Editing December 20

{{Short description|354th day of the year}}
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{{This date in recent years}}
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==Events==
===Pre-1600===
*[[AD 69]] &ndash; [[Antonius Primus]] enters [[Rome]] to claim the title of [[Roman emperor|Emperor]] for [[Nero]]'s former general [[Vespasian]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Alexander Fraser Tytler (lord Woodhouselee.) |title=Elements of general history. Ed. by B. Turner |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=xYQBAAAAQAAJ&pg=PA210 |year=1858 |page=210}}</ref>
*[[1192]] &ndash; [[Richard I of England]] is captured and imprisoned by [[Leopold V, Duke of Austria|Leopold V]] of Austria on his way home to England after the [[Third Crusade]].<ref>{{cite book |author=Chronicle Books |title=Chronicle of the Royal Family |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=ivo9okUs30wC |date=1 March 1993 |publisher=Chronicle Communications |isbn=978-1-872031-20-0 |page=51}}</ref>
*[[1334]] &ndash; [[Cardinal (Catholic Church)|Cardinal]] Jacques Fournier, a [[Cistercians|Cistercian]] monk, is elected [[Pope Benedict XII]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Peter |last=Partner |title=The Lands of St. Peter: The Papal State in the Middle Ages and the Early Renaissance |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=bZ6eJuZfTAEC&pg=PA327 |year=1972 |publisher=University of California Press |isbn=978-0-520-02181-5 |pages=327}}</ref>

===1601–1900===
*[[1803]] &ndash; The [[Louisiana Purchase]] is completed at a ceremony in [[New Orleans]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Lee |first=A |title=Making America, making American literature: Franklin to Cooper |publisher=Rodopi |location=Amsterdam Atlanta, GA |year=1996 |isbn=9789051839098 |page=347}}</ref>
*[[1808]] &ndash; [[Peninsular War]]: The [[Second Siege of Zaragoza|Siege of Zaragoza]] begins.
*[[1832]] &ndash; [[HMS Clio (1807)|HMS ''Clio'']] under the command of Captain Onslow arrives at [[Port Egmont]] under orders to [[Reassertion of British sovereignty over the Falkland Islands (1833)|take possession]] of the [[Falkland Islands]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Brown |first=David |title=The Royal Navy and the Falklands War |publisher=L. Cooper |location=London |year=1987 |isbn=9780850520590 |page=28}}</ref>
*[[1848]] &ndash; [[1848 French presidential election|French presidential election]]: Having won the popular vote in a landslide, [[Napoleon III|Louis Napoleon Bonaparte]] is inaugurated in the chamber of the [[Palais Bourbon|National Assembly]] as the first (and only) president of the [[French Second Republic]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=De Luna |first=Frederick A. |title=The French Republic Under Cavaignac, 1848. |publisher=Princeton University Press |year=1969 |publication-place=Princeton, New Jersey |pages=365–395}}</ref>
*[[1860]] &ndash; [[South Carolina]] becomes the first state to attempt to [[secession|secede]] from the United States with the [[South Carolina Declaration of Secession]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Cole Blease |last=Graham |title=The South Carolina State Constitution: A Reference Guide |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=MMqpKirVOzMC&pg=PA16 |year=2007 |publisher=Greenwood Publishing Group |isbn=978-0-313-29299-6 |page=16}}</ref>

===1901–present===
*[[1915]] &ndash; [[World War I]]: The last Australian troops are evacuated from [[Gallipoli Campaign|Gallipoli]].
*[[1917]] &ndash; [[Cheka]], the first [[Soviet Union|Soviet]] secret police force, is founded.
*[[1924]] &ndash; [[Adolf Hitler]] is released from [[Landsberg Prison]].<ref>{{cite web |title=Adolph Hitler Leaving Landsberg Prison |url=https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/285709 |website=www.metmuseum.org |date=20 December 1924 |access-date=27 April 2020}}</ref>
*[[1940]] &ndash; ''[[Captain America Comics]]'' #1, containing the first appearance of the superhero [[Captain America]], is published.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Rizzo |first1=Marco |last2=Licari |first2=Fabio |title=Marvel's Captain America: The First 80 Years |date=2021 |publisher=[[Titan Publishing Group]] |page=20 |isbn=978-1787737174}}</ref>
*[[1941]] &ndash; [[World War II]]: First battle of the [[American Volunteer Group]], better known as the "[[Flying Tigers]]", in [[Kunming]], China.
*[[1942]] &ndash; World War II: [[Imperial Japanese Army Air Service|Japanese air forces]] bomb [[Kolkata|Calcutta]], [[British Raj|India]].
*[[1946]] &ndash; ''[[It's a Wonderful Life]]'' premieres at the [[Globe Theatre (Broadway, New York City)|Globe Theatre]] in [[New York City|New York]] to mixed reviews. [https://web.archive.org/web/20130119035038/http://www.eeweems.com/capra/_wonderful_life.html <nowiki>[1]</nowiki>]
*  1946   &ndash; [[1946 Nankai earthquake|An earthquake in Nankaidō, Japan]] causes a tsunami which kills at least one thousand people and destroys 36,000 homes.<ref>{{cite book |last1=Walker |first1=Brett L. |title=A Concise History of Japan |date=26 February 2015 |publisher=Cambridge University Press |isbn=978-1-107-00418-4 |page=292 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=NGt2BgAAQBAJ&pg=PA292 |language=en}}</ref>
*[[1948]] &ndash; [[Indonesian National Revolution]]: The Dutch military [[Operation Kraai|captures Yogyakarta]], the temporary capital of the newly formed Republic of Indonesia.
*[[1951]] &ndash; The [[Experimental Breeder Reactor I|EBR-1]] in [[Arco, Idaho]] becomes the first [[nuclear power|nuclear power plant]] to generate electricity. The electricity powered four light bulbs.
*[[1952]] &ndash; A [[United States Air Force]] [[Douglas C-124 Globemaster II|C-124]] [[1952 Moses Lake C-124 crash|crashes]] and burns in [[Moses Lake, Washington]], killing 87 of the 115 people on board.<ref>{{cite news |url=http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/news/article_d49b70f6-4bc1-11e2-81ab-001a4bcf887a.html |title=Washington State C-124 Crash Remembered |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170313221017/http://www.columbiabasinherald.com/news/article_d49b70f6-4bc1-11e2-81ab-001a4bcf887a.html |archive-date=2017-03-13}}</ref>
*[[1955]] &ndash; [[Cardiff]] is proclaimed the capital city of [[Wales]], United Kingdom.<ref>{{cite book |author=David Williams |title=About Cardiff |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=Dpfspxo6OBMC&pg=PA21 |year=2005 |publisher=Graffeg |isbn=978-0-9544334-2-0 |pages=21}}</ref>
*[[1957]] &ndash; The initial production version of the [[Boeing 707]] makes its first flight.
*[[1960]] &ndash; [[Vietnam War]]: The [[Viet Cong|National Liberation Front of South Vietnam]], popularly known as the Viet Cong, is formally established in Tân Lập village, present day [[Tây Ninh|Tây Ninh province]].<ref>{{cite book |first=Cheng Guan |last=Ang |title=The Vietnam War from the Other Side |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4OgLBUXHikIC |year=2002 |publisher=RoutledgeCurzon |isbn=0-7007-1615-7 |page=55}}</ref>
*[[1967]] &ndash; A [[Pennsylvania Railroad]] [[Budd Metroliner]] exceeds {{convert|155|mph|km/h|order=flip}} on their New York Division, also present-day [[Amtrak]]'s Northeast Corridor.
*[[1968]] &ndash; The [[Zodiac Killer]] murders his first two officially confirmed victims, David Arthur Faraday and Betty Lou Jensen, on Lake Herman Road in [[Benicia, California]], United States.<ref>{{cite book |last=Graysmith |first=Robert |title=Zodiac |publisher=Berkley |year=1976 |page=1 |isbn=978-0-425-09808-0 |url=https://archive.org/details/zodiac00gray_0/page/14}}</ref>
*[[1970]] &ndash; [[Koza riot]]: After a series of hit-and-runs and other vehicular incidents involving [[United States|American]] service personnel, roughly 5,000 [[Ryukyuan people|Okinawans]] take to the streets, clashing with American law enforcement in protest against the [[United States Civil Administration of the Ryukyu Islands|U.S. occupation of Okinawa]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Inoue |first=Masamichi S. |title=Okinawa and the U.S. Military: Identity Making in the Age of Globalization |publisher=[[Columbia University Press]] |year=2007 |isbn=978-0231138918 |location=New York City |page=53 |language=en}}</ref>
*[[1973]] &ndash; [[Assassination of Luis Carrero Blanco]]: A [[car bomb]] planted by [[ETA (separatist group)|ETA]] in [[Madrid]] kills three people, including the [[Prime Minister of Spain]], Admiral [[Luis Carrero Blanco]].<ref>{{cite web |author1=Luis R. Aizpeolea |title=The day ETA struck a lethal blow to the Franco regime |url=https://elpais.com/elpais/2013/12/18/inenglish/1387374599_382537.html |website=[[El País]] |date=18 December 2013}}</ref>
*[[1977]] &ndash; With the approval of the [[State Council of the People’s Republic of China|State Council]], [[China]]’s two largest newspapers, the ''[[People’s Daily]]'' and the ''[[Guangming Daily]]'', publish in full for the first time the [[Second round of simplified Chinese characters|Second Chinese Character Simplification Scheme]].<ref>{{Cite book |last1=Zhao |first1=Shouhui |title=Planning Chinese Characters: Reaction, Evolution or Revolution? |last2=Baldauf |first2=Richard B. Jr. |publisher=[[Springer Publishing]] |year=2008 |isbn=9780387485768 |location=Dordrecht |page=62 |language=en}}</ref>
*[[1984]] &ndash; The [[Summit Tunnel fire]], one of the largest transportation tunnel fires in history, burns after a [[Freight rail transport|freight train]] carrying over one million liters of [[gasoline]] derails near the town of [[Todmorden]], England, in the [[Pennines]].
*  1984   &ndash; [[Disappearance and death of Jonelle Matthews|Disappearance of Jonelle Matthews]] from [[Greeley, Colorado]].  Her remains were discovered on July 23, 2019, located about {{convert|15|mi|abbr=on|order=flip}} southeast of Jonelle's home.<ref>{{cite web |title=Remains Found in Weld County Identified |publisher=Greeley Police Department |first=Detective Robert |last=Cash |date=July 25, 2019 |url=https://greeleypd.com/recovery-of-jonelle-matthews/ |access-date=July 27, 2019}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |title=Remains of Jonelle Matthews dug up by work crew 34 years after she vanished, Greeley police say—Then 12-year-old disappeared after middle school Christmas concert |first=Kieran |last=Nicholson |publisher=The Denver Post |date=July 25, 2019 |url=https://www.denverpost.com/2019/07/25/jonelle-matthews-remains-found-greeley-police/ |access-date=July 27, 2019}}</ref> The cause of death "was a gunshot wound to the head."<ref name="Pietsch">{{cite news |title=Man Charged With Murder in 1984 Killing of Colorado Girl Taken From Home |work=[[The New York Times]] |first=Bryan |last=Pietsch |date=October 13, 2020 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/13/us/steven-pankey-murder-kidnapping.html |access-date=24 October 2020}}</ref>
*[[1985]] &ndash; [[Pope John Paul II]] announces the institution of [[World Youth Day]].
*[[1987]] &ndash; In the worst peacetime sea disaster, the passenger ferry ''[[MV Doña Paz|Doña Paz]]'' sinks after colliding with the oil tanker [[MT Vector|MT ''Vector'']] in the [[Tablas Strait]] of the [[Philippines]], killing an estimated 4,000 people (1,749 official).
*[[1988]] &ndash; [[War on drugs]]: The [[United Nations]] agrees upon and promulgates the [[United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances]], one of three major drug control treaties currently in force.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Gilmore |first=William C. |date=1991 |title=The 1988 United Nations Convention Against Illicit Traffic in Narcotic Drugs and Psychotropic Substances |journal=Marine Policy |volume=15 |issue=3 |page=2 |via=Elsevier Science Direct}}</ref>
*[[1989]] &ndash; The [[United States invasion of Panama]] [[Deposition (politics)|deposes]] [[Manuel Noriega]].
*[[1991]] &ndash; A Missouri court sentences the Palestinian militant Zein Isa and his wife Maria to death for the [[Murder of Tina Isa|honor killing of their daughter Palestina]].
*[[1995]] &ndash; [[NATO]] begins peacekeeping in [[Bosnia and Herzegovina|Bosnia]].
*  1995   &ndash; [[American Airlines Flight 965]], a [[Boeing 757]], crashes into a mountain 50&nbsp;km north of [[Cali]], [[Colombia]], killing 159 of the 163 people on board.<ref>{{cite news |date=December 21, 1995 |title=American Airlines jet crashes in the Andes |work=[[CNN]] |url=http://www.cnn.com/WORLD/9512/colombia_crash/10am_update/index.html |access-date=May 6, 2009}}</ref>
*[[1999]] &ndash; [[Macau]] is [[Transfer of sovereignty over Macau|handed over]] to [[China]] by [[Portugal]].
*[[2004]] &ndash; A gang of thieves [[Northern Bank robbery|steal £26.5 million]] worth of currency from the [[Donegall Square]] West headquarters of [[Northern Bank]] in [[Belfast]], [[Northern Ireland]], United Kingdom, one of the largest [[bank robbery|bank robberies]] in British history. 
*[[2004]] &ndash; [[Cave Story]] releases to the public. <ref>{{Cite web |last=quence |date=2024-12-20 |title=Nicalis celebrates Cave Story's 20th anniversary |url=https://gonintendo.com/contents/44023-nicalis-celebrates-cave-story-s-20th-anniversary-with-special-video-message |access-date=2024-12-21 |website=GoNintendo |language=en}}</ref>
*[[2007]] &ndash; [[Elizabeth II]] becomes the oldest monarch in the history of the United Kingdom, surpassing [[Queen Victoria]], who lived for 81 years and 243 days.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Witchell |first1=Nicholas |title=The Queen: A constant amid gale-force changes |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34172529 |work=BBC News |access-date=27 April 2020 |date=8 September 2015}}</ref>
*  2007   &ndash; The ''[[Portrait of Suzanne Bloch]]'' (1904), by the Spanish artist [[Pablo Picasso]], and ''O Lavrador de Café'' by Brazilian modernist painter [[Cândido Portinari]], are stolen from the [[São Paulo Museum of Art]] in Brazil. Both will be recovered a few weeks later.<ref>{{cite news |author=MacSwan, Angus |title=Security questioned in Picasso theft in Brazil |url=http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20071221/ten-uk-brazil-picasso-d3877cb_1.html |date=2007-12-21 |publisher=[[Reuters]] |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071230164038/http://uk.news.yahoo.com/rtrs/20071221/ten-uk-brazil-picasso-d3877cb_1.html |archive-date=2007-12-30}}</ref>
*[[2019]] &ndash; The [[United States Space Force]] becomes the first new branch of the United States Armed Forces since 1947.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/20/politics/trump-creates-space-force/index.html |title=With a signature, Trump brings Space Force into being |date=December 20, 2019 |first=Ryan |last=Browne |publisher=CNN}}</ref>
