December 5

Events

63 BC – Cicero gives the fourth and final of the Catiline Orations.

633 – Fourth Council of Toledo takes place.

1082 – Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona is assassinated.

1408 – Emir Edigu of Golden Horde reaches Moscow.

1484 – Pope Innocent VIII issues the Summis desiderantes affectibus, a papal bull that deputizes Heinrich Kramer and Jacob Sprenger as inquisitors to root out alleged witchcraft in Germany.

1492 – Christopher Columbus becomes the first European to set foot on the island of Hispaniola (now Haiti and the Dominican Republic).

1496 – King Manuel I of Portugal issues a decree ordering the expulsion of "heretics" from the country.

1560 – Charles IX becomes king of France.

1757 – Seven Years' War: Battle of Leuthen – Frederick II of Prussia leads Prussian forces to a decisive victory over Austrian forces under Prince Charles Alexander of Lorraine.

1766 – In London, auctioneer James Christie holds his first sale.

1775 – At Fort Ticonderoga, Henry Knox begins his historic transport of artillery to Cambridge, Massachusetts.

1831 – Former U.S. President John Quincy Adams takes his seat in the House of Representatives.

1847 – Jefferson Davis is elected to the U.S. senate.

1848 – California Gold Rush: In a message to the United States Congress, U.S. President James K. Polk confirms that large amounts of gold had been discovered in California.

1865 – Chincha Islands War: Peru allies with Chile against Spain.

1931 – Cathedral of Christ the Saviour in Moscow was destroyed on orders from Joseph Stalin.

1932 – German-born Swiss physicist Albert Einstein is granted an American visa.

1933 – The Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution is ratified.

1934 – Abyssinia Crisis: Italian troops attack Wal Wal in Abyssinia, taking four days to capture the city.

1936 – The Soviet Union adopts a new constitution and the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic is established as a full Union Republic of the USSR.

1941 – World War II: In the Battle of Moscow, Georgy Zhukov launches a massive Soviet counter-attack against the German army.

1941 – World War II: Great Britain declares war on Finland, Hungary and Romania.

1943 – World War II: Allied air forces begin attacking Germany's secret weapons bases in Operation Crossbow.

1952 – Great Smog: A cold fog descends upon London, combining with air pollution and killing at least 12,000 in the weeks and months that follow.

1955 – The American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations merge and form the AFL–CIO.

1955 – E. D. Nixon and Rosa Parks lead the Montgomery Bus Boycott.

1958 – Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) is inaugurated in the United Kingdom by Queen Elizabeth II when she speaks to the Lord Provost in a call from Bristol to Edinburgh.

1958 – The Preston By-pass, the UK's first stretch of motorway, opens to traffic for the first time. (It is now part of the M6 and M55 motorways.)

1964 – Vietnam War: For his heroism in battle earlier in the year, Captain Roger Donlon is awarded the first Medal of Honor of the war.

1964 – Lloyd J. Old discovered the first linkage between the major histocompatibility complex (MHC) and disease—mouse leukemia—opening the way for the recognition of the importance of the MHC in the immune response.

1977 – Egypt breaks diplomatic relations with Syria, Libya, Algeria, Iraq and South Yemen. The move is in retaliation for the Declaration of Tripoli against Egypt.

1983 – Dissolution of the Military Junta in Argentina.

1995 – Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lanka's government announces the conquest of the Tamil stronghold of Jaffna.

2004 – The Civil Partnership Act comes into effect in the United Kingdom, and the first civil partnership is registered there.

2005 – The 6.8 Mw Lake Tanganyika earthquake shakes the eastern provinces of the Democratic Republic of the Congo with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (Extreme), killing six people.

2006 – Commodore Frank Bainimarama overthrows the government in Fiji.

2007 – Westroads Mall shooting: A gunman opens fire with a semi-automatic rifle at an Omaha, Nebraska mall, killing eight people before taking his own life.

2013 – Militants attack a Defense Ministry compound in Sana'a, Yemen, killing at least 56 people and injuring 200 others.

2013 – Former South African president and civil rights leader Nelson Mandela dies.

