December 11: On This Day

Events, births, deaths, holidays and observances for December 11.

Events 64

220 – Emperor Xian of Han is forced to abdicate the throne by Cao Cao's son Cao Pi, ending the Han dynasty.
361 – Julian enters Constantinople as sole Roman Emperor.
861 – Assassination of the Abbasid caliph al-Mutawakkil by the Turkish guard, who raise al-Muntasir to the throne, start of the "Anarchy at Samarra".
969 – Byzantine Emperor Nikephoros II Phokas is assassinated by his wife Theophano and her lover, the later Emperor John I Tzimiskes.
1041 – Michael V, adoptive son of Empress Zoë of Byzantium, is proclaimed emperor of the Eastern Roman Empire.
1239 – Treaty of Benavente: the heiresses of the Kingdom of León renounce their throne to King Ferdinand III of Castile
1282 – Battle of Orewin Bridge: Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, the last native Prince of Wales, is killed at Cilmeri near Builth Wells in mid-Wales.
1317 – The Nyköping Banquet (Swedish: Nyköpings gästabud) takes place as King Birger of Sweden celebrates Christmas at Nyköping Castle. Among the guests are his two brothers Duke Valdemar and Duke Eric, who later that night are imprisoned and eventually starved to death in the castle dungeon.
1602 – A surprise attack by forces under the command of Charles Emmanuel I, Duke of Savoy, and his brother-in-law, Philip III of Spain, is repelled by the citizens of Geneva. (Commemorated annually by the Fête de l'Escalade.)
1640 – The Root and Branch petition, signed by 15,000 Londoners calling for the abolition of the episcopacy, is presented to the Long Parliament.
1675 – Antonio de Vea expedition enters San Rafael Lake in western Patagonia.
1688 – Glorious Revolution: James II of England, while trying to flee to France, throws the Great Seal of the Realm into the River Thames.
1792 – French Revolution: King Louis XVI of France is put on trial for treason by the National Convention.
1815 – The U.S. Senate creates a select committee on finance and a uniform national currency, predecessor of the United States Senate Committee on Finance.
1816 – Indiana becomes the 19th U.S. state.
1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Fredericksburg begins as the Army of the Potomac under Union General Ambrose Burnside crosses the Rappahannock River to clash with the Army of Northern Virginia led by Confederate General Robert E. Lee in Fredericksburg, Virginia.
1868 – Paraguayan War: Brazilian troops defeat the Paraguayan Army at the Battle of Avay.
1899 – Second Boer War: In the Battle of Magersfontein the Boers commanded by general Piet Cronjé inflict a defeat on the forces of the British Empire commanded by Lord Methuen trying to relieve the Siege of Kimberley.
1901 – Guglielmo Marconi transmits the first transatlantic radio signal from Poldhu, Cornwall, England to St. John's, Newfoundland.
1905 – A workers' uprising occurs in Kyiv, Ukraine (then part of the Russian Empire), and establishes the Shuliavka Republic.
1907 – The New Zealand Parliament Buildings are almost completely destroyed by fire.
1913 – More than two years after it was stolen from the Louvre, Leonardo da Vinci's painting Mona Lisa is recovered in Florence, Italy. The thief, Vincenzo Peruggia, is immediately arrested.
1917 – World War I: British General Edmund Allenby enters Jerusalem on foot and declares martial law.
1920 – Irish War of Independence: In retaliation for a recent IRA ambush, British forces burn and loot numerous buildings in Cork city. Many civilians report being beaten, shot at, robbed and verbally abused by British forces.
1925 – Roman Catholic papal encyclical Quas primas introduces the Feast of Christ the King.
1927 – Guangzhou Uprising: Communist Red Guards launch an uprising in Guangzhou, China, taking over most of the city and announcing the formation of a Guangzhou Soviet.
1931 – Statute of Westminster 1931: The British Parliament establishes legislative equality between the UK and the Dominions of the Commonwealth—Australia, Canada, Newfoundland, New Zealand, South Africa, and Ireland.
