Historical Events
- Dec 1 Boston Braves MLB franchise owner James Gaffney buys the Allston Golf Club on Commonwealth Avenue, Boston with a plan to construct a ball park there; ground breaking for Braves Field starts on March 20, 1915
- Dec 3 First Balkan War: The Naval Battle of Elli takes place.
- Dec 3 Gerrit Brinkman becomes 1st Dutch traffic officer
- Dec 3 Turkey, Serbia, Montenegro, Greece & Bulgaria sign weapons pact
- Dec 5 The Triple Alliance among Italy, Austria, and Germany (originally signed in 1882) is renewed for six years, beginning in 1914, a move inspired by instability in the Balkans
- Dec 6 China votes for universal human rights
- Dec 7 Bust of Queen Nefertiti found in El-Amarna, Egypt
Germany's War Council
Dec 8 Wilhelm II of Germany calls 'War Council'
Dalén Awarded Physics Nobel
Dec 10 Nobel Prize for Physics awarded to Gustaf Dalén for inventing automatic regulators for gas accumulators for lighthouses and buoys
- Dec 12 Rudolf Friml and Otto Harbach's musical "Firefly" premieres in New York City
- Dec 16 1st US postage stamp picturing an airplane, 20 cent parcel post, issued
- Dec 16 Austria-Hungary engage in conflict with Serbia
- Dec 16 First Balkan War: The Ottoman Navy is defeated by the Royal Hellenic Navy at the Battle of Eli
- Dec 17 Albania's de facto independence from the Ottoman Empire is recognized at the London Conference of Ambassadors
Bare Bones of the Great Ape-Man Hoax
Dec 18 Piltdown Man, later discovered to be a hoax, is supposedly found in the Piltdown Gravel Pit, by Charles Dawson
- Dec 23 Aswan Low Dam in Nile begins operation again, after being raised for the first time
Assassination Attempt on Lord Charles Hardinge
Dec 23 Indian revolutionary underground in Bengal and Punjab, headed by Rash Behari Bose attempt to assassinate Viceroy of India Lord Hardinge, by throwing homemade bomb into Viceroys's Howdah (elephant carriage) during ceremonial procession in Delhi. Although wounded, the Viceroy survives. Investigations lead to the Delhi conspiracy trial.
Famous Birthdays
- Dec 1 Cookie Lavagetto, American baseball third baseman (MLB All Star 1938-41; Pittsburgh Pirates, Brooklyn Dodgers) and manager (Washington Senators 1957-61), born in Oakland, California (d. 1990)
- Dec 1 Ken Willingham, English soccer right half (12 caps; Huddersfield Town), born in Ecclesfield, Sheffield, England (d. 1975)
- Dec 1 Minoru Yamasaki, American architect (World Trade Center, NYC), born in Seattle, Washington (d. 1986)
- Dec 1 Terence Beckles, English pianist and teacher, born in Bushey, England (d. 1995)
- Dec 4 Ian Wallace [John Wallace Pritchard], American sci-fi author (Megalomania), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 1998)
Pappy Boyington (1912-1988)
Dec 4 American combat pilot and US Marine Corps fighter ace during World War II, born in Coeur d'Alene, Idaho
- Dec 5 Maisie Fitter, editor and conservationist (d. 1996)
- Dec 7 Daniel Jones, Welsh composer, born in Pembroke, Wales (d. 1993)
- Dec 8 Jura Soyfer, Austrian political journalist and cabaret writer, born in Kharkov, Russian Empire (d. 1939)
- Dec 9 Jim Turnesa, American golfer (PGA C'ship 1952; Ryder Cup 1953), born in New York City (d. 1971)
- Dec 9 Tip O'Neill, American politician and 47th speaker of the house (D-Ma: 1977-86), born in Cambridge, Massachusetts (d. 1994)
- Dec 10 Philip Hart, American lawyer and politician (U.S. Senator from Michigan), born in Bryn Mawr, Pennsylvania (d. 1976)
- Dec 11 Carlo Ponti, Italian film producer (Marriage Italian Style, Doctor Zhivago), born in Magenta, Lombardy (d. 2007)
- Dec 15 Ray Eames, American designer and filmmaker, born in Sacramento, California (d. 1988)
- Dec 18 Benjamin O. Davis Jr., American Air Force General during WWII, born in Washington D.C. (d. 2002)
- Dec 22 Claudia A. "Lady Bird" Taylor Johnson, American first lady (1963-1969), born in Karnack, Texas (d. 2007)
- Dec 22 Henry Armstrong, American boxer (world featherweight, lightweight, welterweight [19 x title defences] champion), born in Columbus, Mississippi (d. 1988)
- Dec 25 Don McRae, New Zealand cricket medium pace bowler (1 Test; Canterbury CA) and soccer goalkeeper (1 cap; Nomads United FC), born in Christchurch, New Zealand (d. 1986)
- Dec 25 Herman W. Filarski, Dutch bridge journalist (d. 1982)
- Dec 25 Leighton Noble [Faye Leighton Jepson], American big band singer, bandleader, and TV host, born in Pasadena, California (d. 1994)
- Dec 25 Werner Fussan, German composer (Heiteres Aquarium) and educator, born in Plauen, Germany (d. 1986)
- Dec 25 Willian Noel Moffet, Irish architect, born in Cork, Ireland (d. 1994)
- Dec 26 Arsenio Lacson, Filipino journalist and politician (Mayor of Manila, 1952-62), born in Talisay, Philippines (d. 1962)
- Dec 26 Gordon Onslow Ford, English surrealist painter, born in Wendover, England (d. 2003)
- Dec 29 Peggy Glanville-Hicks, Australian composer (Triad), born in Melbourne, Victoria (d. 1990)
- Dec 30 Nancy Coleman, American actress (Edge of Darkness), born in Everett, Washington (d. 2000)
- Dec 31 John Frost, British airborne officer, born in Pune, India (d. 1993)
Famous Weddings
Famous Deaths
- Dec 3 Prudente José de Morais Barros, 3rd President of Brazil (1894-98), dies at 61
- Dec 7 George Darwin, theorized Moon was pulled out of Pacific Ocean, dies
- Dec 12 Luitpold, Prince Regent of Bavaria (regent for nephews King Ludwig II and King Otto), dies at 91
- Dec 14 Belgrave Edward Sutton Ninnis, British Army lieutenant, Antarctic explorer, and dog handler (Douglas Mawson's Australasian Antarctic expedition), dies after falling into a deep crevasse at 25
- Dec 23 Otto Schoetensack, German anthropologist, dies at 62
- Dec 30 Alfred von Kiderlen-Wächter, German foreign minister, dies at 60
