December 10

"Dec 10" redirects here. For the computer known as the "DEC 10", see PDP-10. For the collection of short stories by George Saunders, see Tenth of December: Stories. For the boy band, see December 10 (band).

Events

Pre-1600

• 1317 – The Nyköping Banquet: Birger, King of Sweden treacherously seizes his two brothers, dukes Valdemar and Erik, who are subsequently starved to death in the dungeon of Nyköping Castle.
• 1508 – The League of Cambrai is formed by Pope Julius II, Louis XII of France, Maximilian I, Holy Roman Emperor and Ferdinand II of Aragon as an alliance against Venice.
• 1520 – Martin Luther burns his copy of the papal bull Exsurge Domine outside Wittenberg's Elster Gate.
• 1541 – Thomas Culpeper and Francis Dereham are executed for having affairs with Catherine Howard, Queen of England and wife of Henry VIII.

1601–1900

• 1652 – Defeat at the Battle of Dungeness causes the Commonwealth of England to reform its navy.
• 1665 – The Royal Netherlands Marine Corps is founded by Michiel de Ruyter.
• 1684 – Isaac Newton's derivation of Kepler's laws from his theory of gravity, contained in the paper De motu corporum in gyrum, is read to the Royal Society by Edmond Halley.
• 1768 – The first edition of the Encyclopædia Britannica is published.
• 1799 – France adopts the metre as its official unit of length.
• 1817 – Mississippi becomes the 20th U.S. state.
• 1861 – American Civil War: The Confederate States of America accept a rival state government's pronouncement that declares Kentucky to be the 12th state of the Confederacy.
• 1861 – Forces led by Nguyễn Trung Trực, an anti-colonial guerrilla leader in southern Vietnam, sink the French lorcha L'Esperance.
• 1864 – American Civil War: Sherman's March to the Sea: Major General William Tecumseh Sherman's Union Army troops reach the outer Confederate defenses of Savannah, Georgia.
• 1877 – Russo-Turkish War: The Russian Army captures Plevna after a 5-month siege. The garrison of 25,000 surviving Turks surrenders. The Russian victory is decisive for the outcome of the war and the Liberation of Bulgaria.
• 1896 – Alfred Jarry's Ubu Roi premieres in Paris. A riot breaks out at the end of the performance.
• 1898 – Spanish–American War: The Treaty of Paris is signed, officially ending the conflict. Spain cedes administration of Cuba to the United States, and the United States agrees to pay Spain $20 million for the Philippines.

