Historical Events
Promises, Promises
Dec 1 Burt Bacharach and Hal David's musical "Promises, Promises", based on the 1960 Billy Wider film "The Apartment", opens at Shubert Theatre, NYC; runs for 1,281 performances, wins a Grammy and 2 Tony Awards
- Dec 1 Gonzalo Barrios, Venezuelan presidential candidate
Henry Kissinger
Dec 2 US President Richard Nixon names Henry Kissinger security advisor
Elvis' Comeback Special
Dec 3 Elvis Presley's Comeback Special airs on NBC, his 1st live performance in seven years, re-launching his singing career
- Dec 3 MLB Rules Committee adopts a series of changes designed to increase amount of offensive run production; decreases strike zone size and lowers height of pitcher's mound from 15" to 10"; changes are successful
- Dec 4 Following a civil rights march in Dungannon, Northern Ireland, there is a violent clash between Loyalists and those who are taking part in the march
Esposito Scores on Brother's Debut
Dec 5 Future Hockey Hall of Fame center Phil Esposito of the Boston Bruins scores 2 goals in his goaltender brother Tony's (also HOF) NHL debut for the Montreal Canadiens; 2-2 tie
Beggar's Banquet
Dec 6 Decca Records releases Rolling Stones album "Beggar's Banquet" in UK, the last during Brian Jones' lifetime (US release the next day)
- Dec 6 Major League Baseball dismisses Commissioner William Eckert after 3 years
- Dec 6 PBA National Bowling Championship won by Wayne Zahn (29)
- Dec 6 WKID (WSCV) TV channel 51 in Fort Lauderdale, Florida (IND) 1st broadcast
- Dec 7 London Records releases Rolling Stones album "Beggar's Banquet" in US, the last during Brian Jones' lifetime
- Dec 7 Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2 launched into Earth orbit
- Dec 7 Richard Dodd returns a library book his great grandfather took out in 1823 from the University of Cincinnati
"The Mother of All Demos"
Dec 9 In “The Mother of All Demos" Douglas Engelbart demonstrates the computer system NLS (oN-Line System) to a live audience in San Francisco. Shows for the first time, the mouse, word processing, windows, hypertext links, video conferencing, real-time collaboration, and other modern computing concepts. [1]
- Dec 9 KRNE TV channel 12 in Merriman, NB (PBS) begins broadcasting
'Ulster stands at the Crossroads'
Dec 9 Terence O'Neill, Northern Ireland Prime Minister, makes a television appeal for moderate opinion in what became known as the 'Ulster stands at the Crossroads' speech
- Dec 9 The Derry Citizen's Action Committee (DCAC) calls for a halt to all marches and protests for a period of one month
- Dec 10 Japan's biggest heist, the still-unsolved "300 million yen robbery", occurs in Tokyo.
Frazier vs. Bonavena
Dec 10 Joe Frazier beats Oscar Bonavena in 15 for heavyweight boxing title
- Dec 11 KECC (now KECY) TV channel 9 in El Centro, CA (CBS) 1st broadcast
- Dec 11 Northern Ireland Prime Minister Terence O'Neill sacks Home Affairs Minister, William Craig
- Dec 11 US Soccer Football Association refuses to let NASL disband
Ashe 1st Black No. 1
Dec 12 Arthur Ashe becomes 1st black person be ranked #1 in tennis
- Dec 12 Northern Ireland Prime Minister Terence O'Neill receives overwhelming support from Unionist Members of Parliament (MPs) at Stormont
Missing Stones Film
Dec 12 Rolling Stones film TV show "Rock and Roll Circus"- guest performers include The Who, Jethro Tull, Taj Mahal, Marianne Faithfull, and John Lennon and Yoko Ono; the program never airs aired
- Dec 12 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
- Dec 13 Brazilian President Da Costa e Silva issues Ato Institucional Número Cinco degree
- Dec 16 KFIZ TV channel 34 in Fond du Lac, Wisconsin begins broadcasting
Chitty Chitty Bang Bang
Dec 16 Musical-fantasy film "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", co-written by Roald Dahl and director Ken Hughes, starring Dick Van Dyke and Sally Ann Howes, with songs by Sherman and Sherman, premieres at the Odeon Leicester Square theater, London
- Dec 16 Official revocation of the Edict of Expulsion of Jews from Spain at Second Vatican Council
- Dec 18 Musical-fantasy film "Chitty Chitty Bang Bang", co-written by Roald Dahl and director Ken Hughes, starring Dick Van Dyke and Sally Ann Howes, with songs by Sherman and Sherman, premieres in NYC
- Dec 18 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh, Semipalitinsk USSR
- Dec 19 WCWB (now WMGT) TV channel 41 in Macon, GA (NBC) begins broadcasting
- Dec 20 Learie Constantine becomes UK's first person of African descent to be named a life peer (to sit in the House of Lords) in the Crown's New Year's Honours list
- Dec 20 The People's Democracy (PD) announce that its members will undertake a protest march from Belfast to Derry beginning 1 January 1969
- Dec 20 The Zodiac Killer murders teenagers Betty Lou Jenson and David Faraday while on their first date together in Vallejo, California [1]
- Dec 21 David Crosby, Stephen Stills and Graham Nash (Crosby, Stills & Nash) premiere together in California
Apollo 8 Launched
Dec 21 First manned Moon voyage launched with Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders aboard Apollo 8
"Wichita Lineman"
Dec 21 Glen Campbell's album "Wichita Lineman" goes to #1 in the US
- Dec 23 1st US case of space motion sickness
- Dec 23 82 members of US intelligence ship Pueblo released by North Korea
- Dec 23 Frank Borman, Jim Lovell and William Anders become the 1st people to orbit the Moon aboard Apollo 8
- Dec 24 Apollo 8 astronauts read passages from Book of Genesis
- Dec 24 Ballon d'Or: Manchester United's winger George Best wins award for best European football player ahead of teammate Bobby Charlton and Red Star Belgrade winger Dragan Džajić; first Northern Irish national to win the award
- Dec 24 WATU (now WAGT) TV channel 26 in Augusta, GA (CBS) begins broadcasting
- Dec 25 42 Dalits are burned alive in Kilavenmani village, Tamil Nadu, India, a retaliation for a campaign for higher wages by Dalit labourers
- Dec 25 NASA Apollo 8 crew broadcast while orbiting the moon amd read passages from the Bible to celebrate Christmas
- Dec 26 Arab terrorists in Athens fire on El Al plane, kills 1
- Dec 26 Bruin Ted Green sets NHL penalty record of 3 minors, 2 majors & 2 game misconducts in a game against NY Rangers in NY's Madison Square Garden
- Dec 26 Jay Allens "Forty Carats" premieres in NYC
- Dec 26 Led Zeppelin's US concert debut in Denver, Colorado, as opening act for Vanilla Fudge
- Dec 27 Apollo 8 returns to Earth
- Dec 27 China performs nuclear test at Lop Nor, PRC
Miami Pop Festival
Dec 28 100,000 attend Miami Pop Festival in Florida; performers included: The Jimi Hendrix Experience; The Mothers of Invention; Chuck Berry; John Lee Hooker; The Crazy World of Arthur Brown; and Blues Image
- Dec 28 57th Davis Cup: USA beats Australia in Adelaide (4-1)
- Dec 28 Israeli assault on Beirut Airport
- Dec 28 KVOF (KUDO, now KWBB) TV channel 38 in San Francisco, California (IND) 1st broadcast
- Dec 28 The Beatles' "The Beatles" aka "The White Album" goes #1 & stays #1 for 9 weeks
NY Jets Beat Oakland Raiders
Dec 29 AFL Championship, Shea Stadium, NYC: New York Jets beat Oakland Raiders 27-23; Joe Namath 3 TD passes sparks Jets to win
- Dec 29 Israeli commandos destroy 13 Lebanese airplanes
- Dec 29 NFL Championship, Cleveland Municipal Stadium: Baltimore Colts shutout Cleveland Browns, 34-0
- Dec 30 -48°F (-44°C), Mazama & Winthrop, Washington (state record)
My Way
Dec 30 Frank Sinatra first records "My Way" with lyrics were written by Paul Anka and based on the French song "Comme d'habitude"
- Dec 31 NY Jets win AFL championship
- Dec 31 Record high barometric pressure (1083.8 mb, 32 inches) recorded at Agata in Siberia, Soviet Union
- Dec 31 Soviet TU-144 makes its maiden flight, the first by a commercial supersonic airliner
Famous Birthdays
- Dec 1 Anders Holmertz, Swedish swimmer (4 x Olympic silver 200m, 1 x bronze 400m 1988-96), born in Motala, Sweden
