December 23 is the 357th day of the year (358th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar; eight days remain until the end of the year.

Events

Pre-1600

• 484 – The Arian Vandal Kingdom ceases its persecution of Nicene Christianity.
• 558 – Chlothar I is crowned King of the Franks.
• 583 – Maya queen Yohl Ik'nal is crowned ruler of Palenque.
• 962 – The Sack of Aleppo as part of the Arab–Byzantine wars: Under the future Emperor Nicephorus Phocas, Byzantine troops storm the city of Aleppo.
• 1598 – Arauco War: Governor of Chile Martín García Óñez de Loyola is killed in the Battle of Curalaba by Mapuches led by Pelantaru.

1601–1900

• 1688 – As part of the Glorious Revolution, King James II of England flees from England to Paris, France after being deposed in favor of his son-in-law and nephew, William of Orange and his daughter Mary.
• 1773 – Moscow State Academy of Choreography was founded under the reign of Catherine II. It is the second ballet school in Russia after Vaganova Academy of Russian Ballet.
• 1783 – George Washington resigns as commander-in-chief of the Continental Army at the Maryland State House in Annapolis, Maryland.
• 1793 – The Battle of Savenay: A decisive defeat of the royalist counter-revolutionaries in War in the Vendée during the French Revolution.
• 1815 – The novel Emma by Jane Austen is first published.
• 1876 – First day of the Constantinople Conference which resulted in agreement for political reforms in the Balkans.
• 1893 – The opera Hansel and Gretel by Engelbert Humperdinck is first performed.

1901–present

• 1905 – The Tampere conference, where Vladimir Lenin and Joseph Stalin meet for the first time, is held in Tampere, Finland.
• 1913 – The Federal Reserve Act is signed into law by President Woodrow Wilson, creating the Federal Reserve System.
• 1914 – World War I: Australian and New Zealand troops arrive in Cairo, Egypt.
• 1914 – World War I: During the Battle of Sarikamish, Ottoman forces mistook one another for Russian troops. The following friendly fire incident leaves 2,000 Ottomans dead and many more wounded.
• 1916 – World War I: Battle of Magdhaba: Allied forces defeat Turkish forces in the Sinai Peninsula.
• 1919 – Sex Disqualification (Removal) Act 1919 becomes law in the United Kingdom.
• 1936 – Colombia becomes a signatory to the Buenos Aires copyright treaty.
• 1936 – Spanish Civil War: The Spanish Republic legalizes the Regional Defence Council of Aragon.
• 1941 – World War II: After 15 days of fighting, the Imperial Japanese Army occupies Wake Island.
• 1947 – The transistor is first demonstrated at Bell Laboratories.
• 1948 – Seven Japanese military and political leaders convicted of war crimes by the International Military Tribunal for the Far East are executed by Allied occupation authorities at Sugamo Prison in Tokyo, Japan.
• 1950 – General Walton Walker dies in a jeep accident and is replaced by General Matthew Ridgway in the Eighth United States Army.
• 1954 – First successful kidney transplant is performed by J. Hartwell Harrison and Joseph Murray.
• 1955 – The first film adaptation of Väinö Linna's novel The Unknown Soldier, directed by Edvin Laine, premieres.
• 1960 – Hilkka Saarinen née Pylkkänen is murdered in the so-called "oven homicide" case in Krootila, Kokemäki, Finland.
• 1968 – The 82 sailors from the USS Pueblo are released after eleven months of internment in North Korea.
• 1970 – The North Tower of the World Trade Center in Manhattan, New York, New York is topped out at 417 metres (1,368 ft), making it the tallest building in the world.
• 1970 – The Democratic Republic of the Congo officially becomes a one-party state.
• 1972 – The Immaculate Reception is caught by Franco Harris to win the Pittsburgh Steelers their first ever playoff victory, after defeating the Oakland Raiders.
• 1972 – A 6.5 magnitude earthquake strikes the Nicaraguan capital of Managua killing more than 10,000.
• 1972 – The 16 survivors of the Andes flight disaster are rescued after 73 days, surviving by cannibalism.
• 1978 – Alitalia Flight 4128 crashes into the Tyrrhenian Sea while on approach to Falcone Borsellino Airport in Palermo, Italy, killing 108.
• 1979 – Soviet–Afghan War: Soviet Union forces occupy Kabul, the Afghan capital.
• 1984 – After experiencing an engine fire, Aeroflot Flight 3519 attempts to make an emergency landing at Krasnoyarsk International Airport but crashes, killing 110 of the 111 people on board.
• 1986 – Voyager, piloted by Dick Rutan and Jeana Yeager, lands at Edwards Air Force Base in California becoming the first aircraft to fly non-stop around the world without aerial or ground refueling.
• 1990 – History of Slovenia: In a referendum, 88.5% of Slovenia's overall electorate vote for independence from Yugoslavia.
• 2002 – A U.S. MQ-1 Predator is shot down by an Iraqi MiG-25 in the first combat engagement between a drone and conventional aircraft.
• 2003 – An explosion at the PetroChina Chuandongbei natural gas field in Kai County, Chongqing, China, kills at least 234.
• 2005 – An Antonov An-140, Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 217 from Baku, Azerbaijan, to Aktau, Kazakhstan, heading across the Caspian Sea, crashes, killing 23 people.
• 2007 – An agreement is made for the Kingdom of Nepal to be abolished and the country to become a federal republic with the Prime Minister becoming head of state.
• 2008 – A coup d'état occurs in Guinea hours after the death of President Lansana Conté.
• 2015 – A bomb explodes at Istanbul's Sabiha Gökçen Airport, killing one airport cleaner. The Kurdistan Freedom Hawks claim responsibility for the attack four days later.