Births

852 – Zhu Wen, Chinese emperor (d. 912)

1377 – Jianwen Emperor of China (d. 1402)

1389 – Zbigniew Oleśnicki, Polish cardinal and statesman (d. 1455)

1443 – Pope Julius II (d. 1513)

1470 – Willibald Pirckheimer, German lawyer and author (d. 1530)

1495 – Nicolas Cleynaerts, Flemish philologist and lexicographer (d. 1542)

1537 – Ashikaga Yoshiaki, Japanese shogun (d. 1597)

1539 – Fausto Sozzini, Italian theologian and author (d. 1604)

1547 – Ubbo Emmius, Dutch historian and geographer (d. 1625)

1595 – Henry Lawes, English composer (d. 1662)

1661 – Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, English lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for the Northern Department (d. 1724)

1666 – Francesco Scarlatti, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1741)

1687 – Francesco Geminiani, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1762)

1697 – Giuseppe de Majo, Italian organist and composer (d. 1771)

1782 – Martin Van Buren, American lawyer and politician, 8th President of the United States (d. 1862)

1784 – George Shepherd, English illustrator and painter (d. 1862)

1803 – Fyodor Tyutchev, Russian poet and diplomat (d. 1873)

1820 – Afanasy Fet, Russian poet and author (d. 1892)

1822 – Elizabeth Cabot Agassiz, American philosopher and academic, co-founded Radcliffe College (d. 1907)

1829 – Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière, French-Canadian lawyer and politician, 4th Premier of Quebec (d. 1908)

1830 – Christina Rossetti, English poet and author (d. 1894)

1839 – George Armstrong Custer, American general (d. 1876)

1841 – Marcus Daly, Irish-American businessman (d. 1900)

1849 – Eduard Seler, German anthropologist, ethnohistorian, linguist, and academic (d. 1922)

1855 – Clinton Hart Merriam, American zoologist, ornithologist, entomologist, and ethnographer (d. 1942)

1859 – John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, English admiral and politician, 2nd Governor-General of New Zealand (d. 1935)

1861 – Konstantin Korovin, Russian-French painter and set designer (d. 1939)

1863 – Paul Painlevé, French mathematician and politician, 84th Prime Minister of France (d. 1933)

1866 – Traian Demetrescu, Romanian poet and author (d. 1896)

1867 – Antti Aarne, Finnish author and academic (d. 1925)

1867 – Józef Piłsudski, Polish field marshal and politician, 15th Prime Minister of Poland (d. 1935)

1868 – Arnold Sommerfeld, German physicist and academic (d. 1951)

1869 – Ellis Parker Butler, American author and poet (d. 1937)

1870 – Vítězslav Novák, Czech composer and educator (d. 1949)

1872 – Harry Nelson Pillsbury, American chess player (d. 1906)

1875 – Arthur Currie, Canadian general (d. 1933)

1879 – Clyde Vernon Cessna, American pilot and businessman, founded the Cessna Aircraft Corporation (d. 1954)

1881 – René Cresté, French actor and director (d. 1922)

1886 – Rose Wilder Lane, American journalist and author (d. 1968)

1886 – Pieter Oud, Dutch historian, academic, and politician, Minister of Finance of the Netherlands (d. 1968)

1886 – Nikolai Uglanov, Soviet politician (d. 1937)

1890 – David Bomberg, English painter, illustrator, and academic (d. 1957)

1890 – Fritz Lang, Austrian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1976)

1891 – Paul Kogerman, Estonian chemist and academic (d. 1951)

1894 – Charles Robberts Swart, South African lawyer and politician, 1st State President of South Africa (d. 1982)

1895 – Elbert Frank Cox, American mathematician and academic (d. 1969)

1896 – Ann Nolan Clark, American historian, author, and educator (d. 1995)

1896 – Carl Ferdinand Cori, Czech-American biochemist and pharmacologist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1984)

1897 – Nunnally Johnson, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1977)

1897 – Gershom Scholem, German-Israeli philosopher and historian (d. 1982)

1898 – Josh Malihabadi, Indian-Pakistani poet and translator (d. 1982)

1898 – Grace Moore, American soprano and actress (d. 1947)

1900 – Jimmy Dimmock, English footballer (d. 1972)

1901 – Walt Disney, American animator, director, producer, and screenwriter, co-founded The Walt Disney Company (d. 1966)

1901 – Milton H. Erickson, American psychiatrist and author (d. 1980)

1901 – Werner Heisenberg, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1976)

1902 – Emeric Pressburger, Hungarian-English director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1988)

