December 5

December 5 is the 339th day of the year (340th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 26 days remaining until the end of the year.

Events

• 63 BC – Cicero gives the fourth and final of the Catiline Orations.
• 663 – Fourth Council of Toledo takes place.
• 1082 – Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona is assassinated.
• 1408 – Emir Edigu of Golden Horde reaches Moscow.
• 1484 – Pope Innocent VIII issues the Summis desiderantes, a papal bull that deputizes Heinrich Kramer and James Sprenger as inquisitors to root out alleged witchcraft in Germany and leads to one of the most oppressive witch hunts in European history.
• 1492 – Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to set foot on the island of Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic).
• 1496 – King Manuel I of Portugal issues a decree of expulsion of "heretics" from the country.
• 1757 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Leuthen – Frederick II of Prussia leads Prussian forces to a decisive victory over Austrian forces under Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine.
• 1766 – In London, James Christie holds his first sale.
• 1775 – At Fort Ticonderoga, Henry Knox begins his historic transport of artillery to Cambridge, Massachusetts.
• 1815 – Foundation of Maceió in Brazil.
• 1831 – Former US President John Quincy Adams takes his seat in the House of Representatives.
• 1847 – Jefferson Davis is elected to the US senate, his first political post.
• 1848 – California Gold Rush: In a message before the U.S. Congress, US President James K. Polk confirms that large amounts of gold had been discovered in California.
• 1865 – Chincha Islands War: Peru allies with Chile against Spain.
• 1876 – The Brooklyn Theater Fire kills at least 278 people in Brooklyn, NY.
• 1914 – The Italian Parliament proclaims the neutrality of the country.
• 1920 – Dimitrios Rallis forms a government in Greece.
• 1932 – German-born Swiss physicist Albert Einstein is granted an American visa.
• 1933 – Prohibition in the United States ends: Utah becomes the 36th U.S. state to ratify the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution, thus establishing the required 75% of states needed to enact the amendment (this overturned the 18th Amendment which had made the manufacture, sale, or transportation of alcohol illegal in the United States).
• 1934 – Abyssinia Crisis: Italian troops attack Wal Wal in Abyssinia, taking four days to capture the city.
• 1936 – The Soviet Union adopts a new constitution and the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic is established as a full Union Republic of the USSR.
• 1941 – World War II: In the Battle of Moscow, Georgy Zhukov launches a massive Soviet counter-attack against the German army, with the biggest offensive launched against Army Group Centre.
• 1941 – World War II: Great Britain declares war on Finland, Hungary and Romania.
• 1943 – World War II: U.S. Army Air Force begins attacking Germany's secret weapons bases in Operation Crossbow.
• 1945 – Flight 19 is lost in the Bermuda Triangle.
• 1952 – Great Smog of 1952: A cold fog descends upon London, combining with air pollution and killing at least 12,000 in the weeks and months that follow.
• 1955 – The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merge and form the AFL-CIO.
• 1955 – E.D. Nixon and Rosa Parks lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott.
• 1957 – Sukarno expels all Dutch people from Indonesia.
• 1958 – Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) is inaugurated in the United Kingdom by Queen Elizabeth II when she speaks to the Lord Provost in a call from Bristol to Edinburgh.
• 1958 – The Preston bypass, the UK's first stretch of motorway, opens to traffic for the first time. It is now part of the M6 and M55 motorways.
• 1964 – Vietnam War: For his heroism in battle earlier in the year, Captain Roger Donlon is awarded the first Medal of Honor of the war.
• 1969 – The four node ARPANET network is established
• 1976 – The United Nations General Assembly adopts Pakistan's resolution on security of non-Nuclear States.
• 1977 – Egypt breaks diplomatic relations with Syria, Libya, Algeria, Iraq and South Yemen. The move is in retaliation for the Declaration of Tripoli against Egypt.
• 1978 – The Soviet Union signs a "friendship treaty" with the Democratic Republic of Afghanistan.
• 1979 – Sonia Johnson is formally excommunicated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for her outspoken criticism of the church concerning the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
• 1983 – Dissolution of the Military Junta in Argentina.
• 1983 – ICIMOD is established and inaugurated with its headquarters in Kathmandu, Nepal, and legitimised through an Act of Parliament in Nepal in the same year.