- Dec 1 Justin Chadwick, British actor and director (Bleak House), born in Salford, England
- Dec 1 Sarah Fitz-Gerald, Australian squash player (World Open 1996-98, 2001-02, British Open 2001-02), born in Melbourne, Australia
- Dec 2 Darryl Kile, American baseball pitcher (MLB All-Star 1993, 97, 2000; no-hitter 1993; Houston Astros), born in Garden Grove, California (d. 2002)
- Dec 2 David Batty, English soccer midfielder (42 caps; Leeds United, Blackburn Rovers, Newcastle United), born in Leeds, England
- Dec 2 Elna Reinach, South African tennis player (US Open mixed doubles [with Patrick Galbraith] 1994), born in Pretoria, South Africa
- Dec 2 Jiri Dopita, Czech ice hockey center (World C'ship gold 1996, 2000-01; Philadelphia Flyers), born in Šumperk, Czech Republic
- Dec 2 Lucy Liu, American actress (Ally McBeal), born in Jackson Heights, Queens, New York
- Dec 2 Nate Mendel, American bassist (Foo Fighters), born in Richland, Washington
- Dec 2 Rena Sofer, American actress (Rocky-Loving, Lois Cerullo-General Hospital), born in Arcadia, California
Brendan Fraser (55 years old)
Dec 3 American actor (Encino Man; The Mummy films; Gods and Monsters), born in Indianapolis, Indiana
- Dec 3 Kevin Telles, actor (Party Camp)
- Dec 3 Montell Jordan [Barnett], American R&B singer, record producer ("This Is How We Do It"), and pastor, born in Los Angeles, California
- Dec 4 Mike Barrowman, American swimmer (Olympic gold 200m breaststroke 1992, World C'ship gold 1991), born in Costa Mesa, California
- Dec 5 Catherine Tate [née Ford], English actress and comedian (The Catherine Tate Show, Doctor Who), born in Bloomsbury, London, England
Lisa Marie (55 years old)
Dec 5 American actress (Mars Attacks!) and model, born in New Brunswick, New Jersey
- Dec 5 Margaret Cho, American actress and comedienne (Face/Off), born in San Francisco, California
- Dec 5 Rhett Hall, American NFL defensive tackle, 1991-98 (Tampa Bay Buccaneers, San Francisco 49ers, Philadelphia Eagles), born in Morgan Hill, California
- Dec 6 Karl Ove Knausgård, Norwegian author (My Struggle), born in Oslo, Norway
- Dec 7 Mark Geyer, Australian rugby league second rower (3 Tests; NRL Premiership 1991 Penrith; NSW 3 SOO) and broadcaster (MMM), born in Sydney, Australia
- Dec 7 Melissa Iverson, American rower (World C'ships gold women's coxless four 1995), born in Anoka, Minnesota
- Dec 8 Bill Johnson, American football defensive tackle (St Louis Rams), born in Minnesota
- Dec 8 Michael Cole, American pro wrestling commentator (WWE Raw, Smackdown), born in Syracuse, New York
- Dec 8 Mike Mussina, American Baseball HOF pitcher (5 x MLB All Star; 7 x Gold Glove Award; Baltimore Orioles, NY Yankees), born in Williamsport, Pennsylvania
- Dec 9 Bill Johnson, NFL defensive linebacker (Pittsburgh Steelers)
- Dec 9 Brian Lane Bell, American guitarist, and singer-songwriter Weezer; The Relationship), born in Iowa City, Iowa
Kurt Angle (55 years old)
Dec 9 American 220 lbs freestyle wrestler (Olympic gold 1996), born in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania
- Dec 9 Michael Foster, American drummer (Firehouse - "Love of a Lifetime"), born in Richmond, Virginia
- Dec 11 Emmanuelle Charpentier, French scientist, Director of Max Planck Institute (2020 Nobel Prize for Chemistry), born in Juvisy-sur-Orge, France
- Dec 11 Mark Dailey, American 1.5k runner, born in Youngstown, Ohio
- Dec 12 Chris Walsh, American football wide receiver (Minnesota Vikings; sues NFL over head injuries 2011), born in Cleveland, Ohio
- Dec 12 Kate Humble, English television presenter, born in Wimbledon, London
- Dec 12 Kurt Schulz, American football safety (Buffalo Bills), born in Wenatchee, Washington
- Dec 12 Laurie Williams, West Indian cricket all-rounder (15 ODIs, 18 wickets; Jamaica), born in Saint Ann Parish, Jamaica (d. 2002)
- Dec 12 Ray Ethridge, American football wide receiver (Baltimore Ravens), born in San Diego, California
- Dec 12 Rory Kennedy, American documentary filmmaker, born in Washington, D.C.