*[[2024]] &ndash; Six people are killed and over 200 are injured when an anti-Islam activist [[2024 Magdeburg car attack|drives a car into a crowd]] at a Christmas market in [[Magdeburg]], [[Germany]].<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2024/12/20/world/europe/germany-christmas-market-crash.html |title=Driver Rams Christmas Market in Germany, Injuring Dozens |date=20 December 2024 |last=Schuetze |first=Christopher |work=[[The New York Times]]}}</ref>

==Births==
===Pre-1600===
*[[1494]] &ndash; [[Oronce Finé]], French mathematician and cartographer (d. 1555)
*[[1496]] &ndash; [[Joseph ha-Kohen]], historian and physician (d. 1575)
*[[1537]] &ndash; [[John III of Sweden|John III]], king of Sweden (d. 1592)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://runeberg.org/nfbl/0780.html |title=Nordisk familjebok |page=1432 |website=Project Runeberg |access-date=20 December 2019}}</ref>
*[[1576]] &ndash; [[John Sarkander]], Moravian priest and saint (d. 1620)

===1601–1900===
*[[1626]] &ndash; [[Veit Ludwig von Seckendorff]], German scholar and politician (d. 1692)
*[[1629]] &ndash; [[Pieter de Hooch]], Dutch painter (d. 1684)<ref>{{cite book |author=Haldane Macfall |title=A History of Painting: The Dutch genius |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=-z5pK_TOJ4MC |year=1973 |publisher=Dana Estes and Co |page=178}}</ref>
*[[1641]] &ndash; [[Urban Hjärne]], Swedish chemist, geologist, and physician (d. 1724)<ref>{{cite book |title=Swedish Poets of the Seventeenth Century: Some Gleanings from the Swedish Parnassus |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=FzdDAAAAIAAJ |year=1932 |publisher=Parker printing Company |page=77}}</ref>
*[[1740]] &ndash; [[Arthur Lee (diplomat)|Arthur Lee]], American physician and diplomat (d. 1792)
*[[1786]] &ndash; [[Pietro Raimondi]], Italian composer (d. 1853)
*[[1792]] &ndash; [[Nicolas Toussaint Charlet]], French painter and educator (d. 1845)
*[[1806]] &ndash; [[Martín Carrera]], Mexican general and president (1855) (d. 1871)<ref>{{cite web |url=http://calderon.presidencia.gob.mx/mexico/gobernantes/mexico-1821-actualidad/martin-carrera/ |publisher=Presidencia de la Republica de Mexico |title=MARTÍN CARRERA |language=es |access-date=May 27, 2019 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190528043200/http://calderon.presidencia.gob.mx/mexico/gobernantes/mexico-1821-actualidad/martin-carrera/ |archive-date=May 28, 2019 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
*[[1812]] &ndash; [[Laura M. Hawley Thurston]], American poet and educator (d. 1842)<ref name="Frisbee1926">{{cite book |last=Frisbee |first=Edward Selah |title=The Frisbee-Frisbie genealogy: Edward Frisbye of Branford, Connicticut, and his descendants, with appendix containing brief lineages of Fiskes, Haskells, Mabies and Parkes, and bibliography |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=_otMAAAAMAAJ |year=1926 |publisher=The Tuttle Company |page=188}}</ref>
*[[1838]] &ndash; [[Edwin Abbott Abbott]], English theologian, author, and educator (d. 1926)
*[[1841]] &ndash; [[Ferdinand Buisson]], French academic and politician, [[Nobel Peace Prize|Nobel Prize]] laureate (d. 1932)
*[[1851]] &ndash; [[Knut Wicksell]], Swedish economist (d. 1926)<ref>{{cite magazine |first1=Diana W. |last1=Thomas |title=Knut Wicksell: A Consistent Marginalist |date=Fall 2023 |volume=28 |issue=2 |pages=203–211 |magazine=The Independent Review |issn=1086-1653 |url=https://www.independent.org/publications/tir/article.asp?id=1879 |access-date=26 March 2024}}</ref>
*[[1861]] &ndash; [[Ferdinand Bonn]], German actor (d. 1933)
*  1861   &ndash; [[Ivana Kobilca]], Slovenian painter (d. 1926)
*[[1865]] &ndash; [[Elsie de Wolfe]], American actress and interior decorator (d. 1950)
*[[1868]] &ndash; [[Harvey Samuel Firestone]], American businessman, founded the [[Firestone Tire and Rubber Company]] (d. 1938)<ref>{{cite book |author=((Editors of Chase's)) |title=Chase's Calendar of Events 2020: The Ultimate Go-to Guide for Special Days, Weeks and Months |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=6dKpDwAAQBAJ&pg=PA605 |date=24 September 2019 |publisher=Rowman & Littlefield |isbn=978-1-64143-316-7 |pages=605}}</ref>
*[[1869]] &ndash; [[Charley Grapewin]], American actor (d. 1956)<ref>{{cite book |author=James Robert Parish |title=Hollywood Character Actors |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=P3JZAAAAMAAJ |year=1978 |publisher=Arlington House |isbn=978-0-87000-384-4 |page=236}}</ref>
*[[1871]] &ndash; [[Henry Kimball Hadley]], American composer and conductor (d. 1937)<ref>{{cite book |author=Albert Ernest Wier |title=The Macmillan Encyclopedia of Music and Musicians: In One Volume |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=nx8KAQAAMAAJ |year=1938 |publisher=Macmillan |page=741}}</ref>
*[[1873]] &ndash; [[Kan'ichi Asakawa]], Japanese historian, author, and academic (d. 1948)
*  1873   &ndash; [[Mehmet Akif Ersoy]], Turkish poet, academic, and politician (d. 1936)
*[[1874]] &ndash; [[Mary Ann Bevan]], [[English people|English]] [[Nursing|nurse]] who, after developing [[acromegaly]], toured the [[circus]] [[sideshow]] circuit as "the [[Unattractiveness|ugliest]] [[woman]] in the [[world]]" <ref name=nfa>{{Cite web|url=http://www.nfa.dept.shef.ac.uk/history/worlds_fair/extracts/1931–1940.html#fleetwood|title=National Fairground Archive – Extracts from ''World's Fair'', 1931–1940|last=|first=|date=2007|website=The University of Sheffield|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150518091933/http://www.nfa.dept.shef.ac.uk/history/worlds_fair/extracts/1931-1940.html#fleetwood|archive-date=18 May 2015|access-date=16 June 2019}}</ref>
*[[1881]] &ndash; [[Branch Rickey]], American baseball player and manager (d. 1965)
*[[1884]] &ndash; [[Ruhana Kuddus]], Indonesian activist and journalist (d. 1972)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Janti |first1=Nur |title=Mengenal Rohana Kudus, Wartawan Perempuan Pertama yang Jadi Pahlawan Nasional |url=https://historia.id/kultur/articles/mengenal-rohana-kudus-wartawan-perempuan-pertama-yang-jadi-pahlawan-nasional-Db2lQ |website=historia.id |date=8 November 2019 |publisher=Historia |access-date=20 December 2023}}</ref>
*[[1886]] &ndash; [[Hazel Hotchkiss Wightman]], American tennis player and businessman (d. 1974)<ref>{{Cite web |title=International Tennis Hall of Fame |url=https://www.tennisfame.com/hall-of-famers/inductees/hazel-hotchkiss-wightman |access-date=2022-10-22 |website=www.tennisfame.com}}</ref>
*[[1888]] &ndash; [[Yitzhak Baer]], German-Israeli historian and academic (d. 1980)
*  1888   &ndash; [[Fred Merkle]], American baseball player and manager (d. 1956)
*[[1890]] &ndash; [[Yvonne Arnaud]], French pianist, actress and singer (d. 1958)
*  1890   &ndash; [[Jaroslav Heyrovský]], Czech chemist and academic, [[Nobel Prize in Chemistry|Nobel Prize]] laureate (d. 1967)
*[[1891]] &ndash; [[Erik Almlöf]], Swedish triple jumper (d. 1971)
*[[1894]] &ndash; [[Robert Menzies]], Australian lawyer and politician, 12th [[Prime Minister of Australia]] (d. 1978)
*[[1898]] &ndash; [[Konstantinos Dovas]], Greek general and politician, 156th [[List of Prime Ministers of Greece|Prime Minister of Greece]] (d. 1973)