• 1993 – The mayor of Wien (Vienna), Helmut Zilk, is injured by a letter bomb.
• 1995 – The Sri Lankan government announces the conquest of Tamil stronghold of Jaffna.
• 2004 – The Civil Partnership Act comes into effect in the United Kingdom, and the first civil partnership is registered there.
• 2005 – The Lake Tanganyika earthquake causes significant damage, mostly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
• 2006 – Commodore Frank Bainimarama overthrows the government in Fiji.
• 2007 – Westroads Mall massacre: A gunman opens fire with a semi-automatic rifle at an Omaha, Nebraska mall, killing eight people before taking his own life.

Births

• 1377 – Jianwen Emperor of China (d. 1402)
• 1443 – Pope Julius II (d. 1513)
• 1495 – Nicolas Cleynaerts, Flemish philologist (d. 1542)
• 1537 – Ashikaga Yoshiaki, Japanese shogun (d. 1597)
• 1539 – Fausto Paolo Sozzini, Italian theologian (d. 1604)
• 1547 – Ubbo Emmius, Dutch historian and geographer (d. 1625)
• 1595 – Henry Lawes, English musician and composer (d. 1662)
• 1661 – Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, English politician (d. 1724)
• 1666 – Francesco Scarlatti, Italian composer (d. 1741)
• 1687 – Francesco Geminiani, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1762)
• 1697 – Giuseppe de Majo, Italian organist and composer (d. 1771)
• 1782 – Martin Van Buren, American politician, 8th President of the United States (d. 1862)
• 1803 – Fyodor Tyutchev, Russian poet (d. 1873)
• 1820 – Afanasy Fet, Russian poet (d. 1892)
• 1822 – Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz, American academic, co-founded Radcliffe College (d. 1907)
• 1829 – Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière, Canadian politician, 4th Premier of Quebec (d. 1908)
• 1830 – Christina Rossetti, English poet (d. 1894)
• 1839 – George Armstrong Custer, American general (d. 1876)
• 1841 – Marcus Daly, Irish-American businessman (d. 1900)
• 1855 – Clinton Hart Merriam, American ornithologist (d. 1942)
• 1859 – John Jellicoe, English admiral (d. 1935)
• 1863 – Paul Painlevé, French mathematician and politician, Prime Minister of France (d. 1933)
• 1867 – Antti Aarne, Finnish folklorist (d. 1925)
• 1867 – Józef Piłsudski, Polish military officer and politician, Chief of State of the Second Republic of Poland (d. 1935)
• 1868 – Arnold Sommerfeld, German physicist (d. 1951)
• 1869 – Ellis Parker Butler, American author (d. 1937)
• 1870 – Vítězslav Novák, Czech composer (d. 1949)
• 1871 – Bill Pickett, American rodeo performer (d. 1932)
• 1872 – Harry Nelson Pillsbury, American chess player (d. 1906)
• 1875 – Arthur Currie, Canadian general (d. 1933)
• 1879 – Clyde Vernon Cessna, American aviator and businessman, founded the Cessna Aircraft Corporation (d. 1954)
• 1881 – René Cresté, French actor (d. 1922)
• 1886 – Pieter Oud, Dutch politician (d. 1968)
• 1886 – Rose Wilder Lane, American journalist and author (d. 1968)
• 1890 – David Bomberg, English painter (d. 1957)
• 1890 – Fritz Lang, Austrian-American director, screenwriter, and producer (d. 1976)
• 1894 – Charles Robberts Swart, South African politician, 1st State President of South Africa (d. 1982)
• 1895 – Elbert Frank Cox, American mathematician (d. 1969)
• 1896 – Carl Ferdinand Cori, Czech biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)
• 1897 – Nunnally Johnson, American screenwriter and producer (d. 1977)
• 1897 – Gershom Scholem, German-Israeli philosopher and historian (d. 1982)
• 1898 – Josh Malihabadi, Indian poet (d. 1982)
• 1898 – Grace Moore, American soprano (d. 1947)
• 1901 – Walt Disney, American animator, director, screenwriter, and producer, co-founded The Walt Disney Company (d. 1966)
