Historical Events
- Dec 1 A newly developed apple that can last a year - the Cosmic Crisp goes on sale in Washington State, US
Lewis Hamilton
Dec 1 British Mercedes driver Lewis Hamilton wins season-ending Abu Dhabi GP to claim his 6th F1 World Drivers C'ship by 87 points from teammate Valtteri Bottas; Mercedes' 6th straight Constructors title
First COVID-19 Patient
Dec 1 Earliest traceable patient, a 55-year-old man, develops symptoms of a novel coronavirus (Covid-19) in Wuhan, China
- Dec 1 Iraqi parliament approves resignation of Prime Minister Adel Abdul Mahdi after weeks of unrest and 400 deaths
Ballon d'Or
Dec 2 FIFA Ballon d'Or: Barcelona forward Lionel Messi wins his record 6th award from Liverpool's Dutch defender Virgil van Dijk; American midfielder Megan Rapinoe is Women's World Player of the Year
- Dec 2 Hawaiian Carissa Moore earns her 4th World Surf League Women’s Championship Tour title with a third placing at the season-ending Maui Pro event at Honolua Bay
- Dec 2 Steve Bullock and Joe Sestak drop out of the US Presidential race
NATO Marks 70
Dec 3 70th anniversary of NATO marked by gathering in London of world leaders and reception by Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace
Google Founders Step Down
Dec 3 Google co-founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin announce they are stepping down from roles at parent company Alphabet, Sundar Pichai to become head of both
Harris Ends Presidential Campaign
Dec 3 Kamala Harris ends her campaign to be the Democratic candidate for president
Spotify's Most Streamed
Dec 3 Spotify say Drake the most streamed star of the 2010s with 28 billion streams, Ed Sheeran's "Shape Of You" most streamed track with 2.4 billion streams
Leaders Discuss Trump
Dec 3 World leaders discussing US President Donald Trump in unflattering terms at NATO reception caught on camera and goes viral
- Dec 4 58 migrants drown after a boat sinks off the coast of Mauritania, with 83 saved
- Dec 4 North American migratory birds getting smaller, their wings wider due to climate change according to study by University of Michigan published in journal "Ecology Letters"
- Dec 5 National strike in France; more than 800,000 people in 100 cities protest against proposed pension reform
- Dec 5 Saudi state-owned oil company Saudi Aramco raises a record $25.6 billion in its first public share offering, makes it the world's most valuable company at $1.7 trillion
- Dec 5 Speaker of the US House of Representatives, Nancy Pelosi, announces articles of impeachment against US President Donald Trump will be drawn up for abuse of power
- Dec 5 WHO says 142,000 people died of the measles around the world in 2018, nearly 20,000 more than in 2017
Little Women
Dec 7 Greta Gerwig's film adaption of Louisa May Alcott's novel "Little Women" starring Saoirse Ronan premieres at MoMA in New York City
- Dec 8 Fire in an illegal bag factory in Delhi, India, kills 43
- Dec 8 Polar explorers Mike Horn and Børge Ousland complete an 1,800 km (1,118 miles) journey on drifting ice in darkness in the Arctic
- Dec 8 Sanna Marin becomes Finland's youngest-ever Prime Minister at the age of 34
- Dec 8 South African Zozibini Tunzi crowned Miss Universe in Atlanta
- Dec 8 Vienna State Opera stages its first show by a female composer in 150 years - Olga Neuwirth’s opera, “Orlando”
- Dec 9 Chilean Air Force plane lost on flight to Antarctica with presumed loss of 38 lives
Rock for the Rainforest
Dec 9 Rock for the Rainforest benefit concert held at The Beacon Theatre, NYC; performers include: Sting, Bruce Springsteen, James Taylor, John Mellencamp, Bob Geldof, Ricky Martin, Eurythmics, Deborah Harry, Shaggy, Zucchero, MC Rodriguez, and H.E.R.