1934 – Bill Wilson, co-founder of Alcoholics Anonymous, takes his last drink and enters treatment for the final time.
1936 – Abdication Crisis: Edward VIII's abdication as King of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions beyond the Seas, and Emperor of India, becomes effective.
1937 – Second Italo-Ethiopian War: Italy leaves the League of Nations.
1941 – World War II: Germany and Italy declare war on the United States, following the Americans' declaration of war on the Empire of Japan in the wake of the attack on Pearl Harbor. The United States, in turn, declares war on them.
1941 – World War II: Poland declares war on the Empire of Japan.
1941 – World War II: The Imperial Japanese Navy suffers its first loss of surface vessels during the Battle of Wake Island.
1946 – The United Nations International Children's Emergency Fund (UNICEF) is established.
1948 – Arab–Israeli War: The United Nations passes General Assembly Resolution 194, creating a Conciliation Commission to mediate the conflict.
1958 – French Upper Volta and French Dahomey gain self-government from France, becoming the Republic of Upper Volta (now Burkina Faso) and the Republic of Dahomey (now Benin), respectively, and joining the French Community.
1960 – French forces crack down in a violent clash with protesters in French Algeria during a visit by French president Charles de Gaulle.
1962 – Arthur Lucas, convicted of murder, is the last person to be executed in Canada.
1964 – Che Guevara speaks at the United Nations General Assembly in New York City.
1972 – Apollo 17 becomes the sixth and final Apollo mission to land on the Moon.
1978 – The Lufthansa heist is committed by a group led by Lucchese family associate Jimmy Burke. It was the largest cash robbery ever committed on American soil, at that time.
1980 – The Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act (also known as Superfund) is enacted by the U.S. Congress.
1981 – El Mozote massacre: Armed forces in El Salvador kill an estimated 900 civilians in an anti-guerrilla campaign during the Salvadoran Civil War.
1988 – A Soviet Air Force Il-76 aircraft crashes while participating in the Armenian earthquake relief, killing 78 people.
1990 – Demonstrations by students and workers across Albania begin, which eventually trigger the fall of communism in Albania.
1990 – Several fatal collisions in the 1990 Interstate 75 fog disaster result in a total of 12 deaths and 42 being injured
1993 – A block of the Highland Towers condominium complex collapses following a landslide caused by heavy rain and water flowing from a construction site at Ampang district in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia. 48 of its residents die, including one who died in hospital after being rescued alive, leaving only two survivors.
1994 – First Chechen War: Russian president Boris Yeltsin orders Russian troops into Chechnya.
1994 – A bomb explodes on Philippine Airlines Flight 434, en route from Manila, Philippines, to Tokyo, Japan, killing one. The captain is able to land the plane safely.
1997 – The Kyoto Protocol, an agreement committing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, opens for signature.
1998 – Thai Airways Flight 261 crashes near Surat Thani Airport, killing 101. The pilot flying the Airbus A310-200 is thought to have suffered spatial disorientation.
1999 – SATA Air Açores Flight 530M crashes into Pico da Esperança on São Jorge Island in the Azores, killing 35.
2001 – China joins the World Trade Organization (WTO).
2005 – The Buncefield Oil Depot catches fire in Hemel Hempstead, England.
2005 – Cronulla riots: Thousands of White Australians demonstrate against ethnic violence resulting in a riot against anyone thought to be Lebanese in Cronulla, New South Wales; these are followed up by retaliatory ethnic attacks on Cronulla.
2006 – The International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust is opened in Tehran, Iran, by then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; nations such as Israel and the United States express concern.
2006 – Felipe Calderón, the president of Mexico, launches a military-led offensive to put down the drug cartel violence in the state of Michoacán. This effort is often regarded as the first event in the Mexican drug war.
2007 – Insurgency in the Maghreb: Two car bombs explode in Algiers, Algeria, one near the Supreme Constitutional Court and the other near the offices of the United Nations.
2008 – Bernie Madoff is arrested and charged with securities fraud in a $50 billion Ponzi scheme.
2009 – Finnish game developer Rovio Entertainment releases the hit mobile game Angry Birds internationally on iOS.
2012 – At least 125 people are killed and up to 200 injured in bombings in the Alawite village of Aqrab, Syria.
2017 – New York City Subway bombing: A pipe bomb partially detonates in the New York City Subway, in the Times Square–42nd Street/Port Authority Bus Terminal. Four people are injured, including the perpetrator.
2019 – The results of the 2019 Bougainvillean independence referendum are announced. The results are overwhelmingly one-sided. Over 98% of voters vote for Bougainville's independence.
2020 – The Food and Drug Administration issues an Emergency Use Authorization on the Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, the first COVID-19 vaccine to be approved by the agency.

Births 217

1445 – Eberhard I, Duke of Württemberg (died 1496)
1465 – Ashikaga Yoshihisa, Japanese shogun (died 1489)
1475 – Pope Leo X (died 1521)
1566 – Manuel Cardoso, Portuguese organist and composer (died 1650)
1595 – Hŏ Mok, Korean politician, poet and scholar (died 1682)
1613 – Amar Singh Rathore, Rajput nobleman (died 1644)
1712 – Francesco Algarotti, Italian poet, philosopher, and critic (died 1764)
1725 – George Mason, American lawyer and politician (died 1792)
1758 – Carl Friedrich Zelter, German composer, conductor, and educator (died 1832)
1761 – Gian Domenico Romagnosi, Italian physicist, economist, and jurist (died 1835)
1781 – David Brewster, Scottish physicist, mathematician, and astronomer (died 1868)
1801 – Christian Dietrich Grabbe, German poet and playwright (died 1836)
1803 – Hector Berlioz, French composer, conductor, and critic (died 1869)
1810 – Alfred de Musset, French dramatist, poet, and novelist (died 1857)
1830 – Kamehameha V of Hawaii (died 1872)
1837 – Webster Paulson, English civil engineer (died 1887)
1838 – John Labatt, Canadian brewer and businessman (died 1915)
1843 – Robert Koch, German microbiologist and physician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1910)
1854 – Charles "Old Hoss" Radbourn, American baseball pitcher (died 1897)
1856 – Georgi Plekhanov, Russian philosopher, theorist, and author (died 1918)
1858 – Vladimir Nemirovich-Danchenko, Russian director, producer, and playwright (died 1943)
1861 – Frederick Eveleigh-de-Moleyns, 5th Baron Ventry, British Army officer and Anglo-Irish peer (died 1923)
1863 – Annie Jump Cannon, American astronomer and academic (died 1941)
1872 – René Bull, British illustrator and photographer (died 1942)
1873 – Josip Plemelj, Slovenian mathematician and academic (died 1967)
1875 – Yehuda Leib Maimon, Moldovan-Israeli rabbi and politician (died 1962)
1880 – Frank Tarrant, Australian cricketer and umpire (died 1951)
1882 – Subramania Bharati, Indian journalist and poet (died 1921)
1882 – Max Born, German physicist and mathematician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1970)
1882 – Fiorello H. La Guardia, American lawyer and politician, 99th Mayor of New York City (died 1947)
1884 – Piet Ooms, Dutch swimmer and water polo player (died 1961)
1889 – Walter Knott, American farmer and businessman, founded Knott's Berry Farm (died 1981)
1890 – Carlos Gardel, French-Argentinian singer-songwriter and actor (died 1935)
1890 – Mark Tobey, American-Swiss painter and educator (died 1976)
1892 – Arnold Majewski, Finnish military hero of Polish descent (died 1942)
1893 – Leo Ornstein, Russian-American pianist and composer (died 2002)
1897 – Ronald Skirth, English soldier (died 1977)
1899 – Julio de Caro, Argentinian violinist, composer, and conductor (died 1980)
1900 – Hermína Týrlová, Czech animator, screenwriter and film director (died 1993)
1900 – Gerd Arntz, German Modernist artist, co-creator of Isotype (died 1988)
1904 – Marge, American cartoonist (died 1993)
1905 – Robert Henriques, English farmer, author, and broadcaster (died 1967)
1905 – Gilbert Roland, Mexican-American actor and singer (died 1994)
1908 – Elliott Carter, American composer and academic (died 2012)
1908 – Manoel de Oliveira, Portuguese actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (died 2015)
1908 – Hákun Djurhuus, Faroese educator and politician, fourth Prime Minister of the Faroe Islands (died 1987)
1908 – Amon Göth, Austrian Nazi war criminal (died 1946)
1909 – Ronald McKie, Australian soldier, journalist, and author (died 1991)
1910 – Mildred Cleghorn, Native American chairwoman and educator (died 1997)
1911 – Val Guest, English-American director, producer, screenwriter, and composer (died 2006)
1911 – Naguib Mahfouz, Egyptian author, playwright, and screenwriter, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2006)
1911 – Qian Xuesen, Chinese aerodynamicist and academic (died 2009)
1912 – Carlo Ponti, Italian-Swiss film producer (died 2007)
1913 – Jean Marais, French actor and director (died 1998)
1916 – Elena Garro, Mexican author and playwright (died 1998)
1916 – Pérez Prado, Cuban-Mexican singer-songwriter, pianist, and bandleader (died 1989)
1918 – Clinton Adams, American painter and historian (died 2002)
1918 – Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, Russian novelist, historian, and short story writer, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2008)
1919 – Cliff Michelmore, English television host and producer (died 2016)
1919 – Marie Windsor, American actress (died 2000)
1920 – Mary Ivy Burks, American environmental activist (died 2007)
1920 – Denis Jenkinson, English motorcycle racer and journalist (died 1996)
1921 – Ilmar Laaban, Estonian poet and publicist (died 2000)
1921 – Liz Smith, English actress (died 2016)
1922 – Grigoris Bithikotsis, Greek singer-songwriter (died 2005)
1922 – Dilip Kumar, Indian actor, director, and screenwriter (died 2021)
1922 – Maila Nurmi, Finnish-American actress, producer, and screenwriter (died 2008)
1922 – Grace Paley, American short story writer and poet (died 2007)
1923 – Betsy Blair, American actress and dancer (died 2009)
1923 – Lillian Cahn, Hungarian-born American businesswoman, co-founded Coach, Inc. (died 2013)
1923 – Morrie Turner, American comics creator (died 2014)
1924 – Doc Blanchard, American football player and colonel (died 2009)
1925 – Aaron Feuerstein, American businessman and philanthropist (died 2021)
1925 – Paul Greengard, American neuroscientist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2019)
1925 – James Sullivan, American politician (died 2012)
1926 – Big Mama Thornton, American singer-songwriter (died 1984)
1927 – John Buscema, American illustrator (died 2002)
1929 – Axel Anderson, German actor and production manager (died 2012)
1929 – Subhash Gupte, Indian cricketer (died 2002)
1930 – Chus Lampreave, Spanish actress (died 2016)
1930 – Jean-Louis Trintignant, French actor, director, and screenwriter (died 2022)
1931 – Ernie Beck, American basketball player (died 2024)
1931 – Ronald Dworkin, American philosopher and scholar (died 2013)
1931 – Rita Moreno, Puerto Rican actress, singer, and dancer
1931 – Pierre Pilote, Canadian ice hockey player (died 2017)
1931 – Rajneesh, Indian guru, mystic, and educator (died 1990)
