Title: December 2 Content: ==Events== === Up to 1950 === *1409 - The University of Leipzig opens. *1697 - The new St. Paul's Cathedral in London, designed by Christopher Wren, opens. *1755 - The second Eddystone Lighthouse on the English coast is destroyed by fire. *1763 - Dedication of the Touro Synagogue in Rhode Island. *1804 – At Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself Emperor of the French, the first French Emperor in a thousand years. *1805 – Napoleonic Wars: French troops under Napoleon defeat a joint Russo-Austrian force. *1823 – US President James Monroe delivers a speech establishing American neutrality in future European conflicts. *1845 – US President James K. Polk announces to Congress that the United States should aggressively expand into the West. *1848 - Franz Joseph I of Austria becomes Emperor. *1851 - French President Louis-Napoleon Bonaparte overthrows the Second Republic. *1854 - Napoleon III crowns himself Emperor of France. *1859 - Militant abolitionist John Brown is hanged for the October 16 raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia. *1867 – In a New York City theater, British writer Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in the United States. *1879 - British passenger ship Borussia sinks in the North Atlantic Ocean, killing 169 people. *1899 - Philippine-American War: Battle of Tirad Pass. *1908 – Child Emperor Pu Yi ascends the Chinese throne at the age of two. *1917 - World War I: Russia and the Central Powers sign an armistice at Brest-Litovsk. *1927 - Following 19 years of Ford Model T production, the Ford Motor Company unveils the Ford Model A as its automobile. *1930 – Great Depression: US President Herbert Hoover goes before the United States Congress and asks for a US$150 million public works program to help generate jobs and stimulate the economy. *1939 - LaGuardia Airport, belonging to New York City, opens. *1942 – Manhattan Project: A team led by Enrico Fermi initiates the first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction. *1943 – A Luftwaffe bombing raid on the harbour of Bari, Italy, sinks an American ship with a mustard gas stockpile. *1949 - Convention against human trafficking and prostitution is adopted by United Nations. === 1951 2000 === *1954 – The United States Senate votes 65 to 22 to condemn Joseph McCarthy for "conduct that tends to bring the Senate into dishonor and disrepute." *1956 - Fidel Castro and 80 other members of the 26th July Movement start on their journey to start the Cuban Revolution, landing in Oriente province. *1959 - The Malpasset Dam breaks in Southern France, killing 421 people. *1961 – In a nationally broadcast speech, Cuban leader Fidel Castro declares that he is a Marxist-Leninist and that Cuba is going to adopt Communism. *1970 - The US Environmental Protection Agency begins operations. *1971 – Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai, and Umm al-Quwain form the United Arab Emirates. Ras al-Khaimah joins in February 1972. *1972 – Gough Whitlam becomes Prime Minister of Australia. *1975 - The Communist political party Pathet Lao takes power in Laos, creating the Lao People's Democratic Republic, with Souphanouvong as its first leader. *1976 – Fidel Castro becomes President of Cuba replacing Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado. *1980 - El Salvador Civil War: Four American nuns and a churchwoman are murdered by military death squad. *1982 - At the University of Utah, Barney Clark becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart. *1988 – Benazir Bhutto becomes Prime Minister of Pakistan, making her the first woman to lead a mainly-Muslim country. *1990 – A coalition led by Chancellor Helmut Kohl wins the first free all-German elections since 