- Dec 1 Nicholas Peter Negroponte, American founder/director (Media Lab at MIT), born in New York City
- Dec 1 Orton Enderlein, German [GDR] luger (Olympic gold women's singles 1964; World C'ships gold 1965, 67)), born in Trünzig, Sachsen, Germany
- Dec 2 Dave Munden, British rock drummer (Brian Poole & The Tremeloes), born in Dagenham, Essex, England
- Dec 2 Wayne Allard, American politician (U.S. Senator from Colorado 1997-2009), born in Fort Collins, Colorado
- Dec 4 Gary Sabourin, Canadian ice hockey right wing (NHL All Star 1970-71; St. Louis Blues), born in Parry Sound, Ontario
- Dec 5 Eva Joly, Norwegian-French magistrate and politician (Europe Écologie–The Greens), born in Grünerløkka, Oslo, Norway
- Dec 6 Mike Smith, British rock singer and keyboardist (Dave Clark Five - "Glad All Over"), born in London, England (d. 2008)
- Dec 7 Bernard C. Parks, American politician and Chief of the Los Angeles Police Department, born in Beaumont, Texas
- Dec 7 Göran Lennmarker, Swedish politician, born in Norberg, Västmanland County, Sweden
- Dec 7 James Tate, American poet (Pulitzer Prize 1992), born in Kansas City Missouri (d. 2015)
Jim Morrison (1943-1971)
Dec 8 American singer-songwriter (The Doors) and poet, born in Melbourne, Florida
- Dec 8 Mary Woronov, American actress (Eating Raoul, Terror Vision), born in Brooklyn Heights, New York
- Dec 8 Michael Unger, English editor-in-chief (Evening News, Manchester)
- Dec 8 Patti Chandler, American actress (Bikini Beach), born in Culver City, California
- Dec 9 Kenny Vance [Rosenberg], American musician (Jay and the Americans - "Come a Little Bit Closer"; "This Magic Moment"; The Planotones), and producer (Beaver Bown), born in Brooklyn, NYC
- Dec 10 Lajos Szűcs, Hungarian soccer defender (37 caps; Ferencváros, Honvéd FC; Hungarian Footballer of the Year 1976; Olympic gold 1968), born in Apatin, Hungary (d. 2020)
- Dec 10 Theodore Wilson, American actor (That's My Mama, Sanford Arms), born in New York City
John Kerry (80 years old)
Dec 11 US Secretary of State (2013-17) and 2004 presidential nominee of the Democratic Party, born in Aurora, Colorado
- Dec 11 Michael McCaskey, American football executive (Chicago Bears president 1983-98; chairman 1999-2011), born in Lancaster, Pennsylvania (d. 2020)
- Dec 12 Dickey Betts, American rock guitarist, songwriter, and singer (The Allman Brothers Band - "Ramblin' Man"; "Jessica"), born in West Palm Beach, Florida (d. 2024) [1]
- Dec 12 E. Jean Carroll, American journalist known for her "Ask E. Jean" column, who sued Donald Trump, born in Detroit, Michigan
- Dec 12 Grover Washington Jr., American jazz saxophonist (Mr Magic), born in Buffalo, New York (d. 1999)
- Dec 12 Pete Livesey, English rock climber, born in Huddersfield, England (d. 1998)
- Dec 13 (Margaret) "Marti" Webb, British actress and singer (Evita; Tell Me on a Sunday), born in Hampstead, London
- Dec 13 Arturo Ripstein, Mexican film director (El Lugar Sin Limites, Foxtrot), born in Mexico City
- Dec 13 Maurice Hines, American tap-dancer, choreographer, actor, and theater director, born in New York City (d. 2023) [1]
- Dec 14 Britt Allcroft, British film and television producer and writer who created the children's TV series "Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends", born in Worthing, West Sussex, England
- Dec 14 Dandy Livingstone (Robert Livingstone Thompson), Jamaican-British reggae musician and record producer, ("Suzanne Beware of the Devil"; "Rudy, A Message to You"), born in Kingston, Jamaica
- Dec 14 Frank Allen, English rock vocalist (Searchers - "Needles & Pins"), born in Hayes, Middlesex, England
- Dec 15 Kathleen Blanco, American politician, 1st female Governor of Louisiana (2004-08), born in New Iberia, Louisiana (d. 2019)
- Dec 15 Lucien den Arend, Dutch geometric abstract sculptor, born in Dordrecht, Netherlands
- Dec 15 Mihály Hesz, Hungarian sprint canoeist (Olympic gold K-1 1000 1968; World C'ship gold K-1 10000 1966; K-1 4x500 1971), born in Nógrád, Hungary
- Dec 16 Steven Bochco, American TV producer and co-creator of Hill Street Blues, LA Law and NYPD Blue, born in New York City (d. 2018)
- Dec 17 Ron Geesin, Scottish musician and avant-garde, symphonic rock, and film score composer, born in Stevenston, Ayrshire, Scotland
- Dec 17 William Brooks, American composer, educator, and musicologist, born in the USA
- Dec 18 Alan Rudolph, American actor and director (Endangers Species, Love at Large, Made in Heaven), born in Los Angeles, California
- Dec 18 Bobby Keys, American session and touring rock saxophonist (Rolling Stones; Harry Nilsson; John Lennon), born in Slaton, Texas (d. 2014)
Keith Richards (80 years old)
Dec 18 English guitarist and songwriter (The Rolling Stones), born in Dartford, Kent
- Dec 19 Mulatu Astatke, Ethiopian jazz vibraphonist, percussionist, composer, and arranger, born in Jimma, Ethiopian Empire
- Dec 19 Ross M. Lence, American political scientist (d. 2006)
- Dec 19 Sam Kelly [Roger Michael Kelly], English actor ('Allo 'Allo!, Porridge), born in Manchester, England (d. 2014)
- Dec 19 William DeVries, American cardiothoracic surgeon (artificial heart), born in Brooklyn, New York
- Dec 20 Angel Tompkins, American actress (Gloria-Search), born in Albany, California
- Dec 20 Walter "Wolfman" Washington, American funk, R&B, and blues guitarist (Johnny Adams; The Roadmasters), born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 2022)
- Dec 21 (Marvin John) "Jack" Nance, American stage and screen actor (Eraserhead; Twin Peaks), born in Boston, Massachusetts (d. 1996)
- Dec 21 Albert Lee, English guitarist, born in Lingen, Herefordshire
- Dec 21 André Arthur, Canadian radio host and politician, born in Quebec City, Canada
- Dec 21 Walter Spanghero, French rugby union #8, lock, flanker (51 caps; RC Narbonne RFC, Stade Toulouse RFC), born in Payra-sur-l'Hers, France
- Dec 22 Paul Wolfowitz, American political scientist and diplomat, born in Brooklyn, New York
- Dec 23 Derek Small, British fictional heavy metal bassist (Spinal Tap), born in Nilford-on-Null, West Midlands, England
- Dec 23 Elizabeth Hartman, American actress (A Patch of Blue, Beguilled), born in Youngstown, Ohio (d. 1987)
- Dec 23 Harry Shearer, American screenwriter, actor (SNL, 1975-85; The Simpsons; This Is Spinal Tap), radio host (Le Show), and musician, born in Los Angeles, California
- Dec 23 Mikhail Gromov, Russian-born mathematician, born in Boksitogorsk, Russia
- Dec 23 Roelof den Ambtman, Dutch actor and director (One Evening at Eva), born in Maurik, Netherlands
- Dec 23 Ross Edwards, Australian composer (Dawn Mantras), born in Sydney, Australia
- Dec 23 Silvia Sommerlath, German wife of King Carl XVI of Sweden, born in Heidelberg, Germany