- Dec 9 US officials "deliberately misled" the public on progress of the Afghanistan war, hid that it was a lost cause, according to The Washington Post analysis of the "Afghanistan Papers"
- Dec 9 White Island / Whakaari volcano, a tourist attraction in New Zealand, erupts killing 22
- Dec 9 World Anti-Doping Agency bans Russia from all major sporting events including 2020 Tokyo Olympics and 2022 football World Cup in Qatar for manipulating laboratory data
- Dec 10 1st fully electric commercial plane, a retro-fitted seaplane, completes test flight in Vancouver
- Dec 10 Australian car maker Holden announces an end to Commodore production after 41 years
- Dec 10 Shooting at a New Jersey cemetery and a kosher supermarket leaves six dead, including the two shooters, in suspected anti-Semitic attack
- Dec 10 Sydney, Australia, blanketed in smoke from nearby bush fires pushing air quality to 11 times hazardous levels
- Dec 11 Bougainville votes to become independent of Papua New Guinea in a referendum
Thunberg Person of the Year
Dec 11 Climate activist Greta Thunberg is named Time magazine's Person of the Year
- Dec 11 Discovery of the earliest figurative artwork in the world, (43,900 years old), figures part human part animal, from cave in Sulawesi, Indonesia, reported in journal "Nature"
- Dec 11 India passes controversial Citizenship Amendment Bill clearing way for citizenship for immigrants from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan but not if they are Muslim
- Dec 11 Militants attack army base in Ates, Niger, killing at least 71. Islamic State claim responsibility.
Johnson's Landslide Win
Dec 12 British General Election won by Boris Johnson's Conservative Party in landslide win with 80 seat majority. Scottish National Party also wins 48 of 59 seats in Scotland.
- Dec 12 Deepest point on land on earth identified under Denman Glacier, east Antarctica at 3.5km (11,500ft) below sea level
Film & TV History
Dec 13 Michael Bay's "6 Underground" is released on Netflix
Joe Burrow Wins
Dec 14 85th Heisman Trophy Award: Joe Burrow, Louisiana State University (QB); highest percentage of first place votes ever with 90.7%
- Dec 14 Bel Air mansion featured in TV series "The Beverly Hillbillies" sells for $150 million, becoming California's most expensive property
- Dec 14 Miss World won by Miss Jamaica Toni-Ann Singh in London. First time all five major beauty titles held by black women.
- Dec 15 Longest ever UN climate talks end in Madrid with compromise deal on curbing carbon only, other targets deferred for a year
- Dec 15 Presidents Cup Golf, Royal Melbourne GC: US wins 6 of the 12 final day singles with 4 tied to beat the International team, 16-14; 8th straight American victory
- Dec 15 Protests against India's new citizenship bill that excludes Muslims, erupt across major cities, killing at least five
- Dec 15 Raiders play their final NFL game in Oakland conceding 17 unanswered 2nd half points to go down 20-16 to the Jacksonville Jaguars; team to play out of Las Vegas in 2020
Brees' Touchdown Pass Record
Dec 16 Drew Brees breaks Peyton Manning's NFL record (539) for career touchdown passes as New Orleans Saints rout Indianapolis Colts, 34-7; Brees 29 of 30 for 307 yards & 4 TDs for record 96.7% pass completion
All I Want For Christmas Is You
Dec 16 Mariah Carey's single "All I Want For Christmas Is You" reaches No. 1, 25 years after release
- Dec 17 Australia has its hottest day ever with average temperature of 40.9 across the country
- Dec 17 China's 1st domestically built aircraft carrier, the Shandong, enters naval service
- Dec 17 England's Fallon Sherrock becomes first woman to win a match at the PDC World Darts Championship, beating compatriot Ted Evetts, 3-2 at the Alexandra Palace in London
Musharraf Sentenced to Death