*  1898   &ndash; [[Irene Dunne]], American actress and singer (d. 1990)
*[[1899]] &ndash; [[Martyn Lloyd-Jones]], Welsh preacher and physician (d. 1981)
*[[1900]] &ndash; [[Lissy Arna]], German actress (d. 1964)
*  1900   &ndash; [[Gabby Hartnett]], American baseball player and manager (d. 1972)<ref>{{cite web |title=Gabby Hartnett |url=https://www.mlb.com/player/gabby-hartnett-115572 |publisher=[[Major League Baseball]] |access-date=19 December 2023}}</ref>

===1901–present===
*[[1901]] &ndash; [[Robert J. Van de Graaff]], American physicist and academic, invented the [[Van de Graaff generator]] (d. 1967)<ref>{{cite book |author1=Ray Eldon Hiebert |author2=Roselyn Hiebert |title=Atomic Pioneers: From the late 19th to the mid-20th century |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=M01IAQAAMAAJ&pg=PA88 |year=1970 |publisher=U.S. Atomic Energy Commission, Division of Technical Information |pages=88}}</ref>
*[[1902]] &ndash; [[Prince George, Duke of Kent]] (d. 1942)
*  1902   &ndash; [[Sidney Hook]], American philosopher and author (d. 1989)
*[[1904]] &ndash; [[Spud Davis]], American baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 1984)
*  1904   &ndash; [[Yevgenia Ginzburg]], Russian author (d. 1977)
*[[1905]] &ndash; [[Bill O'Reilly (cricketer)|Bill O'Reilly]], Australian cricketer and sportscaster (d. 1992)
*[[1907]] &ndash; [[Paul Francis Webster]], American soldier and songwriter (d. 1984)
*[[1908]] &ndash; [[Dennis Morgan]], American actor and singer (d. 1994)
*[[1909]] &ndash; [[Vakkom Majeed]], Indian journalist and politician (d. 2000)
*[[1911]] &ndash; [[Hortense Calisher]], American author (d. 2009)
*[[1914]] &ndash; [[Harry F. Byrd Jr.]], American lieutenant, publisher, and politician (d. 2013)
*[[1915]] &ndash; [[Aziz Nesin]], Turkish author and poet (d. 1995)
*[[1916]] &ndash; [[Michel Chartrand]], Canadian trade union leader and activist (d. 2010)
*[[1917]] &ndash; [[David Bohm]], American-English physicist, neuropsychologist, and philosopher (d. 1992)
*  1917   &ndash; [[Cahit Külebi]], Turkish poet and author (d. 1997)
*  1917   &ndash; [[Audrey Totter]], American actress (d. 2013)
*[[1918]] &ndash; [[Jean Marchand]], Canadian trade union leader and politician, 43rd [[Secretary of State for Canada]] (d. 1988)
*[[1920]] &ndash; [[Väinö Linna]], Finnish author (d. 1992)<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.hs.fi/mielipide/art-2000004151933.html |title=Mielipide: Suomen suurin kirjailija ansaitsee liputuspäivän |work=[[Helsingin Sanomat]] |date=July 7, 2003 |access-date=December 20, 2021 |language=fi}}</ref>
*[[1921]] &ndash; [[George Roy Hill]], American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2002)<ref>{{cite news |url=https://query.nytimes.com/gst/fullpage.html?res=9401E6DB1F3CF93BA15751C1A9649C8B63 |title=New York Times, December 28, 2002 |work=The New York Times |date=December 28, 2002 |access-date=May 3, 2010 |first=Lawrence |last=Van Gelder}}</ref>
*[[1922]] &ndash; [[Beverly Pepper]], American sculptor and painter (d. 2020)
*  1922   &ndash; [[William Soeryadjaya]], Chinese-Indonesian businessman and co-founder of [[Astra International]] (d. 2010)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Faizi |first1=Luthfan |title=Profil William Soeryadjaya, Pengusaha Indonesia Pendiri Astra International |url=https://ekbis.sindonews.com/read/973453/36/profil-william-soeryadjaya-pengusaha-indonesia-pendiri-astra-international-1671444761 |website=ekbis.sindonews.com |publisher=Sindo News |access-date=18 May 2023}}</ref>
*[[1924]] &ndash; [[Charlie Callas]], American actor and comedian (d. 2011)
*  1924   &ndash; [[Judy LaMarsh]], Canadian soldier, lawyer, and politician, 42nd [[Secretary of State for Canada]] (d. 1980)<ref>{{Canadian Parliament links|ID=3583}}</ref>
*[[1925]] &ndash; [[Benito Lorenzi]], Italian footballer (d. 2007)
*[[1926]] &ndash; [[Geoffrey Howe]], Welsh lawyer and politician, [[Deputy Prime Minister of the United Kingdom]] (d. 2015)
*  1926   &ndash; [[Otto Graf Lambsdorff]], German lawyer and politician, [[Federal Ministry of Economics and Energy|German Federal Minister of Economics]] (d. 2009)
*[[1927]] &ndash; [[Michael Beaumont, 22nd Seigneur of Sark]], English engineer and politician (d. 2016)
*  1927   &ndash; [[Jim Simpson (sportscaster)|Jim Simpson]], American sportscaster (d. 2016)<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/sports/jim-simpson-versatile-sportscaster-who-helped-launch-espn-dies-at-88/2016/01/13/3f79fb90-ba2d-11e5-b682-4bb4dd403c7d_story.html |title=Jim Simpson, versatile sportscaster who helped launch ESPN, dies at 88 - The Washington Post |newspaper=[[The Washington Post]]}}</ref>
*  1927   &ndash; [[Kim Young-sam]], South Korean soldier and politician, 7th [[President of South Korea]] (d. 2015)
*[[1928]] &ndash; [[John Menkes]], Austrian-American pediatric and writer (d. 2008)<ref name="WorldNeurology">{{Citation |title=John Menkes (1928-2008) |first=S. Robert |last=Snodgrass |work=World Neurology |volume=30 |number=3 |page=14 |date=June 2009 |url=http://www.wfneurology.org/private/downloads/aiCLirG2FuedshzLRg_7tw/wn_jun09_row.pdf}}</ref>
*[[1929]] &ndash; [[Don Sunderlage]], American basketball player (d. 1961)<ref>{{cite web |title=Don Sunderlage |url=https://www.nba.com/stats/player/78278/career |publisher=[[National Basketball Association]] |access-date=19 December 2023}}</ref>
*[[1931]] &ndash; [[Mala Powers]], American actress (d. 2007) 
*[[1932]] &ndash; [[John Hillerman]], American actor (d. 2017)<ref name="UPI">{{cite web |title=Famous birthdays for Dec. 20: Jonah Hill, Alan Parsons |url=https://www.upi.com/Entertainment_News/2022/12/20/Famous-birthdays-for-Dec-20-Jonah-Hill-Alan-Parsons/4861671493463/ |publisher=[[UPI]] |access-date=19 December 2023 |date=20 December 2022}}</ref>
*[[1933]] &ndash; [[Olavi Salonen]], Finnish runner
*  1933   &ndash; [[Rik Van Looy]], Belgian cyclist (d. 2024)
*[[1935]] &ndash; [[Khalid Ibadulla]], Pakistani cricketer and sportscaster (d. 2024)
*[[1939]] &ndash; [[Kathryn Joosten]], American actress (d. 2012)
*  1939   &ndash; [[Kim Weston]], American soul singer
*[[1942]] &ndash; [[Rana Bhagwandas]], Pakistani lawyer and judge, [[Chief Justice of Pakistan]] (d. 2015)
*  1942   &ndash; [[Bob Hayes]], American sprinter and football player (d. 2002)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.olympic.org/bob-hayes |title=Bob Hayes |website=IOC |access-date=27 November 2020}}</ref>
*  1942   &ndash; [[Jean-Claude Trichet]], French banker and economist
*  1942   &ndash; [[Roger Woodward]], Australian classical pianist, composer, conductor, teacher and human rights activist.<ref>{{Cite web |last=Gill |first=Dominic |year=2001 |title=Woodward, Roger |url=https://www.oxfordmusiconline.com/grovemusic/display/10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.001.0001/omo-9781561592630-e-0000030558 |access-date=2023-06-14 |website=Grove Music Online |language=en |doi=10.1093/gmo/9781561592630.article.30558 |isbn=9781561592630 |editor-first1=Cyrus |editor-first2=Paul |editor-last1=Meher-Homji |editor-last2=Ellison}}</ref>
*[[1944]] &ndash; [[Ray Martin (television presenter)|Ray Martin]], Australian television host and journalist
