Historical Events
The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies
Dec 1 "The Hobbit: Battle of the Five Armies", 3rd and final Hobbit film, directed by Peter Jackson, starring Martin Freeman and Ian McKellen, premieres in London
Music History
Dec 1 "U2 Minus 1" performs at Times Square, NYC for World AIDS Day; Bruce Springsteen and Chris Martin of Coldplay each sing two songs in place of injured frontman Bono
Sports History
Dec 1 Thierry Henry leaves the New York Red Bulls after four-and-a-half years at the club
- Dec 1 Utility Claudio Liverziani becomes first 3-time MVP in the Italian Baseball League; 291/.444/.472 season, with 30 HRs and 20 RBI in 38 games for Fortitudo Bologna
- Dec 2 After featuring in a magazine article with long-time life partner, veteran MLB umpire and crew chief Dale Scott openly acknowledges his homosexuality; overwhelmingly positive reaction from baseball circles
Bill Crosby
Dec 2 Comedian Bill Cosby resigns from the board of trustees of an American university following renewed sexual assault allegations
Elizabeth Lauten
Dec 2 Elizabeth Lauten, an aide to a Republican congressman resigns after her online criticism of President Barack Obama's teenage daughters
- Dec 2 Hong Kong pro-democracy activists clash with police as they try to surround the government's headquarters in some of the worst violence since the protests began
Hawking on AI
Dec 2 Stephen Hawking claims that Artificial Intelligence could be a "threat to mankind" and spell the end of the human race
- Dec 2 The World Food Programme suspends critical food aid to more than 1.7 million Syrian refugees in Jordan, Lebanon, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt because of a lack of funds
- Dec 2 Vanuatu police arrest at least 20 people over the deaths by hanging of two men accused of sorcery
- Dec 3 Australian Rugby star David Pocock is arrested after protesting against a coal mine under construction in an Australian national forest
- Dec 3 Darren Wilson, the police officer who shot dead unarmed black teenager Michael Brown in Ferguson, Missouri, resigns
- Dec 3 Protests erupt in cities across the US after a grand jury decides not to charge the New York City police officer who killed Eric Garner with a choke-hold
- Dec 4 Mosconi Cup nine-ball pool, Blackpool, England: Team Europe beats US, 11-5 for 5th straight title; MVP: Niels Feijen (Netherlands)
Peter Pan Live!
Dec 4 NBC airs musical "Peter Pan Live!" starring Allison Williams and Christopher Walken; substantially revised from the earlier Mary Martin productions
- Dec 4 The United Nations warns that the world is on course for the warmest year since records began
- Dec 4 Ukraine and Pro-Russian rebels agree to cease fire in the eastern war zone, beginning December 9
- Dec 4 US authorities promise a "fair" investigation into the death of African American Eric Garner, after a white New York City police officer held him in a choke-hold faces no charges
- Dec 6 10th ACC Championship Game: #2 Florida State beats #12 Georgia Tech, 37-35
- Dec 6 23rd SEC Championship Game: #1 Alabama beats #14 Missouri, 42-13
- Dec 7 Human Rights Watch Asia Division call for investigation into Indonesian security forces shooting of peaceful protesters
- Dec 7 Mayor of Paris calls for diesel cars to be banned from the French Capital by 2020, in order to reduce pollution
- Dec 7 The Archbishop of Canterbury claims that he is more shocked by the plight of Britain's hunger-stricken poor than suffering in African refugee camps
- Dec 7 The Syrian military accuse Israel of carrying out two air strikes on Syria
- Dec 7 Typhoon Hagupit hits central Philippines; millions flee homes for shelter
- Dec 9 CIA Torture Report released, detailing the CIA's use of torture on detainees between 2001-2006
- Dec 10 Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology awarded to John O'Keefe, May-Britt Moser and Edvard Moser for their discoveries of nerve cells in the brain that enable a sense of place and navigation [1]
CIA Director on Interrogation
Dec 11 CIA Director John Brennan defends interrogation methods used after 9/11 but admits some methods were "abhorrent"
- Dec 11 World's 1st penis transplant procedure by a team from Stellenbosch University and Tygerberg Hospital in Cape Town, South Africa
- Dec 12 Over 200 pro-democracy activists arrested in Hong Kong
