Birthdays Date 1939 December | History by KabAstro

Dec 1 Dianne Lennon, American singer (Lennon Sisters), born in Los Angeles, California

Lee Trevino (84 years old)

Dec 1 American golfer (British Open 1971-72; US Open 1968, 71; US PGA 1974, 84), born in Dallas, Texas

Dec 2 Francis Fox, Canadian politician (member of the Senate of Canada), born in Montreal, Quebec

Harry Reid (1939-2021)

Dec 2 American attorney and politician (U.S. Senator from Nevada, 1987-2017; U.S. House of Representatives, 1983-87), born in Searchlight, Nevada [1]

Dec 2 Yael Dayan, Israeli writer and politician, born in Nahalal, Israel
Dec 5 Frédéric van Rossum, Belgian pianist, composer (Waves; In memoriam Glenn Gould), and pedagogue, born in Ixelles, Belgium
Dec 5 Horst Bastian, German writer and screenwriter, born in Exin (d. 1986)
Dec 5 Jack Whitten, American abstract painter, born in Bessemer, Alabama (d. 2018)
Dec 6 Steve Alaimo, American pop singer ("Mashed Potatoes"; "Every Day I Have To Cry"), born in Omaha, Nebraska
Dec 6 Tomés Svoboda, Czech composer (Etude), born in Paris, France
Dec 8 James Galway, Irish classical flutist known as "The Man With the Golden Flute", born in Belfast, Northern Ireland
Dec 8 Jerry Butler, American soul vocalist (The Impressions; "Never Give You Up"), born in Sunflower, Mississippi
Dec 8 Lynn Wilson, contractor and multi-millionaire
Dec 9 Patricia Stephens Due, African-American civil rights activist (FAMU jail-in), born in Quincy, Florida (d. 2012)
Dec 10 Barry Cunliffe, English archaeologist and university professor, born in Portsmouth, England
Dec 11 David Gates, American rock vocalist (Bread - "Baby I'm A Want You"; "If"), born in Tulsa, Oklahoma
Dec 11 Thomas McGuane, American writer (Colf Feet, Tom Horn, Missouri Breaks), born in Wyandotte, Michigan
Dec 11 Tom Hayden, American civil rights and antiwar activist and politician (Rep-D-Ca), born in Royal Oak, Michigan (d. 2016)

Ernie Davis (1939-1963)

Dec 14 American College Football Hall of Fame halfback (1st African-American to win Heisman Trophy 1961, Syracuse), born in New Salem, Pennsylvania