- Dec 23 Stephen Wallace, Australian director (For Love Affair, Hunger, Mail Order Bride), born in New South Wales, Australia
- Dec 24 Christiane Schmidtmer, German actress (Ship of Fools), born in Mannheim, Germany (d. 2003)
- Dec 24 Suzy Menkes, British fashion journalist (International Herald Tribune, Vogue), born in Beaconsfield, England
- Dec 24 Tarja Halonen, Finnish politician, 1st female President of Finland (2000-12), born in Helsinki, Finland
- Dec 25 Arthur Adams, American session, funk, soul, and blues guitarist, songwriter, and vocalist, born in Medon, Tennessee
- Dec 25 Hanna Schygulla, Katowice Silesia, actress (Love is Colder than Death)
- Dec 25 Hedley Howarth, New Zealand cricket spin bowler (30 Tests, 86 wickets; Auckland CA), born in Auckland, New Zealand (d. 2008)
- Dec 25 Jacqui McShee, English folk-jazz singer (Pentangle), born in Catford, England
- Dec 25 Ravish Malhotra, India cosmonaut (Soyuz T-11 backup)
- Dec 25 Trevor Lucas, Australian folk singer-songwriter, and guitarist (Fairport Convention), born in Bungaree, Victoria (d. 1989)
- Dec 25 Wilson Fittipaldi Jr, Brazilian auto racer (38 x F1 GP) and team owner (Fittipaldi F1 team), born in São Paulo, Brazil (d. 2024)
- Dec 27 Corrine "Cokie" Roberts, American journalist, pioneering newscaster (ABC; NPR; PBS), and author, born in New Orleans, Louisiana (d. 2019)
- Dec 27 Joan Manuel Serrat, Spanish pop, rock and nueva canción singer-songwriter, born in Barcelona, Spain
- Dec 27 Peter Sinfield, British lyricist (King Crimson; Emerson, Lake, & Palmer; Celine Dion), and haiku poet, born in Fulham, London, England
- Dec 28 Bobby Comstock, American pop-rock singer (The Counts - "Let's Stomp"), born in Ithaca, New York (d. 2020)
- Dec 28 Charles "Chas" Hodges, English musician (Chas & Dave), born in London (d. 2018)
- Dec 28 David Peterson, premier of Ontario Canada (L) (1982- ), born in Toronto, Ontario
- Dec 28 Keith Floyd, English celebrity cook and restaurateur (Floyd on Fish), born in Reading, Berkshire, England (d. 2009)
- Dec 28 Oscar D Dhlomo, South African sect-gen of Inkatha (1978-90)
- Dec 28 Richard Whiteley, British television game show host (Countdown), and broadcast journalist (Calendar), born in Bradford, England (d. 2005)
- Dec 29 JHR Maij-Wegge, Dutch politician, born in Drenthe, Netherlands
- Dec 29 Rick Danko, Canadian rock bassist and singer (The Band - "Stage Fright"), born in Blayney, Ontario (d. 1999)
- Dec 30 Gösta Winbergh, Swedish tenor, born in Stockholm, Sweden (d. 2002)
- Dec 30 Rolf Gehlhaar, German-American electronic and avant-garde composer, born in Breslau, Germany (now Wrocław, Poland) (d. 2019)
Ben Kingsley (80 years old)
Dec 31 English actor (Gandhi, Betrayal), born in Scarborough, England
John Denver (1943-1997)
Dec 31 American pop songwriter ("Leaving On A Jet Plane"), country-pop singer ("Sunshine On My Shoulders"; "Calypso"; "Thank God I'm A Country Boy"), and actor (Oh, God!), born in Roswell, New Mexico
- Dec 31 Pete Quaife, British rock bassist (The Kinks, 1963-69 - "Sunny Afternoon"), and cartoonist, born in Tavistock, Devonshire, England (d. 2010)
About December 1943
How Old? 80 years old
Generation: Silent Generation
Leap Year: No
Chinese Zodiac: Goat/Sheep
Star Signs: Sagittarius (Nov 22 - Dec 21), Capricorn (Dec 22 - Jan 19)