30 December

Events

Pre-1600

*534 – The second and final edition of the Code of Justinian comes into effect in the Byzantine Empire.
*999 – Battle of Glenmama: The combined forces of Munster and Meath under king Brian Boru inflict a crushing defeat on the allied armies of Leinster and Dublin near Lyons Hill in Ireland.
*1066 – Granada massacre: A Muslim mob storms the royal palace in Granada, crucifies Jewish vizier Joseph ibn Naghrela and massacres most of the Jewish population of the city.
* 1419 – Hundred Years' War: Battle of La Rochelle.
* 1460 – Wars of the Roses: Lancastrians kill the 3rd Duke of York and win the Battle of Wakefield.

1601–1900

*1641 – Reapers' War: Louis XIII of France swears the Catalan constitutions, being appointed Count of Barcelona and thus establishing the personal union of the Principality of Catalonia with the Kingdom of France.
*1702 – Queen Anne's War: James Moore, Governor of the Province of Carolina, abandons the Siege of St. Augustine.
*1813 – War of 1812: British soldiers burn Buffalo, New York.
*1816 – The Treaty of St. Louis between the United States and the united Ottawa, Ojibwa, and Potawatomi Indian tribes is proclaimed.
*1825 – The Treaty of St. Louis between the United States and the Shawnee Nation is proclaimed.
*1853 – Gadsden Purchase: The United States buys land from Mexico to facilitate railroad building in the Southwest.
*1890 – Following the Wounded Knee Massacre, the United States Army and Lakota warriors face off in the Drexel Mission Fight.
*1896 – Filipino patriot and reform advocate José Rizal is executed by a Spanish firing squad in Manila.
* 1896 – Canadian ice hockey player Ernie McLea scores the first hat-trick in Stanley Cup play, and the Cup-winning goal as the Montreal Victorias defeat the Winnipeg Victorias 6–5.
*1897 – The British Colony of Natal annexes Zululand.

1901–present

*1902 – The Discovery Expedition under Robert Falcon Scott attained a Farthest South at 82°17′S in Antarctica.
*1903 – A fire at the Iroquois Theater in Chicago, Illinois kills at least 605.
*1905 – Former Idaho Governor Frank Steunenberg is assassinated at the front gate of his home in Caldwell.
*1906 – The All-India Muslim League is founded in Dacca, East Bengal, British India (later Dhaka, Bangladesh).
*1916 – Russian mystic and advisor to the Tsar Grigori Yefimovich Rasputin is murdered by a loyalist group led by Prince Felix Yusupov. His frozen, partially-trussed body was discovered in a Petrograd river three days later.
* 1916 – The last coronation in Hungary is performed for King Charles IV and Queen Zita.
*1922 – The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR) is formed.
*1927 – The Ginza Line, the first subway line in Asia, opens in Tokyo, Japan.
*1935 – The Italian Air Force bombs a Swedish Red Cross hospital during the Second Italo-Abyssinian War.
*1936 – The Flint sit-down strike hits General Motors.
*1943 – Subhas Chandra Bose raises the flag of Indian independence at Port Blair.
*1944 – King George II of Greece declares a regency, leaving the throne vacant.
*1947 – Cold War: King Michael I of Romania is forced to abdicate by the Soviet Union-backed Communist government of Romania.
*1952 – An RAF Avro Lancaster bomber crashes in Luqa, Malta after an engine failure, killing three crew members and a civilian on the ground.
*1954 – The Finnish National Bureau of Investigation is established to consolidate criminal investigation and intelligence into a single agency.
*1958 – The Guatemalan Air Force sinks several Mexican fishing boats alleged to have breached maritime borders, killing three and sparking international tension.
*1967 – Aeroflot Flight L-51 crashes near Liepāja International Airport in Liepāja, Latvia, killing 43.
*1972 – Vietnam War: Operation Linebacker II ends.
*1987 – Stella Sigcau, Prime minister of the South African Bantustan of Transkei, is ousted from power in a bloodless military coup led by General Bantu Holomisa.
*1993 – Israel establishes diplomatic relations with Vatican City and also upgrades to full diplomatic relations with Ireland.
*1996 – Proposed budget cuts by Benjamin Netanyahu spark protests from 250,000 workers who shut down services across Israel.
*1997 – In the worst incident in Algeria's insurgency, the Wilaya of Relizane massacres, 400 people from four villages are killed.
*2000 – Rizal Day bombings: A series of bombs explode in various places in Metro Manila, Philippines within a period of a few hours, killing 22 and injuring about a hundred.
*2004 – A fire in the República Cromagnon nightclub in Buenos Aires, Argentina, kills 194.
*2005 – Tropical Storm Zeta forms in the open Atlantic Ocean, tying the record for the latest tropical cyclone ever to form in the North Atlantic basin.
*2006 – Madrid–Barajas Airport is bombed.
* 2006 – The Indonesian passenger ferry sinks in a storm, resulting in at least 400 deaths.
* 2006 – Former President of Iraq Saddam Hussein is executed.
*2009 – A segment of the Lanzhou–Zhengzhou–Changsha pipeline ruptures in Shaanxi, China, and approximately of diesel oil flows down the Wei River before finally reaching the Yellow River.
* 2009 – A suicide bomber kills nine people at Forward Operating Base Chapman, a key facility of the Central Intelligence Agency in Afghanistan.
*2013 – More than 100 people are killed when anti-government forces attack key buildings in Kinshasa, Democratic Republic of the Congo.
*2020 – A large explosion at the airport in the southern Yemeni city of Aden kills at least 22 people and wounds 50.

Births

Pre–1600

*AD 39 – Titus, Roman emperor (probable; (died 81)
* 159 – Empress Dowager Bian, second wife of Cao Cao, mother of Cao Wei's first emperor, Cao Pi (died 230)
*1204 – Abû 'Uthmân Sa'îd ibn Hakam al Qurashi, ruler of Minorca (died 1282)
* 1371 – Vasily I of Moscow (died 1425)
* 1490 – Ebussuud Efendi, Ottoman lawyer and jurist (died 1574)
*1548 – David Pareus, German theologian (died 1622)
*1578 – Ulrik of Denmark, Danish prince-bishop (died 1624)

1601–1900

*1642 – Vincenzo da Filicaja, Italian poet (died 1707)
*1673 – Ahmed III, Ottoman sultan (died 1736)
* 1678 – William Croft, English organist and composer (died 1727)
*1722 – Charles Yorke, English lawyer and politician, Lord Chancellor of Great Britain (died 1770)
* 1724 – Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée, French painter and educator (died 1805)
*1757 – Sebastián Kindelán y O'Regan, colonial governor of East Florida, Santo Domingo and Cuba (died 1826)
*1760 – Charles Sapinaud de La Rairie, French general (died 1829)
*1792 – Sylvester Jordan, German lawyer and politician (died 1861)
*1819 – Theodor Fontane, German author and poet (died 1898)
* 1819 – John W. Geary, American lawyer and politician, 16th Governor of Pennsylvania (died 1873)
*1825 – Samuel Newitt Wood, American lawyer and politician (died 1891)
*1842 – Osman Hamdi Bey, Ottoman administrator, intellectual, art expert and painter (died 1910)
*1849 – John Milne, English seismologist and geologist (died 1913)
*1851 – Asa Griggs Candler, American businessman and politician, 44th Mayor of Atlanta (died 1929)
*1853 – André Messager, French pianist, composer, and conductor (died 1929)
*1857 – Sylvio Lazzari, French-Austrian composer (died 1944)
*1865 – Rudyard Kipling, Indian-English author and poet, Nobel Prize laureate (died 1936)
*1869 – Stephen Leacock, English-Canadian political scientist and author (died 1944)
* 1869 – Ōzutsu Man'emon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 18th Yokozuna (died 1918)
*1873 – Al Smith, American lawyer and politician, 42nd Governor of New York (died 1944)
*1878 – William Aberhart, Canadian evangelist and politician, seventh Premier of Alberta (died 1943)
*1879 – Ramana Maharshi, Indian guru and philosopher (died 1950)
*1883 – Archer Baldwin, American-English farmer and politician (died 1966)
* 1883 – Lester Patrick, Canadian ice hockey player and coach (died 1960)
*1884 – Hideki Tōjō, Japanese general and politician, 40th Prime Minister of Japan (died 1948)
*1886 – Austin Osman Spare, English artist and occultist (died 1956)
*1887 – William Kolehmainen, Finnish-American runner and coach (died 1967)
* 1887 – K. M. Munshi, Indian politician, writer and educationist, founder of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan (died 1971)
*1890 – Adolfo Ruiz Cortines, Mexican soldier and politician, 47th President of Mexico (died 1973)
*1897 – Alfredo Bracchi, Italian songwriter and screenwriter (died 1976)
*1899 – Helge Ingstad, Norwegian explorer, lawyer, and politician, 2nd Governor of Svalbard (died 2001)

