December 26
December 26 this yearin various calendars Akan Nwonamemene Armenian 9 Arach 1476 Aztec Huei Tozoztli 5, 13 Tecpatl Babylonian 16 Kislimu, 2337 SE Balinese pawukon Menga, Beteng, Menala, Paing, Aryang, Saniscara of Warigadian, Uma, Tulus, Dewa Bengali 11 Poush , BS 1433 Chinese Yang Wood Dog ・Stomach Mansion Fire Horse Year, Month 11 , Day 18Dongzhi , 10 days until Xiaohan )Common Era 26 December 2026 CE Coptic 17 Koiak , AM 1743Egyptian 14 Pachon , 2775 NE Ethiopian 17 Tākḫśāś, 2019 Amätä Məhrät French Republican Décade I, Quintidi de Nivôse de l'Année 235 de la République Gregorian 26 December , AD 2026 Hebrew 16 Tevet , AM 5787 Hindu Puṣya ・Indra Pauṣa , 1948 SE Tr̥tīyā , Kṛishna pakṣa of Mārgaśīrṣa , 2083 VE Rāudra ・5127 KY ・1,872,935 Icelandic Laugardagur, 4 Mörsugur 2026 Islamic 16 Rajab , AH 1448tabular method ) ISO week date 2026-W52-6 Japanese 18 Shimotsuki , Reiwa 8Tōji , 10 days until Shōkan ) Julian 13 December , AD 2026 (AM 7535)Julian day 2461401 Korean 18 Jwidal , 4359 DE Maya 13.0.14.3.18 11 Kankin , 13 Etznab Roman Idibus Decembribus , MMDCCLXXIX AUC Solar Hijri 5 Dey , SH 1405 Tibetan 18 mgo, me pho rta
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Day of the year
December 26 is the 360th day of the year (361st in leap years ) in the Gregorian calendar ; five days remain until the end of the year.
Events
1704 – Second Battle of Anandpur : In the Second Battle of Anandpur, Aurangzeb's two generals, Wazir Khan and Zaberdast Khan executed two children of Guru Gobind Singh , Zorawar Singh aged eight and Fateh Singh aged five, by burying them alive into a wall.1709 – The opera Agrippina George Frideric Handel premiered in Venice.1723 – Bach led the first performance of Darzu ist erschienen der Sohn Gottes , BWV 40Christmas Cantata composed for Leipzig.1776 – American Revolutionary War : In the Battle of Trenton , the Continental Army under General George Washington executes a successful surprise attack and defeats a garrison of Hessian forces serving Great Britain .1790 – Louis XVI of France gives his public assent to Civil Constitution of the Clergy during the French Revolution .1793 – Second Battle of Wissembourg : France defeats Austria.1799 – Henry Lee III 's eulogy to George Washington in congress declares him as "first in war, first in peace and first in the hearts of his countrymen".1805 – Austria and France sign the Treaty of Pressburg .1806 – Battles of Pultusk and Golymin : Russian forces hold French forces under Napoleon .1811 – A theater fire in Richmond, Virginia kills 72 people, including the Governor of Virginia George William Smith and the president of the First National Bank of Virginia Abraham B. Venable .1825 – Advocates of liberalism in Russia rise up against Czar Nicholas I in the Decembrist revolt , but are later suppressed.1843 – The discovery of octonions by John T. Graves , who denoted them with a boldface O , was announced to his mathematician friend William Hamilton , discoverer of quaternions , in a letter on this date.1860 – First Rules derby is held between Sheffield F.C. and Hallam F.C. , the oldest football fixture in the world.1861 – American Civil War : The Trent AffairConfederate diplomatic envoys James Murray Mason and John Slidell are freed by the United States government, thus easing tensions between the U.S. and the United Kingdom.1862 – American Civil War: The Battle of Chickasaw Bayou begins as Union General William T. Sherman starts landing his troops in an attempt to advance on Vicksburg, Mississippi .1862 – Dakota War of 1862 : The largest mass-hanging in U.S. history takes place in Mankato, Minnesota , where 38 Native American prisoners are hanged.