Dec 14 Marilyn Cooper, American actress (Broadway Bound, Survivors), born in New York City
Dec 15 Cindy Birdsong, American rock vocalist (Patti LaBelle & Blue Belles, 1963-67; The Supremes, 1967-76), born in Camden, New Jersey
Dec 15 Dave Clark, British rock drummer, singer-songwriter, and producer (Dave Clark Five - "Glad All Over"), born in Tottenham, Middlesex, England [1]
Dec 15 Nicolaus A. Huber, German composer, born in Passau, Germany
Dec 17 Charles V. Bush, African-American pioneer (1st African-American US Air Force Academy Graduate and US Supreme Court Page), (d. 2012)
Dec 17 Eddie Kendricks, American singer-songwriter (The Temptations - "The Way You Do the Things You Do"; "Just My Imagination"), born in Union Springs, Alabama (d. 1992)
Dec 17 James Booker, American R&B musician (Gonzo), born in New Orleans, Louisiana
Dec 17 Novella Nelson, American actress (Antwone Fisher, Purlie, Chiefs), born in Brooklyn, New York (d. 2017)
Dec 18 Christoffel "Stoffel" van de Merwe, South African minister of Education
Dec 18 Harold E. Varmus, American scientist (1989 Nobel Prize for Medicine or Physiology for cellular origin of retroviral oncogenes.), born in Oceanside, New York
Dec 18 Michael J. Moorcock, English sci-fi author (Alien Heat, Bull & Spear), born in London, England
Dec 18 Sandro Lopopolo Italian lightweight boxer (Olympic-Silver-1960), born in Milan, Italy (d. 2014)
Dec 18 Wiesje Backer, Dutch ballet dancer, actress. and playwright, born in Ammerzoden, Netherlands (d. 2018)
Dec 20 Bill Keith, American bluegrass, country, and session banjoist, and tuning instrument tuner inventor, born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 2015)
Dec 20 Dianne Arndt, American artist and photographer, born in Springfield, Massachusetts
Dec 20 Kathryn Joosten, American actress (Desperate Housewives), born in Chicago, Illinois (d. 2012)
Dec 20 Kim Weston, American soul singer (with Marvin Gaye - "It Takes Two"), born in Detroit, Michigan
Dec 20 Klaus Schweizer, German composer, born in Albstadt, Germany
Dec 21 Lloyd Axworthy, Canadian politician, born in North Battleford, Canada
Dec 22 James Gurley, American rock lead guitarist (Big Brother and the Holding Company - "Piece Of My Heart"), born in Detroit, Michigan (d. 2009)
Dec 22 Valentin Afonin, Russian soccer defender (42 caps; SKA Rostov-on-Don, CSKA Moscow), born in Vladimir, Russia (d. 2021)
Dec 25 Bob James, American smooth jazz keyboardist and composer ("Angela"; "Tappen Zee"), born in Marshall, Missouri
Dec 25 Christopher Wates, English real estate developer/multi-millionaire
Dec 26 Lynn Martin, American politician, (Secretary of Labor, 1991-93; US Congress, 1981-91), born in Evanston, Illinois

Phil Spector (1939-2021)

Dec 26 American record producer (Wall of Sound), and convicted murderer, born in The Bronx, New York

Dec 27 John Amos, American actor (Good Times; Roots; Coming to America; The West Wing), born in Newark, New Jersey
Dec 28 Charles Neville, American vocalist and saxophonist (Neville Brothers), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 2018)
Dec 28 Philip Anschutz, American businessman
Dec 29 (William Edwin) "Ed" Bruce, American country singer ("Mammas Don't Let Your Babies Grow Up to Be Cowboys"), born in Keiser, Arkansas (d. 2021)
Dec 29 Maumoon Abdul Gayoom, Maldivian politician and Islamic scholar, born in Malé, Maldives
Dec 30 Doeke Eisma, Dutch sociologist and politician (D66)
Dec 30 Elena Tchaikovskaia, Russian figure skating coach, choreographer (Lyudmila Pakhomova / Aleksandr Gorshkov; 6 x World C'ship gold, Olympic gold 1976), born in Moscow, Russia
Dec 30 Felix Pappalardi, American rock music producer, songwriter, vocalist, and bassist (Mountain - "Mississippi Queen"), born in The Bronx, New York (d. 1983)
Dec 30 Glenda Adams (née Fenton), Australian novelist (Dancing on Coral; Longlegs), and playwright (The Monkey Trap), born in Ryde, New South Wales, Australia (d. 2007)
Dec 30 Viola Mae Wilkerson, American pop singer ("Gonna Get Along Without Ya Now"), born in Watts, Los Angeles, California (d. 2009)
Dec 31 Afaq Hussain, Pakistani cricket spin bowler (2 Tests, 1 wicket; Karachi University, Pakistan International Airlines), born in Lucknow, India (d. 2002)
Dec 31 Hugh Lewin, South African anti-apartheid activist and writer (Bandiet: Seven Years in a South African Prison), born in Lydenburg, South Africa (d. 2019)
Dec 31 Willye White, American athlete (Olympic silver long jump 1956, 4x100m relay 1964; Sports Illustrated 100 greatest women athletes of 20th century), born in Money, Mississippi (d. 2007)