*[[1945]] &ndash; [[Peter Criss]], American singer-songwriter, drummer, and producer<ref name="AP">{{cite web |last1=Rose |first1=Mike |title=Today's famous birthdays list for December 20, 2022 includes celebrities Jonah Hill, Dick Wolf |url=https://www.cleveland.com/entertainment/2022/12/todays-famous-birthdays-list-for-december-20-2022-includes-celebrities-jonah-hill-dick-wolf.html |website=[[The Plain Dealer]] |publisher=[[Associated Press]] |access-date=19 December 2023 |date=20 December 2022}}</ref> 
*  1945   &ndash; [[Sivakant Tiwari]], Indian-Singaporean lawyer and author (d. 2010)
*[[1946]] &ndash; [[Uri Geller]], Israeli-English magician and psychic<ref name="AP"/>
*  1946   &ndash; [[Bill Hosket Jr.]], American basketball player<ref>{{cite web |title=Wilmer Hosket |url=https://www.nba.com/stats/player/77061/career |publisher=[[National Basketball Association]] |access-date=19 December 2023}}</ref>
*  1946   &ndash; [[Sonny Perdue]], American politician, 31st [[United States Secretary of Agriculture]], 81st [[Governor of Georgia]]<ref>{{cite web |title=Biography |url=https://sonnyperdue.georgia.gov/00/channel_modifieddate/0%2C2096%2C78006749_98067483%2C00.html |publisher=[[Government of Georgia (U.S. state)|Georgia.gov]] |access-date=9 February 2023}}</ref>
*  1946   &ndash; [[Dick Wolf]], American director, producer, and screenwriter<ref name="AP"/>
*[[1947]] &ndash; [[Gigliola Cinquetti]], Italian singer-songwriter<ref>{{cite book |author=Robert H. Blissmer |title=Who's Who in Italy, 1988 |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=5KhmAAAAMAAJ |date=August 1988 |publisher=Bernan Assoc |isbn=978-88-85246-08-9}}</ref>
*[[1948]] &ndash; [[Alan Parsons]], English keyboard player and producer<ref>{{cite book |author1=Jean-Michel Guesdon |author2=Philippe Margotin |title=Pink Floyd All the Songs: The Story Behind Every Track |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=CRcUDgAAQBAJ&pg=PT338 |date=24 October 2017 |publisher=Running Press |isbn=978-0-316-43923-7 |pages=338}}</ref> 
*  1948   &ndash; [[Mitsuko Uchida]], Japanese pianist<ref>{{cite book |author=Charles Moritz |title=Current Biography Yearbook |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=DWftWR1VGIEC |year=1992 |publisher=H. W. Wilson Company |pages=576–7 |isbn=9780824201289}}</ref>
*[[1949]] &ndash; [[Soumaïla Cissé]], Malian engineer and politician (d. 2020)
*  1949   &ndash; [[Cecil Cooper]], American baseball player and manager<ref>{{cite web |title=Cecil Cooper |url=https://www.mlb.com/player/cecil-cooper-112651 |publisher=[[Major League Baseball]] |access-date=19 December 2023}}</ref>
*[[1950]] &ndash; [[Arturo Márquez]], Mexican-American composer
*[[1951]] &ndash; [[Nuala O'Loan, Baroness O'Loan]], Northern Irish academic and police ombudsman
*  1951   &ndash; [[Marta Russell]], American author and activist (d. 2013)
*[[1952]] &ndash; [[Jenny Agutter]], English actress<ref name="AP"/>
*[[1954]] &ndash; [[Michael Badalucco]], American actor<ref name="AP"/>
*  1954   &ndash; [[Sandra Cisneros]], American author and poet
*[[1955]] &ndash; [[Martin Schulz]], German politician
*  1955   &ndash; [[Binali Yıldırım]], Turkish lawyer and politician, [[Ministry of Transport, Maritime and Communication (Turkey)|Turkish Minister of Transport]]
*[[1956]] &ndash; [[Mohamed Ould Abdel Aziz]], Mauritanian general and politician, [[List of heads of state of Mauritania|President of Mauritania]]
*  1956   &ndash; [[Guy Babylon]], American keyboard player and songwriter (d. 2009)
*  1956   &ndash; [[Blanche Baker]], American actress and screenwriter<ref name="AP"/>
*  1956   &ndash; [[Junji Hirata]], Japanese wrestler
*  1956   &ndash; [[Andrew Mackenzie (businessman)|Andrew Mackenzie]], Scottish geologist and businessman
*  1956   &ndash; [[Anita Ward]], American disco/R&B singer
*[[1957]] &ndash; [[Billy Bragg]], English singer-songwriter and guitarist<ref name="AP"/>
*  1957   &ndash; [[Anna Vissi]], Cypriot singer-songwriter and actress 
*  1957   &ndash; [[Mike Watt]], American singer-songwriter and bass player<ref>{{cite magazine |last=Sutherland |first=Sam |title=Mike Watt on What's Watt |url=http://exclaim.ca/music/article/mike_watt_on_what |magazine=[[Exclaim!]] |date=March 24, 2007 |access-date=March 18, 2019}}</ref>
*[[1958]] &ndash; [[Doug Nordquist]], American high jumper
*  1958   &ndash; [[James Thomson (cell biologist)|James Thomson]], American biologist and academic
*[[1959]] &ndash; [[George Coupland]], Scottish scientist
*  1959   &ndash; [[Hildegard Körner]], German runner
*  1959   &ndash; [[Kazimierz Marcinkiewicz]], Polish physicist and politician, 12th [[Prime Minister of Poland]]
*[[1960]] &ndash; [[Nalo Hopkinson]], Jamaican-Canadian author and educator
*  1960   &ndash; [[Kim Ki-duk]], South Korean director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2020)<ref>{{cite news |title=Controversial South Korean director Kim Ki-duk dies of Covid aged 59 |url=https://www.theguardian.com/film/2020/dec/11/south-korea-director-kim-ki-duk-dies-of-covid |access-date=11 December 2023 |work=[[The Guardian]] |date=11 December 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
*[[1961]] &ndash; [[Mohammad Fouad]], Egyptian singer-songwriter and actor
*[[1963]] &ndash; [[Joel Gretsch]], American actor<ref name="AP"/>
*[[1966]] &ndash; [[Veronica Pershina]], Russian-American figure skater and coach
*  1966   &ndash; [[Chris Robinson (singer)|Chris Robinson]], American singer-songwriter and guitarist<ref name="AP"/> 
*[[1968]] &ndash; [[Karl Wendlinger]], Austrian racing driver
*[[1969]] &ndash; [[Alain de Botton]], Swiss-English philosopher and author
*  1969   &ndash; [[Zahra Ouaziz]], Moroccan runner
*[[1970]] &ndash; [[Nicole de Boer]], Canadian actress<ref name="AP"/>
*  1970   &ndash; [[Grant Flower]], Zimbabwean cricketer and coach
*  1970   &ndash; [[Jörg Schmidt (footballer)|Jörg Schmidt]], German footballer
*[[1972]] &ndash; [[Jan Čaloun]], Czech ice hockey player<ref>{{cite web |title=Jan Caloun |url=https://www.nhl.com/player/jan-caloun-8459011 |publisher=[[National Hockey League]] |access-date=19 December 2023}}</ref>
*  1972   &ndash; [[Anders Odden]], Norwegian guitarist, songwriter, and producer 
*[[1974]] &ndash; [[Die (musician)|Die]], Japanese guitarist, songwriter, and producer 
*[[1975]] &ndash; [[Bartosz Bosacki]], Polish footballer
*[[1976]] &ndash; [[Nenad Vučković (footballer)|Nenad Vučković]], Croatian footballer
*[[1978]] &ndash; [[Yoon Kye-sang]], South Korean singer
*  1978   &ndash; [[Andrei Markov (ice hockey)|Andrei Markov]], Russian-Canadian ice hockey player
*  1978   &ndash; [[Geremi Njitap]], Cameroon footballer<ref>{{FIFA|id=176652}}</ref>
*  1978   &ndash; [[Bouabdellah Tahri]], French runner<ref>{{cite web |url=https://worldathletics.org/athletes/-/14187746 |title=Bouabdallah Tahri |website=worldathletics.org}}</ref>
*[[1979]] &ndash; [[Michael Rogers (cyclist)|Michael Rogers]], Australian cyclist<ref>{{cite web |title=Michael Rogers profile |url=http://www.letour.fr/le-tour/2013/us/riders/team-saxo-tinkoff/rogers-michael.html?xtmc=michael+rogers&xtcr=1 |access-date=27 December 2013 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20131227092114/http://www.letour.fr/le-tour/2013/us/riders/team-saxo-tinkoff/rogers-michael.html?xtmc=michael+rogers&xtcr=1 |archive-date=27 December 2013 |url-status=dead}}</ref>
*[[1980]] &ndash; [[Israel Castro]], Mexican footballer
*  1980   &ndash; [[Ashley Cole]], English footballer
