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December 14 is the 348th day of the year (349th in leap years) in the Gregorian calendar. There are 17 days remaining until the end of the year.
Up to 1900
- 557 – Constantinople is severely damaged by an earthquake.
- 1287 – The St. Lucia's flood in the Netherlands kills around 50,000 people.
- 1542 – Mary, Queen of Scots inherits the throne of Scotland at the age of just 6 days, following the death of her father, King James V of Scotland.
- 1782 – The Montgolfier brothers' first balloon makes its first test flight.
- 1812 – Napoleonic Wars: France's invasion of Russia ends.
- 1814 – War of 1812: The Royal Navy seizes control of Lake Borgne, Louisiana.
- 1819 – Alabama becomes the 22nd State of the United States.
- 1836 – The Toledo War, a boundary dispute between Ohio and the Territory of Michigan, unofficially ends.
- 1861 – Albert, Prince Consort, husband of Queen Victoria, dies aged 42. Following this, Queen Victoria withdraws from public life, in mourning for Prince Albert.
- 1896 – The Glasgow Underground Railway opens.
- 1900 – Max Planck presents a theoretical derivation of his black–body radiation law.
1901 – 2000
- 1902 – The first Pacific Ocean telegraph cable is laid from San Francisco to Honolulu.
- 1907 – Schooner (a type of sailing boat) Thomas W. Lawson runs aground and sinks off the Isles of Scilly in a gale, killing its captain and 15 seamen.
- 1911 – Roald Amundsen of Norway becomes the first person to reach the South Pole.
- 1918 – President of Portugal Sidonio Pais is assassinated.
- 1918 – Prince Frederick Charles of Hesse, a German prince elected by the parliament of Finland to become the country's first King, titled Vaino I, resigns without setting foot in Finland, following Germany's defeat in World War I. Finland becomes a republic.
- 1939 – Winter War: The Soviet Union is expelled from the League of Nations for invading Finland.
- 1941 – World War II: Japan signs a treaty of alliance with Thailand.
- 1946 – The United Nations General Assembly votes to base its permanent headquarters in New York City.
- 1947 – The Santiago Bernabeu Stadium holds its first football match. It is the home of Real Madrid.
- 1955 – The UN is joined by Albania, Austria, Bulgaria, Cambodia, Finland, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Jordan, Laos, Libya, Nepal, Portugal, Spain and Sri Lanka.
- 1958 – The 3rd Soviet Antarctica expedition becomes the first to access the Southern Pole of Inaccessibility.
- 1960 – Convention against Discrimination in Education is adopted by UNESCO
- 1961 – Tanganyika joins the UN.
- 1962 – NASA's Mariner 2 becomes the first spacecraft to fly by Venus.
- 1963 – The dam containing the Baldwin Hills reservoir bursts, killing 5 people and damaging hundreds of homes in Los Angeles, California.
- 1971 – Bangladesh Liberation War: Over 200 of East Pakistan's intellectuals are executed by the Pakistan army and local allies.
- 1972 – Eugene Cernan of Apollo 17 becomes the last person to–date to have walked on the Moon.
- 1981 – Arab–Israeli conflict: Israel extends its area of law into the Golan Heights.
- 1989 – Patricio Aylwin is elected President of Chile during Chile's return to democracy following the rule of Augusto Pinochet.
- 1992 – Abkhazia War: A helicopter carrying evacuees from Tkvarcheli is shot down, killing 52 people, including 25 children.
- 1994 – Construction begins on the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River in China.
- 1995 – Yugoslav Wars: The Dayton Agreement is signed in Paris.
- 1999 – Kiribati, Nauru and Tonga join the UN.
- 1999 – Torrential rains cause flash flooding in Vargas, Venezuela.
From 2001
- 2003 – President of Pakistan Pervez Musharraf narrowly escapes an assassination attempt.
- 2004 – In France, the Millau Viaduct, the tallest bridge in the world, is opened to traffic.
- 2004 – The leaders of Cuba and Venezuela create the Bolivarian Alliance for the Americas.
- 2008 – Muntadhar al–Zaidi almost strikes US President George W. Bush with two shoes, as a form of protest, at a news conference in Baghdad. This was Bush's last visit to Iraq as president.
- 2012 – Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting: 20–year–old Adam Lanza shoots and kills his mother at his home in Newtown, Connecticut, before shooting and killing 20 children and 5 adults at Sandy Hook Elementary School. He then turns the gun on himself.
- 2013 – Chinese spacecraft Chang'e 3, carrying the Yutu rover, becomes the first spacecraft to soft–land on the Moon since 1976.
- 2017 – Walt Disney Co. announces its intention to buy 21st Century Fox for 52 billion US dollars.
- 2017 – Scientists announce that the star Kepler–90b has the same number of known planets as the Solar System, eight.
