- Dec 1 Eduard Franck, German composer, dies at 76
- Dec 4 Allan Wilson, British/Rhodesian Major, dies in battle against the Ndebeles during First Matabele War
- Dec 4 Heinrich Göbel, German-American mechanic and inventor (incandescent lamps), dies at 75
- Dec 4 John Tyndall, Irish physicist who demonstrated why the sky is blue and proved that the Earth's atmosphere has a greenhouse effect, dies at 73
- Dec 9 George Elvey, British organist and composer, dies at 77
- Dec 14 Karolina Pawlowa, Russian poet and novelist, dies at 86
- Dec 17 Levinus T Keuchenius, Dutch min of Colonies (1888-90), dies at 71
- Dec 22 Benedikt Randhartinger, Austrian composer, dies at 91
- Dec 22 Johann Czerski, German chaplain, dies at 80
- Dec 26 Victor Schœlcher, French abolitionist writer, dies at 89
- Dec 30 Samuel White Baker, English explorer (Ceylon & Egypt), dies at 72
- Dec 31 Jacob Gijsbert de Hoop Scheffer, Dutch vicar and theologian, dies at 74
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide