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Daniel Defoe

Daniel Defoe (born Daniel Foe; c. 1660 – 24 April 1731) was an English novelist, journalist, merchant, pamphleteer and spy. He is most famous for his novel Robinson Crusoe, published in 1719, which is claimed to be second only to the Bible in its number of translations. He has been seen as one of the earliest proponents of the English novel, and helped to popularise the form in Britain with others such as Aphra Behn and Samuel Richardson. Defoe wrote many political tracts, was often in trouble with the authorities, and spent a period in prison. Intellectuals and political leaders paid attention to his fresh ideas and sometimes consulted him.

Defoe was a prolific and versatile writer, producing more than three hundred works —books, pamphlets, and journals—on diverse topics, including politics, crime, religion, marriage, psychology and the supernatural. He was also a pioneer of business journalism and economic journalism.

Early life
Daniel Foe (his original name) was probably born in Fore Street in the parish of St Giles Cripplegate, London. Defoe later added the aristocratic-sounding "De" to his name, and on occasion made the false claim of descent from a family named De Beau Faux. "De" is also a common prefix in Flemish surnames. His birthdate and birthplace are uncertain, and sources offer dates from 1659 to 1662, with the summer or early autumn of 1660 considered the most likely. His father, James Foe, was a prosperous tallow chandler of probable Flemish descent,  and a member of the Worshipful Company of Butchers. In Defoe's early childhood, he lived through several significant historical events: in 1665, seventy thousand were killed by the Great Plague of London, and the next year, the Great Fire of London left only Defoe's and two other houses standing in his neighbourhood. In 1667, when he was probably about seven, a Dutch fleet sailed up the Medway via the River Thames and attacked the town of Chatham in the raid on the Medway. His mother, Alice, had died by the time he was about ten.

Education
Defoe was educated at the Rev. James Fisher's boarding school in Pixham Lane in Dorking, Surrey. His parents were Presbyterian dissenters, and around the age of 14, he was sent to Charles Morton's dissenting academy at Newington Green, then a village just north of London, where he is believed to have attended the Dissenting church there. He lived on Church Street, Stoke Newington, at what is now nos. 95–103. During this period, the English government persecuted those who chose to worship outside the established Church of England.

Business career
Defoe entered the world of business as a general merchant, dealing at different times in hosiery, general woollen goods, and wine. His ambitions were great and he was able to buy a country estate and a ship (as well as civets to make perfume), though he was rarely out of debt. On 1 January 1684, Defoe married Mary Tuffley at St Botolph's Aldgate. She was the daughter of a London merchant, and brought with her a dowry of £3,700—a huge amount by the standards of the day. Given his debts and political difficulties, the marriage may have been troubled, but it lasted 47 years and produced eight children.

In 1685, Defoe joined the ill-fated Monmouth Rebellion but gained a pardon, by which he escaped the Bloody Assizes of Judge George Jeffreys. Queen Mary and her husband William III were jointly crowned in 1689, and Defoe became one of William's close allies and a secret agent. Some of the new policies led to conflict with France, thus damaging prosperous trade relationships for Defoe. In 1692, he was arrested for debts of £700 and, in the face of total debts that may have amounted to £17,000, was forced to declare bankruptcy. He died with little wealth and evidently embroiled in lawsuits with the royal treasury.

Following his release from debtors' prison, he probably travelled in Europe and Scotland, and it may have been at this time that he traded wine to Cadiz, Porto and Lisbon. By 1695, he was back in England, now formally using the name "Defoe" and serving as a "commissioner of the glass duty", responsible for collecting taxes on bottles. In 1696, he ran a tile and brick factory in what is now Tilbury in Essex and lived in the parish of Chadwell St Mary nearby.

Writing
As many as 545 titles have been attributed to Defoe, including satirical poems, political and religious pamphlets, and volumes.

Pamphleteering and prison

Defoe's first notable publication was An Essay Upon Projects, a series of proposals for social and economic improvement, published in 1697. From 1697 to 1698, he defended the right of King William III to a standing army during disarmament, after the Treaty of Ryswick (1697) had ended the Nine Years' War (1688–1697). His most successful poem, The True-Born Englishman (1701), defended William against xenophobic attacks from his political enemies in England, and English anti-immigration sentiments more generally. In 1701, Defoe presented the Legion's Memorial to Robert Harley, then Speaker of the House of Commons—and his subsequent employer—while flanked by a guard of sixteen gentlemen of quality. It demanded the release of the Kentish petitioners, who had asked Parliament to support the king in an imminent war against France.

The death of William III in 1702 once again created a political upheaval, as the king was replaced by Queen Anne who immediately began her offensive against Nonconformists. Defoe was a natural target, and his pamphleteering and political activities resulted in his arrest and placement in a pillory on 31 July 1703, principally on account of his December 1702 pamphlet entitled The Shortest-Way with the Dissenters; Or, Proposals for the Establishment of the Church, purporting to argue for their extermination. In it, he ruthlessly satirised both the high church Tories and those Dissenters who hypocritically practised so-called "occasional conformity", such as his Stoke Newington neighbour Sir Thomas Abney. It was published anonymously, but the true authorship was quickly discovered and Defoe was arrested. He was charged with seditious libel and found guilty in a trial at the Old Bailey in front of the notoriously sadistic judge Salathiel Lovell. Lovell sentenced him to a punitive fine of 200 marks (£336 then, £ in 2024), to public humiliation in a pillory, and to an indeterminate length of imprisonment which would only end upon the discharge of the punitive fine. According to legend, the publication of his poem Hymn to the Pillory caused his audience at the pillory to throw flowers instead of the customary harmful and noxious objects and to drink to his health. The truth of this story is questioned by most scholars, although John Robert Moore later said that "no man in England but Defoe ever stood in the pillory and later rose to eminence among his fellow men".

After his three days in the pillory, Defoe went into Newgate Prison. Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, brokered his release in exchange for Defoe's cooperation as an intelligence agent for the Tories. In exchange for such cooperation with the rival political side, Harley paid some of Defoe's outstanding debts, improving his financial situation considerably.

Within a week of his release from prison, Defoe witnessed the Great Storm of 1703, which raged through the night of 26/27 November. It caused severe damage to London and Bristol, uprooted millions of trees, and killed more than 8,000 people, mostly at sea. The event became the subject of Defoe's The Storm (1704), which includes a collection of witness accounts of the tempest. Many regard it as one of the world's first examples of modern journalism.

In the same year, he set up his periodical A Review of the Affairs of France, which supported the Harley Ministry, chronicling the events of the War of the Spanish Succession (1702–1714). The Review ran three times a week without interruption until 1713. Defoe was amazed that a man as gifted as Harley left vital state papers lying in the open, and warned that he was almost inviting an unscrupulous clerk to commit treason; his warnings were fully justified by the William Gregg affair.

When Harley was ousted from the ministry in 1708, Defoe continued writing the Review to support Godolphin, then again to support Harley and the Tories in the Tory ministry of 1710–1714. The Tories fell from power with the death of Queen Anne, but Defoe continued doing intelligence work for the Whig government, writing "Tory" pamphlets that undermined the Tory point of view.

Not all of Defoe's pamphlet writing was political. One pamphlet was originally published anonymously, entitled A True Relation of the Apparition of One Mrs. Veal the Next Day after her Death to One Mrs. Bargrave at Canterbury The 8th of September, 1705. It deals with the interaction between the spiritual realm and the physical realm and was most likely written in support of Charles Drelincourt's The Christian Defence against the Fears of Death (1651). It describes Mrs. Bargrave's encounter with her old friend Mrs. Veal after she had died. It is clear from this piece and other writings that the political portion of Defoe's life was by no means his only focus.

Anglo-Scottish Union of 1707
In despair during his imprisonment for the seditious libel case, Defoe wrote to William Paterson, the London Scot and founder of the Bank of England and part instigator of the Darien scheme, who was in the confidence of Robert Harley, 1st Earl of Oxford and Earl Mortimer, leading minister and spymaster in the English government. Harley accepted Defoe's services and released him in 1703. He immediately published The Review, which appeared weekly, then three times a week, written mostly by himself. This was the main mouthpiece of the English Government promoting the Act of Union 1707.

Defoe began his campaign in The Review and other pamphlets aimed at English opinion, claiming that it would end the threat from the north, gaining for the Treasury an "inexhaustible treasury of men", a valuable new market increasing the power of England. By September 1706, Harley ordered Defoe to Edinburgh as a secret agent, and to secure acquiescence by using "underhand methods to predispose Scots' opinion in favour of" the Treaty of Union. He was conscious of the risk to himself. Thanks to books such as The Letters of Daniel Defoe (edited by G. H. Healey, Oxford 1955), far more is known about his activities than is usual with such agents.

His first reports included vivid descriptions of violent demonstrations against the Union. "A Scots rabble is the worst of its kind", he reported. Defoe reportedly "became fearful of being lynched after a threatening crowd surged up the High Street shouting 'No Union! No English dogs!'" Years later John Clerk of Penicuik, a leading Unionist, wrote in his memoirs that it was not known at the time that Defoe had been sent by Godolphin: "… to give a faithful account to him from time to time how everything past here. He was therefor a spy among us, but not known to be such, otherways the Mob of Edin. had pull him to pieces."

Defoe was a Presbyterian who had suffered in England for his convictions, and as such he was accepted as an adviser to the General Assembly of the Church of Scotland and committees of the Parliament of Scotland. He told Harley that he was "privy to all their folly" but "Perfectly unsuspected as with corresponding with anybody in England". He was then able to influence the proposals that were put to Parliament and reported,

"Having had the honour to be always sent for the committee to whom these amendments were referrèd, I have had the good fortune to break their measures in two particulars via the bounty on Corn and proportion of the Excise."

For Scotland, he used different arguments, even the opposite of those which he used in England, usually ignoring the English doctrine of the Sovereignty of Parliament, for example, telling the Scots that they could have complete confidence in the guarantees in the Treaty. Some of his pamphlets were purported to be written by Scots, misleading even reputable historians into quoting them as evidence of Scottish opinion of the time. The same is true of a massive history of the Union which Defoe published in 1709 and which some historians still treat as a valuable contemporary source for their own works. Defoe took pains to give his history an air of objectivity by giving some space to arguments against the Union, but always kept the last word for himself.

He disposed of the main Union opponent, Andrew Fletcher of Saltoun, by ignoring him. Nor does he account for the deviousness of the Duke of Hamilton, the official leader of the various factions opposed to the Union, who seemingly betrayed his former colleagues when he switched to the Unionist/Government side in the decisive final stages of the debate.

Aftermath
In 1709, Defoe authored a lengthy book entitled The History of the Union of Great Britain, an Edinburgh publication printed by the Heirs of Anderson. Defoe is cited twice in the book as its author, and gives details of the events leading up to the Acts of Union 1707, dating as far back as 6 December 1604, when King James I was presented with a proposal for unification. This so-called "first draft" for unification took place just a little over 100 years before the signing of the 1707 accord.

Defoe made no attempt to explain why the same Parliament of Scotland which was so vehemently in favour of remaining independent from 1703 to 1705 became so supine in 1706. He received very little reward from his paymasters and no recognition for his services by the government. He made use of his Scottish experience to write his Tour thro' the whole Island of Great Britain, published in 1726, where he admitted that the increase of trade and population in Scotland which he had predicted as a consequence of the Union was "not the case, but rather the contrary".

Defoe's description of Glasgow (Glaschu) as a "Dear Green Place" has often been misquoted as a Gaelic translation for the town's name. The Gaelic Glas could mean grey or green, while chu means dog or hollow. Glaschu probably means "Green Hollow". The "Dear Green Place", like much of Scotland, was a hotbed of unrest against the Union. The local Tron minister urged his congregation "to up and anent for the City of God".

The "Dear Green Place" and "City of God" required government troops to put down the rioters tearing up copies of the Treaty at almost every mercat cross in Scotland. When Defoe visited in the mid-1720s, he claimed that the hostility towards his party was "because they were English and because of the Union, which they were almost universally exclaimed against".