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Up to 1900
- 1009 – Emperor Go–Suzaku of Japan (d. 1045)
- 1332 – Frederick III, Landgrave of Thuringia (d. 1381)
- 1503 – Nostradamus, French astrologer and mathematician (d. 1566)
- 1546 – Tycho Brahe, Danish astronomer and alchemist (d. 1601)
- 1607 – Janos Kemeny, Hungarian aristocrat and writer (d. 1662)
- 1631 – Anne Conway, English philosopher (d. 1679)
- 1640 – Aphra Behn, English playwright and novelist (d. 1689)
- 1720 – Justus Möser, German statesman (d. 1794)
- 1730 – James Bruce, Scottish naturalist and adventurer (d. 1794)
- 1775 – Philander Chase, American bishop and educator (d. 1852)
- 1775 – Thomas Cochrane, 10th Earl of Dundonald, Scottish admiral and adventurer (d. 1860)
- 1784 – Princess Maria Antonia of Naples and Sicily (d. 1806)
- 1787 – Maria Ludovika of Austria–Este (d. 1816)
- 1794 – Erastus Corning, American businessman and politician (d. 1872)
- 1796 – Lilburn Boggs, Governor of Missouri (d. 1860)
- 1829 – John Mercer Langston, American politician (d. 1897)
- 1852 – Watson Cheyne, Scottish surgeon and bacteriologist (d. 1932)
- 1853 – Errico Malatesta, Italian anarchist (d. 1932)
- 1866 – Roger Fry, English artist and art critic (d. 1934)
- 1867 – Ingibjörg H. Bjarnason, Icelandic politician, schoolteacher and gymnast, first female member of the Althing (d. 1941)
- 1870 – Karl Renner, President of Austria (d. 1950)
- 1875 – Paul Löbe, German politician (d. 1967)
- 1881 – Katherine MacDonald, American actress and movie producer (d. 1956)
- 1881 – Howard Valentine, American sprinter (d. 1932)
- 1883 – Morihei Ueshiba, Japanese martial artist (d. 1969)
- 1884 – Jane Cowl, American actress and playwright (d. 1950)
- 1887 – Xul Solar, Argentine painter and sculptor (d. 1963)
- 1895 – Paul Eluard, French poet (d. 1952)
- 1895 – King George VI of the United Kingdom (d. 1952)
- 1897 – Jimmy Doolittle, American general (d. 1993)
- 1897 – Kurt Schuschnigg, Chancellor of Austria (d. 1977)
1901 – 1950
- 1901 – King Paul of Greece (d. 1964)
- 1902 – Frances Bavier, American actress (d. 1989)
- 1902 – Herbert Feigl, Austrian philosopher (d. 1988)
- 1908 – Morey Amsterdam, American comedian and actor (d. 1996)
- 1908 – Claude Davey, Welsh rugby player (d. 2001)
- 1909 – Edward Tatum, American geneticist (d. 1975)
- 1911 – Spike Jones, American comedian and musician (d. 1965)
- 1911 – Hans von Ohain, German–American engineer (d. 1998)
- 1914 – Karl Carstens, President of Germany (d. 1992)
- 1914 – Nam Phuong, Empress of Vietnam (d. 1963)
- 1914 – Rosalyn Tureck, American pianist and harpsichordist (d. 2003)
- 1915 – Rashid Behbudov, Georgian–Russian singer and actor (d. 1969)
- 1916 – Shirley Jackson, American writer (d. 1965)
- 1917 – Tove Ditlevsen, Danish poet and writer (d. 1976)
- 1918 – James Thomas Aubrey, Jr., American television and movie executive (d. 1994)
- 1918 – B. K. S. Iyengar, Indian yoga instructor and writer (d. 2014)
- 1920 – Clark Terry, American jazz musician and composer (d. 2015)
- 1922 – Nikolay Basov, Soviet–Russian physicist (d. 2001)
- 1922 – Don Hewitt, American television producer (d. 2009)
- 1924 – Raj Kapoor, Indian actor (d. 1988)
- 1932 – Charlie Rich, American singer (d. 1995)
- 1932 – Abbe Lane, American singer and actress
- 1933 – Hisataka Okamoto, Japanese footballer
- 1934 – Shyam Benegal, Indian director and screenwriter
- 1935 – Lewis Arquette, American actor, writer and producer (d. 2001)
- 1935 – Lee Remick, American actress (d. 1991)
- 1936 – Robert A. Parker, American astronaut
- 1937 – Anna Lindblom, Swedish actress and singer
- 1938 – Leonardo Boff, Brazilian theologian
- 1939 – Stephen Cook, American computer programmer
- 1941 – Karan Armstrong, American soprano and actress
- 1942 – Chris Harris, English actor (d. 2014)
- 1942 – Dick Wagner, American guitarist, songwriter and writer (d. 2014)
- 1943 – Emmett Tyrrell, American journalist, writer and publisher