1932 – Enrique Bermúdez, Nicaraguan colonel and engineer (died 1991)
1932 – Keith Waldrop, American author and poet (died 2023)
1933 – Aquilino Pimentel, Jr., Filipino civil servant and politician, 23rd President of the Senate of the Philippines (died 2019)
1934 – Salim Durani, Afghan-Indian cricketer (died 2023)
1935 – Pranab Mukherjee, Indian journalist and politician, 13th President of India (died 2020)
1935 – Elmer Vasko, Canadian ice hockey player (died 1998)
1936 – Hans van den Broek, Dutch lawyer and politician, Dutch Minister of Foreign Affairs
1936 – Taku Yamasaki, Japanese politician
1937 – Jim Harrison, American novelist, essayist, and poet (died 2016)
1938 – Enrico Macias, Algerian-French singer-songwriter and guitarist
1938 – McCoy Tyner, American jazz musician (died 2020)
1939 – Tom Hayden, American activist and politician (died 2016)
1939 – Thomas McGuane, American novelist, short story writer, and screenwriter
1940 – David Gates, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
1940 – Donna Mills, American actress and producer
1941 – Max Baucus, American lawyer, politician, and diplomat, 11th United States Ambassador to China
1941 – J. P. Parisé, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (died 2015)
1941 – Rogier van Otterloo, Dutch conductor and composer (died 1988)
1941 – J. Frank Wilson, American singer-songwriter (died 1991)
1942 – Anna Carteret, English actress
1943 – John Kerry, American lieutenant, lawyer, and politician, 68th United States Secretary of State
1944 – Teri Garr, American actress and comedian (died 2024)
1944 – Jon Garrison, American tenor and educator
1944 – Lynda Day George, American actress
1944 – Michael Lang, American concert promoter and producer (died 2022)
1944 – Brenda Lee, American singer-songwriter
1946 – Rhoma Irama, Indonesian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor
1946 – Rick McCosker, Australian cricketer
1946 – Diana Palmer, American journalist and author
1948 – Stamatis Spanoudakis, Greek guitarist and composer
1948 – Shinji Tanimura, Japanese singer-songwriter (died 2023)
1949 – Christina Onassis, Greek-Argentine businesswoman, socialite, and heiress (died 1988)
1951 – Mazlan Othman, Malaysian astrophysicist and astronomer
1951 – Ria Stalman, Dutch discus thrower and shot putter
1953 – Bess Armstrong, American actress
1954 – Brad Bryant, American golfer
1954 – Sylvester Clarke, Barbadian cricketer (died 1999)
1954 – Santiago Creel, Mexican lawyer and politician, Mexican Secretary of the Interior
1954 – Jermaine Jackson, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
1954 – Guðlaugur Kristinn Óttarsson, Icelandic guitarist, mathematician, and engineer
1955 – Gene Grossman, American economist and academic
1955 – Stu Jackson, American basketball player, coach, and manager
1955 – Ray Kelvin, British fashion designer
1955 – Christian Sackewitz, German footballer and manager
1956 – Lani Brockman, American actress and director
1956 – Andrew Lansley, English politician, Secretary of State for Health
1957 – Peter Bagge, American author and illustrator
1958 – Chris Hughton, English-born Irish footballer and manager
1958 – Tom Shadyac, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1958 – Nikki Sixx, American bass player, songwriter, and producer
1960 – Anders Eldebrink, Swedish ice hockey player and coach
1961 – Dave King, Irish-American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1961 – Steve Nicol, Scottish footballer and manager
1961 – Macky Sall, Senegalese engineer and politician, fourth President of Senegal
1961 – Marco Pierre White, English chef and mentor
1962 – Ben Browder, American actor