1902 – Strom Thurmond, American educator, general, and politician, 103rd Governor of South Carolina (d. 2003)

1903 – Johannes Heesters, Dutch-German actor and singer (d. 2011)

1903 – C. F. Powell, English-Italian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1969)

1905 – Gus Mancuso, American baseball player, coach, and sportscaster (d. 1984)

1905 – Otto Preminger, Austrian-American actor, director, and producer (d. 1986)

1907 – Lin Biao, Chinese general and politician, 2nd Vice Premier of the People's Republic of China (d. 1971)

1907 – Giuseppe Occhialini, Italian-French physicist and academic (d. 1993)

1910 – Abraham Polonsky, American director and screenwriter (d. 1999)

1911 – Władysław Szpilman, Polish pianist and composer (d. 2000)

1912 – Sonny Boy Williamson II, American singer-songwriter and harmonica player (d. 1965)

1913 – Esther Borja, Cuban soprano and actress (d. 2013)

1914 – Hans Hellmut Kirst, German lieutenant and author (d. 1989)

1916 – Hilary Koprowski, Polish-American virologist and immunologist, created the world's first effective live polio vaccine (d. 2013)

1916 – Walt McPherson, American basketball player and coach (d. 2013)

1917 – Ken Downing, English race car driver (d. 2004)

1919 – Alun Gwynne Jones, Baron Chalfont, English historian and politician

1921 – Alvy Moore, American actor and producer (d. 1997)

1922 – Casey Ribicoff, American philanthropist (d. 2011)

1924 – Robert Sobukwe, South African banker and politician (d. 1978)

1925 – Anastasio Somoza Debayle, Nicaraguan politician, 73rd President of Nicaragua (d. 1980)

1927 – Bhumibol Adulyadej, Thai king (d. 2016)

1927 – W.D. Amaradeva, Sri Lankan musician and composer (d. 2016)

1929 – Madis Kõiv, Estonian physicist, philosopher, and author (d. 2014)

1931 – Ladislav Novák, Czech footballer and manager (d. 2011)

1932 – Alf Dubs, Baron Dubs, British politician

1932 – Sheldon Lee Glashow, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate

1932 – Jim Hurtubise, American race car driver (d. 1989)

1932 – Little Richard, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor

1933 – Gennadiy Agapov, Russian race walker (d. 1999)

1934 – Joan Didion, American novelist and screenwriter

1935 – Calvin Trillin, American novelist, humorist, and journalist

1935 – Yury Vlasov, Ukrainian-Russian weightlifter and politician

1936 – James Lee Burke, American journalist, author, and academic

1938 – J.D. McDuffie, American race car driver (d. 1991)

1940 – Tony Crafter, Australian cricket umpire

1940 – Boris Ignatyev, Russian footballer and manager

1940 – Peter Pohl, Swedish author, director, and screenwriter

1940 – Frank Wilson, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2012)

1943 – Eva Joly, Norwegian-French judge and politician

1943 – Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, South Korean cardinal

1944 – Jeroen Krabbé, Dutch actor, director, and producer

1945 – Serge Chapleau, Canadian cartoonist

1945 – Moshe Katsav, Iranian-Israeli educator and politician, 8th President of Israel

1946 – José Carreras, Spanish tenor and actor

1946 – Sarel van der Merwe, South African race car driver

1947 – Rudy Fernandez, Filipino triathlete

1947 – Bruce Golding, Jamaican lawyer and politician, 8th Prime Minister of Jamaica

1947 – Tony Gregory, Irish activist and politician (d. 2009)

1947 – Jim Messina, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

1947 – Jim Plunkett, American football player and radio host

1947 – Don Touhig, Welsh journalist and politician

1948 – Denise Drysdale, Australian television host and actress

1949 – John Altman, English composer and conductor

1949 – David Manning, English civil servant and diplomat, British Ambassador to the United States

1951 – Link Byfield, Canadian journalist and author (d. 2015)

1951 – Anne-Mie van Kerckhoven, Belgian painter and illustrator

1951 – Larry Zbyszko, American wrestler and trainer

1952 – Bobby Barth, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

1953 – Gwen Lister, South African-Namibian journalist, publisher, and activist

1954 – Hanif Kureishi, English author and playwright

1954 – Gary Roenicke, American baseball player and scout

1955 – Miyuki Kawanaka, Japanese singer

1955 – Juha Tiainen, Finnish hammer thrower (d. 2003)

