December 2

## Events
### Up to 1950 
*1409 &ndash; The University of Leipzig opens.
*1697 &ndash; The new St. Paul's Cathedral in London, designed by Christopher Wren, opens.
*1755 &ndash; The second Eddystone Lighthouse on the English coast is destroyed by fire.
*1763 &ndash; Dedication of the Touro Synagogue in Rhode Island.
*1804 &ndash; At Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris, Napoleon Bonaparte crowns himself Emperor of the French, the first French Emperor in a thousand years.
*1805 &ndash; Napoleonic Wars: French troops  under Napoleon defeat a joint Russo–Austrian force.
*1823 &ndash; US President James Monroe delivers a speech establishing American neutrality in future European conflicts.
*1845 &ndash; US President James K. Polk announces to Congress that the United States should aggressively expand into the West.
*1848 &ndash; Franz Joseph I of Austria becomes Emperor.
*1851 &ndash; French President Louis–Napoleon Bonaparte overthrows the Second Republic.
*1854 &ndash; Napoleon III crowns himself Emperor of France.
*1859 &ndash; Militant abolitionist John Brown is hanged for the October 16 raid on Harpers Ferry, Virginia.
*1867 &ndash; In a New York City theater, British writer Charles Dickens gives his first public reading in the United States.
*1879 &ndash; British passenger ship *Borussia* sinks in the North Atlantic Ocean, killing 169 people.
*1899 &ndash; Philippine-American War: Battle of Tirad Pass.
*1908 &ndash; Child Emperor Pu Yi ascends the Chinese throne at the age of two.
*1917 &ndash; World War I: Russia and the Central Powers sign an armistice at Brest–Litovsk.
*1927 &ndash; Following 19 years of Ford Model T production, the Ford Motor Company unveils the Ford Model A as its automobile.
*1930 &ndash; 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 &ndash; LaGuardia Airport, belonging to New York City, opens.
*1942 &ndash; Manhattan Project: A team led by Enrico Fermi initiates the first self–sustaining nuclear chain reaction.
*1943 &ndash; A Luftwaffe bombing raid on the harbour of Bari, Italy, sinks an American ship with a mustard gas stockpile.
*1949 &ndash; Convention against human trafficking and prostitution is adopted by United Nations.

### 1951 &ndash; 2000 
*1954 &ndash; 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 &ndash; 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 &ndash; The Malpasset Dam breaks in Southern France, killing 421 people.
*1961 &ndash; 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 &ndash; The US Environmental Protection Agency begins operations.
*1971 &ndash; Abu Dhabi, Ajman, Fujairah, Sharjah, Dubai, and Umm al-Quwain form the United Arab Emirates. Ras al-Khaimah joins in February 1972.
*1972 &ndash; Gough Whitlam becomes Prime Minister of Australia.
*1975 &ndash; The Communist political party Pathet Lao takes power in Laos, creating the Lao People's Democratic Republic, with Souphanouvong as its first leader.
*1976 &ndash; Fidel Castro becomes President of Cuba replacing Osvaldo Dorticós Torrado.
*1980 &ndash; El Salvador Civil War: Four American nuns and a churchwoman are murdered by military death squad.
*1982 &ndash; At the University of Utah, Barney Clark becomes the first person to receive a permanent artificial heart.
*1988 &ndash; Benazir Bhutto becomes Prime Minister of Pakistan, making her the first woman to lead a mainly–Muslim country.
*1990 &ndash; A coalition led by Chancellor Helmut Kohl wins the first free all–German elections since 1932.
*1993 &ndash; Drug dealer Pablo Escobar is shot dead by Colombian police.
*1999 &ndash; The United Kingdom devolves political power in Northern Ireland to the Northern Ireland Executive.

### From 2001 
*2001 &ndash; Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy.
*2004 &ndash; Typhoon Nanmadol kills about 1,000 people in the Philippines.
*2008 &ndash; Somchai Wongsawat resigns as Prime Minister of Thailand.
*2010 &ndash; Russia and Qatar are announced as hosts of the FIFA World Cup, for 2018 and 2022 respectively.
*2019 &ndash; Climate change talks begin in Madrid.