Births

Pre-1600

• 968 – Emperor Zhenzong of Song, emperor of the Song Dynasty (d. 1022)
• 1173 – Louis I, duke of Bavaria (d. 1231)
• 1513 – Thomas Smith, English scholar and diplomat (d. 1577)
• 1525 – John Albert I, duke of Mecklenburg (d. 1576)
• 1573 – Giovanni Battista Crespi, Italian painter, sculptor and architect (d. 1632)
• 1582 – Severo Bonini, Italian organist and composer (d. 1663)
• 1544 – Anna of Saxony, only child and heiress of Maurice, Elector of Saxony (d. 1577)
• 1597 – Martin Opitz, German poet and composer (d. 1639)

1601–1900

• 1605 – Tianqi Emperor, Chinese emperor (d. 1627)
• 1613 – Carl Gustaf Wrangel, Swedish field marshal and politician, Lord High Constable of Sweden (d. 1676)
• 1621 – Heneage Finch, 1st Earl of Nottingham, English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of England (d. 1682)
• 1621 – Edmund Berry Godfrey, English lawyer and judge (d. 1678)
• 1689 – Joseph Bodin de Boismortier, French composer (d. 1755)
• 1690 – Pamheiba, Indian emperor (d. 1751)
• 1713 – Maruyama Gondazaemon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 3rd Yokozuna (d. 1749)
• 1732 – Richard Arkwright, English businessman and inventor, invented the Water frame and Spinning frame (d. 1792)
• 1750 – Frederick Augustus I of Saxony (d. 1827)
• 1758 – Nathan Wilson, American soldier and politician (d. 1834)
• 1766 – Wilhelm Hisinger, Swedish physicist and chemist (d. 1852)
• 1777 – Alexander I of Russia (d. 1825)
• 1782 – William Armstrong, American lawyer, civil servant, politician, and businessperson (d. 1865)
• 1790 – Jean-François Champollion, French philologist, orientalist, and scholar (d. 1832)
• 1793 – Dost Mohammad Khan, emir of Afghanistan (d. 1863)
• 1804 – Charles Augustin Sainte-Beuve, French author, critic, and academic (d. 1869)
• 1805 – Joseph Smith, American religious leader, founder of the Latter Day Saint movement (d. 1844)
• 1807 – Anthony Mary Claret, Spanish Roman Catholic archbishop and missionary (d. 1870)
• 1810 – Edward Blyth, English zoologist (d. 1873)
• 1810 – Karl Richard Lepsius, German Egyptologist (d. 1884)
• 1812 – Samuel Smiles, Scottish-English author (d. 1904)
• 1812 – Henri-Alexandre Wallon, French historian and statesman (d. 1904)
• 1819 – Jan Jakob Lodewijk ten Kate, Dutch pastor and poet (d. 1889)
• 1822 – Wilhelm Bauer, German engineer (d. 1875)
• 1828 – Mathilde Wesendonck, German poet and author (d. 1902)
• 1839 – János Murkovics, Slovene-Hungarian author and educator (d. 1917)
• 1843 – Richard Conner, American sergeant, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1924)
• 1854 – Henry B. Guppy, English botanist and author (d. 1926)
• 1861 – Edgar P. Rucker, American lawyer, politician, and businessman (d. 1908)
• 1865 – James M. Canty, American educator, school administrator, and businessperson (d. 1964)
• 1867 – Madam C. J. Walker, American businesswoman and philanthropist (d. 1919)
• 1870 – John Marin, American painter (d. 1953)
• 1878 – Stephen Timoshenko, Ukrainian-American engineer and academic (d. 1972)
• 1885 – Pierre Brissaud, French illustrator, painter, and engraver (d. 1964)
• 1894 – Arthur Gilligan, English cricketer (d. 1976)
• 1895 – Nola Luxford, New Zealand-American actress and broadcaster (d. 1994)
• 1896 – Giuseppe Tomasi di Lampedusa, Italian lieutenant and author (d. 1957)
• 1900 – Merle Barwis, American-Canadian supercentenarian (d. 2014)
• 1900 – Marie Bell, French actress and stage director (d. 1985)
• 1900 – Otto Soglow, American cartoonist (d. 1975)