1963 – Mario Been, Dutch footballer and manager
1963 – Mark Greatbatch, New Zealand cricketer
1963 – Claudia Kohde-Kilsch, German tennis player
1963 – John Lammers, Dutch footballer and manager
1963 – Nigel Winterburn, English footballer and coach
1964 – Justin Currie, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
1964 – Dave Schools, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer
1964 – Carolyn Waldo, Canadian swimmer and sportscaster
1965 – Jay Bell, American baseball player and coach
1965 – Gavin Hill, New Zealand rugby player
1965 – Glenn Lazarus, Australian rugby league player and politician
1965 – Giannis Ragousis, Greek economist and politician, Greek Minister for National Defence
1966 – Gary Dourdan, American actor
1966 – Erik Honoré, Norwegian guitarist and producer
1966 – Göran Kropp, Swedish race car driver and mountaineer (died 2002)
1966 – Leon Lai, Hong Kong singer and actor
1967 – Peter Kelamis, Australian voice actor
1967 – Mo'Nique, American comedian, actress, and producer
1967 – Chris Shepherd, English animator, director, producer, and screenwriter
1967 – Katy Steding, American basketball player and coach
1968 – Emmanuelle Charpentier, French researcher in microbiology, genetics and biochemistry, and Nobel laureate
1968 – Fabrizio Ravanelli, Italian footballer and manager
1969 – Viswanathan Anand, Indian chess player
1969 – Stig Inge Bjørnebye, Norwegian footballer and manager
1969 – Max Martini, American actor, director, and screenwriter
1969 – Alessandro Melli, Italian footballer and manager
1970 – Victoria Fuller, American model and actress
1971 – Willie McGinest, American football player and sportscaster
1972 – Daniel Alfredsson, Swedish ice hockey player
1972 – Sami Al-Jaber, Saudi Arabian footballer and manager
1972 – Murray Goodwin, Zimbabwean cricketer
1972 – Andriy Husin, Ukrainian footballer and manager (died 2014)
1973 – Mos Def, American rapper
1974 – Maarten Lafeber, Dutch golfer
1974 – Rey Mysterio, American wrestler
1974 – Lisa Ortiz, American theatre and voice actress
1974 – Ben Shephard, English journalist and television host
1974 – Gete Wami, Ethiopian runner
1975 – Gerben de Knegt, Dutch cyclist
1976 – Shareef Abdur-Rahim, American basketball player, coach, and manager
1976 – Yujiro Shirakawa, Japanese actor
1977 – Mark Streit, Swiss ice hockey player
1978 – Roy Wood, Jr., American comedian, actor, and radio host
1979 – Colleen Hoover, American author
1979 – Valdis Mintals, Estonian figure skater
1979 – Rider Strong, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
1980 – Adi Keissar, Israeli poet
1980 – Kristjan Kitsing, Estonian basketball player
1981 – Rebekkah Brunson, American basketball player and coach
1981 – Jason Kennedy, American journalist
1981 – Jeff McComsey, American author and illustrator
1981 – Paul Medhurst, Australian footballer
1981 – Javier Saviola, Argentine footballer
1982 – Roman Harper, American football player
1982 – Pablo Pérez Companc, Argentine race car driver
1984 – Leighton Baines, English footballer
1984 – Sandra Echeverría, Mexican actress and singer
1984 – James Ellsworth, American wrestler
1984 – Xosha Roquemore, American actress
1985 – Karla Souza, Mexican actress
1986 – Roy Hibbert, American basketball player
1987 – Violetta Bock, German politician
1987 – Clifton Geathers, American football player
1987 – Alex Russell, Australian actor
1987 – Miranda Tapsell, Australian actress
1988 – Tim Southee, New Zealand cricketer
1989 – Kellie Harrington, Irish boxer
1990 – Alexa Demie, American actress and singer
1992 – Tiffany Alvord, American singer-songwriter
1992 – Malcolm Brogdon, American basketball player
1993 – Yalitza Aparicio, Mexican actress
