- Dec 1 Captain Bill Compton brings Trans World Airlines Flight 220, an MD-83, into St. Louis International Airport bringing to an end 76 years of TWA operations following TWA's purchase by American Airlines.
- Dec 1 Nicaraguan baseball team wins the Central American Games; Ramon Padilla ends 15 year stint with the national team with 2 homers in the 9-0 finale against Guatemala
- Dec 2 Davis Cup Tennis, Melbourne: Nicolas Escudé defeats Wayne Arthurs of Australia 7-6, 6-7, 6-3, 6-3 to give France a 3-2 victory; 9th French title, despite not playing a single match on home soil
- Dec 2 Enron files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy in the Southern District of New York
AirAsia
Dec 2 Tony Fernandes' company Tune Air Sdn Bhd buys the heavily indebted AirAsia for 1 MYR (about USD 0.26 at the time)
Destiny's Child, Shaggy Win
Dec 4 12th Billboard Music Awards: Destiny's Child and Shaggy win
Marike de Klerk
Dec 4 Marike de Klerk, ex-wife of former President F.W. de Klerk is murdered at her home in Cape Town
Ocean's Eleven
Dec 5 "Ocean's Eleven" directed by Steven Soderbergh, starring George Clooney, Brad Pitt, Matt Damon and Julia Roberts premieres in Westwood, California
The Fellowship of the Ring
Dec 10 "The Fellowship of the Ring" Lord of the Rings film directed by Peter Jackson and starring Elijah Wood and Ian McKellen premieres in London
- Dec 10 67th Heisman Trophy Award: Eric Crouch, Nebraska (QB)
- Dec 11 The People's Republic of China joins the World Trade Organization.
Winona Ryder Arrested
Dec 12 Winona Ryder is arrested on shoplifting charges in Beverly Hills, California
A Beautiful Mind
Dec 13 "A Beautiful Mind" based on the bio by Sylvia Nasar, directed by Ron Howard and starring Russell Crowe premieres in Los Angeles (Best Picture 2002)
- Dec 13 Indian Parliament Sansad attacked by terrorists. 15 people killed, including all terrorists
- Dec 15 The Leaning Tower of Pisa reopens after 11 years and $27,000,000 to fortify it, without fixing its famous lean
- Dec 18 Ballon d'Or: Liverpool forward Michael Owen is named best football player in Europe ahead of Real Madrid striker Raúl and Bayern Munich goalkeeper Oliver Kahn
The Fellowship of the Ring
Dec 19 "The Fellowship of the Ring", 1st Lord of the Rings film is released. Makes US$47 million US opening weekend, $871 million total worldwide.
- Dec 19 A record high barometric pressure of 1085.6 hPa (32.06 inHg) is recorded at Tosontsengel, Khövsgöl Province, Mongolia.
- Dec 19 Argentine economic crisis: December 2001 riots - Riots erupt in Buenos Aires after Domingo Cavallo's corralito measures restrict the withdrawal of cash from bank deposits.
- Dec 20 90th Davis Cup: France beats Australia in Melbourne (3-2)
- Dec 20 Argentine economic crisis: President of Argentina Fernando de la Rúa is forced out of office.
Northern Alliance Hands Over Power
Dec 22 Burhanuddin Rabbani, political leader of the Afghan Northern Alliance, hands over power in Afghanistan to the interim government headed by President Hamid Karzai
- Dec 22 Richard Reid attempts to destroy a passenger airliner by igniting explosives hidden in his shoes aboard American Airlines Flight 63.
Giuliani Person of the Year
Dec 24 "Time Magazine" names New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani 'Person of the Year', for leadership after 9/11 attacks
- Dec 26 Crude oil prices on the New York Mercantile Exchange (NYMEX) record one of their largest 1-day jumps of the year as traders become convinced that OPEC will follow through on production cuts
- Dec 27 The People's Republic of China is granted permanent normal trade relations with the United States.
- Dec 28 OPEC oil ministers meeting in Cairo agree to reduce their crude oil output quotas by a combined 1.5 million barrels per day
- Dec 29 Mesa Redonda shopping center fire, Lima, Peru, at least 291 killed.
Authors
Civil Rights Activists
Inventors
Kings
Revolutionaries
Scientists