1901–present

• 1902 – Norman Maclean, American author and academic (d. 1990)
• 1902 – Charan Singh, Indian lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of India (d. 1987)
• 1907 – Manuel Lopes, Cape Verdean author and poet (d. 2005)
• 1907 – James Roosevelt, American general and politician (d. 1991)
• 1907 – Avraham Stern, Polish Zionist leader (d. 1942)
• 1908 – Gertrude Bancroft, American economist (d. 1985)
• 1908 – Yousuf Karsh, Armenian-Canadian photographer (d. 2002)
• 1910 – Kurt Meyer, German general (d. 1961)
• 1911 – James Gregory, American actor (d. 2002)
• 1911 – Niels Kaj Jerne, English-Danish physician and immunologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1994)
• 1912 – Anna J. Harrison, American organic chemist and academic (d. 1998)
• 1916 – Dino Risi, Italian director and screenwriter (d. 2008)
• 1918 – José Greco, Italian-American dancer and choreographer (d. 2000)
• 1918 – Helmut Schmidt, German soldier, economist, and politician, 5th Chancellor of Germany (d. 2015)
• 1919 – Kenneth M. Taylor, American general and pilot (d. 2006)
• 1921 – Guy Beaulne, Canadian actor and director (d. 2001)
• 1922 – Micheline Ostermeyer, French discus thrower, shot putter, and pianist (d. 2001)
• 1923 – Onofre Marimón, Argentinian race car driver (d. 1954)
• 1923 – Günther Schifter, Austrian journalist and radio host (d. 2008)
• 1923 – James Stockdale, American admiral and pilot, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 2005)
• 1924 – Bob Kurland, American basketball player and politician (d. 2013)
• 1925 – Duncan Hallas, English author and politician (d. 2002)
• 1925 – Rayner Unwin, English publisher (d. 2000)
• 1926 – Robert Bly, American poet and essayist (d. 2021)
• 1926 – Harold Dorman, American singer-songwriter (d. 1988)
• 1929 – Chet Baker, American jazz trumpet player, flugelhorn player, and singer (d. 1988)
• 1929 – Dick Weber, American professional bowler (d. 2005)
• 1931 – Ronnie Schell, American comedian and actor
• 1932 – Richard Clark Barkley, American soldier, academic, and diplomat, United States Ambassador to East Germany (d. 2015)
• 1933 – Akihito, Japanese emperor
• 1933 – Noella Leduc, American baseball player (d. 2014)
• 1935 – Paul Hornung, American football player and sportscaster (d. 2020)
• 1935 – Johnny Kidd, English singer-songwriter (d. 1966)
• 1935 – Abdul Ghani Minhat, Malaysian footballer and manager (d. 2012)
• 1935 – Esther Phillips, American R&B singer (d. 1984)
• 1936 – Frederic Forrest, American actor (d. 2023)
• 1936 – Bobby Ross, American football player and coach
• 1936 – Willie Wood, American football player (d. 2020)
• 1937 – Barney Rosenzweig, American screenwriter and producer
• 1937 – Nelson Shanks, American painter, historian, and educator (d. 2015)
• 1938 – Bob Kahn, American computer scientist and engineer, co-developed the Transmission Control Protocol
• 1939 – Nancy Graves, American sculptor and painter (d. 1995)
• 1940 – Mamnoon Hussain, Pakistani businessman and politician, 12th President of Pakistan (d. 2021)
• 1940 – Jorma Kaukonen, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1940 – Robert Labine, Canadian politician (d. 2021)
• 1940 – Jeanie Lambe, Scottish jazz singer (d. 2020)
• 1940 – Kevin Longbottom, Australian rugby league player (d. 1986)
• 1940 – Eugene Record, American soul singer-songwriter (d. 2005)
• 1941 – Peter Davis, English businessman
• 1941 – Tim Hardin, American folk singer-songwriter and musician (d. 1980)
• 1942 – Quentin Bryce, Australian lawyer and politician, 25th Governor-General of Australia
• 1943 – Ron Allen, American baseball player
• 1943 – Mikhail Leonidovich Gromov, Russian-French mathematician and academic
