December 1
Events
Pre-1600
1601–1900
1901–present
- 1913 - The Buenos Aires Metro, the first underground railway system in the Southern Hemisphere and in Latin America, begins operation.
- 1913 - Crete, having obtained self rule from Turkey after the First Balkan War, is annexed by Greece.
- 1918 - Transylvania unites with Romania, following the incorporation of Bessarabia and Bukovina and thus concluding the Great Union.
- 1918 - Iceland becomes a sovereign state, yet remains a part of the Danish kingdom.
- 1918 - The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats and Slovenes is proclaimed.
- 1919 - Lady Astor becomes the first female Member of Parliament to take her seat in the House of Commons of the United Kingdom.
- 1924 - The National Hockey League's first United States–based franchise, the Boston Bruins, plays their first game in league play at home, at the still-extant Boston Arena indoor hockey facility.
- 1924 - A Soviet-backed communist 1924 Estonian coup d'état attempt fails in Estonia.
- 1934 - Sergei Kirov is assassinated, paving way for the repressive Great Purge, and Vinnytsia massacre by General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union, Joseph Stalin.
- 1939 - World War II: A day after the beginning of the Winter War in Finland, the Cajander III Cabinet resigns and is replaced by the Ryti I Cabinet, while the Finnish Parliament move from Helsinki to Kauhajoki to escape the Soviet airstrikes.
- 1939 - The Soviet Union establishes the Finnish Democratic Republic puppet state in Terijoki.
- 1941 - World War II: Emperor Hirohito of Japan gives his tacit approval to the decision of the imperial council to initiate war against the United States.
- 1941 - World War II: Fiorello La Guardia, Mayor of New York City and Director of the Office of Civilian Defense, signs Administrative Order 9, creating the Civil Air Patrol.
- 1952 - The New York Daily News reports the news of Christine Jorgensen, the first notable case of sex reassignment surgery.
- 1955 - American Civil Rights Movement: In Montgomery, Alabama, seamstress Rosa Parks refuses to give up her bus seat to a white man and is arrested for violating the city's racial segregation laws, an incident which leads to that city's bus boycott.
- 1958 - The Central African Republic attains self-rule within the French Union.
- 1958 - The Our Lady of the Angels School fire in Chicago kills 92 children and three nuns.
- 1959 - Cold War: Opening date for signature of the Antarctic Treaty, which sets aside Antarctica as a scientific preserve and bans military activity on the continent.
- 1960 - Patrice Lumumba is arrested by Mobutu Sese Seko's men on the banks of the Sankuru River, for inciting the army to rebellion.
- 1963 - Nagaland, became the 16th state of India.
- 1964 - Vietnam War: U.S. President Lyndon B. Johnson and his top-ranking advisers meet to discuss plans to bomb North Vietnam.
- 1969 - Vietnam War: The first draft lottery in the United States is held since World War II.
- 1971 - Cambodian Civil War: Khmer Rouge rebels intensify assaults on Cambodian government positions, forcing their retreat from Kompong Thmar and nearby Ba Ray.
- 1971 - Purge of Croatian Spring leaders starts in Yugoslavia at the meeting of the League of Communists at the Karađorđevo estate.
- 1973 - Papua New Guinea gains self-government from Australia.
- 1974 - TWA Flight 514, a Boeing 727, crashes northwest of Dulles International Airport, killing all 92 people on board.
- 1974 - Northwest Orient Airlines Flight 6231, another Boeing 727, crashes northwest of John F. Kennedy International Airport.
- 1981 - Inex-Adria Aviopromet Flight 1308, a McDonnell Douglas MD-80, crashes in Corsica, killing all 180 people on board.
- 1984 - NASA conducts the Controlled Impact Demonstration, wherein an airliner is deliberately crashed in order to test technologies and gather data to help improve survivability of crashes.
- 1988 - World AIDS Day is proclaimed worldwide by the UN member states.
- 1988 - Benazir Bhutto, is named as the Prime Minister of Pakistan, becoming the first female leader to lead a Muslim nation.
- 1989 - Philippine coup attempt: The right-wing military rebel Reform the Armed Forces Movement attempts to oust Philippine President Corazon Aquino in a failed bloody coup d'état.
