December 1st
- 1761: Marie Tussaud Is Born
- 1886: Mollie Burkhart Is Born
- 1913: Ford's First Moving Assembly Line Debuts
- 1934: Sergei Kirov Is Assassinated
- 1948: The "Somerton Man" Is Discovered
- 1949: Pablo Escobar Is Born
- 1955: Rosa Parks Refuses To Give Up Her Seat
- 1959: The Antarctic Treaty Is Signed
- 1961: Armin Meiwes Is Born
- 1986: Ernest Burkhart Dies
December 2nd
- 1804: Napoleon Bonaparte Is Crowned Emperor
- 1823: Monroe Doctrine Is Declared
- 1859: John Brown Is Executed
- 1979: "Torso Killer" Richard Cottingham Murders Two Women
- 1993: Pablo Escobar Dies
December 3rd
- 1847: Frederick Douglass Publishes The First Issue Of His Anti-Slavery Newspaper
- 1926: Agatha Christie Disappears
- 1948: Ozzy Osbourne Is Born
- 1967: The First Human Heart Transplant Is Performed
- 1984: The Bhopal Disaster
December 4th
- 1532: The Shroud Of Turin Is Damaged In A Fire
- 1533: Ivan The Terrible Becomes Grand Prince Of Moscow
- 1892: Francisco Franco Is Born
- 1969: Fred Hampton And Mark Clark Are Murdered
- 1996: Jonathan Schmitz, The Jenny Jones Killer, is convicted
- 2009: Amanda Knox Is Convicted Of Murder
December 5th
- 1484: Pope Innocent VIII Condemns Witchcraft
- 1791: Mozart Dies
- 1872: Mary Celeste Is Found Abandoned
- 1933: Prohibition Ends In The United States
- 1952: The Great Smog Descends Over London
- 2006: Fijian Coup D'Etat Results In Presidency Of Frank Bainimarama
- 2013: Nelson Mandela Dies
December 6th
- 1421: Henry VI Of England Is Born
- 1884: The Washington Monument Is Completed
- 1908: "Baby Face" Nelson Is Born
- 1917: The Halifax Explosion Devastates Nova Scotia
- 1933: Ulysses Is Ruled Not Obscene
- 1969: Meredith Hunter Is Killed At Alamont
- 2009: Susan Powell Goes Missing
December 7th
- 1598: Gian Lorenzo Bernini Is Born
- 1842: Madame LaLaurie Dies
- 1941: Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor
- 1982: The First Execution By Lethal Injection Takes Place
- 2005: Rossana Miliani Goes Missing
December 8th
- 1660: An English Woman Appears In A Public Play For The First Time
- 1886: Diego Rivera Is Born
- 1925: Sammy Davis Jr. Is Born
- 1963: Frank Sinatra Jr. Is Kidnapped
- 1980: John Lennon Is Killed
- 2004: Pantera Guitarist Dimebag Darrell Dies
- 2022: The U.S. And Russia Exchange Prisoners Viktor Bout And Brittney Griner
December 9th
- 1608: John Milton Is Born
- 1874: Jesse Pomeroy's Trial Begins
- 1965: A Charlie Brown Christmas Debuts
- 1979: Smallpox Is Eradicated
- 1979: John Du Pont Dies
December 10th
- 1593: Antonio Bosio Starts Exploring The Catacombs Of Rome
- 1768: Encyclopedia Britannica Is Published For The First Time
- 1815: Ada Lovelace Is Born
- 1936: King Edward VIII Of England Abdicates
- 1948: The Universal Declaration Of Human Rights Is Adopted
- 1967: Otis Redding Dies
- 1997: Julia Hill Climbs Into Redwood Tree In Protest
- 2018: Texas Court Of Appeals Upholds Doctor Death's Conviction
December 11th
- 1792: Louis XVI's Treason Trial Begins
- 1936: King Edward VIII Abdicates The Throne
- 1963: Frank Sinatra Jr. Is Found Safe After Kidnapping
- 1964: Sam Cooke Is Killed
- 1978: The Lufthansa Heist Takes Place
- 2008: Bernie Madoff Is Arrested
December 12th
- 1821: Gustave Flaubert Is Born
- 1863: Edvard Munch Is Born
- 1901: Guglielmo Marconi Receives The First Transatlantic Radio Signal
- 1910: Dorothy Arnold Vanishes
- 1937: Buford Pusser Is Born
- 1982: The Corpsewood Manor Murders Take Place
December 13th
- 1784: Samuel Johnson Dies
- 1925: Dick Van Dyke Is Born
- 1937: The Nanking Massacre Begins
- 1945: Irma Grese, "The Hyena of Auschwitz," Is Executed
- 2003: Saddam Hussein Is Captured
December 14th
- 1503: Nostradamus Is Born
- 1546: Tycho Brahe Is Born
- 1799: George Washington Dies
- 1911: Roald Amundsen Reaches The South Pole
- 1963: Betty And Barney Hill Began Hypnotism Therapy
- 2012: The Sandy Hook School Shooting
December 15th
- 1791: The Bill Of Rights Is Ratified
- 1832: Alexandre-Gustave Eiffel Is Born
- 1890: Sitting Bull Dies
- 1967: Silver Bridge Collapses
- 1973: John Paul Getty III Is Released By Kidnappers
- 1996: Joe Metheny Is Arrested
December 16th
- 1773: The Boston Tea Party Unfolds
- 1775: Jane Austen Is Born
- 1935: Thelma Todd Dies
- 1944: The Battle Of The Bulge Begins