• 1943 – Terry Peder Rasmussen, American serial killer (d. 2010)
• 1943 – Harry Shearer, American actor, voice artist, and comedian
• 1943 – Queen Silvia of Sweden
• 1944 – Wesley Clark, American general
• 1945 – Adly Mansour, Egyptian lawyer, judge, and politician, President of Egypt
• 1945 – Geoffrey Wheatcroft, English journalist and author
• 1946 – Robbie Dupree, American singer-songwriter
• 1946 – Edita Gruberová, Slovak soprano and actress (d. 2021)
• 1946 – Susan Lucci, American actress
• 1946 – John Sullivan, English screenwriter, producer, and composer (d. 2011)
• 1947 – Bill Rodgers, American runner
• 1948 – David Davis, English politician, Minister of State for Europe
• 1948 – Jim Ferguson, American guitarist, composer, and journalist
• 1948 – Jack Ham, American football player and sportscaster
• 1948 – Rick Wohlhuter, American runner
• 1949 – Adrian Belew, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1949 – Reinhold Weege, American screenwriter and producer (d. 2012)
• 1950 – Michael C. Burgess, American obstetrician and politician
• 1950 – Richard Dannatt, Baron Dannatt, English general
• 1950 – Vicente del Bosque, Spanish footballer and manager
• 1950 – Ilchi Lee, South Korean author and educator
• 1951 – Anthony Phillips, English guitarist and songwriter
• 1952 – William Kristol, American journalist, publisher, activist, and pundit
• 1953 – Andres Alver, Estonian architect and academic
• 1953 – Gerrit W. Gong, American religious leader and academic
• 1954 – Raivo Järvi, Estonian radio host and politician (d. 2012)
• 1954 – Brian Teacher, American tennis player
• 1955 – Carol Ann Duffy, Scottish poet and playwright
• 1955 – Grace Knight, English-Australian singer-songwriter
• 1956 – Michele Alboreto, Italian race car driver (d. 2001)
• 1956 – Dave Murray, English guitarist and songwriter
• 1957 – Dan Bigras, Canadian singer-songwriter
• 1957 – Peter Wynn, Australian rugby league player and businessman
• 1958 – Joan Severance, American actress
• 1958 – Victoria Williams, American singer-songwriter
• 1961 – Ezzat el Kamhawi, Egyptian journalist and author
• 1961 – Ketan J. Patel, Kenyan-English biologist and academic
• 1961 – Carol Smillie, Scottish model and actress
• 1961 – Lorna Tolentino, Filipino actress and producer
• 1962 – Bertrand Gachot, Belgian race car driver
• 1962 – Stefan Hell, Romanian-German physicist and chemist, Nobel Prize laureate
• 1962 – Kang Je-gyu, South Korean director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1962 – Keiji Mutoh, Japanese wrestler and actor
• 1963 – Jim Harbaugh, American football player and coach
• 1963 – Jess Harnell, American singer-songwriter and voice actor
• 1963 – Donna Tartt, American author
• 1963 – Ante Zelck, German businessman
• 1964 – Eddie Vedder, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1966 – Badi Assad, Brazilian singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1967 – Carla Bruni, Italian-French singer-songwriter and model
• 1967 – Otis Grant, Jamaican-Canadian boxer, coach, and manager
• 1968 – Karyn Bryant, American journalist, actress, producer, and screenwriter
• 1968 – Barry Kooser, American painter and animator
• 1968 – Manuel Rivera-Ortiz, Puerto Rican-American photographer
• 1968 – René Tretschok, German footballer and manager
• 1970 – Catriona LeMay Doan, Canadian speed skater and sportscaster
• 1970 – Raymont Harris, American football player
• 1970 – Karine Polwart, Scottish singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1971 – Chris Cook, American race car driver
• 1971 – Corey Haim, Canadian actor (d. 2010)
• 1971 – Jo Johnson, English banker, journalist, and politician
