December 5

### Up to 1900

- 1082 – Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona is assassinated.
- 1484 – Pope Innocent VIII writes a Papal Bull that sets the inquisition into full swing and leads to the deaths hundreds of thousands of people accused of being witches
- 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 of expulsion of "heretics" from the country.
- 1560 – Francis II of France dies and is succeeded by Charles IX 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, James Christie holds his first sale (he later founded  Christie's, the world's oldest auction house).
- 1776 – At the College of William and Mary in Williamsburg, Virginia, the Phi Beta Kappa is founded as the first scholastic  fraternity in the United States.
- 1792 – George Washington is re–elected President of the United States by the Electoral College.
- 1831 – Former US President John Quincy Adams takes a seat in the United States House of Representatives.
- 1847 – Jefferson Davis enters the United States Senate.
- 1848 – California gold rush: In a message before the U.S. Congress, US President James K. Polk confirms that large amounts of gold had been discovered in California.
- 1873 – In Boston, Massachusetts, Warren Avenue Baptist Church sexton Thomas Piper strangles and beats to death his first victim, Bridget Landregan (the press later dubbed the then unknown serial killer "The Boston Belfry Murderer").
- 1876 – The Brooklyn Theater Fire kills 278 people in New York City.

### 1901 – 2000

- 1916 – Prime Minister of the United Kingdom H. H. Asquith resigns.
- 1917 – Sidonio Pais takes power in Portugal.
- 1920 – Dimitrios Rallis forms a government in Greece.
- 1926 – Sergei Eisenstein's movie _Battleship Potemkin_ debuts.
- 1932 – German physicist Albert Einstein granted a visa
- 1933 – Prohibition ends: Utah becomes the 36th U.S. state to ratify the Twenty-first Amendment to the United States Constitution, thus establishing the required 3/4th of states needed to enact the amendment (this overturned the 18th Amendment which had outlawed alcohol in the United States).
- 1934 – Italian troops attack Wal Wal in Ethiopia (it took four days to capture the city).
- 1936 – The Soviet Union adopts a new constitution.
- 1939 – The remains of Pedro II of Brazil, who was removed in a republican coup in 1889, are taken back to Brazil and reburied on the 48th anniversary of his death, and just over 50 years after losing power.
- 1941 – The nonfiction book _Sea of Cortez_ by John Steinbeck is published (Steinbeck used knowledge gained writing this book to develop the marine biologist character Doc in _Cannery Row_).
- 1945 – _Flight 19_, a United States Navy training flight, was lost in the Bermuda triangle.
- 1952 – _The Abbott and Costello Show_ starring comedians Bud Abbott and Lou Costello, debuts.
- 1952 – London's "Great Smog" begins.
- 1955 – The trade unions American Federation of Labor and the Congress of Industrial Organizations decide to merge and form the AFL-CIO.
- 1958 – Subscriber Trunk Dialling (STD) is inaugurated in the UK by the Queen when she dials a call from Bristol to Edinburgh and speaks to the Lord Provost. http://www.bt.com/archives/history/19461959.htm#1958
- 1964 – Vietnam War: For his heroism in battle earlier in the year, Captain Roger Donlon of Saugerties, New York is given the first Medal of Honor of the war.
- 1969 – The four node ARPANET network is established.
- 1974 – The last new episode of Monty Python's Flying Circus is broadcast on the BBC.
- 1978 – The Soviet Union signs a "friendship treaty" with the communist government of Afghanistan.
- 1979 – Sonia Johnson is formally excommunicated by The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints for her outspoken criticism of the church concerning the proposed Equal Rights Amendment to the Constitution of the United States.
- 1992 – Kent Conrad of North Dakota resigns his seat in the United States Senate and is sworn into the other seat from North Dakota, becoming the only US Senator ever to have held two seats on the same day.
- 1983 – Dissolution of the Military Junta in Argentina.
- 1993 – Helmut Zilk, Mayor of Vienna, is injured by a letter bomb.

### From 2001

- 2003 – The Icelandic language Wikipedia publishes its first articles.
- 2005 – The Lake Tanganyika earthquake occurs.
- 2005 – The United Kingdom Civil Partnership Act enters effect.
- 2006 – Commodore Frank Bainimarama overthrows the Government of Fiji in a coup. Jona Senilagakali is installed as Prime Minister, a post that he holds for a month.
- 2007 – A gunman shoots 8 people dead at Westroads Mall, Omaha, Nebraska, with an assault rifle, before killing himself.
- 2013 – Former South African President Nelson Mandela dies at the age of 95. See Death and state funeral of Nelson Mandela.
- 2016 – Prime Minister of New Zealand John Key announces his resignation.
- 2017 – Austria's highest court rules in favour of same-sex marriage.
- 2017 – The International Olympic Committee bans Russia from the 2018 Winter Olympics in Pyeongchang, South Korea, for doping offences.