1871 – Thespis Gilbert and Sullivan collaboration, debuts.1898 – Marie and Pierre Curie announce the isolation of radium .1919 – Babe Ruth of the Boston Red Sox is sold to the New York Yankees by owner Harry Frazee , allegedly establishing the Curse of the Bambino superstition.1926 – World premiere of Sibelius 's tone poem Tapiola 1941 – U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt signs a bill establishing the fourth Thursday in November as Thanksgiving Day in the United States.1941 – British Prime Minister Winston Churchill addresses a joint meeting of the U.S. Congress.
1943 – World War II : German warship Scharnhorst North Cape after a battle against major Royal Navy forces .1944 – World War II: George S. Patton 's Third Army breaks the encirclement of surrounded U.S. forces at Bastogne , Belgium.1948 – Cardinal József Mindszenty is arrested in Hungary and accused of treason and conspiracy.1948 – The last Soviet troops withdraw from North Korea .
1963 – The Beatles ' "I Want to Hold Your Hand " and "I Saw Her Standing There " are released in the United States, marking the beginning of Beatlemania on an international level.1966 – The first Kwanzaa is celebrated by Maulana Karenga , the chair of Black Studies at California State University, Long Beach .1968 – The Communist Party of the Philippines is established by Jose Maria Sison , breaking away from the Partido Komunista ng Pilipinas-1930 .1968 – Pan Am Flight 799 crashes during takeoff from Elmendorf Air Force Base , killing three.
1972 – Vietnam War : As part of Operation Linebacker II , 120 American B-52 Stratofortress bombers attacked Hanoi , including 78 launched from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam , the largest single combat launch in Strategic Air Command history.1975 – Tu-144 , the world's first commercial supersonic aircraft , surpassing Mach 2 , goes into service.1978 – The inaugural Paris-Dakar Rally begins.1980 – Witnesses report the first of several sightings of unexplained lights near RAF Woodbridge , in Rendlesham Forest , Suffolk , England, United Kingdom, an incident called "Britain's Roswell ".1989 – United Express Flight 2415 crashes on approach to the Tri-Cities Airport in Pasco, Washington , killing all six people on board.1991 – The Supreme Soviet of the Soviet Union meets and formally dissolves the Soviet Union , ending the Cold War .1993 – Kuban Airlines Flight 5719 crashes during a go-around at Gyumri Shirak International Airport , killing 35 of the 36 people on board.1994 – Four Armed Islamic Group hijackers seize control of Air France Flight 8969 . When the plane lands at Marseille , a French Gendarmerie assault team boards the aircraft and kills the hijackers.1998 – Iraq announces its intention to fire upon U.S. and British warplanes that patrol the northern and southern no-fly zones .1999 – The storm Lothar sweeps across Central Europe, killing 137 and causing US$1.3 billion in damage.2003 – The 6.6 M w Bam earthquake shakes southeastern Iran with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent ), leaving more than 26,000 dead and 30,000 injured.2004 – The 9.1–9.3 M w Indian Ocean earthquake shakes northern Sumatra with a maximum Mercalli intensity of IX (Violent ). One of the largest observed tsunamis , it affected coastal and partially mainland areas of Thailand , India , Sri Lanka , the Maldives , Malaysia , Myanmar , Bangladesh , and Indonesia ; death toll is estimated at 227,898.2004 – Orange Revolution : The final run-off election in Ukraine is held under heavy international scrutiny.