• 1901 – Milton H. Erickson, American psychiatrist (d. 1980)
• 1901 – Werner Heisenberg, German physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1976)
• 1902 – Emeric Pressburger, English screenwriter, director and producer (d. 1988)
• 1902 – Strom Thurmond, American politician, 103rd Governor of South Carolina (1947-1951), United States Senator from South Carolina (1954–1956, 1956-2003) (d. 2003)
• 1903 – Johannes Heesters, Dutch actor and singer (d. 2011)
• 1903 – Cecil Frank Powell, English physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1969)
• 1905 – Gus Mancuso, American baseball player (d. 1984)
• 1906 – Otto Preminger, Austrian-American director, producer, and actor (d. 1986)
• 1907 – Lin Biao, Chinese military officer and politician, Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China (d. 1971)
• 1907 – Giuseppe Occhialini, Italian physicist (d. 1993)
• 1909 – Musashiyama Takeshi, Japanese sumo wrestler (d. 1969)
• 1910 – Abraham Polonsky, American screenwriter (d. 1999)
• 1911 – Władysław Szpilman, Polish pianist and composer (d. 2000)
• 1912 – Sonny Boy Williamson II, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (d. 1965)
• 1914 – Hans Hellmut Kirst, German author (d. 1989)
• 1916 – Hilary Koprowski, Polish virologist (d. 2013)
• 1916 – Walt McPherson, American basketball coach (d. 2013)
• 1917 – Ken Downing, English race car driver (d. 2004)
• 1917 – Wenche Foss, Norwegian actress (d. 2011)
• 1921 – Alvy Moore, American actor (d. 1997)
• 1925 – Anastasio Somoza Debayle, Nicaraguan politician, 73rd President of Nicaragua (d. 1980)
• 1927 – Bhumibol Adulyadej, Thai king
• 1931 – Ladislav Novák, Czech footballer (d. 2011)
• 1932 – Sheldon Lee Glashow, American physicist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1932 – Jim Hurtubise, American race car driver (d. 1989)
• 1932 – Little Richard, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor
• 1934 – Joan Didion, American author
• 1934 – Nikos Kourkoulos, Greek actor and director (d. 2007)
• 1935 – Calvin Trillin, American journalist, author, and poet
• 1935 – Yury Vlasov, Soviet weightlifter
• 1936 – James Lee Burke, American author
• 1938 – JJ Cale, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Leathercoated Minds)
• 1938 – J. D. McDuffie, American race car driver (d. 1991)
• 1939 – Minita Chico-Nazario, Filipino jurist
• 1940 – Boris Ignatyev, Russian footballer and manager
• 1940 – Peter Pohl, Swedish author, screenwriter, and director
• 1940 – Adrian Street, Welsh wrestler
• 1940 – Frank Wilson, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2012)
• 1943 – Eva Joly, Norwegian-French politician
• 1944 – Jeroen Krabbé, Dutch actor
• 1944 – Loukas Sideras, Greek drummer and producer (Aphrodite's Child)
• 1945 – Serge Chapleau, Canadian cartoonist
• 1945 – Moshe Katsav, Israeli politician, 8th President of Israel
• 1946 – José Carreras, Spanish tenor
• 1946 – Andy Kim, Canadian singer-songwriter
• 1946 – Sarel van der Merwe, South African race car driver
• 1947 – Bruce Golding, Jamaican politician, 8th Prime Minister of Jamaica
• 1947 – Tony Gregory, Irish politician (d. 2009)
• 1947 – Jim Messina, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Buffalo Springfield, Loggins and Messina, and Poco)
• 1947 – Jim Plunkett, American football player
• 1949 – John Altman, English composer and conductor
• 1949 – Abdullah Senussi, Sudanese-Libyan military officer
• 1950 – Camarón de la Isla, Spanish singer (d. 1992)
• 1950 – Osvaldo Golijov, Argentinian composer
• 1950 – James Knaggs, American officer in The Salvation Army
• 1951 – Morgan Brittany, American actress
• 1951 – Anne-Mie van Kerckhoven, Belgian painter and illustrator
• 1951 – Larry Zbyszko, American wrestler
• 1953 – Gwen Lister, South African-Namibian journalist, publisher, and activist
• 1954 – Hanif Kureishi, English author and playwright
• 1954 – Gary Roenicke, American baseball player
• 1956 – Klaus Allofs, German footballer
• 1956 – Brian Backer, American actor
• 1956 – Krystian Zimerman, Polish pianist
• 1957 – Raquel Argandoña, Chilean model, actress, and politician
• 1957 – Art Monk, American football player
• 1958 – Dean Erickson, American actor
• 1958 – Dynamite Kid, English wrestler
• 1959 – Lee Chapman, English footballer
• 1959 – Oleksandr Yaroslavsky, Ukrainian businessman
• 1960 – Frans Adelaar, Dutch footballer and manager
• 1960 – Jack Russell, American singer-songwriter and producer (Great White)
• 1961 – Ralf Dujmovits, German mountaineer
• 1961 – Sophia Vossou, Greek singer
• 1962 – José Cura, Argentine tenor
• 1962 – Pablo Morales, American swimmer
• 1962 – Nivek Ogre, Canadian singer-songwriter and actor (Skinny Puppy, ohGr, Ministry, and Rx)
• 1962 – Fred Rutten, Dutch footballer and manager
• 1963 – Doctor Dré, American television and radio host
• 1963 – Eddie "The Eagle" Edwards, English ski jumper
• 1963 – Ty England, American singer and guitarist
• 1963 – Carrie Hamilton, American actress (d. 2002)
• 1965 – John Rzeznik, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (Goo Goo Dolls)
• 1965 – Wayne Smith, Jamaican rapper
• 1965 – Manish Malhotra, Indian costume designer
• 1966 – Patricia Kaas, French singer-songwriter and actress
• 1966 – Lee Seung-Cheol, South Korean singer (Boohwal)
• 1967 – Gary Allan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1967 – Konstantin-Assen, Prince of Vidin
• 1968 – Margaret Cho, American comedian and actress
• 1968 – Lisa Marie, American model and actress
• 1968 – Lydia Millet, American author
• 1969 – Eric Etebari, American actor
• 1969 – Morgan J. Freeman, American director
• 1969 – Alex Kapp Horner, American actress
• 1969 – Lewis Gordon Pugh, English swimmer and lawyer
• 1969 – Ramón Ramírez, Mexican footballer
• 1970 – Kevin Haller, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1971 – Kali Rocha, American actress
• 1971 – Kavus Torabi, Iranian-English guitarist (Knifeworld, Cardiacs, The Monsoon Bassoon, Guapo, and Chrome Hoof)
• 1971 – Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, German politician
• 1972 – Cliff Floyd, American baseball player
• 1972 – Mike Mahoney, American baseball player
• 1972 – Angela Shelton, American actress, screenwriter, and producer
• 1973 – Arik Benado, Israeli footballer
• 1973 – Shalom Harlow, Canadian model and actress
• 1973 – Mikelangelo Loconte, Italian singer-songwriter
• 1973 – Luboš Motl, Czech physicist
• 1973 – Danielle Winits, Brazilian actress
• 1974 – Charlie Batch, American football player
• 1975 – Ronnie O'Sullivan, English snooker player
• 1975 – Paula Patton, American actress
• 1976 – Amy Acker, American actress
• 1976 – Xavier Garbajosa, French rugby player
• 1976 – Rachel Komisarz, American swimmer
• 1977 – Peter van der Vlag, Dutch footballer
• 1978 – Pachrapa Chaichua, Thai actress
• 1978 – Olli Jokinen, Finnish ice hockey player
• 1978 – Marcelo Zalayeta, Uruguayan footballer
• 1979 – Matteo Ferrari, Italian footballer
• 1979 – Niklas Hagman, Finnish ice hockey player
• 1979 – Evonne Hsu, American-Taiwanese singer
• 1979 – Gareth McAuley, Irish footballer
• 1979 – Nick Stahl, American actor
• 1980 – Tamara Feldman, American actress
• 1980 – Shizuka Itō, Japanese voice actress and singer
• 1980 – Ibrahim Maalouf, Lebanese-French trumpet player and composer
• 1981 – Leila Tong, Hong Kong actress
• 1982 – Eddy Curry, American basketball player
• 1982 – Trai Essex, American football player