- 1989 - Cold War: East Germany's parliament abolishes the constitutional provision granting the Communist Party the leading role in the state.
- 1990 - Channel Tunnel sections started from the United Kingdom and France meet beneath the seabed.
- 1991 - Cold War: Ukrainian voters overwhelmingly approve a referendum for independence from the Soviet Union.
- 1997 - In the Indian state of Bihar, Ranvir Sena attacks the CPI (ML) Party Unity stronghold Lakshmanpur-Bathe, killing 63 lower caste people.
- 1997 - Fourteen-year-old Michael Carneal 1997 [Heath High School shooting|opens fire] at a group of students in Heath High School in West Paducah, Kentucky, killing three and injuring five.
- 2000 - Vicente Fox Quesada is inaugurated as the president of Mexico, marking the first peaceful transfer of executive federal power to an opposing political party following a free and democratic election in Mexico's history.
- 2001 - The United Russia political party was founded.
- 2005 - As a result of the merger of the Perm Oblast and the Komi-Permyak Autonomous Okrug, a new subject of the Russian Federation, the Perm Krai, was created.
- 2006 - The law on same-sex marriage comes into force in South Africa, legalizing same-sex marriage for the first time on the African continent.
- 2009 - The Treaty of Lisbon entered into force in the European Union.
- 2011 - The Alma-Ata Metro was opened.
- 2018 - The Oulu Police informed the public about the first offence of the much larger child sexual exploitation in Oulu, Finland.
- 2019 - Arsenal Women 11–1 Bristol City Women breaks the record for most goals scored in a FA Women's Super League match, with Vivianne Miedema involved in ten of the eleven Arsenal goals.
- 2019 - The outbreak of coronavirus infection begins in Wuhan.
- 2020 - The Arecibo Telescope collapses.
Births
Pre-1600
- 624 - Hasan ibn Ali, the second Shia Imam
- 1081 - Louis VI, French king
- 1083 - Anna Komnene, Byzantine physician and scholar
- 1415 - Jan Długosz, Polish historian
- 1438 - Peter II, Duke of Bourbon, son of Charles I
- 1443 - Magdalena of France, French princess
- 1521 - Takeda Shingen, Japanese daimyō
- 1525 - Tadeáš Hájek, Czech physician and astronomer
- 1530 - Bernardino Realino, Italian Jesuit
- 1561 - Sophie Hedwig of Brunswick-Wolfenbüttel, Duchess consort of Pomerania-Wolgast
- 1580 - Nicolas-Claude Fabri de Peiresc, French astronomer and historian
1601–1900
- 1690 - Philip Yorke, 1st Earl of Hardwicke, English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of the United Kingdom
- 1709 - Franz Xaver Richter, Czech composer, violinist, and conductor
- 1716 - Étienne Maurice Falconet, French sculptor
- 1743 - Martin Heinrich Klaproth, German chemist and academic
- 1761 - Marie Tussaud, French-English sculptor, founded Madame Tussauds Wax Museum
- 1792 - Nikolai Lobachevsky, Russian mathematician and geometer
- 1800 - Mihály Vörösmarty, Hungarian poet
- 1805 - 9th Dalai Lama, Tibetan Buddhist spiritual leader
- 1844 - Alexandra of Denmark
- 1846 - Ledi Sayadaw, Burmese monk and philosopher
- 1847 - Julia A. Moore, American poet
- 1855 - John Evans, English-Australian politician, 21st Premier of Tasmania
- 1869 - Eligiusz Niewiadomski, Polish painter and critic
- 1871 - Archie MacLaren, English cricketer
- 1883 - Henry Cadbury, American historian, scholar, and academic
- 1884 - Karl Schmidt-Rottluff, German painter and etcher
- 1886 - Rex Stout, American detective novelist
- 1886 - Zhu De, Chinese general and politician, 1st Vice Chairman of the People's Republic of China
- 1894 - Afrânio Pompílio Gastos do Amaral, Brazilian herpetologist
- 1895 - Henry Williamson, English farmer, soldier, and author
- 1896 - Georgy Zhukov, Russian general and politician, 2nd Minister of Defence for the Soviet Union
- 1898 - Stuart Garson, Canadian lawyer and politician, 12th Premier of Manitoba
- 1898 - Cyril Ritchard, Australian-American actor and singer
- 1900 - Karna Maria Birmingham, Australian artist, illustrator and print maker
1901–present
- 1901 - Ilona Fehér, Hungarian-Israeli violinist and educator
- 1903 - Nikolai Voznesensky, Soviet economic planner, member of the Politburo of the Central Committee of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
- 1905 - Alex Wilson, Canadian sprinter and coach
- 1910 - Alicia Markova, English ballerina and choreographer
- 1911 - Walter Alston, American baseball player and manager
- 1911 - Calvin Griffith, Canadian-American businessman
- 1912 - Billy Raimondi, American baseball player
- 1912 - Minoru Yamasaki, American architect, designed the World Trade Center
- 1913 - Mary Martin, American actress and singer
- 1916 - Wan Li, Chinese educator and politician, 4th Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China
- 1917 - Thomas Hayward, American tenor and actor
- 1917 - Marty Marion, American baseball player and manager
- 1920 - Peter Baptist Tadamaro Ishigami, Japanese priest, 1st Bishop of Naha
- 1921 - Vernon McGarity, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient
- 1922 - Vsevolod Bobrov, Russian ice hockey player, footballer, and manager
- 1923 - Dick Shawn, American actor
- 1923 - Stansfield Turner, American admiral and academic, 12th Director of Central Intelligence
- 1924 - Masao Horiba, Japanese businessman, founded Horiba
- 1925 - Martin Rodbell, American biochemist and endocrinologist, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1926 - Mother Antonia, American-Mexican nun and activist
- 1926 - Allyn Ann McLerie, Canadian-American actress, singer, and dancer
- 1926 - Keith Michell, Australian actor
- 1926 - Robert Symonds, American actor
- 1926 - Colin Tennant, 3rd Baron Glenconner, Scottish businessman
- 1927 - Micheline Bernardini, French dancer and model
- 1928 - Emily McLaughlin, American actress
- 1928 - Malachi Throne, American actor
- 1929 - David Doyle, American actor
- 1930 - Marie Bashir, Australian psychiatrist, academic, and politician, 37th Governor of New South Wales
- 1930 - Joachim Hoffmann, German historian and author
- 1931 - Jimmy Lyons, American saxophonist
- 1931 - Jim Nesbitt, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1931 - George Maxwell Richards, Trinidadian politician, 4th President of Trinidad and Tobago
- 1933 - Lou Rawls, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
- 1933 - Violette Verdy, French ballerina
- 1934 - Billy Paul, American soul singer
- 1935 - Sola Sierra, Chilean human rights activist
- 1936 - Igor Rodionov, Russian general and politician, 3rd Russian Minister of Defence
- 1937 - Muriel Costa-Greenspon, American soprano and actress
- 1937 - Gordon Crosse, English composer and academic
- 1937 - Vaira Vīķe-Freiberga, Latvian psychologist and politician, President of Latvia
- 1938 - Sandy Nelson, American rock and roll drummer
- 1939 - Lee Trevino, American golfer and sportscaster
- 1940 - Mike Denness, Scottish cricketer and referee
- 1940 - Jerry Lawson, American electronic engineer and inventor
- 1940 - Richard Pryor, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter
- 1940 - Tasso Wild, German footballer
- 1942 - Mohamed Kamel Amr, Egyptian politician, Egyptian Minister of Foreign Affairs
- 1942 - John Crowley, American author and academic
- 1942 - Ross Edwards, Australian cricketer
- 1943 - Kenny Moore, American runner and journalist
- 1944 - Eric Bloom, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1944 - John Densmore, American drummer and songwriter
- 1944 - Michael Hagee, American general
- 1944 - Tahar Ben Jelloun, Moroccan author and poet