- Dec 12 Tatianna [Chapas], Amderican-Mexican pop singer (Baile Commigo, Chicad de Hoy), and children's television host, born in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
- Dec 13 Shaun Stafford, American tennis star (1992 Taipei), born in Ocala, Florida
- Dec 14 Cees Marbus, Dutch soccer player (Go Ahead Eagles), born in Noordwijk, Netherlands
- Dec 14 Jamie Crysdale, CFL corner (Calgary Stampeders), born in Calgary, Alberta
- Dec 14 Noelle Beck, American actress (Trisha-Loving, Fletch Lives), born in Baltimore, Maryland
- Dec 15 Garrett Wang, American actor (Star Trek Voyager), born in Riverside, California
- Dec 15 Javid Hussain, Indian film producer
- Dec 15 Osama Ali Maher, Swedish politician
- Dec 16 Darryll Lewis, American NFL cornerback, 1991-2001 (Houston/Tennessee Oilers, and 2 other teams), born in Bellflower, California
- Dec 16 Paul Scherrer, American actor (Children of Corn II, Free Spirit), born in Rochester, New York
- Dec 16 Wendy Doolan, Australian golfer (Evian Masters 2004), born in Sydney, New South Wales
- Dec 16 Yannick Alléno, French chef, born in Puteaux, France
- Dec 17 Andrey Golovatiuk, Russian politician
- Dec 17 Curtis Pride, outfielder (Detroit Tigers), born in Washington, D.C.
- Dec 17 Jeff[rey] Klepacki, Kearny NJ, rower (Olympics 1992, 96)
- Dec 18 Aaron Craver, NFL running back (Denver Broncos, San Diego Chargers)
- Dec 18 Alejandro Sanz, Spanish singer (Más), born in Madrid, Spain
- Dec 18 Casper Van Dien, American actor (Starship Troopers), born in Milton, Florida
- Dec 18 Craig "muMS" Grant, American poet and actor (Oz), born in New York City
- Dec 20 Joe Cornish, British comedian, born in Westminster, United Kingdom
- Dec 21 Anthony Lynn, NFL running back (Denver Broncos-Super Bowl 32), born in McKinney, Texas
- Dec 21 Khrystyne Haje, American actress (Simone-Head of the Class), born in Santa Clara, California
- Dec 22 Dina Meyer, American film and television actress, born in Forest Hills, New York City
- Dec 22 Lauralee "Bug" Bell, American actress (Cricket-Young & Restless), born in Chicago, Illinois
- Dec 23 Quincy Jones III, Swedish-American musician, born in Wimbledon, London
- Dec 24 Doyle Bramhall II, American session and touring blues-rock guitarist, and singer-songwriter, born in Dallas, Texas
- Dec 24 Joe Scuderi, Australian cricketer (South Australian all-rounder), born in Ingham, Australia
- Dec 24 Marleen Renders, Belgian athlete, born in Diest, Belgium
- Dec 24 Tariq Hussain, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (Splat; Brasstronaut), born in Cowansville, Quebec
- Dec 25 Helena Christensen, Danish model & photographer (Inferno), born in Copenhagen, Denmark
- Dec 26 Bill Lawrence, American TV producer, director and screenwriter (Scrubs, Ted Lasso), born in Ridgefield, Connecticut
- Dec 26 Darren Barber, Canadian rower (Olympic gold Eight 1992), born in Victoria, British Columbia
- Dec 26 Mideon [Dennis Knight], American professional wrestler, born in Clearwater, Florida
- Dec 27 Dean Palmer, infielder (Texas Rangers), born in Tallahassee, Florida
- Dec 28 Darrick Brownlow, US NFL linebacker (Washington Redskins), born in Indianapolis, Indiana