2006 – Two earthquakes in Hengchun, Taiwan measuring 7.0 and 6.9 on the moment magnitude scale kill two and disrupt telecommunications across Asia .2012 – China opens the world's longest high-speed rail route , which links Beijing and Guangzhou .2013 – An Irkut-Avia Antonov An-12 crashes on approach to Irkutsk Northwest Airport , killing all nine people on board.2015 – A violent EF-4 tornado hits Garland, Texas , killing nine and injuring almost 500 others.2021 – Three people are killed when a 14-year-old opens fire on civilians at a Texaco convenience store in Garland, Texas.2025 – Israel recognises Somaliland as an independent state, becoming the first country to do so.Births
1618 – Elisabeth of the Palatinate , German princess, philosopher, and Calvinist (died 1680)1628 – John Page , English Colonial politician (died 1692)1646 – Robert Bolling , English/English Colonial merchant and planter (died 1709)1687 – Johann Georg Pisendel , German violinist and composer (died 1755)1716 – Thomas Gray , English poet and scholar (died 1771)1716 – Jean François de Saint-Lambert , French soldier and philosopher (died 1803)
1723 – Friedrich Melchior, Baron von Grimm , German-French author and playwright (died 1807)1737 – Prince Josias of Saxe-Coburg-Saalfeld (died 1815)1751 – Lord George Gordon , English lieutenant and politician (died 1793)1751 – Clemens Maria Hofbauer , Austrian priest, missionary, and saint (died 1820)
1769 – Ernst Moritz Arndt , German writer and poet (died 1860)1780 – Mary Somerville , Scottish mathematician, astronomer, and author (died 1872)1782 – Philaret Drozdov , Russian metropolitan and saint (died 1867)1785 – Étienne Constantin de Gerlache , Belgian lawyer and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Belgium (died 1871)1791 – Charles Babbage , English mathematician and engineer, invented the Difference engine (died 1871)1803 – Friedrich Reinhold Kreutzwald , Estonian physician and author (died 1882)1819 – E. D. E. N. Southworth , American author and educator (died 1899)1820 – Dion Boucicault , Irish actor and playwright (died 1890)1837 – Morgan Bulkeley , American soldier and politician, 54th governor of Connecticut (died 1922)1837 – George Dewey , American admiral (died 1917)
1852 – Johannes François Snelleman , Dutch zoologist, orientalist, and ethnographer (died 1938)1853 – René Bazin , French author and academic (died 1932)1854 – José Yves Limantour , Mexican financier and politician, Mexican Secretary of Finance (died 1935)1859 – William Stephens , American lawyer and politician, 24th Governor of California (died 1944)1863 – Charles Pathé , French record producer, co-founded Pathé Records (died 1957)1864 – Yun Chi-ho , Korean activist and politician (died 1945)1867 – Phan Bội Châu , Vietnamese activist (died 1940)1869 – Mathieu Cordang , Dutch cyclist (died 1942)1870 – Virginia Bolten , Argentine feminist and trade unionist (died 1960)1872 – Norman Angell , English journalist, academic, and politician, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1967)1873 – Thomas Wass , English cricketer (died 1953)1874 – Khan Bahadur Ahsanullah , Bangladeshi theologian and academic (died 1965)1883 – Maurice Utrillo , French painter (died 1955)1885 – Bazoline Estelle Usher , African-American educator (died 1992)1887 – Arthur Percival , English general (died 1966)1888 – Marius Canard , French orientalist and historian (died 1982)1889 – Ragnhild Kaarbø , Norwegian painter (died 1949)1890 – Konstantinos Georgakopoulos , Greek lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Greece (died 1973)1890 – Percy Hodge , English runner (died 1967)
