Historical Events
Stanley Founds Leopoldville
Dec 3 Henry Morton Stanley founds Leopoldville (now Kinshasa)
"Hérodiade"
Dec 19 Opera "Hérodiade" by Jules Massenet is produced in Brussels
Famous Birthdays
- Dec 4 Erwin von Witzleben, German fieldmarshal (July 20th plot), born in Wrocław, Poland (d. 1944)
- Dec 5 Coretté Alefred [Hardy], American-Russian-Soviet jazz, spiritual and pop lyrical and dramatic soprano, dancer, and actress, born in Churchville, New York (d. 1951)
- Dec 8 Padraic Colum, Irish novelist and poet (Collected Poems), born in Columcille, County Longford, Ireland (d. 1972)
- Dec 14 Katherine MacDonald, American actress and film producer (Stranger Than Fiction, The Infidel), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania (d. 1956)
- Dec 15 James Schneider, American silent film director (A Foolish Romance) and actor (Keystone Kops shorts), born in New York City (d. 1967)
- Dec 17 Aubrey Faulkner, South African cricket all-rounder (25 Tests, 4 x 100s, TS 204; Transvaal), born in Port Elizabeth, South Africa (d. 1930)
- Dec 17 Jan Sluyters, Dutch painter (Moderne Kunstkring), born in s-Hertogenbosch, Netherlands (d. 1957)
- Dec 19 Joseph "King" Oliver, American jazz cornet player, composer, bandleader, and mentor to Louis Armstrong, born in Aben, Louisiana (d. 1938) [1]
Branch Rickey (1881-1965)
Dec 20 American Baseball HOF catcher (St. Louis Browns), manager (St. Louis Browns, St. Louis Cardinals), and executive (GM St. Louis Cardinals - 4X World Series champions, Brooklyn Dodgers, Pittsburgh Pirates), noted for bfreaking MLB color barrier by signing Jackie Robinson, born in Stockdale, Ohio
- Dec 22 Enver Pasa, Turkish politician, born in Istanbul, Turkey (d. 1922)
- Dec 24 Bronisław Szulc, Polish conductor and composer, born in Warsaw, Poland (d. 1955)
- Dec 24 Charles Wakefield Cadman, American composer, born in Johnstown, Pennsylvania (d. 1946)
- Dec 24 Juan Ramon Jiménez, Spanish poet (Distant Gardens, Nobel 1956), born in Moguer, Spain (d. 1958)
- Dec 29 Jess Willard, American boxer (World heavyweight champion 1915-19), born in Pottawatomie County, Kansas (d. 1968)
- Dec 29 William S. Harley, American mechanical engineer and businessman (co-founder of the Harley-Davidson Motor Company), born in Milwaukee, Wisconsin (d. 1943)
- Dec 31 Colin G. Fink, American chemist (electro chemistry), born in Hoboken, New Jersey (d. 1953) [1]
- Dec 31 Jacob Israël de Haan, Dutch poet/writer (Pipelines, Jewish Song), born in Holland, Netherlands (d. 1924)
- Dec 31 Max Pechstein, German "entartet" painter and graphic artist (The Bridge), born in Zwickau, Germany (d. 1955)