1956 – Klaus Allofs, German footballer and manager

1956 – Adam Thorpe, French-English author, poet, and playwright

1957 – Raquel Argandoña, Chilean model, actress, and politician

1959 – Lee Chapman, English footballer

1959 – Oleksandr Yaroslavsky, Ukrainian businessman

1960 – Frans Adelaar, Dutch footballer and manager

1960 – Osvaldo Golijov, Argentinian-American composer and educator

1960 – Jack Russell, American singer-songwriter and producer

1960 – Matthew Taylor, English businessman and politician

1961 – Ralf Dujmovits, German mountaineer

1961 – Laura Flanders, British journalist

1962 – José Cura, Argentinian tenor, conductor, and director

1962 – Pablo Morales, American swimmer and coach

1962 – Nivek Ogre, Canadian singer-songwriter

1962 – Fred Rutten, Dutch footballer and manager

1963 – Doctor Dré, American television and radio host

1963 – Carrie Hamilton, American actress and playwright (d. 2002)

1963 – Alberto Nisman, Argentinian lawyer (d. 2015)

1964 – Martin Vinnicombe, Australian cyclist

1965 – Manish Malhotra, Indian fashion designer

1965 – John Rzeznik, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer

1965 – Wayne Smith, Jamaican rapper (d. 2014)

1965 – Valeriy Spitsyn, Russian race walker

1967 – Gary Allan, American singer-songwriter and guitarist

1968 – Margaret Cho, American comedian, actress, producer, and screenwriter

1968 – Lisa Marie, American model and actress

1968 – Lydia Millet, American novelist

1968 – Falilat Ogunkoya, Nigerian sprinter

1969 – Eric Etebari, American actor, director, and producer

1969 – Morgan J. Freeman, American director, producer, and screenwriter

1969 – Sajid Javid, English banker and politician, Secretary of State for Culture, Media and Sport

1969 – Lewis Pugh, English swimmer and lawyer

1969 – Ramón Ramírez, Mexican footballer

1970 – Michel'le, American singer-songwriter

1970 – Kevin Haller, Canadian ice hockey player

1971 – Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, German businessman and politician, German Federal Minister of Defence