1901–present

• 1901 – The first Nobel Prize ceremony is held in Stockholm on the fifth anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death.
• 1902 – The opening of the reservoir of the Aswan Dam in Egypt.
• 1906 – U.S. President Theodore Roosevelt is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in the mediation of the Russo-Japanese War, becoming the first American to win a Nobel Prize in any field.
• 1907 – The worst night of the Brown Dog riots in London, when 1,000 medical students, protesting against the existence of a memorial for animals that have been vivisected, clash with 400 police officers.
• 1909 – Selma Lagerlöf becomes the first female writer to receive the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1932 – Thailand becomes a constitutional monarchy.
• 1936 – Abdication Crisis: Edward VIII signs the Instrument of Abdication.
• 1941 – World War II: The Royal Navy capital ships HMS Prince of Wales and HMS Repulse are sunk by Imperial Japanese Navy torpedo bombers near British Malaya.
• 1941 – World War II: Battle of the Philippines: Imperial Japanese forces under the command of General Masaharu Homma land on Luzon.
• 1942 – World War II: Government of Poland in exile send Raczyński's Note (the first official report on the Holocaust) to 26 governments who signed the Declaration by United Nations.
• 1948 – The Human Rights Convention is signed by the United Nations.
• 1949 – Chinese Civil War: The People's Liberation Army begins its siege of Chengdu, the last Kuomintang-held city in mainland China, forcing President of the Republic of China Chiang Kai-shek and his government to retreat to Taiwan.
• 1953 – British Prime Minister Winston Churchill receives the Nobel Prize in Literature.
• 1963 – Zanzibar gains independence from the United Kingdom as a constitutional monarchy, under Sultan Jamshid bin Abdullah.
• 1963 – An assassination attempt on the British High Commissioner in Aden kills two people and wounds dozens more.
• 1968 – Japan's biggest heist, the still-unsolved "300 million yen robbery", is carried out in Tokyo.
• 1978 – Arab–Israeli conflict: Prime Minister of Israel Menachem Begin and President of Egypt Anwar Sadat are jointly awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.
• 1979 – Kaohsiung Incident: Taiwanese pro-democracy demonstrations are suppressed by the KMT dictatorship, and organizers are arrested.
• 1983 – Democracy is restored in Argentina with the inauguration of President Raúl Alfonsín.
• 1984 – United Nations General Assembly recognizes the Convention against Torture.
• 1989 – Mongolian Revolution: At the country's first open pro-democracy public demonstration, Tsakhiagiin Elbegdorj announces the establishment of the Mongolian Democratic Union.
• 1991 – The Nagorno-Karabakh independence referendum is held, with 99.98% voting in favor of independence.
• 1991 – Nursultan Nazarbayev is sworn in as the 1st President of Kazakhstan.
• 1991 – The Kazakh Soviet Socialist Republic is renamed into the Republic of Kazakhstan.
• 1992 – Sheikh Zayed bin Sultan Al Nahyan establishes the Marriage Fund in the United Arab Emirates in response to rising wedding prices.
• 1993 – The last shift leaves Wearmouth Colliery in Sunderland. The closure of the 156-year-old pit marks the end of the old County Durham coalfield, which had been in operation since the Middle Ages.
• 1994 – Rwandan genocide: Maurice Baril, military advisor to the U.N. Secretary-General and head of the Military Division of the Department of Peacekeeping Operations, recommends that UNAMIR stand down.
• 1995 – The Israeli army withdraws from Nablus pursuant to the terms of Oslo Accord.
• 1996 – The new Constitution of South Africa is promulgated by Nelson Mandela.
• 1999 – Helen Clark is sworn in as Prime Minister of New Zealand, the second woman to hold the post and the first following an election.
• 2005 – Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145 crashes at Port Harcourt International Airport in Nigeria, killing 108 people.
• 2014 – Palestinian minister Ziad Abu Ein is killed after the suppression of a demonstration by Israeli forces in the village (Turmus'ayya) in Ramallah.
• 2015 – Rojava conflict: The Syrian Democratic Council is established in Dêrik, forming the political wing of the Syrian Democratic Forces in northeast Syria.
• 2016 – Two explosions outside a football stadium in Istanbul, Turkey, kill 38 people and injure 166 others.
• 2017 – ISIL is defeated in Iraq.
• 2019 – The Ostrava hospital attack in the Czech Republic results in eight deaths, including the perpetrator.
• 2021 – A widespread, deadly, and violent tornado outbreak slams the Central, Midwestern, and Southern regions of the United States. Eighty-nine people are killed by the tornadoes, with most of the fatalities occurring in Kentucky, where a single tornado kills 57 people, and injures hundreds of others. Another tornado in Edwardsville, Illinois strikes an Amazon warehouse, killing six workers.

Births

Pre-1600

• 553 – Houzhu, emperor of the Chen dynasty (died 604)
• 1376 – Edmund Mortimer, English nobleman and rebel (died 1409)
• 1452 – Johannes Stöffler, German mathematician and astronomer (died 1531)
• 1472 – Anne de Mowbray, 8th Countess of Norfolk (died 1481)
• 1489 – Gaston of Foix, Duke of Nemours (died 1512)
• 1588 – Isaac Beeckman, Dutch scientist and philosopher (died 1637)