• 1971 – Michalis Klokidis, Greek footballer
• 1971 – Tara Palmer-Tomkinson, English model, actress, and author (d. 2017)
• 1971 – Wim Vansevenant, Belgian cyclist
• 1971 – Masayoshi Yamazaki, Japanese singer-songwriter
• 1972 – Morgan, Italian singer-songwriter and composer
• 1972 – Christian Potenza, Canadian actor, voice actor and singer
• 1974 – Agustín Delgado, Ecuadorian footballer and politician
• 1974 – Mieszko Talarczyk, Polish-Swedish singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (d. 2004)
• 1975 – Vadim Sharifijanov, Russian ice hockey player
• 1975 – Lady Starlight, American singer-songwriter
• 1976 – Joanna Hayes, American hurdler and coach
• 1976 – Brad Lidge, American baseball player
• 1976 – Dimitris Mavrogenidis, Uzbek-Greek footballer and manager
• 1976 – Jamie Noble, American wrestler and producer
• 1976 – Mikael Samuelsson, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1977 – Matt Baker, English television presenter
• 1977 – Alge Crumpler, American football player
• 1977 – Tore Johansen, Norwegian trumpeter and composer
• 1977 – Jari Mäenpää, Finnish singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1977 – Paul Shirley, American basketball player and blogger
• 1978 – Esthero, Canadian-American singer-songwriter and producer
• 1978 – Aleš Kotalík, Czech ice hockey player
• 1978 – Víctor Martínez, Venezuelan baseball player
• 1978 – Estella Warren, Canadian swimmer, model, and actress
• 1979 – Abraham Chebii, Kenyan runner
• 1979 – Johan Franzén, Swedish ice hockey player
• 1979 – Scott Gomez, American ice hockey player
• 1979 – Holly Madison, American model, television personality, and actress
• 1979 – Megan Mayhew Bergman, American author and educator
• 1979 – Kenny Miller, Scottish footballer
• 1979 – Yukifumi Murakami, Japanese javelin thrower
• 1980 – Cody Ross, American baseball player
• 1981 – Maritza Correia, Puerto Rican-American swimmer
• 1981 – Yuriorkis Gamboa, Cuban boxer
• 1981 – Hiro Fujiwara, Japanese manga artist
• 1981 – Agnes Milowka, Polish-Australian diver, explorer, photographer, and author (d. 2011)
• 1981 – Mario Santana, Argentine footballer
• 1982 – Zbyněk Michálek, Czech ice hockey player
• 1982 – Shaone Morrisonn, Canadian-Croatian ice hockey player
• 1982 – Thomas Rohregger, Austrian cyclist
• 1983 – Michael Chopra, English footballer
• 1983 – Lisa Dobriskey, English runner
• 1983 – Hanley Ramírez, Dominican baseball player
• 1984 – Dudu Aharon, Israeli singer-songwriter
• 1984 – Bernard Pollard, American football player
• 1984 – Josh Satin, American baseball player
• 1984 – Sebastian Werle, German rugby player
• 1985 – Harry Judd, English drummer and songwriter
• 1985 – Alison Sudol, American actress and singer-songwriter
• 1986 – Thomas Bourgin, French motorcycle racer (d. 2013)
• 1986 – Beau Champion, Australian rugby league player
• 1986 – Balázs Dzsudzsák, Hungarian footballer
• 1986 – T. J. Oshie, American ice hockey player
• 1987 – Tommaso Bellazzini, Italian footballer
• 1987 – Owen Franks, New Zealand rugby player
• 1987 – Jori Lehterä, Finnish ice hockey player
• 1988 – Mallory Hagan, American beauty queen, Miss America 2013
• 1989 – Liis Koger, Estonian painter and poet
• 1990 – Mitch Haniger, American baseball player
• 1990 – Anna Maria Perez de Tagle, American actress and singer
• 1991 – Kyren Wilson, English snooker player
• 1992 – Spencer Daniels, American actor
• 1992 – Jeff Schlupp, German footballer
• 1994 – Reed Alexander, American actor
• 1996 – Bartosz Kapustka, Polish footballer
• 1997 – Luka Jović, Serbian footballer
• 2000 – Sekou Doumbouya, Guinean-French basketball player
• 2002 – Finn Wolfhard, Canadian actor and musician

Deaths

Pre-1600

• 423 – Ming Yuan Di, ruler of Northern Wei (b. 392)
• 484 – Huneric, Vandal king
• 668 – Gabriel of Beth Qustan, bishop and saint (b. 594)
• 679 – Dagobert II, Frankish king (probable; b. 650)
• 761 – Gaubald, Frankish bishop (b. 700)
• 889 – Solomon II, bishop of Constance
• 910 – Naum of Preslav, Bulgarian missionary and scholar
• 918 – Conrad I, king of East Francia (b. 890)
• 940 – Ar-Radi, Abbasid caliph (b. 909)
• 1172 – Ugo Ventimiglia, Italian cardinal
• 1193 – Thorlak, patron saint of Iceland (b. 1133)
• 1230 – Berengaria of Navarre, queen of England (b. 1165)
• 1304 – Matilda of Habsburg, duchess regent of Bavaria (b. 1253)
• 1383 – Beatrice of Bourbon, Queen of Bohemia (b. 1320)
• 1384 – Thomas Preljubović, ruler of Epirus
• 1392 – Isabella of Castile, duchess of York (b. 1355)
• 1556 – Nicholas Udall, English cleric, playwright, and educator (b. 1504)
• 1572 – Johann Sylvan, German theologian (executed; date of birth unknown)
• 1575 – Akiyama Nobutomo, Japanese samurai (b. 1531)
• 1588 – Henry I, duke of Guise (b. 1550)