- 1945 - Ásta B. Þorsteinsdóttir, Icelandic politician
- 1945 - Lyle Bien, American vice admiral in the United States Navy
- 1945 - Bette Midler, American singer-songwriter, actress and producer
- 1946 - Jonathan Katz, American comedian and actor
- 1946 - Kemal Kurspahić, Bosnian journalist and author
- 1946 - Gilbert O'Sullivan, Irish singer-songwriter and pianist
- 1947 - Alain Bashung, French singer-songwriter and actor
- 1947 - Bob Fulton, English-Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1948 - George Foster, American baseball player and radio host
- 1948 - Sarfraz Nawaz, Pakistani cricketer and politician
- 1948 - John Roskelley, American mountaineer and author
- 1948 - Neil Warnock, English footballer and manager
- 1948 - N. T. Wright, English bishop and scholar
- 1948 - Patrick Ibrahim Yakowa, Nigerian civil servant and politician, Governor of Kaduna State
- 1949 - Jan Brett, American author and illustrator
- 1949 - Pablo Escobar, Colombian drug lord and narcoterrorist
- 1949 - Sebastián Piñera, Chilean businessman and politician, 35th President of Chile
- 1950 - Manju Bansal, Indian biologist and academic
- 1950 - Ross Hannaford, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1950 - Richard Keith, American actor and drummer
- 1950 - Gary Panter, American illustrator and painter
- 1950 - Filippos Petsalnikos, Greek lawyer and politician, Greek Minister of Justice
- 1951 - Aleksandr Panayotov Aleksandrov, Bulgarian cosmonaut
- 1951 - Obba Babatundé, American actor, director, and producer
- 1951 - Doug Mulray, Australian radio and television host
- 1951 - Jaco Pastorius, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
- 1951 - Nozipho Schroeder, South African lawn bowler
- 1951 - Treat Williams, American actor
- 1952 - Stephen Poliakoff, English director, producer, and playwright
- 1952 - Rick Scott, American politician and businessman
- 1954 - Alan Dedicoat, English journalist
- 1954 - Judith Hackitt, English chemist and engineer
- 1954 - François Van der Elst, Belgian footballer
- 1955 - Veikko Aaltonen, Finnish actor, director, and screenwriter
- 1955 - Verónica Forqué, Spanish actress
- 1955 - Udit Narayan, Indian playback singer
- 1955 - Pat Spillane, Irish footballer and sportscaster
- 1955 - Karen Tumulty, American journalist
- 1956 - Julee Cruise, American singer-songwriter, musician, and actress
- 1957 - Chris Poland, American guitarist and songwriter
- 1957 - Deep Roy, Kenyan-British actor
- 1957 - Vesta Williams, American singer-songwriter and actress
- 1958 - Javier Aguirre, Mexican footballer and manager
- 1958 - Candace Bushnell, American journalist and author
- 1958 - Alberto Cova, Italian runner
- 1958 - Gary Peters, American politician
- 1958 - Charlene Tilton, American actress and singer
- 1959 - Billy Childish, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and painter
- 1959 - Wally Lewis, Australian rugby league player, coach, and sportscaster
- 1960 - Carol Alt, American model and actress
- 1960 - Shirin M. Rai, Indian-English political scientist and academic
- 1960 - Jane Turner, Australian actress and producer
- 1961 - Safra Catz, Israeli-American businesswoman and boss of Oracle
- 1961 - Raymond E. Goldstein, American biophysicist and academic
- 1961 - Jeremy Northam, English actor
- 1962 - Sylvie Daigle, Canadian speed skater
- 1962 - Pamela McGee, American basketball player and coach
- 1963 - Marco Greco, Brazilian race car driver
- 1963 - Nathalie Lambert, Canadian speed skater
- 1963 - Arjuna Ranatunga, Sri Lankan cricketer and politician
- 1964 - Salvatore Schillaci, Italian footballer
- 1964 - Jo Walton, Welsh-Canadian author and poet
- 1965 - Henry Honiball, South African rugby player
- 1965 - Magnifico, Slovenian singer
- 1966 - Andrew Adamson, New Zealand director, producer, and screenwriter
- 1966 - Katherine LaNasa, American actress, ballet dancer, and choreographer
- 1966 - Larry Walker, Canadian baseball player and coach
- 1967 - Nestor Carbonell, American actor
- 1967 - Reggie Sanders, American baseball player
- 1968 - Justin Chadwick, English actor and director
- 1968 - Sarah Fitzgerald, Australian squash player
- 1968 - Anders Holmertz, Swedish swimmer
- 1969 - Richard Carrier, American author and blogger
- 1970 - Golden Brooks, American actress
- 1970 - Jonathan Coulton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1970 - Kirk Rueter, American baseball player
- 1970 - Sarah Silverman, American comedian, actress, and singer
- 1970 - Tisha Waller, American high jumper and educator
- 1971 - Christian Pescatori, Italian race car driver
- 1971 - Mika Pohjola, Finnish-American pianist and composer
- 1971 - John Schlimm, American author and educator
- 1972 - Stanton Barrett, American race car driver and stuntman
- 1972 - Bart Millard, American singer-songwriter
- 1973 - Steve Gibb, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
- 1974 - Costinha, Portuguese footballer and manager
- 1975 - Matt Fraction, American author
- 1975 - Isaiah "Ikey" Owens, American keyboard player and producer
- 1975 - Thomas Schie, Norwegian racing driver and sportscaster
- 1975 - Farah Shah, Pakistani actress and host
- 1975 - Sophia Skou, Danish swimmer
- 1976 - Tomasz Adamek, Polish boxer
- 1976 - Laura Ling, American journalist and author
- 1976 - Dean O'Gorman, New Zealand actor, artist, and photographer
- 1976 - Matthew Shepard, American hate crime victim
- 1976 - Evangelos Sklavos, Greek basketball player
- 1977 - Brad Delson, American guitarist and producer
- 1977 - Sophie Guillemin, French actress
- 1977 - Lee McKenzie, Scottish journalist
- 1977 - Nate Torrence, American actor and comedian
- 1978 - Mat Kearney, American musician
- 1979 - Stephanie Brown Trafton, American discus thrower
- 1979 - Ryan Malone, American ice hockey player
- 1979 - Richard James, Jamaican sprinter
- 1980 - Iftikhar Anjum, Pakistani cricketer
- 1980 - Mohammad Kaif, Indian cricketer and politician
- 1980 - Mubarak Hassan Shami, Kenyan-Qatari runner
- 1980 - Gianna Terzi, Greek singer
- 1981 - Park Hyo-shin, South Korean singer-songwriter and actor
- 1981 - Luke McPharlin, Australian footballer
- 1981 - I Made Wirawan, Indonesian footballer
- 1982 - Riz Ahmed, English actor and rapper
- 1982 - Christos Kalantzis, Greek footballer
- 1982 - Christos Melissis, Greek footballer
- 1984 - Charles Michael Davis, American actor
- 1984 - Yolandi Visser, South African rapper and actress
- 1985 - Philip DeFranco, American media host and YouTube personality
- 1985 - Ilfenesh Hadera, American actress
- 1985 - Janelle Monáe, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actress
- 1985 - Emiliano Viviano, Italian footballer
- 1986 - DeSean Jackson, American football player
- 1987 - Simon Dawkins, English footballer
- 1987 - Tabarie Henry, Virgin Islander sprinter
- 1987 - Vance Joy, Australian singer-songwriter
- 1987 - Brett Williams, English footballer
- 1988 - Tyler Joseph, American musician and singer
- 1988 - Zoë Kravitz, American actress, singer, and model
- 1988 - Dan Mavraides, Greek-American basketball player
- 1988 - Michael Raffl, Austrian ice hockey player
- 1989 - Sotelúm, Mexican trumpet player, composer, and producer
- 1990 - Tomáš Tatar, Slovak ice hockey player
- 1991 - Rakeem Christmas, American basketball player
- 1991 - Hilda Melander, Swedish tennis player
- 1991 - Sun Yang, Chinese swimmer
- 1992 - Masahudu Alhassan, Ghanaian footballer
- 1992 - Javier Báez, Puerto Rican baseball player
- 1992 - Linos Chrysikopoulos, Greek basketball player
- 1992 - Gary Payton II, American basketball player