- Dec 12 UN climate change talks in Peru continue past scheduled time as negotiations continue to stall
- Dec 13 80th Heisman Trophy Award: Marcus Mariota, Oregon (QB)
- Dec 13 A civil rights protest march in Washington, D.C. takes place, against the police killing of unarmed black men
- Dec 13 Divisions emerge between rich and poor nations at the UN climate change talks in Peru
- Dec 13 Fatou Bensouda, the chief prosecutor of the International Criminal Court, criticizes UN Security Council for its lack of action over war crimes in the Darfur region of Sudan
- Dec 13 The British Government announces it will send hundreds of troops to Iraq, to train Iraqi and Kurdish forces in the conflict with Islamic State
- Dec 13 Two US soldiers killed in a Taliban bombing of a NATO convoy in Kabul
Shinzō Abe Re-elected
Dec 14 Shinzō Abe and his ruling Liberal Democratic Party win re-election in Japan, retaining their two-thirds majority with coalition partner New Kōmeitō Party
- Dec 16 An Army Public School in Pakistan is attacked by Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan militants who kill 145 people
- Dec 16 Thierry Henry announces his retirement as a player and states he will begin working for Sky Sports as a pundit
- Dec 17 103-year-old Gus Andreone records the 8th ace of his career on the 113-yard, 14th hole of the Lakes Course, Palm Aire, Sarasota, FL; oldest golfer to record a hole-in-one
The Interview
Dec 17 Sony Pictures cancels the release of "The Interview", starring Seth Rogen, Lizzy Caplan, and James Franco, after a cyber attack on the studio
Ferguson's Last Late Late Show
Dec 19 Craig Ferguson's final appearance as host of "The Late Late Show" on CBS, after 2,058 episodes
- Dec 19 The Guardian newspaper calls 2014 'The year the people stood up'
- Dec 20 Ismaaiyl Abdullah Brinsley kills 2 NYPD officers in Brooklyn, New York, supposedly in revenge for the killing of Eric Garner, before killing himself
"Unbroken"
Dec 25 "Unbroken", drama film directed by Angelina Jolie and starring Jack O'Connell and Domhall Gleeson, released in the United States
- Dec 28 Indonesia AirAsia Flight QZ8501 crashes in bad weather in the Java Sea, killing all 162 people on board
- Dec 31 36 die and 47 are wounded during a stampede of New Year revellers on Shanghai's Bund riverfront
- Dec 31 44th Fiesta Bowl: #20 Boise State beats #10 Arizona, 38-30
- Dec 31 81st Orange Bowl: #10 Georgia Tech beats #8 Mississippi State, 49-34
Tunisia's 1st Elected President
Dec 31 Beji Caid Essebsi is sworn in as Tunisia's 1st ever freely elected President
Famous Birthdays
- Dec 10 Gabriella, Countess of Carladès, Princess of Monaco, born in Monaco
- Dec 10 Jacques, Prince and heir of Monaco, born in Monaco
Famous Weddings
Eddie Redmayne
Dec 15 English "Theory of Everything" actor Eddie Redmayne (32) weds log-time friend English antiques dealer Hannah Bagshawe (32) at Babington House in Somerset, England
Elton John
Dec 21 British pop piano player and singer Elton John (67) weds Canadian filmmaker David Furnish (52) at their estate in Windsor, England on the 9th anniversary of their civil partnership
Alex Morgan
Dec 31 Olympic gold medalist soccer player Alex Morgan (25) weds Houston Dynamo midfielder Servando Carrasco (26) in Santa Barbara, California
Famous Divorces
Idina Menzel
Dec 3 "How Stella Got Her Groove Back" actor Taye Diggs (44) and Broadway actress Idina Menzel (43) file for divorce after 11 years of marriage
Mariah Carey & Nick Cannon
Dec 12 American comedian ans TV host Nick Cannon (37) files for divorce from American pop singer Mariah Carey (48) after 6 years of marriage
Famous Deaths
- Dec 1 (Moisés) "Mario" Abramovich, Argentinian tango and classical violinist (Sexteto Major, 1974-2014), dies at 88
- Dec 2 Bobby Keys, American session and touring rock saxophonist (Rolling Stones; Harry Nilsson; John Lennon), dies of liver cancer at 70
- Dec 2 Don Laws, American figure skater and coach (Scott Hamilton, Patrick Chan, Tiffany Chin), dies from heart failure at 85
Jean Béliveau (1931-2014)
Dec 2 Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame center (Hart Trophy 1956, 64; Art Ross Trophy 1956; Conn Smythe Trophy 1965; record 17 Stanley Cups), dies at 83
- Dec 2 Josie Cichockyj, British wheelchair athlete (wheelchair racing [WR 5,000m], basketball, tennis, table tennis), dies from cancer at 49