1601–1900

• 1610 – Adriaen van Ostade, Dutch painter (died 1685)
• 1654 – Giovanni Gioseffo dal Sole, Italian painter (died 1719)
• 1658 – Lancelot Blackburne, Archbishop of York (died 1743)
• 1713 – Johann Nicolaus Mempel, German cantor and organist (died 1747)
• 1751 – George Shaw, English botanist and zoologist (died 1813)
• 1776 – Archduchess Maria Leopoldine of Austria-Este (died 1848)
• 1783 – María Bibiana Benítez, Puerto Rican poet and playwright (died 1873)
• 1787 – Thomas Hopkins Gallaudet, American educator, founded the American School for the Deaf (died 1851)
• 1804 – Carl Gustav Jacob Jacobi, German mathematician and academic (died 1851)
• 1805 – William Lloyd Garrison, American journalist and activist, founded The Liberator (died 1879)
• 1805 – Joseph Škoda, Czech physician, dermatologist, and academic (died 1881)
• 1811 – Caroline Mehitable Fisher Sawyer, American poet, biographer, and editor (died 1894)
• 1815 – Ada Lovelace, English mathematician and computer scientist (died 1852)
• 1821 – Nikolay Nekrasov, Russian poet and critic (died 1877)
• 1822 – César Franck, Belgian organist and composer (died 1890)
• 1824 – George MacDonald, Scottish minister, author, and poet (died 1905)
• 1827 – Eugene O'Keefe, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (died 1913)
• 1830 – Emily Dickinson, American poet (died 1886)
• 1851 – Melvil Dewey, American librarian, created the Dewey Decimal System (died 1931)
• 1866 – Louis Bolk, Dutch anatomist and biologist (died 1930)
• 1870 – Jadunath Sarkar, Indian historian (died 1958)
• 1870 – Adolf Loos, Austrian architect and theoretician (died 1933)
• 1870 – Pierre Louÿs, Belgian-French author and poet (died 1925)
• 1878 – C. Rajagopalachari, Indian lawyer and politician, 45th Governor-General of India (died 1972)
• 1878 – Mohammad Ali Jauhar, Indian Muslim activist (died 1931)
• 1882 – Otto Neurath, Austrian sociologist and philosopher (died 1945)
• 1882 – Shigenori Tōgō, Japanese politician, 37th Japanese Minister for Foreign Affairs (died 1950)
• 1883 – Giovanni Messe, Italian field marshal and politician (died 1968)
• 1885 – Elizabeth Baker, American economist and academic (died 1973)
• 1885 – Marios Varvoglis, Greek composer and conductor (died 1967)
• 1886 – Victor McLaglen, English-American actor (died 1959)
• 1889 – Ray Collins, American actor (died 1965)
• 1890 – László Bárdossy, Hungarian politician and diplomat, 33rd Prime Minister of Hungary (died 1946)
• 1891 – Harold Alexander, 1st Earl Alexander of Tunis, English field marshal and politician, 17th Governor General of Canada (died 1969)
• 1891 – Arlie Mucks, American discus thrower and shot putter (died 1967)
• 1891 – Nelly Sachs, German-Swedish poet and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1970)
• 1896 – Torsten Bergström, Swedish actor and director (died 1948)

1901–present

• 1903 – Una Merkel, American actress (died 1986)
• 1904 – Antonín Novotný, Czechoslovak politician, President of Czechoslovak Socialist Republic, General Secretary of the Communist Party of Czechoslovakia (died 1975)
• 1906 – Harold Adamson, American lyricist (died 1980)
• 1906 – Jules Ladoumègue, French runner (died 1973)
• 1907 – Rumer Godden, English author and poet (died 1998)
• 1907 – Lucien Laurent, French footballer and coach (died 2005)
• 1907 – Amedeo Nazzari, Italian actor (died 1979)
• 1908 – Olivier Messiaen, French composer and ornithologist (died 1992)
• 1909 – Hermes Pan, American dancer and choreographer (died 1990)
• 1910 – Ambrosio Padilla, Filipino basketball player and politician (died 1996)
• 1911 – Chet Huntley, American journalist (died 1974)
• 1912 – Philip Hart, American lawyer and politician, 49th Lieutenant Governor of Michigan (died 1976)
• 1912 – Tetsuji Takechi, Japanese theatrical and film director, critic, and author (died 1988)
• 1912 – René Toribio, Guadeloupean politician (died 1990)
• 1913 – Pannonica de Koenigswarter, English-American jazz patron and writer (died 1988)
• 1913 – Morton Gould, American pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1996)
• 1913 – Harry Locke, English actor (died 1987)
• 1913 – Ray Nance, American trumpeter, violinist, and singer (died 1976)
• 1914 – Dorothy Lamour, American actress and singer (died 1996)
• 1915 – Nicky Barr, Australian rugby player, soldier, and pilot (died 2006)
• 1916 – Walt Arfons, American race car driver (died 2013)
• 1918 – Anne Gwynne, American actress (died 2003)
• 1918 – Anatoli Tarasov, Russian ice hockey player and coach (died 1995)
• 1919 – Alexander Courage, American composer and conductor (died 2008)
• 1920 – Clarice Lispector, Ukrainian-Brazilian journalist and author (died 1977)
• 1920 – Reginald Rose, American screenwriter and producer (died 2002)
• 1921 – Toh Chin Chye, Singaporean academic and politician, 1st Deputy Prime Minister of Singapore (died 2012)
• 1922 – Agnes Nixon, American television writer and director (died 2016)
• 1923 – Harold Gould, American actor (died 2010)
• 1923 – Clorindo Testa, Italian-Argentinian architect, designed the National Library of the Argentine Republic and Marriott Plaza Hotel (died 2013)
• 1924 – Ken Albers, American singer and musician (died 2007)
• 1924 – Michael Manley, Jamaican pilot and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Jamaica (died 1997)
• 1925 – Carolyn Kizer, American poet and academic (died 2014)
• 1926 – Guitar Slim, American blues singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1959)
• 1927 – Bob Farrell, American businessman, founded Farrell's Ice Cream Parlour (died 2015)
• 1927 – Danny Matt, German-Israeli general (died 2013)
• 1928 – Barbara Nichols, American actress (died 1976)
• 1930 – Wayne D. Anderson, American baseball player and coach (died 2013)
• 1930 – Ray Felix, American basketball player (died 1991)
• 1930 – Michael Jopling, Baron Jopling, English farmer and politician, Minister of Agriculture, Fisheries and Food
• 1931 – Peter Baker, English-South African footballer and manager (died 2016)
• 1933 – Philip R. Craig, American author (died 2007)
• 1933 – Mako Iwamatsu, Japanese actor (died 2006)
• 1934 – Howard Martin Temin, American geneticist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1994)
• 1935 – Terry Allcock, English footballer and cricketer (died 2024)
• 1935 – Jaromil Jireš, Czech director and screenwriter (died 2001)
• 1936 – Howard Smith, American journalist, director, and producer (died 2014)
• 1938 – Bill Dunk, Australian golfer
• 1938 – Yuri Temirkanov, Russian viola player and conductor (died 2023)
• 1939 – Dick Bavetta, American basketball player and referee
• 1939 – Barry Cunliffe, English archaeologist and academic
• 1941 – Ken Campbell, English actor, director, and screenwriter (died 2008)
• 1941 – Fionnula Flanagan, Irish actress and producer
• 1941 – Tommy Kirk, American actor (died 2021)
• 1941 – Tommy Rettig, American child actor (died 1996)
• 1941 – Kyu Sakamoto, Japanese singer and actor (died 1985)
• 1942 – Ann Gloag, Scottish nurse and businesswoman
• 1944 – Andris Bērziņš, Latvian businessman and politician, 8th President of Latvia
• 1944 – John Birt, Baron Birt, English businessman
• 1944 – Steve Renko, American baseball player
• 1945 – Mukhtar Altynbayev, Kazakhstani general and politician, 3rd Defence Minister of Kazakhstan
• 1946 – Douglas Kenney, American satirist (died 1980)
• 1947 – Rasul Guliyev, Azerbaijani engineer and politician, 22nd Speaker of the National Assembly of Azerbaijan
• 1948 – Dušan Bajević, Bosnian footballer and manager
• 1948 – Jessica Cleaves, American singer-songwriter (died 2014)
• 1948 – Jasuben Shilpi, Indian sculptor (died 2013)
• 1949 – Yasmin Alibhai-Brown, Ugandan-English journalist and author
• 1949 – David Perdue, American politician
• 1950 – John Boozman, American football player, lawyer, and politician
• 1950 – Simon Owen, New Zealand golfer
• 1951 – Johnny Rodriguez, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2025)
• 1952 – Clive Anderson, English lawyer and television host