Late writing
The extent and particulars are widely contested concerning Defoe's writing in the period from the Tory fall in 1714 to the publication of Robinson Crusoe in 1719. Defoe comments on the tendency to attribute tracts of uncertain authorship to him in his apologia Appeal to Honour and Justice (1715), a defence of his part in Harley's Tory ministry (1710–1714). Other works that anticipate his novelistic career include The Family Instructor (1715), a conduct manual on religious duty; ''Minutes of the Negotiations of Monsr. Mesnager (1717), in which he impersonates Nicolas Mesnager, the French plenipotentiary who negotiated the Treaty of Utrecht (1713); and A Continuation of the Letters Writ by a Turkish Spy'' (1718), a satire of European politics and religion, ostensibly written by a Muslim in Paris.

From 1719 to 1724, Defoe published the novels for which he is famous (see below). In the final decade of his life, he also wrote conduct manuals, including Religious Courtship (1722), The Complete English Tradesman (1726) and The New Family Instructor (1727). He published a number of books decrying the breakdown of the social order, such as The Great Law of Subordination Considered (1724) and Everybody's Business is Nobody's Business (1725) and works on the supernatural, like The Political History of the Devil (1726), A System of Magick (1727) and An Essay on the History and Reality of Apparitions (1727). His works on foreign travel and trade include A General History of Discoveries and Improvements (1727) and Atlas Maritimus and Commercialis (1728). Perhaps his most significant work, apart from the novels, is A Tour thro' the Whole Island of Great Britain (1724–1727), which provided a panoramic survey of British trade on the eve of the Industrial Revolution.

The Complete English Tradesman
Published in 1726, The Complete English Tradesman is an example of Defoe's political works. In the work, Defoe discussed the role of the tradesman in England in comparison to tradesmen internationally, arguing that the British system of trade is far superior. Defoe also implied that trade was the backbone of the British economy: "estate's a pond, but trade's a spring." In the work, Defoe praised the practicality of trade not only within the economy but the social stratification as well. Defoe argued that most of the British gentry was at one time or another inextricably linked with the institution of trade, either through personal experience, marriage or genealogy. Oftentimes younger members of noble families entered into trade, and marriages to a tradesman's daughter by a nobleman was also common. Overall, Defoe demonstrated a high respect for tradesmen, being one himself.

Not only did Defoe elevate individual British tradesmen to the level of gentleman, but he praised the entirety of British trade as a superior system to other systems of trade. Trade, Defoe argues, is a much better catalyst for social and economic change than war. Defoe also argued that through the expansion of the British Empire and British mercantile influence, Britain would be able to "increase commerce at home" through job creations and increased consumption. He wrote in the work that increased consumption, by laws of supply and demand, increases production and in turn raises wages for the poor therefore lifting part of British society further out of poverty.

Robinson Crusoe
Published when Defoe was in his late fifties, Robinson Crusoe relates the story of a man's shipwreck on a desert island for twenty-eight years and his subsequent adventures. Throughout its episodic narrative, Crusoe's struggles with faith are apparent as he bargains with God in times of life-threatening crises, but time and again he turns his back after his deliverances. He is finally content with his lot in life, separated from society, following a more genuine conversion experience.

In the opening pages of The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, the author describes how Crusoe settled in Bedfordshire, married and produced a family, and that when his wife died, he went off on these further adventures. Bedford is also the place where the brother of "H. F." in A Journal of the Plague Year retired to avoid the danger of the plague, so that by implication, if these works were not fiction, Defoe's family met Crusoe in Bedford, from whence the information in these books was gathered. Defoe went to school in Newington Green with a friend named Caruso.

The novel has been assumed to be based in part on the story of the Scottish castaway Alexander Selkirk, who spent four years stranded in the Juan Fernández Islands, but his experience is inconsistent with the details of the narrative. The island Selkirk lived on, Más a Tierra (Closer to Land) was renamed Robinson Crusoe Island in 1966. It has been supposed that Defoe may have also been inspired by a translation of a book by the Andalusian-Arab Muslim polymath Ibn Tufail, who was known as "Abubacer" in Europe. The Latin edition was entitled Philosophus Autodidactus;  Simon Ockley published an English translation in 1708, entitled The improvement of human reason, exhibited in the life of Hai ebn Yokdhan.

Captain Singleton
Defoe's next novel was Captain Singleton (1720), an adventure story whose first half covers a traversal of Africa which anticipated subsequent discoveries by David Livingstone and whose second half taps into the contemporary fascination with piracy. The novel has been commended for its sensitive depiction of the close relationship between the hero and his religious mentor, Quaker William Walters. Its description of the geography of Africa and some of its fauna does not use the language or knowledge of a fiction writer and suggests an eyewitness experience.

Memoirs of a Cavalier
Memoirs of a Cavalier (1720) is set during the Thirty Years' War and the English Civil War.

A Journal of the Plague Year
A Journal of the Plague Year, published in 1722, can be read both as novel and as nonfiction. It is an account of the Great Plague of London in 1665, which is undersigned by the initials "H. F.", suggesting the author's uncle Henry Foe as its primary source. It is a historical account of the events based on extensive research and written as if by an eyewitness, even though Defoe was only about five years old when it occurred.

Colonel Jack
Colonel Jack (1722) follows an orphaned boy from a life of poverty and crime to prosperity in the colonies, military and marital imbroglios, and religious conversion, driven by a problematic notion of becoming a "gentleman."

Moll Flanders
Also in 1722, Defoe wrote Moll Flanders, another first-person picaresque novel of the fall and eventual redemption, both material and spiritual, of a lone woman in 17th-century England. The titular heroine appears as a whore, bigamist and thief, lives in The Mint, commits adultery and incest, and yet manages to retain the reader's sympathy. Her savvy manipulation of both men and wealth earns her a life of trials but ultimately an ending in reward. Although Moll struggles with the morality of some of her actions and decisions, religion seems to be far from her concerns throughout most of her story. However, like Robinson Crusoe, she finally repents. Moll Flanders is an important work in the development of the novel, as it challenged the common perception of femininity and gender roles in 18th-century British society. Although it was not intended as a work of erotica, later generations came to view it as such.

Roxana
Defoe's final novel, Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress (1724), which narrates the moral and spiritual decline of a high society courtesan, differs from other Defoe works because the main character does not exhibit a conversion experience, even though she claims to be a penitent later in her life, at the time that she is relating her story.

Patterns
In Defoe's writings, especially in his fiction, are traits that can be seen across his works. Defoe was well known for his didacticism, with most of his works aiming to convey a message of some kind to the readers (typically a moral one, stemming from his religious background). Connected to Defoe's didacticism is his use of the genre of spiritual autobiography, particularly in Robinson Crusoe. Another common feature of Defoe's fictional works is that he claimed them to be the true stories of their subjects.

Attribution and de-attribution
Defoe is known to have used at least 198 pen names. It was a very common practice in eighteenth-century novel publishing to initially publish works under a pen name, with most other authors at the time publishing their works anonymously. As a result of the anonymous ways in which most of his works were published, it has been a challenge for scholars over the years to properly credit Defoe for all of the works that he wrote in his lifetime. If counting only works that Defoe published under his own name, or his known pen name "the author of the True-Born Englishman," there would be about 75 works that could be attributed to him.

Beyond these 75 works, scholars have used a variety of strategies to determine what other works should be attributed to Defoe. Writer George Chalmers was the first to begin the work of attributing anonymously published works to Defoe. In History of the Union, he created an expanded list with over a hundred titles that he attributed to Defoe, alongside twenty additional works that he designated as "Books which are supposed to be De Foe's." Chalmers included works in his canon of Defoe that were particularly in line with his style and way of thinking, and ultimately attributed 174 works to Defoe. Many of the attributions of Defoe's novels came long after his death. Notably, Moll Flanders and Roxana were published anonymously for over fifty years until Francis Noble named Daniel Defoe on their title pages in edition publication in 1775 and 1774.

Biographer P. N. Furbank and W. R. Owens built upon this canon, also relying on what they believed could be Defoe's work, without a means to be absolutely certain. In the Cambridge History of English Literature, the section on Defoe by author William P. Trent attributes 370 works to Defoe. J.R. Moore generated the largest list of Defoe's work, with approximately five hundred and fifty works that he attributed to Defoe.

Death

Defoe died on 24 April 1731, probably while in hiding from his creditors. He was often in debtors' prison. The cause of his death was labelled as lethargy, but he probably experienced a stroke. He was interred in Bunhill Fields (today Bunhill Fields Burial and Gardens), just outside the medieval boundaries of the City of London, in what is now the Borough of Islington, where a monument was erected to his memory in 1870. A street in the Bronx, New York is named in his honour (De Foe Place).

Novels

 * The Consolidator, or Memoirs of Sundry Transactions from the World in the Moon: Translated from the Lunar Language (1705)
 * Robinson Crusoe (1719) – originally published in two volumes:
 * The Life and Strange Surprizing Adventures of Robinson Crusoe, of York, Mariner: Who Lived Eight and Twenty Years [...]
 * The Farther Adventures of Robinson Crusoe: Being the Second and Last Part of His Life [...]
 * Serious Reflections During the Life and Surprising Adventures of Robinson Crusoe: With his Vision of the Angelick World (1720)
 * Captain Singleton (1720)
 * Memoirs of a Cavalier (1720)
 * A Journal of the Plague Year (1722)
 * Colonel Jack (1722)
 * Moll Flanders (1722)
 * Roxana: The Fortunate Mistress (1724)
 * The Four Years Voyages of Capt. George Roberts (1726)

Nonfiction

 * An Essay Upon Projects (1697) – subsections of the text include: "The History of Projects," "Of Projectors," "Of Banks," "Of the Highways," "Of Assurances," "Of Friendly Societies," "The Proposal is for a Pension Office," "Of Wagering," "Of Fools," "A Charity-Lottery," "Of Bankrupts," "Of Academies" (including a section proposing an academy for women), "Of a Court Merchant," and "Of Seamen."
 * The Storm (1704) – describes the worst storm ever to hit Britain in recorded times. Includes eyewitness accounts.
 * Atlantis Major (1711)
 * The Family Instructor (1715)
 * Memoirs of the Church of Scotland (1717)
 * The History of the Remarkable Life of John Sheppard (1724) – describing Sheppard's life of crime and concluding with the miraculous escapes from prison for which he had become a public sensation.
 * A Narrative of All The Robberies, Escapes, &c. of John Sheppard (1724) – written by or taken from Sheppard himself in the condemned cell before he was hanged for theft, apparently by way of conclusion to the Defoe work. According to the Introduction to Volume 16 of the works of Defoe published by J M Dent in 1895, Sheppard handed the manuscript to the publisher Applebee from the prisoners' cart as he was taken away to be hanged. It included a correction of a factual detail and an explanation of how his escapes from prison were achieved.
 * A tour thro' the whole island of Great Britain, divided into circuits or journies (1724–1727)
 * A New Voyage Round the World (1724)
 * The Political History of the Devil (1726)
 * The Complete English Tradesman (1726)
 * A treatise concerning the use and abuse of the marriage bed... (1727)
 * A Plan of the English Commerce (1728) – describes how the English woolen textile industrial base was developed by protectionist policies by Tudor monarchs, especially by Henry VII of England and Elizabeth I, including such policies as high tariffs on the importation of finished woolen goods, high taxes on raw wool leaving England, bringing in artisans skilled in wool textile manufacturing from the Low Countries, selective government-granted monopoly rights, and government-sponsored industrial espionage.