- 1992 - Marco van Ginkel, Dutch footballer
- 1993 - Reena Pärnat, Estonian archer
- 1993 - Beau Webster, Australian cricketer
- 1994 - Seedy Njie, English footballer
- 1995 - Agnė Čepelytė, Lithuanian tennis player
- 1995 - Jenna Fife, Scottish footballer
- 1995 - James Wilson, English footballer
- 1997 - Sada Williams, Barbadian sprinter
- 1997 - Jung Chae-yeon, South Korean actress and singer
- 1999 - Lloyd Pope, Australian cricketer
- 1999 - Nico Schlotterbeck, German footballer
- 2001 - Carole Monnet, French tennis player
- 2003 - Robert Irwin, Australian conservationist and television personality
Deaths
Pre-1600
- 217 - Yehudah HaNasi, 'Nasi', Rabbi and editor of the Mishnah
- 660 - Eligius, Frankish bishop and saint
- 948 - Gao Conghui, Chinese governor and prince
- 969 - Fujiwara no Morotada, Japanese statesman
- 1018 - Thietmar of Merseburg, German bishop
- 1135 - Henry I, king of England
- 1241 - Isabella of England, Holy Roman Empress
- 1255 - Muhammad III of Alamut, Nizari Ismaili Imam
- 1335 - Abu Sa'id Bahadur Khan, Mongol ruler of the Ilkhanate
- 1374 - Magnus Eriksson, king of Sweden
- 1433 - Go-Komatsu, emperor of Japan
- 1455 - Lorenzo Ghiberti, Italian goldsmith and sculptor
- 1521 - Leo X, pope of the Catholic Church
- 1530 - Margaret of Austria, duchess of Savoy
- 1580 - Giovanni Morone, Italian cardinal
- 1581 - Alexander Briant, English Roman Catholic priest, martyr and saint
- 1581 - Edmund Campion, English Roman Catholic priest, martyr, and saint
- 1581 - Ralph Sherwin, English Roman Catholic priest, martyr, and saint
1601–1900
- 1633 - Isabella Clara Eugenia, infanta of Spain
- 1640 - Miguel de Vasconcelos, Portuguese politician, Prime Minister of Portugal
- 1660 - Pierre d'Hozier, French genealogist and historian
- 1729 - Giacomo F. Maraldi, French-Italian astronomer and mathematician
- 1750 - Johann Gabriel Doppelmayr, German mathematician, astronomer, and cartographer
- 1755 - Maurice Greene, English organist and composer
- 1767 - Henry Erskine, 10th Earl of Buchan, Scottish politician
- 1825 - Alexander I, emperor and autocrat of Russia
- 1865 - Abraham Emanuel Fröhlich, Swiss pastor, poet, and educator
- 1866 - George Everest, Welsh geographer and surveyor
- 1867 - Charles Gray Round, English lawyer and politician
- 1884 - William Swainson, English-New Zealand lawyer and politician, Attorney-General of the Crown Colony of New Zealand
1901–present
- 1913 - Juhan Liiv, Estonian poet and author
- 1914 - Alfred Thayer Mahan, American captain and historian
- 1916 - Charles de Foucauld, French priest and martyr
- 1923 - Virginie Loveling, Belgian author and poet
- 1928 - José Eustasio Rivera, Colombian-American lawyer and poet
- 1933 - Pekka Halonen, Finnish painter
- 1934 - Sergey Kirov, Russian engineer and politician
- 1935 - Bernhard Schmidt, Estonian-German optician, invented the Schmidt camera
- 1942 - Leon Wachholz, Polish scientist and medical examiner
- 1943 - Damrong Rajanubhab, Thai historian and educator
- 1944 - Charlie Kerins, Irish Republican executed by hanging
- 1947 - Aleister Crowley, English magician, poet, and mountaineer
- 1947 - G. H. Hardy, English mathematician and theorist
- 1950 - Ernest John Moeran, English pianist and composer
- 1954 - Fred Rose, American pianist, composer, and publisher
- 1958 - Elizabeth Peratrovich, American civil rights activist
- 1964 - J. B. S. Haldane, English-Indian geneticist and biologist
- 1964 - Charilaos Vasilakos, Greek runner
- 1968 - Nicolae Bretan, Romanian opera singer, composer, and conductor
- 1968 - Darío Moreno, Turkish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
- 1973 - David Ben-Gurion, Israeli politician, 1st Prime Minister of Israel
- 1975 - Nellie Fox, American baseball player and coach
