- Dec 2 Eiji Sawamura, Japanese Baseball Hall of Fame pitcher (first no-hitter in Japanese pro baseball 1936), dies in battle when his ship torpedoed, at 27
- Dec 2 Filippo Tommaso Marinetti, Italian-French prose writer, novelist, poet, and dramatist (Futurism e Futurista), dies of cardiac arrest at 67
- Dec 3 Andrew, Prince of Greece and Denmark, dies at 62
- Dec 3 Delfien Vanhaute, Flemish pastor/poet (Ark of Noah), dies at 75
- Dec 4 Roger Bresnahan, American Baseball Hall of Fame catcher, outfielder and manager (World Series 1905 NY Giants; St. Louis Cardinals; first shin guards and batting helmet), dies at 65
- Dec 9 Laird Cregar, American actor (Charley's Aunt, Hangover Square), dies at 28
- Dec 10 John Brunt, English soldier and Victoria Cross holder, dies at 22
- Dec 10 Johnny Marvin, American jazz, pop, and country ukulele player, singer, and vaudevillian, dies of dengue fever at 47
- Dec 10 Paul Otlet, Belgian author, lawyer and peace activist (created the Universal Decimal Classification scheme), dies at 76
- Dec 13 Lupe Vélez, Mexican actress (Joe Palooka; Mexican Spitfire), intentionally overdoses on barbiturate Seconal at 34
- Dec 13 Wassily Kandinsky, Russian-French abstract painter (Dreamy Inspiration), dies at 78
Glenn Miller (1904-1944)
Dec 15 American bandleader and jazz composer (Glenn Miller Orchestra - "In The Mood"; "Moonlight Serenade"; "String Of Pearls"), dies in a suspected plane crash over the English Channel, while serving in the US Army,at 40
- Dec 16 Don Meyer Basketball coach Northern State, Lipscomb, and Hamline
- Dec 16 Elisabeth ten Boom, Dutch woman portrayed in "The Hiding Place" dies at Ravensbrück concentration camp at 59
- Dec 16 Philip Guedalla, English barrister and historian, dies at 55
- Dec 17 Pieter A. Roodenburgh, student and resistance fighter, dies at 26
- Dec 19 Rudolph Karstadt, German entrepreneur (b. 1856)
- Dec 20 Abbas Hilmi II, viceroy of Egypt (1892-1914), dies at 70
- Dec 20 JW Ummels, Dutch resistance fighter, dies in Sachsenhausen concentration camp at unknown age
- Dec 22 Harry Langdon, American comedian (The Strong Man; Tramp, Tramp, Tramp), dies at 60
- Dec 23 Charles Dana Gibson, American illustrator (Gibson Girl), dies at 77
- Dec 24 Joseph Gustav Mraczek, German violinist, conductor, composer (Max und Moritz) and pedagogue, dies at 66
Amy Beach (1867-1944)
Dec 27 American pianist and composer (Gaelic Symphony), dies at 77
- Dec 30 Romain Roland, French writer/pacifist (Nobel 1915), dies at 78
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide