What Happened in December 2010

Historical Events

  • Dec 4 15th Big 12 Championship Game: #10 Oklahoma beats #13 Nebraska, 23-20
  • Dec 4 19th SEC Championship Game: #2 Auburn beats #18 South Carolina, 56-17
  • Dec 4 6th ACC Championship Game: #12 Virginia Tech beats #20 Florida State, 44-33
  • Dec 5 99th Davis Cup: Serbia beats France in Belgrade (3-2)

Birds of America's Record Price

Dec 6 Record price for a printed book when a first edition of "The Birds of America" by John James Audubon auctioned at Sotheby's, London, England, for £7,321,250

  • Dec 7 Iceland officially leaves the recession with growth of 1.2% in the third quarter

SpaceX Achieves First

Dec 8 With the second launch of the SpaceX Dragon, SpaceX becomes the first privately held company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft.

Imprisoned Xiaobo Awarded Nobel

Dec 10 Chinese human rights activist Liu Xiaobo is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize at a ceremony in Stockholm, while imprisoned in China

  • Dec 11 Two explosions occur in a busy shopping district of Stockholm, Sweden, killing one and injuring two others. Officials say the incident is being treated as a terrorist attack.
  • Dec 12 Mosconi Cup nine-ball pool, London, England: Europe regains title with an 11-8 win over US; MVP: Darren Appleton (England)
  • Dec 13 76th Heisman Trophy Award: Cam Newton, Auburn (QB)

Larry King Live

Dec 16 Final episode of TV talk show "Larry King Live" airs on CNN

  • Dec 19 "Miracle at the New Meadowlands", Philadelphia Eagles trail New York Giants by 21 points with eight minutes to play, before scoring 4 touchdowns in final 7 minutes, including dramatic walk-off punt returned for a touchdown by DeSean Jackson

"Don't Ask Don't Tell" Repealed

Dec 22 Repeal of the "Don't Ask Don't Tell policy", a 17-year-old policy banning homosexuals serving openly in the US military, signed into law by President Barack Obama

Film & TV History

Dec 24 Gary Sinise converts to Catholicism, following his wife who converted in 2000


2010 History

Famous Weddings

Martina Hingis

Dec 10 Tennis player Martina Hingis (30) weds equestrian show jumper Thibault Hutin at a private civil ceremony in Paris, France

  • Dec 11 "Good Charlotte" lead vocalist Joel Madden (31) weds fashion designer and actress Nicole Richie (30) at Beverly Hills, California
  • Dec 11 Actress Joanna Garcia (32) weds New York Yankees` Nick Swisher (31) at Breakers Hotel & Resort in Palm Beach, Florida

Hulk Hogan

Dec 14 WWF wrestler Hulk Hogan (57) marries 2nd wife Jennifer McDaniel in Clearwater Florida

Carlos Santana

Dec 19 Guitar legend Carlos Santana (63) weds rock drummer Cindy Blackman (51) in Maui, Hawaii

Chris Hemsworth

Dec 28 "Thor" actor Chris Hemsworth (27) weds spanish actress Elsa Pataky (34) in Indonesia

Kyle Busch

Dec 31 NASCAR driver and team owner Kyle Busch (25) weds model Samantha Sarcinella at Holy Name Cathedral in Chicago


Famous Divorces

  • Dec 8 "Heart" rock singer Nancy Wilson (56) divorces "Almost Famous" and "Elizabethtown" director Cameron Crowe (53) due to irreconcilable differences after 24 years of marriage
  • Dec 13 "Dexter" actress Jennifer Carpenter (31) divorces actor Michael C. Hall (40) due to irreconcilable differences after 2 years of marriage
  • Dec 15 American "Nip/Tuck" actor Dylan Walsh (47) divorces actress Joana Going (47) due to irreconcilable differences after 6 years of marriage
  • Dec 21 "The Lord of The Rings" actor Sean Bean (51) divorces actress Georgina Sutcliffe (32) due to irreconcilable differences after 2 years of marriage
  • Dec 28 Film and record company executive Justin Siegel (23) divorces actress-singer Emmy Rossum due to irreconcilable differences after a year-and-a-half of marriage

Famous Deaths

  • Dec 1 Alojz Srebotnjak, Slovenian composer, dies at 79
  • Dec 1 Hillard Elkins, American theatre and film producer (b. 1929)
  • Dec 2 Ron Santo, American Baseball Hall of Fame third baseman (9 x MLB All Star; 5 x Gold Glove; Chicago Cubs), dies from bladder cancer at 70
  • Dec 3 Abdumalik Bahori, Tajik poet and fiction writer (b.1927)
  • Dec 5 Alan Armer, American television producer and director (b. 1922)
  • Dec 5 Don Meredith, American football player and broadcaster (b. 1938)
  • Dec 6 Hugues Cuénod, Swiss tenor and musical educator, dies at 108
  • Dec 6 Mark Dailey, Canadian television journalist and announcer (b. 1953)
  • Dec 7 Elizabeth Edwards, American lawyer and wife of John Edwards (b. 1949)
  • Dec 7 Gus Mercurio, American-born Australian actor (The Blue Lagoon, Crocodile Dundee II), dies at 82
  • Dec 8 Murray Armstrong, Canadian ice hockey centre and NCAA coach (Detroit Red Wings; coach University of Denver 1956-77, 5 NCAA C'ships), dies at 94
  • Dec 9 Dov Shilansky, Israeli politician (b. 1924)
  • Dec 9 James Moody, American Grammy Award-winning bebop jazz saxophonist, flutist, and orchestra leader, dies of pancreatic cancer at 85
  • Dec 9 John du Pont, American member of the Du Pont family and convicted murderer (b. 1938)
  • Dec 10 J. Michael Hagopian, Turkish-born American documentarian (b. 1913)
  • Dec 10 Jacques Swaters, Belgian racing driver, dies at 84
  • Dec 10 John Bennett Fenn, American chemist, Nobel laureate (b. 1917)
  • Dec 10 MacKenzie Miller, American horse trainer and breeder (b. 1921)
  • Dec 11 Dick Hoerner, American football player (b. 1922)
  • Dec 12 Peter Pagel, German footballer (b. 1956)
  • Dec 12 Tom Walkinshaw, former racing driver and Formula 1 team owner (b. 1946)
  • Dec 13 Enrique Morente, Spanish flamenco singer, dies from surgery complications at 67
  • Dec 13 Richard Holbrooke, American diplomat (Assistant Secretary of State, UN Ambassador) and author, dies of complications of an aortic dissection at 69
  • Dec 13 Stuart "Woolly" Wolstenholme, British keyboardist and vocalist (Barclay James Harvest), commits suicide at 63
  • Dec 14 Neva Patterson, American actress (The Seven Year Itch, Taxi, Nichols), dies rom complications from a broken hip at 90
  • Dec 14 Timothy Davlin, American politician, dies at 53

Blake Edwards (1922-2010)

Dec 15 American writer and director (10; SOB; Breakfast at Tiffany's), dies at 88

Bob Feller (1918-2010)

Dec 15 American Baseball HOF pitcher (8 x MLB All-Star; AL Triple Crown of pitching (wins/strike-outs/ERA), 1940; 3 x no-hit games; Cleveland Indians), dies from leukemia at 92

  • Dec 15 Eugene Victor Wolfenstein, American political scientist and psychoanalyst, dies at 70
  • Dec 16 Mary Jane Odell, American politician and journalist, Iowa Secretary of State, dies at 87
  • Dec 16 Melvin E. Biddle, American soldier and Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1923)
  • Dec 17 Captain Beefheart [Don Van Vliet], American rock musician, complications from multiple sclerosis at 69
  • Dec 17 Dick Gibson, British racing driver, dies at 92
  • Dec 17 Mary Tregear, British museum curator (Ashmolean) and Chinese art historian, dies at 86
  • Dec 17 Walt Dropo, American MLB baseball first baseman, 1949-61, AL Rookie of the Year (Boston Red Sox, Chicago White Sox, and 3 other teams), dies at 87
  • Dec 18 Jacqueline de Romilly, French philologist and classical scholar (b. 1913)
  • Dec 18 James Pickles, English judge and columnist, dies at 85
  • Dec 18 Phil Cavarretta, American baseball utility (MLB All-Star 1944, 45, 46, 47; NL MVP 1945; Chicago Cubs), dies at 94
  • Dec 18 Tommaso Padoa-Schioppa, Italian banker and economist (b. 1940)
  • Dec 19 Anthony Howard, English Journalist (b. 1934)
  • Dec 19 Harold Blanchard, American jazz pianist and jazz and classical composer (New Earth Sonata), dies at 80
  • Dec 19 Trudy Pitts, American jazz Hammond B-3 organist, pianist, and vocalist, dies of pancreatic cancer at 78
  • Dec 20 Brian Hanrahan, British journalist (b. 1949)
  • Dec 20 James R. Mann, American attorney and politician (b. 1920)
  • Dec 20 Jean-Louis Martinet, French composer, dies at 98
  • Dec 20 John Alldis, English choral master, and conductor (Duke Ellington’s Third Sacred Concert), dies at 81
  • Dec 20 Steve Landesberg, American comedian and actor (Barney Miller - "Dietrich"), from colon cancer on at 74
  • Dec 21 David Hennessy [Lord Windlesham], British politician (C) (Leader of the House of Lords 1973-4) and TV executive, dies at 78
  • Dec 21 Enzo Bearzot, Italian football player and manager (b. 1927)
  • Dec 22 Fred Foy, American radio and television announcer (b. 1921)
  • Dec 23 Fred Hargesheimer, American World War II pilot (b. 1916)
  • Dec 23 K. Karunakaran, Indian politician (b. 1918)
  • Dec 24 Eino Tamberg, Estonian composer (Joanna tentata), dies at 80
  • Dec 24 Elisabeth Beresford, British author and creator of The Wombles (b. 1926)
  • Dec 24 Orestes Quércia, Brazilian politician (Governor of São Paulo, 1987-91), dies of prostate cancer at 72
  • Dec 24 Roy Neuberger, American financier and art patron (Neuberger Museum of Art), dies at 107
  • Dec 25 Bud Greenspan, American documentary maker (Olympic Games; IOC Olympic Order award 1985), dies of Parkinson's disease at 84
  • Dec 25 Carlos Andrés Pérez, President of Venezuela (1974-79, 89-94), dies at 88
  • Dec 26 Edward Bhengu, South African activist (b. 1934)
  • Dec 26 Teena Marie [Mary Christine Brockert], American R&B and soul singer-songwriter ("Square Biz"; "Lovergirl"), dies at 54
  • Dec 27 Keith Andrew, English cricket wicketkeeper (2 Tests; Northamptonshire CCC), dies at 81
  • Dec 28 Agathe von Trapp, Austrian-born American singer (oldest von Trapp child), dies at 97
  • Dec 28 Billy Taylor, American jazz pianist (Birdland), orchestra leader (David Frost Show) and broadcaster (NPR), dies after a heart attack at 89 [1]
  • Dec 28 Trevor Holdsworth, CEO (National Power), dies at 83
  • Dec 29 Bill Erwin, American actor (b. 1914)
  • Dec 30 Bobby Farrell, Aruban singer (Boney M) (b. 1949)
  • Dec 30 Ellis Clarke, First President of Trinidad & Tobago (1976-87), dies at 93
  • Dec 30 Michael Allinson, British-American stage and film actor (Man of the Century; Syriana), dies at 90
  • Dec 30 Per Oscarsson, Swedish actor (b. 1927)
  • Dec 30 Roger Milliken, American millionaire (CEO of Milliken & Company), dies at 95