1901–present

*1904 – Dmitry Kabalevsky, Russian composer and academic (died 1987)
*1905 – Daniil Kharms, Russian poet, author, and playwright (died 1942)
*1906 – Alziro Bergonzo, Italian architect and painter (died 1997)
* 1906 – Carol Reed, English director and producer (died 1976)
*1910 – Paul Bowles, American composer and author (died 1999)
*1911 – Jeanette Nolan, American actress (died 1998)
*1913 – Lucio Agostini, Italian-Canadian conductor and composer (died 1996)
* 1913 – Elyne Mitchell, Australian author (died 2002)
*1914 – Bert Parks, American actor, singer, television personality, and beauty pageant host (died 1992)
*1917 – Seymour Melman, American engineer and author (died 2004)
*1919 – Dick Spooner, English cricketer (died 1997)
* 1919 – David Willcocks, English organist, composer, and conductor (died 2015)
*1921 – Rashid Karami, Lebanese lawyer and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Lebanon (died 1987)
*1922 – Jane Langton, American author and illustrator (died 2018)
*1923 – Prakash Vir Shastri, Indian academic and politician (died 1977)
*1924 – Yvonne Brill, Canadian-American propulsion engineer (died 2013)
*1925 – Ian MacNaughton, Scottish actor, producer, and director (died 2002)
*1926 – Stan Tracey, English pianist and composer (died 2013)
*1927 – Jan Kubíček, Czech painter and sculptor (died 2013)
*1928 – Bo Diddley, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 2008)
*1929 – Rosalinde Hurley, English physician, microbiologist, and academic (died 2004)
*1930 – Roy Yorke Calne, English surgeon and academic (died 2024)
* 1930 – Elmira Minita Gordon, Belizean educator, 1st Governor-General of Belize (died 2021)
* 1930 – Red Rhodes, American pedal steel guitarist (died 1995)
* 1930 – Tu Youyou, Chinese chemist and pharmacist, Nobel Prize laureate
*1931 – Skeeter Davis, American singer-songwriter (died 2004)
* 1931 – John T. Houghton, Welsh physicist and author (died 2020)
* 1931 – Frank Torre, American baseball player and manager (died 2014)
*1933 – Timité Bassori, Ivorian filmmaker, actor, and writer
*1934 – John N. Bahcall, American astrophysicist and astronomer, co-developed the Hubble Space Telescope (died 2005)
* 1934 – Joseph Bologna, American actor, director, playwright and screenwriter (died 2017)
* 1934 – Barry Briggs, New Zealand motorcycle racer and sportscaster
* 1934 – Joseph P. Hoar, American general (died 2022)
* 1934 – Tony Serra, American criminal defense and civil rights attorney, political activist and tax resister
* 1934 – Del Shannon, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (died 1990)
* 1934 – Russ Tamblyn, American actor
*1935 – Omar Bongo, Gabonese lieutenant and politician, President of Gabon (died 2009)
* 1935 – Sandy Koufax, American baseball player and sportscaster
* 1935 – Jack Riley, American actor (died 2016)
*1937 – Gordon Banks, English footballer and manager (died 2019)
* 1937 – John Hartford, American singer-songwriter and fiddler (died 2001)
* 1937 – Jim Marshall, American football player (died 2025)
* 1937 – Paul Stookey, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
*1938 – Ron Wolf, American Football Hall of Fame General Manager
*1939 – Glenda Adams, Australian author and academic (died 2007)
* 1939 – Felix Pappalardi, American singer-songwriter, bass player, and producer (died 1983)
*1940 – James Burrows, American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter
*1941 – Mel Renfro, American football player and coach
*1942 – Vladimir Bukovsky, Russian author and activist (died 2019)
* 1942 – Guy Edwards, English race car driver
* 1942 – Michael Nesmith, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor (died 2021)
* 1942 – Janko Prunk, Slovenian historian, academic, and politician
* 1942 – Robert Quine, American guitarist (died 2004)