## Births
### Up to 1900 
*885 &ndash; Li Cunxu, Chinese Emperor of the Later Tang Dynasty (d. 926)
*1578 &ndash; Agostino Agazzari, Italian composer and music theorist (d. 1640)
*1694 &ndash; William Shirley, colonial Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1771)
*1710 &ndash; Bertinazzi, Italian actor and writer (d. 1783)
*1754 &ndash; William Cooper, American judge and politician (d. 1809)
*1760 &ndash; John Breckinridge, American politician (d. 1806)
*1760 &ndash; Joseph Graetz, German composer, organist and educator (d. 1826)
*1810 &ndash; Henry Yesler, 7th Mayor of Seattle (d. 1892)
*1825 &ndash; Emperor Pedro II of Brazil (d. 1891)
*1827 &ndash; William Burges, English architect and designer (d. 1881)
*1837 &ndash; Joseph Bell, Scottish surgeon, physician and forensics pioneer (d. 1911)
*1846 &ndash; Pierre Waldeck-Rousseau, French statesman (d. 1904)
*1859 &ndash; Georges Seurat, French painter (d. 1891)
*1866 &ndash; Harry Burleigh, American composer (d. 1949)
*1873 &ndash; Eduardo Schaerer, President of Paraguay (d. 1941)
*1874 &ndash; Joseph Olivier, French rugby player (d. 1901)
*1885 &ndash; George Richards Minot, American physician (d. 1950)
*1891 &ndash; Otto Dix, German painter and graphic artist (d. 1969)
*1891 &ndash; Charles H. Wesley, American historian and writer (d. 1987)
*1893 &ndash; Leo Ornstein, Russian–American pianist and composer (d. 2002)
*1895 &ndash; Harriet Cohen, English pianist (d. 1967)
*1897 &ndash; Hovhannes Bagramyan, Soviet politician (d. 1982)
*1898 &ndash; Indra Lal Roy, Indian pilot (d. 1918)
*1899 &ndash; John Barbirolli, English conductor (d. 1970)
*1899 &ndash; John Cobb, British racing driver (d. 1952)

### 1901 &ndash; 1950 
*1901 &ndash; Raimundo Orsi, Argentine–Italian footballer (d. 1986)
*1909 &ndash; Pietro Arcari, Italian footballer (d. 1988)
*1909 &ndash; Marion Dönhoff, German journalist and Resistance activist (d. 2002)
*1913 &ndash; Marc Platt, American ballet dancer, musical theatre performer and actor (d. 2014)
*1914 &ndash; Ray Walston, American actor (d. 2001)
*1915 &ndash; Prince Mikasa, Japanese royal (d. 2016)
*1921 &ndash; Carlo Furno, Italian cardinal (d. 2015)
*1923 &ndash; Maria Callas, Greek–American soprano (d. 1977)
*1924 &ndash; Alexander Haig, American politician, United States Secretary of State (d. 2010)
*1925 &ndash; Julie Harris, American actress (d. 2013)
*1929 &ndash; Leon Litwack, American historian and writer
*1930 &ndash; Gary Becker, American economist (d. 2014)
*1931 &ndash; Nigel Calder, English science writer (d. 2014)
*1931 &ndash; Masaaki Hatsumi, Japanese martial artist
*1931 &ndash; Edwin Meese, 75th United States Attorney General
*1933 &ndash; Mike Larrabee, American sprinter
*1934 &ndash; Tarcisio Bertone, Italian cardinal and diplomat
*1934 &ndash; Sissela Bok, Swedish philosopher and ethicist
*1937 &ndash; Manohar Joshi, 15th Chief Minister of Maharashtra, India
*1939 &ndash; Harry Reid, American politician (d. 2021)
*1943 &ndash; Wayne Allard, American politician
*1944 &ndash; Cathy Lee Crosby, American actress
*1944 &ndash; Ibrahim Rugova, President of Kosovo (d. 2006)
*1946 &ndash; Gianni Versace, Italian fashion designer (d. 1997)
*1947 &ndash; Andy Rouse, English racing driver
*1947 &ndash; Rudolf Scharping, German politician
*1948 &ndash; Antonin Manenka, Czechoslovakian footballer
*1948 &ndash; Patricia Hewitt, British politician
*1948 &ndash; Toninho Horta, Brazilian guitarist
*1950 &ndash; Paul Watson, Canadian–American conservationist

### 1951 &ndash; 1975 
*1954 &ndash; Dan Butler, American actor
*1956 &ndash; Steven Bauer, American actor
*1957 &ndash; Dagfinn Hoybraten, Norwegian politician
*1958 &ndash; Vladimir Parfenovich, Belarus canoe racer
*1960 &ndash; Justus von Dohnanyi, German actor
*1960 &ndash; Deb Haaland, American politician
*1960 &ndash; Rick Savage, British musician (Def Leppard)
*1962 &ndash; Kardam, Prince of Turnovo, Spanish–Bulgarian nobleman
*1963 &ndash; Don Gaulthier, American actor
*1963 &ndash; Brendan Coyle, British actor
*1967 &ndash; Mary Creagh, British politician
*1967 &ndash; Laurie Morgan, 1st Chief Minister of Guernsey
*1968 &ndash; David Batty, English footballer
*1968 &ndash; Nate Mendel, American musician (Foo Fighters)
*1968 &ndash; Lucy Liu, American actress
*1968 &ndash; Rena Sofer, American actress
*1970 &ndash; Yang Hyuk-suk, South Korean singer-songwriter and producer
*1971 &ndash; Francesco Toldo, Italian footballer
*1971 &ndash; Mine Yoshizaki, Japanese illustrator
*1972 &ndash; Sergei Zholtok, Latvian ice hockey player (d. 2004)
*1973 &ndash; Monica Seles, Yugoslavian–born tennis player
*1973 &ndash; Jan Ullrich, German cyclist