1932. *1993 – Drug dealer Pablo Escobar is shot dead by Colombian police. *1999 – The United Kingdom devolves political power in Northern Ireland to the Northern Ireland Executive. === From 2001 === *2001 – Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy. *2004 - Typhoon Nanmadol kills about 1,000 people in the Philippines. *2008 – Somchai Wongsawat resigns as Prime Minister of Thailand. *2010 – Russia and Qatar are announced as hosts of the FIFA World Cup, for 2018 and 2022 respectively. *2019 - Climate change talks begin in Madrid. ==Births== === Up to 1900 === *885 - Li Cunxu, Chinese Emperor of the Later Tang Dynasty (d. 926) *1578 – Agostino Agazzari, Italian composer and music theorist (d. 1640) *1694 – William Shirley, colonial Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1771) *1710 - Bertinazzi, Italian actor and author (d. 1783) *1754 - William Cooper, American judge and politician (d. 1809) *1760 – John Breckinridge, American politician (d. 1806) *1760 - Joseph Graetz, German composer, organist and educator (d. 1826) *1810 - Henry Yesler, 7th Mayor of Seattle (d. 1892) *1825 – Emperor Pedro II of Brazil (d. 1891) *1827 - William Burges, English architect and designer (d. 1881) *1837 - Joseph Bell, Scottish surgeon, physician and forensics pioneer (d. 1911) *1846 – Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau, French statesman (d. 1904) *1859 – Georges Seurat, French painter (d. 1891) *1866 - Harry Burleigh, American composer (d. 1949) *1873 - Eduardo Schaerer, President of Paraguay (d. 1941) *1874 - Joseph Olivier, French rugby player (d. 1901) *1885 – George Richards Minot, American physician (d. 1950) *1891 – Otto Dix, German painter and graphic artist (d. 1969) *1891 - Charles H. Wesley, American historian and author (d. 1987) *1893 - Leo Ornstein, Russian-American pianist and composer (d. 2002) *1895 - Harriet Cohen, English pianist (d. 1967) *1897 – Hovhannes Bagramyan, Soviet politician (d. 1982) *1898 - Indra Lal Roy, Indian pilot (d. 1918) *1899 – John Barbirolli, English conductor (d. 1970) *1899 – John Cobb, British racing driver (d. 1952) === 1901 1950 === *1901 – Raimundo Orsi, Argentine-Italian footballer (d. 1986) *1909 - Pietro Arcari, Italian footballer (d. 1988) *1909 - Marion Dönhoff, German journalist and Resistance activist (d. 2002) *1913 - Marc Platt, American ballet dancer, musical theatre performer and actor (d. 2014) *1914 – Ray Walston, American actor (d. 2001) *1915 – Prince Mikasa, Japanese royal (d. 2016) *1921 - Carlo Furno, Italian cardinal (d. 2015) *1923 – Maria Callas, Greek-American soprano (d. 1977) *1924 – Alexander Haig, American politician, United States Secretary of State (d. 2010) *1925 – Julie Harris, American actress (d. 2013) *1929 - Leon Litwack, American historian and author *1930 – Gary Becker, American economist (d. 2014) *1931 - Nigel Calder, English science writer (d. 2014) *1931 - Masaaki Hatsumi, Japanese martial artist *1931 - Edwin Meese, 75th United States Attorney General *1933 - Mike Larrabee, American sprinter *1934 - Tarcisio Bertone, Italian cardinal and diplomat *1934 – Sissela Bok, Swedish philosopher and ethicist *1937 - Manohar Joshi, 15th Chief Minister of Maharashtra, India *1939 – Harry Reid, American politician (d. 2021) *1943 - Wayne Allard, American politician *1944 - Cathy Lee Crosby, American actress *1944 – Ibrahim Rugova, President of Kosovo (d. 2006) *1946 – Gianni Versace, Italian fashion designer (d. 1997) *1947 - Andy Rouse, English racing driver *1947 – Rudolf Scharping, German politician *1948 – Antonin Manenka, Czechoslovakian footballer *1948 - Patricia Hewitt, British politician *1948 - Toninho Horta, Brazilian guitarist *1950 - Paul Watson, Canadian-American conservationist === 1951 1975 === *1954 - Dan Butler, American actor *1956 - Steven Bauer, American actor *1957 - Dagfinn Hoybraten, Norwegian politician *1958 - Vladimir Parfenovich, Belarus canoe racer *1960 - Justus von Dohnanyi, German actor *1960 - Deb Haaland, American politician *1960 – Rick Savage, British musician (Def Leppard) *1962 - Kardam, Prince of Turnovo, Spanish-Bulgarian nobleman *1963 - Don Gaulthier, American actor *1963 - Brendan Coyle, British actor *1967 - Mary Creagh, British politician *1967 - Laurie Morgan, 1st Chief Minister of Guernsey *1968 – David Batty, English footballer *1968 – Nate Mendel, American musician (Foo Fighters) *1968 – Lucy Liu, American actress *1968 - Rena Sofer, American actress *1970 - Yang Hyuk-suk, South Korean singer-songwriter and producer *1971 – Francesco Toldo, Italian footballer *1971 - Mine Yoshizaki, Japanese illustrator *1972 – Sergei Zholtok, Latvian ice hockey player (d. 2004) *1973 – Monica Seles, Yugoslavian-born tennis player *1973 – Jan Ullrich, German cyclist === From 1976 === *1976 - Masafumi Gotch, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist *1978 – Maelle Ricker, Canadian snowboarder *1978 – Nelly Furtado, Canadian singer and songwriter *1978 – Chris Wolstenholme, English bassist (Muse) *1978 - Jarron Collins, American basketball player *1978 - Jason Collins, American basketball player *1979 - Sabina Babayeva, Azerbaijani singer *1979 – Yvonne Catterfeld, German singer and actress *1981 – Britney Spears, American singer *1983 – Chris Burke, Scottish footballer *1983 – Aaron Rodgers, American football player *1983 - Daniela Ruah, Portuguese-American actress *1985 - Amaury Leveaux, French swimmer *1985 - Dorrell Wright, American basketball player *1986 - Adam le Fondre, English footballer *1987 - Teairra Mari, American singer-songwriter and actress *1988 - Soniya Mehra, Indian actress *1988 - Stephen McGinn, Scottish footballer *1989 - Cassie Steele, Canadian singer-songwriter *1989 - Richard Tait, Scottish footballer *1990 - Gastón Ramírez, Uruguayan footballer *1990 - Hikaru Yaotome, Japanese singer-songwriter *1990 - Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, Ghanaian footballer *1991 - Brandon Knight, American basketball player *1991 - Charlie Puth, American singer and songwriter *1993 - Dylan McLaughlin, American actor *1994 - Cauley Woodrow, English footballer *1998 - Amber Montana, American actress *1998 - Juice Wrld, American rapper (d. 2019) ==Deaths== === Up to 1900 === *1348 – Emperor Hanazano of Japan (b. 1297) *1463 - Albert IV, Archduke of Austria (b. 1418) *1469 – Piero di Cosimo de' Medici of Florence (b. 1416) *1547 – Hernán Cortés, Spanish explorer (b. 1485) *1594 – Gerardus Mercator, Flemish mapmaker (b. 1512) *1694 - Pierre Paul Puget, French painter, sculptor and architect (b. 1622) *1723 - Philippe II, Duke of Orleans, French nobleman (b. 1674) *1774 - Johann Friedrich Agricola, German composer and organist (b. 1720) *1794 – Johann Gottlob Leidenfrost, German physician and theologian (b. 1715) *1810 – Philipp Otto Runge, German painter (b. 1777) *1814 – Marquis de Sade, French philosopher (b. 1740) *1815 – Jan Potocki, Polish writer and historian (b. 1761) *1844 - Eustachy Erazm-Sanguszko, Polish general and politician (b. 1768) *1849 – Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, Queen Consort of William IV of the United Kingdom (b. 1792) *1859 – John Brown, American abolitionist (b. 1800) *1863 – Jane Pierce, American First Lady, wife of Franklin Pierce (b. 1806) *1881 - Jenny von Westphalen, German writer, wife of Karl Marx (b. 1814) *1888 - Namik Kemal, Turkish poet (b. 1840) *1889 - Gregorio del Pilar, Filipino general (b. 1825) === 1901 2000 === *1918 - Edmond Rostand, French poet and playwright (b. 1868) *1943 – Nordahl