• 1952 – Susan Dey, American actress
• 1952 – Greg Mortimer, Australian geologist and mountaineer
• 1952 – Greg Laurie, American author and pastor
• 1952 – Paul Varul, Estonian lawyer and politician, 6th Estonian Minister of Justice
• 1953 – Chris Bury, American journalist and academic
• 1954 – Eudine Barriteau, Barbadian economist and academic
• 1954 – Price Cobb, American race car driver and manager
• 1954 – Jack Hues, English singer-songwriter and musician
• 1956 – Rod Blagojevich, American lawyer and politician, 40th Governor of Illinois
• 1956 – Roberto Cassinelli, Italian lawyer and politician
• 1956 – Jan van Dijk, Dutch footballer and manager
• 1957 – Michael Clarke Duncan, American actor (died 2012)
• 1957 – Paul Hardcastle, English composer and producer
• 1957 – Prem Rawat, Indian-American guru and educator
• 1958 – Cornelia Funke, German-American author
• 1958 – Kathryn Stott, English pianist and academic
• 1959 – Mark Aguirre, American basketball player and coach
• 1959 – Udi Aloni, American-Israeli director and author
• 1959 – Kevin Ash, English journalist and author (died 2013)
• 1959 – Wolf Hoffmann, German guitarist
• 1960 – Kenneth Branagh, British actor director, producer, and screenwriter
• 1960 – Kōichi Satō, Japanese actor
• 1961 – Mark McKoy, Canadian hurdler and sprinter
• 1961 – Nia Peeples, American singer and actress
• 1962 – Rakhat Aliyev, Kazakh politician and diplomat (died 2015)
• 1962 – John de Wolf, Dutch footballer and manager
• 1963 – Jahangir Khan, Pakistani squash player
• 1964 – Stephen Billington, English actor
• 1964 – Stef Blok, Dutch banker and politician, Dutch Minister of the Interior
• 1964 – Bobby Flay, American chef and author
• 1964 – Edith González, Mexican actress (died 2019)
• 1965 – Greg Giraldo, American lawyer, comedian, actor, and screenwriter (died 2010)
• 1965 – J Mascis, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
• 1965 – Stephanie Morgenstern, Swiss-Canadian actress, producer, and screenwriter
• 1966 – Rein Ahas, Estonian geographer and academic
• 1966 – Robin Brooke, New Zealand rugby player
• 1966 – Mel Rojas, Dominican baseball player
• 1966 – Penelope Trunk, American writer
• 1968 – Yōko Oginome, Japanese singer, actress, and voice actress
• 1969 – Darren Berry, Australian cricketer and coach
• 1969 – Rob Blake, Canadian ice hockey player and executive
• 1970 – Kevin Sharp, American singer-songwriter (died 2014)
• 1970 – Bryant Stith, American basketball player and coach
• 1972 – Donavon Frankenreiter, American surfer, singer-songwriter, and guitarist
• 1972 – Brian Molko, British-Belgian singer-songwriter
• 1973 – Rusty LaRue, American basketball player and coach
• 1973 – Gabriela Spanic, Venezuelan actress
• 1974 – Meg White, American drummer
• 1975 – Steve Bradley, American wrestler (died 2008)
• 1975 – Emmanuelle Chriqui, Canadian actress
• 1975 – Josip Skoko, Australian footballer
• 1976 – Shane Byrne, English motorcycle racer
• 1978 – Anna Jesień, Polish hurdler
• 1978 – Summer Phoenix, American actress
• 1979 – Matt Bentley, American wrestler
• 1979 – Iain Brunnschweiler, English cricketer
• 1979 – Yang Jianping, Chinese recurve archer
• 1980 – Sarah Chang, American violinist
• 1981 – Taufik Batisah, Singaporean singer
• 1981 – Rene Bourque, Canadian ice hockey player
• 1981 – Fábio Rochemback, Brazilian footballer
• 1982 – Claudia Hoffmann, German sprinter
• 1982 – Sultan Kösen, Turkish farmer, tallest living person
• 1983 – Patrick Flueger, American actor
• 1983 – Xavier Samuel, Australian actor
• 1984 – JTG, American wrestler
• 1985 – Charlie Adam, Scottish footballer
• 1985 – Roman Červenka, Czech ice hockey player
• 1985 – Matt Forte, American football player
• 1985 – Trésor Mputu, Congolese footballer
• 1985 – Raven-Symoné, American actress, singer, and dancer
• 1985 – Lê Công Vinh, Vietnamese footballer
• 1986 – Kahlil Bell, American football player
• 1987 – Gonzalo Higuaín, French-Argentinian footballer
• 1988 – Wilfried Bony, Ivorian footballer
• 1988 – Neven Subotić, Serbian footballer
• 1989 – Marion Maréchal-Le Pen, French politician
• 1989 – Tom Sexton, Australian-Irish rugby player
• 1990 – Kazenga LuaLua, Congolese-English footballer
• 1990 – Sakiko Matsui, Japanese singer and actress
• 1990 – Wil Myers, American baseball player
• 1990 – Teyana Taylor, American singer, songwriter, choreographer, and actress
• 1990 – Shoya Tomizawa, Japanese motorcycle racer (died 2010)
• 1991 – KiKi Layne, American actress
• 1991 – Eric Reid, American football player
• 1991 – Dion Waiters, American basketball player
• 1992 – Carlos Rodón, American baseball player
• 1992 – Melissa Roxburgh, Canadian-American actress
• 1994 – Richard Kennar, Samoan rugby league player
• 1994 – Matti Klinga, Finnish footballer
• 1995 – Tacko Fall, Senegalese basketball player
• 1996 – Joe Burrow, American football player
• 1996 – Kang Daniel, South Korean singer and entrepreneur
• 1997 – Viktoriia Savtsova, Ukrainian Paralympic swimmer
• 1998 – Lucia Bronzetti, Italian tennis player
• 1999 – Reiss Nelson, English footballer
• 2000 – Jeremie Frimpong, Dutch footballer