1601–1900

• 1631 – Michael Drayton, English poet and playwright (b. 1563)
• 1638 – Barbara Longhi, Italian painter (b. 1552)
• 1646 – François Maynard, French poet and academic (b. 1582)
• 1652 – John Cotton, English minister and theologian (b. 1585)
• 1675 – Caesar, duc de Choiseul, French general and diplomat (b. 1602)
• 1722 – Pierre Varignon, French mathematician and academic (b. 1654)
• 1761 – Alastair Ruadh MacDonnell, Scottish spy (b. 1725)
• 1771 – Marie-Marguerite d'Youville, Canadian nun and saint, founded Grey Nuns (b. 1701)
• 1779 – Augustus Hervey, 3rd Earl of Bristol, English admiral and politician, Chief Secretary for Ireland (b. 1724)
• 1789 – Charles-Michel de l'Épée, French priest and educator (b. 1712)
• 1795 – Henry Clinton, English general and politician (b. 1730)
• 1805 – Pehr Osbeck, Swedish explorer and author (b. 1723)
• 1834 – Thomas Robert Malthus, English economist and demographer (b. 1766)
• 1884 – John Chisum, American businessman and poker player (b. 1824)
• 1889 – Constance Naden, English poet and philosopher (b. 1858)
• 1892 – Frederick Tracy Dent, Brigadier General in the Regular United States Army, brother in law to President Ulysses S. Grant.