*  1980   &ndash; [[Anthony da Silva]], French-Portuguese footballer
*  1980   &ndash; [[Martín Demichelis]], Argentine footballer
*[[1981]] &ndash; [[Royal Ivey]], American basketball player and coach<ref>{{cite web |title=Royal Ivey |url=https://www.nba.com/stats/player/2767/career |publisher=[[National Basketball Association]] |access-date=19 December 2023}}</ref>
*  1981   &ndash; [[James Shields (baseball)|James Shields]], American baseball player<ref>{{cite web |title=James Shields |url=https://www.mlb.com/player/james-shields-448306 |publisher=[[Major League Baseball]] |access-date=19 December 2023}}</ref>
*[[1982]] &ndash; [[Mohammad Asif (cricketer)|Mohammad Asif]], Pakistani cricketer
*  1982   &ndash; [[David Cook (singer)|David Cook]], American singer-songwriter<ref name="AP"/>
*  1982   &ndash; [[Kasper Klausen]], Danish footballer
*  1982   &ndash; [[David Wright]], American baseball player<ref>{{cite web |title=David Wright |url=https://www.mlb.com/player/david-wright-431151 |publisher=[[Major League Baseball]] |access-date=14 December 2022}}</ref>
*[[1983]] &ndash; [[Jonah Hill]], American actor, producer, and screenwriter<ref name="AP"/>
*[[1984]] &ndash; [[Bob Morley]], Australian actor<ref name="AP"/>
*  1984   &ndash; [[David Tavaré]], Spanish singer and DJ<ref name=primary_bio>{{cite web |url=http://www.davidtavare.com/index.php?id=6&L=1 |title=David Tavaré: biography |publisher=David Tavaré |accessdate=October 29, 2008}}</ref>
*[[1986]] &ndash; [[Chay Genoway]], Canadian ice hockey player<ref>{{cite web |title=Chay Genoway |url=https://www.nhl.com/player/chay-genoway-8476224 |publisher=[[National Hockey League]] |access-date=19 December 2023}}</ref>
*[[1987]] &ndash; [[Malcolm Jenkins]], American football player<ref>{{cite web |title=Malcolm Jenkins |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/12426/malcolm-jenkins |publisher=[[ESPN]] |access-date=14 December 2022}}</ref>
*[[1990]] &ndash; [[JoJo (singer)|JoJo]], American singer and actress<ref>{{cite web |last1=Roth |first1=Madeline |title=JoJo Just Rerecorded 'Leave (Get Out)' and 'Baby It's You' for Our Nostalgic Thrill |url=http://www.mtv.com/news/3107552/jojo-rerecords-debut-album-snippets/ |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20181221081447/http://www.mtv.com/news/3107552/jojo-rerecords-debut-album-snippets/ |url-status=dead |archive-date=December 21, 2018 |website=MTV.com |access-date=November 20, 2019 |date=December 20, 2018}}</ref>
*  1990   &ndash; [[Marta Xargay]], Spanish basketball player<ref>{{cite web |title=Marta Xargay |url=https://www.wnba.com/player/204300/marta-xargay |publisher=[[WNBA]] |access-date=19 December 2023}}</ref>
*[[1991]] &ndash; [[Rachael Boyle]], Scottish footballer<ref>{{cite web |title=Rachael Boyle - Player Profile - Football |url=https://www.eurosport.co.uk/football/rachael-boyle_prs544338/person.shtml |website=Eurosport UK |access-date=27 April 2020}}</ref>
*  1991   &ndash; [[Jorginho (footballer, born December 1991)|Jorginho]], Brazilian footballer<ref name=ChelseaProfile>{{cite web |url=https://www.chelseafc.com/en/teams/first-team/jorginho?pageTab=biography |title=Jorginho |publisher=Chelsea F.C. |access-date=5 October 2018}}</ref>
*  1991   &ndash; [[Jillian Rose Reed]], American actress<ref name="UPI" />
*  1991   &ndash; [[Fabian Schär]], Swiss footballer <ref>{{Cite web |title=Premier League Website |url=https://www.premierleague.com/players/5220/Fabian-Sch%C3%A4r/overview |url-status=live |access-date=16 March 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180816060856/https://www.premierleague.com/players/5220/Fabian-Sch%C3%A4r/overview |archive-date=2018-08-16}}</ref>
*[[1992]] &ndash; [[Ksenia Makarova]], Russian-American figure skater
*[[1993]] &ndash; [[Andrea Belotti]], Italian footballer<ref>{{cite web |title=Andrea Belotti |url=https://int.soccerway.com/players/andrea-belotti/228719/ |website=Soccerway |access-date=20 December 2024}}</ref>
*  1993 &ndash; [[Robeisy Ramírez]], Cuban boxer<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.olympedia.org/athletes/123508 |title=Robeisy Ramírez |website=[[Olympedia]] |publisher=OlyMADMen |access-date=20 October 2021}}</ref>
*[[1994]] &ndash; [[Calvin Ridley]], American football player<ref>{{cite web |title=Calvin Ridley Stats, Height, Weight, Position, Draft, College |url=https://www.pro-football-reference.com/players/R/RidlCa00.htm |website=football-reference.com |access-date=20 April 2023}}</ref>
*[[1995]] &ndash; [[Anžejs Pasečņiks]], Latvian basketball player<ref>{{cite web |title=Anzejs Pasecniks |url=https://www.nba.com/stats/player/1628394/career |publisher=[[National Basketball Association]] |access-date=19 December 2023}}</ref>
*  1995   &ndash; [[Christian Wilkins]], American football player<ref>{{cite web |title=Christian Wilkins |url=https://www.espn.com/nfl/player/_/id/3728266/christian-wilkins |publisher=[[ESPN]] |access-date=19 December 2023}}</ref>
*[[1996]] &ndash; [[Jarrod Bowen]], English football player<ref>{{cite web |title=Jarrod Bowen |url=https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/201089/jarrod-bowen}}</ref>
*[[1997]] &ndash; [[De'Aaron Fox]], American basketball player<ref>{{cite web |title=De'Aaron Fox |url=https://www.nba.com/players/de'aaron/fox/1628368 |website=NBA.com |access-date=14 July 2020 |language=en}}</ref>
*  1997   &ndash; [[Suzuka Nakamoto]], Japanese singer
*[[1998]] &ndash; [[Kylian Mbappé]], French footballer<ref>{{cite web |title=Kylian Mbappé |url=https://www.espn.com/soccer/player/_/id/231388/kylian-mbappe}}</ref>
*[[2000]] &ndash; [[Gaboro]], Assyrian Swedish rapper and songwriter (d. 2024)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Blanco |first1=Quetzala Mikko |title=Allt om rapparen Gaboro: Död, mask, gäng och Norrköping |url=https://nyheter24.se/noje/musik/1369197-allt-om-rapparen-gaboro-dod-mask-gang-och-norrkoping |website=nyheter24.se |publisher=Nyheter 24 |access-date=22 December 2024}}</ref>
*[[2001]] &ndash; [[Facundo Pellistri]], Uruguayan footballer<ref>{{Cite web |url=https://www.premierleague.com/players/108972/Facundo-Pellistri/overview |title=Facundo Pellistri |website=Premier League |access-date=10 December 2020}}</ref>
*  2001   &ndash; [[Sepp van den Berg]], Dutch footballer<ref>{{cite web |title=Sepp van den Berg |url=https://www.premierleague.com/players/65987/Sepp-van-den-Berg/overview |website=Premier League |access-date=20 December 2024}}</ref>
*[[2002]] &ndash; [[Marcelo Pitaluga]], Brazilian footballer<ref>{{cite web |title=Marcelo Pitaluga: Overview |url=https://www.premierleague.com/players/32925/Marcelo-Pitaluga/overview |publisher=Premier League |access-date=25 October 2023}}</ref>
<!--Do not add yourself or people without Wikipedia articles to this list. Do not trust "this year in history" websites for accurate date information. Do not link multiple occurrences of the same year, just link the first occurrence.-->

==Deaths==
===Pre-1600===
* [[AD 69|69]] &ndash; [[Titus Flavius Sabinus (consul AD 47)|Titus Flavius Sabinus]], a [[Roman people|Roman]] politician and soldier<ref>Suetonius, "The Life of Vespasian", 1, "The Life of Vitellius", 15.</ref>
* [[217]] &ndash; [[Pope Zephyrinus|Zephyrinus]], pope of the Catholic Church
* [[910]] &ndash; [[Alfonso III of Asturias|Alfonso III]], king of Asturias
* [[977]] &ndash; [[Fujiwara no Kanemichi]], Japanese statesman (b. 925)