- Dec 29 Carlo Ponti, Jr., Italian orchestral conductor and son of Carlo Ponti & Sophia Loren, born in Geneva, Switzerland
- Dec 29 Darren Perry, American NFL free safety (Pittsburgh Steelers), born in Chesapeake, Virginia
- Dec 29 James Mouton, American baseball outfielder (Houston Astros), born in Denver, Colorado
Alexander Huber (55 years old)
Dec 30 German rock climber considered one of the greatest in the history of rock climbing, born in Trostberg, Bavaria, Germany
- Dec 30 Kevin Dahl, Regina, NHL defenseman (Calgary Flames)
- Dec 30 Sean Higgins, NBA guard/forward (Philadelphia 76ers, Portland Trailblazers)
- Dec 31 Gerry Dee, Canadian comedian and actor, born in Scarborough, Canada
- Dec 31 Junot Díaz, Dominican-American writer and professor (The Brief Wonderous Life of Oscar Wao - Pulitzer Prize for Fiction 2008), born in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic [1]
Famous Weddings
Ina Garten
Dec 22 Author and cooking show host Ina Garten (20) weds dean Jeffrey Garten
- Dec 22 Julie Nixon weds Dwight David Eisenhower
Famous Divorces
Peter Sellers
Dec 18 Actor Peter Sellers (43) divorces actress Britt Ekland after 4 years of marriage
Famous Deaths
- Dec 1 Dario Moreno, Turkish-Jewish singer (b. 1921)
- Dec 1 Hugo Haas, Czechoslovakian actor and director (Bait, Pick Up, 2 Smart People), dies of asthma at 66
- Dec 5 Fred Clark, American actor (Zotz, Auntie Mame), dies of liver ailment at 54
- Dec 10 George Forrest, Northern Irish politician, dies at 47
- Dec 10 Karl Barth, Swiss Protestant theologian ("The Epistle to the Romans"; "Barmen Declaration"; "Church Dogmatics"), dies at 82
- Dec 10 Patsy Moran, actress (Children of the Wild), dies at 65
Thomas Merton (1915-1968)
Dec 10 French-American Catholic writer and Trappist monk (7 Story Mountain), accidentally electrocuted by an electric fan at 53
- Dec 11 Nadine Riga, American actress, dies of cerebral hemorrhage at 59
- Dec 12 Tallulah Bankhead, American stage and film actress (Lifeboat, They Knew What They Wanted; Batman - "Black Widow"), dies of pneumonia at 65
- Dec 12 Walter Robins, cricketer (19 Tests for England 64 wkts), dies
- Dec 13 Siegfried Reda, German church musician and composer, dies at 52
- Dec 15 Antonio J. Barrette, French Canadian politician, premier of Quebec, dies at 69
- Dec 15 Jess Willard, American boxer (World heavyweight champion 1915-19), dies from heart failure at 86
- Dec 18 Joan Tabor, American actress (Teenage Millionaire), dies at 36 after accidentally overdosing on influenza medication
- Dec 18 Sir John Layton Jarvis, English thoroughbred race horse trainer (9 x British Classic Races; 3 x British flat racing Champion Trainer), dies at 80
- Dec 19 Norman Thomas, American socialist, pacifist and presidential candidate (1928-48), dies at 84
John Steinbeck (1902-1968)
Dec 20 American author (Grapes of Wrath, Nobel Prize 1940, 1962), dies at 66
Trygve Lie (1896-1968)
Dec 30 Norwegian politician and 1st Secretary-General of the United Nations (1946-52), dies at 72
- Dec 31 Carl Ahues, German Chess Master (1950), dies at 85
- Dec 31 George Lewis [Joseph Zenon], American jazz clarinetist and bandleader (Bunk Johnson; Preservation Hall Jazz Band; "Burgundy Street Blues"), dies at 68
- Dec 31 Sabin Drăgoi, Romanian composer, dies at 74