1891 – Henry Miller , American author and painter (died 1980)1892 – Don Barclay , American actor and illustrator (died 1975)1893 – Mao Zedong , Chinese politician, Chairman of the Chinese Communist Party (died 1976)1894 – Jean Toomer , American author and poet (died 1967)1900 – Evelyn Bark , leading member of the British Red Cross , first female recipient of the CMG (died 1993)1901 – Elmar Muuk , Estonian linguist and author (died 1941)1902 – Anatoli Lvovich Kaplan , Russian painter and sculptor (died 1980)1903 – Elisha Cook, Jr. , American actor (died 1995)1904 – Alejo Carpentier , Swiss-Cuban musicologist and author (died 1980)1905 – William Loeb III , American publisher (died 1981)1907 – Albert Gore, Sr. , American lawyer and politician (died 1998)1908 – Ralph Hill , American runner (died 1994)1909 – Matt Gordy , American pole vaulter (died 1989)1910 – Imperio Argentina , Argentine-Spanish actress and singer (died 2003)1910 – Marguerite Churchill , American actress (died 2000)
1912 – Arsenio Lacson , Filipino journalist and politician, Mayor of Manila (died 1962)1913 – Frank Swift , English footballer and journalist (died 1958)1914 – Richard Widmark , American actor (died 2008)1915 – Rolf Botvid , Swedish actor and screenwriter (died 1998)1918 – Olga Lopes-Seale , Guyanese-Barbadian singer and radio host (died 2011)1918 – Georgios Rallis , Greek lieutenant and politician, 173rd Prime Minister of Greece (died 2006)
1921 – Steve Allen , American actor, singer, talk show host, and screenwriter (died 2000)1921 – John Severin , American illustrator (died 2012)
1922 – Richard Mayes , English actor (died 2006)1923 – Richard Artschwager , American painter, illustrator, and sculptor (died 2013)1924 – Frank Broyles , American football player, coach, and sportscaster (died 2017)1926 – Earle Brown , American composer (died 2002)1927 – Denis Gifford , English journalist and historian (died 2000)1927 – Alan King , American actor, producer, and screenwriter (died 2004)
1927 – Stu Miller , American baseball player (died 2015)
1927 – Denis Quilley , English actor (died 2003)
1928 – Martin Cooper , American engineer, invented the mobile phone 1929 – Kathleen Crowley , American actress (died 2017)1929 – Régine Zylberberg , Belgian-French singer and actress (died 2022)
1930 – Jean Ferrat , French singer-songwriter and poet (died 2010)1930 – Harry Gamble , American football player, coach, and manager (died 2014)
1930 – Donald Moffat , English-American actor (died 2018)
1933 – Caroll Spinney , American puppeteer and voice actor (died 2019)1935 – Rohan Kanhai , Guyanese cricketer1935 – Norm Ullman , Canadian ice hockey player
1936 – Kitty Dukakis , American author, First Lady of Massachusetts (died 2025)1936 – Peep Jänes , Estonian architect
1936 – Trevor Taylor , English race car driver (died 2010)
1937 – John Horton Conway , English mathematician, known for Conway's Game of Life (died 2020)1938 – Bahram Beyzai , Iranian director, screenwriter, and playwright (died 2025)1938 – Robert Hamerton-Kelly , South African-American pastor, scholar, and author (died 2013)
1938 – Alamgir Kabir , Bangladeshi director, producer, and screenwriter (died 1989)
1938 – Mirko Kovač , Yugoslav-Croatian author, playwright, and screenwriter (died 2013)
1939 – Fred Schepisi , Australian director and screenwriter1939 – Phil Spector , American singer-songwriter and producer (died 2021)
1940 – Edward C. Prescott , American economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (died 2022)1940 – Ray Sadecki , American baseball player (died 2014)
1941 – Daniel Schmid , Swiss actor, director, and screenwriter (died 2006)1942 – Vinicio Cerezo , Guatemalan politician, 28th President of Guatemala 1942 – Catherine Coulter , American author
1942 – Gray Davis , American captain, lawyer, and politician, 37th Governor of California