1901–present

• 1902 – Frederick Temple, English archbishop and academic (b. 1821)
• 1906 – Mdungazwe Ngungunyane Nxumalo, last emperor of the Gaza Empire (b. c.1850)
• 1912 – Otto Schoetensack, German anthropologist and academic (b. 1850)
• 1926 – Swami Shraddhanand, Indian monk, missionary, and educator (b. 1856)
• 1930 – Mustafa Fehmi Kubilay, Turkish lieutenant and educator (b. 1906)
• 1931 – Wilson Bentley, American meteorologist and photographer (b. 1865)
• 1939 – Anthony Fokker, Indonesia-born Dutch pilot and engineer, designed the Fokker Dr.I and Fokker D.VII (b. 1890)
• 1946 – John A. Sampson, American gynecologist and academic (b. 1873)
• 1948 – Akira Mutō, Japanese general (b. 1883)
• 1948 – Hideki Tojo, Japanese general and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1884)
• 1948 – Seishirō Itagaki, Japanese general (b. 1885)
• 1948 – Heitarō Kimura, Japanese general (b. 1888)
• 1948 – Iwane Matsui, Japanese general (b. 1878)
• 1948 – Kenji Doihara, Japanese general (b. 1883)
• 1948 – Kōki Hirota, Japanese diplomat and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1878)
• 1950 – Vincenzo Tommasini, Italian composer (b. 1878)
• 1953 – Lavrentiy Beria, Soviet general and politician, head of the People's Commissariat for Internal Affairs (b. 1899)
• 1954 – René Iché, French soldier and sculptor (b. 1897)
• 1961 – Carolyn Sherwin Bailey, American author (b. 1875)
• 1961 – Kurt Meyer, German general (b. 1910)
• 1970 – Charles Ruggles, American actor (b. 1886)
• 1970 – Aleksander Warma, Estonian lieutenant and politician, Prime Minister of Estonia in exile (b. 1890)
• 1972 – Andrei Tupolev, Russian engineer, designed the Tupolev Tu-95 and Tupolev Tu-104 (b. 1888)
• 1973 – Irna Phillips, American screenwriter, created Guiding Light and As the World Turns (b. 1901)
• 1979 – Peggy Guggenheim, American-Italian art collector (b. 1898)
• 1982 – Jack Webb, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1920)
• 1983 – Colin Middleton, Irish painter and illustrator (b. 1910)
• 1984 – Joan Lindsay, Australian author and playwright (b. 1896)
• 1992 – Vincent Fourcade, French interior designer (b. 1934)
• 1994 – Sebastian Shaw, English actor, director, and playwright (b. 1905)
• 1995 – Patric Knowles, English actor (b. 1911)
• 1998 – Joe Orlando, Italian-American author and illustrator (b. 1927)
• 2000 – Billy Barty, American actor (b. 1924)
• 2000 – Victor Borge, Danish-American comedian, pianist, and conductor (b. 1909)
• 2001 – Bola Ige, Nigerian lawyer and politician, 3rd Governor of Oyo State (b. 1930)
• 2004 – P. V. Narasimha Rao, Indian lawyer and politician, 9th Prime Minister of India (b. 1921)
• 2005 – Lajos Baróti, Hungarian footballer and manager (b. 1914)
• 2005 – Yao Wenyuan, Chinese writer and politician, member of the Gang of Four (b. 1931)
• 2006 – Charlie Drake, English actor (b. 1925)
• 2006 – Timothy J. Tobias, American pianist and composer (b. 1952)
• 2006 – Johnny Vincent, English footballer (b. 1947)
• 2007 – William Francis Ganong, Jr., American physiologist and academic (b. 1924)
• 2007 – Michael Kidd, American dancer and choreographer (b. 1915)
• 2007 – Oscar Peterson, Canadian pianist and composer (b. 1925)
• 2009 – Robert L. Howard, American colonel, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1939)
• 2009 – Ngapoi Ngawang Jigme, Tibetan general and politician (b. 1910)
• 2009 – Edward Schillebeeckx, Belgian theologian and academic (b. 1914)
• 2010 – Fred Hargesheimer, American soldier and pilot (b. 1916)
• 2010 – K. Karunakaran, Indian lawyer and politician, 7th Chief Minister of Kerala (b. 1918)
• 2011 – Aydın Menderes, Turkish economist and politician (b. 1946)
• 2012 – Jean Harris, American educator and murderer (b. 1923)
• 2012 – Eduardo Maiorino, Brazilian mixed martial artist and kick-boxer (b. 1979)
• 2013 – Chryssa, Greek-American sculptor (b. 1933)
• 2013 – Mikhail Kalashnikov, Russian general and weapons designer, designed the AK-47 rifle (b. 1919)
• 2013 – Yusef Lateef, American saxophonist, composer, and educator (b. 1920)
• 2013 – Ricky Lawson, American drummer and composer (b. 1954)
• 2013 – G. S. Shivarudrappa, Indian poet and educator (b. 1926)
• 2013 – Robert W. Wilson, American philanthropist and art collector (b. 1928)
• 2014 – Edward Greenspan, Canadian lawyer and author (b. 1944)
• 2014 – Robert V. Hogg, American statistician and academic (b. 1924)
• 2015 – Alfred G. Gilman, American pharmacologist and biochemist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1941)
• 2015 – Don Howe, English footballer and manager (b. 1935)
• 2015 – Jean-Marie Pelt, French biologist, pharmacist, and academic (b. 1933)
• 2015 – Bülent Ulusu, Turkish admiral and politician, 18th Prime Minister of Turkey (b. 1923)
• 2017 – Maurice Hayes, Irish educator and politician (b. 1927)
• 2020 – Leslie West, American singer and guitarist (b. 1945)
• 2021 – Joan Didion, American writer (b. 1934)
• 2022 – Brandon Montrell, American TikTok personality and stand-up comedian (b. 1979)
• 2023 – William Pope.L, American performance artist (b. 1955)

Holidays and observances

• Birthday of the Queen Silvia, an official flag flying day (Sweden)
• Children's Day (South Sudan and Sudan)
• Christian Feast Day:
  • Abassad (Coptic Church)
  • Behnam, Sarah, and the Forty Martyrs (Coptic Church)
  • Dagobert II
  • John Cantius
  • O Emmanuel
  • Psote (Coptic Church)
  • Thorlac Thorhallsson, patron saint of Iceland; The last day of preparations before Christmas.
  • Victoria
  • December 23 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Day of all level operational control structures servicemen (Ukraine)
• Festivus, a secular holiday made popular by the sitcom Seinfeld
• HumanLight (Secular humanism in United States)
• Kisan Diwas (Uttar Pradesh, India)
• Night of the Radishes (Oaxaca City, Mexico)
• Tibb's Eve (Newfoundland and Labrador)
• Tom Bawcock's Eve (Mousehole, Cornwall)
• Victory Day (Egypt)