*[[1295]] &ndash; [[Margaret of Provence]], French queen (b. 1221)
*[[1326]] &ndash; [[Saint Peter of Moscow|Peter of Moscow]], Russian metropolitan bishop
*[[1340]] &ndash; [[John I, Duke of Bavaria|John I]], duke of Bavaria (b. 1329)
*[[1355]] &ndash; [[Stefan Dušan]], emperor of Serbia  (b. 1308)
*[[1539]] &ndash; [[Johannes Lupi]], Flemish composer (b. 1506)
*[[1552]] &ndash; [[Katharina von Bora]], wife of [[Martin Luther]] (b. 1499)
*[[1590]] &ndash; [[Ambroise Paré]], French physician and surgeon (b. 1510)

===1601–1900===
*[[1658]] &ndash; [[Jean Jannon]], French designer and typefounder (b. 1580)
*[[1722]] &ndash; [[Kangxi Emperor|Kangxi]], emperor of the Qing Dynasty (b. 1654)
*[[1723]] &ndash; [[Augustus Quirinus Rivinus]], German physician and botanist (b. 1652)
*[[1740]] &ndash; [[Richard Boyle, 2nd Viscount Shannon]], English field marshal and politician, [[Governor of Portsmouth]] (b. 1675)
*[[1765]] &ndash; [[Louis, Dauphin of France (son of Louis XV)|Louis]], dauphin of France (b. 1729)
*[[1768]] &ndash; [[Carlo Innocenzo Frugoni]], Italian poet and academic (b. 1692)
*[[1783]] &ndash; [[Antonio Soler (composer)|Antonio Soler]], Spanish priest and composer (b. 1729)
*[[1812]] &ndash; [[Sacagawea]], American explorer (b. 1788)
*[[1820]] &ndash; [[John Bell (farmer)|John Bell]], American farmer (b. 1750)
*[[1849]] &ndash; [[Kyai Maja]], Javanese ulama and commander of [[Java War]] (b. 1792)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Raditya |first1=Iswara N |title=Pecah Kongsi Pangeran Diponegoro dan Kyai Mojo |url=https://tirto.id/pecah-kongsi-pangeran-diponegoro-dan-kyai-mojo-cwyp |website=tirto.id |publisher=Tirto |access-date=28 March 2025}}</ref>
*[[1856]] &ndash; [[Francesco Bentivegna]], Italian activist (b. 1820)
*[[1862]] &ndash; [[Robert Knox (surgeon)|Robert Knox]], Scottish surgeon and zoologist (b. 1791)<ref>{{cite ODNB |title=Knox, Robert (1791–1862), anatomist and ethnologist |url=https://www.oxforddnb.com/view/10.1093/ref:odnb/9780198614128.001.0001/odnb-9780198614128-e-15787 |year=2004 |access-date=20 December 2021 |language=en |doi=10.1093/ref:odnb/15787 |isbn=978-0-19-861412-8 |last1=Taylor |first1=Clare L.}}</ref>
*[[1880]] &ndash; [[Gaspar Tochman]], Polish-American colonel and lawyer (b. 1797)
*[[1893]] &ndash; [[George C. Magoun]], American businessman (b. 1840)

===1901–present===
*[[1915]] &ndash; [[Upendrakishore Ray]], Indian painter and composer (b. 1863)
*[[1916]] &ndash; [[Arthur Morgan (Queensland politician)|Arthur Morgan]], Australian politician, 16th [[Premier of Queensland]] (b. 1856)
*[[1917]] &ndash; [[Lucien Petit-Breton]], French-Argentinian cyclist (b. 1882)
*[[1919]] &ndash; [[Philip Fysh]], English-Australian politician, 12th [[Premier of Tasmania]] (b. 1835)<ref>{{cite book |title=The Australian Encyclopaedia: Ferns to Ley |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=rtEiAAAAMAAJ |year=1977 |publisher=Grolier Society of Australia |isbn=978-0-9596604-0-1 |page=130}}</ref>
*[[1920]] &ndash; [[Linton Hope]], English sailor and architect (b. 1863)
*[[1921]] &ndash; [[Julius Richard Petri]], German microbiologist (b. 1852)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/google-doodle/10090954/Julius-Richard-Petri-inventor-of-the-Petri-dish-celebrated-in-Google-Doodle.html |archive-url=https://ghostarchive.org/archive/20220112/https://www.telegraph.co.uk/technology/google/google-doodle/10090954/Julius-Richard-Petri-inventor-of-the-Petri-dish-celebrated-in-Google-Doodle.html |archive-date=2022-01-12 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |title=Julius Richard Petri, inventor of the Petri dish, celebrated in Google Doodle |date=31 May 2013 |website=The Telegraph |access-date=12 November 2019}}{{cbignore}}</ref>
*[[1925]] &ndash; [[João Ferreira Sardo]], the founder of [[Gafanha da Nazaré]], also known as Prior Sardo (b. 1873).<ref name="Monografia da Gafanha, Gráfica Ilhavense">{{cite book |last=Rezende |first=João Vieira |title=Monografia da Gafanha |publisher=Gráfica Ilhavense |year=1936 |location=Ílhavo |language=pt}}</ref>
*[[1927]] &ndash; [[Frederick Semple]], American golfer and tennis player (b. 1872)<ref>{{Cite web |title=Olympedia – Fred Semple |url=https://www.olympedia.org/athletes/2789 |access-date=2022-10-22 |website=www.olympedia.org}}</ref>
*[[1929]] &ndash; [[Émile Loubet]], French lawyer and politician, 8th [[President of France]] (b. 1838)
*[[1935]] &ndash; [[Martin O'Meara]], Irish-Australian sergeant, [[Victoria Cross]] recipient (b. 1882)
*[[1937]] &ndash; [[Erich Ludendorff]], German general (b. 1865)
*[[1938]] &ndash; [[Annie Armstrong]], American missionary (b. 1850)
*  1938   &ndash; [[Lida Howell]], American archer (b. 1859)
*[[1939]] &ndash; [[Hans Langsdorff]], German captain (b. 1894)
*[[1941]] &ndash; [[Igor Severyanin]], Russian-Estonian poet and author (b. 1887)
*[[1950]] &ndash; [[Enrico Mizzi]], Maltese lawyer and politician, 6th [[Prime Minister of Malta]] (b. 1885)
*[[1954]] &ndash; [[James Hilton (novelist)|James Hilton]], English-American author and screenwriter (b. 1900)
*[[1956]] &ndash; [[Ramón Carrillo]], Argentinian neurologist and physician (b. 1906)
*[[1959]] &ndash; [[Juhan Simm]], Estonian composer and conductor (b. 1885)
*[[1961]] &ndash; [[Moss Hart]], American director and playwright (b. 1904)
*  1961   &ndash; [[Earle Page]], Australian soldier and politician, 11th [[Prime Minister of Australia]] (b. 1880)
*[[1968]] &ndash; [[John Steinbeck]], American novelist and short story writer, [[Nobel Prize in Literature|Nobel Prize]] laureate (b. 1902)
*[[1971]] &ndash; [[Roy O. Disney]], American banker and businessman, co-founded [[The Walt Disney Company]] (b. 1893)
*[[1972]] &ndash; [[Adolfo Orsi]], Italian businessman (b. 1888)
*[[1973]] &ndash; [[Luis Carrero Blanco]], Spanish admiral and politician, 69th [[President of the Government of Spain]] (b. 1904; assassinated)<ref>{{cite book |title=Operation Ogro: The Execution of Admiral Luis Carrero Blanco |author=Julen Agirre, translated by Barbara Probst Solomon |publisher=Quadrangle/The New York Times Book Company |isbn=0-8129-0552-0 |year=1975 |url=https://archive.org/details/operationogroexe00fore}}</ref>
*  1973   &ndash; [[Bobby Darin]], American singer-songwriter and actor (b. 1936)<ref>{{cite book |author=Brock Helander |title=The Rock Who's who |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=TLszAQAAIAAJ |year=1996 |publisher=Schirmer Books |isbn=978-0-02-871031-0 |pages=156–158}}</ref>
*[[1974]] &ndash; [[Rajani Palme Dutt]], English journalist and politician (b. 1896)
*  1974   &ndash; [[André Jolivet]], French composer and conductor (b. 1905)
*[[1976]] &ndash; [[Richard J. Daley]], American lawyer and politician, 48th [[Mayor of Chicago]] (b. 1902)
*[[1976]] &ndash; [[Soetardjo Kartohadikusumo]], Indonesian politician, 1st Governor of West Java (b. 1890)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Setyaningrum |first1=Puspasari |title=Biografi Sutardjo Kartohadikusumo, Gubernur Pertama Jawa Barat |url=https://bandung.kompas.com/read/2022/11/02/224147478/biografi-sutardjo-kartohadikusumo-gubernur-pertama-jawa-barat?page=all |website=bandung.kompas.com |date=2 November 2022 |publisher=Kompas |access-date=20 December 2023}}</ref>
*[[1981]] &ndash; [[Dimitris Rontiris]], Greek actor and director (b. 1899)
*[[1982]] &ndash; [[Arthur Rubinstein]], Polish-American pianist and composer (b. 1887)