1995 – Abbi Grant, Scottish footballer
1996 – Hailee Steinfeld, American actress, singer and songwriter
1997 – Matthew Tkachuk, American ice hockey player
2000 – Onyeka Okongwu, American basketball player

Deaths 95

384 – Pope Damasus I (born c.304)
861 – Al-Fath ibn Khaqan, chief confidant and councillor to al-Mutawakkil
969 – Nikephoros II Phokas, Byzantine emperor (born 912)
1121 – Al-Afdal Shahanshah, Egyptian political adviser (born 1066)
1198 – Averroes, Spanish astronomer, physicist, and philosopher (born 1126)
1241 – Ögedei Khan, Mongolian emperor (born 1186)
1282 – Llywelyn ap Gruffudd, Welsh prince (born 1223)
1282 – Michael VIII Palaiologos, Byzantine emperor (born 1225)
1474 – Henry IV of Castile, King of the Crown of Castile (born 1425)
1532 – Pietro Accolti, Italian cardinal (born 1455)
1582 – Fernando Álvarez de Toledo, 3rd Duke of Alba, Spanish general and politician, 12th Constable of Portugal (born 1508)
1610 – Adam Elsheimer, German artist working in Rome (born 1578)
1686 – Louis, Grand Condé, French general (born 1621)
1694 – Ranuccio II Farnese, Duke of Parma (born 1630)
1737 – John Strype, English priest, historian, and author (born 1643)
1747 – Edmund Curll, English bookseller and publisher (born 1675)
1797 – Richard Brocklesby, English physician (born 1722)
1826 – Maria Leopoldina of Austria (born 1797)
1840 – Emperor Kōkaku of Japan (born 1771)
1872 – Kamehameha V of Hawaii (born 1830)
1880 – Oliver Winchester, American businessman, founded the Winchester Repeating Arms Company (born 1810)
1892 – William Milligan, Scottish theologian and scholar (born 1821)
1906 – Charles Townsend, American fencer, engineer, and academic (born 1872)
1909 – Ludwig Mond, German-born chemist and British industrialist who discovered the metal carbonyls (born 1839)
1913 – Carl von In der Maur, Governor of Liechtenstein (born 1852)
1918 – Ivan Cankar, Slovenian author, poet, and playwright (born 1876)
1920 – Olive Schreiner, South African author and activist (born 1855)
1928 – Juho Kekkonen, Finnish forestry manager and tenant farmer (born 1873)
1936 – Myron Grimshaw, American baseball player (born 1875)
1937 – Jaan Anvelt, Estonian theorist and politician (born 1884)
1937 – Hugh Thackeray Turner, English architect and painter (born 1853)
1938 – Christian Lous Lange, Norwegian historian and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1869)
1941 – John Gillespie Magee, Jr., American pilot and poet (born 1922)
1941 – Émile Picard, French mathematician and academic (born 1856)
1945 – Charles Fabry, French physicist and academic (born 1867)
1950 – Leslie Comrie, New Zealand astronomer and author (born 1893)
1951 – Mustafa Muğlalı, Turkish general (born 1882)
1951 – Hijri Dede, Iraqi Turkmen poet and writer (born 1881)
1953 – Sedat Simavi, Turkish journalist and director (born 1896)
1957 – Musidora, French actress, director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1889)
1959 – Jim Bottomley, American baseball player and manager (born 1900)
1964 – Sam Cooke, American singer-songwriter (born 1931)
1964 – Percy Kilbride, American actor (born 1888)
1966 – Augusta Fox Bronner, American psychologist, specialist in juvenile psychology (born 1881)
1968 – Richard Sagrits, Estonian painter and author (born 1910)
1968 – Arthur Hays Sulzberger, American publisher (born 1891)
1971 – Maurice McDonald, American businessman, co-founded McDonald's (born 1902)
1975 – Lee Wiley, American singer (born 1908)
1975 – Nihal Atsız, Turkish philosopher, author, and poet (born 1905)
1978 – Vincent du Vigneaud, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1901)
1978 – Paul O'Dea, American baseball player and manager (born 1920)