Pamphlets or essays in prose

 * The Poor Man's Plea (1698)
 * The History of the Kentish Petition (1701)
 * The Shortest Way with the Dissenters (1702)
 * The Great Law of Subordination Consider'd (1704)
 * Giving Alms No Charity, and Employing the Poor (1704)
 * The Apparition of Mrs. Veal (1706)
 * An Appeal to Honour and Justice, Tho' it be of his Worst Enemies, by Daniel Defoe, Being a True Account of His Conduct in Publick Affairs (1715)
 * A Vindication of the Press: Or, An Essay on the Usefulness of Writing, on Criticism, and the Qualification of Authors (1718)
 * Every-body's Business, Is No-body's Business (1725)
 * The Protestant Monastery (1726)
 * Parochial Tyranny (1727)
 * Augusta Triumphans (1728)
 * Second Thoughts are Best (1729)
 * An Essay Upon Literature (1726)
 * Mere Nature Delineated (1726)
 * Conjugal Lewdness (1727) – Anti-Contraception Essay

Pamphlets or essays in verse

 * The True-Born Englishman: A Satyr (1701)
 * Hymn to the Pillory (1703)
 * An Essay on the Late Storm (1704)

Some contested works attributed to Defoe

 * A Friendly Epistle by way of reproof from one of the people called Quakers, to T. B., a dealer in many words (1715).
 * The King of Pirates (1719) – purporting to be an account of the pirate Henry Avery.
 * The Pirate Gow (1725) – an account of John Gow.
 * A General History of the Pyrates (1724, 1725, 1726, 1828) – published in two volumes by Charles Rivington, who had a shop near St. Paul's Cathedral, London. Published under the name of Captain Charles Johnson, it sold in many editions.
 * Captain Carleton's Memoirs of an English Officer (1728).
 * The life and adventures of Mrs. Christian Davies, commonly call'd Mother Ross (1740) – published anonymously; printed and sold by R. Montagu in London; and attributed to Defoe but more recently not accepted by Moore.

title: Daniel Defoe


text:
December 8

Pre-1600

 * 395 – Later Yan is defeated by its former vassal Northern Wei at the Battle of Canhe Slope.
 * 757 – The poet Du Fu returns to Chang'an as a member of Emperor Xuanzong's court, after having escaped the city during the An Lushan Rebellion.
 * 877 – Louis the Stammerer (son of Charles the Bald) is crowned king of the West Frankish Kingdom at Compiègne.
 * 1504 – Ahmad ibn Abi Jum'ah writes his Oran fatwa, arguing for the relaxation of Islamic law requirements for the forcibly converted Muslims in Spain.

1601–1900

 * 1660 – A woman (either Margaret Hughes or Anne Marshall) appears on an English public stage for the first time, in the role of Desdemona in a production of Shakespeare's play Othello.
 * 1851 – Conservative Santiago-based government troops defeat rebels at the Battle of Loncomilla, signaling the end of the 1851 Chilean Revolution.
 * 1854 – In his Apostolic constitution Ineffabilis Deus, Pope Pius IX proclaims the dogmatic definition of Immaculate Conception, which holds that the Blessed Virgin Mary was conceived free of Original Sin.
 * 1864 – Pope Pius IX promulgates the encyclical Quanta cura and its appendix, the Syllabus of Errors, outlining the authority of the Catholic Church and condemning various liberal ideas.

1901–present

 * 1907 – King Gustaf V of Sweden accedes to the Swedish throne.
 * 1912 – Leaders of the German Empire hold an Imperial War Council to discuss the possibility that war might break out.
 * 1914 – World War I: A squadron of Britain's Royal Navy defeats the Imperial German East Asia Squadron in the Battle of the Falkland Islands in the South Atlantic.
 * 1922 – Two days after coming into existence, the Irish Free State executes four leaders of the Irish Republican Army: Liam Mellows, Rory O'Connor, Joe McKelvey and Dick Barrett.
 * 1941 – World War II: U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt declares December 7 to be "a date which will live in infamy", after which the U.S. declares war on Japan.
 * 1941  – World War II: Japanese forces simultaneously invade Shanghai International Settlement, Malaya, Thailand, Hong Kong, the Philippines, and the Dutch East Indies. (See December 7 for the concurrent attack on Pearl Harbor in the Western Hemisphere.)
 * 1943 – World War II: The German 117th Jäger Division destroys the monastery of Mega Spilaio in Greece and executes 22 monks and visitors as part of reprisals that culminated a few days later with the Massacre of Kalavryta.
 * 1953 – U.S. President Dwight D. Eisenhower delivers his "Atoms for Peace" speech, which leads to an American program to supply equipment and information on nuclear power to schools, hospitals, and research institutions around the world.
 * 1955 – The Flag of Europe is adopted by Council of Europe.
 * 1962 – Workers at four New York City newspapers (this later increases to nine) go on strike for 114 days.
 * 1963 – Pan Am Flight 214, a Boeing 707, is struck by lightning and crashes near Elkton, Maryland, killing all 81 people on board.
 * 1966 – The Greek ship SS Heraklion sinks in a storm in the Aegean Sea, killing over 200.
 * 1969 – Olympic Airways Flight 954 strikes a mountain outside of Keratea, Greece, killing 90 people in the worst crash of a Douglas DC-6 in history.
 * 1971 – Indo-Pakistani War: The Indian Navy launches an attack on West Pakistan's port city of Karachi.
 * 1972 – United Airlines Flight 553, a Boeing 737, crashes after aborting its landing attempt at Chicago Midway International Airport, killing 45. This is the first-ever loss of a Boeing 737.
 * 1974 – A plebiscite results in the abolition of monarchy in Greece.
 * 1980 – John Lennon is murdered by Mark David Chapman in front of The Dakota in New York City.
 * 1985 – The South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, the regional intergovernmental organization and geopolitical union in South Asia, is established.
 * 1987 – Cold War: The Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces Treaty is signed by U.S. President Ronald Reagan and Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev in the White House.
 * 1987  – An Israeli army tank transporter kills four Palestinian refugees and injures seven others during a traffic accident at the Erez Crossing on the Israel–Gaza Strip border, which has been cited as one of the events which sparked the First Intifada.
 * 1988 – A United States Air Force A-10 Thunderbolt II crashes into an apartment complex in Remscheid, Germany, killing five people and injuring 50 others.
 * 1990 – The Galileo spacecraft flies past Earth for the first time.
 * 1991 – The leaders of Russia, Belarus and Ukraine sign an agreement dissolving the Soviet Union and establishing the Commonwealth of Independent States.
 * 1992 – The Galileo spacecraft flies past Earth for the second time.
 * 1998 – Eighty-one people are killed by armed groups in Algeria.
 * 2001 – A raid conducted by the Internal Security Department (ISD) of Singapore foils a Jemaah Islamiyah (JI) plot to bomb foreign embassies in Singapore.
 * 2004 – The Cusco Declaration is signed in Cusco, Peru, establishing the South American Community of Nations.
 * 2004  – Columbus nightclub shooting: Nathan Gale opens fire at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio, killing former Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell and three others before being shot dead by a police officer.
 * 2009 – Bombings in Baghdad, Iraq, kill 127 people and injure 448 others.
 * 2010 – With the second launch of the Falcon 9 and the first launch of the Dragon, SpaceX becomes the first private company to successfully launch, orbit and recover a spacecraft.
 * 2010  – The Japanese solar-sail spacecraft IKAROS passes the planet Venus at a distance of about 80,800 km.
 * 2013 – Riots break out in Singapore after a fatal accident in Little India.
 * 2013  – Metallica performs a show in Antarctica, making them the first band to perform on all seven continents.
 * 2019 – First confirmed case of COVID-19 in China.

Pre-1600

 * 65 BC – Horace, Roman poet (d. 8 BC)
 * 1021 – Wang Anshi, Chinese economist and chancellor (d. 1086)
 * 1412 – Astorre II Manfredi, Italian lord (d. 1468)
 * 1418 – Queen Jeonghui, Queen consort of Korea (d. 1483)
 * 1424 – Anselm Adornes, Belgian merchant, politician and diplomat (d. 1483)
 * 1538 – Miklós Istvánffy, Hungarian politician (d. 1615)
 * 1542 – Mary, Queen of Scots, daughter of James V of Scotland and Mary of Guise (d. 1587)
 * 1558 – François de La Rochefoucauld, Catholic cardinal (d. 1645)

1601–1900

 * 1678 – Antonio de Benavides, colonial governor of Florida (d. 1762)
 * 1678  – Horatio Walpole, 1st Baron Walpole, English politician and diplomat, British Ambassador to France (d. 1757)
 * 1699 – Maria Josepha of Austria (d. 1757)
 * 1708 – Francis I, Holy Roman Emperor (d. 1765)
 * 1724 – Claude Balbastre, French organist and composer (d. 1799)
 * 1730 – Jan Ingenhousz, Dutch physician, physiologist, and botanist (d. 1799)
 * 1731 – František Xaver Dušek, Czech pianist and composer (d. 1799)
 * 1756 – Archduke Maximilian Francis of Austria (d. 1801)
 * 1765 – Eli Whitney, American engineer, invented the cotton gin (d. 1825)
 * 1795 – Peter Andreas Hansen, Danish astronomer and mathematician (d. 1874)
 * 1807 – Friedrich Traugott Kützing, German pharmacist, botanist and phycologist (d. 1893)
 * 1813 – August Belmont, Prussian-American financier and diplomat, 16th United States Ambassador to the Netherlands (d. 1890)
 * 1815 – Adolph Menzel, German painter and illustrator (d. 1905)
 * 1817 – Christian Emil Krag-Juel-Vind-Frijs, Danish lawyer and politician, 10th Prime Minister of Denmark (d. 1896)
 * 1818 – Charles III, Prince of Monaco (d. 1889)
 * 1822 – Jakov Ignjatović, Hungarian-Serbian author (d. 1889)
 * 1832 – Bjørnstjerne Bjørnson, Norwegian-French author and playwright, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1910)
 * 1860 – Amanda McKittrick Ros, Irish author and poet (d. 1939)
 * 1861 – William C. Durant, American businessman, founded General Motors and Chevrolet (d. 1947)
 * 1861  – Aristide Maillol, French sculptor and painter (d. 1944)
 * 1861  – Georges Méliès, French actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1938)
 * 1862 – Georges Feydeau, French playwright (d. 1921)
 * 1863 – Charles Lincoln Edwards, American zoologist (d. 1937)
 * 1864 – Camille Claudel, French illustrator and sculptor (d. 1943)
 * 1865 – Rüdiger von der Goltz, German general (d. 1946)
 * 1865  – Jacques Hadamard, French mathematician and academic (d. 1963)
 * 1865  – Jean Sibelius, Finnish violinist and composer (d. 1957)
 * 1874 – Ernst Moro, Austrian physician and pediatrician (d. 1951)
 * 1875 – Frederik Buch, Danish actor and screenwriter (d. 1925)
 * 1877 – Paul Ladmirault, French pianist, violinist, and composer (d. 1944)
 * 1880 – Johannes Aavik, Estonian linguist and philologist (d. 1973)
 * 1881 – Tuomas Bryggari, Finnish politician (d. 1964)
 * 1881  – Albert Gleizes, French painter (d. 1953)
 * 1884 – Francis Balfour, English colonel and politician (d. 1965)
 * 1886 – Diego Rivera, Mexican painter and educator (d. 1957)
 * 1887 – Elizabeth Daryush, English poet (d. 1977)
 * 1890 – Bohuslav Martinů, Czech-American pianist and composer (d. 1959)
 * 1892 – Marcus Lee Hansen, American historian, author, and academic (d. 1938)
 * 1894 – E. C. Segar, American cartoonist, created Popeye (d. 1938)
 * 1894  – James Thurber, American humorist and cartoonist (d. 1961)
 * 1899 – Arthur Leslie, English-Welsh actor and playwright (d. 1970)
 * 1899  – John Qualen, Canadian-American actor (d. 1987)
 * 1900 – Sun Li-jen, Chinese general and politician (d. 1990)
 * 1900  – Ants Oras, Estonian-American author and academic (d. 1982)