* 1942 – Toomas Savi, Estonian physician and politician
* 1942 – Fred Ward, American actor (died 2022)
*1944 – William J. Fallon, American admiral
* 1944 – Joseph Hilbe, American mathematician and philosopher (died 2017)
*1945 – Davy Jones, English singer-songwriter and actor (died 2012)
* 1945 – Lloyd Kaufman, American director, producer, and screenwriter, co-founded Troma Entertainment
* 1945 – Paola Pigni, Italian runner (died 2021)
* 1945 – Concetta Tomei, American actress
*1946 – Clive Bunker, English drummer and songwriter
* 1946 – Patti Smith, American singer-songwriter and poet
* 1946 – Berti Vogts, German footballer and coach
*1947 – James Kahn, American author, screenwriter, and producer
* 1947 – Jeff Lynne, English singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer
* 1947 – Steve Mix, American basketball player and coach
*1948 – Jed Johnson, American interior designer and director (died 1996)
*1949 – David Bedford, English runner
* 1949 – Jerry Coyne, American biologist and author
* 1949 – Jim Flaherty, Canadian lawyer and politician, 37th Canadian Minister of Finance (died 2014)
*1950 – Timothy Mo, Chinese-English author
* 1950 – Lewis Shiner, American journalist and author
* 1950 – Bjarne Stroustrup, Danish computer scientist, created the C++ programming language
* 1950 – Martti Vainio, Finnish runner
*1951 – Doug Allder, English footballer and coach
* 1951 – Chris Jasper, American musician, singer-songwriter, and producer (died 2025)
* 1951 – Nick Rose, English runner
*1952 – June Anderson, American soprano and actress
*1953 – Daniel T. Barry, American engineer and astronaut
* 1953 – Dana Key, American singer, guitarist, and producer (died 2010)
* 1953 – Graham Vick, English director and producer (died 2021)
* 1953 – Meredith Vieira, American journalist and game show host
*1954 – Barry Greenstein, American poker player and philanthropist
*1956 – Ingus Baušķenieks, Latvian singer-songwriter and producer
* 1956 – Suzy Bogguss, American country singer-songwriter and guitarist
* 1956 – Patricia Kalember, American actress
* 1956 – Sheryl Lee Ralph, American actress and singer
*1957 – Matt Lauer, American journalist and television host
* 1957 – Glenn Robbins, Australian comedian and actor
*1958 – Pedro Costa, Portuguese director, screenwriter, and cinematographer
* 1958 – Steven Smith, American engineer and astronaut
*1959 – Antonio Pappano, English pianist and conductor
* 1959 – Kåre Thomsen, Norwegian guitarist and graphic designer
* 1959 – Tracey Ullman, English-American actress, singer, director, and screenwriter
* 1959 – Josée Verner, Canadian politician, 8th Canadian Minister of Intergovernmental Affairs
*1960 – Richard M. Durbin, English biologist and academic
*1961 – Douglas Coupland, German-Canadian author and playwright
* 1961 – Bill English, New Zealand farmer and politician, 39th Prime Minister of New Zealand
* 1961 – Sean Hannity, American radio and television host
* 1961 – Ben Johnson, Jamaican-Canadian sprinter
* 1961 – Charlie Nicholas, Scottish footballer and sportscaster
*1963 – Chandler Burr, American journalist and author
* 1963 – Mike Pompeo, American diplomat and politician; 70th United States Secretary of State
* 1963 – Johnny Rogers, American-Spanish basketball player
* 1963 – Milan Šrejber, Czech tennis player
*1964 – Almir Kayumov, Russian footballer and referee (died 2013)
* 1964 – Sylvie Moreau, Canadian actress and screenwriter
* 1964 – George Newbern, American actor
*1965 – Heidi Fleiss, American procurer
*1966 – Gary Chartier, American philosopher, scholar, and academic
* 1966 – Bennett Miller, American director and producer
*1967 – Carl Ouellet, Canadian wrestler and sportscaster
*1968 – Bryan Burk, American screenwriter and producer
* 1968 – Adam Dale, Australian cricketer
