- Dec 1 Vittorio Emanuele Orlando, Prime Minister of Italy (1917-19) who represented Italy at the 1919 Paris Peace Conference, dies at 92
- Dec 4 James E. Norris, Canadian Hockey Hall of Fame team owner (Detroit Red Wings), dies at 72
- Dec 4 Karen Horney, German-American neo freudian psycho analyst, dies at 67
Louis Lapicque (1866-1952)
Dec 6 French neuroscientist, dies at 86
- Dec 8 Charles Lightoller, British mariner (Second Officer of HMS Titanic), WWI Royal Navy officer, WWII Small Vessels Pool volunteer, dies of heart disease at 78
- Dec 11 Charles Kortright, English cricketer described at the time of his death as "probably the fastest bowler in the history of the game", dies at 81
- Dec 12 Bedřich Hrozný, Czech orientalist and linguist (development of Hittitology), dies at 73
- Dec 14 (Olav) Fartein Valen, Norwegian composer, pianist, polyglot, and rosarian, dies at 65
- Dec 15 Potti Sreeramulu, Indian revolutionary known as the Father of Andhra for conducting a 56 day hunger strike in support of a separate Telugu-speaking state, fasts to death at 51, sparking rioting and 3 days later Indian Prime Minister Jawaharlal Nehru to declare an intention to form Andhra Pradesh state
- Dec 19 Harry Makepeace, English cricket batsman (4 Tests, 1 x 100, HS 117; Lancashire CCC) and soccer midfielder (4 caps; FA Cup 1906 Everton), dies at 71
- Dec 24 Hans Kramers, Dutch theoretical physicist (worked with Niels Bohr on electromagnetic waves), dies at 58
- Dec 26 Pietro Pancrazi, Italian critic (Pegaso), dies at 59
- Dec 27 Henri G Winkelman, Dutch supreme commander army/navy 1940, dies at 76
- Dec 27 Patrick Joseph Hartigan, Australian Roman Catholic priest, dies at 74
- Dec 29 Beryl Rubinstein, American pianist and composer, dies at 54
Fletcher Henderson (1897-1952)
Dec 29 American pianist, bandleader, composer, and arranger (Benny Goodman Orchestra), dies at 55 [1]
- Dec 30 Ivan Olbracht, writer, dies
Assassination
Drug Overdose
Gunshot Wound
Murder
Plane Crash
Suicide