1901–present

 * 1902 – Wifredo Lam, Cuban-French painter (d. 1982)
 * 1903 – Zelma Watson George, Black American opera singer (d. 1994)
 * 1908 – Concha Piquer, Spanish singer and actress (d. 1990)
 * 1908  – John A. Volpe, American soldier and politician, 61st Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1994)
 * 1911 – Lee J. Cobb, American actor (d. 1976)
 * 1911  – Nikos Gatsos, Greek poet and songwriter (d. 1992)
 * 1913 – Delmore Schwartz, American poet and short story writer (d. 1966)
 * 1914 – Floyd Tillman, American country music singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2003)
 * 1914  – Ernie Toshack, Australian cricketer (d. 2003)
 * 1915 – Ernest Lehman, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2005)
 * 1916 – Richard Fleischer, American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2006)
 * 1917 – Ian Johnson, Australian cricketer and administrator (d. 1998)
 * 1919 – Peter Tali Coleman, Samoan-American lawyer and politician, 43rd Governor of American Samoa (d. 1997)
 * 1919  – Julia Bowman, American mathematician and theorist (d. 1985)
 * 1919  – Kateryna Yushchenko, Ukrainian computer scientist and academic (d. 2001)
 * 1920 – McDonald Bailey, Trinidadian-English sprinter and rugby player (d. 2013)
 * 1922 – Lucian Freud, German-English painter and illustrator (d. 2011)
 * 1922  – Jean Ritchie, American singer-songwriter (d. 2015)
 * 1923 – Dewey Martin, American actor (d. 2018)
 * 1923  – Rudolph Pariser, Chinese-American soldier and chemist (d. 2021)
 * 1924 – Lionel Gilbert, Australian historian, author, and academic (d. 2015)
 * 1925 – Sammy Davis, Jr., American actor, singer, and dancer (d. 1990)
 * 1925  – Nasir Kazmi, Pakistani Urdu poet (d. 1972)
 * 1925  – Carmen Martín Gaite, Spanish author and poet (d. 2000)
 * 1925  – Jimmy Smith, American organist (d. 2005)
 * 1926 – Ralph Puckett, American Army officer (d. 2024)
 * 1927 – Niklas Luhmann, German thinker and social theorist (d. 1998)
 * 1927  – Vladimir Shatalov, Kazakhstani general, pilot, and astronaut (d. 2021)
 * 1928 – Bill Hewitt, Canadian journalist and sportscaster (d. 1996)
 * 1928  – Ulric Neisser, German-American psychologist, neuroscientist, and academic (d. 2012)
 * 1929 – Victor Nosach, chronicler of the history of workers and trade union of Russia (d. 2011)
 * 1930 – Julian Critchley, English journalist and politician (d. 2000)
 * 1930  – Maximilian Schell, Austrian-Swiss actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2014)
 * 1931 – Bob Arum, American boxing promoter, founded Top Rank
 * 1932 – Claus Luthe, German automotive designer (d. 2008)
 * 1933 – Johnny Green, American basketball player (d. 2023)
 * 1933  – Flip Wilson, American actor and comedian (d. 1998)
 * 1935 – Dharmendra, Indian actor, producer, and politician
 * 1935  – Tatiana Zatulovskaya, Russian-Israeli chess player (d. 2017)
 * 1936 – David Carradine, American actor, director, and producer (d. 2009)
 * 1936  – Michael Hobson, American publisher (d. 2020)
 * 1936  – Peter Parfitt, English cricketer
 * 1936  – Juan Ricardo Faccio, Uruguayan football player and manager (d. 2024)
 * 1937 – James MacArthur, American actor (d. 2010)
 * 1937  – Arne Næss, Jr., German-Norwegian mountaineer and businessman (d. 2004)
 * 1939 – Red Berenson, Canadian ice hockey player and coach
 * 1939  – Jerry Butler, American singer-songwriter and producer
 * 1939  – James Galway, Irish flute player
 * 1939  – Felipe Gozon, Filipino lawyer and businessman
 * 1939  – Dariush Mehrjui, Iranian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2023)
 * 1939  – Soko Richardson, American drummer (d. 2004)
 * 1940 – Brant Alyea, American baseball player (d. 2024)
 * 1941 – Ed Brinkman, American baseball player and coach (d. 2008)
 * 1941  – Bob Brown, American football player (d. 2023)
 * 1941  – Duke Cunningham, American commander and politician
 * 1941  – Bobby Elliott, English drummer
 * 1941  – Geoff Hurst, English footballer and manager
 * 1942 – Bob Love, American basketball player
 * 1943 – Larry Martin, American paleontologist and ornithologist (d. 2013)
 * 1943  – Jim Morrison, American singer-songwriter and poet (d. 1971)
 * 1943  – James Tate, American poet (d. 2015)
 * 1943  – Bodo Tümmler, German runner
 * 1943  – Mary Woronov, American actress, director, and screenwriter
 * 1944 – George Baker, Dutch singer-songwriter
 * 1944  – Bertie Higgins, American singer-songwriter
 * 1944  – Ted Irvine, Canadian ice hockey player
 * 1944  – Vince MacLean, Canadian educator and politician
 * 1945 – John Banville, Irish novelist and screenwriter
 * 1945  – Julie Heldman, American tennis player
 * 1946 – Chava Alberstein, Polish-Israeli singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1946  – John Rubinstein, American actor, director, and composer
 * 1947 – Gregg Allman, American musician (d. 2017)
 * 1947  – Gérard Blanc, French singer, guitarist, and actor (d. 2009)
 * 1947  – Thomas Cech, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
 * 1947  – Kati-Claudia Fofonoff, Finnish author and poet (d. 2011)
 * 1947  – Margaret Geller, American astrophysicist, astronomer, and academic
 * 1948 – Luis Caffarelli, Argentinian-American mathematician and academic
 * 1948  – John Waters, English-Australian actor, singer-songwriter, and guitarist
 * 1949 – Mary Gordon, American author, critic, and academic
 * 1949  – Nancy Meyers, American director, producer, and screenwriter
 * 1949  – Robert Sternberg, American psychologist and academic
 * 1950 – Rick Baker, American actor and makeup artist
 * 1950  – Tim Foli, American baseball player, coach, and manager
 * 1950  – Dan Hartman, American singer-songwriter and producer  (d. 1994)
 * 1951 – Bill Bryson, American essayist, travel and science writer
 * 1951  – Richard Desmond, English publisher and businessman, founded Northern & Shell
 * 1951  – Jan Eggum, Norwegian singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1952 – Steve Atkinson, English-Hong Kong cricketer
 * 1952  – Khaw Boon Wan, Malayan-Singaporean politician, Singaporean Minister of Health
 * 1953 – Kim Basinger, American actress
 * 1953  – Norman Finkelstein, American author, academic, and activist
 * 1953  – Roy Firestone, American sportscaster and journalist
 * 1953  – Sam Kinison, American comedian (d. 1992)
 * 1953  – Władysław Kozakiewicz, Lithuanian-Polish pole vaulter and coach
 * 1953  – Steve Yates, English footballer
 * 1954 – Harold Hongju Koh, American lawyer, academic, and politician
 * 1954  – Frits Pirard, Dutch cyclist
 * 1955 – Milenko Zablaćanski, Serbian actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 2008)
 * 1956 – Warren Cuccurullo, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1956  – Andrius Kubilius, Lithuanian academic and politician, 9th Prime Minister of Lithuania
 * 1956  – Slick, American wrestler and manager
 * 1957 – Mike Buchanan, British men's rights advocate
 * 1957  – James Cama, American martial artist and educator (d. 2014)
 * 1957  – Phil Collen, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1958 – Rob Byrnes, American author and blogger
 * 1958  – Rob Curling, Malayan-English journalist
 * 1958  – Arlette Sombo-Dibélé, Central African lawyer and politician
 * 1958  – Michel Ferté, French race car driver (d. 2023)
 * 1958  – Bob Greene, American physiologist and author
 * 1958  – Mirosław Okoński, Polish footballer
 * 1958  – George Rogers, American football player
 * 1959 – Stephen Jefferies, South African cricketer and coach
 * 1959  – Mark Steyn, Canadian-American author and critic
 * 1960 – Aaron Allston, American game designer and author (d. 2014)
 * 1960  – Lim Guan Eng, Malaysian accountant and politician
 * 1961 – Mark Bugden, Australian rugby league player
 * 1961  – Ann Coulter, American political commentator and author
 * 1961  – Conceição Lima, São Toméan poet
 * 1961  – Mikey Robins, Australian comedian and television host
 * 1962 – Steve Elkington, Australian-American golfer
 * 1962  – Marty Friedman, American-Japanese guitarist, songwriter, and television host
 * 1962  – Nikos Karageorgiou, Greek footballer and manager
 * 1962  – Berry van Aerle, Dutch footballer
 * 1963 – Greg Howe, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
 * 1963  – Toshiaki Kawada, Japanese wrestler
 * 1963  – Wendell Pierce, American actor
 * 1963  – Ricky Walford, Australian rugby league player
 * 1964 – James Blundell, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1964  – Teri Hatcher, American actress
 * 1964  – Chigusa Nagayo, Japanese wrestler
 * 1964  – Óscar Ramírez, Costa Rican footballer and coach
 * 1965 – David Harewood, English actor
 * 1965  – Theo Maassen, Dutch actor, producer, and screenwriter
 * 1965  – Teresa Weatherspoon, American basketball player and coach
 * 1966 – Bushwick Bill, Jamaican-American rapper (d. 2019)
 * 1966  – Les Ferdinand, English footballer and coach
 * 1966  – Matthew Labyorteaux, American actor
 * 1966  – Tyler Mane, Canadian wrestler and actor
 * 1966  – Sinéad O'Connor, Irish singer-songwriter (d. 2023)
 * 1967 – Jeff George, American football player
 * 1967  – Andy Kapp, German curler
 * 1967  – Kotono Mitsuishi, Japanese voice actress and singer
 * 1967  – Darren Sheridan, English footballer and manager
 * 1968 – Michael Cole, American sportscaster and journalist
 * 1968  – Mike Mussina, American baseball player and coach
 * 1968  – Doriano Romboni, Italian motorcycle racer (d. 2013)
 * 1969 – Kristin Lauter, American mathematician and cryptographer
 * 1971 – Abdullah Ercan, Turkish footballer and manager
 * 1972 – Indrek Allmann, Estonian architect
 * 1972  – Janae Kroc, American powerlifter
 * 1972  – Édson Ribeiro, Brazilian sprinter
 * 1973 – Corey Taylor, American singer-songwriter, musician, and actor
 * 1974 – Cristian Castro, Mexican singer
 * 1974  – Nick Zinner, American guitarist, songwriter, and producer
 * 1975 – Kevin Harvick, American race car driver
 * 1976 – Brettina, Bahamian-American singer-songwriter and actress
 * 1976  – Reed Johnson, American baseball player
 * 1976  – Zoe Konstantopoulou, Greek lawyer and politician
 * 1976  – Dominic Monaghan, German-British actor
 * 1977 – Ryan Newman, American race car driver
 * 1977  – Aleksandra Olsza, Polish tennis player
 * 1977  – Anita Weyermann, Swiss runner and journalist
 * 1978 – John Oster, English-Welsh footballer
 * 1978  – Frédéric Piquionne, French footballer
 * 1978  – Anwar Siraj, Ethiopian footballer
 * 1978  – Ian Somerhalder, American actor
 * 1978  – Vernon Wells, American baseball player
 * 1979 – Daniel Fitzhenry, Australian rugby player
 * 1979  – Johan Forssell, Swedish lawyer and politician
 * 1979  – Raymond Lam, Chinese actor and singer
 * 1979  – Ingrid Michaelson, American singer-songwriter and pianist
 * 1979  – Christian Wilhelmsson, Swedish footballer
 * 1980 – Yuliya Krevsun, Ukrainian runner
 * 1981 – Jeremy Accardo, American baseball player
 * 1981  – Simon Finnigan, English rugby league player
 * 1981  – Philip Rivers, American football player
 * 1982 – Alfredo Aceves, Mexican baseball player
 * 1982  – Chrisette Michele, American singer-songwriter
 * 1982  – Nicki Minaj, Trinidadian-American rapper and actress
 * 1982  – Serena Ryder, Canadian singer-songwriter
 * 1983 – Matt Ellison, Canadian ice hockey player
 * 1983  – Neel Jani, Swiss race car driver
 * 1983  – Valéry Mézague, Cameroonian footballer (d. 2014)
 * 1984 – Emma Green Tregaro, Swedish high jumper
 * 1984  – Greg Halford, English footballer
 * 1984  – Sam Hunt, American singer-songwriter
 * 1985 – Josh Donaldson, American baseball player
 * 1985  – Meagan Duhamel, Canadian figure skater
 * 1985  – Dwight Howard, American basketball player
 * 1985  – Oleksiy Pecherov, Ukrainian basketball player
 * 1986 – Enzo Amore, American wrestler and rapper
 * 1986  – Amir Khan, English boxer
 * 1986  – Sam Tagataese, New Zealand-Samoan rugby league player
 * 1986  – Kate Voegele, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress
 * 1989 – Drew Doughty, Canadian ice hockey player
 * 1989  – Jen Ledger, English musician and singer
 * 1989  – Andrew Nicholson, Canadian basketball player
 * 1989  – Jesse Sene-Lefao, New Zealand rugby league player
 * 1991 – Philip Holm, Swedish ice hockey player
 * 1991 – Bhavini Purohit, Indian television actress and YouTuber
 * 1992 – Yui Yokoyama, Japanese idol, model, and actress
 * 1993 – Janari Jõesaar, Estonian basketball player
 * 1993  – Cara Mund, American model, Miss America 2018
 * 1993  – Jordan Obita, English footballer
 * 1993  – AnnaSophia Robb, American actress
 * 1994 – Conseslus Kipruto, Kenyan runner
 * 1994  – Raheem Sterling, English footballer
 * 1995 – Thatcher Demko, American ice hockey player
 * 1996 – Scott McTominay, Scottish footballer
 * 1997 – Sam Hauser, American basketball player
 * 1998 – Owen Teague, American actor
 * 2004 – Billie Starkz, American professional wrestler