* 1968 – Sandra Glover, American hurdler
* 1968 – Albano Mucci, Australian activist
*1969 – Emmanuel Clérico, French race car driver
* 1969 – Dave England, American snowboarder and stuntman
* 1969 – Jay Kay, English singer and songwriter
* 1969 – Kersti Kaljulaid, President of Estonia
* 1969 – Michelle McGann, American golfer
* 1969 – Meredith Monroe, American actress
*1971 – Sister Bliss, English keyboard player, songwriter, and producer
* 1971 – C. S. Lee, Korean-American actor
* 1971 – Ricardo, Spanish footballer and manager
* 1971 – Daniel Sunjata, American actor
*1972 – Daniel Amokachi, Nigerian footballer and manager
* 1972 – Maureen Flannigan, American actress and producer
* 1972 – Paul Keegan, Irish footballer
* 1972 – Dita Indah Sari, Indonesian trade union leader and activist
*1973 – Jason Behr, American actor
* 1973 – Ato Boldon, Trinidadian runner, sportscaster, and politician
*1974 – Alexandro Alves do Nascimento, Brazilian footballer (died 2012)
*1974 – Dr. Jitheshji, Indian Speed Cartoonist and Pictorial Orator
*1975 – Scott Chipperfield, Australian footballer
* 1975 – Tiger Woods, American golfer
*1976 – Kastro, American rapper
* 1976 – Patrick Kerney, American football player
* 1976 – A. J. Pierzynski, American baseball player and sportscaster
*1977 – Laila Ali, American boxer and actress
* 1977 – Glory Alozie, Nigerian-Spanish sprinter and hurdler
* 1977 – Grant Balfour, Australian baseball player
* 1977 – Saša Ilić, Serbian footballer
* 1977 – Kenyon Martin, American basketball player
* 1977 – Lucy Punch, English actress
* 1977 – Kazuyuki Toda, Japanese footballer
*1978 – Devin Brown, American basketball player
* 1978 – Tyrese Gibson, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor
* 1978 – Phillips Idowu, English triple jumper
* 1978 – Zbigniew Robert Promiński, Polish drummer
* 1978 – Rob Scuderi, American ice hockey player
*1979 – Michael Grimm, American singer-songwriter and guitarist
*1980 – Eliza Dushku, American former actress and producer
* 1980 – D. J. Mbenga, Congolese-Belgian basketball player
* 1980 – Alison McGovern, British politician
*1981 – Ali Al-Habsi, Omani footballer
* 1981 – Cédric Carrasso, French footballer
* 1981 – Michael Rodríguez, Costa Rican footballer
* 1981 – Matt Ulrich, American football player
*1982 – Kristin Kreuk, Canadian actress
* 1982 – Tobias Kurbjuweit, German footballer
* 1982 – Dawan Landry, American football player
*1983 – Eddie Edwards, American professional wrestler
* 1983 – Nick Symmonds, American runner
* 1983 – Kevin Systrom, American computer programmer and businessman, co-founded Instagram
*1984 – Randall Azofeifa, Costa Rican footballer
* 1984 – Andra Day, American singer and songwriter
* 1984 – LeBron James, American basketball player, producer and businessman
*1985 – Lars Boom, Dutch cyclist
* 1985 – Bryson Goodwin, Australian rugby league player
* 1985 – Anna Wood, American actress
*1986 – Domenico Criscito, Italian footballer
* 1986 – Ellie Goulding, English singer-songwriter and producer
* 1986 – Caity Lotz, American actress
* 1986 – Jeff Ward, American actor
* 1986 – Gianni Zuiverloon, Dutch footballer
*1987 – Jakub Nakládal, Czech ice hockey player
*1989 – Tyler Anderson, American baseball player
* 1989 – Yoon Bo-ra, South Korean singer, rapper and actress
* 1989 – Ryan Sheckler, American skateboarder and entrepreneur
* 1989 – Kateřina Vaňková, Czech tennis player
*1990 – Bruno Henrique, Brazilian footballer
* 1990 – Joe Root, English cricketer
* 1990 – C. J. Wilcox, American basketball player
*1991 – Camila Giorgi, Italian tennis player
*1992 – Ryan Tunnicliffe, English footballer
* 1992 – Carson Wentz, American football player
*1995 – Igor Shesterkin, Russian hockey goaltender
*1995 – Ollie Watkins, English footballer
* 1995 – V, South Korean singer

