Historical Events
- Dec 1 Canadian jockey Russell Baze becomes North American horse racing's all-time win leader when Butterfly Belle wins 4th race at Bay Meadows, San Mateo, California; 9,531 victories passes record of Laffit Pincay Jr
- Dec 2 11th Big 12 Championship Game: #8 Oklahoma beats #19 Nebraska, 21-7
- Dec 2 15th SEC Championship Game: #4 Florida beats #8 Arkansas, 38-28
- Dec 2 2nd ACC Championship Game: #16 Wake Forest beats #23 Georgia Tech, 9-6
Davis Cup
Dec 3 Davis Cup Tennis, Moscow: Marat Safin beats José Acasuso of Argentina 6-3, 3-6, 6-3, 7-6 to clinch Russia's 3-2 victory
Blige, Brown, Chesney and The Fay Win
Dec 4 17th Billboard Music Awards: Mary J. Blige, Chris Brown, Kenny Chesney, and The Fray win
- Dec 4 An adult giant squid is caught on video by Kubodera near the Ogasawara Islands, 1,000 km (620 miles) south of Tokyo
Audrey Hepburn's Famous Dress
Dec 5 Audrey Hepburn's Givenchy little black dress from film "Breakfast at Tiffany's" auctioned for charity for record £467,200 ($923,187) at Christie's, London
Fijian Coup
Dec 5 Commodore Frank Bainimarama overthrows the government in Fiji
Maddux's $10M Deal
Dec 5 Greg Maddux signs a one-year deal with the San Diego Padres worth $10 million
- Dec 6 NASA reveals photographs taken by Mars Global Surveyor suggesting the presence of liquid water on Mars
Music History
Dec 7 A Tornado strikes Kensal Green in northwest London, seriously damaging around 150 properties
- Dec 9 72nd Heisman Trophy Award: Troy Smith, Ohio State (QB)
- Dec 9 Jigme Singye Wangchuk, King of Bhutan abdicates the throne
- Dec 9 Moscow suffers its worst fire since 1977, killing 45 women in a drug rehabitational center.
Borg BBC Award
Dec 10 British Broadcasting Corporation gives Swedish tennis icon Björn Borg a Lifetime Achievement Award; presented by Boris Becker
- Dec 10 One million Lebanese opposition supporters gather in downtown Beirut, calling for the government to resign.
Global Vision of the Holocaust
Dec 11 International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust is opened in Tehran, Iran by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
Sports History
Dec 11 Jerry Sloan achieves his 1,000th career win as a coach against the Dallas Mavericks
B.B. King Honored
Dec 15 American blues legend B.B. King is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by US President George W. Bush
- Dec 15 First flight of the F-35 Lightning II.
- Dec 20 A judge rules against the death penalty in the case of Naveed Haq, a man convicted in the shooting death and injuries at the Jewish Federation in Seattle.
- Dec 21 Puzzle Play aired to network Ten, replacing In the Box
- Dec 22 Australian archaeologist Sue O'Connor finds first evidence of modern humans in Jerimalai cave, near Lene Hara cave in East Timor
- Dec 26 At 40 years, 268 days, Teddy Sheringham scores for West Ham United in a 2-1 loss to Portsmouth at Upton Park, London; becomes oldest goalscorer in EPL history
Warne 1st to 700 Test Wickets
Dec 26 Spin bowling great Shane Warne becomes first bowler in Test cricket history to take 700 wickets; bowls England opener Andrew Strauss for 50 during Australia's 4th Test win in Melbourne
Famous Weddings
- Dec 2 "Emmerdale" actor Nick Miles (44) weds Stephanie Lumb at the Roundthorn Country House Hotel in Penrith, England
- Dec 9 "The Office" actress Lucy Davis (33) weds actor Owain Yeoman (28) at St. Paul's Cathedral in London
- Dec 17 Contemporary Christian and Latin pop singer Jaci Velasquez (27) weds "Salvador" lead singer Nic Gonzalez in Austin, Texas
- Dec 27 Supermodel Niki Taylor (31) weds NASCAR driver Burney Lamar (26) at The Grande Colonial Hotel in La Jolla, California
- Dec 29 Comedian Jay Mohr (36) weds "Las Vegas" actress Nikki Cox (28) at the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles, California
- Dec 30 Canadian pair figure skaters David Pelletier (31) weds partner Jamie Sale (28) at the Fairmont Banff Springs hotel in Alberta, Canada
- Dec 31 Actor Robert Lindsay (57) weds actress and TV presenter Rosemarie Ford (44) at the Buckinghamshire Golf Club
