December 2 is the 336th day of the year (337th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 29 days remaining until the end of the year.
[edit] Events
- 1409 – The University of Leipzig opens.
- 1697 – St Paul's Cathedral is opened in London.
- 1755 – The second Eddystone Lighthouse is destroyed by fire.
- 1763 – Dedication of the Touro Synagogue, in Newport, Rhode Island, the first synagogue in what became the United States.
- 1775 – The USS Alfred becomes the first vessel to fly the Grand Union Flag (the precursor to the Stars and Stripes); the flag is hoisted by John Paul Jones.
- 1804 – At Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself Emperor of the French, the first French Emperor in a thousand years.
- 1805 – Napoleonic Wars: Battle of Austerlitz – French troops under Napoleon Bonaparte defeat a joint Russo-Austrian force.
- 1823 – Monroe Doctrine: US President James Monroe delivers a speech establishing American neutrality in future European conflicts.
- 1845 – Manifest Destiny: US President James K. Polk announces to Congress that the United States should aggressively expand into the West.
- 1848 – Franz Josef I becomes Emperor of Austria.
- 1851 – French President Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte overthrows the Second Republic.
- 1852 – Louis-Napoléon Bonaparte becomes Emperor of the French (Napoleon III).
- 1859 – Militant abolitionist leader John Brown is hanged for his October 16th raid on Harper's Ferry.
- 1867 – At Tremont Temple in Boston, British author Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in the United States.
- 1899 – Philippine–American War: The Battle of Tirad Pass, termed "The Filipino Thermopylae", is fought.
- 1908 – Child Emperor Pu Yi ascends the Chinese throne at the age of two
- 1917 – An armistice is signed between Russia and the Central Powers at Brest-Litovsk and peace talks leading to the Treaty of Brest-Litovsk began.
- 1920 – Following more than a month of Turkish-Armenian War, the Turkish dictated Treaty of Alexandropol is concluded.
- 1927 – Following 19 years of Ford Model T production, the Ford Motor Company unveils the Ford Model A as its new automobile.
- 1930 – Great Depression: US President Herbert Hoover goes before the United States Congress and asks for a US$150 million public works program to help generate jobs and stimulate the economy.
- 1939 – New York City's La Guardia Airport opens.
- 1942 – During the Manhattan Project, a team led by Enrico Fermi initiates the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction.
- 1943 – A Luftwaffe bombing raid on the harbour of Bari, Italy, sinks numerous cargo and transport ships, including an American Liberty ship, the John Harvey, with a stockpile of World War I-era mustard gas.
- 1946 – The British Government invites four Indian leaders, Nehru, Baldev Singh, Jinnah and Liaquat Ali Khan to obtain the participation of all parties in the Constituent Assembly.
- 1947 – Jerusalem Riots of 1947: Riots break out in Jerusalem in response to the approval of the 1947 UN Partition Plan.
- 1954 – Red Scare: The United States Senate votes 65 to 22 to condemn Joseph McCarthy for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute".
- 1954 – The Sino-American Mutual Defense Treaty, between the United States and the Republic of China, is signed in Washington, D.C..
- 1956 – The Granma yacht reaches the shores of Cuba's Oriente province and Fidel Castro, Che Guevara and 80 other members of the 26th of July Movement disembark to initiate the Cuban Revolution.
- 1961 – In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist-Leninist and that Cuba is going to adopt Communism.
- 1962 – Vietnam War: After a trip to Vietnam at the request of US President John F. Kennedy, US Senate Majority Leader Mike Mansfield becomes the first American official not to make an optimistic public comment on the war's progress.
- 1970 – The United States Environmental Protection Agency begins operations.
- 1971 – Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai, and Umm Al Quwain form the United Arab Emirates.
- 1975 – Pathet Lao seizes Vientiane which gives way for their power in Laos, and establishes the Lao People's Democratic Republic.
- 1976 – Fidel Castro becomes President of Cuba replacing Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado.
- 1980 – Four U.S. nuns and churchwomen, Ita Ford, Maura Clarke, Jean Donovan, and Dorothy Kazel, are murdered by a death squad in El Salvador.
- 1982 – At the University of Utah, Barney Clark becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart.
- 1988 – Benazir Bhutto is sworn in as Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first woman to head the government of an Islam-dominated state.
- 1993 – Colombian drug lord Pablo Escobar is shot and killed in Medellín.
- 1993 – Space Shuttle program: STS-61 – NASA launches the Space Shuttle Endeavour on a mission to repair the Hubble Space Telescope.
- 1999 – Glenbrook rail accident near Sydney, New South Wales.
- 1999 – The United Kingdom devolves political power in Northern Ireland to the Northern Ireland Executive.
- 2001 – Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
[edit] Births
- 1578 – Agostino Agazzari, Italian composer and theorist (d. 1640)
- 1694 – William Shirley, English-American, Governor of the Province of Massachusetts Bay (d. 1771)
- 1703 – Ferdinand Konščak, Croatian missionary and explorer (d. 1759)
- 1710 – Bertinazzi, Italian actor and author (d. 1783)
- 1738 – Richard Montgomery, Irish-American soldier (d. 1775)
- 1754 – William Cooper, American judge an politician, founded Cooperstown, New York (d. 1809)
- 1760 – John Breckinridge, American politician, 5th United States Attorney General (d. 1806)
- 1760 – Joseph Graetz, German composer, organist, and educator (d. 1826)
- 1810 – Henry Yesler, American politician, 7th Mayor of Seattle (d. 1892)
- 1811 – Jean-Charles Chapais, Canadian politician (d. 1885)
- 1817 – Heinrich von Sybel, German historian (d. 1895)
- 1825 – Pedro II of Brazil (d. 1891)
- 1846 – Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau, French politician, 68th Prime Minister of France (d. 1904)
- 1856 – Louis Zutter, Swiss gymnast (d. 1946)
- 1859 – Georges Seurat, French painter (d. 1891)
- 1863 – Charles Edward Ringling, American businessman, co-founded the Ringling Brothers Circus (d. 1926)
- 1866 – Harry Burleigh, American singer and composer (d. 1949)
- 1872 – Carl Lehle, German rower (d. 1930)
- 1874 – Joseph Olivier, French rugby player (d. 1901)
- 1884 – Erima Harvey Northcroft, New Zealand lawyer and judge (d. 1953)
- 1885 – George Richards Minot, American physician, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1950)
- 1891 – Otto Dix, German painter and illustrator (d. 1969)
- 1891 – Charles H. Wesley, American historian and author (d. 1987)
- 1893 – Leo Ornstein, Russian-American pianist and composer (d. 2002)
- 1894 – Warren William, American actor (d. 1948)
- 1895 – Harriet Cohen, English pianist (d. 1967)
- 1897 – Ivan Bagramyan, Soviet military leader (d. 1982)
- 1898 – Indra Lal Roy, Indian pilot (d. 1918)
- 1899 – John Barbirolli, English cellist and conductor (d. 1970)
- 1899 – John Cobb, English race car driver (d. 1952)
- 1899 – Ray Morehart, American baseball player (d. 1989)
- 1901 – Raimundo Orsi, Argentine-Italian footballer (d. 1986)
- 1906 – Peter Carl Goldmark, Hungarian-American recording engineer (d. 1977)
- 1910 – Russell Lynes, American photographer, historian, and author (d. 1991)
- 1914 – Bill Erwin, American actor (d. 2010)
- 1914 – Adolph Green, American composer (d. 2002)
- 1914 – Ray Walston, American actor (d. 2001)
- 1915 – Prince Mikasa of Japan
- 1917 – Sylvia Syms, American singer (d. 1992)
- 1921 – Carlo Furno, Italian cardinal
- 1922 – Iakovos Kambanelis, Greek poet, author, and scriptwriter (d. 2011)
- 1923 – Maria Callas, Greek soprano (d. 1977)
- 1924 – Alexander Haig, American general and diplomat, 59th United States Secretary of State (d. 2010)
- 1924 – Vilgot Sjöman, Swedish screenwriter and director (d. 2006)
- 1925 – Julie Harris, American actress
- 1927 – Prabhakar Thokal, Indian cartoonist
- 1928 – Gerhard Kaufhold, German footballer (d. 2009)
- 1930 – Gary Becker, American economist, recipient of the Nobel Prize laureate
- 1930 – David Piper, English race car driver
- 1931 – Nigel Calder, English author and screenwriter
- 1931 – Masaaki Hatsumi, Japanese founder of the Bujinkan Organization
- 1931 – Wynton Kelly, Jamaican-American pianist (d. 1971)
- 1931 – Edwin Meese, American lawyer and author, 75th United States Attorney General
- 1933 – Mike Larrabee, American sprinter (d. 2003)
- 1933 – K. Veeramani, Indian lawyer and activist
- 1934 – Tarcisio Bertone, Italian cardinal and diplomat
- 1934 – Sissela Bok, Swedish-American philosopher and ethicist
- 1934 – Andre Rodgers, Bahamian baseball player (d. 2004)
- 1935 – David Hackett Fischer, American historian
- 1935 – Harry Taylor, American baseball player (d. 2013)
- 1937 – Manohar Joshi, Indian politician, 15th Chief Minister of Maharashtra
- 1939 – Yael Dayan, Israeli politician and author
- 1939 – Francis Fox, Canadian politician
- 1939 – Harry Reid, American politician
- 1943 – Wayne Allard, American politician
- 1944 – Cathy Lee Crosby, American actress
- 1944 – Inger Davidson, Swedish politician
- 1944 – Ibrahim Rugova, Kosovan politician, 1st President of Kosovo (d. 2006)
- 1944 – Dionysis Savvopoulos, Greek singer-songwriter
- 1944 – Botho Strauß, German author
- 1945 – Penelope Spheeris, American director
- 1946 – Pedro Borbón, Dominican baseball player (d. 2012)
- 1946 – John Banks New Zealand politician
- 1946 – David Macaulay, English-American author and illustrator
- 1946 – Gianni Versace, Italian fashion designer, founded Versace (d. 1997)
- 1947 – Isaac Bitton, Moroccan-French drummer (Les Variations)
- 1947 – Tommy Jenkins, English footballer
- 1947 – Ivan Atanassov Petrov, Bulgarian neurologist
- 1947 – Andy Rouse, English racing driver, 4 times British Touring Car Champion
- 1948 – Elizabeth Berg, American author
- 1948 – T. Coraghessan Boyle, American author
- 1948 – Toninho Horta, Brazilian guitarist
- 1949 – Ron Raines, American actor
- 1950 – Bob Kevoian, American radio host
- 1950 – Amin Saikal, Afghan-Australian academic
- 1950 – Benjamin Stora, French historian
- 1950 – Paul Watson, Canadian activist, founder of the Sea Shepherd Conservation Society
- 1951 – Adrian Devine, American baseball player
- 1952 – Carol Shea-Porter, American politician
- 1952 – Rob Mounsey, American keyboard player, composer, and producer (Joe Cool)
- 1954 – Dan Butler, American actor
- 1954 – Stone Phillips, American journalist
- 1956 – Steven Bauer, American actor
- 1957 – Dagfinn Høybråten, Norwegian politician
- 1958 – George Saunders, American writer
- 1958 – Vladimir Parfenovich, Belarusian canoe racer
- 1959 – Kelefa Diallo, Guinean general (d. 2013)
- 1959 – Frank Dietrich, German footballer
- 1959 – Boman Irani, Indian actor
- 1960 – Razzle, English drummer (Hanoi Rocks) (d. 1984)
- 1960 – Rick Savage, English singer-songwriter and bass player (Def Leppard and Atomic Mass)
- 1960 – Justus von Dohnányi, German actor
- 1962 – Kardam, Prince of Turnovo
- 1963 – Dan Gauthier, American actor
- 1963 – Ann Patchett, American author
- 1963 – Rich Sutter, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1963 – Ron Sutter, Canadian ice hockey player
- 1963 – Brendan Coyle, English actor
- 1966 – Philippe Etchebest, French chef
- 1966 – Jinsei Shinzaki, Japanese wrestler
- 1967 – Laurie Morgan, English politician, 1st Chief Minister of Guernsey
- 1968 – Darryl Kile, American baseball player (d. 2002)
- 1968 – Lucy Liu, American actress and producer
- 1968 – Nate Mendel, American bass player (Foo Fighters, Sunny Day Real Estate, The Fire Theft, and Juno)
- 1968 – Rena Sofer, American actress
- 1970 – Treach, American rapper and actor (Naughty by Nature)
- 1970 – Yang Hyun-suk, South Korean singer-songwriter and producer (Seo Taiji and Boys)
- 1970 – Joe Lo Truglio, American actor
- 1971 – Wilson Jermaine Heredia, American actor
- 1971 – Francesco Toldo, Italian footballer
- 1971 – Mine Yoshizaki, Japanese illustrator
- 1972 – Sergei Zholtok, Latvian ice hockey player (d. 2004)
- 1973 – Graham Kavanagh, Irish footballer
- 1973 – Monica Seles, Yugoslavian-American tennis player
- 1973 – Jan Ullrich, German cyclist
- 1976 – Eddy Garabito, Dominican baseball player
- 1976 – Masafumi Gotoh, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist (Asian Kung-Fu Generation)
- 1977 – Siyabonga Nomvethe, South African footballer
- 1978 – Jarron Collins, American basketball player
- 1978 – Jason Collins, American basketball player
- 1978 – Nelly Furtado, Canadian singer-songwriter and producer
- 1978 – Luigi Malafronte, Italian footballer
- 1978 – Peter Moylan, Australian baseball player
- 1978 – Maëlle Ricker, Canadian snowboarder
- 1978 – David Rivas, Spanish footballer
- 1978 – Christopher Wolstenholme, English singer-songwriter and bass player (Muse)
- 1979 – Melissa Archer, American actress
- 1979 – Sabina Babayeva, Azerbaijani singer
- 1979 – Yvonne Catterfeld, German singer-songwriter and actress
- 1979 – Michael McIndoe, Scottish footballer
- 1980 – Adam Kreek, Canadian rower
- 1981 – Danijel Pranjić, Croatian footballer
- 1981 – Britney Spears, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
- 1982 – Michelle Banzer, American model, Miss Kentucky USA 2007
- 1982 – Christos Karipidis, Greek footballer
- 1982 – Mike Scala, American rapper, producer, and politician
- 1982 – Matt Ware, American football player
- 1982 – Maria Ferekidi, Greek slalom canoer
- 1983 – Chris Burke, Scottish footballer
- 1983 – Bibiana Candelas, Mexican volleyball player
- 1983 – Jaime Durán, Mexican footballer
- 1983 – Jana Kramer, American actress and singer
- 1983 – Aaron Rodgers, American football player
- 1983 – Daniela Ruah, American actress
- 1984 – Péter Máté, Hungarian footballer
- 1985 – Amaury Leveaux, French swimmer
- 1985 – Dorell Wright, American basketball player
- 1986 – Claudiu Keserü, Romanian footballer
- 1986 – Adam Le Fondre, English footballer
- 1986 – Tal Wilkenfeld, Australian bass player and composer
- 1987 – Teairra Marí, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1988 – Alfred Enoch, English actor
- 1988 – Soniya Mehra, Indian actress
- 1988 – Stephen McGinn, Scottish Footballer
- 1989 – Cassie Steele, Canadian singer-songwriter and actress
- 1990 – Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, Ghanaian footballer
- 1990 – Gastón Ramírez, Uruguayan footballer
- 1990 – Fausto Rossi, Italian footballer
- 1990 – Hikaru Yaotome, Japanese singer-songwriter and actor (Hey! Say! JUMP)
- 1991 – Brandon Knight, American basketball player
- 1993 – Kostas Stafylidis, Greek footballer
[edit] Deaths
- 1348 – Emperor Hanazono of Japan (b. 1297)
- 1381 – John of Ruysbroeck, Flemish mystic (b. 1293)
- 1463 – Albert VI, Archduke of Austria (b. 1418)
- 1469 – Piero di Cosimo de' Medici, Italian ruler (b. 1416)
- 1515 – Gonzalo Fernández de Córdoba, Spanish general (b. 1453)
- 1547 – Hernán Cortés, Spanish explorer (b. 1485)
- 1594 – Gerardus Mercator, Flemish cartographer (b. 1512)
- 1615 – Louis des Balbes de Berton de Crillon, French general (b. 1541)
- 1665 – Catherine de Vivonne, marquise de Rambouillet, French author (b. 1588)
- 1694 – Pierre Paul Puget, French painter, sculptor, and architect (b. 1622)
- 1719 – Pasquier Quesnel, French theologian (b. 1634)
- 1723 – Philippe II, Duke of Orléans, Regent of the Kingdom (b. 1674)
- 1726 – Samuel Penhallow, English-American historian (b. 1665)
- 1747 – Vincent Bourne, English scholar (b. 1695)
- 1748 – Charles Seymour, 6th Duke of Somerset, English politician (b. 1662)
- 1774 – Johann Friedrich Agricola, German composer and organist (b. 1720)
- 1814 – Marquis de Sade, French politician and philosopher (b. 1740)
- 1844 – Eustachy Erazm Sanguszko, Polish general and politician (b. 1768)
- 1849 – Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen (b. 1792)
- 1859 – John Brown, American activist (b. 1800)
- 1860 – Alfred Bunn, English stage manager (b. 1796)
- 1881 – Jenny von Westphalen, wife of the philosopher Karl Marx (b. 1814)
- 1888 – Namık Kemal, Turkish poet (b. 1840)
- 1892 – Jay Gould, American financier (b. 1836)
- 1899 – Gregorio del Pilar, Filipino general (b. 1875)
- 1918 – Edmond Rostand, French poet and playwright (b. 1868)
- 1924 – Kazimieras Būga, Lithuanian linguist and philologist (b. 1879)
- 1931 – Vincent d'Indy, French composer (b. 1851)
- 1935 – Albert Jean Louis Ayat, French fencer (b. 1875)
- 1936 – John Ringling, American businessman, co-founded Ringling Brothers Circus (b. 1866)
- 1943 – Nordahl Grieg, Norwegian author and journalist (b. 1902)
- 1944 – Josef Lhévinne, Russian pianist (b. 1874)
- 1944 – Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Egyptian-Italian poet (b. 1876)
- 1944 – Eiji Sawamura, Japanese baseball player (b. 1917)
- 1950 – Dinu Lipatti, Romanian pianist and composer (b. 1917)
- 1953 – Reginald Baker, Australian rugby player and actor (b. 1884)
- 1953 – Tran Trong Kim, Vietnamese scholar and politician, Prime Minister of Vietnam (b. 1883)
- 1957 – Harrison Ford, American actor (b. 1884)
- 1957 – Manfred Sakel, Polish psychiatrist (b. 1902)
- 1963 – Sabu Dastagir, Indian-American actor (b. 1924)
- 1963 – Thomas Hicks, English-American runner (b. 1875)
- 1966 – Luitzen Egbertus Jan Brouwer, Dutch mathematician and philosopher (b. 1881)
- 1966 – Giles Cooper, Irish playwright (b. 1918)
- 1967 – Billy Chapman, English footballer (b. 1902)
- 1968 – Adamson-Eric, Estonian painter (b. 1902)
- 1969 – José María Arguedas, Peruvian author, poet, and anthropologist (b. 1911)
- 1969 – Kliment Voroshilov, Russian politician (b. 1881)
- 1972 – Yip Man, Chinese martial artist (b. 1893)
- 1974 – Max Weber, Swiss politician (b. 1897)
- 1976 – Danny Murtaugh, American baseball player and manager (b. 1917)
- 1980 – Chaudhry Muhammad Ali, Pakistani politician, 4th Prime Minister of Pakistan (b. 1905)
- 1980 – Roza Eskenazi, Greek singer (b. 1890s)
- 1980 – Romain Gary, Lithuanian-French diplomat and author (b. 1914)
- 1981 – Wallace Harrison, American architect (b. 1895)
- 1982 – Marty Feldman, English comedian and actor (b. 1933)
- 1982 – Giovanni Ferrari, Italian football (soccer) player (b. 1907)
- 1983 – Fifi D'Orsay, Canadian actress (b. 1904)
- 1985 – Aniello Dellacroce, American gangster (b. 1914)
- 1985 – Philip Larkin, English poet and author (b. 1922)
- 1985 – Petros, the Great White Pelican of Mykonos, Greece
- 1986 – Desi Arnaz, Cuban-American actor, singer, and producer (b. 1917)
- 1986 – Lee Dorsey, American singer (b. 1924)
- 1986 – John Curtis Gowan, American psychologist (b. 1912)
- 1987 – Luis Federico Leloir, French-Argentinian chemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1906)
- 1987 – Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich, Russian physicist (b. 1914)
- 1988 – Karl-Heinz Bürger, German SS officer (b. 1904)
- 1988 – Tata Giacobetti, Italian singer-songwriter (Quartetto Cetra) (b. 1922)
- 1990 – Aaron Copland, American composer and conductor (b. 1900)
- 1990 – Robert Cummings, American actor (b. 1908)
- 1992 – Michael Gothard, English actor (b. 1939)
- 1993 – Pablo Escobar, Colombian drug lord (b. 1949)
- 1995 – Robertson Davies, Canadian author (b. 1913)
- 1995 – Roxie Roker, American actress (b. 1929)
- 1995 – Mária Telkes, Hungarian–American scientist and inventor (b. 1900)
- 1997 – Shirley Crabtree, English wrestler (b. 1930)
- 1997 – Michael Hedges, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1953)
- 2000 – Gail Fisher, American actress (b. 1935)
- 2002 – Ivan Illich, Austrian priest and philosopher (b. 1926)
- 2002 – Arno Peters, German historian (b. 1916)
- 2003 – Alan Davidson, Irish author (b. 1924)
- 2004 – Alicia Markova, English ballerina and choreographer (b. 1910)
- 2004 – Mona Van Duyn, American poet (b. 1921)
- 2004 – Leonid Telyatnikov, Kazakhstani firefighter (b. 1951)
- 2005 – Kenneth Lee Boyd, American murderer (b. 1948)
- 2005 – William P. Lawrence, American navy officer (b. 1930)
- 2005 – Van Tuong Nguyen, Thai-Australian drug trafficker (b. 1980)
- 2005 – Nat Mayer Shapiro, American painter (b. 1919)
- 2006 – Mariska Veres, Dutch singer (Shocking Blue) (b. 1947)
- 2007 – Jennifer Alexander, Canadian ballet dancer (b. 1972)
- 2008 – Odetta, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress (b. 1930)
- 2008 – Kathleen Baskin-Ball, American minister (b. 1958)
- 2008 – Edward Samuel Rogers, Canadian businessman (b. 1933)
- 2009 – Foge Fazio, American football player and coach (b. 1938)
- 2009 – Maggie Jones, English actress (b. 1934)
- 2009 – Eric Woolfson, Scottish singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (The Alan Parsons Project) (b. 1945)
- 2012 – Hiroshi Kato, Japanese martial artist (b. 1935)
- 2012 – Israel Keyes, American criminal (b. 1978)
- 2012 – Ehsan Naraghi, Iranian sociologist and author (b. 1926)
- 2012 – Décio Pignatari, Brazilian poet (b. 1927)
[edit] Holidays and observances
[edit] External links