1979 – James J. Gibson, American psychologist and author (born 1904)
1983 – Neil Ritchie, Guyanese-English general (born 1897)
1984 – Oskar Seidlin, German-American author, poet, and scholar (born 1911)
1984 – George Waggner, American director, producer and actor (born 1894)
1987 – G. A. Kulkarni, Indian author and academic (born 1923)
1989 – Louise Dahl-Wolfe, American photographer (born 1895)
1991 – Robert Q. Lewis, American actor, comedian, game show host/panelist, and television personality (born 1921)
1991 – Artur Lundkvist, Swedish author and critic (born 1906)
1994 – Philip Phillips, American archaeologist and scholar (born 1900)
1995 – Greg Bahnsen, American minister and philosopher (born 1948)
1996 – Willie Rushton, English cartoonist, author, and publisher, co-founded Private Eye (born 1937)
1997 – Eddie Chapman, English spy (born 1914)
1997 – Simon Jeffes, English guitarist and composer (born 1949)
1998 – André Lichnerowicz, French physicist and mathematician (born 1915)
1998 – Lynn Strait, American singer-songwriter (born 1968)
2000 – Shaista Suhrawardy Ikramullah, Pakistani politician and diplomat (born 1915)
2000 – David Lewis, American actor (born 1916)
2001 – Mainza Chona, Zambian lawyer and politician, first Prime Minister of Zambia (born 1930)
2003 – Ahmadou Kourouma, Ivorian author and playwright (born 1927)
2004 – José Luis Cuciuffo, Argentinian footballer (born 1962)
2004 – Arthur Lydiard, New Zealand runner and coach (born 1917)
2008 – Bettie Page, American model (born 1923)
2010 – Dick Hoerner, American football player (born 1922)
2011 – John Patrick Foley, American cardinal (born 1935)
2012 – Galina Vishnevskaya, Russian soprano and actress (born 1926)
2012 – Mendel Weinbach, Polish-Israeli rabbi and scholar (born 1933)
2012 – Ravi Shankar, Indian-American sitar player and composer (born 1920)
2013 – Nadir Afonso, Portuguese painter and architect (born 1920)
2013 – Barbara Branden, Canadian-American author and academic (born 1929)
2013 – Javier Jáuregui (boxer), Mexican boxer (born 1973)
2013 – Sheikh Mussa Shariefi, Indian philosopher and scholar (born 1942)
2014 – Hans Wallat, German conductor and director (born 1929)
2015 – Abish Kekilbayev, Kazakh academic and politician (born 1939)
2015 – H. Arnold Steinberg, Canadian businessman, philanthropist, and academic (born 1933)
2015 – Hema Upadhyay, Indian painter and sculptor (born 1972)
2015 – John "Hot Rod" Williams, American basketball player (born 1962)
2015 – Ken Woolley, Australian architect (born 1933)
2017 – Keith Chegwin, British TV presenter (born 1957)
2020 – James Flynn, New Zealand intelligence researcher. (born 1934)
2021 – Anne Rice, American author (born 1941)
2023 – Andre Braugher, American actor (born 1962)
2024 – David Bonderman, American billionaire businessman (born 1942)
2024 – Khalil Haqqani, Afghan politician and warlord (born 1966)
2024 – Purushottam Upadhyay, Indian musician, singer and composer (born 1934)

Holidays and observances 14

Christian feast day: Cian Daniel the Stylite María de las Maravillas de Jesús Pope Damasus I Sabinus of Piacenza Victoricus, Fuscian, and Gentian December 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Cian
Daniel the Stylite
María de las Maravillas de Jesús
Pope Damasus I
Sabinus of Piacenza
Victoricus, Fuscian, and Gentian
December 11 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
Establishment of Kurdish Women's Union (Iraqi Kurdistan)
Indiana Day (United States)
International Mountain Day
National Tango Day (Argentina)
Pampanga Day (Pampanga province, Philippines)
Republic Day, the day when Upper Volta became an autonomous republic in the French Community in 1958. (Burkina Faso)