Historical Events
Paul Kruger
Dec 1 Exiled South African President of Transvaal Paul Kruger visits Flanders and on the same day is declined a visit from the German Kaiser
- Dec 1 Portifiro Diaz is inaugurated for his 6th consecutive term as President of Mexico
- Dec 2 Exiled South African President of Transvaal Paul Kruger arrives in Germany, though the Kaiser refuses to meet him
- Dec 7 Max Planck, in his house at Grunewald, on the outskirts of Berlin, discovers the law of black body radiation.
- Dec 9 President Paul Kruger of South Africa's Transvaal & Queen Wilhelmina of the Netherlands have a triumphant procession
Lift Every Voice and Sing
Dec 12 James Weldon Johnson's poem "Lift Every Voice and Sing", is set to music by his brother J. Rosamond Johnson; the hymn becomes known as the Black national anthem [1] [2]
Battle of Nooitgedacht
Dec 13 Battle of Nooitgedacht: Boer Generals Koos de la Rey and Jan Smuts defeat a British brigade under the command of Major General R. Clements
- Dec 14 Birth of Quantum Physics: German Physicist Max Planck presents a theoretical derivation of his black-body radiation law
- Dec 14 France and Italy sign a secret agreement by which Italy recognizes France's right to exploit Morocco in return for France's conceding her the same right in Tripoli
- Dec 16 A National Civic Federation is formed in the US to arbitrate labor disputes
- Dec 16 Boer army under gen Kritzinger take Cape colony
- Dec 17 1st prize of 100,000 francs offered for communications with extraterrestrials. Martians excluded-considered too easy.
- Dec 17 New Ellis Island Immigration station completed costing $1.5 million
- Dec 18 The Upper Ferntree Gully to Gembrook Narrow-gauge (2 ft 6 in or 762 mm) Railway (now the Puffing Billy Railway) in Victoria, Australia is opened for traffic.
Boers Refuse Kitchener
Dec 19 General Horatio Kitchener offers protections to all Boers who will surrender and asks the Dutch community of Pretoria to convey this offer, leaders in the field refuse to surrender
- Dec 20 Giacobini discovers a comet (will be 1st comet visited by spacecraft)
"Michael Kramer"
Dec 21 Gerhart Hauptmann's play "Michael Kramer" premieres in Berlin
- Dec 23 As American forces defeat Filipino insurgents and impose civil authority, some Filipinos form a Federal Party with a platform recognizing US sovereignty
- Dec 24 Foreign powers present the Chinese Empress with their list of 'irrevocable conditions' before their nations will withdraw troops from China
- Dec 24 Herman Heijermans' "Hope of Blessing" premieres in Amsterdam
- Dec 24 The French Chamber of Deputies and Senate pass a bill calling for an end to agitation or prosecutions against those involved in the Dreyfus affair, which has divided France since 1894
- Dec 25 Arthur Schnitzler's novel "Leutnant Gustl" ("None But The Brave") banned in Germany due to its unflattering portrait of military protocol
- Dec 27 Carrie Nation's 1st public smashing of a bar (Carey Hotel, Wichita, Kansas)
- Dec 29 General Viljoen surprise attack British garrison to Helvetia
Famous Birthdays
- Dec 3 Richard Kuhn, Austrian-German biochemist (Nobel 1938-work on carotenoids and vitamins), born in Vienna, Austria-Hungary (d. 1967)
- Dec 3 Ulrich Inderbinen, Swiss mountain guide, born in Zermatt, Valais (d. 2004)
Agnes Moorehead (1900-1974)
Dec 6 American actress (Endora in Bewitched), born in Clinton, Massachusetts
- Dec 8 Sun Li-jen, Chinese general (best known for his leadership in the Second Sino-Japanese War and the Chinese Civil War), born in Jinnu, Lujiang, Chaohu, Anhui, Qing dynasty (d. 1990)
- Dec 9 Albert Weisbord, American labor organizer, born in New York City (d. 1977)
- Dec 12 Mária Telkes, Hungarian-American biophysicist ('the Sun Queen' who invented solar energy technologies), born in Budapest, Austria-Hungary (d. 1995) [1]
Sammy Davis Sr. (1900-1988)
Dec 12 American vaudeville dancer (Mr. Wonderful), born in Wilmington, North Carolina
- Dec 13 Jonel Perlea, Romanian opera conductor, born in Ograda, Romania (d. 1970)
- Dec 13 Norman Foster, American actor (Skyscraper Souls), born in Richmond, Indiana (d. 1976)
- Dec 14 Boyan Georgiev Ikonomov, Bulgarian composer, born in Nikopol, Bulgaria (d. 1973)
- Dec 15 Francesco Messina, Italian sculptor, born in Linguaglossa, Italy (d. 1995)
- Dec 16 V. S. Pritchett, British literary critic and writer (Myth Makers), born in Suffolk (d. 1996)
- Dec 17 Katina Paxinou, Greek actress (La femme nue), born in Piraeus, Greece (d. 1973)
- Dec 17 Lucijan Marija Škerjajanc, Slovene pianist, composer, conductor, and teacher, born in Graz, Austria (d. 1973)
- Dec 17 Mary Cartwright, English mathematician, born in Aynho, United Kingdom (d. 1998)
- Dec 20 Gabby Hartnett, American Baseball Hall of Fame catcher (MLB All Star 1933–38; NL MVP 1935; Chicago Cubs) and manager (Chicago Cubs), born in Woonsocket, Rhode Island (d. 1972)
- Dec 21 Oda Schaefer, German writer and journalist (Die Windharfe, Ladies Only), born in Wilmersdorf, Berlin (d. 1988)
- Dec 21 Vsevolod Vishnevsky, Russian playwright and journalist, born in Saint Petersburg (d. 1951)
- Dec 22 Alan Bush, English composer pianist and teacher, born in London (d. 1995)
- Dec 23 Otto Soglow, American comics artist (d. 1975)
- Dec 24 Joey Smallwood, Canadian politician (Premier of Newfoundland), born in (d. 1991)
- Dec 25 Gladys Swarthout, American mezzo-soprano (La Gioconda), born in Deepwater, Missouri (d. 1969)
- Dec 25 W L "Tich" Cornford, English cricket wicketkeeper (4 Tests, 8 dismissals; Sussex CCC), born in Hurst Green, England (d. 1964)
- Dec 27 Hans Stuck, German race car driver (d. 1978)
- Dec 28 Ted Lyons, American Baseball HOF pitcher (MLB All-Star 1939; AL wins leader 1925, 27; AL ERA leader 1942; no-hitter 1926; Chicago WS) and manager (Chicago WS 1926-28), born in Lake Charles, Louisiana (d. 1986)
- Dec 29 Willie Humphrey, American jazz clarinetist, born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 1994)
Famous Deaths
- Dec 8 Henry Russell, English pianist and composer, dies at 87
- Dec 14 Jean Baptiste August Kessler, Dutch entrepreneur and director of oil on Dutch Indies, dies at 46
- Dec 21 Roger Wolcott, American political figure, 39th Governor of Massachusetts (b. 1847)
- Dec 27 William Armstrong, 1st Baron Armstrong and British industralist and inventor (hydraulic crane Armstrong Gun), dies at 90
- Dec 28 Alexandre Alberto da Rocha de Serpa Pinto, Portuguese explorer (b. 1846)
- Dec 31 Hannibal Goodwin, Episcopal priest who patented a method for making film used in Thomas Edison's Kinetoscope, dies at 78
