), and visual artist, born in Thornton Heath, Surrey, England
- Dec 16 Carol M Browner, US Administrator (EPA)
- Dec 16 Graham Stevenson, English cricket medium pace bowler (2 Tests, 5 wickets; 4 ODIs; Yorkshire CCC, Northamptonshire CCC), born in Ackworth, England
- Dec 16 Prince Lorenz of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este
- Dec 16 Xander Berkeley, American actor
- Dec 19 Rob Portman, American politician (Senator-R-Ohio 2011-), born in Cincinnati, Ohio
- Dec 19 Susil Fernando, Sri Lankan cricket batsman (5 Tests, HS 46; SL Air Force Sports Club), born in Colombo, Sri Lanka
- Dec 20 Ed Kuepper, Australian guitarist and singer-songwriter (The Saints), born in Bremen, Germany
- Dec 20 Pierre Bokma, Dutch actor (Avonden, Leedvermaak), born in Paris, France
- Dec 20 Sammy Mitchell, US programmer (Qedit/TSE/Semware)
- Dec 21 Jane Kaczmarek, American actress, born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin
- Dec 21 Kazuyuki Sekiguchi, Japanese musician, born in Agano, Niigata Prefecture
- Dec 21 Peter Oundjian, Canadian-American violinist (Tokyo String Quartet, 1981-95), conductor. (the Amsterdam Sinfonietta, 1998-2003; Toronto Symphony, 2004-18; Royal Scottish, 2012-18; Colorado Symphony, 2022-present), and educator, born in Toronto, Ontario
- Dec 22 Lonnie Smith, American MLB baseball outfielder, 1978-94; (Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Atlanta Braves, and 3 other teams), WS wins with 3 different teams, born in Chicago, Illinois
- Dec 23 Carol Ann Duffy, Scottish poet (British Poet Laureate 2009-19), born in Glasgow, Scotland
- Dec 24 Anwar Khan, Pakistani cricketer (bowled four overs for Pakistan 1979), born in Karachi, Pakistan
- Dec 24 Clarence Gilyard Jr, American actor (Walker, Texas Ranger - "Trivette"; Matlock, 1989-93 - "Conrad"; Die Hard), and educator, born in Moses Lake, Washington (d. 2022)
- Dec 24 Grand L. Bush, American actor, born in Los Angeles, California
- Dec 25 Claus Strigel, German filmmaker and director (Obituary for the Automobile, Act of God), born in Munich, West Germany
- Dec 25 William Andrews, actor (Sealed Cargo)
- Dec 26 Evan Bayh, American politician, born in Shirkieville, Indiana
- Dec 27 Barbara Olson (née Bracher), American political commentator, born in Houston, Texas (d. 2001)
- Dec 27 Brad Murphey, Australian racing driver
Liu Xiaobo (1955-2017)
Dec 28 Chinese writer and human rights activist, born in Changchun, China
- Dec 29 Jan Pijnenburg, Dutch rock drummer (Doe Maar - "Bomb"), born in Vught, Netherlands
- Dec 29 Neil "Spyder" Giraldo, American rock guitarist, arranger, and producer (Pat Benatar Band), born in Cleveland, Ohio
- Dec 30 Dindo Yogo [Mabeli], Congolese singer and musician, known as La Voix Cassée, born in Lokutu, Belgian Congo (d. 2000)
- Dec 31 Dawood Ibrahim, Indian crime boss (D-Company), born in Khed, Ratnagiri, India
- Dec 31 Michigan J. Frog, Warner Bros. cartoon character created by Chuck Jones (Looney Tunes and Merrie Melodies series), first debuts in "One Froggy Evening"
Famous Weddings
Thurgood Marshall
Dec 17 Supreme Court Justice Thurgood Marshall (47) weds Cecilia Suyat
Gregory Peck
Dec 31 Actor Gregory Peck (39) weds philanthropist Veronique Passani (23)
Famous Divorces
Gregory Peck
Dec 30 Actor Gregory Peck (39) divorces real estate broker Greta Kukkonen (44) after 13 years of marriage
Famous Deaths
- Dec 1 Chief Thundercloud [Victor Daniels], Cherokee actor (The Lone Ranger, Colt .45), dies from stomach cancer at 57
- Dec 3 Charles "Cow Cow" Davenport, American boogie-woogie and blues musician, dies of hardening of the arteries at 61
- Dec 5 Glenn Luther Martin, American pioneering aviator (founded what became Lockheed Martin), dies at 69
- Dec 5 Paul Harvey, American actor (Spellbound, Calamity Jane, Heldorado, Jamboree), dies at 73
Honus Wagner (1874-1955)
Dec 6 American Baseball Hall of Fame shortstop (8 x NL batting champion; 5 × NL RBI / stolen base leader; Pittsburgh Pirates), dies at 81
- Dec 8 Jacques Handschin, Swiss musicologist (Der Toncharakter), dies at 69
- Dec 9 Hermann Weyl, German mathematician and philosopher, dies at 70
- Dec 11 Franz Syberg, Danish organist and composer, dies at 51
- Dec 11 Johan Coenraad Altorf, Dutch sculptor (October 3 Monument), dies at 79
- Dec 13 Egas Moniz, Portuguese psychiatrist and neurosurgeon (1949 Nobel laureate for developing Lobotomy procedure), dies at 81
- Dec 14 Dorothy Bernard, American stage, silent and sound screen actress (Life With Father - "Margaret"), dies of a heart attack at 65
- Dec 23 Len Braund, English cricket all-rounder (23 Tests, 3 x 100, 47 wickets; Surrey CCC, Somerset CCC), dies at 80
- Dec 24 Nana Bryant, American stage and screen actress (Ladies of the Chorus; Harvey; Brewster's Millions), dies at 67
- Dec 27 Alfred Carpenter, English Royal Navy soldier, dies at 74
- Dec 27 Ham Fisher, American comic strip writer and cartoonist (Joe Palooka), dies at 55
- Dec 30 Rex Ingamells, Australian poet (b. 1913)