1971 – Ashia Hansen, American-English triple jumper

1971 – Gabriel Hjertstedt, Swedish golfer

1972 – Cliff Floyd, American baseball player and sportscaster

1972 – Mike Mahoney, American baseball player

1972 – Duane Ross, American hurdler and coach

1973 – Argo Arbeiter, Estonian footballer

1973 – Andrei Krasnopjorov, Estonian footballer

1973 – Mikelangelo Loconte, Italian singer-songwriter, producer, and actor

1973 – Luboš Motl, Czech physicist and academic

1974 – Charlie Batch, American football player and sportscaster

1974 – Kid Koala, Canadian DJ, turntablist, musician and graphic novelist

1974 – Ravish Kumar, Indian journalist and author

1974 – Brian Lewis, American sprinter

1975 – Ronnie O'Sullivan, English snooker player and radio host

1975 – Paula Patton, American actress

1976 – Amy Acker, American actress

1976 – Xavier Garbajosa, French rugby player

1976 – Sachiko Kokubu, Japanese actress and model

1976 – Rachel Komisarz, American swimmer and coach

1977 – Peter van der Vlag, Dutch footballer

1978 – Neil Druckmann, American video game designer and author

1978 – Olli Jokinen, Finnish ice hockey player

1978 – Marcelo Zalayeta, Uruguayan footballer

1979 – Matteo Ferrari, Italian footballer

1979 – Niklas Hagman, Finnish ice hockey player

1979 – Gareth McAuley, Northern Irish footballer

1979 – Nick Stahl, American actor and producer

1980 – Ibrahim Maalouf, Lebanese-French trumpet player and composer

1982 – Eddy Curry, American basketball player

1982 – Trai Essex, American football player

1983 – Cooper Cronk, Australian rugby league player

1983 – Tiffany Weimer, American soccer player

1984 – Lauren London, American actress and model

1984 – Chris Solinsky, American runner

1985 – Shikhar Dhawan, Indian cricketer

1985 – Frankie Muniz, American actor, drummer, and race car driver

1985 – Josh Smith, American basketball player

1985 – Nico Verdonck, Belgian race car driver

1985 – Danny Wicks, Australian rugby league player

1986 – LeGarrette Blount, American football player

1986 – James Hinchcliffe, Canadian race car driver

1986 – Justin Smoak, American baseball player

1987 – Tommy Fraser, English footballer

1988 – Joanna Rowsell, English cyclist

1988 – Miralem Sulejmani, Serbian footballer

1989 – Linet Masai, Kenyan runner

1990 – Montee Ball, American football player

1991 – Jacopo Sala, Italian footballer

1992 – Ilja Antonov, Estonian footballer

1993 – Ross Barkley, English footballer

1994 – Ondrej Duda, Slovak footballer

1994 – Grant Ward, English footballer

1995 – Danny Levi, New Zealand rugby league player

1995 – Anthony Martial, French footballer

Deaths

63 BC – Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura, Roman politician (b. 114 BC)

334 – Li Ban, emperor of Chang Han (b. 288)

902 – Ealhswith, queen consort and wife of Alfred the Great, King of Wessex

1082 – Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona (b. 1053)

1212 – Dirk van Are, bishop and lord of Utrecht

1244 – Joan, Countess of Flanders and Hainault(b. 1199 or 1200)

1355 – John III, Duke of Brabant (b. 1300)

1560 – Francis II of France (b. 1544)

1570 – Johan Friis, Danish politician (b. 1494)

1624 – Gaspard Bauhin, Swiss botanist and physician (b. 1560)

1654 – Jean François Sarrazin, French author and poet (b. 1611)

1663 – Severo Bonini, Italian organist and composer (b. 1582)

1749 – Pierre Gaultier de Varennes, sieur de La Vérendrye, Canadian commander and explorer (b. 1685)

1758 – Johann Friedrich Fasch, German violinist and composer (b. 1688)

1770 – James Stirling, Scottish mathematician and surveyor (b. 1692)

1784 – Phillis Wheatley, Senegal-born slave, later American poet (b. 1753)

1791 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian composer and musician (b. 1756)

1819 – Friedrich Leopold zu Stolberg-Stolberg, German poet and lawyer (b. 1750)

1870 – Alexandre Dumas, French novelist and playwright (b. 1802)

1887 – Eliza R. Snow, American poet and songwriter (b. 1804)

1891 – Pedro II of Brazil (b. 1825)

1918 – Schalk Willem Burger, South African commander, lawyer, and politician, 6th President of the South African Republic (b. 1852)

1925 – Władysław Reymont, Polish noelist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1867)

1926 – Claude Monet, French painter (b. 1840)

1931 – Vachel Lindsay, American poet (b. 1879)

1940 – Jan Kubelík, Czech violinist and composer (b. 1880)

1941 – Amrita Sher-Gil, Hungarian-Pakistani painter (b. 1913)

1942 – Jock Delves Broughton, English captain (b. 1883)

1946 – Louis Dewis, Belgian-French painter and educator (b. 1872)

1951 – Shoeless Joe Jackson, American baseball player and manager (b. 1887)

1951 – Abanindranath Tagore, Indian painter, author, and academic (b. 1871)

1953 – William Sterling Parsons, American admiral (b. 1901)

1955 – Glenn L. Martin, American pilot and businessman, founded the Glenn L. Martin Company (b. 1886)

1961 – Emil Fuchs, German-American lawyer and businessman (b. 1878)

1963 – Karl Amadeus Hartmann, German composer and educator (b. 1905)

1963 – Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, Indian-Pakistani lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Pakistan (b. 1892)

1964 – V. Veerasingam, Sri Lankan educator and politician (b. 1892)

1965 – Joseph Erlanger, American physiologist, neuroscientist, and academic Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1874)

1968 – Fred Clark, American actor (b. 1914)

1969 – Claude Dornier, German engineer and businessman, founded Dornier Flugzeugwerke (b. 1884)

1969 – Princess Alice of Battenberg (b. 1885)

1973 – Robert Watson-Watt, Scottish engineer, invented the radar (b. 1892)

1975 – Constance McLaughlin Green, American historian and author (b. 1897)

1977 – Katherine Milhous, American author and illustrator (b. 1894)

1977 – Aleksandr Vasilevsky, Russian marshal and politician, Minister of Defence for the Soviet Union (b. 1895)

1979 – Jesse Pearson, American actor, singer, and screenwriter (b. 1930)

