December 2

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 writer (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 writer (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 writer
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 writer, 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 writer (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 writer (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 writer 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