Deaths

Pre-1600

* 274 – Pope Felix I
* 717 – Egwin of Evesham, bishop of Worcester
* 903 – Tian Jun, Chinese warlord (born 858)
* 925 – Wang Shenzhi, founder of Min (born 862)
*1115 – Theodoric II, Duke of Lorraine
*1331 – Bernard Gui, inquisitor (born 1261 or 1262)
*1435 – Bonne of Berry, Regent of Savoy (born 1362)
*1436 – Louis III, Elector Palatine (born 1378)
* 1460 – Edmund, Earl of Rutland, Irish politician, Lord Chancellor of Ireland (born 1443)
* 1460 – Richard of York, 3rd Duke of York (born 1411)
*1525 – Jakob Fugger, German banker and businessman (born 1459)
*1572 – Galeazzo Alessi, Italian architect, designed the Basilica of Santa Maria degli Angeli (born 1512)
*1573 – Giovanni Battista Giraldi, Italian author and poet (born 1504)
*1591 – Pope Innocent IX (born 1519)

1601–1900

*1606 – Heinrich Bünting, German priest and cartographer (born 1545)
*1621 – Job of Manyava, Ukrainian monk and saint (born 1550)
*1640 – John Francis Regis, French priest and saint (born 1597)
*1643 – Giovanni Baglione, Italian painter and historian of art (born 1566)
*1644 – Jan Baptist van Helmont, Flemish chemist, physiologist, and physician (born 1577)
*1662 – Ferdinand Charles, Archduke of Austria (born 1628)
*1769 – Nicholas Taaffe, 6th Viscount Taaffe, Irish-Austrian soldier and courtier (born 1685)
*1777 – Maximilian III Joseph, Elector of Bavaria (born 1727)
*1788 – Francesco Zuccarelli, Italian painter and academic (born 1702)
*1803 – Francis Lewis, Welsh-American merchant and politician (born 1713)
*1879 – Manuel de Araújo Porto-Alegre, Baron of Santo Ângelo, Brazilian poet and painter (born 1806)
*1885 – Martha Darley Mutrie, British painter (born 1824)
*1896 – José Rizal, Filipino ophthalmologist, journalist, and author (born 1861)