Deaths

Pre-1600

• 925 – Sancho I, king of Pamplona
• 949 – Herman I, Duke of Swabia
• 990 – Folcmar, bishop of Utrecht
• 1041 – Michael IV the Paphlagonian, Byzantine emperor (born 1010)
• 1081 – Nikephoros III Botaneiates, deposed Byzantine Emperor (born c.1002)
• 1113 – Radwan, ruler of Aleppo
• 1310 – Stephen I, Duke of Bavaria (born 1271)
• 1454 – Ignatius Behnam Hadloyo, Syriac Orthodox Patriarch of Antioch.
• 1475 – Paolo Uccello, Italian painter (born 1397)
• 1508 – René II, Duke of Lorraine (born 1451)
• 1541 – Thomas Culpeper, English courtier (born 1514)
• 1541 – Francis Dereham, English courtier (born c. 1513)
• 1561 – Caspar Schwenckfeld, German theologian and writer

1601–1900

• 1618 – Giulio Caccini, Italian composer and educator (born 1551)
• 1626 – Edmund Gunter, English mathematician and academic (born 1581)
• 1665 – Tarquinio Merula, Italian organist, violinist, and composer (born 1594)
• 1736 – António Manoel de Vilhena, Portuguese soldier and politician (born 1663)
• 1791 – Jacob Frank, Polish religious leader (born 1726)
• 1831 – Thomas Johann Seebeck, German physicist and academic (born 1770)
• 1850 – Józef Bem, Polish general and physicist (born 1794)
• 1850 – François Sulpice Beudant, French mineralogist and geologist (born 1787)
• 1865 – Leopold I of Belgium (born 1790)
• 1867 – Sakamoto Ryōma, Japanese samurai and politician (born 1836)
• 1896 – Alfred Nobel, Swedish chemist and engineer, invented Dynamite and founded the Nobel Prize (born 1833)

1901–present

• 1909 – Red Cloud, American tribal chief (of the Oglala nation) (born 1822)
• 1911 – Joseph Dalton Hooker, English botanist and explorer (born 1817)
• 1917 – Mackenzie Bowell, English-Canadian journalist and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Canada (born 1823)
• 1920 – Horace Elgin Dodge, American businessman, co-founded Dodge (born 1868)
• 1922 – Clement Lindley Wragge, English meteorologist and author (born 1852)
• 1926 – Nikola Pašić, Serbian politician, 46th Prime Minister of Serbia (born 1845)
• 1928 – Charles Rennie Mackintosh, Scottish architect and painter (born 1868)
• 1929 – Harry Crosby, American publisher and poet (born 1898)
• 1932 – Joseph Carruthers, Australian politician, 16th Premier of New South Wales (born 1857)
• 1936 – Bobby Abel, English cricketer (born 1857)
• 1936 – Luigi Pirandello, Italian dramatist, novelist, and poet Nobel Prize laureate (born 1867)
• 1939 – John Grieb, American gymnast and triathlete (born 1879)
• 1941 – Colin Kelly, American captain and pilot (born 1915)
• 1944 – John Brunt, English captain, Victoria Cross recipient (born 1922)
• 1945 – Theodor Dannecker, German captain (born 1913)
• 1946 – Walter Johnson, American baseball player, manager, and sportscaster (born 1887)
• 1946 – Damon Runyon, American newspaperman and short story writer (born 1884)
• 1948 – Na Hye-sok, South Korean journalist, poet, and painter (born 1896)
• 1951 – Algernon Blackwood, English author and playwright (born 1869)
• 1953 – Abdullah Yusuf Ali, Indian-English scholar and translator (born 1872)
• 1956 – David Shimoni, Russian-Israeli poet and translator (born 1891)
• 1957 – Napoleon Zervas, Greek general (born 1891)
• 1958 – Adolfo Camarillo, American horse breeder, rancher, and philanthropist (born 1864)
• 1963 – K. M. Panikkar, Indian historian and diplomat (born 1894)
• 1967 – Otis Redding, American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1941)
• 1968 – Karl Barth, Swiss theologian and author (born 1886)
• 1968 – George Forrest, Northern Irish lawyer and politician (born 1921)
• 1968 – Thomas Merton, American monk and author (born 1915)
• 1970 – Chen Qiyou, Chinese politician and revolutionary (born 1892)
• 1972 – Mark Van Doren, American poet, critic, and academic (born 1894)
• 1973 – Wolf V. Vishniac, German-American microbiologist and academic (born 1922)
• 1974 – Toshinari Shōji, Japanese general (born 1890)
• 1977 – Adolph Rupp, American basketball player and coach (born 1901)
• 1978 – Ed Wood, American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1924)
• 1979 – Ann Dvorak, American actress (born 1911)
• 1982 – Freeman Gosden, American actor and screenwriter (born 1899)
• 1987 – Jascha Heifetz, Lithuanian-American violinist and educator (born 1901)
• 1988 – Richard S. Castellano, American actor (born 1933)
• 1988 – Johnny Lawrence, English cricketer and coach (born 1911)
• 1988 – Dorothy de Rothschild, English philanthropist and activist (born 1895)
• 1990 – Armand Hammer, American businessman, founded Occidental Petroleum (born 1898)
• 1991 – Greta Kempton, Austrian-American painter and academic (born 1901)
• 1992 – Dan Maskell, English tennis player and sportscaster (born 1908)
• 1993 – Alice Tully, American soprano (born 1902)
• 1994 – Keith Joseph, English lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Education (born 1918)
• 1994 – Alex Wilson, Canadian-American sprinter (born 1905)
• 1995 – Darren Robinson, American rapper (born 1967)
• 1996 – Faron Young, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (born 1932)
• 1999 – Rick Danko, Canadian singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (born 1943)
• 1999 – Franjo Tuđman, Croatian general and politician, 1st President of Croatia (born 1922)
• 1999 – Woodrow Borah, American historian of Spanish America (born 1912)
• 2000 – Marie Windsor, American actress (born 1919)
• 2001 – Ashok Kumar, Indian actor, singer, and producer (born 1911)
• 2002 – Andres Küng, Swedish journalist and politician (born 1945)