- 2011: Michael Peterson Is Released From Prison
December 17th
- 1760: Deborah Sampson Is Born
- 1830: Simón Bolívar Dies
- 1903: The Wright Brothers Take Their First Flight
- 1905: Simo Häyhä, The "White Death," Is Born In Finland
- 1986: Richard Kuklinski Is Captured
December 18th
- 1892: The Nutcracker Ballet Debuts
- 1912: The Piltdown Man Is Discovered
- 1946: Steven Spielberg Is Born
- 1972: Neilia Hunter Biden Dies In A Car Accident
- 1994: Alison Botha Survives Her Brutal Attack
- 1997: Chris Farley Dies
- 2008: Mark Felt Dies
December 19th
- 1732: The First Poor Richard's Almanack Is Released
- 1843: Charles Dickens Publishes A Christmas Carol
- 1932: Ella Harper Dies
- 1997: Titanic Premieres
- 1998: The House Of Representatives Approves Articles Of Impeachment Against Bill Clinton
December 20th
- 1860: South Carolina Secedes From The Union
- 1924: Adolf Hitler Is Released From Prison
- 1924: The Cecil Hotel Opens in Los Angeles
- 1957: Elvis Presley Is Drafted
- The Killings Of David Faraday And Betty Lou Jensen
- 2009: Brittany Murphy Dies
December 21st
- 1620: The Pilgrims Come Ashore At Plymouth
- 1891: The First Basketball Game Is Played
- 1898: Marie And Pierre Curie Discover Radium
- 1948: Samuel L. Jackson Is Born
- 1970: President Richard Nixon Meets Elvis Presley
- 1999: Hisashi Ouchi, The Most Radioactive Man In History, Dies
December 22nd
- 1807: Congress Passes The Embargo Act
- 1856: Frank Kellogg Is Born
- 1894: Alfred Dreyfus Is Convicted Of Treason
- 1978: John Wayne Gacy Confesses To Dozens Of Murders
- 1989: Nicolae Ceaușescu Is Overthrown
- 1997: Woody Allen Marries Soon-Yi Previn
December 23rd
- 1783: George Washington Resigns From The Continental Army
- 1867: Madam C.J. Walker Is Born
- 1880: Explorer Ejnar Mikkelsen is born
- 1888: Vincent Van Gogh Cuts Off His Ear
- 1954: The First Successful Kidney Transplant Is Performed
- 1957: Pittsburgh Becomes The First U.S. City To Generate Electricity Via Nuclear Power
December 24th
- 1826: The Eggnog Riot Breaks Out
- 1865: The Ku Klux Klan Is Formed
- 1939: Dean Corll Is Born
- 1945: The Sodder Children Disappear
- 2000: Susan Berman, Victim Of Robert Durst, Is Found Dead In Her Home
- 2002: Laci Peterson Vanishes
December 25th
- 1776: George Washington Crosses The Delaware River
- 1899: Humphrey Bogart Is Born
- 1914: The World War I Christmas Truce
- 1929: Togo, Hero Dog Of The Nome Serum Run, Dies
- 1950: The Stone Of Scone Is Stolen
- 1991: Michael Gorbachev Resigns From The Presidency
- 1996: JonBenét Ramsey Is Murdered
- 2006: James Brown Dies
December 26th
- 1862: Dakota Warriors Are Executed In A Mass Hanging
- 1933: Mary Ann Bevan, "The Ugliest Woman In The World," Dies
- 1946: The Famous Flamingo Hotel And Casino Opens In Las Vegas
- 1980: The Rendlesham Forest Incident
- 1985: Dian Fossey Dies
- 2004: The Indian Ocean Tsunami Leaves More Than 200,000 Dead
December 27th
- 537: The Hagia Sophia Is Consecrated
- 1822: Louis Pasteur Is Born
- 1932: Radio City Music Hall Opens
- 2011: Pam Hupp Murders Her Best Friend
- 2016: Carrie Fisher Dies
December 28th
- 1065: The Original Westminster Abbey Is Consecrated
- 1734: Rob Roy MacGregor Dies
- 1908: Messina Earthquake
- 1922: Stan Lee Is Born
- 1925: Japanese Sumo Association Is Founded
- 1973: President Nixon Signs The Endangered Species Act
- 1987: Ronald Gene Simmons Is Arrested
- 2023: Gypsy Rose Blanchard Is Released From Prison
December 29th
- 1170: Thomas Becket Is Assassinated
- 1607: Pocahontas Pleads For John Smith's Life
- 1890: Wounded Knee Massacre
- 1937: Ireland Is Founded
- 1977: Richard Chase Commits His First Murder
- 2024: President Jimmy Carter Dies
December 30th
- 1862: U.S.S. Monitor Sinks
- 1903: The Iroquois Theatre Fire
- 1916: Grigori Rasputin Is Assassinated
- 1918: Notorious Gangster Al Capone Marries His Wife, Mae
- 1978: Dennis Nilsen Kills His First Victim
- 2006: Saddam Hussein Is Executed
December 31st
- 192: Commodus Is Assassinated
- 1759: Arthur Guinness Begins Brewing Beer
- 1907: First New Year's Eve Ball Drop In Times Square
- 1972: Roberto Clemente Dies
- 1985: Ricky Nelson Dies
- 1993: Brandon Teena Is Murdered
- 1997: Michael Kennedy Dies In A Skiing Accident
- 2020: Jade Janks Murders Her Stepfather