Dec 17 Former Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf sentenced to death in absentia for high treason
- Dec 17 Young girl's 5,700 year old DNA extracted from birch tar used as chewing gum, from Lolland Island, southern Denmark
- Dec 18 US House of Representatives votes to impeach President Donald Trump for abuse of power (230-197) and obstruction of Congress (229-198)
- Dec 19 Australian state of New South Wales announces 7-day state of emergency amid extreme heat and over 100 bushfires that have burnt for two months
- Dec 19 Earliest fossilized trees, 386 million years old, found at a quarry in Cairo, New York, study published in "Current Biology"
- Dec 20 Landmark climate justice case as Dutch Supreme Court upholds 2013 decision brought by Urgenda Foundation against Dutch government for not reducing carbon dioxide emissions
- Dec 20 Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians of Montana granted US federal recognition, providing the right to certain legal and government benefits
- Dec 20 United States Space Force founded, an armed forces branch dedicated to space warfare
- Dec 22 New Orleans wide receiver Michael Thomas sets NFL record for most catches in a season with his 144th as Saints beat Tennessee 38-28; breaks 17-year old record held by Marvin Harrison (143)
- Dec 26 Annular solar eclipse visible from South and South East Asia
- Dec 28 49th Fiesta Bowl (College Football Playoff semifinal), #3 Clemson beats #2 Ohio State, 29-23
- Dec 28 52nd Peach Bowl (College Football Playoff semi final): #1 LSU beats #4 Oklahoma, 63-28
- Dec 28 Jihadist fundamentalist group al-Shabaab sets off a truck bomb in Mogadishu, Somalia, killing at least 84 people and wounding over 150
- Dec 30 86th Orange Bowl: #6 Florida beats #24 Virginia, 36-28
- Dec 31 Iraqi militiamen and protesters breach the outer wall of the US embassy in Baghdad following US airstrikes against Kataib Hezbollah, an Iranian-backed Iraqi militia, on December 29
Famous Deaths
- Dec 1 Pat Sullivan, American College Football Hall of Fame quarterback (Heisman Trophy 1971, Auburn University; NFL: Atlanta Falcons) and coach (TUC, Samford), dies from cancer at 69
- Dec 1 Shelley Morrison, American actress (General Hospital, Will & Grace), dies at 83
- Dec 2 Francesco Janich, Italian soccer defender (6 caps; Bologna), dies at 82
- Dec 2 Fred Storey, Canadian curler (World C'ship gold 1966, 68, 69), dies at 87
- Dec 4 Bob Willis, English cricket fast bowler and captain (90 Tests, 325 wickets; 64 ODIs; Surrey CCC, MCC, Warwickshire CCC, Northern Transvaal), dies of prostate cancer at 70
- Dec 4 Ockie Oosthuizen, South African rugby union front rower (9 caps; Transvaal), dies from cancer at 64
- Dec 5 Jerry Naylor, American country music and rock vocalist (Crickets), dies at 80
- Dec 6 Jo Ann Washam, American golfer (Women's PGA C'ship 1975 3rd; 3 LPGA Tour titles), dies at 69
- Dec 7 Berkley Bedell, American politician (Rep-D-IA, 1975-87), dies at 98
- Dec 7 Chalmers "Bump" Elliott, American College Football Hall of Fame halfback and coach (U of Michigan) and college athletics administrator (Iowa), dies at 94
- Dec 7 Denis Lalanne, French sports journalist ('Le grand combat du XV de France'; 'Rugbymania: French flair attitude'), dies at 93
- Dec 7 Ron Saunders, English soccer striker (Portsmouth) and manager (Manchester City, Aston Villa, Birmingham City), dies at 87
- Dec 8 Caroll Spinney, American puppeteer behind Big Bird and Oscar the Grouch on Sesame Street (1969-2018), dies at 85
Juice WRLD (1998-2019)
Dec 8 American rapper and singer-songwriter (All Girls Are the Same, Lucid Dreams), dies at 21 of a seizure at Chicago airport caused by toxic levels of oxycodone and codeine
Paul Volcker (1927-2019)
Dec 8 American economist and Chairman of the US Federal Reserve (1979-87), dies at 92
