Historical Events
- Dec 1 Pacific Northwest Sports, Inc. is awarded one of the 2 American League baseball expansion franchises; new team named the Seattle Pilots
Wilt Chamberlain
Dec 1 Philadelphia center Wilt Chamberlain scores 52 points in 76ers' 133-109 win over Seattle SuperSonics; sets NBA record for 22 free throw misses
Isaac Newton Telescope
Dec 1 Queen Elizabeth II inaugurates 98-inch (249-cm) Isaac Newton telescope
- Dec 1 Seattle awarded one of the 2 AL expansion franchise teams
Axis: Bold as Love
Dec 1 Track Records releases the Jimi Hendrix Experience's 2nd studio album "Axis: Bold as Love" in the UK, just seven months after their debut release
- Dec 2 32nd Iron Bowl: Alabama beats Auburn 7-3 in Birmingham
- Dec 2 CFL Grey Cup, Landsdowne Park, Ottawa: Hamilton Tiger-Cats defeat Saskatchewan Roughriders, 24-1; Alan Ford's 87 yard punt, on a quick kick, is the longest in Grey Cup history
Bob Marley
Dec 3 Assassination attempt made on Bob Marley and others during concert rehearsals in Jamaica
- Dec 3 Australian Derek Clayton runs world marathon record 2:09:36.4 at the Fukuoka Marathon in Japan
- Dec 3 Final run of "20th Century Limited" famed NY-Chicago luxury train
First Human Heart Transplant
Dec 3 First human heart transplant performed in South Africa by Dr. Christiaan Barnard on Louis Washkansky
Sukarno Under Arrest
Dec 3 Fomrer Indonesian president Sukarno placed under house arrest
Spock, Ginsburg Arrested
Dec 5 Pediatrician Benjamin Spock and poet Allen Ginsberg arrested in New York while protesting against the Vietnam War
(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay
Dec 7 Otis Redding records his song "(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay", co-written and produced by guitarist Steve Cropper at Stax Studios in Memphis Tennessee
- Dec 7 The Beatles' clothing store "Apple Boutique" opens at 94 Baker Street, London
- Dec 8 NHL California Seals change name to Oakland Seals
- Dec 8 The Beatles' "Magical Mystery Tour" EP is released in UK; issued in US as an album, including additional singles from 1967
Morrison Arrested During Performance
Dec 9 Jim Morrison arrested on stage for disturbing the peace at the New Haven Arena, Connecticut, making him the 1st rock star to be taken into custody during a performance
Ceaușescu President of Romania
Dec 9 Nicolae Ceaușescu becomes President of Romania (overthrown in 1989)
The Ed Sullivan Theater
Dec 10 CBS officially renames CBS-TV Studio 50 in New York (built in 1927 as Hammerstein's Theatre), as "The Ed Sullivan Theater" in celebration of the 20th anniversary of his program
Asturias Nobel Literature Prize
Dec 10 Guatemalan author Miguel Ángel Asturias is awarded the Nobel Prize for Literature in Stockholm
Eye Discoveries Win Nobel
Dec 10 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine awarded to Ragnar Granit, Haldan Keffer Hartline and George Wald "for discoveries about the make-up of the eye
Guess Who's Coming to Dinner
Dec 11 "Guess Who's Coming to Dinner", directed by Stanley Kramer, starring Spencer Tracy, Sidney Poitier and Katharine Hepburn, premieres in NYC (Hepburn - Academy Award for Best Actress 1968)
- Dec 11 6.5 earthquake in West India, 170 killed
- Dec 11 6.6 earthquake in Koynanagar, India kills 177, and injures over 2000, and damages Kolya Dam
- Dec 11 Beatles' Apple Music signs its 1st group - Grapefruit
- Dec 11 People's Front for the Liberation of Palestine (PFLP) established
- Dec 11 Supersonic airliner prototype "Concorde" 1st shown (France)
- Dec 12 US launches Pioneer 8 into solar orbit
- Dec 13 San Diego, CA records snow at a zero elevation after temperatures plunge 19 degrees (F) in eight hours.
- Dec 13 United Soccer Association & National Pro Soccer League merge into NASL
- Dec 13 Unsuccessful coup against Greek King Constantine II
Lester B. Pearson Retires
Dec 14 Canadian Prime Minister Lester B. Pearson announces that he is retiring from politics, succeeded by Pierre Trudeau
- Dec 14 DNA created in a test tube
- Dec 15 Retired baseball player Joe Garagiola joins "Today" show panel
- Dec 15 The Beatles release fan-club single "Christmas Time is Here Again"
- Dec 15 The Silver Bridge collapses over the Ohio River in the US, killing 46 people
- Dec 16 "Playtime", French film directed by Jacques Tati, starring himself, is released
- Dec 16 Wilt Chamberlain of NBA Philadelphia 76ers scores 68 points vs Chicago
- Dec 17 Harold Holt, Prime Minister of Australia, vanishes in mysterious circumstances while swimming near Melbourne
- Dec 17 WEDW TV channel 49 in Bridgeport, Connecticut (PBS) begins broadcasting
- Dec 19 Prime Minister of Australia Harold Holt is officially presumed dead (after being swept out to sea swimming two days earlier)
- Dec 20 474,300 US soldiers in Vietnam
- Dec 20 Ian Anderson and Glenn Cornick form rock group "Jethro Tull" in Blackpool, England
"The Graduate"
Dec 22 "The Graduate", American comedy-drama film directed by Mike Nichols, starring Dustin Hoffman and Anne Bancroft, premieres (Best Director, 1968)
Paul McCartney, Jane Asher Engaged
Dec 25 Beatle Paul McCartney and British actress Jane Asher get engaged; engagement publicly broken six months later
- Dec 26 Ballon d'Or: Ferencváros forward Flórián Albert wins award for best European football player ahead of Manchester United midfielder Bobby Charlton and Celtic winger Jimmy Johnstone
- Dec 26 BBC broadcasts The Beatles psychedelic travelogue "Magical Mystery Tour"
- Dec 26 Dave Brubeck Quartet formally disbands
"Songs of Leonard Cohen"
Dec 27 Columbia Records releases Leonard Cohen's debut album "Songs of Leonard Cohen"
- Dec 28 56th Davis Cup: Australia beats Spain in Brisbane (4-1)
- Dec 28 KTSB (now KSNT) TV channel 27 in Topeka, KS (NBC) begins broadcasting
- Dec 28 Muriel Siebert is 1st woman to own a seat on New York Stock Exchange
- Dec 29 Star Trek's "Trouble With Tribbles" 1st airs
- Dec 29 Turkish-Cypriot government forms in Cyprus
- Dec 30 Beatles' "Hello Goodbye" single goes #1 & stays #1 for 3 weeks
- Dec 30 Great Western Forum opens in LA
- Dec 31 1st NBA game at Great Western Forum, LA Lakers beat Houston 147-118
Raiders Beat Oilers
Dec 31 AFL Championship, Alameda County Coliseum, Oakland: Oakland Raiders beat Houston Oilers 40-7; George Blanda 4 field goals for Raiders in club's 1st AFL Championship
- Dec 31 Bob Merrill's musical "Henry, Sweet Henry", based on the novel "The World of Harry Orient" closes at the Palace Theater, NYC, after 80 performances
Evel Knievel Fails Jump
Dec 31 Evel Knievel fails in his attempt to jump the Caesar's Palace Fountain, Las Vegas, breaking his pelvis, femur, wrist, hip and both ankles
- Dec 31 NFL Championship, Lambeau Field, Green Bay: Green Bay Packers beat Dallas Cowboys, 21-17; "The Ice Bowl", -13°F
Famous Birthdays
- Dec 1 Nestor Carbonell, American actor (Luis-Suddenly Susan), born in New York City
- Dec 1 Reggie Sanders, American MLB baseball outfielder, 1991-2007, All-Star 1995; World Series 2001 (Cincinnati Reds, Arizona Diamondbacks, and 6 other teams), born in Florence, South Carolina
- Dec 4 Adamski [Adam Tinley], English rave DJ, singer and record producer ("Killer"), born in Lymington, England
- Dec 4 Guillermo Amor, Spanish soccer midfielder and executive (37 caps, FC Barcelona), born in Benidorm, Spain
- Dec 4 Klaus Wilmsmeyer, Canadian NFL punter (Super Bowl 1994, SF 49ers), born in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada
- Dec 5 Gary Allan, American country musician (Used Heart For Sale), born in La Mirada, California
- Dec 5 Konstantin-Assen, Prince of Vidin (fourth son of Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria and his wife Doña Margarita Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela), born in Madrid
- Dec 5 René Shuman, Dutch bandleader and singer, born in Geleen, Limburg, Netherlands
- Dec 6 Hacken Lee, Hong Kong singer (House of Cards), born in British Hong Kong
- Dec 6 Judd Apatow, American director and producer (The 40-Year-Old Virgin), born in New York City
- Dec 6 Kevin Appier, American MLB baseball pitcher, 1989-94 (Kansas City Royals, and three others), born in Lancaster, California
- Dec 6 Spanky Marcus [Marcus Issoglio], American actor (Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman - "Jimmy Joe"), born in Hollywood, California
- Dec 7 Tino Martinez, American baseball first baseman (MLB All-Star 1995, 1997; World Series 1996, 98–2000 Seattle Mariners, NY Yankees), born in Tampa, Florida
- Dec 7 Václav Chalupa, Czech rower (Henley Royal Regatta 1989, Olympic silver 1992), born in Jindřichův Hradec, Czechoslovakia
- Dec 8 Darren Sheridan, English footballer and manager, born in Stretford, United Kingdom
- Dec 8 Jeff George, American NFL quarterback (Atlanta Falcons, Oakland Raiders), born in Indianapolis, Indiana
- Dec 8 Kotono Mitsuishi, Japanese seiyu (voice actress), born in Tokyo, Japan
- Dec 8 Marina Augusta Baker, English glamour model (Playboy playmate Mar, 1987) and politician, born in Windsor England,
- Dec 8 Ron George, American linebacker (Minnesota Vikings), born in Heidelberg, Germany
- Dec 8 Tony Mayberry, American NFL center (Tampa Bay Bucs), born in Würzburg, Germany
- Dec 9 Caryn Kadavy, American figure skater, born in Erie, Pennsylvania,
- Dec 9 Jason Dozzell, English footballer
- Dec 9 Ray Agnew, American NFL nose tackle, 1990-2000 (New England Patriots; New York Giants; St. Louis Rams), and executive (Los Angeles Rams; Detroit Lions), born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Dec 10 (Bror) "Messiah" Marcolin, Swedish heavy metal singer (Candlemas - 1986-91 & 2002-2004), born in Ronneby, Sweden
- Dec 11 Chris Shepherd, English film director, born in Anfield, Liverpool, England
- Dec 11 DJ Yella, American DJ and music producer (N.W.A), born in Compton, California
- Dec 11 Katy Steding, American basketball forward (Olympic gold 1996), born in Portland, Oregon
- Dec 11 Mo'Nique [Monique Hicks], American comedian and actress (Precious), born in Baltimore, Maryland
- Dec 11 Richard Stemp, English cricketer (Yorkshire & England A left-arm spinner), born in Erdington, Birmingham, United Kingdom
- Dec 12 David Szott, American NFL guard (KC Chiefs), born in Passaic, New Jersey
- Dec 12 John Randle, American NFL defensive tackle (Minnesota Vikings), born in Mumford, Texas
- Dec 12 Masood Anwar, Pakistani cricketer (one Test Pakistan v West Indies 1990), born in Khanewal, Punjab, Pakistan
- Dec 12 Takenobu Mitsuyoshi, Japanese video game music composer, born in Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan
- Dec 12 Yuzo Koshiro, Japanese video game music composer, born in Hino, Tokyo, JApan
- Dec 13 Bo Pelini, American football coach, born in Youngstown, Ohio
Jamie Foxx (56 years old)
Dec 13 American comedian (In Living Color), Academy Award-winning actor (Ray), and Grammy Award-winning musician ("Blame It"), born in Terrell, Texas
- Dec 13 Jenn Thompson, American actor (Dee-Harper Valley PTA), born in New York City
- Dec 14 Eldridge Recasner, American NBA guard (Atlanta Hawks, Houston Rockets), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