1944 – William Ayers , American academic and activist1945 – John Walsh , American television host, producer, and activist, created America's Most Wanted 1946 – Alan Frumin , American lawyer and politician1946 – Tiit Rosenberg , Estonian historian and academic
1947 – James T. Conway , American general1947 – Jean Echenoz , French author
1947 – Carlton Fisk , American baseball player
1947 – Josef Janíček , Czech singer-songwriter, guitarist, and keyboard player
1947 – Liz Lochhead , Scottish poet and playwright
1947 – Richard Levis McCormick , American historian and academic
1948 – Candy Crowley , American journalist1949 – José Ramos-Horta , East Timorese lawyer and politician, 2nd President of East Timor , Nobel Prize laureate1950 – Raja Pervaiz Ashraf , Pakistani businessman and politician, 17th Prime Minister of Pakistan 1950 – Mario Mendoza , Mexican baseball player and manager
1953 – Leonel Fernández , Dominican lawyer and politician, 51st President of the Dominican Republic 1953 – Toomas Hendrik Ilves , Swedish-Estonian journalist and politician, 4th President of Estonia
1953 – Makis Katsavakis , Greek footballer and manager
1953 – Henning Schmitz , German drummer
1954 – Peter Hillary , New Zealand mountaineer and philanthropist1954 – Ozzie Smith , American baseball player and sportscaster
1955 – Evan Bayh , American lawyer and politician, 46th Governor of Indiana 1956 – David Sedaris , American comedian, author, and radio host1957 – Dermot Murnaghan , English-Northern Irish journalist and game show host (died 2026)1958 – Adrian Newey , English aerodynamicist and engineer1959 – Wang Lijun , Chinese police officer and politician1959 – Kōji Morimoto , Japanese animator and director
1959 – Hans Nielsen , Danish motorcycle racer
1960 – Keith Martin Ball , American mathematician and academic1960 – Ruud Kaiser , Dutch footballer and manager
1960 – Cem Uzan , Turkish businessman and politician
1961 – Andrew Lock , Australian mountaineer1962 – James Kottak , American drummer (died 2024)1962 – Mark Starr , English wrestler (died 2013)
1963 – Craig Teitzel , Australian rugby league player1963 – Lars Ulrich , Danish-American drummer, songwriter, and producer
1964 – Elizabeth Kostova , American author1966 – Jay Farrar , American singer-songwriter and guitarist1966 – Tim Legler , American basketball player and sportscaster
1968 – Matt Zoller Seitz , American film critic and author1969 – Isaac Viciosa , Spanish runner1970 – James Mercer , American singer-songwriter and guitarist1971 – Jared Leto , American actor and musician1971 – Mika Nurmela , Finnish footballer
1971 – Tatiana Sorokko , Russian-American model and journalist
1972 – Gaby Colebunders , Belgian politician1972 – Esteban Fuertes , Argentinian footballer
1972 – Robert Muchamore , English author
1973 – Paulo Frederico Benevenute , Brazilian footballer1973 – Gianluca Faliva , Italian rugby player
1973 – Nobuhiko Matsunaka , Japanese baseball player
1973 – Steve Prescott , English rugby player (died 2013)
1974 – Joshua John Miller , American actor, director, and screenwriter1975 – Chris Calaguio , Filipino basketball player1975 – Marcelo Ríos , Chilean tennis player
1975 – María Vasco , Spanish race walker
1976 – Simon Goodwin , Australian footballer and coach1977 – Fatih Akyel , Turkish footballer and manager1977 – Adrienn Hegedűs , Hungarian tennis player
1978 – Karel Rüütli , Estonian lawyer and politician1978 – Kaoru Sugayama , Japanese volleyball player
1979 – Fabián Carini , Uruguayan footballer1979 – Chris Daughtry , American singer-songwriter and guitarist
1979 – Dimitry Vassiliev , Russian ski jumper
1979 – Craig Wing , Australian rugby player
1980 – Todd Dunivant , American soccer player1980 – Ceylan Ertem , Turkish singer
1981 – Pablo Canavosio , Argentine-Italian rugby player1981 – Omar Infante , Venezuelan baseball player
1982 – Kenneth Darby , American football player1982 – Noel Hunt , Irish footballer
1982 – Aksel Lund Svindal , Norwegian skier
1983 – Jeroen Soete , Belgian politician1983 – Yu Takahashi , Japanese singer-songwriter
1983 – Alexander Wang , American fashion designer
1984 – Ahmed Barusso , Ghanaian footballer1984 – Leonardo Ghiraldini , Italian rugby player
1984 – Alex Schwazer , Italian race walker
1985 – Damir Markota , Croatian basketball player1986 – Joe Alexander , American-Israeli basketball player1986 – Kit Harington , English actor
1986 – Hugo Lloris , French footballer
1986 – Selen Soyder , Turkish actress and beauty queen
1987 – Oskar Osala , Finnish ice hockey player1989 – Yohan Blake , Jamaican sprinter1989 – Sofiane Feghouli , Algerian footballer
1989 – Tomáš Kundrátek , Czech ice hockey player
1990 – Denis Cheryshev , Russian footballer1990 – Cory Jefferson , American basketball player
1990 – Aaron Ramsey , Welsh footballer
1991 – Brandon Scherff , American football player1991 – Eden Sher , American actress
1991 – Trevor Siemian , American football player
1992 – Cecilia Costa Melgar , Chilean tennis player1992 – Jade Thirlwall , English singer
1994 – Colby Cave , Canadian ice hockey player (died 2020)1994 – Souleymane Coulibaly , Ivorian footballer
1997 – Tamara Zidanšek , Slovenian tennis player2001 – Aleksej Pokuševski , Serbian basketball player2002 – Josh Wilson-Esbrand , English footballer2004 – Leo Carlsson , Swedish ice hockey playerDeaths
Pre-1600
268 – Dionysius , pope of the Catholic Church418 – Zosimus , pope of the Catholic Church831 – Euthymius of Sardis , Byzantine bishop and saint (born 754)865 – Zheng , empress of the Tang Dynasty893 – Masrur al-Balkhi , Abbasid general1006 – Gao Qiong , Chinese general (born 935)1191 – Reginald Fitz Jocelin , archbishop-elect of Canterbury1302 – Valdemar , king of Sweden (born 1239)1331 – Philip I, Prince of Taranto , titular Latin Emperor (born 1278)1350 – Jean de Marigny , French archbishop1352 – John, 3rd Earl of Kent , English politician (born 1330)1360 – Thomas Holland, 1st Earl of Kent , English commander (born 1314)1413 – Michele Steno , doge of Venice (born 1331)1441 – Niccolò III d'Este , marquess of Ferrara1458 – Arthur III , duke of Brittany (born 1393)1476 – Galeazzo Maria Sforza , duke of Milan (born 1444)1530 – Babur , Mughal emperor (born 1483)1574 – Charles de Lorraine , French cardinal (born 1524)1646 – Henri de Bourbon , prince of Condé (born 1588)1731 – Antoine Houdar de la Motte , French author (born 1672)1771 – Claude Adrien Helvétius , French philosopher and activist (born 1715)1780 – John Fothergill , English physician and botanist (born 1712)1784 – Seth Warner , American colonel (born 1743)1786 – Gasparo Gozzi , Italian playwright and critic (born 1713)1863 – Francis Caulfeild, 2nd Earl of Charlemont , Irish politician, Lord Lieutenant of Tyrone (born 1775)1869 – Jean Léonard Marie Poiseuille , French physician and physiologist (born 1797)1890 – Heinrich Schliemann , German archaeologist, businessman and author (born 1822)1902 – Mary Hartwell Catherwood , American author and poet (born 1849)1909 – Frederic Remington , American painter and illustrator (born 1861)1923 – Dietrich Eckart , German journalist, poet, and politician (born 1868)1925 – Jan Letzel , Czech architect, designed the Hiroshima Peace Memorial (born 1880)1929 – Albert Giraud , Belgian poet (born 1860)1931 – Melvil Dewey , American librarian and educator, created the Dewey Decimal Classification (born 1851)1933 – Mary Ann Bevan , English nurse who, after developing acromegaly , toured the circus sideshow circuit as "the ugliest woman in the world" (born 1874)1933 – Anatoly Lunacharsky , Russian journalist and politician (born 1875)
