December 16th
Holidays and Festivals
Independence Day (Kazakhstan) * (see below)
Independence Day (Bahrain) * (see below)
First day of Las Posadas (Latin America) * (see below)
Day of Reconciliation (South Africa) * (see below)
Victory Day (Bangladesh)
Victory Day (India)
National Sports Day (Thailand)
The first day of Misa de Gallo (Philippines)
National Chocolate Covered Anything Day
Barbie and Barney Backlash Day
Christian Feast Day of Adelaide of Italy
* Independence Day (Kazakhstan) celebrating independence from Soviet Union in 1991.
* Independence Day (Bahrain) AKA National Day, celebrating independence from the United Kingdom in due to the withdrawal of United Kingdom from Bahrain, making Bahrain an independent emirate in 1971. This day also is the accession day for Amir Sh. Isa Bin Salman Al Khalifa in 1961.
* Las Posadas is the nine-day celebration beginning December 16 and ending December 24, celebrating the trials which Mary and Joseph endured before finding a place to stay where Jesus could be born (Mexico, Latin America, Christians of Spanish-origin)
* Day of Reconciliation (South Africa) formerly celebrated as Day of the Vow by the Afrikaners
Fête de la Pignon Translation: Pine nut Day (French Republican) The 26th day of the Month of Frimaire in the French Republican Calendar
Toast of The Day
"Now, thrice welcome, Christmas
Which brings us good cheer,
Mince pies and plum pudding,
Strong ale and strong beer!"
- Anonymous
Drink of The Day
Mint Julep
1 Part Bourbon
12 mint leaves
1 Tsp. Sugar
Fill with Soda
Garnish with Mint Leaves
Muddle together the mint leaves, bourbon and sugarthe add ice fill with soda and give it a little swirl with a bar spoon. Garnish with the remaining mint leaves
Wine of The Day
Tamayo Vineyards (2008) Estate Red Blend
Style - Red Blend
Contra Costa County
$20
Beer of The Day
Salvator Doppel Bock
Brewer - Paulaner-Salvator-Thomasbräu Brewery, Munich, Germany
Style - Doppelbock
ABV - 7.9%
Joke of The Day
Paddy sees a fat woman at the bar and saunters upto her.
"Excuse me sweetheart, have you got a pen?"
Blushing, the woman softly replies.....
"Yes"
Paddy replied.....
"Well i'd get back to it before the farmer notices you're missing!"
Quote of The Day
"I am not a heavy drinker. I can sometimes go for hours without touching a drop."
Noel Peirce Coward (December 16th, 1899 - March 26th, 1973), an English playwright and entertainer.
- Alternative -
"We could not now take time for further searche or consideration: our victuals being much spente, especially our beer."
- Logbook entry on the Mayflower, December 16, 1620
Whisky of The Day
The Balvenie 15 Year Old Single Barrel Single Malt Scotch
Price: $60.
December Observances
AIDS Awareness Month
Art and Architecture Month
Awareness Month of Awareness Months Month
Bingo's Birthday Month
Bingo Month
Cancer-Related Fatigue Awareness Month
Choose a Summer Camp Month, Natl
Colorectal Cancer Education and Awareness Month
Identity Theft Prevention and Awareness Month
International Calendar Awareness Month
International Sharps Injury Prevention and Awareness Month
Learn A Foreign Language Month
National Drugged and Drunk Driving Prevention Month
National Hand Washing Awareness Month
National Made in America Month
National Sign-Up for Camp Month
National Tie Month
National Write A Business Plan Month
Nativity Fast (Eastern churches) starts September 1st
Operation Santa Paws December 1st - 24th
Quince and Watermelon Month
Read a New Book Month
Root Vegetables and Exotic Fruits Month
Safe Toys and Gifts Month
Seasonal Depression Awareness Month
Spiritual Literacy Month
Take a New Year's Resolution to Stop Smoking (TANYRSS) December 17th - February 5th
The Christmas Seal Campaign Month
Tomato and Winter Squash Month
Universal Human Rights Month
Winter-een-mas season (to celebrate the joy of video gaming)
World Aids Month
Worldwide Food Service Safety Month
Write (to) a Friend Month
Observances this Week
Human Rights Week , December 10th - December 17th
Christmas Bird Count Week, December 14th through February 5th
Gluten-free Baking Week, Full Week Before Christmas
Las Posadas, December 16th through December 24th (Spain, Mexico, Guatamala, Southern USA)
Halcyon Days, 7 days before and 7 days after the Winter Solstice
Historical Events on December 16th
755 An Lushan revolts against Chancellor Yang Guozhong at Yanjing, initiating the An Lushan Rebellion during the Tang Dynasty of China.
882 Marinus I begins his reign as Catholic Pope succeeding John VIII
1392 Nanboku-chō Emperor Go-Kameyama abdicates in favor of rival claimant Go-Komatsu.
1431 King Henry VI of England is crowned King of France at Notre Dame in Paris, France.
1497 Vasco da Gama rounds the Cape of Good Hope, the point where Bartolomeu Dias had previously turned back to Portugal.
1538 King Francois I orders renewed pursuit of Protestants
1575 The 1575 Valdivia earthquake takes place.
1577 Danzig surrenders to troops of Polish king Istvan Bathory
1598 Battle of Noryang of the Seven Year War, The final battle of the Seven Year War is fought between the China and the Korean Allied Forces and Japanese navies, resulting in a decisive Allied Forces victory.
1617 Spanish viceroy Hernando Arias de Saavedra founds provinces Rio de la Plata (Argentina)/Guaira (Paraguay)
1631 Mount Vesuvious, Italy erupts, destroys 6 villages & kills 4,000
1653 The Protectorate Oliver Cromwell becomes Lord Protector of the Commonwealth of England, Scotland and Ireland.
1659 General Monck demands free parliamentary election in Scotland
1689 English Parliament adopts Bill of Rights after Glorious Revolution
1707 Last recorded eruption of Mount Fuji in Japan.
1740 Prussian Libya falls to Silezie
1761 After a four-month siege, the Russians under Pyotr Rumyantsev take the Prussian fortress of Kołobrzeg in the Seven Years' War.
1767 Van Ritter von Glucks opera "Alceste" premiers
1773 Boston Tea Party Members of the Sons of Liberty disguised as Mohawks dump crates of tea into Boston harbor as a protest against the Tea Act (The Boston Tea Party), leading up to the American Revolution.
1809 Napoleon Bonaparte divorces Empress Josephine by French Senate
1811 The first two in a series of four severe earthquakes occur in the vicinity of New Madrid, Missouri. These four so-called mega-quakes are believed to be an ongoing cataclysmic danger that could reprise the 1811-12 series of 2,000 quakes that affected the lands of what would be eight of today's heartland states of the United States.
1817 Leaders of Molukkas uprising hanged in Ambon
1824 Great North Holland Canal opens
1826 Benjamin W. Edwards rides into Mexican controlled Nacogdoches, Texas and declares himself ruler of the Republic of Fredonia.
1835 Fire consumes over 600 buildings in NYC
1838 Battle of Blood River, Voortrekkers led by Andries Pretorius and Sarel Cilliers defeat Zulu impis under Zulu chieftain Dingaan, led by Dambuza (Nzobo) and Ndlela kaSompisi in what is today KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa.
1850 The Charlotte Jane and the Randolph Ships bring the first of the Canterbury Pilgrims to Lyttelton, New Zealand.
1857 Earthquake in Naples, Italy
1858 Dutch government decides to vacate Schokland Island
1862 Kingdom of Nepal accepts its constitution
1863 Joseph E. Johnston replaces Braxton Bragg as commander of the Army of Tennessee in the American Civil War.
1864 Battle of Nashville of the Franklin–Nashville Campaign in the American Civil War, Major General George Thomas's Union forces defeat Lieutenant General John Bell Hood's Confederate Army of Tennessee, 4400 casualities.
1877 Anton Bruckner's 3rd Symphony in D, premieres
1880 Republic of South-Africa forms
1884 Great Britain recognizes King Leopold II's Congo Free State
1886 Rift at Dutch Reformed Church over "Doleantie"
1890 Negro Methodist Episcopal Church founded in Jackson, TN
1892 Commencement of 1st Sheffield Shield cricket game, SA v NSW
1893 Anton Dvorak's "New World Symphony" premieres
1897 First submarine with an internal combustion engine demonstrated
1900 Boer army under gen Kritzinger take Cape colony
1901 Boer general Kritzinger captured
1903 Majestic Theater, NYC, becomes 1st in US to employ women ushers
1903 Taj Mahal Palace & Tower first opened its doors to the guests.
1905 "Variety," covering all phases of show business, 1st published
1907 Eugene H Farrar is 1st to sing on radio (Bkln Navy Yard NY)
1907 The Great White Fleet sails from Hampton Downs on it's World Cruise to begin its circumnavigation of the world
1908 First credit union in US forms (Manchester NH)
1909 US pressure forces Nicaraguan Pres Jose Santos Zelaya from office
1912 First US postage stamp picturing an airplane, 20 cent parcel post, issued
1912 Austria-Hungary engage in conflict with Serbia
1912 The Battle of Elli takes place of the First Balkan War.
1913 Charlie Chaplin began his film career at Keystone for $150 a week
1914 French offensive in Artois (Pétain) in World War I.
1914 German battleships under Franz Von Hipper bombard the English ports of Hartlepool and Scarborough in World War I.
1915 Albert Einstein publishes his "General Theory of Relativity"
1918 Jack Dempsey KOs Carl Morris in 14 seconds
1918 Vincas Mickevičius-Kapsukas declares the formation of the Lithuanian Soviet Socialist Republic.
1920 The Haiyuan earthquake, magnitude 8.5, rocks the Gansu province in China, killing an estimated 200,000.
1922 Mutual Association of Eastern Colored Baseball Clubs) formally organizes
1922 NSW all out for 786 against South Australia Cricket
1922 President of Poland Gabriel Narutowicz is assassinated by Eligiusz Niewiadomski at the Zachęta Gallery in Warsaw.
1924 Noel Coward's "Vortex," premieres in London
1925 Alpha Phi Omega national service fraternity is founded at Lafayette College.
1926 Darius Milhauds opera "Le Pauvre Matelot," premieres in Paris
1926 Kenesaw Mountain Landis renewed 7-years as baseball commissioner
1926 WOW-AM in Omaha NE begins radio transmissions
1927 Cricket 1st-class debut of Don Bradman, NSW v South Australia
1929 Chicago Blackhawks 1st game at Chicago Stadium, beat Pittsburgh Pirates, 3-1
1930 Bank robber Herman Lamm and members of his crew are killed by a posse of 200, following a botched bank robbery in Clinton, Indiana.
1930 Golfer Bobby Jones wins James E Sullivan Award
1931 German SPD begins Eiserne Front against fascism
1933 Abe de Vries & Sipke Castelein win Elfstedentocht
1936 John Monks/Fred Finklehoff's "Brother Rat," premieres in NYC
1937 Theodore Cole and Ralph Roe attempt to escape from the American federal prison on Alcatraz Island in San Francisco Bay; neither is ever seen again.
1938 Adolf Hitler institutes the Cross of Honor of the German Mother
1938 Bradman scores 143 South Aust v NSW, 11 fours 91 singles
1939 Bradman scores 251* SA v NSW, 271 minutes, 38 fours 2 sixes
1940 British air raid on Mannheim
1940 Joe Louis KOs Al McCoy in 6 for heavyweight boxing title in Chicago
1941 Japanese forces occupy Miri, Sarawak in World War II.
1942 Hitler orders combat against partisans in Russia & Balkan in World War II.
1942 Porajmos Heinrich Himmler orders that Roma candidates for extermination be deported to Auschwitz.
1943 "Tamiami Champion" trains collide, kills 73 & injures 200
1944 Battle of Bulge begins in Belgium in World War II.
1944 German V-2 strikes Antwerp bioscope (638 kill) in World War II.
1944 American 2nd Inf division occupies "Heartbreak Crossroads" Wahlerscheid in World War II.
1944 The Battle of the Bulge of World War II begins with the surprise offensive of three German armies through the Ardennes forest.
1945 Cleveland Rams win NFL championship
1946 Thailand joins the United Nations.
1947 William Shockley, John Bardeen and Walter Brattain build the first practical point-contact transistor.
1948 "Lend an Ear" opens at National Theater NYC for 460 performances
1949 Sukarno becomes president Indonesia, Mokammed Hatta premier
1949 Svenska Aeroplan Aktiebolaget, later knows as SAAB, is founded in Sweden.
1950 "Let's Make an Opera" closes at John Golden Theater NYC after 5 perfs
1950 U.S. President Harry S. Truman declares a state of emergency against "Communist imperialism", after Chinese troops enter the fight with communist North Korea in the Korean War.
1953 First White House Press Conference (Pres Eisenhower & 161 reporters)
1953 Charles E Yeager flies more than 2,575 kph in Bell X-1A
1956 "Fanny" closes at Majestic Theater NYC after 888 performances
1957 Sir Feroz Khan Noon replaces Ibrahim Ismail Chundrigar as Prime Minister of Pakistan.
1958 Bogota warehouse fire kills 82
1959 Snow falling in Lowarai Pass West Pakistan kills 48
1960 "Wildcat" opens at Alvin Theater NYC for 172 performances
1960 1960 New York air disaster, While approaching New York, New York's Idlewild Airport, a United Airlines Douglas DC-8 collides with a TWA Lockheed Super Constellation in a blinding snowstorm over Staten Island, killing 134.