1901–present

*1906 – Josephine Butler, English Feminism, feminist and social reformer (born 1828)
*1908 – Thomas-Alfred Bernier, Canadian journalist, lawyer, and politician (born 1844)
*1916 – Grigori Rasputin, Russian mystic (born 1869)
*1928 – Jean Collas, French rugby player and tug of war competitor (born 1874)
*1937 – Hans Niels Andersen, Danish businessman, founded the East Asiatic Company (born 1852)
*1940 – Childe Wills, American engineer (born 1878)
*1941 – El Lissitzky, Russian photographer and architect (born 1890)
*1944 – Romain Rolland, French author and playwright, List of Nobel laureates, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1866)
*1945 – Song Jin-woo (journalist), Song Jin-woo, South Korean journalist and politician (born 1889)
*1947 – Han van Meegeren, Dutch painter (born 1889)
* 1947 – Alfred North Whitehead, English-American mathematician and philosopher (born 1861)
*1954 – Archduke Eugen of Austria (born 1863)
*1955 – Rex Ingamells, Australian poet and author (born 1913)
*1967 – Vincent Massey, Canadian lawyer and politician, 18th Governor General of Canada (born 1887)
*1968 – Trygve Lie, Norwegian journalist and politician, first Secretary-General of the United Nations (born 1896)
*1970 – Sonny Liston, American boxer (born 1932)
*1971 – Jo Cals, Dutch lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of the Netherlands (born 1914)
* 1971 – Vikram Sarabhai, Indian physicist and academic (born 1919)
*1979 – Richard Rodgers, American playwright and composer (born 1902)
*1982 – Alberto Vargas, Peruvian-American painter and illustrator (born 1896)
*1983 – Violette Cordery, English race car driver (born 1900)
*1986 – Era Bell Thompson, American journalist (born 1905)
*1988 – Yuli Daniel, Russian author and poet (born 1925)
* 1988 – Isamu Noguchi, American sculptor and landscaper (born 1904)
*1990 – Raghuvir Sahay, Indian author, poet, and critic (born 1929)
*1992 – Romeo Muller, American actor, screenwriter, for screenplays like the 1964, Rudolph the Red-Nosed Reindeer (TV special) (born 1928)
*1993 – İhsan Sabri Çağlayangil, Turkish lawyer and politician, 20th List of Ministers of Foreign Affairs (Turkey), Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs (born 1908)
* 1993 – Irving Paul Lazar, Irving "Swifty" Lazar, American talent agent (born 1907)
* 1993 – Giuseppe Occhialini, Italian-French physicist and academic (born 1907)
*1994 – Dmitri Ivanenko, Ukrainian-Russian physicist and academic (born 1904)
*1995 – Ralph Flanagan, American pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1914)
* 1995 – Doris Grau, American voice actor and script supervisor (born 1924)
*1996 – Lew Ayres, American actor (born 1908)
*1997 – Shinichi Hoshi, Japanese author and illustrator (born 1926)
*1998 – Sam Muchnick, American wrestling promoter, co-founded the National Wrestling Alliance (born 1905)
*1999 – Joff Ellen, Australian comedian and actor (born 1915)
* 1999 – Fritz Leonhardt, German engineer, co-designed the Cologne Rodenkirchen Bridge and Fernsehturm Stuttgart (born 1909)
* 1999 – Des Renford, Australian swimmer (born 1927)
* 1999 – Sarah Knauss, American supercentenarian (born 1880)
*2000 – Julius J. Epstein, American screenwriter and producer (born 1909)
*2002 – Mary Brian, American actress (born 1906)
* 2002 – Eleanor J. Gibson, American psychologist and academic (born 1910)
* 2002 – Mary Wesley, English author (born 1912)
*2003 – John Gregory Dunne, American novelist, screenwriter, and critic (born 1932)
*2004 – Artie Shaw, American clarinet player, composer, and bandleader (born 1910)
*2005 – Eddie Barlow, South African cricketer and coach (born 1940)
* 2005 – Rona Jaffe, American novelist (born 1932)
*2006 – Saddam Hussein, Iraqi general and politician, fifth President of Iraq (born 1937)
* 2006 – Terry Peck, Falkland Islander police officer and spy (born 1938)
* 2006 – Michel Plasse, Canadian ice hockey player (born 1948)
*2009 – Rowland S. Howard, Australian singer-songwriter and guitarist (born 1959)
* 2009 – Abdurrahman Wahid, Indonesian journalist and politician, fourth President of Indonesia (born 1940)
*2010 – Bobby Farrell, Dutch dancer and performer from Aruba (born 1949)
*2011 – Ronald Searle, English-French cartoonist (born 1920)
*2012 – Philip Coppens (author), Philip Coppens, Belgian-American journalist and author (born 1971)
* 2012 – Beate Sirota Gordon, Austrian-American director and producer (born 1923)
* 2012 – Rita Levi-Montalcini, Italian neurologist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1909)
* 2012 – Carl Woese, American microbiologist and biophysicist (born 1928)
* 2012 – Dennis Ferguson, Australian sex offender (born 1948)
*2013 – Kinnaird R. McKee, American admiral (born 1929)
* 2013 – José María Maguregui, Spanish footballer and manager (born 1934)
* 2013 – Eiichi Ohtaki, Japanese singer-songwriter and producer (born 1948)
* 2013 – Johnny Orr (basketball, born 1927), Johnny Orr, American basketball player and coach (born 1927)
* 2013 – Paul Sally, American mathematician and academic (born 1933)
*2014 – Terry Becker, American actor, director, and producer (born 1921)
* 2014 – Jim Galloway, Scottish-Canadian clarinet player and saxophonist (born 1936)
* 2014 – Luise Rainer, German-born American-British actress (born 1910)
*2015 – Doug Atkins, American football player (born 1930)
* 2015 – Howard Davis, Jr., American boxer and trainer (born 1956)
* 2015 – Mangesh Padgaonkar, Indian poet, playwright, and translator (born 1929)
* 2015 – Howard Pawley, Canadian lawyer and politician, 18th Premier of Manitoba (born 1934)
*2017 – Erica Garner, American civil rights activist (born 1990)
*2020 – Dawn Wells, American actress, (born 1938)
*2022 – Barbara Walters, American journalist, producer, and author (born 1929)
*2023 – Bryan Ansell, British role-playing and wargame designer (born 1955)
* 2023 – Tom Wilkinson, English actor (born 1948)
* 2023 – Aki Yashiro, Japanese singer (born 1950)

Holidays and observances

*Christian Calendar of saints, feast day:
**Abraham the Writer
**Anysia of Salonika
** Egwin of Evesham
**Frances Joseph-Gaudet (Calendar of saints (Episcopal Church), Episcopal Church)
**Liberius of Ravenna
** Pope Felix I
**Raoul (founder of Vaucelles Abbey), Ralph of Vaucelles
**Roger of Cannae
**December 30 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics)
*Remembrance days in Slovakia, Day of the Declaration of Slovakia as an Independent Ecclesiastic Province (Slovakia)
*Rizal Day (Philippines)
*The fifth day of Kwanzaa (United States)
*The sixth of the Twelve Days of Christmas (Western Christianity)

References

External links

BBC: On This Day
*

Historical Events on December 30

{{months

Days of December