• 1982 – Keri Hilson, American singer-songwriter, dancer, and actress
• 1983 – Cooper Cronk, Australian rugby player
• 1983 – Tiffany Weimer, American soccer player
• 1983 – JP White, Swedish bass player (Vains Of Jenna)
• 1984 – Chris Solinsky, American runner
• 1985 – Frankie Muniz, American actor and race car driver
• 1985 – Josh Smith, American basketball player
• 1985 – Nico Verdonck, Belgian race car driver
• 1986 – James Hinchcliffe Canadian race car driver
• 1987 – Tommy Fraser, English footballer
• 1988 – Miralem Sulejmani, Serbian footballer
• 1989 – Gregory Tyree Boyce, American actor
• 1989 – Kwon Yuri, South Korean singer, dancer, and actress (Girls' Generation)
• 1991 – Jacopo Sala, Italian footballer
• 1991 – Carolin Schäfer, German heptathlete
• 1993 – Ross Barkley, English footballer

Deaths

• 63 BC – Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura, Roman statesman
• 1082 – Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona (b. 1053)
• 1355 – John III, Duke of Brabant (b. 1300)
• 1560 – Francis II of France (b. 1544)
• 1570 – Johan Friis, Danish politician (b. 1494)
• 1624 – Gaspard Bauhin, Swiss botanist (b. 1560)
• 1654 – Jean François Sarrazin, French author (b. 1611)
• 1663 – Severo Bonini, Italian composer (b. 1582)
• 1749 – Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye, Canadian military officer and explorer (b. 1685)
• 1758 – Johann Friedrich Fasch, German composer (b. 1688)
• 1770 – James Stirling, Scottish mathematician (b. 1692)
• 1784 – Phillis Wheatley, American poet (b. 1753)
• 1791 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian composer (b. 1756)
• 1819 – Friedrich Leopold zu Stolberg-Stolberg, German poet (b. 1750)
• 1870 – Alexandre Dumas, French author (b. 1802)
• 1887 – Eliza R. Snow, American poet (b. 1804)
• 1891 – Pedro II of Brazil (b. 1825)
• 1895 – Gall, American tribal chief (b. 1840)
• 1918 – Schalk Willem Burger, South African politician, 6th President of the South African Republic (b. 1852)
• 1925 – Władysław Reymont, Polish author, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867)
• 1926 – Claude Monet, French painter (b. 1840)
• 1931 – Vachel Lindsay, American poet (b. 1879)
• 1940 – Jan Kubelík, Czech violinist and composer (b. 1880)
• 1941 – Amrita Sher-Gil, Indian painter (b. 1913)
• 1942 – Jock Delves Broughton, English noble (b. 1883)
• 1946 – Louis Dewis, Belgian painter (b. 1872)
• 1950 – Sri Aurobindo, Indian guru and poet (b. 1872)
• 1951 – Shoeless Joe Jackson, American baseball player (b. 1887)
• 1951 – Abanindranath Tagore, Indian painter (b. 1871)
• 1953 – Jorge Negrete, Mexican singer and actor (b. 1911)
• 1953 – William Sterling Parsons, American naval officer and weaponeer on the Enola Gay (b. 1901)
• 1955 – Glenn L. Martin, American businessman, founded the Glenn L. Martin Company (b. 1886)
• 1961 – Emil Fuchs, German-American lawyer and businessman (b. 1878)
• 1963 – Karl Amadeus Hartmann, German composer (b. 1905)
• 1963 – Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, Pakistani politician, 5th Prime Minister of Pakistan (b. 1892)
• 1965 – Joseph Erlanger, American physiologist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874)
• 1966 – Sylvère Maes, Belgian cyclist (b. 1909)
• 1968 – Fred Clark, American actor (b. 1914)
• 1969 – Princess Alice of Battenberg (b. 1885)
• 1969 – Claudius Dornier, German businessman, founded Dornier Flugzeugwerke (b. 1884)
• 1973 – Robert Watson-Watt, Scottish engineer, invented the radar (b. 1892)
• 1977 – Aleksandr Vasilevsky, Soviet military officer (b. 1895)
• 1979 – Jesse Pearson, American actor (b. 1930)
• 1983 – Robert Aldrich, American director (b. 1918)
• 1986 – Edward Youde, Welsh diplomat, 26th Governor of Hong Kong (b. 1924)
• 1989 – John Pritchard, English conductor (b. 1921)
• 1991 – Robert Karvelas, American actor (b. 1921)
• 1991 – Richard Speck, American murderer (b. 1941)
• 1993 – Doug Hopkins, American guitarist and songwriter (Gin Blossoms) (b. 1961)
• 1994 – Harry Horner, American art director (b. 1910)
• 1995 – L. B. Cole, American comic book artist, editor and publisher (b. 1918)
• 1995 – Charles Evans, English mountaineer and surgeon (b. 1918)
• 1995 – Gwen Harwood, Australian poet (b. 1920)
• 1995 – Lisa McPherson, American homicide victim (b. 1959)
• 1998 – Albert Gore, Sr., American politician (b. 1907)
• 2001 – Franco Rasetti, Italian physicist (b. 1901)
• 2002 – Roone Arledge, American sportscaster (b. 1931)
• 2002 – Ne Win, Burmese military officer and politician, 4th President of Burma (b. 1911)
• 2005 – Edward L. Masry, American lawyer (b. 1932)
• 2005 – Kevin McQuay, Australian businessman (b. 1949)
• 2005 – Frits Philips, Dutch businessman (b. 1905)
• 2006 – David Bronstein, Ukrainian-Soviet chess player (b. 1924)
• 2007 – Andrew Imbrie, American composer (b. 1921)
• 2007 – George Paraskevaides, Greek-Cypriot businessman, co-founded Joannou & Paraskevaides (b. 1916)
• 2007 – Karlheinz Stockhausen, German composer (b. 1928)
• 2008 – Alexy II of Moscow, Russian religious leader, 15th Patriarch of Moscow and all the Rus' (b. 1929)
• 2008 – Constantin Ticu Dumitrescu, Romanian politician (b. 1928)
• 2008 – Nina Foch, Dutch-American actress (b. 1924)
• 2008 – Anca Parghel, Romanian singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1957)
• 2009 – Vimolchatra, Thai princess (b. 1921)
• 2010 – Alan Armer, American director and producer (b. 1922)
• 2010 – John Leslie, American porn actor and director (b. 1945)
• 2010 – Don Meredith, American football player, sportscaster, and actor (b. 1938)
• 2011 – Peter Gethin, English race car driver (b. 1940)
• 2011 – Gennady Logofet, Russian footballer (b. 1942)
• 2012 – Ignatius IV of Antioch, Syrian patriarch (b. 1920)
• 2012 – Sammy Arena, American singer (b. 1931)
• 2012 – Dave Brubeck, American pianist and composer (Dave Brubeck Quartet) (b. 1920)
• 2012 – Geoffrey Clatworthy, New Zealand activist (b. 1939)
• 2012 – Eduardo J. Corso, Uruguayan lawyer and journalist (b. 1920)
• 2012 – Wilhelmus Demarteau, Dutch bishop (b. 1917)
• 2012 – Michael A. Gorman, American politician (b. 1950)
• 2012 – Frigyes Hollósi, Hungarian actor (b. 1941)
• 2012 – Nakamura Kanzaburō XVIII, Japanese actor (b. 1955)
• 2012 – Sarah Kirsch, American singer and guitarist (Fuel, Pinhead Gunpowder, and Fifteen) (b. 1970)
• 2012 – Elisabeth Murdoch, Australian philanthropist (b. 1909)
• 2012 – Oscar Niemeyer, Brazilian architect, designed the United Nations Headquarters and Cathedral of Brasília (b. 1907)
• 2012 – Yves Niaré, French shot putter (b. 1977)
• 2012 – Chen Wencong, Singaporean actor (b. 1970)
• 2012 – Doug Smith, Scottish footballer (b. 1937)

Holidays and observances

• Christian Feast Day:
  • Abercius
  • Clement of Alexandria (Episcopal Church in the United States of America)
  • Sabbas the Sanctified
• Discovery Day (Haiti and Dominican Republic)
• Faunalia, in honor of Faunus (Roman Empire)
• International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development (International)
• Saint Nicholas Eve (Belgium, Czech Republic, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Hungary, Romania, Poland and the UK)
  • Krampus (Austria)
• The King's Birthday, National Day, and Father's Day (Thailand)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• The New York Times: On This Day
• On This Day in Canada

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