- 1943 – Britt Allcroft, English filmmaker
- 1946 – Sanjay Gandhi, Indian politician (d. 1980)
- 1946 – Stan Smith, American tennis player
- 1946 – Patty Duke, American actress (d. 2016)
- 1946 – Ruth Fuchs, German javelin thrower and politician
- 1946 – Peter Lorimer, Scottish footballer
- 1947 – Dilma Rousseff, former President of Brazil
- 1948 – Kim Beazley, Australian politician and diplomat
- 1949 – Cliff Williams, British musician (AC/DC)
- 1950 – Christiane Krause, German athlete
1951 – 1975
- 1953 – Vangelis Meimarakis, Greek lawyer and politician
- 1953 – Vijay Amritraj, Indian tennis player, actor and businessman
- 1954 – James Horan, American actor
- 1954 – Steve MacLean, Canadian astronaut
- 1956 – Linda Fabiani, Scottish politician
- 1958 – Mike Scott, Scottish musician and singer–songwriter (The Waterboys)
- 1958 – Spider Stacy, British musician (The Pogues)
- 1959 – Jorge Vaca, Mexican boxer
- 1960 – Chris Waddle, English footballer
- 1960 – Don Franklin, American actor
- 1960 – James Comey, Director of the Federal Bureau of Investigation
- 1961 – Jeff Robinson, American baseball player (d. 2014)
- 1962 – Bela B, German musician
- 1964 – Rebecca Gibney, New Zealand–born Australian actress
- 1965 – Ted Raimi, American actor
- 1966 – Helle Thorning–Schmidt, former Prime Minister of Denmark
- 1966 – Anthony Mason, American basketball player (d. 2015)
- 1967 – Hanne Haugland, Norwegian ski jumper
- 1969 – Greg Hemphill, Scottish actor, comedian and writer
- 1969 – Archie Kao, American actor and producer
- 1969 – Natascha McElhone, English actress
- 1970 – Anna Maria Jopek, Polish singer–songwriter, pianist and producer
- 1972 – Miranda Hart, English comedienne
- 1975 – Andrés Scotti, Uruguayan footballer
From 1976
- 1976 – Petter Hansson, Swedish footballer
- 1977 – Jamie Peacock, English Rugby League player
- 1978 – Patty Schnyder, Swiss tennis player
- 1979 – Michael Owen, English footballer
- 1979 – Jean–Alain Boumsong, French footballer
- 1979 – Sophie Monk, English–Australian singer–songwriter and actress
- 1980 – Didier Zokora, Ivorian footballer
- 1980 – Samuel Aiken, American football player
- 1981 – Liam Lawrence, Irish footballer
- 1982 – Steve Sidwell, English footballer
- 1983 – Leanne Mitchell, English singer–songwriter
- 1984 – Chadli Amri, Algerian footballer
- 1984 – Chris Brunt, Irish footballer
- 1984 – Jackson Rathbone, American actor and musician
- 1985 – Nonami Takizawa, Japanese actress and singer
- 1985 – Jakub Blaszczykowski, Polish footballer
- 1985 – Chris Czekaj, Welsh rugby player
- 1986 – Jang Jae–Ho, South Korean professional gamer
- 1988 – Vanessa Hudgens, American singer and actress
- 1988 – Nicolas Batum, French basketball player
- 1988 – Hayato Sakamoto, Japanese baseball player
- 1989 – Onew, South Korean singer
- 1989 – Pedro Roberto Silva Botelho, Brazilian footballer
- 1991 – Samantha Paszek, American gymnast
- 1992 – Ryo Miyaichi, Japanese footballer
- 1992 – Tori Kelly, American singer–songwriter
- 1993 – Thanawat Thirapongpaibon, Thai snooker player
- 1994 – Jason Lowndes, Australian racing cyclist (d. 2017)
- 1999 – Karley Scott Collins, American actress
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Up to 1900
- 872 – Pope Adrian II (b. 792)
- 1460 – Guarino de Verona, Italian scholar (b. 1370)
- 1476 – Vlad III the Impaler, ruler of Transylvania (b. 1430)
- 1510 – Frederick of Saxony (b. 1473)
- 1542 – James V, King of Scotland (b. 1512)
- 1591 – Saint John of the Cross, Spanish friar and poet (b. 1542)
- 1651 – Pierre Dupuy, French scholar (b. 1582)
- 1715 – Thomas Tenison, Archbishop of Canterbury (b. 1636)
- 1741 – Charles Rollin, French historian (b. 1661)
- 1788 – Carl Philipp Emanuel Bach, German composer (b. 1714)
- 1788 – Charles III, King of Spain (b. 1716)
- 1799 – George Washington, first President of the United States (b. 1732)
- 1806 – John Breckinridge, American politician (b. 1760)