1983 – Robert Aldrich, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1918)

1984 – Cecil M. Harden, American politician (b. 1894)

1986 – Edward Youde, Welsh-Chinese sinologist and diplomat, 26th Governor of Hong Kong (b. 1924)

1989 – John Pritchard, English conductor and director (b. 1921)

1990 – Alfonso A. Ossorio, Filipino-American painter and sculptor (b. 1916)

1994 – Harry Horner, Czech-American director, producer, and production designer (b. 1910)

1995 – L. B. Cole, American illustrator and publisher (b. 1918)

1995 – Charles Evans, English mountaineer, surgeon, and educator (b. 1918)

1995 – Gwen Harwood, Australian poet and playwright (b. 1920)

1998 – Albert Gore, Sr., American lawyer and politician (b. 1907)

2001 – Franco Rasetti, Italian-American physicist and academic (b. 1901)

2002 – Roone Arledge, American sportscaster and producer (b. 1931)

2002 – Ne Win, Burmese general and politician, 4th President of Burma (b. 1911)

2005 – Edward L. Masry, American lawyer and politician (b. 1932)

2006 – David Bronstein, Ukrainian-Belarusian chess player and theoretician (b. 1924)

2007 – Andrew Imbrie, American composer and academic (b. 1921)

2007 – George Paraskevaides, Greek-Cypriot businessman and philanthropist, co-founded Joannou & Paraskevaides (b. 1916)

2007 – Karlheinz Stockhausen, German composer and academic (b. 1928)

2008 – Patriarch Alexy II of Moscow (b. 1929)

2008 – George Brecht, American chemist and composer (b. 1926)

2008 – Nina Foch, Dutch-American actress (b. 1924)

2008 – Beverly Garland, American actress and businesswoman (b. 1926)

2008 – Anca Parghel, Romanian singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1957)

2009 – William Lederer, American soldier and author (b. 1912)

2010 – Alan Armer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1922)

2010 – Don Meredith, American football player, sportscaster, and actor (b. 1938)

2011 – Peter Gethin, English race car driver (b. 1940)

2011 – Gennady Logofet, Russian footballer and manager (b. 1942)

2012 – Dave Brubeck, American pianist and composer (b. 1920)

2012 – Elisabeth Murdoch, Australian philanthropist (b. 1909)

2012 – Oscar Niemeyer, Brazilian architect, designed the United Nations Headquarters and Cathedral of Brasília (b. 1907)

2012 – Ignatius IV of Antioch, Syrian patriarch (b. 1920)

2013 – Fred Bassetti, American architect and academic, founded Bassetti Architects (b. 1917)

2013 – William B. Edmondson, American lawyer and diplomat, United States Ambassador to South Africa (b. 1927)

2013 – Nelson Mandela, South African lawyer and politician, 1st President of South Africa, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918)

2014 – Ernest C. Brace, American captain and pilot (b. 1931)

2014 – Fabiola, Queen of Belgium (b. 1928)

2014 – Talât Sait Halman, Turkish poet, translator, and historian (b. 1931)

2014 – Jackie Healy-Rae, Irish hurdler and politician (b. 1931)

2014 – Silvio Zavala, Mexican historian and author (b. 1909)

2015 – Vic Eliason, American clergyman and radio host, founded VCY America (b. 1936)

2015 – Tibor Rubin, Hungarian-American soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (b. 1929)

2015 – Chuck Williams, American businessman and author, founded Williams-Sonoma, Inc. (b. 1915)

2016 – Jayalalithaa, Indian politician, chief minister of Tamil Nadu (b. 1948)

Holidays and observances

Christian feast day:

Abercius

Clement of Alexandria (Episcopal Church)

Sabbas the Sanctified

December 5 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)

Bathtub Party Day (unofficial)

Children's Day (Suriname)

Day of the Ninja (unofficial)

Day of Military Honour - Battle of Moscow (Russia)

Discovery Day (Haiti and Dominican Republic)

International Volunteer Day for Economic and Social Development

Klozum (Schiermonnikoog, Netherlands)

Saint Nicholas' Eve (Belgium, Czech Republic, Slovakia, the Netherlands, Hungary, Romania, Germany, Poland and the UK)

Krampusnacht (Austria)

The King Bhumibol Adulyadej Memorial Birthday (Thailand)

Repeal Day (United States)

World Soil Day