Historical Events
- Dec 1 American Old West: Near Frisco, New Mexico, deputy sheriff Elfego Baca holds off a gang of 80 Texan cowboys who want to kill him for arresting Charles McCarthy.
Society of Independent Artists
Dec 1 Society of Independent Artists hold 1st exhibition in Polychrome Pavilion, Paris, includes Georges Seurat's "Bathers at Asnières"
Adventures of Huckleberry Finn
Dec 10 "Adventures of Huckleberry Finn" by Mark Twain is first published in the UK and Canada (US Feb 1885, due to printing error)
- Dec 12 1st Test match played at the Adelaide Oval
Great Britain Recognizes Congo
Dec 16 Great Britain recognizes King Leopold II's Congo Free State
- Dec 19 Italy recognizes King Leopold II's Congo Free State
- Dec 24 Austria-Hungary admits King Leopold II's Congo Free State
- Dec 27 Netherlands recognizes King Leopold II's Congo Free State
Symphony No. 7 in E
Dec 30 Anton Bruckner's "Symphony No. 7 in E", premieres led by Arthur Nikisch at the Stadtheater in Leipzig, Kingdom of Saxony
- Dec 30 William Morris, Eleanor Marx, and others establish the Socialist League, a revolutionary organization in the UK
Famous Birthdays
Rajendra Prasad (1884-1963)
Dec 3 Indian independence activist and 1st President of India (1950-62), born in Zeradai, British India
- Dec 3 Walther Stampfli, Swiss politician and member of the Swiss Federal Council, born in Büren, Solothurn, Switzerland (d. 1965)
- Dec 5 Evert Cornelis, Dutch conductor and pianist, born in Amsterdam (d. 1931)
- Dec 6 Rose Schneiderman, American socialist, feminist, trade union leader and secretary of labor for New York State (1937-44), born in Sawin, Poland (d. 1972)
- Dec 7 Petru Groza, Austro-Hungarian born Romanian communist and President of Romania (1945-58), born in Băcia, Austria-Hungary (d. 1958)
- Dec 10 Zinaida Serebriakova, Russian painter, born in Kharkov, Russian Empire (d. 1967)
- Dec 14 Jane Cowl, American actress and playwright (Smilin' Through), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1950)
- Dec 14 Regina Ullmann, Swiss poet and writer, born in St. Gallen, Switzerland (d. 1961)
- Dec 19 Antonin Zapotocky, Czech communist politician (President of Czechoslovakia 1953-57), born in Zákolany, Kingdom of Bohemia (d. 1957)
- Dec 19 Ferdinando Liuzzi, Italian composer and musicologist, born in Senigallia, Italy (d. 1940)
- Dec 20 Max Blokzijl, Dutch singer, journalist, and Nazi collaborator, born in Leeuwarden, Netherlands (d. 1946)
- Dec 25 [Florence] Evelyn Nesbit, American actress, born in Tarentum, Pennsylvania (d. 1967)
- Dec 26 Félix Éboué, French colonial administrator, born in Cayenne, French Guiana (d. 1944)
- Dec 27 Bernard van Dieren, Dutch composer (Diaphony; Chinese Symphony), critic, and music writer, born in Rotterdam, Netherlands (d. 1936)
- Dec 28 Joseph Pholien, Belgian politician (Prime Minister of Belgian 1950-52), born in Liège, Belgium (d. 1968)
Hideki Tojo (1884-1948)
Dec 30 Japanese Prime Minister during WW II (1941-44), born in Tokyo
- Dec 30 Karl Heinrich David, Swiss composer, born in St. Gallen, Switzerland (d. 1951)
