The Almanac · Month index

December

Every day in December — the historical events, the famous birthdays, and the holidays behind each date. 31 days to wander.

December closes the year — “tenth month” by its Latin root — wrapped in the season’s longest nights and its brightest festivals.

• Dec 1 Sebastián Piñera
• Dec 2 Stephen McGinn
• Dec 3 France Prešeren
• Dec 4 Fred Armisen
• Dec 5 Józef Piłsudski
• Dec 6 Deborah Estrin
• Dec 7 Hermann Maier
• Dec 8 Horace
• Dec 9 Carlo Azeglio Ciampi
• Dec 10 Emily Dickinson
• Dec 11 Hector Berlioz
• Dec 12 Karl Bryullov
• Dec 13 Tom DeLonge
• Dec 14 Karl Carstens
• Dec 15 L. L. Zamenhof
• Dec 16 Ludwig van Beethoven
• Dec 17 David Rudisha
• Dec 18 Joseph Stalin
• Dec 19 Édith Piaf
• Dec 20 Martin Schulz
• Dec 21 Kurt Waldheim
• Dec 22 Jean Racine
• Dec 23 Jean-François Champollion
• Dec 24 Galba
• Dec 25 Isaac Newton
• Dec 26 Yohan Blake
• Dec 27 Louis Pasteur
• Dec 28 Seth Meyers
• Dec 29 Andrew Johnson
• Dec 30 Patti Smith
• Dec 31 Henri Matisse