- 1860 – George Hamilton–Gordon, 4th Earl of Aberdeen, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1784)
- 1861 – Albert, Prince Consort (b. 1819)
- 1865 – Johan Georg Forchhammer, Danish geologist and mineralogist (b. 1794)
- 1873 – Louis Agassiz, Swiss geologist (b. 1807)
- 1878 – Princess Alice of the United Kingdom (b. 1843)
1901 – 2000
- 1902 – Julia Grant, First Lady of the United States (b. 1826)
- 1912 – Belgrave Edward Sutton Ninnis, English lieutenant and explorer (b. 1887)
- 1918 – Sidonio Pais, President of Portugal (b. 1872)
- 1927 – Julian Sochocki, Russian mathematician (b. 1842)
- 1940 – Anton Korosec, 10th Prime Minister of Yugoslavia (b. 1872)
- 1943 – John Harvey Kellogg, American surgeon and breakfast food manufacturer (b. 1852)
- 1947 – Stanley Baldwin, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1867)
- 1947 – Edward Higgins, General, contributor to the Salvation Army (b. 1864)
- 1953 – Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings, American writer (b. 1897)
- 1956 – Juho Kusti Paasikivi, President of Finland (b. 1873)
- 1963 – Dinah Washington, American singer (b. 1924)
- 1963 – Erich Ollenhauer, German politician (b. 1901)
- 1970 – Franz Schlegelberger, German politician (b. 1876)
- 1974 – Walter Lippmann, American journalist (b. 1889)
- 1978 – Salvador de Madariaga, Spanish diplomat (b. 1886)
- 1984 – Vicente Aleixandre, Spanish writer (b. 1898)
- 1985 – Roger Maris, American baseball player (b. 1934)
- 1989 – Andrei Sakharov, Soviet–Russian scientist and activist (b. 1921)
- 1990 – Friedrich Dürrenmatt, Swiss writer (b. 1921)
- 1993 – Myrna Loy, American actress (b. 1905)
- 1994 – Orval Faubus, American politician, Governor of Arkansas (b. 1910)
- 1997 – Kurt Winter, Canadian musician (b. 1946)
- 1998 – Norman Fell, American actor (b. 1924)
From 2001
- 2001 – W. G. Sebald, German writer (b. 1944)
- 2006 – Ahmet Ertegün, Turkish–American music executive (b. 1923)
- 2011 – Boris Chertok, Soviet–Russian rocket scientist and engineer (b. 1912)
- 2011 – George Whitman, American bookstore owner (b. 1913)
- 2012 – Kenneth Kendall, British television journalist (b. 1924)
- 2012 – Adam Lanza, American gunman (b. 1992)
- 2013 – George Rodrigue, American artist (b. 1944)
- 2013 – Peter O'Toole, Irish–British actor (b. 1932)
- 2013 – France Roche, French actress and screenwriter (b. 1921)
- 2014 – Louis Alphonse Koyagialo, Congolese politician (b. 1947)
- 2014 – Theo Colborn, American environmentalist and academic (b. 1927)
- 2014 – Bess Myerson, American model (b. 1924)
- 2015 – Vadym Tyshchenko, Ukrainian footballer (b. 1963)
- 2015 – Armando Cossutta, Italian politician (b. 1926)
- 2015 – Lillian Vernon, German–American businesswoman (b. 1927)
- 2016 – Bernard Fox, Welsh–American actor (b. 1927)
- 2016 – Paulo Evaristo Arns, Brazilian cardinal (b. 1921)
- 2016 – Halfdan T. Mahler, former Director–General of the World Health Organization (b. 1923)
- 2016 – Jean–Paul Pier, Luxembourgian mathematician (b. 1933)
- 2017 – Yurizan Beltran, American pornographic actress (b. 1986)
- 2017 – Bob Givens, American animator (b. 1918)
- 2017 – Karl–Erik Nilsson, Swedish wrestler (b. 1922)
- 2017 – R. C. Sproul, American theologian and writer (b. 1939)
- 2017 – Neeraj Vora, Indian actor, screenwriter and director (b. 1963)
- 2017 – Marilyn Ware, American diplomat and businesswoman (b. 1943)
- 2017 – Lones Wigger, American sports shooter (b. 1937)
- 2017 – Yu Guangzhong, Taiwanese poet (b. 1928)
- 2018 – Matti Kassila, Finnish film director (b. 1924)
- 2018 – Remedios Loza, Bolivian politician (b. 1949)
- 2018 – Joe Osborn, American bass guitarist (b. 1937)
- 2018 – Edmond Simeoni, French politician (b. 1934)
- 2018 – Jean–Pierre Van Rossem, Belgian economist and politician; b. 1945
- Twenty–nineteen – Yury Belyayev, Russian footballer; b. '34
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- Alabama Day
- Day of the Martyred Intellectuals (Bangladesh)
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