Pre-1600

 * 855 – Drogo of Metz, illegitimate son of Charlemagne (b. 801)
 * 899 – Arnulf of Carinthia (b. 850)
 * 964 – Zhou the Elder, Chinese queen consort
 * 1186 – Berthold IV, Duke of Zähringen (b.c 1125)
 * 1292 – John Peckham, Archbishop of Canterbury
 * 1365 – Nicholas II, Duke of Opava (b. 1288)
 * 1431 – Hedwig Jagiellon, Polish and Lithuanian princess (b. 1408)
 * 1550 – Gian Giorgio Trissino, Italian humanist, poet, dramatist and diplomat (b. 1478)
 * 1596 – Luis de Carvajal the Younger, Marrano writer and martyr (b. c. 1566/1567)

1601–1900

 * 1626 – John Davies, English poet, lawyer, and politician (b. 1569)
 * 1632 – Philippe van Lansberge, Dutch astronomer and mathematician (b. 1561)
 * 1638 – Ivan Gundulić, Croatian poet (b. 1589)
 * 1643 – John Pym, English politician (b. 1583)
 * 1649 – Noël Chabanel, French missionary and saint (b. 1613)
 * 1680 – Henry Pierrepont, 1st Marquess of Dorchester, English lawyer and politician (b. 1606)
 * 1691 – Richard Baxter, English minister, poet, and hymn-writer (b. 1615)
 * 1695 – Barthélemy d'Herbelot, French orientalist and academic (b. 1625)
 * 1709 – Thomas Corneille, French playwright and philologist (b. 1625)
 * 1722 – Elizabeth Charlotte, Princess Palatine (b. 1652)
 * 1734 – James Figg, English prizefighter
 * 1744 – Marie Anne de Mailly, French mistress of Louis XV of France (b. 1717)
 * 1745 – Étienne Fourmont, French orientalist and academic (b. 1683)
 * 1746 – Charles Radclyffe, English courtier and soldier (b. 1693)
 * 1756 – William Stanhope, 1st Earl of Harrington, English politician and diplomat, Lord Lieutenant of Ireland (b. 1690)
 * 1768 – Jean Denis Attiret, French painter and missionary (b. 1702)
 * 1779 – Nathan Alcock, English physician (b. 1707)
 * 1815 – Mary Bosanquet Fletcher, Methodist preacher and philanthropist (b. 1739)
 * 1830 – Benjamin Constant, Swiss-French philosopher and author (b. 1767)
 * 1856 – Theobald Mathew, Irish social reformer and temperance movement leader (b. 1790)
 * 1859 – Thomas De Quincey, English journalist and author (b. 1785)
 * 1864 – George Boole, English mathematician and philosopher (b. 1815)
 * 1869 – Narcisa de Jesús, Ecuadorian saint (b. 1832)
 * 1885 – William Henry Vanderbilt, American businessman and philanthropist (b. 1821)
 * 1886 – Isaac Lea, American conchologist, geologist, and publisher (b. 1792)
 * 1894 – Pafnuty Chebyshev, Russian mathematician and theorist (b. 1821)

1901–present

 * 1903 – Herbert Spencer, English biologist, anthropologist, sociologist, and philosopher (b. 1820)
 * 1907 – King Oscar II of Sweden (b. 1829)
 * 1913 – Camille Jenatzy, Belgian race car driver (b. 1868)
 * 1914 – Melchior Anderegg, Swiss mountain guide (b. 1828)
 * 1914  – Maximilian von Spee, Danish-German admiral (b. 1861)
 * 1917 – Mendele Mocher Sforim, Russian author (b. 1836)
 * 1918 – Josip Stadler, Bosnian Catholic archbishop (b. 1843)
 * 1919 – J. Alden Weir, American painter (b. 1852)
 * 1922 – Joe McKelvey and three other prominent Irish Republican Army officers are executed during the Irish Civil War
 * 1929 – José Vicente Concha, Colombian politician and 8th President of Colombia (b. 1867)
 * 1932 – Gertrude Jekyll, British horticulturist and writer (b. 1843)
 * 1937 – Hans Molisch, Czech-Austrian botanist and academic (b. 1856)
 * 1938 – Friedrich Glauser, Swiss author (b. 1896)
 * 1940 – George Lloyd, English-Canadian bishop and theologian (b. 1861)
 * 1941 – Izidor Kürschner, Hungarian football player and coach (b. 1885)
 * 1942 – Albert Kahn, American architect, Fisher Building, Packard Automotive Plant, Ford River Rouge Complex (b. 1869)
 * 1952 – Charles Lightoller, English sailor (b. 1874)
 * 1954 – Claude Cahun, French artist, photographer, and writer (b. 1894)
 * 1954  – Gladys George, American actress (b. 1904)
 * 1954  – Joseph B. Keenan, American lawyer and politician (b. 1888)
 * 1958 – Tris Speaker, American baseball player and manager (b. 1888)
 * 1963 – Sarit Thanarat, Thai field marshal and politician, 11th Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1908)
 * 1966 – Ward Morehouse, American playwright, author, and critic (b. 1899)
 * 1971 – Ernst Krenkel, Russian geographer and explorer (b. 1903)
 * 1971  – Eleni Ourani, Greek poet and critic (b. 1896)
 * 1975 – Gary Thain, New Zealand bass player (b. 1948)
 * 1978 – Golda Meir, Ukrainian-Israeli educator and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Israel (b. 1898)
 * 1980 – John Lennon, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1940)
 * 1982 – Bram Behr, Surinamese journalist and politician (b. 1951)
 * 1982  – André Kamperveen, Surinamese footballer and manager (b. 1924)
 * 1982  – Marty Robbins, American singer-songwriter and race car driver (b. 1925)
 * 1982  – Haim Laskov, Israel Defense Forces fifth Chief of Staff (b. 1919)
 * 1983 – Keith Holyoake, New Zealand farmer and politician, 26th Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1904)
 * 1983  – Slim Pickens, American actor (b. 1919)
 * 1984 – Luther Adler, American actor (b. 1903)
 * 1984  – Robert Jay Mathews, American militant leader, founded The Order (b. 1953)
 * 1984  – Razzle, English drummer (b. 1960)
 * 1984  – Semih Sancar, Turkish general (b. 1911)
 * 1991 – Buck Clayton, American trumpet player and composer (b. 1911)
 * 1992 – William Shawn, American journalist (b. 1917)
 * 1993 – Yevgeny Minayev, Russian weightlifter (b. 1933)
 * 1994 – Antônio Carlos Jobim, Brazilian singer-songwriter and pianist (b. 1927)
 * 1996 – Howard Rollins, American actor (b. 1950)
 * 1996  – Kashiwado Tsuyoshi, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 47th Yokozuna (b. 1938)
 * 1997 – Bob Bell, American clown and actor (b. 1922)
 * 1999 – Péter Kuczka, Hungarian poet and author (b. 1923)
 * 2001 – Mirza Delibašić, Bosnian basketball player and coach (b. 1954)
 * 2001  – Betty Holberton, American computer scientist and programmer (b. 1917)
 * 2003 – Rubén González, Cuban pianist (b. 1919)
 * 2004 – Dimebag Darrell, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1966)
 * 2005 – Rose Heilbron, British barrister and judge (b. 1914)
 * 2006 – Martha Tilton, American singer (b. 1915)
 * 2006  – José Uribe, Dominican baseball player (b. 1959)
 * 2007 – Gerardo García Pimentel, Mexican journalist (b. 1983)
 * 2008 – Oliver Postgate, English voice actor, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1925)
 * 2008  – Robert Prosky, American actor (b. 1930)
 * 2009 – Luis Días, Dominican singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1952)
 * 2012 – Jerry Brown, American football player (b. 1987)
 * 2012  – John Gowans, Scottish-English 16th General of The Salvation Army (b. 1934)
 * 2012  – Johnny Lira, American boxer (b. 1951)
 * 2013 – John Cornforth, Australian-English chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
 * 2013  – Sándor Szokolay, Hungarian composer and academic (b. 1931)
 * 2013  – Richard S. Williamson, American lawyer and diplomat (b. 1949)
 * 2014 – Tom Gosnell, Canadian lawyer and politician (b. 1951)
 * 2014  – Russ Kemmerer, American baseball player and coach (b. 1930)
 * 2014  – Knut Nystedt, Norwegian organist and composer (b. 1915)
 * 2015 – Mattiwilda Dobbs, American soprano and actress (b. 1925)
 * 2015  – Alan Hodgkinson, English footballer and coach (b. 1936)
 * 2015  – Douglas Tompkins, American businessman, co-founded The North Face and Esprit Holdings (b. 1943)
 * 2015  – John Trudell, American author, poet, and actor (b. 1946)
 * 2015  – Elsie Tu, English-Hong Kong educator and politician (b. 1913)
 * 2016 – John Glenn, American astronaut and senator, first American to go into orbit (b. 1921)
 * 2018 – David Weatherall, English physician, geneticist, and academic (b. 1933)
 * 2019 – René Auberjonois, American actor (b. 1940)
 * 2019  – Juice Wrld, American rapper, singer and songwriter (b. 1998)
 * 2019  – Caroll Spinney, American puppeteer and actor (b. 1933)
 * 2021 – Robbie Shakespeare, Jamaican bass guitarist and record producer (b. 1953)
 * 2023 – Ryan O'Neal, American actor (b. 1941)

Holidays and observances

 * Battle Day (Falkland Islands)
 * Bodhi Day (Japan)
 * CARICOM–Cuba Day (Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and Cuba)
 * Christian feast day:
 * Budoc (Beuzec) of Dol
 * Clement of Ohrid (Julian Calendar), and its related observances:
 * Student's Day (Bulgaria)
 * Eucharius
 * Feast of the Immaculate Conception (public holiday in several countries, a holy day of obligation in others), and its related observances:
 * Conception of the Blessed Virgin Mary (Anglican Communion), lesser commemoration
 * Festa da Conceição da Praia, celebrating Yemanjá, Queen of the Ocean in Umbanda (Salvador, Bahia)
 * Festival of Lights (Lyon)
 * Mother's Day (Panama)
 * Lady of Camarin Day (Guam)
 * Patapios of Thebes
 * Pope Eutychian
 * Richard Baxter (US Episcopal Church)
 * Romaric
 * December 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 * Constitution Day (Romania)
 * Constitution Day (Uzbekistan)
 * Day of Finnish Music (Finland)
 * Earliest day on which National Tree Planting Day can fall, while December 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Monday in December. (Malawi)
 * Hari-Kuyō (Kansai region, Japan)
 * National Youth Day (Albania)
 * Nations, Nationalities and Peoples' Day (Ethiopia)

license: Creative Commons - Attribution Share-Alike - https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/

title: December 8


text:
Desmond Morris

Desmond John Morris FLS hon. caus. (born 24 January 1928) is an English zoologist, ethologist and surrealist painter, as well as a popular author in human sociobiology. He is known for his 1967 book The Naked Ape, and for his television programmes such as Zoo Time.

