Did you know
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela was a South African anti-apartheid activist, statesman, and revolutionary who was the first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1999.
Notable Deaths on December 5
2013 — Nelson Mandela
South African lawyer and politician, 1st President of South Africa, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1918)
December 5 has 105 recorded notable deaths across history, from 63 BC to 2025. This focused page highlights 20 people with the strongest available profile context.
By thisDay.info Editorial Team · — Wikipedia
Notable Deaths
105 source records
63 BC – 2025
Today in history
Major events on December 5
See what else happened on this day in history.
- 1991 Leonid Kravchuk is elected the first president of Ukraine. Source
- 1936 The Soviet Union adopts a new constitution and the Kirghiz Soviet Socialist Republic is established as a full Union Republic of the USSR. Source
- 1914 The Imperial Trans-Antarctic Expedition begins in an attempt to make the first land crossing of Antarctica. Source
- 1848 California Gold Rush: In a message to the United States Congress, U.S. President James K. Polk confirms that large amounts of gold had been discovered in California. Source
Did you know
During the World Series in question, Jackson had led both teams in several statistical categories and set a World Series record with 12 base hits, including, during the last game, the only home run in that World Series.
Did you know
During his long career, he was the most consistent and prolific practitioner of Impressionism's philosophy of expressing one's perceptions of nature, especially as applied to plein air (outdoor) landscape painting.
Did you know
Army officer who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996.
Did you know
Frank Gehry's most famous works include the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao in Spain, the Walt Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, and the Louis Vuitton Foundation in Paris.
More major people who died on December 5
Notable people are ranked by substantive profile depth and public notability.
1951
Shoeless Joe Jackson
American baseball player and manager (born 1887)
Joseph Jefferson Jackson, nicknamed "Shoeless Joe", was an American professional baseball outfielder who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) in the early 20th century.
1926
Claude Monet
French painter (born 1840)
Oscar-Claude Monet was a French painter and founder of Impressionism who is seen as a key precursor to modernism, especially in his attempts to paint nature as he perceived it.
2021
Bob Dole
American politician (born 1923)
Robert Joseph Dole was an American politician, attorney, and U.S. Army officer who represented Kansas in the United States Senate from 1969 to 1996. He was the Republican leader of the U.S.
2025
Frank Gehry
Canadian-American architect and designer (b. 1929)
Frank Owen Gehry was a Canadian and American architect and designer known for his postmodern designs and use of unconventional forms and materials.
2010
Don Meredith
American football player, sportscaster, and actor (born 1938)
Joseph Donald Meredith, nicknamed "Dandy Don", was an American football player, sports commentator, and actor. He was a quarterback for nine seasons with the Dallas Cowboys of the National Football League (NFL).
2012
Oscar Niemeyer
Brazilian architect, designed the United Nations Headquarters and Cathedral of Brasília (born 1907)
Oscar Ribeiro de Almeida Niemeyer Soares Filho, known as Oscar Niemeyer, was a Brazilian architect considered to be one of the key figures in the development of modern architecture.
1983
Robert Aldrich
American director, producer, and screenwriter (born 1918)
Robert Burgess Aldrich was an American film director, producer, and screenwriter.
1998
Albert Gore
Sr., American lawyer and politician (born 1907)
Albert Arnold Gore Sr. was an American politician who served as a United States senator from Tennessee from 1953 to 1971. A member of the Democratic Party, he previously served as a U.S.
1951
Abanindranath Tagore
Indian painter, author, and academic (born 1871)
Abanindranath Tagore was an Indian painter who was the principal artist and creator of the Indian Society of Oriental Art in 1907. He was also the first major exponent of Swadeshi values in Indian art.
1953
William Sterling Parsons
American admiral (born 1901)
William Sterling "Deak" Parsons was an American naval officer who worked as an ordnance expert on the Manhattan Project during World War II.
1990
Alfonso A. Ossorio
Filipino-American painter and sculptor (born 1916)
Alfonso Angel Yangco Ossorio was a Filipino American abstract expressionist artist who was born in Manila in 1916 to wealthy Filipino parents from the province of Negros Occidental.
2006
David Bronstein
Ukrainian-Belarusian chess player and theoretician (born 1924)
David Ionovich Bronstein was a Soviet and Russian chess player. Awarded the title of International Grandmaster by FIDE in 1950, he narrowly missed becoming World Chess Champion in 1951.
1977
Katherine Milhous
American author and illustrator (born 1894)
Katherine Milhous (1894–1977) was an American artist, illustrator, and writer. She is known best as the author and illustrator of The Egg Tree, which won the 1951 Caldecott Medal for U.S. picture book illustration.
2022
Kirstie Alley
American actress and producer (born 1951)
Kirstie Louise Alley was an American actress. Her breakthrough role was as Rebecca Howe in the NBC sitcom Cheers (1987–1993), for which she received an Emmy Award and a Golden Globe in 1991.
1963
Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy
Indian-Pakistani lawyer and politician, 5th Prime Minister of Pakistan (born 1892)
Huseyn Shaheed Suhrawardy was a Pakistani politician and statesman who served as the fifth prime minister of Pakistan from 1956 to 1957 and before that as the prime minister of Bengal from 1946 to 1947.
2014
Ernest C. Brace
American captain and pilot (born 1931)
Ernest Cary Brace was the longest-held civilian prisoner of war (POW) during the Vietnam War. A decorated Marine Corps fighter pilot and mustang, Brace was court-martialed in 1961 for attempting to fake his own death.
2002
Roone Arledge
American sportscaster and producer (born 1931)
Roone Pinckney Arledge Jr. was an American sports and news broadcasting executive who was president of ABC Sports from 1968 until 1986 and ABC News from 1977 until 1998, and a key part of the company's rise to…
2008
George Brecht
American chemist and composer (born 1926)
George Brecht, born George Ellis MacDiarmid, was an American conceptual artist and avant-garde composer, as well as a professional chemist who worked as a consultant for companies including Pfizer, Johnson & Johnson,…
1784
Phillis Wheatley
Senegal-born slave, later American poet (born 1753)
Phillis Wheatley Peters, also spelled Phyllis and Wheatly, was an American writer who is considered the first African-American author of a published book of poetry.