- Dec 14 Ewa Białołęcka, Polish writer, born in Elbląg, Poland
- Dec 15 Mo Vaughn, American baseball first baseman (MLB All-Star 1995, 96, 98; AL MVP 1995; Boston Red Sox), born in Norwalk, Connecticut
- Dec 16 Donovan Bailey, Canadian athlete (WR 100m 9.84 1996; Olympic gold 100m, 4x100m 1996; World C'ship gold 100m, 4x100m 1995, 4x100m 1997), born in Manchester Parish, Jamaica
- Dec 16 Miranda Otto, Australian actress
- Dec 17 Gigi D'Agostino, Italian club DJ and musician ("Bla, Bla, Bla"; "L'Amour Toujours"), born in Turin, Italy
- Dec 17 Vincent Damphousse, NHL center (Montreal Canadiens), born in Montreal, Quebec
- Dec 18 Bob Corkum, Salisbury, NHL center (Philadelphia Flyers)
- Dec 18 Toine van Peperstraten, Dutch sports journalist
- Dec 19 Criss Angel [Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos], American magician and illusionist (Criss Angel Mindfreak), born in Hempstead, New York
- Dec 19 Frankie Lam, Hong Kong actor and TV executive, born in Hong Kong
- Dec 19 Paul Harding, American musician and writer ("Tinkers" - Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2010), born in Massachusetts
- Dec 20 Duncan Kennedy, American luger (Olympics 1994), born in Burlington, California
- Dec 21 Ervin Johnson, NBA center (Seattle Supersonics, Milwaukee Bucks), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
- Dec 21 Mikhail Saakashvili, Soviet-born President of Georgia, born in Tbilisi, Georgia
- Dec 21 Terry Mills, NBA forward (Miami Heat, Detroit Pistons), born in Romulus, Michigan
- Dec 22 Dan Petrescu, Romanian football manager and professional football player, born in Bucharest, Romania
- Dec 22 Mike Sullivan, NFL center (Tampa Bay Bucs), born in Marshfield, Massachusetts
- Dec 22 Richey James Edwards, Welsh rock musician and songwriter (Manic Street Preachers), born in Blackwood, United Kingdom (disappeared in 1995; declared d. 2008)
- Dec 22 Roland Holder, cricketer (West Indian batsman in ODI's 1993-), born in Port of Spain, Trinidad and Tobago
- Dec 23 Carla Bruni, Italian-French model and singer-songwriter, born in Turin, Italy
- Dec 23 Lamar Lathon, American football linebacker (Carolina Panthers), born in Wharton, Texas
- Dec 23 Tim Fountain, British playwright, born in Dewsbury, United Kingdom
- Dec 24 Mikhail Shchennikov, Russian race walker, born in Yekaterinburg, Russia
- Dec 25 Jason Thirsk, American punk rock bassist (Pennywise), born in Hermosa, California (d. 1996)
- Dec 26 Ken Tanigawa, American golfer (Senior PGA C'ship 2019), born in Kobe, Japan
- Dec 26 Tony Covington, NFL safety (Seattle Seahawks), born in Winston-Salem, North Carolina
- Dec 27 Niels Meijer, Dutch rock keyboardist (The Bob Color), born in the Netherlands
- Dec 28 Chris Ware, US cartoonist, born in Omaha, Nebraska
- Dec 29 Ashleigh Banfield, Canadian journalist, born in Winnipeg, Canada
- Dec 29 Henry Jones, American football Safety (Buffalo Bills, Minnesota Vikings), born in St. Louis, Missouri
- Dec 29 Kevin Toth, American shot put athlete, born in Cleveland, Ohio
- Dec 29 Lilly [formerly Andy] Wachowski, American film director (Matrix trilogy), born in Chicago, Illinois
- Dec 29 Tony Tolbert, American NFL defensive end (Pro Bowl 1996; Super Bowl 1992, 93, 95; Dallas Cowboys), born in Tuskegee, Alabama
Famous Weddings
- Dec 9 US President Lyndon B. Johnson's daughter Lynda (23) marries US Marine Captain Charles Robb (28) in the White House
Famous Deaths
- Dec 2 Francis Spellman, American Bishop and Cardinal of Roman Catholic Church, dies at 78
- Dec 3 Annette Kolb, German writer and pacifist, dies at 97
- Dec 4 Bert Lahr [Irving Lahrheim], American comic and actor (The Wizard of Oz - "Lion"), dies of cancer at 72