- Dec 8 Rene Auberjonois, American actor and voice artist (Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, God of War), dies of lung cancer at 79
- Dec 8 Rogério Pipi, Portuguese soccer forward (15 caps; Benfica), dies at 97
- Dec 9 Elizabeth Sutherland, Countess of Sunderland, Scottish aristocrat, head of Clan Sunderland, dies at 98
- Dec 9 Marie Fredriksson, Swedish singer (Roxette - Must Have Been Love), dies after a long illness at 61
- Dec 10 Jean Pagé, Canadian sports journalist (host: 'La Soirée du hockey' and '110%'), dies from prostate cancer at 73
- Dec 10 Jim Smith, English soccer midfielder and manager (Birmingham City, QPR, Portsmouth, Derby County), dies at 79
- Dec 11 David Bellamy, English botanist and TV presenter, dies at 86
- Dec 12 Brian Muller, New Zealand rugby union prop (14 caps; Taranaki), dies at 77
- Dec 12 Danny Aiello, American stage and screen actor (Moonstruck; Do The Right Thing; Broadway Danny Rose), and singer dies at 86
- Dec 12 Jack Scott, Canadian rock and roll singer-songwriter ("My True Love"), dies of congestive heart failure at 83
- Dec 12 Jorge Hernández, Cuban boxer Olympic gold light flyweight 1976; World C'ship gold 1974, 78), dies at 65
- Dec 12 Peter Snell, New Zealand athlete (Olympic gold 800m 1960, 64; 1,500m 1964), dies of heart failure at 81
- Dec 12 Vaughan Johnson, American football linebacker (Pro Bowl 1989, 90, 91, 92; New Orleans Saints, Philadelphia Eagles), dies of kidney disease at 57
- Dec 13 Carl Scheer, American basketball executive (general manager Denver Nuggets, LA Clippers, Charlotte Hornets; inventor NBA Slam Dunk Contest), dies from complications of dementia at 82
- Dec 13 Emil Richards [Radocchia], American session and touring vibraphonist and percussionist (George Shearing; Frank Sinatra; Lalo Schifrin; Frank Zappa; George Harrison; Harry Partch; Shadowfax), dies at 87
- Dec 13 Richard G Hatcher, American attorney and politician (Mayor of Gary, Indiana, 1968-88), dies at 88
- Dec 13 Roy Loney, American rock singer (Flamin' Groovies, 1965-71), dies of multiple organ failure at 73
- Dec 13 Yasuhiro Takai, Japanese baseball first baseman, designated hitter and broadcaster (NPB record 27 career pinch-hit home runs; Hankyu Braves), dies of kidney failure at 74
- Dec 14 Anna Karina, Danish French 'New Wave' actress (Alphaville), dies at 79
- Dec 14 Randy Colley (Moondog Rex), American pro wrestler (WWF Tag Team champion 1981), dies after undergoing amputation of his right leg at 69
- Dec 15 Monique Leyrac, French Canadian singer ("Mon Pays"), and actress (Act of the Heart), dies at 91
- Dec 16 Basil Butcher, West Indies cricket batsman (44 Tests; 3,104 runs @ 43.11), dies at 86
- Dec 17 Hayden Fry, American College Football Hall of Fame coach (SMU 1962-72, North Texas State University 1973-78, University of Iowa 1979-98), dies from cancer at 90
- Dec 17 Karin Balzer, German athlete (Olympic gold 80m hurdles 1964; bronze 100m hurdles 1972), dies at 81
- Dec 18 Abbey Simon, American concert pianist, and pedagogue, dies at 99
- Dec 18 Hugh McKenna, British rock keyboardist (The Sensational Alex Harvey Band), dies of cancer at 70
- Dec 18 Kenny Lynch, British pop-rock singer ("You Can Never Stop Me Loving You"; "Up On A Roof"), dies of cancer at 81
- Dec 19 Saoul Mamby, American boxer (WBC super lightweight title 1980-82), dies at 72
- Dec 19 Shahdon Winchester, Trinidadian soccer winger (27 caps; Murciélagos), dies in a traffic collision at 27
- Dec 20 Eduard Krieger, Austrian soccer defensive midfielder (25 caps; Austria Wien, Club Brugge K.V., LASK Linz), dies at 73
- Dec 20 Frank Foster, English rugby league lock (1 Test GB; Workington Town, Hull Kingston Rovers, Bradford Northern) and coach (Barrow, Whitehaven), dies at 79
- Dec 20 Junior Johnson, American auto racer and team owner (Daytona 500 1960; NASCAR Hall of Fame), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 88
