Historical Events
Sherlock Holmes Appears
Dec 1 Sherlock Holmes first appears in print in "Study in Scarlet" by Arthur Conan Doyle
- Dec 1 Sino-Portuguese treaty recognizes Portugal's control of Macao
- Dec 2 Amsterdam's Oscar Carrés Circus Theater opens
- Dec 2 French president Jules Grévy resigns
- Dec 2 International Baseball League disbands; teams in Syracuse, Toronto, Hamilton, and Buffalo form the International Association; those in Newark, Jersey City, Wilkes-Barre, and Scranton become the Central League
- Dec 5 Stanley's expedition reaches plateau at Lake Albert Congo
- Dec 10 Austria-Hungary, Italy and Great Britain sign Balkan military treaty
- Dec 17 Georges Feydeau's "Tailleur Pour Dames" premieres in Paris
- Dec 19 Jake Kilrain & Jem Smith fight 106 round bare knuckle draw
- Dec 28 John Layton Jarvis becomes first British race horse trainer to be knighted for services to racing
Famous Birthdays
- Dec 3 Prince Naruhiko Higashikuni, Japanese imperial prince and 30th Prime Minister of Japan, born in Kyoto, Japan (d. 1990)
- Dec 6 Joseph Lamb, American ragtime pianist and composer ("Bohemia Rag"), born in Montclair, New Jersey (d. 1960) [1] [2]
- Dec 6 Lynn Fontanne, British actress (Peter Pan; The Guardsman), born in Woodford, Essex, England (d. 1983)
- Dec 7 Ernst Toch, Austrian composer (Geographical Fugue), music theorist (Melodielehre), and Pulitzer Prize winner (1956), born in n Leopoldstadt, Vienna, Austria (d. 1964)
- Dec 8 Vicente Emilio Sojo, Venezuelan composer, born in Guatire, Miranda state, Venezuela (d. 1974)
- Dec 9 Tim Moore, American actor and vaudevillian, born in Rock Island, Illinois (d. 1958)
- Dec 12 Kurt Magnus Atterberg, Swedish composer, born in Gothenburg, Sweden (d. 1974)
- Dec 12 Nigel Haig, English cricket all-rounder (5 Tests; 1,000 runs and 100 wickets 1921, 27, 29 Middlesex CCC), born in London, England (d. 1966)
- Dec 13 Alvin York, American World War I soldier who led a famed attack on a German machine gun nest (Medal of Honor), born in Pall Mall, Tennessee (d. 1964)
- Dec 13 George Pólya, Hungarian mathematician, born in Budapest, Austria-Hungary (d. 1985)
- Dec 15 Pieter Geyl, Dutch historian (History of the Dutch Tribe), born in Dordrecht, Netherlands (d. 1966)
- Dec 17 Hermine Reuss, Empress of Germany and Duchess of Bohemia (d. 1947)
- Dec 17 Josef Lada, Czech painter (d. 1957)
- Dec 21 Cy Williams, American baseball outfielder (4 x NL HR leader; Chicago Cubs, Philadelphia Phillies), born in Wadena, Indiana (d. 1974)
- Dec 22 Srinivasa Ramanujan, Indian mathematician (number theory), born in Erode, British India (d. 1920)
- Dec 23 Eric Blore, British stage and screen actor (The Lone Wolf; Bowery to Baghdad; Abie's Irish Rose; Love Happy), born in Finchley, Middlesex, England (d. 1959)
- Dec 23 John Cromwell, American actor and director (Spitfire, Of Human Bondage), born in Toledo, Ohio (d. 1979)
- Dec 24 Louis Jouvet, French actor (Volpone, Topaze, La Marseillaise), born in Crozon, Finistère, France (d. 1951)
- Dec 25 Conrad Hilton, American hotel mogul (Hilton Hotels, world's 1st international hotel chain), born in san Antonio, New Mexico (d. 1979)
- Dec 25 John Davidson, American actor (Dick Tracy vs Crime Inc, Charlie Chan-Chinese Cat), born in New York City (d. 1968)
- Dec 26 Arthur Ernest Percival, British Army officer (d. 1966)
- Dec 27 Sir John Layton Jarvis, English thoroughbred race horse trainer (9 x British Classic Races; 3 x British flat racing Champion Trainer), born in Newmarket, England (d. 1968)
- Dec 28 Charles Dingle, American actor (The Little Foxes), born in Wabash, Indiana (d. 1956)
- Dec 29 Kiyoshi Nobutoki, Japanese cellist and composer, born in Osaka (d. 1965)
- Dec 30 Henry George Ley, British organist, composer, and teacher (Eton, 1926-45), born in Chagford, England (d. 1962)