1961 "Evening with Yves Montand" opens at John Golden NYC after 55 perfs
1962 David Lean's "Lawrence of Arabia" premieres
1962 NY Giant YA Title sets NFL season touchdown pass record at 33 with 6 touchdowns vs Dallas (41-31)
1962 Nepal gets constitution/becomes Constitutional Hindu Monarchy
1964 US performs nuclear test at Pacific Ocean
1965 Gemini 6 returns to Earth
1965 Pioneer 6 launched into solar orbit
1965 Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, becomes King of Tonga
1965 General William Westmoreland sends U.S. Secretary of Defense Robert McNamara a request for 243,000 more men by the end of 1966 in the Vietnam War.
1966 Beatles release "Everywhere its Christmas" in UK
1966 Jimi Hendrix Experience releases its 1st single, "Hey Joe," in the UK
1967 Wilt Chamberlain of NBA Phila 76ers scores 68 points vs Chicago
1968 KFIZ TV channel 34 in Fond du Lac, WI begins broadcasting
1969 "War is Over! If You Want It, Happy Christmas from John & Yoko" posters begin appearing
1969 Brittish House of Commons votes 343-185 abolishing the death penalty
1970 First successful landing on Venus (USSR)
1970 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1971 "National Day" of the Kingdom of Bahrain is celebrated. Not to be confused with Bahrain Independence Day which took place on August 15, 1971.
1971 The surrender of the Pakistan Army brings an end to both the Bangladesh Liberation War and Indo-Pakistani War of 1971, Bangladesh (East Pakistan) declares independence from Pakistan.
1971 Don McLean's 8+ minute version of "American Pie" released
1971 India's army occupies Dacca, West Pakistani troops surrenders
1972 Bangladesh Constitution goes into effect
1972 Miami Dolphins become 1st undefeated NFL team (14-0-0)
1972 Henry Kissinger announces that North Vietnam has left private peace negotiations, in Paris, France during the Vietnam War.
1972 Vijay Diwas, (Victory Day) is commemorated every December 16th in India as it marks its military victory over Pakistan in 1971 during the Indo-Pakistani War of 1971.
1973 O J Simpson becomes First NFLer to rush 2,000 yard in a season
1973 US kidnap victem Paul Getty III freed
1974 USSR performs nuclear test at Eastern Kazakh/Semipalitinsk USSR
1974 US performs nuclear test at Nevada Test Site
1975 First broadcast of "One Day at a Time" on CBS TV
1975 Bill Veeck buys 80% of White Sox from John Allyn
1976 Andrew Young named Ambassador & Chief US Delegate to UN
1976 Charlie Finley's $10 million damage suit against Bowie Kuhn begins
1976 Government halts swine flu vaccination prog following reports of paralysis
1976 Liberian tanker stranded at Nantucket, 180,000 barrels oil in sea
1978 Cleveland, Ohio becomes the first post-Depression era city to default on its loans, owing $14,000,000 to local banks.
1978 Ronald Reagan denounces President Jimmy Carter's recognition of China PR
1979 68th Davis Cup, USA beats Italy in San Francisco (5-0)
1979 Libya joins four other OPEC nations in raising crude oil prices, having an immediate dramatic effect on the United States.
1979 QB Roger Staubach's last regular season game with the Dallas Cowboys
1980 Pres-elect Reagan announces Alexander Haig as secretary of state
1981 Dutch Van Agt's 2nd government falls
1982 The Federal Reserve announces that the operating capacity of factories has gone down to 67.8%.
1982 Tom Seaver agrees to new contract with Mets
1983 Riverside, Cal judge denies cerebral palsy victim Elizabeth Bouviato request to starve herself to death in a county hospital
1983 Spokesperson for The Who announces the group is disbanding
1983 Yogi Berra named Yankee manager for 2nd time
1985 Challenger moves to Vandenberg AFB for mating of STS 51-L mission
1985 In New York, New York, Paul Castellano and Thomas Bilotti are shot dead on the orders of John Gotti, who assumes leadership of the Gambino Mafia family.
1986 Revolt in Kazakhstan against Communist Party of Kazakhstan, known as Jeltoqsan, which becomes the first sign of ethnic strife during Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev's tenure
1987 Roh Tae Woo elected president of South Korea
1988 Political cult leader Lyndon LaRouche convicted of tax, mail fraud
1989 Commencement of first Test Cricket play at Bellerive Oval, Hobart (v SL)
1989 Geoff Marsh completes 355* for WA against South Australia
1989 Protests break out in Timișoara, Romania in response to an attempt by the government to evict dissident Hungarian pastor László Tőkés.
1989 Walter LeRoy Moody begins his terrorist bombing streak when he sends Judge Robert Smith Vance a bomb in the mail, instantly killing him near his house in Birmingham, Alabama.
1990 KUSW, Salt Lake City Utah, final shortwave radio transmissions
1990 Reverand Jean Betrand Aristide is elected president of Haiti.
1991 Florida Marlins sign their 1st player, 16 year old pitcher Clemente Nunez
1991 Independence of The Republic of Kazakhstan.
1991 UN reverses ruling that Zionism is racism by 111-25 (13 abstain) vote
1993 "Red Shoes" opens at Gershwin Theater NYC for 5 performances
1993 Shannen Doherty (Brenda) is fired from Beverly Hills 90210
1994 Davy Jones (Monkees), charged with DWI
1997 An episode of Pokémon, "Dennō Senshi Porygon", aired in Japan induces seizures in 685 Japanese children.
1997 President Clinton names his Labrador retriever, "Buddy"
1998 Operation Desert Fox The United States and United Kingdom bomb targets in Iraq.
2003 President George W. Bush signs the CAN-SPAM Act of 2003 into law. The law establishes the United States' first national standards for the sending of commercial e-mail and requires the Federal Trade Commission to enforce its provisions.