- Dec 4 Harry Wismer, American sports broadcaster (NBC Blue Network, ABC, voice of Washington Redskins) and AFL team owner (New York Titans), dies after a fall at 54
- Dec 6 Cora Baird, American puppeteer (Kukla, Fran & Ollie), dies at 55
- Dec 7 House Peters, British silent film actor (This Is the Life; Kansas Territory), dies at 87
- Dec 8 John Mills, Sr., American singer (Mills Brothers) (b. 1889)
Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr. (1935-1967)
Dec 8 Jr., 1st African-American astronaut and U.S. Air Force major, dies in a crash of an F-104 Starfighter while training at 32
- Dec 9 Charles Léon Hammes, Luxembourgian lawyer and President of the European Court of Justice (b. 1898)
- Dec 10 Brasílio Itiberê da Cunha Luz, Brazilian composer, dies at 71
- Dec 10 Carl Cunningham, American drummer (The Bar-kays - "Soul Finger"), killed in Otis Redding plane crash in Lake Monona, Wisconsin crash at 19
- Dec 10 Jimmy King, American guitarist (The Bar-kays - "Soul Finger"), dies in Otis Redding plane crash in Lake Monona, Wisconsin crash at 18
Otis Redding (1941-1967)
Dec 10 American soul singer-songwriter ("(Sittin' On) The Dock of the Bay"; "Respect"), dies in a plane crash in Lake Monona, Wisconsin at 26
- Dec 10 Phalin Jones, American soul and R&B saxophonist (The Bar-kays - "Soul Finger"), dies in Otis Redding plane crash in Lake Monona, Wisconsin at 19
- Dec 10 Ron Caldwell, American soul and R&B keyboardist (The Bar-kays - "Soul Finger"), dies in Otis Redding plane crash in Lake Monona, Wisconsin at 18
- Dec 11 Howard Freeman, American actor (Studio One, Double Dynamite), dies after illness at 68
- Dec 11 Richard Stöhr, Austrian composer, dies at 93
- Dec 11 Victor De Sabata, Italian conductor and composer (II Macigno), dies at 75
- Dec 14 Frank Moran, American heavyweight boxer & film actor, dies of a heart attack at 80
- Dec 17 Barry Byrne, American architect (Church of St. Francis Xavier in Kansas City), dies at 83
- Dec 17 Harold Holt, Australian prime minister (Liberal, 1966-67), presumed to have drowned at 59
- Dec 17 Jack Perrin, American actor, dies of a heart attack at 71
- Dec 19 Alfred Courtens, Belgian sculptor, dies at 78
- Dec 21 Louis Washkansky, 18 days after 1st heart transplant, dies at 55
- Dec 21 Stuart "Stu" Erwin, American actor (The Stu Erwin Show), dies of a heart attack at 64
- Dec 22 Lee Krieger, American actor (Clambake, One Way Wahini), dies at 48
- Dec 23 Karen Verne [Ingeborg Klinkerfuss], German actress (Sky Murder, All Through the Night, Madame X), dies from a heart ailment at 49
- Dec 23 Richard Flury, Swiss composer, dies at 71
- Dec 23 Ruth Fuller Sasaki, American Zen teacher (1st Zen Institute of America), dies at 75
- Dec 24 Karl Ristenpart, German conductor, dies of a heart attack at 67
- Dec 26 Sydney Barnes, English cricket fast bowler (27 Tests, 189 wickets, BB 9/103); Warwickshire CCC, Lancashire CCC, Staffordshire CCC), dies at 94
- Dec 28 Béla Schick, Hungarian-American paediatrician (Schick test), dies at 90
- Dec 28 Katharine McCormick, American biologist, suffragist and philanthropist, dies at 92
- Dec 29 Paul Whiteman "The King of Jazz", American orchestra leader (Gershwin's "Rhapsody In Blue"; Fabulous Dorseys), dies at 77
- Dec 30 Bert Berns, American songwriter ("Twist And Shout"; "Piece Of My Heart"; "Hang On Sloopy") and producer ("Under The Boardwalk"; "Brown-Eyed Girl"), dies of heart failure at 38
Vincent Massey (1887-1967)
Dec 30 Canadian diplomat and 1st Canadian-born Governor General of Canada (1952-59), dies at 80
- Dec 31 Arthur Mailey, Australian cricket spin bowler (21 Tests, 99 wickets; 10/66 v Gloucestershire 1921), dies at 81