- 1975 - Ernesto Maserati, Italian race car driver and engineer
- 1975 - Anna Roosevelt Halsted, American journalist
- 1981 - Russ Manning, American author and illustrator
- 1984 - Roelof Frankot, Dutch painter and photographer
- 1986 - Frank McCarthy, American general and film producer
- 1987 - James Baldwin, American novelist, poet, and critic
- 1987 - Punch Imlach, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager
- 1988 - J. Vernon McGee, American pastor and theologian
- 1989 - Alvin Ailey, American dancer and choreographer
- 1990 - Carla Lehmann, Canadian-English actress
- 1991 - Pat O'Callaghan, Irish athlete
- 1991 - George Stigler, American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- 1993 - Ray Gillen, American singer-songwriter
- 1995 - Hopper Levett, English cricketer
- 1995 - Colin Tapley, New Zealand-English actor
- 1995 - Maxwell R. Thurman, American general
- 1996 - Peter Bronfman, Canadian businessman
- 1997 - Michel Bélanger, Canadian banker and businessman
- 1997 - Stéphane Grappelli, French violinist
- 1997 - Endicott Peabody, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 62nd Governor of Massachusetts
- 1998 - Janet Lewis, American poet and novelist
- 2001 - Ellis R. Dungan, American director and producer
- 2002 - Edward L. Beach Jr., American captain and author
- 2002 - Dave McNally, American baseball player
- 2003 - Clark Kerr, American economist and academic
- 2003 - Eugenio Monti, Italian bobsledder
- 2004 - Prince Bernhard of Lippe-Biesterfeld
- 2004 - Bill Brown, Scottish footballer
- 2004 – Norman Newell, English record producer and lyricist
- 2005 - Gust Avrakotos, American CIA officer
- 2005 - Mary Hayley Bell, English actress and playwright
- 2005 - Freeman V. Horner, American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient
- 2006 - Claude Jade, French actress
- 2006 - Bruce Trigger, Canadian archaeologist, anthropologist, and historian
- 2007 - Ken McGregor, Australian tennis player and footballer
- 2007 - Anton Rodgers, British actor
- 2007 - Ivo Rojnica, Croatian-Argentine war crimes suspect, businessman, diplomat, and intelligence agent
- 2008 - Paul Benedict, American actor
- 2008 - Joseph B. Wirthlin, American businessman and religious leader
- 2010 - Adriaan Blaauw, Dutch astronomer and academic
- 2010 - Hillard Elkins, American actor and producer
- 2011 - Christa Wolf, German author and critic
- 2012 - Jovan Belcher, American football player
- 2012 - Arthur Chaskalson, South African lawyer and judge, 18th Chief Justice of South Africa
- 2012 - Rick Majerus, American basketball player and coach
- 2012 - Ed Price, American soldier, pilot, and politician
- 2012 - Israel Keyes, American serial killer
- 2013 - Richard Coughlan, English drummer
- 2013 - Stirling Colgate, American physicist and academic
- 2013 - Edward Heffron, American soldier
- 2013 - Martin Sharp, Australian cartoonist and songwriter
- 2014 - Mario Abramovich, Argentinian violinist and composer
- 2014 - Dimitrios Trichopoulos, Greek epidemiologist, oncologist, and academic
- 2014 - Rocky Wood, New Zealand-Australian author
- 2015 - Rob Blokzijl, Dutch physicist and computer scientist
- 2015 - Joseph Engelberger, American physicist and engineer
- 2015 - Jim Loscutoff, American basketball player
- 2015 - Trevor Obst, Australian footballer and coach
- 2018 - Vivian Lynn, New Zealand artist
- 2018 - Ken Berry, American actor, dancer, and singer
- 2019 - Paula Tilbrook, English actress
- 2020 - Arnie Robinson, American athlete
- 2022 - Gaylord Perry, American baseball player and coach
- 2023 - Sandra Day O'Connor, first female U.S. Supreme Court Justice
- 2024 - Terry Griffiths, Welsh snooker player and coach
- 2024 - Ian Redpath, Australian cricketer and coach
Holidays and observances