Early life and education
Morris was born in Purton, Wiltshire, to Marjorie (née Hunt) and children's fiction author Harry Morris. In 1933, the Morrises moved to Swindon where Desmond developed an interest in natural history and writing. He was educated at Dauntsey's School, a boarding school in Wiltshire.

In 1946, Morris joined the British Army for two years of national service, becoming a lecturer in fine arts at the Chiseldon Army College in Wiltshire. After being demobilised in 1948, he held his first one-man show of his own paintings at the Swindon Arts Centre, and studied zoology at the University of Birmingham. In 1950 he held a surrealist art exhibition with Joan Miró at the London Gallery. He held many other exhibitions in later years. Also in 1950, Desmond Morris wrote and directed two surrealist films, Time Flower and The Butterfly and the Pin. In 1951 he began a doctorate at the Department of Zoology, University of Oxford, in animal behaviour. In 1954, he earned a Doctor of Philosophy for his work on the reproductive behaviour of the ten-spined stickleback.

Career
Morris stayed at Oxford, researching the reproductive behaviour of birds. In 1956 he moved to London as Head of the Granada TV and Film Unit for the Zoological Society of London, and studied the picture-making abilities of apes. The work included creating programmes for film and television on animal behaviour and other zoology topics. He hosted Granada TV's weekly Zoo Time programme until 1959, scripting and hosting 500 programmes, and 100 episodes of the show Life in the Animal World for BBC2. In 1957 he organised an exhibition at the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, showing paintings and drawings composed by common chimpanzees. In 1958 he co-organised an exhibition, The Lost Image, which compared pictures by infants, human adults, and apes, at the Royal Festival Hall in London. In 1959 he left Zoo Time to become the Zoological Society's Curator of Mammals. In 1964, he delivered the Royal Institution Christmas Lecture on Animal Behaviour. In 1967 he spent a year as executive director of the London Institute of Contemporary Arts.

Morris's books include The Naked Ape: A Zoologist's Study of the Human Animal, published in 1967. The book sold well enough for Morris to move to Malta in 1968 to write a sequel and other books. In 1973 he returned to Oxford to work for the ethologist Niko Tinbergen. From 1973 to 1981, Morris was a Research Fellow at Wolfson College, Oxford. In 1979 he undertook a television series for Thames TV, The Human Race, followed in 1982 by Man Watching in Japan, The Animals Road Show in 1986 and then several other series. Morris wrote and presented the BBC documentary The Human Animal and its accompanying book in 1994. National Life Stories conducted an oral history interview (C1672/16) with Morris, in 2015, for its Science and Religion collection held by the British Library.

Morris is a Fellow honoris causa of the Linnean Society of London.

Personal life
Morris's father suffered lung damage in World War I, and died when Morris was 14. He was not allowed to go to the funeral and said later; "It was the beginning of a lifelong hatred of the establishment. The church, the government and the military were all on my hate list and have remained there ever since." His grandfather William Morris, an enthusiastic Victorian naturalist and founder of the Swindon local newspaper, greatly influenced him during his time living in Swindon.

In July 1952, Morris married Ramona Baulch; they had one son, Jason. In 1978 Morris was elected vice-chairman of Oxford United. While a director of the club, he designed its ox-head badge based on a Minoan-style bull’s head, which remains in use to this day.

Morris lived in the same house in North Oxford as the 19th-century lexicographer James Murray who worked on the Oxford English Dictionary. He has exhibited at the Taurus Gallery in North Parade, Oxford, close to where he lived. He is the patron of the Friends of Swindon Museum and Art Gallery and gave a talk to launch the charity in 1993. Since the death of his wife in 2018 he has lived with his son and family in Ireland.

Books

 * The Big Cats (1965) – part of The Bodley Head Natural Science Picture Books, looking at the habits of the five Big Cats.
 * The Mammals: A Guide to the Living Species (1965) – a listing of mammal genera, non-rodent non-bat species, and additional information on select species.
 * Men and Pandas (1966) with Ramona Morris – third volume in the Ramona and Desmond Morris animal series.
 * – a look at the humanity's animalistic qualities and its similarity with other apes. In 2011, Time magazine placed it on its list of the 100 best or most influential non-fiction books written in English since 1923.
 * Men and Snakes (1968) with Ramona Morris – an exploration of the various complex relationships between humans and snakes
 * The Human Zoo (1969) – a continuation of The Naked Ape, analysing human behaviour in big modern societies and their resemblance to animal behaviour in captivity.
 * Patterns of Reproductive Behavior (1970)
 * Intimate Behaviour (1971) – A study of the human side of intimate behaviour, examining how natural selection shaped human physical contact.
 * Manwatching: A Field Guide to Human Behaviour (1978) – includes discussion of topic "Tie Signs"
 * Gestures: Their Origin and Distribution (1979)
 * Animal Days (1979)
 * The Soccer Tribe (1981)
 * Pocket Guide to Manwatching (1982)
 * Inrock (1983)
 * Bodywatching – A Field Guide to the Human Species (1985)
 * The Book of Ages: Who Did What When (1985)
 * ''The Art of Ancient Cyprus (1985)
 * Catwatching and Cat Lore (1986)
 * Dogwatching (1986)
 * Horsewatching (1989)
 * Animalwatching (1990)
 * Babywatching (1991)
 * Christmas Watching (1992)
 * Bodytalk (1994)
 * The Human Animal (1994) – book and BBC documentary TV series
 * The Human Sexes (1997) – Discovery/BBC documentary TV series
 * Cat World: A Feline Encyclopedia (1997)
 * The Secret Surrealist: The Paintings of Desmond Morris (1999)
 * Body Guards: Protective Amulets and Charms (1999)
 * The Naked Eye (2001)
 * Dogs: The Ultimate Dictionary of over 1,000 Dog Breeds (2001)
 * Peoplewatching: The Desmond Morris Guide to Body Language (2002)
 * The Naked Woman: A Study of the Female Body (2004)
 * Linguaggio muto (Dumb Language) (2004)
 * The Nature of Happiness (2004)
 * Watching (2006) – autobiography
 * Fantastic Cats (2007)
 * The Naked Man: A Study of the Male Body (2008)
 * Baby: A Portrait of the First Two Years of Life (2008)
 * Planet Ape (2009) (co-authored with [Steve Parker])
 * Owl (2009) – Part of the Reaktion Books Animal series
 * The Artistic Ape (2013)
 * Monkey (2013) – Part of the Reaktion Books Animal series
 * Leopard (2014) – Part of the Reaktion Books Animal series
 * Bison (2015) – Part of the Reaktion Books Animal series
 * Cats in Art (2017) – Part of the Reaktion Books Animal series
 * The Lives of the Surrealists (2018)
 * Postures: Body Language in Art (2019)
 * The British Surrealists (2022)
 * The British Surrealists (2022)

Filmography

 * Zootime (Weekly, 1956–67)
 * Life (1965–67)
 * The Human Race (1982)
 * The Animals Roadshow (1987–89)
 * The Animal Contract (1989)
 * Animal Country (1991–96)
 * The Human Animal (1994)
 * The Human Sexes (1997)

Criticism
Some of Morris's theories have been criticised as untestable. For instance, geneticist Adam Rutherford writes that Morris commits "the scientific sin of the 'just-so' story – speculation that sounds appealing but cannot be tested or is devoid of evidence". However, this is also a criticism of adaptationism in evolutionary biology, not just of Morris.

Morris is also criticised for suggesting that gender roles have an evolutionary rather than a purely cultural background.

title: Desmond Morris


text:
December 28

Pre-1600

 * 418 – A papal election begins, resulting in the election of Pope Boniface I.
 * 457 – Majorian is acclaimed as Western Roman emperor.
 * 484 – Alaric II succeeds his father Euric and becomes king of the Visigoths. He establishes his capital at Aire-sur-l'Adour (Southern Gaul).
 * 893 – An earthquake destroys the city of Dvin, Armenia.
 * 1065 – Edward the Confessor's Romanesque monastic church at Westminster Abbey is consecrated.
 * 1308 – The reign of Emperor Hanazono of Japan begins.

1601–1900

 * 1659 – The Marathas defeat the Adilshahi forces in the Battle of Kolhapur.
 * 1768 – King Taksin's coronation achieved through conquest as a king of Thailand and established Thonburi as a capital.
 * 1795 – Construction of Yonge Street, formerly recognized as the longest street in the world, begins in York, Upper Canada (present-day Toronto).
 * 1832 – John C. Calhoun becomes the first Vice President of the United States to resign. He resigned after being elected Senator from South Carolina.
 * 1835 – Osceola leads his Seminole warriors in Florida into the Second Seminole War against the United States Army.
 * 1836 – South Australia and Adelaide are founded.
 * 1836  – Spain recognizes the independence of Mexico with the signing of the Santa María–Calatrava Treaty.
 * 1846 – Iowa is admitted as the 29th U.S. state.
 * 1879 – Tay Bridge disaster: The central part of the Tay Rail Bridge in Dundee, Scotland, United Kingdom collapses as a train passes over it, killing 75.
 * 1885 – Indian National Congress, a political party of India, is founded in Bombay Presidency, British India.
 * 1895 – The Lumière brothers perform for their first paying audience at the Grand Cafe in Boulevard des Capucines.
 * 1895  – Wilhelm Röntgen publishes a paper detailing his discovery of a new type of radiation, which later will be known as x-rays.

1901–present

 * 1902 – The Syracuse Athletic Club defeat the New York Philadelphians, 5–0, in the first indoor professional football game, which was held at Madison Square Garden.
 * 1908 – The 7.1 Messina earthquake shakes Southern Italy with a maximum Mercalli intensity of XI (Extreme), killing between 75,000 and 200,000.
 * 1912 – The first municipally owned streetcars take to the streets in San Francisco.
 * 1918 – Constance Markievicz, while detained in Holloway prison, becomes the first woman to be elected Member of Parliament (MP) to the British House of Commons.
 * 1941 – World War II: Operation Anthropoid, the plot to assassinate high-ranking Nazi officer Reinhard Heydrich, commences.
 * 1943 – Soviet authorities launch Operation Ulussy, beginning the deportation of the Kalmyk nation to Siberia and Central Asia.
 * 1943  – World War II: After eight days of brutal house-to-house fighting, the Battle of Ortona concludes with the victory of the 1st Canadian Infantry Division over the German 1st Parachute Division and the capture of the Italian town of Ortona.
 * 1944 – Maurice Richard becomes the first player to score eight points in one game of NHL ice hockey.
 * 1948 – The DC-3 airliner NC16002 disappears 50 mi south of Miami.
 * 1956 – Chin Peng, David Marshall and Tunku Abdul Rahman meet in Baling, Malaya to try and resolve the Malayan Emergency situation.
 * 1958 – "Greatest Game Ever Played": The Baltimore Colts defeat the New York Giants in the first ever National Football League sudden death overtime game at New York's Yankee Stadium to win the NFL Championship.
 * 1967 – American businesswoman Muriel Siebert becomes the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange.
 * 1972 – The last scheduled day for induction into the military by the Selective Service System. Due to the fact that President Richard Nixon declared this day a national day of mourning due to former President Harry S Truman's death, approximately 300 men were not able to report due to most Federal offices being closed. Since the draft was not resumed in 1973, they were never drafted.
 * 1973 – The United States Endangered Species Act is signed into law by President Richard Nixon.
 * 1978 – United Airlines Flight 173 crashes in a residential neighborhood near Portland International Airport, killing 10 people.
 * 1989 – A magnitude 5.6 earthquake hits Newcastle, New South Wales, Australia, killing 13 people.
 * 2006 – War in Somalia: The militaries of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government and Ethiopian troops capture Mogadishu unopposed.
 * 2009 – Forty-three people die in a suicide bombing in Karachi, Pakistan, where Shia Muslims are observing the Day of Ashura.
 * 2014 – Indonesia AirAsia Flight 8501 crashes into the Karimata Strait en route from Surabaya to Singapore, killing all 162 people aboard.
 * 2014  – Nine people die and another 19 are reported missing, when the MS Norman Atlantic catches fire in the Strait of Otranto, in the Adriatic Sea, in Italian waters.