1933 – Henry Watson Fowler , English lexicographer and educator (born 1858)
1938 – Anscar Vonier , German Benedictine abbot in England (born 1875)1959 – Jack Tresadern , English footballer and manager (born 1890)1960 – Tetsuro Watsuji , Japanese historian and philosopher (born 1889)1963 – Gorgeous George , American wrestler (born 1915)1966 – Ina Boudier-Bakker , Dutch author (born 1875)1966 – Herbert Otto Gille , German general (born 1897)
1966 – Guillermo Stábile , Argentinian footballer and manager (born 1905)
1968 – Weegee , Ukrainian-American photographer and journalist (born 1898)1970 – Lillian Board , South African-English runner (born 1948)1972 – Harry S. Truman , American colonel and politician, 33rd President of the United States (born 1884)1973 – Harold B. Lee , American religious leader, 11th President of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints (born 1899)1974 – Farid al-Atrash , Syrian-Egyptian singer-songwriter, oud player, and actor (born 1915)1974 – Jack Benny , American comedian, vaudevillian, actor, and violinist (born 1894)
1974 – Frederick Dalrymple-Hamilton , Scottish admiral (born 1890)
1977 – Howard Hawks , American director and screenwriter (born 1896)1980 – Tony Smith , American sculptor and educator (born 1912)1980 – Richard Chase , American cannibalistic serial killer and necrophile (born 1950)
1981 – Amber Reeves , New Zealand-English author and scholar (born 1887)1981 – Suat Hayri Ürgüplü , Turkish politician, Prime Minister of Turkey (born 1903)
1981 – Savitri , Indian actress, playback singer, dancer, director and producer (born 1936)
1983 – Hans Liska , Austrian-German artist (born 1907)1986 – Elsa Lanchester , English-American actress (born 1902)1987 – Dorothy Bliss , American invertebrate zoologist, curator at the American Museum of Natural History (born 1916)1988 – Glenn McCarthy , American businessman, founded the Shamrock Hotel (born 1907)1988 – Pablo Sorozábal , German-Spanish composer and conductor (born 1897)
1989 – Doug Harvey , Canadian ice hockey player and coach (born 1924)1990 – Gene Callahan , American art director and production designer (born 1923)1994 – Sylva Koscina , Italian actress (born 1933)1997 – Cahit Arf , Turkish mathematician and academic (born 1910)1997 – Cornelius Castoriadis , Greek economist and philosopher (born 1922)
1998 – Ram Swarup , Indian writer on Hindu philosophy and religion (born 1920)1999 – Curtis Mayfield , American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1942)1999 – Shankar Dayal Sharma , Indian academic and politician, 9th President of India (born 1918)
2000 – Jason Robards , American actor (born 1922)2001 – Nigel Hawthorne , English actor (born 1929)2002 – Herb Ritts , American photographer and director (born 1952)2002 – Armand Zildjian , American businessman, founded the Avedis Zildjian Company (born 1921)
2003 – Virginia Coffey , American civil rights activist (born 1904)2004 – Jonathan Drummond-Webb , South African surgeon and academic (born 1959)2004 – Angus Ogilvy , English businessman (born 1928)
2004 – Reggie White , American football player and wrestler (born 1961)
Casualties of the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami :
2005 – Muriel Costa-Greenspon , American soprano (born 1937)2005 – Ted Ditchburn , English footballer and manager (born 1921)
2005 – Kerry Packer , Australian publisher and businessman (born 1937)
2005 – Viacheslav Platonov , Russian volleyball player and coach (born 1939)
2005 – Vincent Schiavelli , American actor (born 1948)
2005 – Erich Topp , German commander (born 1914)