- Dec 3 Ian McLagan, English rock keyboardist (Small Face; Faces), dies from a stroke at 69
- Dec 3 Nathaniel Branden, Canadian-American psychotherapist, dies at 84
- Dec 5 Luis Herrera de la Fuente, Mexican pianist, conductor (Orquesta Sinfónica Nacional, 1954-72), and composer, dies at 90
- Dec 5 Manuel De Sica, Italian composer, chiefly of film scores, dies of a heart attack at 65
- Dec 5 Queen Fabiola of Belgium [Doña Fabiola de Mora], Spanish wife of King Baudouin, Queen consort of the Belgians (1960-93), dies at 86
- Dec 6 Fred Hawkins, American golfer (US Masters 1958 runner-up), dies at 91
- Dec 6 Ralph Baer, German-American engineer, creator of the first video game console (Magnavox Odyssey Home Video Game System), dies at 88 [1]
- Dec 7 John Bartholomew Tucker, American TV host (Candid Camera, Treasure Island), dies at 84
- Dec 7 Ken Weatherwax, American actor, dies from a heart attack at 59
- Dec 8 Knut Nystedt, Norwegian organist, choral composer, and conductor, dies at 99
- Dec 9 José Feghali, Brazilian concert pianist (Van Cliburn Gold Medalist, 1985), takes his own life at 53
- Dec 9 Mary Ann Mobley, American model/actress, dies from breast cancer at 77
- Dec 9 Winfred "Blue" Lovett, American singer (Manhattans - "One Life to Live"), dies at 71
- Dec 10 Catherine Hughes [Pestell], British principal (Somerville College Oxford), dies at 81
- Dec 10 Ziad Abu Ein, Palestinian government minister, killed in confrontation with Israeli troops at protest on West Bank
- Dec 11 Hans Wallat, German opera conductor, dies at 85
- Dec 12 Norman Bridwell, American author and cartoonist (Clifford the Big Red Dog), dies at 86
- Dec 13 Raoul Cita, American R&B pianist and songwriter (Harptones), dies at 86
- Dec 14 Bess Myerson, 1st Jewish Miss America (1945), dies at 90
- Dec 15 Ray Steadman-Allen, British choral and brass band composer, dies at 92
- Dec 16 Ernie Terrell, American boxer (WBA heavyweight champion 1965-7), dies from dementia at 75
- Dec 17 Francis-Paul Demillac [Enyss Djemil], French violinist, composer, and pedagogue, dies at 97
- Dec 17 Fritz Rudolf Fries, German writer and informant, dies at 79
- Dec 18 Virna Lisi, Italian actress (Assault on a Queen, Bluebeard), dies at 78
- Dec 20 Hubert Booi, Bonairian-Aruban poet (Golgotha, Muchila), dies at 95
- Dec 20 John Freeman, British politician (Labour), ambassador, TV host and executive (London Weekend Television, dies at 99
- Dec 21 Billie Whitelaw, British actress (Omen, Adding Machine), dies at 82
- Dec 21 Sonia d’Artois, British Canadian WWII resistance agent, dies at 90
- Dec 21 Udo Jürgens [Bockelmann], Austrian-Swiss pop singer-songwriter (Eurovision Song Contest, 1966), dies of heart failure at 80
Joe Cocker (1944-2014)
Dec 22 English rock vocalist ("With A Little Help From My Friends"; "Cry Me A River"; "You Are So Beautiful"), dies of lung cancer at 70
- Dec 23 Jerzy Semkow, Polish-French conductor and educator, dies at 86
- Dec 24 Boniface "Buddy" DeFranco, Italian-American jazz clarinetist and bandleader (Glenn Miller Orchestra), dies at 91
- Dec 25 Geoff Pullar, English cricket batsman (28 Tests, 4 x 100s, HS 175; Lancashire CCC, Gloucestershire CCC), dies at 79
- Dec 25 Gleb Yakunin, Russian priest and dissident, dies at 80
- Dec 25 Mary Lyon, English geneticist (X-chromosome inactivation), dies at 89
- Dec 26 Leo Tindemans, Belgian statesman, Prime Minister of Belgium (1974-78), dies at 92
- Dec 29 Claude Frank, German-American concert pianist and pedagogue, dies at 89
- Dec 29 Ivor Richardson, New Zealand judge (NZ Court of Appeals), dies at 84
- Dec 29 Leslie Silver, English paint manufacturer and Chairman of Leeds United, dies at 89
- Dec 30 Deborah Bone, English mental health nurse who was the inspiration for the song "Disco 2000" by Jarvis Cocker, dies of multiple myeloma cancer at 51
- Dec 30 Erik Hansen, Danish canoeist (Olympic gold K-1 1000m 1960; World C'ship gold 1963), dies at 74
Luise Rainer (1910-2014)
Dec 30 German-American actress and 1st actor to win multiple Academy Awards (The Great Ziegfeld 1936, The Good Earth 1937), dies at 104
- Dec 30 Patrick Gowers, British choral and film score composer (Viri Galilaei; Hamlet; Smiley's People), dies at 78
- Dec 30 Yolande Donlan, British-American actress (Jigsaw, Expresso Bongo, Penny Princess), dies at 94