- Dec 31 L.A. Galaxy soccer player Landon Donovan (24) weds actress Bianca Kajlich (29) at Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara, California
Famous Divorces
Chris Evert
Dec 4 American tennis player Chris Evert (51) divorces American alpine skier Andy Mill (52) in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, citing irreconcilable differences
Michael Jordan
Dec 29 NBA basketball star Michael Jordan (43) divorces Juanita Vanoy (47) due to irreconcilable differences after 17 years of marriage
- Dec 29 One Tree Hill actress Sophia Bush (24) divorces actor Chad Michael Murray (25) for the reason of fraud after 5 months of marriage
Famous Deaths
- Dec 1 Bruce Trigger, Canadian archaeologist (McGill University) (b. 1937)
- Dec 1 Claude Jade, French actress (Stolen Kisses), dies at 58
- Dec 2 Dave Mount, English rock drummer (Mud), dies in apparent suicide at 59
- Dec 2 Mariska Veres [Ender], Dutch rock singer (Shocking Blue), dies of gallbladder cancer at 59
- Dec 3 Len Sutton, American auto racer and broadcaster (Indianapolis 500, 1962 runner-up), dies from cancer at 81
- Dec 3 Logan Whitehurst, American musician, singer-songwriter (Tin Drum; The Velvet Teen), graphic artist, and album cover designer, dies of brain cancer at 29
- Dec 4 James Kim, American television personality (b. 1971)
- Dec 5 David Bronstein, Ukrainian-born chess grandmaster, dies at 82
- Dec 6 John Feeney, Documentary film-director (b. 1922)
- Dec 7 Jay McShann, American jazz pianist, vocalist, composer, and bandleader, dies at 90
- Dec 7 Jeane Kirkpatrick (neé Jordan), American diplomat (US Ambassador to UN, 1981-85), and writer, dies of congestive heart failure at 80
- Dec 8 José Uribe, Dominican baseball player (b. 1959)
- Dec 8 Martha Tilton, American big band singer (Benny Goodman; Jimmy Dorsey), dies at 91 [1]
- Dec 9 Freddie Marsden, British rock drummer (Gerry & Pacemakers - "How Do You Do It?"; "Ferry Cross The Mersey"), dies at 66
- Dec 9 Georgia Gibbs [Frieda Lipschitz], American jazz and pop singer ("Kiss of Fire"; "If I Knew You Were Comin' I'd've Baked a Cake"), dies at 88 [1]
Augusto Pinochet (1915-2006)
Dec 10 Chilean general and dictator of Chile (1973-90), dies of congestive heart failure and pulmonary edema at 91
- Dec 10 Jack Williamson, American sci-fi author (Cometeers), dies at 98
- Dec 11 Elizabeth Bolden, American Supercentenarian (oldest verified person in the world at the time of her death), dies at 116
- Dec 12 Al Shugart, pioneering American computer engineer and co-founder of Seagate Technology (b. 1930)
- Dec 12 Annette Strøyberg [sometimes Annette Vadim], Danish actress (Les Liaisons dangereuses (1959)), dies of cancer at 69
- Dec 12 Kenny Davern, American jazz clarinetist (b. 1935)
- Dec 12 Lucien Goethals, Belgian composer, dies at 75
Paul Arizin (1928-2006)
Dec 12 American College/Basketball HOF small forward (NBA C'ship 1956; 10 x NBA All Star; NBA scoring champion 1952, 57; Philadelphia Warriors), dies in his sleep at 78
Peter Boyle (1935-2006)
Dec 12 American actor (Joe, Candidate, Everybody Loves Raymond), dies of multiple myeloma at 71
- Dec 12 Raymond P. Shafer, 38th Governor of Pennsylvania (b. 1917)
- Dec 13 Henry Beachell, American plant breeder, dies at 100
- Dec 13 Homesick James [Williamson], American blues slide guitarist and singer (Elmore James band, 1955-62), dies at 96 [or 101, or 92 - date of birth disputed]
- Dec 13 Keith Larsen, American actor (Hunter, Brave Eagle), dies at 82
- Dec 13 Lamar Hunt, American sports executive and NFL owner (KC Chiefs), dies at 74
- Dec 13 Robert Long [Jan Leverman], Dutch pop singer (Vroeger of Later (Sooner or Later); Unit Gloria), actor, and television presenter, dies of cancer at 63
- Dec 14 Ahmet Ertegun, Turkish-American, songwriter, businessman (co-founder of Atlantic Records), and philanthropist, dies from complications after tripping during a Rolling Stones concert at 83
- Dec 14 Anton Balasingham, Sri Lankan chief political strategist of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam, dies at 68