### Up to 1850

- 852 – Zhu Wen, Chinese Emperor of the Later Liang Dynasty (d. 912)
- 1377 – Jianwen Emperor of China (d. 1402)
- 1443 – Pope Julius II (d. 1513)
- 1495 – Nicolas Cleynaerts, Flemish philologist (d. 1542)
- 1537 – Ashikaga Yoshiaki, Ashikaga shogun (d. 1597)
- 1547 – Ubbo Emmius, Dutch historian and geographer (d. 1625)
- 1595 – Henry Lawes, English composer (d. 1662)
- 1661 – Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Mortimer, English statesman (d. 1724)
- 1666 – Francesco Scarlatti, Italian composer (d. 1741)
- 1687 – Francesco Geminiani, Italian violinist and composer (d. 1762)
- 1782 – Martin Van Buren, 8th President of the United States (d. 1862)
- 1792 – Andres de Santa Cruz, President of Peru (d. 1865)
- 1803 – Fyodor Tyutchev, Russian poet (d. 1873)
- 1820 – Afanasy Fet, Russian poet (d. 1892)
- 1822 – Elizabeth Cary Agassiz, American educator, first president of Radcliffe College (d. 1907)
- 1825 – E. Marlitt, German writer (d. 1887)
- 1829 – Henri-Gustave Joly de Lotbinière, 4th Premier of Quebec (d. 1908)
- 1830 – Christina Rossetti, English poet (d. 1894)
- 1839 – George Armstrong Custer, American general (d. 1876)
- 1841 – Marcus Daly, American mining tycoon (d. 1900)
- 1850 – Alexander Girardi, Austrian actor and tenor (d. 1918)

### 1851 – 1900

- 1855 – C. Hart Merriam, ornithologist (d. 1942)
- 1859 – John Jellicoe, 1st Earl Jellicoe, English admiral, 2nd Governor–General of New Zealand (d. 1935)
- 1861 – Konstantin Korovin, Russian painter (d. 1939)
- 1863 – Paul Painlevé, French mathematician and politician (d. 1933)
- 1867 – Antti Aarne, Finnish folklorist (d. 1925)
- 1867 – Jozef Pilsudski, Polish politician (d. 1935)
- 1868 – Arnold Sommerfeld, German physicist (d. 1951)
- 1870 – Vitezslav Novák, composer (d. 1949)
- 1872 – Harry Nelson Pillsbury, chess player (d. 1906)
- 1879 – Clyde Cessna, founder Cessna Aircraft Company (d. 1954)
- 1886 – Rose Wilder Lane, American writer, reporter (d. 1968)
- 1890 – David Bomberg, painter (d. 1957)
- 1890 – Fritz Lang, movie director (d. 1976)
- 1894 – Charles Roberts Swart, State President of South Africa (d. 1982)
- 1895 – Elbert Frank Cox, American mathematician and academic (d. 1969)
- 1896 – Carl Ferdinand Cori, Czech doctor, won the 1947 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (d. 1984)
- 1897 – Gershom Scholem, Jewish theologian and religious historian (d. 1982)
- 1898 – Grace Moore, American singer, opera star  (died in plane crash 1947)

### 1901 – 1925

- 1901 – Werner Heisenberg, German physicist (d. 1976)
- 1901 – Walt Disney, American movie producer (d. 1966)
- 1901 – Milton H. Erickson, American psychiatrist (d. 1980)
- 1902 – Emeric Pressburger, Hungarian–British screenwriter, movie director and producer (d. 1988)
- 1902 – Strom Thurmond, American politician (d. 2003)
- 1903 – Johannes Heesters, Dutch–born singer and actor (d. 2011)
- 1903 – Cecil Frank Powell, English physicist (d. 1969)
- 1905 – Gus Mancuso, American baseball player, coach and sportscaster (d. 1984)
- 1906 – Otto Preminger, Austrian–American director, producer (d. 1986)
- 1907 – Lin Biao, Chinese politician (d. 1971)
- 1911 – Wladyslaw Szpilman, Polish pianist and composer (d. 2000)
- 1914 – Hans Hellmut Kirst, German writer (d. 1989)
- 1916 – Hilary Koprowski, Polish virologist (d. 2013)
- 1917 – Wenche Foss, Norwegian actress and singer (d. 2011)
- 1925 – Anastasio Somoza Debayle, President of Nicaragua (d. 1980)