Grieg, Norwegian writer and journalist (b. 1902) *1944 – Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Italian writer (b. 1876) *1944 - Eiji Sawamura, Japanese baseball player (b. 1917) *1950 - Dinu Lipatti, Romanian pianist and composer (b. 1917) *1953 - Tran Kong Kim, Vietnamese scholar and politician (b. 1883) *1966 - Luitzen Egbertus Jon Brouwer, Dutch mathematician and philosopher (b. 1881) *1969 - Jose Maria Arguedas, Peruvian author, poet and anthropologist (b. 1911) *1969 - Kliment Voroshilov, Soviet politician (b. 1881) *1972 - Yip Man, Chinese martial artist (b. 1893) *1974 – Max Weber, Swiss politician (b. 1897) *1980 – Chaudhry Muhammad Ali, Prime Minister of Pakistan (b. 1905) *1980 – Romain Gary, Lithuanian-born French writer (b. 1914) *1982 – Marty Feldman, British-American actor and director (b. 1934) *1982 – Giovanni Ferrari, Italian footballer (b. 1907) *1985 – Philip Larkin, English poet (b. 1922) *1986 – Desi Arnaz, Cuban-born actor and bandleader (b. 1917) *1986 - Lee Dorsey, American singer (b. 1924) *1987 – Luis Federico Leloir, French-Argentine chemist (b. 1906) *1987 - Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich, Belarussian physicist, astronomer and cosmologist (b. 1914) *1988 - Tata Giacobetti, Italian singer-songwriter (b. 1922) *1990 – Aaron Copland, American composer (b. 1900) *1993 – Pablo Escobar, Colombian druglord (b. 1949) *1995 - Robertson Davies, Canadian author (b. 1913) *1999 – Charlie Byrd, American jazz musician (b. 1925) === From 2001 === *2004 – Alicia Markova, British ballet dancer (b. 1910) *2005 – Kenneth Lee Boyd, American convicted murderer (b. 1948) *2009 – Eric Woolfson, British musician and producer (b. 1945) *2010 – Ron Santo, American baseball player (b. 1940) *2011 – Chiyono Hasegawa, Japanese supercentenarian (b. 1896) *2011 – Bill Tapia, American musician (b. 1908) *2012 - Ehsan Naraghi, Iranian sociologist and author (b. 1926) *2013 - Pedro Rocha, Uruguayan footballer (b. 1942) *2013 - William Allain, 58th Governor of Mississippi (b. 1928) *2013 - Christopher Evan Welch, American actor (b. 1965) *2013 - Vernon Shaw, President of Dominica (b. 1930) *2013 - Salim Kallas, Syrian actor and politician (b. 1936) *2013 - Brian Hitchen, English newspaper editor (b. 1936) *2014 - Bobby Keys, American saxophonist (b. 1943) *2014 - A. R. Antulay, Indian politician, Chief Minister of Maharashtra (b. 1929) *2014 - Jean Beliveau, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1931) *2014 - Don Laws, American figure skater and coach (b. 1929) *2015 - Sandy Berger, American political consultant (b. 1945) *2015 - Gabriele Ferzetti, Italian actor (b. 1925) *2015 - George Sakato, American soldier (b. 1921) *2016 - Sammy Lee, American diver (b. 1920) *2016 - Gisela May, German actress (b. 1924) *2017 - Ulli Lommel, German actor and director (b. 1944) *2017 - Mundell Lowe, American jazz guitarist and composer (b. 1922) *2017 - Edwin Mosquera, Colombian weightlifter (b. 1985) *2017 - Ewald Schurer, German politician (b. 1954) *2017 - Nava Semel, Israeli author and playwright (b. 1954) *2018 - Séry Bailly, Ivorian writer and politician (b. 1948) *2018 - Ugo De Censi, Italian-Peruvian priest (b. 1924) *2018 - Paul Sherwen, English racing cyclist (b. 1956) *2019 - George Atkinson III, American football player (b. 1992) *2019 - Jimmy Cavallo, American rock music saxophonist (b. 1927) *2019 - D. C. Fontana, American television scriptwriter and story editor (b. 1939) *2019 - Francesco Janich, Italian footballer (b. 1937) *2019 - Robert K. Massie, American historian (b. 1929) ==Holidays and observances== *Laos – National Day *United Arab Emirates – National Day (independence from Britain, 1971) * International Day for the Abolition of Slavery – United Nations December 02