*[[1984]] &ndash; [[Stanley Milgram]], American psychologist and academic (b. 1933)
*  1984   &ndash; [[Dmitry Ustinov]], [[Minister of Defence of the Soviet Union|Minister of Defence of the Soviet Union (1976–84)]] (b. 1908)<ref>''New York Times'', December 22, 1994, pg. A1</ref>
*[[1986]] &ndash; [[Joe DeSa]], American baseball player (b. 1959)
*[[1991]] &ndash; [[Simone Beck]], French chef and author (b. 1904)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1991/12/21/nyregion/simone-beck-a-cook-dies-at-87-co-wrote-book-with-julia-child.html |title=Simone Beck, a Cook, Dies at 87; Co-Wrote Book With Julia Child |date=21 December 1996 |website=New York Times |access-date=18 March 2019}}</ref>
*  1991   &ndash; [[Samuel Rabin (artist)|Sam Rabin]], English wrestler, singer, and sculptor (b. 1903)
*  1991   &ndash; [[Albert Van Vlierberghe]], Belgian cyclist (b. 1942)
*[[1993]] &ndash; [[W. Edwards Deming]], American statistician, author, and academic (b. 1900)
*  1993   &ndash; [[Nazife Güran]], Turkish composer and educator (b. 1921)
*[[1994]] &ndash; [[Dean Rusk]], American lawyer, and politician, 54th [[United States Secretary of State]] (b. 1909)
*[[1995]] &ndash; [[Madge Sinclair]], Jamaican-American actress (b. 1938)
*[[1996]] &ndash; [[Carl Sagan]], American astronomer, astrophysicist, and cosmologist (b. 1934)<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/21/us/carl-sagan-an-astronomer-who-excelled-at-popularizing-science-is-dead-at-62.html |title=Carl Sagan, an Astronomer Who Excelled at Popularizing Science, Is Dead at 62 |date=21 December 1996 |website=New York Times |access-date=18 March 2019}}</ref>
*[[1997]] &ndash; [[Denise Levertov]], English-American poet and translator (b. 1923)
*  1997   &ndash; [[Dick Spooner]], English cricketer (b. 1919)
*  1997   &ndash; [[Dawn Steel]], American film producer (b. 1946)
*[[1998]] &ndash; [[Alan Lloyd Hodgkin]], English physiologist and biophysicist, [[Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine|Nobel Prize]] laureate (b. 1916)
*[[1999]] &ndash; [[Riccardo Freda]], Egyptian-Italian director and screenwriter (b. 1909)
*  1999   &ndash; [[Hank Snow]], Canadian-American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1914)
*[[2001]] &ndash; [[Léopold Sédar Senghor]], Senegalese poet and politician, 1st [[President of Senegal]] (b. 1906)
*[[2005]] &ndash; [[Raoul Bott]], Hungarian-American mathematician and academic (b. 1923)
*[[2006]] &ndash; [[Anne Rogers Clark]], American dog breeder and trainer (b. 1929)
*[[2008]] &ndash; [[Adrian Mitchell]], English author, poet, and playwright (b. 1932)
*  2008   &ndash; [[Robert Mulligan]], American director and producer (b. 1925)<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/23/movies/23mulligan.html |title=The New York Times |access-date=26 February 2015 |first=Margalit |last=Fox |date=23 December 2008}}</ref>
*  2008   &ndash; [[Igor Troubetzkoy]], Russian aristocrat and racing driver (b. 1912)
*[[2009]] &ndash; [[Brittany Murphy]], American actress and singer (b. 1977)
*  2009   &ndash; [[Arnold Stang]], American actor (b. 1918)
*[[2010]] &ndash; [[K. P. Ratnam]], Sri Lankan academic and politician (b. 1914)
*[[2011]] &ndash; [[Barry Reckord]], Jamaican playwright and screenwriter (b. 1926)
*[[2012]] &ndash; [[Stan Charlton]], English footballer and manager (b. 1929)
*  2012   &ndash; [[Robert Juniper]], Australian painter and sculptor (b. 1929)
*  2012   &ndash; [[Victor Merzhanov]], Russian pianist and educator (b. 1919)
*[[2013]] &ndash; [[Pyotr Bolotnikov]], Russian runner (b. 1930)
*[[2014]] &ndash; [[Per-Ingvar Brånemark]], Swedish surgeon and academic (b. 1929)
*  2014   &ndash; [[John Freeman (British politician)|John Freeman]], English lawyer, politician, and diplomat, [[List of Ambassadors of the United Kingdom to the United States|British Ambassador to the United States]] (b. 1915)
*[[2020]] &ndash; [[Fanny Waterman]], British pianist (b. 1920)<ref>{{Cite news |last=Millington |first=Barry |date=2020-12-21 |title=Dame Fanny Waterman obituary |language=en-GB |work=The Guardian |url=https://www.theguardian.com/music/2020/dec/21/dame-fanny-waterman-obituary |access-date=2020-12-24 |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
*  2020   &ndash; [[Ezra Vogel]], American sociologist (b. 1930)<ref>[https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/ezra-vogel-dead/2020/12/21/fc66a080-43a0-11eb-a277-49a6d1f9dff1_story.html Ezra Vogel, Harvard scholar who bridged U.S. and East Asia, dies at 90] The Washington Post. December 22, 2020. Retrieved January 22, 2021.</ref>
*[[2022]] &ndash; [[Franco Harris]], American football player (b. 1950)<ref>{{cite web |last1=Graves |first1=Will |title=Steelers Hall of Fame running back Franco Harris dies at 72 |url=https://apnews.com/article/pittsburgh-steelers-nfl-college-football-sports-efc7c3e417ad04594ae32a3fbc0a693a |website=AP |date=21 December 2022 |access-date=December 21, 2022}}</ref>
*[[2024]] &ndash; [[Casey Chaos]], American singer (b. 1965)<ref>{{Cite web |date=December 26, 2024 |title=Casey Chaos: Official Cause Of Death Revealed |url=https://blabbermouth.net/news/casey-chaos-official-cause-of-death-revealed |access-date=December 27, 2024 |website=[[Blabbermouth.net]] |language=en}}</ref>
*2024 &ndash; [[George Eastham]], English footballer (b. 1936)<ref>{{Cite news |last=Glanville |first=Brian |date=December 23, 2024 |title=George Eastham obituary |url=https://www.theguardian.com/football/2024/dec/23/george-eastham-obituary |access-date=December 27, 2024 |work=[[The Guardian]] |language=en-GB |issn=0261-3077}}</ref>
*2024 &ndash; [[Rickey Henderson]], American baseball player (b. 1958)<ref>{{cite news |last=Passan |first=Jeff |date=December 21, 2024 |title=Rickey Henderson, 'greatest of all time,' dies at 65 |url=https://www.espn.com/mlb/story/_/id/43090305/rickey-henderson-greatest-all-dies-65 |access-date=December 21, 2024 |work=[[ESPN]]}}</ref>
<!-- Do not add people without Wikipedia articles to this list. Do not trust "this year in history" websites for accurate date information. Do not link multiple occurrences of the same year, just link the first occurrence.-->

==Holidays and observances==
*Abolition of Slavery Day, also known as ''[[Cafres|Fête des Cafres]]'' ([[Réunion]], [[French Guiana]])
*[[Bo Aung Kyaw Day]] ([[Myanmar]])
*Christian [[Calendar of saints|feast day]]:
**[[Dominic of Silos]]
**[[O Clavis]]
**[[Ursicinus of Saint-Ursanne]]
**[[Katharina von Bora]] ([[Lutheran]])
**[[December 20 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)]]
*Earliest date for [[Winter solstice]]'s eve (Northern Hemisphere), and its related observances:
**[[Yaldā]] ([[Iran]])
*[[International Human Solidarity Day]] ([[International observance|International]])<ref>{{cite web |title=International Days |url=https://www.un.org/en/sections/observances/international-days/ |website=United Nations |access-date=2 January 2021 |language=en |date=6 January 2015}}</ref>
*[[Macau Special Administrative Region Establishment Day]] ([[Macau]])

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
* [http://news.bbc.co.uk/onthisday/hi/dates/stories/december/20 BBC: On This Day]
* {{NYT On this day|month=12|day=20}}
* [https://www.onthisday.com/events/december/20 Historical Events on December 20]

{{months}}

[[Category:Days of December]]