### 1926 – 1950

- 1927 – Bhumibol Adulyadej, King of Thailand (d. 2016)
- 1930 – Vladimir Curbet, Moldovan choreographer (d. 2017)
- 1930 – Roger Vonlanthen, Swiss footballer
- 1932 – Little Richard, American singer (d. 2020)
- 1932 – Sheldon Lee Glashow, American physicist
- 1932 – Alf Dubs, Baron Dubs, Czech–born English politician
- 1932 – Fazu Aliyeva, Russian poet and journalist (d. 2016)
- 1934 – Hassan Akesbi, Moroccan footballer
- 1934 – Joan Didion, American writer
- 1935 – Calvin Trillin, writer
- 1938 – JJ Cale, American singer-songwriter (d. 2013)
- 1940 – Peter Pohl, Swedish writer
- 1940 – Boris Ignatiev, Russian footballer and manager
- 1942 – Klaus Sammer, German footballer
- 1943 – Eva Joly, French–Norwegian magistrate
- 1943 – Jim Marrs, American author and conspiracy theorist (d. 2017)
- 1944 – Jeroen Krabbé, actor
- 1945 – Moshe Katsav, former President of Israel
- 1946 – José Carreras, Spanish tenor
- 1946 – Andy Kim, Canadian singer-songwriter
- 1947 – Bruce Golding, former Prime Minister of Jamaica
- 1947 – Jim Messina, musician
- 1947 – Jim Plunkett, American football player
- 1948 – Russell Trood, Australian politician and academic (d. 2017)
- 1949 – David Manning, British diplomat
- 1949 – Abdullah Senussi, Sudanese–Libyan military officer

### 1951 – 1975

- 1951 – Link Byfield, Canadian politician (d. 2015)
- 1954 – Hanif Kureishi, English writer
- 1955 – Dumitru Găleșanu, Romanian writer, poet–philosopher, illustrator and jurist
- 1956 – Klaus Allofs, German footballer
- 1956 – Brian Backer, American actor
- 1956 – Krystian Zimerman, pianist
- 1958 – Dynamite Kid, British professional wrestler (d. 2018)
- 1960 – Frans Adelaar, Dutch footballer
- 1961 – Ralf Dujmovits, German mountaineer
- 1962 – José Cura, Argentine tenor
- 1963 – Doctor Dre, American TV and radio host
- 1963 – Alberto Nisman, Argentine lawyer (d. 2015)
- 1963 – Eddie "the Eagle" Edwards, British ski jumper
- 1965 – John Rzeznik, American singer-songwriter, guitarist and producer
- 1966 – Patricia Kaas, French singer
- 1968 – Margaret Cho, American comedienne and actress
- 1969 – Sajid Javid, British politician
- 1970 – Tim Hetherington, British photojournalist (d. 2011)
- 1971 – Karl-Theodor zu Guttenberg, German politician, former Defence Minister
- 1971 – Ashia Hansen, British athlete
- 1973 – Sorin Grindeanu, former Prime Minister of Romania
- 1973 – Lubos Motl, physicist
- 1973 – Andrei Krasnopjorov, Estonian footballer
- 1975 – Ronnie O'Sullivan, English snooker player
- 1975 – Paula Patton, American actress

### From 1976

- 1976 – Amy Acker, American actress
- 1978 – Marcelo Zalayeta, Uruguayan footballer
- 1979 – Matteo Ferrari, Italian footballer
- 1979 – Gareth McAuley, Irish footballer
- 1979 – Nick Stahl, American actor
- 1980 – Ibrahim Maalouf, Lebanese–French trumpeter and composer
- 1982 – Keri Hilson, American singer
- 1982 – Eddy Curry, NBA Player, (Chicago Bulls)
- 1982 – Ján Mucha, Slovakian footballer
- 1984 – Abdelkader Ghezzal, Algerian footballer
- 1984 – Faouzi Chaouchi, Algerian footballer
- 1984 – Rais M'Bolhi, Algerian footballer
- 1985 – Shikhar Dhawan, Indian cricketer
- 1985 – Josh Smith, NBA Player (Atlanta Hawks)
- 1985 – Frankie Muniz, American actor
- 1987 – James Argent, British singer and radio host
- 1988 – Ross Bagley, American actor
- 1988 – Miralem Sulejmani, Serbian footballer
- 1988 – Joanna Rowsell, British cyclist
- 1988 – Tsukasa Shiotani, Japanese footballer
- 1989 – Kwon Yu-ri, South Korean singer, dancer and actress
- 1990 – Cléber Reis, Brazilian footballer
- 1993 – Ross Barkley, English footballer
- 1994 – Ondrej Duda, Slovakian footballer
- 1995 – Anthony Martial, French footballer
- 2006 – Knut, world famous polar bear (d. 2011)

### Up to 1950

- 63 BC – Publius Cornelius Lentulus Sura, Roman statesman
- 1082 – Ramon Berenguer II, Count of Barcelona
- 1355 – John III, Duke of Brabant (b. 1300)
- 1560 – Francis II of France (b. 1544)
- 1570 – Johan Friis, Danish statesman (b. 1494)
- 1663 – Severo Bonini, Italian composer (b. 1582)
- 1770 – James Stirling, Scottish mathematician (b. 1692)
- 1791 – Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Austrian composer (b. 1756)
- 1860 – Friedrich Christoph Dahlmann, German historian and statesman (b. 1785)
- 1870 – Alexandre Dumas, French writer (b. 1802)
- 1891 – Emperor Pedro II of Brazil (b. 1825)
- 1892 – Daniel D. T. Farnsworth, Governor of West Virginia (b. 1819)
- 1916 – Gustav Sack, German poet and dramatist (b. 1885)
- 1918 – Schalk Willem Burger, South African politician (b. 1852)
- 1924 – Martin H. Glynn, Governor of New York (b. 1871)
- 1925 – Wladislaw Reymont, Polish writer (b. 1867)
- 1926 – Claude Monet, French painter (b. 1840)
- 1931 – Vachel Lindsay, American poet (b. 1879)
- 1940 – Jan Kubelík, Czech violinist (b. 1880)
- 1950 – Sri Aurobindo, Indian spiritual figure (b. 1872)

### 1951 – 2000

- 1951 – Shoeless Joe Jackson, American baseball player (b. 1889)
- 1953 – Jorge Negrete, Mexican singer and actor (b. 1911)
- 1955 – Glenn L. Martin, American pilot and businessman (b. 1886)
- 1963 – Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy, Pakistani politician (b. 1892)
- 1965 – Joseph Erlanger, American doctor, won the 1944 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1874)
- 1969 – Princess Alice of Battenberg (b. 1885)
- 1973 – Robert Watson-Watt, Scottish inventor (b. 1892)
- 1977 – Katherine Milhous, American illustrator and author (b. 1894)
- 1989 – John Pritchard, English conductor (b. 1921)
- 1991 – Richard Speck, American serial killer (b. 1941)
- 1998 – Albert Gore, Sr., American lawyer and politician (b. 1907)

### From 2001

- 2002 – Ne Win, Burmese political leader (b. 1911)
- 2005 – Frits Philips, Dutch businessman (b. 1905)
- 2007 – Karlheinz Stockhausen, German composer (b. 1928)
- 2008 – Patriarch Alexius II of Russia (b. 1929)
- 2008 – Constantin Ticu Dimitrescu, Romanian politician (b. 1928)
- 2008 – Nina Foch, Dutch–American actress (b. 1924)
- 2009 – Otto Graf Lambsdorff, German politician (b. 1926)
- 2009 – Alfred Hrdlicka, Austrian artist (b. 1928)
- 2011 – Violetta Villas, Belgian–born Polish singer, songwriter, composer and actress (b. 1938)
- 2012 – Dave Brubeck, American musician, composer and bandleader (b. 1920)
- 2012 – Oscar Niemeyer, Brazilian architect (b. 1907)
- 2012 – Elisabeth Murdoch, Australian philanthropist (b. 1909)
- 2013 – Fred Bassetti, American architect (b. 1917)
- 2013 – Barry Jackson, English actor (b. 1938)
- 2013 – Nelson Mandela, President of South Africa, Anti–Apartheid activist, statesman and Nobel Peace Prize winner (b. 1918)
- 2013 – Colin Wilson, English writer (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Manuel De Sica, Italian composer (b. 1949)
- 2014 – Jackie Healy-Rae, Irish politician (b. 1931)
- 2014 – Queen Fabiola of Belgium, Spanish–born Queen Consort of Belgium (b. 1928)
- 2015 – William McIlvanney, Scottish writer (b. 1936)
- 2015 – Siddhi Savetsila, Thai politician (b. 1919)
- 2015 – Dimitar Iliev Popov, Prime Minister of Bulgaria (b. 1927)
- 2016 – Geydar Dzhemal, Russian Islamic revolutionist and activist (b. 1947)
- 2016 – Jayalalithaa, Indian actress and politician, Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu (b. 1948)
- 2017 – August Ames, Canadian–American pornographic actress (b. 1994)
- 2017 – Jean d'Ormesson, French writer and journalist (b. 1925)
- 2017 – Henning Jensen, Danish footballer (b. 1949)
- 2017 – Michael I of Romania (b. 1921)
- 2017 – Maurice Green, American virologist (b. 1926)
- 2017 – Johnny Hallyday, French rock musician (b. 1943)
- 2018 – Dynamite Kid, British professional wrestler (b. 1958)
- 2018 – Thor Hansen, Norwegian poker player (b. 1947)
- 2018 – Harry W. Shlaudeman, American politician (b. 1926)
- 2019 – Marvin Goodfriend, American economist (b. 1950)
- 2019 – Robert Walker, American actor (b. 1940)

## Observances

- Saint Nicholas Eve – Including Sinterklaas in the Netherlands
- The King's Birthday (Thailand)
- International Volunteer Day