- Dec 14 Mike Evans, American actor (All In The Family & The Jeffersons - "Lionel"), dies of throat cancer at 57
- Dec 14 Otmar Macha, Czech composer (Quattro Group), dies at 84
- Dec 15 Clay Regazzoni, Swiss Formula One driver, dies at 67
- Dec 15 Henny Alma [Hendrika den Broek], Dutch actress (Soldier of Orange), dies at 83
- Dec 16 Don Jardine, Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1940)
- Dec 16 Pnina Salzman, Israeli pianist (b. 1922)
- Dec 16 Taliep Petersen, South African singer and composer (b. 1950)
- Dec 17 Denis Payton, British rock saxophonist (Dave Clark Five - "Glad All Over"), dies of cancer at 63
- Dec 17 Esko Nikkari, Finnish actor, dies at 68
- Dec 17 Larry Sherry, American baseball pitcher (World Series MVP 1959, LA Dodgers), dies at 71
- Dec 17 Timmie Rogers [Ancrum], American comedian (The Jackie Gleason Show), actor and singer-songwriter ("Back to School Again"; "I Love Ya, I Love Ya, I Love Ya"), dies at 91
- Dec 18 Daniel Pinkham, American organist, composer (Signs of the Zodiac) and educator (New England Conservatory), dies at 83
Joseph Barbera (1911-2006)
Dec 18 American animator and cartoonist (Hanna-Barbera - Tom and Jerry, Flintstones), dies at 95
- Dec 18 Mike Dickin, British radio broadcaster (b. 1943)
- Dec 18 Ruth Bernhard, American photographer (1905)
- Dec 18 Shaukat Siddiqui, Pakistani author, journalist and political activist (b. 1923)
- Dec 20 Shi Yuejun, Chinese serial killer
- Dec 21 Saparmurat Niyazov, President of Turkmenistan (b. 1940)
- Dec 21 Scobie Breasley, Australian jockey (b. 1914)
- Dec 21 Sydney Wooderson, English athlete dubbed "The Mighty Atom" (world record 1937), dies at 92
- Dec 22 Dennis Linde, American songwriter ("Burning Love"; "Goodbye Earl"), dies of idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis at 63
- Dec 22 Elena Mukhina, Russian gymnast (3 x World C'ship gold 1978; 2 x World Cup gold 1977), dies of complications from quadriplegia at 46
- Dec 22 Galina Ustvolskaya, Russian composer, dies at 87
- Dec 22 Phillip Pine, American actor (Set-Up, Under the Ground), dies at 86
- Dec 23 Charlie Drake [Charles Springall], English comedian, dies at 81
- Dec 23 John Rae, British educator (Headmaster of Westminster, 1970-86), writer (Conscience & Politics), and novelist (The Custard Boys), dies at 75
- Dec 23 Johnny Vincent, English footballer for Birmingham City and Middlesbrough (b. 1947)
- Dec 23 Robert Stafford, American politician (Sen-R-VT, 1971-88), dies at 93
- Dec 23 Timothy J. Tobias, American composer and musician, dies at 54
- Dec 24 Braguinha [Carlos Alberto Ferreira Braga], Brazilian songwriter, dies at 99
- Dec 24 Frank Stanton, American television executive (CBS), dies at 98
- Dec 24 Kenneth Sivertsen, Norwegian singer, poet, comedian, and composer, dies of complications from epilepsy at 66
- Dec 25 Hiroaki Hidaka, Japanese serial killer (b. 1962)
James Brown (1933-2006)
Dec 25 American R&B, gospel, soul and funk singer-songwriter known as 'The Godfather of Soul' ("Sex Machine"; "Papa's Got A Brand New Bag"; "Hot Pants"), dies of heart failure at 73
Gerald Ford (1913-2006)
Dec 26 38th US President (R: 1974-77) and 41st US Vice President (R: 1973-74), dies at 93
- Dec 26 Ivar Formo, Norwegian skier drowns in a not quite frozen lake at 55
- Dec 27 Marmaduke Hussey, Baron Hussey of North Bradley and Chairman of the Board of Governors of BBC (1986-96), dies at 83
- Dec 28 Gracie Cole, British jazz trumpeter (Ivy Benson's All-Girl Band), and bandleader, dies of complications from Alzheimer's disease at 82
- Dec 28 Jamal Karimi-Rad, Iranian Minister of Justice (b. 1956)
- Dec 28 Komei Abe, Japanese composer, dies at 95
- Dec 30 Michel Plasse, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1948)
Saddam Hussein (1937-2006)
Dec 30 President of Iraq (1979-2003), hanged in Baghdad at 69
- Dec 30 Terry Peck, Falkland Islander (b. 1938) who acted as a scout for 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment in the Falklands War
- Dec 31 Liese Prokop, Austrian pentathlete (Olympic silver 1968), dies at 65
