Anniversaries 2 December

Birth

William Cooper (judge)1

judge 1754-1809 1754–1809

William Burges20

English architect 1827–1881

Georges Seurat20

French painter 1859–1891

C. T. Studd1

British cricketer and missionary 1860–1931

Susan Stebbing9

British philosopher 1885–1943

Otto Dix10

German painter and printmaker 1891–1969

George Frederick James Temple21

British mathematician 1901–1992

Ida Friederike Görres57

Austrian writer and noble 1901–1971

Osvaldo Pugliese5

Argentine pianist, tango composer 1905–1995

Russell Lynes2

American art historian 1910–1991

Howard Finster1

American artist 1916–2001

Ali Meshkini7

Iranian ayatollah 1922–2007

Maria Callas11

American-born Greek operatic soprano 1923–1977

Alexander Haig3

former U.S. States Secretary of State and U.S. Army general 1924–2010

James Gustafson4

American academic 1925

Friedrich-Wilhelm Marquardt2

German theologian 1928–2002

Gary S. Becker8

American economist 1930–2014

Edwin Meese III3

American presidential advisor 1931

Nigel Calder7

British science writer 1931–2014

Alfred Clifton Hughes1

Roman Catholic archbishop 1932

Peter Duesberg3

American cell biologist 1936

James C. Scott2

American political scientist and anthropologist 1936

Harry Reid11

American politician 1939

Elizabeth Berg22

American novelist 1948

T.C. Boyle3

American novelist and short story writer 1948

Paul Watson13

Canadian environmental activist 1950

Caroline Myss23

author from the United States 1952

Klaus F. Zimmermann1

German economist 1952

Joel Fuhrman14

Family Physician and author 1953

Mostafa Mohammad-Najjar2

Iranian politician 1956

Icyang Parod1

Taiwanese Amis politician 1960

Ray Garton1

American writer 1962

Shiva Ayyadurai1

inventor 1963

Craig Groeschel63

American priest 1967

Lucy Liu5

American actress and model 1968

François-Eudes Chanfrault8

Composer and musician 1974–2016

Rachel Marsden10

journalist 1974

Sabrina Ward Harrison12

Canadian writer 1975

Britney Spears28

American singer, dancer and actress 1981

Death

John Ruysbroeck90

Flemish mystic 1293–1381

Gerardus Mercator3

cartographer, philosopher and mathematician 1512–1594

Pasquier Quesnel3

French theologian 1634–1719

Marquis de Sade30

French novelist and philosopher 1740–1814

Lewis Gompertz9

Early animal rights activist 1783–1861

John Brown (abolitionist)14

American abolitionist 1800–1859

Jay Gould10

American businessman 1836–1892

John J. Whitacre1

American politician 1860–1938

Edmond Rostand20

French writer 1868–1918

Filippo Tommaso Marinetti27

Italian poet and editor, founder of the Futurist movement 1876–1944

L. E. J. Brouwer2

Dutch mathematician and logician 1881–1966

Kliment Voroshilov8

Soviet military commander 1881–1969

Edward Rydz-Śmigły1

Polish general 1886–1941

Aaron Copland13

American composer, composition teacher, writer, and conduct… 1900–1990

Stephen Potter7

British writer 1900–1969

Ruth Nanda Anshen1

American philosopher, author and editor 1900–2003

Porphyrios Bairaktaris1

Greek Saint 1906–1991

Joey Adams2

American comedian, newspaper columnist 1911–1999

Robertson Davies282

Canadian journalist, playwright, professor, critic, and nov… 1913–1995

Romain Gary16

French writer and diplomat 1914–1980

Elizabeth Hardwick14

Novelist, short story writer, literary critic 1916–2007

Dinu Lipatti1

Pianist, Composer 1917–1950

Achille Castiglioni3

Italian designers and architect 1918–2002

Mona Van Duyn1

American poet 1921–2004

Philip Larkin42

English poet, novelist, jazz critic and librarian 1922–1985

Christopher Logue3

Poet, screenwriter, actor 1926–2011

Valéry Giscard d'Estaing6

President of France 1926–2020

Ivan Illich66

austrian philosopher and theologist 1926–2002

Robert K. Massie1

Historian, writer 1929–2019

Marty Feldman9

British actor and comedian 1934–1982

Sandy Berger1

US National Security Advisor 1945–2015