Pre-1600

 * 1461 – Louise of Savoy, French nun (d. 1503)
 * 1510 – Nicholas Bacon, English politician (d. 1579)
 * 1535 – Martin Eisengrein, German theologian (d. 1578)

1601–1900

 * 1619 – Antoine Furetière, French author and scholar (d. 1688)
 * 1635 – Elizabeth Stuart, second daughter of King Charles I of England (d. 1650)
 * 1651 – Johann Krieger, German organist and composer (d. 1735)
 * 1655 – Charles Cornwallis, 3rd Baron Cornwallis, English politician, Lord Lieutenant of Suffolk (d. 1698)
 * 1665 – George FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Northumberland, English general and politician, Lord Lieutenant of Berkshire (d. 1716)
 * 1722 – Eliza Lucas, Caribbean-American agriculturalist (d. 1793)
 * 1724 – Christoph Franz von Buseck, Prince-Bishop of Bamberg (d. 1805)
 * 1763 – John Molson, English-Canadian brewer, founded the Molson Brewery (d. 1836)
 * 1775 – Jean-Gabriel Eynard, Swiss banker and photographer (d. 1863)
 * 1789 – Catharine Maria Sedgwick, American novelist of "domestic fiction" (d. 1867)
 * 1798 – Thomas Henderson, Scottish astronomer and mathematician (d. 1844)
 * 1818 – Carl Remigius Fresenius, German chemist and academic (d. 1897)
 * 1842 – Calixa Lavallée, Canadian-American lieutenant and composer (d. 1891)
 * 1856 – Woodrow Wilson, American historian and politician, 28th President of the United States, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1924)
 * 1865 – Félix Vallotton, Swiss/French painter (d. 1925)
 * 1870 – Charles Bennett, English runner (d. 1949)
 * 1882 – Arthur Eddington, English astronomer, physicist, and mathematician (d. 1944)
 * 1882  – Lili Elbe, Danish model and painter (d. 1931)
 * 1887 – Werner Kolhörster, German physicist and academic (d. 1946)
 * 1888 – F. W. Murnau, German-American director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 1931)
 * 1890 – Quincy Wright, American political scientist, historian, and academic (d. 1970)
 * 1895 – Carol Ryrie Brink, American author and playwright (d. 1981)
 * 1898 – Carl-Gustaf Rossby, Swedish-American meteorologist and academic (d. 1957)
 * 1898  – Shigematsu Sakaibara, Japanese admiral (d. 1947)
 * 1900 – Ted Lyons, American baseball player (d. 1986)

1901–present

 * 1902 – Mortimer J. Adler, American philosopher and author (d. 2001)
 * 1902  – Shen Congwen, Chinese author and educator (d. 1988)
 * 1903 – Earl Hines, American pianist and bandleader (d. 1983)
 * 1903  – John von Neumann, Hungarian-American mathematician and physicist (d. 1957)
 * 1907 – Ze'ev Ben-Haim, Ukrainian-Israeli linguist and academic (d. 2013)
 * 1908 – Lew Ayres, American actor (d. 1996)
 * 1910 – Billy Williams, American singer (d. 1972)
 * 1911 – Wil van Beveren, Dutch sprinter and journalist (d. 2003)
 * 1913 – Lou Jacobi, Canadian-American actor (d. 2009)
 * 1914 – Bidia Dandaron, Russian author and educator (d. 1974)
 * 1914  – Pops Staples, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2000)
 * 1917 – Ellis Clarke, Trinidadian politician, 1st President of Trinidad and Tobago (d. 2010)
 * 1919 – Emily Cheney Neville, American author (d. 1997)
 * 1920 – Tufty Mann, South African cricketer (d. 1952)
 * 1920  – Bruce McCarty, American architect, designed the Knoxville City-County Building (d. 2013)
 * 1920  – Steve Van Buren, Honduran-American football player (d. 2012)
 * 1920  – Al Wistert, American football player and coach (d. 2016)
 * 1921 – Johnny Otis, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2012)
 * 1922 – Lionel Bowen, Australian politician, 6th Deputy Prime Minister of Australia (d. 2012)
 * 1922  – Stan Lee, American publisher, producer, and actor (d. 2018)
 * 1924 – Girma Wolde-Giorgis, Ethiopian politician; President of Ethiopia (d. 2018)
 * 1925 – Hildegard Knef, German actress and singer (d. 2002)
 * 1925  – Milton Obote, Ugandan engineer and politician, 2nd President of Uganda (d. 2005)
 * 1926 – Donald Carr, German-English cricketer and referee (d. 2016)
 * 1928 – Moe Koffman, Canadian flute player, saxophonist, and composer (d. 2001)
 * 1929 – Brian Redhead, English journalist and author (d. 1994)
 * 1929  – Terry Sawchuk, Canadian-American ice hockey player (d. 1970)
 * 1929  – Maarten Schmidt, Dutch astronomer (d. 2022)
 * 1930 – Mariam A. Aleem, Egyptian illustrator and academic (d. 2010)
 * 1931 – Guy Debord, French theorist and author (d. 1994)
 * 1931  – Martin Milner, American actor (d. 2015)
 * 1932 – Dhirubhai Ambani, Indian businessman, founded Reliance Industries (d. 2002)
 * 1932  – Dorsey Burnette, American singer-songwriter (d. 1979)
 * 1932  – Roy Hattersley, English journalist and politician, Shadow Home Secretary
 * 1932  – Harry Howell, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (d. 2019)
 * 1932  – Nichelle Nichols, American actress (d. 2022)
 * 1932  – Manuel Puig, Argentine author and playwright (d. 1990)
 * 1933 – John Y. Brown Jr., American soldier, lawyer, and politician, 55th Governor of Kentucky (d. 2022)
 * 1934 – Rudi Faßnacht, German footballer and manager (d. 2000)
 * 1934  – Maggie Smith, English actress
 * 1936 – Alan Coleman, English-Australian director, producer, and screenwriter (d. 2013)
 * 1936  – Lawrence Schiller, American journalist, director, and producer
 * 1937 – Ratan Tata, Indian businessman and philanthropist
 * 1938 – Dick Sudhalter, American trumpet player, scholar, and critic (d. 2008)
 * 1939 – Philip Anschutz, American businessman, founded Anschutz Entertainment Group
 * 1939  – Frank McLintock, Scottish footballer and manager
 * 1939  – Michelle Urry, American journalist and illustrator (d. 2006)
 * 1940 – A. K. Antony, Indian lawyer and politician, Indian Minister of Defence
 * 1940  – Don Francisco, Chilean-American journalist and talk show host
 * 1941 – Intikhab Alam, Indian-Pakistani cricketer and coach
 * 1942 – Roger Swerts, Belgian cyclist
 * 1943 – Juan Luis Cipriani Thorne, Peruvian cardinal
 * 1943  – David Peterson, Canadian lawyer and politician, 20th Premier of Ontario
 * 1943  – Joan Ruddock, Welsh politician
 * 1944 – Sandra Faber, American astronomer and academic
 * 1944  – Johnny Isakson, American sergeant and politician (d. 2021)
 * 1944  – Kary Mullis, American biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2019)
 * 1944  – Gordon Taylor, English footballer
 * 1945 – Birendra, King of Nepal (d. 2001)
 * 1945  – Max Hastings, English journalist, historian, and author
 * 1946 – Mike Beebe, American lawyer and politician, 45th Governor of Arkansas
 * 1946  – Pierre Falardeau, Canadian director, screenwriter, and activist (d. 2009)
 * 1946  – Hubert Green, American golfer (d. 2018)
 * 1946  – Tim Johnson, American lawyer and politician
 * 1946  – Barbara, Lady Judge, American-English lawyer and businesswoman (d. 2020)
 * 1946  – Bill Lee, American baseball player and author
 * 1946  – Laffit Pincay Jr., Panamanian jockey
 * 1946  – Edgar Winter, American singer-songwriter, keyboard player, and producer
 * 1947 – Dick Diamonde, Dutch-Australian rock bass player
 * 1947  – Aurelio Rodríguez, Mexican baseball player, coach, and manager (d. 2000)
 * 1948 – Ziggy Modeliste, American drummer
 * 1950 – Alex Chilton, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (d. 2010)
 * 1950  – Clifford Cocks, English mathematician and cryptographer
 * 1950  – Rainer Maria Latzke, German-American painter and academic
 * 1952 – Arun Jaitley, Indian lawyer and politician, 9th Indian Minister of Law and Justice (d. 2019)
 * 1952  – Bridget Prentice, Scottish educator and politician
 * 1953 – Richard Clayderman, French pianist
 * 1953  – Tatsumi Fujinami, Japanese wrestler and promoter, founded Dradition wrestling promotion
 * 1953  – Charlie Pierce, American journalist and author
 * 1953  – Martha Wash, American singer-songwriter
 * 1954 – Gayle King, American television journalist
 * 1954  – Denzel Washington, American actor, director, and producer
 * 1954 – Tony Ables, American serial killer
 * 1955 – Stephen Frost, English comedian, actor, and screenwriter
 * 1955  – Liu Xiaobo, Chinese author, academic, and activist, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 2017)
 * 1956 – Nigel Kennedy, English violinist
 * 1958 – Terry Butcher, English footballer and manager
 * 1958  – Curt Byrum, American golfer
 * 1958  – Zoran Gajić, Serbian volleyball trainer
 * 1959 – Hansjörg Kunze, German runner and sportscaster
 * 1959  – Daniel Léo Simpson, American composer
 * 1959  – Ana Torroja, Spanish singer-songwriter
 * 1960 – Ray Bourque, Canadian ice hockey player
 * 1960  – John Fitzgerald, Australian tennis player, coach, and sportscaster
 * 1960  – Chad McQueen, American actor
 * 1960  – Melvin Turpin, American basketball player (d. 2010)
 * 1961 – Kent Nielsen, Danish footballer and manager
 * 1962 – Michel Petrucciani, French jazz pianist (d. 1999)
 * 1964 – Tex Perkins, Australian singer-songwriter
 * 1964  – Maite Zúñiga, Spanish runner
 * 1965 – Allar Levandi, Estonian skier
 * 1967 – Chris Ware, American illustrator
 * 1968 – Akihiko Hoshide, Japanese engineer and astronaut
 * 1969 – Linus Torvalds, Finnish-American computer programmer, developed Linux kernel
 * 1970 – Elaine Hendrix, American actress
 * 1970  – James Jett, American sprinter and football player
 * 1970  – Brenda Schultz-McCarthy, Dutch tennis player
 * 1971 – Benny Agbayani, American baseball player
 * 1971  – Sergi Barjuán, Spanish footballer and manager
 * 1971  – Anita Doth, Dutch singer-songwriter
 * 1971  – William Gates, American basketball player
 * 1972 – Roberto Palacios, Peruvian footballer
 * 1972  – Patrick Rafter, Australian-Bermudian tennis player and model
 * 1972  – Adam Vinatieri, American football player
 * 1973 – Holger Blume, German sprinter
 * 1973  – Marc Blume, German sprinter
 * 1973  – Seth Meyers, American actor, producer, screenwriter, and talk show host
 * 1973  – Ids Postma, Dutch speed skater
 * 1974 – Jocelyn Enriquez, American singer
 * 1974  – Rob Niedermayer, Canadian ice hockey player
 * 1974  – Markus Weinzierl, German footballer and manager
 * 1975 – B. J. Ryan, American baseball player
 * 1976 – Brendan Hines, American actor and singer
 * 1976  – Joe Manganiello, American actor
 * 1976  – Trond Nymark, Norwegian race walker
 * 1976  – Ben Tune, Australian rugby player
 * 1976  – Igor Žiković, Croatian footballer
 * 1977 – Derrick Brew, American sprinter
 * 1977  – Shane Elford, Australian rugby league player
 * 1977  – Vanessa Ferlito, American actress
 * 1977  – Seun Ogunkoya, Nigerian sprinter
 * 1978 – Chris Coyne, Australian footballer and manager
 * 1978  – John Legend, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor
 * 1979 – James Blake, American tennis player
 * 1979  – Senna Gammour, German singer-songwriter
 * 1979  – Bill Hall, American baseball player
 * 1979  – Zach Hill, American musician and artist
 * 1979  – André Holland, American actor
 * 1979  – Noomi Rapace, Swedish actress
 * 1980 – Lomana LuaLua, Congolese footballer
 * 1980  – Ryta Turava, Belarusian race walker
 * 1981 – Khalid Boulahrouz, Dutch footballer
 * 1981  – Elizabeth Jordan Carr, American journalist
 * 1981  – Sienna Miller, American-British actress and fashion designer
 * 1981  – David Moss, American ice hockey player
 * 1981  – Narsha, South Korean singer and dancer
 * 1981  – Frank Turner, English singer-songwriter and guitarist
 * 1981  – Mika Väyrynen, Finnish footballer
 * 1982 – Cedric Benson, American football player (d. 2019)
 * 1982  – Beau Garrett, American actress and model
 * 1982  – François Gourmet, Belgian decathlete
 * 1982  – Curtis Glencross, Canadian hockey player
 * 1984 – Martin Kaymer, German golfer
 * 1984  – Duane Solomon, American runner
 * 1986 – Tom Huddlestone, English footballer
 * 1987 – Thomas Dekker, American actor and musician
 * 1989 – Austin Barnes, American baseball player
 * 1989  – Mackenzie Rosman, American actress
 * 1990 – Ayele Abshero, Ethiopian runner
 * 1990  – David Archuleta, American singer
 * 1990  – John Henson, American basketball player
 * 1990  – Bastiaan Lijesen, Dutch swimmer
 * 1992 – Tomáš Jurčo, Slovak ice hockey player
 * 1994 – Adam Peaty, English swimmer
 * 1995 – Dylan Cease, American baseball player
 * 2001 – Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Canadian actress

Pre-1600

 * 925 – Wang Zongbi, general of the Chinese state of Former Shu
 * 1218 – Robert II, Count of Dreux (b. 1154)
 * 1297 – Hugh Aycelin, French cardinal (b. 1230)
 * 1326 – Sir David II Strathbogie, Earl of Atholl, Constable of Scotland, and Chief Warden of Northumberland
 * 1367 – Ashikaga Yoshiakira, Japanese shōgun (b. 1330)
 * 1394 – Maria Angelina Doukaina Palaiologina, queen of Epirus (b. 1350)
 * 1446 – Antipope Clement VIII (b. 1369)
 * 1491 – Bertoldo di Giovanni, Italian sculptor (b. c. 1435)
 * 1503 – Piero the Unfortunate, Italian ruler (b. 1471)
 * 1538 – Andrea Gritti, Doge of Venice (b. 1455)
 * 1547 – Konrad Peutinger, German humanist and antiquarian (b. 1465)
 * 1558 – Hermann Finck, German organist and composer (b. 1527)

1601–1900

 * 1622 – Francis de Sales, French bishop and saint (b. 1567)
 * 1663 – Francesco Maria Grimaldi, Italian mathematician and physicist (b. 1618)
 * 1671 – Johann Friedrich Gronovius, German scholar and critic (b. 1611)
 * 1694 – Mary II of England (b. 1662)
 * 1706 – Pierre Bayle, French philosopher and author (b. 1647)
 * 1708 – Joseph Pitton de Tournefort, French botanist and mycologist (b. 1656)
 * 1715 – William Carstares, Scottish minister and academic (b. 1649)
 * 1734 – Rob Roy MacGregor, Scottish outlaw (b. 1671)
 * 1736 – Antonio Caldara, Italian composer (b. 1670)
 * 1785 – Peter Ernst Wilde, Polish-Estonian physician and journalist (b. 1732)
 * 1795 – Eugenio Espejo, Ecuadorian physician and lawyer (b. 1747)
 * 1859 – Thomas Babington Macaulay, 1st Baron Macaulay, English historian and politician, Secretary at War (b. 1800)
 * 1872 – James Van Ness, American lawyer and politician, 7th Mayor of San Francisco (b. 1808)
 * 1890 – Dennis Miller Bunker, American painter (b. 1861)
 * 1897 – William Corby, American priest and academic (b. 1833)
 * 1900 – Alexandre de Serpa Pinto, Portuguese soldier and explorer (b. 1846)

1901–present

 * 1907 – Louise Granberg, Swedish playwright (b. 1812)
 * 1913 – Ahmet Mithat Efendi, Turkish journalist and translator (b. 1844)
 * 1916 – Eduard Strauss, Austrian violinist and composer (b. 1835)
 * 1917 – Alfred Edwin McKay, Canadian captain and pilot (b. 1892)
 * 1918 – Olavo Bilac, Brazilian poet and journalist (b. 1865)
 * 1919 – Johannes Rydberg, Swedish physicist and academic (b. 1854)
 * 1924 – Léon Bakst, Russian painter and costume designer (b. 1866)
 * 1932 – Jack Blackham, Australian cricketer (b. 1854)
 * 1935 – Clarence Day, American author and illustrator (b. 1874)
 * 1937 – Maurice Ravel, French pianist and composer (b. 1875)
 * 1938 – Florence Lawrence, Canadian actress (b. 1886)
 * 1942 – Alfred Flatow, German gymnast (b. 1869)
 * 1943 – Steve Evans, American baseball player (b. 1885)
 * 1945 – Theodore Dreiser, American novelist and journalist (b. 1871)
 * 1946 – Elie Nadelman, Polish-American sculptor (b. 1882)
 * 1947 – Victor Emmanuel III of Italy (b. 1869)
 * 1949 – Jack Lovelock, New Zealand runner and soldier (b. 1910)
 * 1959 – Ante Pavelić, Croatian fascist dictator during World War II (b. 1889)
 * 1960 – Philippe Panneton, Canadian physician, academic, and diplomat (b. 1895)
 * 1963 – Paul Hindemith, German violist, composer, and conductor (b. 1895)
 * 1967 – Katharine McCormick, American biologist and philanthropist (b. 1875)
 * 1968 – David Ogilvy, 12th Earl of Airlie, Scottish peer, soldier and courtier (b. 1893)
 * 1971 – Max Steiner, Austrian-American pianist, composer, and conductor (b. 1888)
 * 1976 – Katharine Byron, American politician (b. 1903)
 * 1981 – Allan Dwan, Canadian-American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1885)
 * 1983 – Dennis Wilson, American drummer, songwriter, and producer (b. 1944)
 * 1984 – Sam Peckinpah, American director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1925)
 * 1984 – Mary Stewart, Baroness Stewart of Alvechurch, British politician and educator (b. 1903)
 * 1986 – John D. MacDonald, American colonel and author (b. 1916)
 * 1986 – Jan Nieuwenhuys, Dutch painter (b. 1922)
 * 1989 – Hermann Oberth, Romanian-German physicist and engineer (b. 1894)
 * 1990 – Warren Skaaren, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1946)
 * 1992 – Sal Maglie, American baseball player and coach (b. 1917)
 * 1993 – William L. Shirer, American journalist and historian (b. 1904)
 * 1994 – Jean-Louis Lévesque, Canadian businessman and philanthropist (b. 1911)
 * 1999 – Clayton Moore, American actor (b. 1914)
 * 2001 – Samuel Abraham Goldblith, American lieutenant, biologist, and engineer (b. 1919)
 * 2001 – William X. Kienzle, American priest and author (b. 1928)
 * 2003 – Benjamin Thurman Hacker, American admiral (b. 1935)
 * 2004 – Jerry Orbach, American actor and singer (b. 1935)
 * 2004 – Susan Sontag, American novelist, essayist, critic, and playwright (b. 1933)
 * 2006 – Jamal Karimi-Rad, Iranian politician, Iranian Minister of Justice (b. 1956)
 * 2008 – Irene Lieblich, Polish-American painter and illustrator (b. 1923)
 * 2009 – Jimmy Sullivan, American musician, composer and songwriter. Known by his stage name The Rev (b. 1981)
 * 2010 – Billy Taylor, American pianist and composer (b. 1921)
 * 2010 – Terry Peder Rasmussen, American serial killer (b. 1943)
 * 2012 – Nicholas Ambraseys, Greek-English seismologist and engineer (b. 1929)
 * 2012 – Mark Crispin, American computer scientist and academic, designed the IMAP (b. 1956)
 * 2012 – Václav Drobný, Czech footballer (b. 1980)
 * 2012 – Frankie Walsh, Irish hurler and manager (b. 1936)
 * 2013 – Halton Arp, American-German astronomer and critic (b. 1927)
 * 2013 – Esther Borja, Cuban soprano and actress (b. 1913)
 * 2013 – Andrew Jacobs, Jr., American soldier, lawyer, and politician (b. 1932)
 * 2013 – Alfred Marshall, American businessman, founded Marshalls (b. 1919)
 * 2013 – Joseph Ruskin, American actor and producer (b. 1924)
 * 2013 – Ilya Tsymbalar, Ukrainian-Russian footballer and manager (b. 1969)
 * 2014 – Vahan Hovhannisyan, Armenian politician (b. 1956)
 * 2014 – Frankie Randall, American singer-songwriter (b. 1938)
 * 2014 – Leelah Alcorn, American transgender teenager (b. 1997)
 * 2015 – John Bradbury, English drummer and songwriter (b. 1953)
 * 2015 – Eloy Inos, Mariana Islander businessman and politician, 8th Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands (b. 1949)
 * 2015 – Lemmy, English musician, singer, and songwriter (b. 1945)
 * 2016 – Debbie Reynolds, American actress, singer and dancer (b. 1932)
 * 2016 – Jean-Christophe Victor, French political scientist (b. 1947)
 * 2017 – Rose Marie, American actress and comedienne (b. 1923)
 * 2021 – Grichka Bogdanoff, French television presenter and scientific essayist (b. 1949)
 * 2021 – John Madden, American football Hall of Fame coach and commentator (b. 1936)
 * 2021 – Harry Reid, American lawyer, politician, and former Senate majority leader (b. 1939)
 * 2022 – Philomena Franz, German Romani author (b. 1922)
 * 2023 – Vijayakanth, Indian actor and politician (b. 1952)

Holidays and observances

 * Christian feast day:
 * Abel (Coptic Church)
 * Caterina Volpicelli
 * Feast of the Holy Innocents or Childermas; in Spain and Latin American countries the festival is celebrated with pranks (inocentadas), similar to April Fools' Day (Catholic Church, Church of England, Lutheran Church), and its related observances:
 * Els Enfarinats (Ibi, Spain)
 * Simon the Athonite
 * December 28 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
 * King Taksin Memorial Day (Thailand)
 * Proclamation Day (South Australia), celebration started on the day following Christmas (South Australia)
 * Republic Day (South Sudan)
 * The fourth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)

title: December 28