Historical Events
- Dec 1 After finishing the season with the largest payroll in MLB history at $298.3 million, the Los Angeles Dodgers are assigned the largest luxury tax bill ever, $43.7 million
Event of Interest
Dec 1 Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and wife Priscilla Chan found the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative with a view to "advancing human potential and promoting equality"
- Dec 1 In the largest deal ever for a MLB pitcher, Boston Red Sox land one of the biggest catches of the off-season, signing free agent David Price for 7 years and $217 million
- Dec 2 Attack on a social services centre in San Bernardino, California kills 14 and wounds 17
- Dec 3 US Defense Secretary Ash Carter announces all combat roles in US armed forced will be opened to women
- Dec 4 Floods in Chennai and Tamil Nadu state, India start receding after a month of heavy rainfall, leaving more 260 dead and thousands stranded
- Dec 7 Beijing issues its 1st ever red alert for pollution
Bowie Attends Lazarus Opening
Dec 7 David Bowie’s final public appearance, at the opening of his musical "Lazarus" at New York Theatre Workshop, NYC
Sanders 'Person of the Year'
Dec 7 Time Magazine readers name Bernie Sanders their 'person of the year'
Trump Proposes Ban on Muslims
Dec 7 US Presidential candidate Donald Trump proposes banning all Muslims from entering the US
- Dec 9 Amazon's best-selling book of the year is "Girl on a Train" by Paula Hawkins
- Dec 9 Attack on Kandahar airport by Taliban forces kills at least 37 before Afghan forces retake control
Merkel Person of the Year
Dec 9 German Chancellor Angela Merkel named Time Magazine's Person of the Year, for her handling of debt and refugee crises
- Dec 10 Mosconi Cup nine-ball pool, Las Vegas, Nevada: Team Europe retains title for 6th consecutive year with an 11-7 win over US; MVP: Niels Feijen (Netherlands - 3rd straight year)
- Dec 10 Scientists at Cornell University announce world's first IVF puppies successfully born from a surrogate dog
Playboy's Last Nude Issue
Dec 11 "Playboy" magazine publishes its last nude issue, features Pamela Anderson on the cover
- Dec 11 Unrest in Burundi leads to clashes between authorities and protesters in Bujumbura, killing at least 87
- Dec 12 COP21 climate change summit in Paris reaches a deal between 195 countries to limit the rise in the global average temperature to less than 2°C above pre-industrial levels
- Dec 12 First women ever elected in Saudi Arabia in municipal council elections
Derrick Henry Wins
Dec 13 81st Heisman Trophy Award: Derrick Henry, Alabama (RB)
McGregor vs. Aldo
Dec 13 Irishman Conor McGregor knocks out Brazilian Jose Aldo in 13 seconds to win his 1st featherweight title in Las Vegas
Star Wars: The Force Awakens
Dec 14 "Star Wars: The Force Awakens" directed by J.J. Abrams and starring Daisy Ridley, John Boyega and Harrison Ford has its world premiere at the TCL Chinese Theatre in Los Angeles
- Dec 14 Bus plunges off bridge into Balboa River near Argentina city of Rosario de la Frontera, killing 43 frontier police on board
- Dec 15 1,000 schools closed in Los Angeles after a email threat, supposedly from jihadists
- Dec 15 Fifth Republican presidential candidates debate in Las Vegas, Nevada
- Dec 15 Mayor of Flint, Michigan declares state of emergency over contaminated water supplies amid calls for a criminal investigation
- Dec 16 US Federal Reserve raises interest rates by 0.25% for the first time since 2006
- Dec 17 José Mourinho is sacked as manager of British Premier football club Chelsea
- Dec 17 Libyan warring political factions sign a UN-brokered deal to form a unified government
- Dec 17 Martin Shkreli, CEO of Turing Pharmaceuticals is arrested on fraud charges in New York by the FBI
- Dec 19 Third Democratic presidential candidates debate, broadcast by ABC, held in Goffstown, New Hampshire
- Dec 20 Landslide from construction waste in Shenzhen, China leaves 74 dead or missing and buries 30 buildings
- Dec 26 Floods in Paraguay, Argentina, Brazil and Uruguay displace 150,000, blamed on El Nino
- Dec 27 Iraqi forces retake IS held city of Ramadi (ISIS first captured in May)
- Dec 28 Japan and South Korea reach agreement over WWII "comfort women", Japan apologies and pays 1bn yen compensation
- Dec 29 Ebola epidemic in Guinea declared over by WHO, 2,500 died over 2 years
- Dec 31 82nd Orange Bowl: #1 Clemson beats #4 Oklahoma, 37-17
- Dec 31 US law enforcement kills 1,134 in 2015, young black men 9x more likely to be victims
Famous Weddings
- Dec 20 Broadcaster Christine Bleakley (36) weds footballer Frank Lampard (37) at Saint Paul's Church in Knightsbridge, London
- Dec 23 American soft rock singer-songwriter Richard Marx (53) weds American model and TV host Daisy Fuentes (50) in Aspen, Colorado
- Dec 23 TV Host Carson Daly (42) weds Siri Pinter in a church ceremony
Alex Jones
Dec 31 TV presenter Alex Jones (38) weds Charlie Thomson in a magical ceremony at Cardiff Castle
Famous Divorces
Antonio Banderas & Melanie Griffith
Dec 4 Actors Melanie Griffith and Antonio Banderas divorce after 19 years of marriage
Famous Deaths
- Dec 1 Jim Loscutoff, American basketball forward (NBA champion: 1957, 59–64; Boston Celtics), dies from Parkinson's disease and pneumonia at 85
- Dec 2 Anthony Valentine, British actor (Colditz), dies at 76
- Dec 2 Gabriele Ferzetti, Italian film and stage actor (L'Avventura), dies at 90
- Dec 2 John Charles Eaton, American composer, dies at 80
- Dec 3 Bill Bennett, Canadian politician, Premier of British Columbia (1975-86), dies at 83
- Dec 3 Eevi Huttunen, Finnish speed skater (8 World C'ship gold 1951-59), dies at 93
- Dec 3 Gladstone "Gladdy" Anderson, Jamaican ska and reggae session keyboard player, and bandleader ("The Liquidator"), dies at 81
- Dec 3 Roy Evans, British trade unionist and General Secretary (British Iron & Steel Trade Confederation), dies at 84
Scott Weiland (1967-2015)
Dec 3 American rock singer-songwrite (Stone Temple Pilots; Velvet Revolver), dies of an accidental drug overdose at 48
- Dec 4 Rodney Milne [Blumer], British opera critic (Opera magazine, 1971-99), musicologist, and libretto translator, dies at 79
- Dec 4 Salvatore "Robert" Loggia, American actor (Jagged Edge, Big, Officer & a Gentleman, Scarface), dies of complications from Alzheimer's disease at 85
- Dec 5 Marília Pêra, Brazilian actress (Better Days Ahead, Pixote), dies of lung cancer at 72
- Dec 6 Holly Woodlawn, transgender Puerto Rican actress (Warhol films), dies at 69
- Dec 6 Nicholas Smith, English actor (Are You Being Served?), dies at 81
- Dec 6 Tony Gomez, British rock keyboardist (The Foundations - "Baby Now That I've Found You"; "Build Me Up Buttercup"), dies at 76
- Dec 8 Bonnie Lou [Mary Joan Okum] American rockabilly musician ("Tennessee Mambo"), dies at 91
- Dec 8 Mattiwilda Dobbs, American soprano, dies at 90
- Dec 9 Gheorghe Gruia, Romanian handball player, dies at 75
Dolph Schayes (1928-2015)
Dec 10 American basketball Hall of Famer (Syracuse Nationals/Philadelphia 76ers, 1948-63) and coach (76ers, 1963-66; Buffalo Braves, 1970-72) and coach, dies of cancer at 87
- Dec 11 John "Hot Rod" Williams, American NBA center/forward (Phoenix Suns), dies of cancer at 53
- Dec 14 Lillian Vernon, American founder and CEO of the Lillian Vernon Corporation (first company listed on US stock exchange started by a woman), dies at 88
- Dec 15 Ken Pogue, Canadian actor (Adderly, Katts and Dog), dies of cancer at 81
- Dec 16 Aafje Heynis, Dutch singer (contralto), dies at 91
- Dec 16 Peter Dickinson, British poet and author (Heartsease; City of Gold), dies on his 88th birthday
- Dec 18 Luc Brewaeys, Belgian pianist, conductor, and composer, dies of cancer at 56
- Dec 19 Douglas Dick, American actor and psychologist (Rope, Waterfront), dies at 95
- Dec 19 Kurt Masur, German conductor (Gewandhausorchester Leipzig, 1970-96; New York Philharmonic, 1991-2002; London Philharmonic, 2000-07), dies from complications of Parkinson's disease at 88
- Dec 20 Patricia Elliott, American actress (Renee-Empire, One Life to Live), dies at 77
- Dec 21 David Emms, British educator (London Goodenough Trust), dies at 90
- Dec 22 Carson Van Osten, American power pop-rock bassist (Nazz - "Open My Eyes", "Hello It's Me), and comic strip artist (Disney), dies at 70
- Dec 22 Derek Ezra [Baron Ezra], British politician, Liberal Democrat Life Peer and coal executive (Chairman of National Coal Board), dies at 96
- Dec 23 Alfred G. Gilman, American scientist (1994 Nobel Prize for G-protein discoveries), dies at 74
- Dec 24 William Guest, American singer (Gladys Knight Show), dies at 74
- Dec 27 (Meadow) "Meadowlark" Lemon, American basketball star (Harlem Globetrotters, 1955-80, 1990, and 3 other teams), and clergyman, dies at 83
- Dec 27 Andy M. Stewart, Scottish musician and composer (Silly Wizard), dies at 63
- Dec 27 Haskell Wexler, American cinematographer and director, dies at 93
- Dec 27 Stein Eriksen, Norwegian alpine skier (first Olympic giant slalom gold 1952), dies at 88
- Dec 27 Stevie Wright, British-born Australian singer with the Easybeats ("Friday On My Mind"), dies at 68
- Dec 28 Ian Murdock, German-born American computer programmer (Debian project, Progeny Linux Systems), dies at 42
- Dec 28 John "Brad" Bradbury, British ska drummer and record producer (The Specials), dies at 62
- Dec 28 Lemmy [Ian Fraser Kilmister], British heavy metal musician (Motörhead), dies from terminal illness at 70
- Dec 28 Paul "Guru" Josh, British musician (Infinity), commits suicide at 51
- Dec 29 Allen Sapp, Canadian Cree artist, dies at 87 [1]
- Dec 29 Elzbieta Krzesinska, Polish long jumper (Olympic gold 1956), dies at 76
- Dec 29 Frank Malzone, American MLB player (Boston Red Sox), dies at 85
- Dec 30 Donald Barron, Scottish accountant and CEO (Midland Bank), dies at 94
- Dec 30 Doug Atkins, American College/Pro Football HOF defensive end (Uni of Tennessee; NFL C'ship 1954, 63; First-team All-Pro 1963; 8×Pro Bowl; Cleveland Browns, Chicago Bears, NO Saints), dies at 85
- Dec 30 Howard Davis Jr., American boxer (Olympic gold lightweight 1976), dies from lung cancer at 59
- Dec 31 Beth Howland, American actress (Vera - Alice, Company), dies at 74
- Dec 31 Dal Richards, Canadian musician, bandmaster and composer (discovered Michael Bublé), dies at 96 [1]
Natalie Cole (1950-2015)
Dec 31 American Grammy Award-winning pop vocalist ('This Will Be"; "Pink Cadillac"; "Miss You Like Crazy"; "Unforgettable"), dies of heart failure at 65
- Dec 31 Wayne Rogers, American actor (M*A*S*H, 1972-75 - "Capt. 'Trapper' John McIntyre"; House Calls), dies of pneumonia at 82
