- Dec 1 Ernest Reyer, French opera composer, born in Marseilles, France (d. 1909)
- Dec 6 Max Müller, German-born British orientalist, born in Dessau, German Federation (d. 1900)
- Dec 7 Leopold Kronecker, German mathematician (Tensor of Kronecker), born in Liegnitz, Province of Silesia, Prussia (d. 1891)
- Dec 10 Theodore Furchtegott Kirchner, German composer, born in Neukirchen, Germany (d. 1903)
- Dec 10 Wilhelm Kuhe, German composer, born in Prague, Kingdom of Bohemia (now Czech Republic) (d. 1912)
- Dec 15 Friedrich Gottlieb Schwencke, German organist and composer, born in Hamburg, German Confederation (d. 1896)
- Dec 21 Jean Henri Fabre, French naturalist and entomologist (insects & spiders), born in Saint-Léons, Aveyron, France (d. 1915)
- Dec 23 Alexandru Flechtenmacher, Romanian composer, born in Iaşi, Romania (d. 1898)
- Dec 25 Preston Smith, Brigadier General (Confederate Army), (d. 1863)
Mackenzie Bowell (1823-1917)
Dec 27 5th Prime Minister of Canada (1894-96), born in Rickinghall, England
- Dec 28 Thomas Alexander Scott, American businessman and Assistant Secretary of War (Civil War), born in Peters Township, Pennsylvania (d. 1881)
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