2012 4 people are killed after Cyclone Evan strikes Fiji
2012 A gang rape in Delhi sparks widespread demonstrations across India
2012 Corinthians defeat Chelsea 1-0 to win the 2012 FIFA Club World Cup
2013 21 people are killed and 20 are injured after a bus falls from an elevated highway in Manila, Philippines
2013 Jameis Winston, Florida State (QB) wins the 79th Heisman Trophy Award
2014 An Army Public School in Pakistan is attacked by Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan militants who kill 145 people
2015 US Federal Reserve raises interest rates by 0.25% for the first time since 2006
Born on December 16th
1485 Catherine of Aragon, Madrid, Spanish princess, 1st wife of Henry VIII (d. 1536)
1584 John Selden, English jurist and oriental scholar (d. 1654)
1614 Eberhard III, Duke of Württemberg (d. 1674)
1622 Kurt S Adeler, Danish admiral, ship builder
1652 Giovanni Maria Casini, composer
1714 George Whitefield, English-born Methodist leader (d. 1770)
1716 Louis-Jules Mancini-Mazarini, Duke of Nivernais, French diplomat and writer (d. 1798)
1717 Elizabeth Carter, English poet (d. 1806)
1734 Georg Peter Weimar, composer
1742 Gebhard Leberecht von Blücher (Wahlstatt), German field marshal (d. 1819)
1748 Ferdinand-Philippe-Joseph Staes, composer
1770 Ludwig van Beethoven, German composer (5th Symphony, Ode to Joy) (d. 1827)
1775 François-Adrien Boieldieu, French composer (d. 1834)
1775 Jane Austen, English author (Pride and Prejudice) (d. 1817)
1776 Johann Wilhelm Ritter, German physicist (d. 1810)
1777 Janos Fusz, composer
1778 John Ordronaux, French-American privateer (d. 1841)
1787 Mary Russell Mitford, English author and playwright (d. 1855)
1790 Leopold I, King of Belgium (d. 1865)
1804 Viktor Bunyakovsky, Russian mathematician (d. 1889)
1809 Peter P van Bosse, Dutch attorney, liberal minister of Finance
1812 William Grose, Bvt Major General (Union volunteers) (d. 1900)
1819 Robert Selden Garnett, Brigadier General (Confederate Army) (d. 1861)
1822 Charles Edward Horsley, composer
1825 Henry Heth, Major General (Confederate Army) (d. 1899)
1825 Robert Prescott Stewart, composer
1827 John A C Oudemans, Dutch geographer, astronomer
1828 John Beatty, Brigadier General (Union volunteers) (d. 1914)
1830 John Frederick Hartranft, Bvt Mjr Gen (Union volunteers) (d. 1889)
1834 Leon Walras, French economist (border use theory) (d. 1910)
1847 Augusta Mary Anne Holmes, composer
1850 Fred Morley, English cricketer
1851 Theodoor H de Meester, Dutch premier (1905-08)
1857 Edward Emerson Barnard, American astronomer (Jupiter's 5th satellite)
1861 Antonio de La Gandara, French painter (d. 1917)
1862 Eugene Demolder, Belgian writer (Sous la robe)
1863 George Santayana, Spanish philosopher, author, poet, humanist (Last Puritan) (d. 1952)
1863 Ralph Adams Cram, American gothic architect (Cathedral of St Joan NYC)
1865 Olavo Bilac, Brazilian poet (d. 1918)
1865 Victor Rousseau, Belgian sculptor
1866 Wassily Kandinsky, Russian-French painter (d. 1944)
1867 Amy Carmichael, Irish missionary in Dohnavur (d. 1951)
1869 Albert F Pollard, British historian (Dict of natural biography)
1869 Hristo Tatarchev, Bulgarian author and activist (d. 1952)
1872 Anton Ivanovich Denikin, Russian general (d. 1947)
1879 William Duncan, Scottish actor (Thunder Trail)
1882 John Berry Hobbs, English cricketer, 1st cricket played knighted (1953)
1882 Walther Meissner, German physicist (Meissner effect) (d. 1974)
1882 Zoltán Kodály, Hungarian composer (d. 1967)
1883 Károly Kós, Hungarian architect, ethnologist, and politician (d. 1977)
1883 Max Linder, French actor, comic, director (Max Prend un Bain), and producer (d. 1925)
1888 Alexander I of Yugoslavia (d. 1934)
1888 Alphonse Juin, French marshal (d. 1967)
1889 Kim Chwa-chin, South Korean activist (d. 1930)
1892 A "Shon Nene" Morales, Antillean-Dutch
1892 Cameron Prud'Homme, American actor (Rainmaker)
1893 Vladimir Golschmann, French conductor with Immortal Downbeat
1895 Lidj Jasu, emperor of Ethiopia
1897 Jacobus Petrus Duminy, South African cricketer
1897 Paul Neuhuys, Belgian playwright (Le Canari et le Cerise)
1899 Harold Walter Bailey, philologist
1899 Noël Coward, English actor, playwright (In Which We Serve-1942 Acad Award), and composer (d. 1973)
1900 Victor S Pritchett, English literary critic and author (Myth Makers) (d. 1997)
1901 Margaret Mead, American anthropologist (Coming of Age in Samoa) (d. 1978)
1903 Hardie Albright, American actress (Silver Streak, Scarlet Letter) (d. 1975)
1903 Rafael Alberti, Spanish poet (El hombre deshabitado) (d. 1999)
1904 Edward Morris Bernstein, economist
1905 Piet Hein, Danish mathematician, author, poet, and inventor (d. 1996)
1906 Barbara Kent, Canadian actress
1906 John Morrison, politician, landowner
1906 Lord Margadale, English Conserv parliament leader, large landowner
1907 Barbara Kent, Canadian-American actress (d. 2011)
1907 Ray C Bliss, (R) Ohio State Republican Chairman
1907 Syd Curnow, South African cricketer
1909 Henricus Verbunt, civil servant, resistance fighter
1909 Lall Singh, indian cricketer
1910 Freddie Brown, Peruvian cricketer
1910 Robert Noehren, composer
1910 Stanojlo Rajicic, composer
1913 George Ignatieff, Russian-Canadian diplomat (d. 1989)
1915 Georgi Vasilevich Svirdov, composer
1915 Turk Murphy, American trombonist and singer (d. 1987)
1916 Birgitta Valberg, Swedish actress
1916 Theo Bitter, Dutch painter, set designer
1916 Udom Patpongsiri, property developer
1917 Arthur C(harles) Clarke, English sci-fi author (2001, 2010, Childhood's End) (d. 2008)
1917 Nabi Bux Khan Baloch, Pakistani author and scholar (d. 2011)
1917 Ruth Johnson Colvin, American educator, founded ProLiteracy Worldwide
1918 Henry Clarke, fashion photographer
1918 Pierre Delanoë, French songwriter and lyricist (d. 2006)
1919 Manke Nelis (Cornelis Pieters), Dutch folk vocalist (Small Yodel Boy)
1920 Frederick Rotimi Williams, Nigerian lawyer and politician (d. 2005)
1922 Cy Leslie, American record producer, video executive, founder (Pickwick Records) (d. 2008)
1922 Pierre Chany, writer, cycling journalist
1923 Menahem Pressler, German-American pianist (Beaux Arts Trio)
1923 Tip (Silvio A) Marugg, Antillian writer (Weekend pilgrimage)
1923 Werner Haentjes, composer
1926 Alfred Koerppen, composer
1926 James McCracken, American tenor (d. 1988)
1927 G Randall P D Garrett, American sci-fi writer (Takeoff (too)!)
1927 Peter (Malcolm) Dickinson, Zambian sci-fi author (Heartsease)
1927 Randall Garrett, American author (d. 1987)
1928 Peter Nailor, civil servant/historian
1928 Philip K(indred) Dick, American sci-fi author (Hugo-1963, Blade Runner) (d. 1982)
1928 Terry Carter, American actor, director, and producer
1929 Ian Board, barkeeper
1929 Nicholas Courtney, English actor (d. 2011)
1931 Karl Denver, Scottish singer (d. 1998)
1932 Quentin Blake, English author and illustrator
1932 Rodion Konstantinovich Schedrin, Russian pianist and compo (Humpback Horse)
1934 Rodolfo Llinás, Colombian-American neuroscientist
1936 Morris Dees, American activist, co-founder of the Southern Poverty Law Center
1937 Jim Glaser, American singer (Glaser Bros-Getting to Me Again)
1937 Joe Farrell, Musician
1937 Joyce Bulifant, American actress (Marie-Mary Tyler Moore Show)
1938 Frank Deford, American journalist and author, sportswriter
1938 Liv Ullmann, Norwegian actress
1938 Michael Greer, American actor (Bobby Gentry Show)
1939 Liv Ullman, Japanese actress (Cries & Whispers, 40 Carats, Persona)
1939 Philip Langridge, English tenor (d. 2010)
1940 Dimitri van Toren, Dutch vocalist/composer
1941 Lesley Stahl, American journalist, correspondent (CBS)
1941 Robert Kerman, American actor
1942 Donald Carcieri, American politician, 73rd Governor of Rhode Island
1942 Eugene Robert Glazer, American actor
1943 Steven Bochco, American screenwriter and producer (Hill St Blues, LA Law, St Elsewhere, NYPD Blue)
1943 Anthony (Tony) Hicks, English singer and guitarist (The Hollies)
1944 Don Meyer, American basketball coach
1944 Jeff Kanew, American director and screenwriter
1944 John Abercrombie, rocker
1945 Bobby George, English professional darts player
1945 Patti Deutsch, American actress and Match Game panelist
1945 Yukio Hattori, Japanese Iron Chef commentator
1946 Adriaan van Dis, Dutch TV host, writer (Promised Country)
1946 Benny Andersson, Swedish singer-songwriter, pianist, and producer (ABBA, Hep Stars)
1946 Charles Dennis, Canadian actor
1946 Christopher Ellison, English actor
1946 Fred Borgman, Dutch 2nd chamber member (CDA)
1946 Terence Knox, American actor
1946 Tom Stern, American cinematographer
1946 Trevor Pinnock, English conductor and harpsichordist
1947 Ben Cross, English actor (Chariots of Fire, Far Pavillions, Star Trek)
1947 Vincent Matthews, American sprinter, 400m dash (Olympic-gold-1972)
1948 Christopher Biggins, English actor
1949 Billy Gibbons, American singer-songwriter, guitarist (ZZ Top, Moving Sidewalks), and actor
1950 Caroline Munro, Canadian actress (Golden Voyage of Sinbad) [or 1/16]
1950 Claudia Cohen, American gossip columnist and socialite (d. 2007)
1950 Ieremia Tabai, President of Kiribati (Gilbert Islands) (1979-91)
1950 Roy Schuiten, Dutch cyclist (d. 2006)
1951 Mark Heard, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 1992)
1951 Mike Flanagan, American baseball player (d. 2011)
1951 Robben Ford, American guitarist and songwriter (L.A. Express and Yellowjackets)
1952 Elayne Boosler, comedienne (Night Court)
1952 Francesco Graziani, Italian footballer
1952 Joel Garner, Barbadian cricketer
1953 Filip Bolluyt, Dutch actor (Daybreak)
1953 Joel Garner, Barbados, bowler
1953 Rebecca Forstadt, American voice actress and scriptwriter
1954 Joslyn Y Hoyte-Smith, Barbados 4X400m hurdler (Olympic-bronze-1980)
1955 Carol M Browner, American lawyer and environmentalist, Administrator (EPA)
1955 Graeme Stevenson, English cricketer
1955 Lorenz, Prince of Belgium, Archduke of Austria-Este
1955 Xander Berkeley, American actor (Terminator 2: Judgment Day)
1957 Antonio Vega, Spanish singer-songwriter and guitarist (Nacha Pop) (d. 2009)
1958 Bart Oates, American football player, NFL center (NY Giants, SF 49ers)
1958 Katie Leigh, American voice actress
1959 Alison La Placa, American actress (Duet, Catherine-John Larroquette Show)
1959 Larry Poindexter, American actor and singer
1959 Steve Mattsson, American writer and illustrator
1959 Steven Irvine, drummer (Lloyd Cole & The Commotions)
1960 Canuto Kallan, Danish painter
1960 Pat Van Den Hauwe, Belgian footballer
1961 André Andersen, Russian-Danish keyboard player, composer, and producer (Royal Hunt)
1961 Bill Hicks, American comedian (d. 1994)
1961 Gretchen Palmer, American actress
1961 Jon Tenney, American actor (Beverly Hills Cop III)
1961 Kelly Tough, Canadian playmate (Oct, 1981)
1961 LaChanze, American actress, singer, and dancer
1961 Sam Robards, American actor
1961 Shane Black, American actor, screenwriter (Kiss Kiss Bang Bang), and director
1962 Jon Tenney, actor (Brooklyn South)
1962 Maruschka Detmers, Dutch actress (Devil in the Flesh)
1962 Melanie Smith, American actress (Emily-As the World Turns)
1962 William "The Refrigerator" Perry, American football player, NFL defensive back (Chicago Bears)
1963 Benjamin Bratt, American actor (Det Reynaldo Curtis-Law & Order)
1963 Brian Clark, Canadian Tour golfer (1994 Morden Pro-Am)
1963 Cathy Johnston-Forbes, American LPGA golfer (1990 du Maurier)
1963 James Mangold, American director and screenwriter (Walk the Line)
1963 Jeff Carson, American singer
1963 Silvio Diliberto, WLAF kicker (Amsterdam Admirals)
1964 Billy Ripken, American baseball player, 2nd baseman (Bal Orioles, Texas Rangers)
1964 Evelyn Conley, American WPVA volleyballer (US Open-7th-1989)
1964 Gail Harris, English actress (Virtual Desire)
1964 Georgie Parker, Australian actress
1964 Heike Drechsler, German sprinter (1988 world record)
1964 J.B. Smoove, Comedian *Def Comedy Jam), Actor (Date Night)
1964 Paul Vogt, American actor and comedian
1965 Brent Franklin, Canadian Tour golfer (1992 Japan Open-2nd)
1965 Chris Jones, American baseball player, outfielder (NY Mets)
1965 Cynthia Lynne White, American Miss Oklahoma-America (1991-top 10)
1965 Melanie Sloan, American attorney
1965 Moe Elewonibi, NFL & CFL tackle (Philadelphia Eagles, BC Lions)
1965 Nancy Valen, American actress
1965 Page Dunlap, American LPGA golfer (1994 Atlanta Women's-8th)
1965 Romallis Ellis, American lightweight boxer (Olympic-bronze-1988)
1966 Clifford Robinson, American basketball player, NBA center (Phoenix Suns, Portland Trail Blazers)
1966 Dennis Wise, English footballer
1967 Donovan Bailey, Jamaican-Canadian sprinter, 100m (Oly-2 gold-96)
1967 Miranda Otto, Australian actress (War of the Worlds)
1968 Darryll Lewis, NFL cornerback (Houston/Tennessee Oilers)
1968 Lalah Hathaway, American singer
1968 Mark Dean Schwab, American rapist and murderer (d. 2008)
1968 Paul Scherrer, actor (Children of Corn II, Free Spirit)
1968 Peter Dante, American actor (Grandma's Boy)
1968 Wendy Doolan, Australian LPGA golfer (1991 Brit Amat Champ-2nd)
1969 Adam Riess, American astrophysicist (Nobel Prize Laureate)
1969 Charles Mincy, NFL safety (Minnesota Vikings, Tampa Bay Buccaneers)
1969 Craig White, English cricketer
1969 Dmitri Tymoczko, American composer and theorist
1969 Florencia Lozano, American actress
1969 Martin Ulrich, hockey defenseman (Team Austria 1998)
1969 Shane, American porn actress
1970 Daniel Cosgrove, American actor
1970 Valerie Chow, Hong Kong actress
1971 Catherine "Cathy" Symon, American rower (Olympics-96)
1971 Kristen Kane, American diver (Olympics-96)
1971 Michael S McCary (Boss), Amerfican singer, rapper (Boyz II Men)
1971 Paul van Dyk, German DJ and producer
1971 Seyhan Kurt, French-Turkish poet and sociologist
1972 Angela Bloomfield, New Zealand actress
1972 Charles Gipson, American baseball player
1972 Paul Leyden, Australian actor
1972 Željko Kalac, Australian footballer
1973 Kristie Boogert, Rotterdam Neth, tennis star (1996 Paris)
1973 Luisa Ranieri, Italian actress
1973 Sarah Kozer, American model and actress
1973 Scott Storch, American songwriter and hip-hop producer, founder (Storch Music Company)
1973 Themba Mnguni, South African footballer
1974 Earl C. Poitier, American actor
1974 Frida Hallgren, Swedish actress
1975 Benjamin Kowalewicz, Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (Billy Talent)
1975 Jonathan Scarfe, Canadian actor
1975 Nao Kawakita, Japanese drummer (Maximum the Hormone)
1975 Valentin Bădoi, Romanian footballer
1977 Sylvain Distin, French footballer
1977 Éric Bélanger, Canadian ice hockey player
1978 Gunter Van Handenhoven, Belgian footballer
1978 Joe Absolom, English actor
1978 John Morris, Canadian curler
1978 Kaine, American rapper (Ying Yang Twins)
1979 Flo Rida, American rapper
1979 Jessie Ward, American professional wrestler
1979 Mihai Trăistariu, Romanian singer-songwriter
1979 Nicole Werra, Miss Wisconsin Teen USA (1996)
1979 Trevor Immelman, South African golfer
1980 Michael Jibson, Actor (The Bank Job)
1981 Anna Sedokova, Ukrainian-American singer and actress
1981 Flo Rida, American rapper
1981 Gareth Williams, Scottish footballer
1981 Krysten Ritter, American actress (Confessions of a Shopaholic)
1981 Took Leng How, Malaysian criminal (d. 2006)
1982 Antrel Rolle, American football player, NFL defensive back
1982 Garnon Davies, Welsh actor
1982 Justin Mentell, American actor (d. 2010)
1982 Stanislav Šesták, Slovakian footballer
1983 Danielle Lloyd, English model
1983 Frankie Ballard, American singer
1983 Kelenna Azubuike, American basketball player
1984 Theo James, American actor (Underworld: Awakening)
1985 Amanda Setton, American actress (What Happens in Vegas)
1985 Keita Tachibana, Japanese singer (w-inds.)
1986 Alcides Escobar, Venezuelan baseball player
1986 Candice Crawford, American model and journalist
1987 Beau Dowler, Australian footballer
1987 Hallee Hirsh, American actress (You've Got Mail)
1987 Mame Biram Diouf, Senegalese footballer
1988 Anna Popplewell, English actress (The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe)
1988 Mats Hummels, German footballer
1989 Mohammad Ahmed Fikree, Director (Children)
1990 Julito McCullum, American actor
1991 Luke Lee Wen Loong, Actor (Ah Boys to Men)
1992 Ulrikke Eikeri, Norwegian tennis player
1992 Michael Mitton, Actor (If You're So Smart, Then Why Are You Dead?)
1993 Lola Créton, French actress (Goodbye First Love)
1994 Olivia Grant, Actress (School Dance)
1995 Julia Hübner, Singer (Kiddy Contest 2007)
1996 Sara and Sydney Bryan, Twin Actresses (Old School)
1999 Rylie Behr, Actress (Impulse)
1999 Bryce Robinson, American actor (Marley & Me)
Died on December 16th
308 Marcellus I, Catholic Pope (-308)
401 Pope Anastasius I
429 Honoratius of Arles, bishop, saint
705 Wu Zetian, Chinese wife Emperor Gaozong of Tang (b. 625)
714 Pepin of Herstal, Frankish military leader and politician (b. 635)
867 Eberhard of Friuli (b. 815)
960 Polyeuctus, Patriarch of Constantinople
999 Adelaide of Italy (b. 931)
1263 Haakon IV of Norway (b. 1204)
1325 Charles, Count of Valois (b. 1270)
1343 Robert of Anjou, king (Naples)
1378 Secondotto, Marquess of Montferrat (b. 1360)
1379 John FitzAlan, 1st Baron Arundel, English marshal (b. 1348)
1400 John Holland, 1st Duke of Exeter, English politician (executed) (b. 1352)
1470 John II, Duke of Lorraine (b. 1425)
1515 Afonso de Albuquerque Portuguese admiral (b. 1453)
1545 George Spalatin, German reformer (b. 1484)
1547 Johannes Schöner, German astronomer and cartographer (b. 1477)
1554 Christiern Pedersen, Danish humanist (b. 1480)
1585 Edward Clinton, 1st Earl of Lincoln, English admiral (b. 1512)
1595 Murad III, sultan of Turkey (1574-95)
1598 Yi Sun-sin, Korean admiral (b. 1545)
1659 Charles Annibal Fabrot, French lawyer (b. 1580)
1669 Nathaniel Fiennes, English politician (b. 1608)
1687 William Petty, English scientist and philosopher (b. 1623)
1703 Matteo Coferati, composer
1710 Emperor Higashiyama of Japan (b. 1675)
1711 Joseph Vaz, Apostle of Ceylon (b. 1651)
1747 Barthold Heinrich Brockes, German poet (b. 1680)
1748 Arnold Drakenborch, Dutch classical scholar (b. 1684)
1750 Ivan Trubetskoy, Russian field marshall (b. 1667)
1751 Leopold II, Prince of Anhalt-Dessau, Prussian general (b. 1700)
1752 Francis Blomefield, English topographer (b. 1705)
1765 Peter Frederick Haldimand, Swiss military officer and surveyor (b. 1741)
1774 François Quesnay, French economist (b. 1694)
1783 Johann A. Hasse, German composer (b. 1699)
1783 Sir William James, 1st Baronet, Welsh navy officer (b. 1720)
1794 Edward Gibbon, historian (Decline & Fall)
1809 Antoine François, comte de Fourcroy, French chemist (b. 1755)
1809 John Moore, British General, at the Battle of Corunna (b. 1761)
1817 Alexander J. Dallas, American statesman (b. 1759)
1817 Antonin Josef Alois Volanek, composer
1834 Jean Nicolas Pierre Hachette, French mathematician (b. 1769)
1838 Aleksandr I Polezjajev, Russian poet (Sasjka)
1842 Thomas Freanby, Norwegian landscape painter
1849 Wilhelm M L de Wette, German theologist
1856 Thaddeus William Harris, American naturalist (b. 1795)
1859 Wilhelm Grimm, German author (b. 1786)
1864 Anton Schindler, German violinist, biographer (Beethoven)
1865 Edmond François Valentin About, French writer (b. 1828)
1879 Octave Crémazie, French Canadian poet (b. 1827)
1886 Amilcare Ponchielli, Italian composer (La Gioconda)
1891 Clement Philibert Leo Delibes, composer (Lakmé)
1892 Henry Yesler, American businessman and politician, 7th Mayor of Seattle (b. 1810)
1892 Imakita Kosen, Zen teacher, abbot of Engagkuji monastery
1893 Johan Philip Koelman, painter, sculptor, architect
1897 Alphonse Daudet, French author (b. 1840)
1898 Charles Pelham Villiers, longest-serving MP in the British House of Commons (b. 1802)
1898 Pavel Tretyakov, Russian businessman and art collector (b. 1832)
1901 Arnold Böcklin, Swiss painter (b. 1827)
1901 Hiram Revels
1901 Jules Barbier, French opera librettist (b. 1825)
1906 Marshall Field, founder of Marshall Field and Company (b. 1834)
1907 Alfred Shaw, English cricketer
1912 Georg Heym, writer
1914 Ivan Zajc, Croatian composer (b. 1832)
1916 Arnold Aletrino, Dut physician-criminologist (From Death)
1916 Ognjeslav Kostović Stepanović, Serbian engineer (b. 1851)
1917 Frank Gotch, American wrestler (b. 1878)
1917 George Dewey, American admiral (b. 1837)
1919 Francisco de Paula Rodrigues Alves, President of Brazil (b. 1848)
1919 Jaroslav Jeremias, composer
1920 Reginald De Koven, composer
1921 Camille Saint-Saëns, French composer (b. 1835)
1922 Gabriel Narutowicz, Polish politician, 1st President of the Republic of Poland (b. 1865)
1924 Winifred Cochrane, Countess of Dundonald, philanthropist (b. 1859)
1925 Maurice Lecoq, French target shooter (b. 1854)
1928 Elinor Wylie, American poet and author (b. 1885)
1930 Herman Lamm, German-American bank robber (b. 1890)
1934 Annie Patterson, composer, dies at 65
1935 Ma Barker, American criminal (b. 1871)
1935 Richard Wetz, composer, dies at 59
1935 Thelma Todd, American actress (b. 1905)
1936 Albert Fish, American serial killer (b. 1870)
1940 Billy Hamilton, American baseball player (b. 1866)
1942 Barbara Lynn (Ozen), American singer (You'll Lose a Good Thing)
1942 Carole Lombard, actress (Bolero), killed in plane crash
1943 Franz Courtens, Flemish painter (Sunny Lane)
1944 Betsie ten Boom, Dutch holocaust victim (b. 1885)
1945 Dennis Donnini, Brit rifleman (Victoria Cross), dies in battle
1945 Fumimaro Konoe, Japanese politician, 23rd Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1891)
1945 Giovanni Agnelli, Italian businessman, founded the Fiat Automobile Company (b. 1866)
1946 Johanna HC Albregt, actress, wife of Henri Dons (Paradise)
1948 Denham Fouts, American prostitute (b. 1914)
1949 Sidney Olcott, Canadian director (b. 1873)
1952 Robert Henry Best, American broadcaster (b. 1896)
1954 Michail M Prishvin, Russian writer
1955 Jonkheer Reneke de Marees van Swinderen, Dutch min (1908-13)
1955 Reneke de Marees van Swinderen, Dutch minister (1908-13)
1956 Nina Hamnett, Welsh painter and author (b. 1890)
1957 Alexander Cambridge, South African governor general
1957 Arturo Toscanini, Italian conductor (NBC)
1961 Janos Viski, composer
1962 Emanuel Stickelberger, Swiss writer (Holbein in England)
1962 Frank Hurley, Australian photographer (b. 1885)
1962 Ivan Meštrović, Croatian sculptor (b. 1883)
1963 Gilardo Gilardi, composer
1963 Ike Quebec, American tenor-saxophone player (b. 1918)
1963 Nam Phuong, Vietnamese wife of Bao Dai (b. 1914)
1965 W. Somerset Maugham, French author and playwright (b. 1874)
1966 Margarete Susman, writer
1967 Dirk Vansina, Flemish playwright (Sage of Kai-Roi)
1967 Robert J Van De Graaff, US nuclear physicist
1968 Futabayama Sadaji, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 35th Yokozuna (b. 1912)
1968 Muhammad Suheimat, Jordanian general and politician (b. 1916)
1968 Robert R "Bob" Jones, founder (Bob Jones University)
1969 Jan Palach, protesting Soviet invasion of Czech, self immolates
1969 Vernon Duke, composer
1970 Armijn Pane, Indonesian writer (Djinak-djinak merpati)
1971 Kermit Maynard, cowboy actor (Saturday Roundup)
1971 Philippe Thys, Belgian cyclist (b. 1890)
1972 David Seville, singer (Alvin & Chipmunks)
1972 Teller Ammons, American politician (b. 1895)
1973 Ray Barrett, sportscaster (Gillette Summer Sports Reel)
1976 Réal Caouette, Canadian politician (b. 1917)
1977 Risto Jarva, Finnish director (b. 1934)
1979 August Heissmeyer, German SS officer (b. 1897)
1979 Fred Elizalde, composer
1979 Ted Cassidy, actor (Lurch-Addams Family)
1980 Anna van Wageningen-Salomons, Dutch author (Unspoilt Dream)
1980 Colonel Sanders, American businessman, founded KFC (b. 1890)
1980 Hellmuth Walter, German engineer (b. 1900)
1981 Bernard Lee, English actor (Fallen Idol, Dr No)
1982 Colin Chapman, English engineer and businessman, founded Lotus Cars (b. 1928)
1982 Red Smith, American sports columnist (b. 1905)
1983 Debs Garms, American baseball player (b. 1907)
1985 Paul Castellano, American mobster (b. 1915)
1985 Robert Fitzgerald, U.S. poet and translator (b. 1910)
1985 Thomas Bilotti, American mobster (b. 1940)
1986 Herbert W. Armstrong, American evangelist, author, and publisher (b. 1892)
1987 Bertram Wainer, Australian pro-abortion campaigner (b. 1928)
1987 Earl Wilson, Bdwy columnist (Midnight Earl)
1987 Ilse Langen, writer
1987 Joyce Jameson, comedienne (Spike Jones Show)
1988 Andrija Artuković, Croatian war criminal (b. 1899)
1988 Sylvester, American singer-songwriter and producer (b. 1948)
1989 Aileen Pringle, American actress (b. 1895)
1989 Lee Van Cleef, American actor (b. 1925)
1989 Pierre Boileau, screenwriter (Vertigo)
1989 Romo Vincent, actor (Naked Jungle)
1989 Silvana Mangano, Italian actress (b. 1930)
1989 Trey Wilson, actor (Bull Durham, Twins, Raising Arizona)
1989 Óscar Alfredo Gálvez, Argentine race car driver (b. 1913)
1990 Douglas Campbell, American pilot (b. 1896)
1991 Tamási Eszter, Hungarian actress (b. 1938)
1992 Roselle Novelle, silent film actress
1993 Charizma, American rapper (b. 1973)
1993 Florence Desmond (Dawson), actress (Sally in Our Alley)
1993 Glenn Corbett, US actor (Shenandoah, Chisum, Midway), dies at 63
1993 Jón Páll Sigmarsson, Icelandic strength athlete (b. 1960)
1993 Kakuei Tanaka, Japanese politician, 64th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1918)
1993 Moses Gunn, American actor (b. 1929)
1993 Sathasivam Krishnakumar, Sri Lanka commander, commits suicide
1994 Harry Nilsson, singer-Songwriter
1994 Martin Kosleck, German-American actor (Hitler Gang)
1994 Stephen Kritsick, veterinarian (Good Morning America)
1995 Johnny Moss, American poker player (b. 1907)
1995 Mariele Ventre, Italian singer and director (b. 1939)
1995 William Dillard, trumpeter, singer
1996 Harry Potts, footballer, manager
1996 Kaye Webb, publisher
1996 Marcia Davenport, American author and music critic (b. 1903)
1996 Quentin Bell, English historian and author (b. 1910)
1997 Charlie Alfred Galbraith, jazz trombonist
1997 Innis Cosby, son of Bill Cosby, murdered on LA highway
1997 Jim Kensil, NFL president (NY Jets)
1997 Lillian Disney, American illustrator (b. 1899)
1997 Nicolette Larson, American singer (b. 1952)
1997 Stephen Fitz-Simon, entrepreneur
1998 David "Junior" Kimbrough, blues musician
1998 Dimitris Horn, Greek actor (b. 1921)
1998 Peter Diamand, artistic administrator
1998 William Gaddis, American author (b. 1922)
1999 Jim McClelland, Australian solicitor, politician, Minister, Royal Commissioner, judge (b. 1915)
2000 John Morris Rankin, musical entertainer (b. 1959)
2000 Will "Dub" Jones, American singer (The Coasters) (b. 1928)
2001 Auberon Waugh, British author and journalist (b. 1939)
2001 Laurent-Désiré Kabila, President of the Democratic Republic of the Congo (b. 1939)
2001 Stefan Heym, German author (b. 1913)
2001 Stuart Adamson, English-Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist (The Skids, Big Country, and The Raphaels) (b. 1958)
2002 Bobo Olson, American boxer (b. 1928)
2002 Eddie Meduza, Swedish composer (b. 1948)
2002 Michael Bilandic, Mayor of Chicago (b. 1923)
2002 Robert Hanbury Brown, British-Australian astronomer and physicist (b. 1916)
2002 Ron Taylor, American actor (b. 1952)
2003 Gary Stewart, American singer-songwriter (b. 1945)
2003 Richard Wainwright, English politician (b. 1918)
2003 Robert Stanfield, Canadian politician, 17th Premier of Nova Scotia (b. 1914)
2004 Deyda Hydara, Gambian journalist (b. 1946)
2004 Kalevi Sorsa, Prime Minister of Finland (b. 1930)
2004 Ted Abernathy, American baseball player (b. 1933)
2005 Ed Hansen, American director and screenwriter (b. 1937)
2005 John Spencer, American actor (b. 1946)
2005 Kenneth Bulmer, English author (b. 1921)
2005 Marjorie Williams, American journalist (b. 1958)
2006 Don Jardine, Canadian wrestler (b. 1940)
2006 Pnina Salzman, Israeli pianist (b. 1922)
2006 Stanley Biber, American physician, pioneer of transgender surgery, (b. 1923)
2006 Taliep Petersen, South African singer, composer, and director (b. 1950)
2007 Benny Parsons, American racecar driver and commentator (b. 1941)
2007 Dan Fogelberg, American singer-songwriter (b. 1951)
2007 Ron Carey, American actor (b. 1935)
2009 Andrew Wyeth, American realist painter (b. 1917)
2009 Joe Erskine, American boxer and long distance runner (b. 1930)
2009 John Mortimer, British barrister, screenwriter and author. (b. 1923)
2009 Manto Tshabalala-Msimang, South African physician and politician (b. 1940)
2009 Roy E. Disney, American businessman (b. 1930)
2009 Yegor Gaidar, Russian economist and politician, Prime Minister of Russia (b. 1956)
2010 Melvin E. Biddle, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1923)
2011 Dan Frazer, American actor (b. 1921)
2012 Adam Ndlovu, Zimbabwean footballer (b. 1970)
2012 Axel Anderson, German-Puerto Rican actor (b. 1929)
2012 Doyle Conner, American politician (b. 1928)
2012 Elwood V. Jensen, American academic and medical researcher (b. 1920)
2012 Enrique Oltuski, Cuban politician (b. 1930)
2012 Febo Conti, Italian actor (b. 1926)
2012 Gustav Leonhardt, Master Dutch harpsichordist, organist and conductor,dies at 87
2012 Iñaki Lejarreta, Spanish cyclist (b. 1983)
2012 Jake Adam York, American poet (b. 1972)
2012 Jim Patterson, Scottish footballer (b. 1928)
2012 Jimmy Castor, American pop and funk musician, died of heart failure at 71.
2012 John Chen Shi-zhong, Chinese bishop (b. 1917)
2012 Josh Weston, American porn actor (b. 1973)
2012 Nikolai Parshin, Russian footballer and manager (b. 1929)
2012 Peter Clarke, English cartoonist (b. 1935)
2012 Robert Derleth, American football player (b. 1922)
2012 Sheila McKinley, Scottish singer (The McKinleys) (b. 1941)
2013 Ray Price, American singer
2014 Ernie Terrell, American boxer