### From 1976 
*1976 &ndash; Masafumi Gotch, Japanese singer-songwriter and guitarist
*1978 &ndash; Maelle Ricker, Canadian snowboarder
*1978 &ndash; Nelly Furtado, Canadian singer and songwriter
*1978 &ndash; Chris Wolstenholme, English bassist (Muse)
*1978 &ndash; Jarron Collins, American basketball player
*1978 &ndash; Jason Collins, American basketball player
*1979 &ndash; Sabina Babayeva, Azerbaijani singer
*1979 &ndash; Yvonne Catterfeld, German singer and actress
*1981 &ndash; Britney Spears, American singer
*1983 &ndash; Chris Burke, Scottish footballer
*1983 &ndash; Aaron Rodgers, American football player
*1983 &ndash; Daniela Ruah, Portuguese–American actress
*1985 &ndash; Amaury Leveaux, French swimmer
*1985 &ndash; Dorrell Wright, American basketball player
*1986 &ndash; Adam le Fondre, English footballer
*1987 &ndash; Teairra Mari, American singer-songwriter and actress
*1988 &ndash; Soniya Mehra, Indian actress
*1988 &ndash; Stephen McGinn, Scottish footballer
*1989 &ndash; Cassie Steele, Canadian singer-songwriter
*1989 &ndash; Richard Tait, Scottish footballer
*1990 &ndash; Gastón Ramírez, Uruguayan footballer
*1990 &ndash; Hikaru Yaotome, Japanese singer-songwriter
*1990 &ndash; Emmanuel Agyemang-Badu, Ghanaian footballer
*1991 &ndash; Brandon Knight, American basketball player
*1991 &ndash; Charlie Puth, American singer and songwriter
*1993 &ndash; Dylan McLaughlin, American actor
*1994 &ndash; Cauley Woodrow, English footballer
*1998 &ndash; Amber Montana, American actress
*1998 &ndash; Juice Wrld, American rapper (d. 2019)

## Deaths
### Up to 1900 
*1348 &ndash; Emperor Hanazano of Japan (b. 1297)
*1463 &ndash; Albert IV, Archduke of Austria (b. 1418)
*1469 &ndash; Piero di Cosimo de' Medici of Florence (b. 1416)
*1547 &ndash; Hernán Cortés, Spanish explorer (b. 1485)
*1594 &ndash; Gerardus Mercator, Flemish mapmaker (b. 1512)
*1694 &ndash; Pierre Paul Puget, French painter, sculptor and architect (b. 1622)
*1723 &ndash; Philippe II, Duke of Orleans, French nobleman (b. 1674)
*1774 &ndash; Johann Friedrich Agricola, German composer and organist (b. 1720)
*1794 &ndash; Johann Gottlob Leidenfrost, German physician and theologian (b. 1715)
*1810 &ndash; Philipp Otto Runge, German painter (b. 1777)
*1814 &ndash; Marquis de Sade, French philosopher (b. 1740)
*1815 &ndash; Jan Potocki, Polish writer and historian (b. 1761)
*1844 &ndash; Eustachy Erazm-Sanguszko, Polish general and politician (b. 1768)
*1849 &ndash; Adelaide of Saxe-Meiningen, Queen Consort of William IV of the United Kingdom (b. 1792)
*1859 &ndash; John Brown, American abolitionist (b. 1800)
*1863 &ndash; Jane Pierce, American First Lady, wife of Franklin Pierce (b. 1806)
*1881 &ndash; Jenny von Westphalen, German writer, wife of Karl Marx (b. 1814)
*1888 &ndash; Namik Kemal, Turkish poet (b. 1840)
*1889 &ndash; Gregorio del Pilar, Filipino general (b. 1825)

### 1901 &ndash; 2000 
*1918 &ndash; Edmond Rostand, French poet and playwright (b. 1868)
*1943 &ndash; Nordahl Grieg, Norwegian writer and journalist (b. 1902)
*1944 &ndash; Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Italian writer (b. 1876)
*1944 &ndash; Eiji Sawamura, Japanese baseball player (b. 1917)
*1950 &ndash; Dinu Lipatti, Romanian pianist and composer (b. 1917)
*1953 &ndash; Tran Kong Kim, Vietnamese scholar and politician (b. 1883)
*1966 &ndash; Luitzen Egbertus Jon Brouwer, Dutch mathematician and philosopher (b. 1881)
*1969 &ndash; Jose Maria Arguedas, Peruvian writer, poet and anthropologist (b. 1911)
*1969 &ndash; Kliment Voroshilov, Soviet politician (b. 1881)
*1972 &ndash; Yip Man, Chinese martial artist (b. 1893)
*1974 &ndash; Max Weber, Swiss politician (b. 1897)
*1980 &ndash; Chaudhry Muhammad Ali, Prime Minister of Pakistan (b. 1905)
*1980 &ndash; Romain Gary, Lithuanian–born French writer (b. 1914)
*1982 &ndash; Marty Feldman, British–American actor and director (b. 1934)
*1982 &ndash; Giovanni Ferrari, Italian footballer (b. 1907)
*1985 &ndash; Philip Larkin, English poet (b. 1922)
*1986 &ndash; Desi Arnaz, Cuban–born actor and bandleader (b. 1917)
*1986 &ndash; Lee Dorsey, American singer (b. 1924)
*1987 &ndash; Luis Federico Leloir, French–Argentine chemist (b. 1906)
*1987 &ndash; Yakov Borisovich Zel'dovich, Belarussian physicist, astronomer and cosmologist (b. 1914)
*1988 &ndash; Tata Giacobetti, Italian singer-songwriter (b. 1922)
*1990 &ndash; Aaron Copland, American composer (b. 1900)
*1993 &ndash; Pablo Escobar, Colombian druglord (b. 1949)
*1995 &ndash; Robertson Davies, Canadian writer (b. 1913)
*1999 &ndash; Charlie Byrd, American jazz musician (b. 1925)

### From 2001 
*2004 &ndash; Alicia Markova, British ballet dancer (b. 1910)
*2005 &ndash; Kenneth Lee Boyd, American convicted murderer (b. 1948)
*2009 &ndash; Eric Woolfson, British musician and producer (b. 1945)
*2010 &ndash; Ron Santo, American baseball player (b. 1940)
*2011 &ndash; Chiyono Hasegawa, Japanese supercentenarian (b. 1896)
*2011 &ndash; Bill Tapia, American musician (b. 1908)
*2012 &ndash; Ehsan Naraghi, Iranian sociologist and writer (b. 1926)
*2013 &ndash; Pedro Rocha, Uruguayan footballer (b. 1942)
*2013 &ndash; William Allain, 58th Governor of Mississippi (b. 1928)
*2013 &ndash; Christopher Evan Welch, American actor (b. 1965)
*2013 &ndash; Vernon Shaw, President of Dominica (b. 1930)
*2013 &ndash; Salim Kallas, Syrian actor and politician (b. 1936)
*2013 &ndash; Brian Hitchen, English newspaper editor (b. 1936)
*2014 &ndash; Bobby Keys, American saxophonist (b. 1943)
*2014 &ndash; A. R. Antulay, Indian politician, Chief Minister of Maharashtra (b. 1929)
*2014 &ndash; Jean Beliveau, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1931)
*2014 &ndash; Don Laws, American figure skater and coach (b. 1929)
*2015 &ndash; Sandy Berger, American political consultant (b. 1945)
*2015 &ndash; Gabriele Ferzetti, Italian actor (b. 1925)
*2015 &ndash; George Sakato, American soldier (b. 1921)
*2016 &ndash; Sammy Lee, American diver (b. 1920)
*2016 &ndash; Gisela May, German actress (b. 1924)
*2017 &ndash; Ulli Lommel, German actor and director (b. 1944)
*2017 &ndash; Mundell Lowe, American jazz guitarist and composer (b. 1922)
*2017 &ndash; Edwin Mosquera, Colombian weightlifter (b. 1985)
*2017 &ndash; Ewald Schurer, German politician (b. 1954)
*2017 &ndash; Nava Semel, Israeli writer and playwright (b. 1954)
*2018 &ndash; Séry Bailly, Ivorian writer and politician (b. 1948)
*2018 &ndash; Ugo De Censi, Italian–Peruvian priest (b. 1924)
*2018 &ndash; Paul Sherwen, English racing cyclist (b. 1956)
*2019 &ndash; George Atkinson III, American football player (b. 1992)
*2019 &ndash; Jimmy Cavallo, American rock music saxophonist (b. 1927)
*2019 &ndash; D. C. Fontana, American television scriptwriter and story editor (b. 1939)
*2019 &ndash; Francesco Janich, Italian footballer (b. 1937)
*2019 &ndash; 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