2006 – Gerald Ford , American commander, lawyer, and politician, 38th President of the United States (born 1913)2006 – Ivar Formo , Norwegian skier and engineer (born 1951)
2006 – Munir Niazi , Pakistani poet (born 1923)
2009 – Felix Wurman , American cellist and composer (born 1958)2010 – Salvador Jorge Blanco , 48th President of the Dominican Republic (born 1926)2010 – Edward Bhengu , South African activist (born 1934)
2010 – Teena Marie , American singer-songwriter and producer (born 1956)
2011 – Houston Antwine , American football player (born 1939)2011 – Pedro Armendáriz, Jr. , Mexican-American actor and producer (born 1940)
2011 – Sarekoppa Bangarappa , Indian politician, 15th Chief Minister of Karnataka (born 1932)
2011 – Joe Bodolai , American screenwriter and producer (born 1948)
2011 – James Rizzi , American painter and illustrator (born 1950)
2012 – Gerry Anderson , English director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1929)2012 – Gerald McDermott , American author and illustrator (born 1941)
2012 – Ibrahim Tannous , Lebanese general (born 1929)
2013 – Paul Blair , American baseball player and coach (born 1944)2013 – Marta Eggerth , Hungarian-American actress and singer (born 1912)
2014 – Stanisław Barańczak , Polish-American poet, critic, and scholar (born 1946)2014 – James B. Edwards , American dentist, soldier, and politician, 3rd United States Secretary of Energy (born 1927)
2014 – Leo Tindemans , Belgian politician, 43rd Prime Minister of Belgium (born 1922)
2015 – Sidney Mintz , American anthropologist and academic (born 1922)2015 – Jim O'Toole , American baseball player (born 1937)
2016 – Ricky Harris , American comedian, actor (born 1962)2016 – George S. Irving , American actor, singer and dancer (born 1922)
2017 – Irv Weinstein , American broadcaster and television news anchor (born 1930)2020 – Brodie Lee , American Professional Wrestler (born 1979)2021 – Giacomo Capuzzi , Italian Roman Catholic prelate, bishop of the Roman Catholic Diocese of Lodi (born 1929)2021 – Paul B. Kidd , Australian author, journalist, and radio show host (born 1945)
2021 – Karolos Papoulias , Greek politician, President of Greece from 2005 to 2015 (born 1929)
2021 – Desmond Tutu , South African Anglican bishop, theologian and anti-apartheid and human rights activist (born 1931)
2021 – Nell Hall Williams , American quilter (born 1933)
2021 – Edward O. Wilson , American biologist (born 1929)
2023 – Lukas Enembe , Indonesian politician, Governor of Papua from 2013 to 2023 (born1967)2023 – Tom Smothers , American comedian, actor, and activist (born 1937)
2024 – Richard Parsons , American business executive (born 1948)2024 – Manmohan Singh , Indian economist and politician, 13th Prime Minister of India (born 1932)
2025 – Pate Mustajärvi , Finnish rock singer (born 1956)Holidays and observances
Boxing Day , except when December 26 is a Sunday. If it is a Sunday, Boxing Day is transferred to December 27 by Royal Proclamation. (Commonwealth of Nations ), and its related observances:
Christian feast day :
Independence and Unity Day (Slovenia) Mauro Hamza Day (Houston, Texas )Mummer's Day (Padstow , Cornwall )Saint Stephen's Day (public holiday in Alsace , Austria, Catalonia , Croatia , the Czech Republic, Germany, Hong Kong, Italy, Ireland , Luxembourg , Poland , Slovakia and Switzerland), and its related observances:
The first day of Kwanzaa , celebrated until January 1 (United States)
The first day of Junkanoo street parade, the second day is on the New Year's Day (The Bahamas )
The second day of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)
Second day of Christmas (Public holiday in the Netherlands , Poland and Slovakia)
Wren Day (Ireland and the Isle of Man )