- Dec 20 Roland Matthes, German swimmer (Olympic gold 100, 200m backstroke 1968, 72; WR x 19), dies at 69
- Dec 20 Yuri Pshenichnikov, Soviet soccer goalkeeper and coach (19 caps; FC Pakhtakor Tashkent, CSKA Moscow), dies at 79
- Dec 21 Emanuel Ungaro, French fashion designer (Neiman-Marcus Award-1969), dies at 86
- Dec 21 Martin Peters, English soccer midfielder (67 caps; West Ham United, Tottenham Hotspur, Norwich City), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 76
- Dec 21 Sam Strahan, New Zealand rugby union lock (17 caps; Manawatū), dies at 74
- Dec 22 Fritz Künzli, Swiss soccer striker (44 caps; FC Zürich, FC Winterthur, FC Lausanne-Sport), dies from Alzheimer's disease at 73
- Dec 22 Tony Britton, English actor (The Day of the Jackal), dies at 95
- Dec 23 Alan Harrington, Welsh soccer defender (11 caps; Cardiff City 348 games), dies at 86
- Dec 23 Duncan MacKay, Scottish soccer defender (14 caps; Celtic 162 games), dies at 82
- Dec 24 Walter Horak, Austrian soccer striker (13 caps; Wiener Sport Club, Sochaux), dies at 88
- Dec 25 Ari Behn (né Bjørshol), Norwegian author (Trist som faen - Sad as hell), playwright, and husband of Princess Martha Louise of Norway (2002-17), takes his own life at 47
- Dec 25 Peter Schreier, German tenor and conductor (Dresden State Opera, 1962-2000), dies at 84 [1]
- Dec 26 Eigil Nielsen, Danish soccer midfielder (10 caps; Basel), dies at 71
- Dec 26 Elbert Dubenion, American football wide receiver, running back (AFL All Star 1964; AFL C'ship 1964, 65 Buffalo Bills), dies from complications related to Parkinson's disease at 86
- Dec 26 Gary Starkweather, American engineer and inventor of the laser printer, dies at 81 [1]
- Dec 26 Jerry Herman, American musical theater composer (Hello, Dolly!; Mame; La Cage aux Folles), dies at 88
- Dec 27 (Beryl) "Jack" Sheldon, American jazz trumpeter (Merv Griffin), singer (Schoolhouse Rock), and actor (Run Buddy Run), dies at 88
- Dec 27 Art Sullivan [Marc Liénart van Lidth de Jeude], Belgian pop singer-songwriter ("Un océan de caresses"), dies of pancreatic cancer at 69
- Dec 27 Don Imus, American radio talk show host (WNBC), dies from complications of lung disease at 79
- Dec 27 Garrett List, American classical and jazz composer and trombonist (Julliard Ensemble), dies at 76
- Dec 27 Ilias Rosidis, Greek soccer defender (29 caps; Olympiacos FC), dies at 92
- Dec 28 Carley Ann McCord, American sports reporter (Cox Sports TV; in-game host New Orleans Pelicans, New Orleans Saints), dies in a plane crash at 30
- Dec 28 Erzsébet Szőnyi, Hungarian composer, dies at 95
- Dec 28 Fred Graham, American newscaster and journalist (CBS News, Court TV), dies of Parkinson's disease at 88
- Dec 28 Thanos Mikroutsikos, Greek composer, pianist, and politician (Minister of Culture,1993-96), dies of cancer at 72
- Dec 28 Vilhjálmur Einarsson, Icelandic athlete (Olympic silver triple-jump 1956; Iceland's first ever Olympic medal), dies at 85
- Dec 29 LaDell Andersen, American college basketball coach (Utah State, BYU), dies at 90
- Dec 29 Norma Tanega, American folk and pop singer-songwriter, guitarist ("Walkin' My Cat Named Dog"; "You're Dead"), percussionist, and painter, dies of colon cancer at 80
- Dec 30 Charles Williams, Lord Williams of Elvel, British and politician (Member of the House of Lords, 1985-2019), dies at 86
- Dec 30 Elizabeth Sellars, Scottish actress ("Chalk Garden"; "A Voyage Round My Father"), dies at 98 [1]
- Dec 30 Gertrude Himmelfarb, American conservative historian, dies at 97
- Dec 30 Johnny Ward, English rugby league hooker (4 Tests Great Britain, 3 England; Castleford 262 games), dies at 78
- Dec 31 Basil Watts, English rugby league second rower (5 Tests Great Britain, 1 England; World Cup 1954; York RLFC), dies at 93
- Dec 31 Christian Kellens, Belgian jazz trombonist, dies at 94