• 2002 – Ian MacNaughton, Scottish actor, director, and producer (born 1925)
• 2003 – Sean McClory, Irish actor and director (born 1924)
• 2004 – Gary Webb, American journalist and author (born 1955)
• 2005 – Mary Jackson, American actress (born 1910)
• 2005 – Eugene McCarthy, American poet, academic, and politician (born 1916)
• 2005 – Richard Pryor, American comedian, actor, producer, and screenwriter (born 1940)
• 2006 – Olivia Coolidge, English-American author and educator (born 1908)
• 2006 – Augusto Pinochet, Chilean general and dictator, 30th President of Chile (born 1915)
• 2007 – Vitali Hakko, Turkish businessman, founded Vakko (born 1913)
• 2009 – Vladimir Teplyakov, Russian soldier and physicist (born 1925)
• 2010 – John Fenn, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1917)
• 2010 – J. Michael Hagopian, Armenian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1913)
• 2010 – MacKenzie Miller, American horse trainer and breeder (born 1921)
• 2012 – Iajuddin Ahmed, Bangladeshi academic and politician, 13th President of Bangladesh (born 1931)
• 2012 – Antonio Cubillo, Spanish lawyer and politician (born 1930)
• 2012 – Tommy Roberts, English fashion designer (born 1942)
• 2013 – Alan Coleman, English-Australian director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1936)
• 2013 – Jim Hall, American guitarist and composer (born 1930)
• 2013 – Don Lund, American baseball player and coach (born 1923)
• 2013 – Srikanta Wadiyar, Indian politician and the titular Maharaja of Mysore(born 1946)
• 2014 – Ralph Giordano, German author and publicist (born 1923)
• 2014 – Robert B. Oakley, American diplomat, 19th United States Ambassador to Pakistan (born 1931)
• 2014 – Bob Solinger, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1925)
• 2014 – Judy Baar Topinka, American journalist and politician (born 1944)
• 2014 – Gerard Vianen, Dutch cyclist (born 1944)
• 2015 – Ron Bouchard, American race car driver and businessman (born 1948)
• 2015 – Denis Héroux, Canadian director and producer (born 1940)
• 2015 – Arnold Peralta, Honduran footballer (born 1989)
• 2015 – Dolph Schayes, American basketball player and coach (born 1928)
• 2017 – Bruce Brown, American filmmaker (born 1937)
• 2017 – Max Clifford, British publicist (born 1943)
• 2017 – Charles M. Green Jr., American Internet personality (born 1950)
• 2017 – Curtis W. Harris, American minister (born 1924)
• 2019 – Philip McKeon, American actor (born 1964)
• 2019 – Gershon Kingsley, American composer and musician (born 1922)
• 2019 – Emily Mason, American painter (born 1932)
• 2020 – Tommy "Tiny" Lister Jr., American actor and wrestler (born 1958)
• 2020 – Joseph Safra, Lebanese-Brazilian financier (born 1938)
• 2020 – Carol Sutton, American actress (born 1944)
• 2020 – Barbara Windsor, English actress (born 1937)
• 2021 – Michael Nesmith, American musician (The Monkees), songwriter, actor, producer, and novelist (born 1942)
• 2023 – Julian Carroll, American politician, 54th Governor of Kentucky (born 1931)
• 2024 – Rocky Colavito, American baseball player and sportscaster (born 1933)
• 2024 – Michael Cole, American actor (born 1940)
• 2024 – Kreskin, American mentalist (born 1935)
• 2024 – S. M. Krishna, Indian politician and statesman, Minister of External Affairs, 10th Chief Minister of Karnataka, 19th Governor of Maharashtra (born 1932)
• 2025 – Jeffery Garcia, American stand-up comedian and voice actor (born 1975)

Holidays and observances

• Alfred Nobel Day or Nobeldagen (Sweden)
• Christian feast day:
  • Behnam, Sarah, and the Forty Martyrs (Syriac Orthodox Church)
  • Eulalia of Mérida
  • Gregory III
  • Karl Barth (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • Polydore Plasden
  • Thomas Merton (Episcopal Church (USA))
  • Translation of the Holy House of Loreto
  • December 10 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
• Constitution Day (Thailand)
• Human Rights Day (International)

External links

• BBC: On This Day
• Template:NYT On this day
• Historical Events on December 10