- 1868 - The first traffic lights were installed outside the Houses of Parliament in London.
- 1901 - The first Nobel Prizes were awarded, on the anniversary of the 1896 death of their creator, Swedish chemist and industrialist Alfred Nobel.
- 1936 - Edward VIII, the only British monarch to have voluntarily relinquished the throne, signed his instrument of abdication.
- 1948 - The UN General Assembly adopted the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.
- 1965 - The Grateful Dead played their first concert at the Fillmore in San Francisco.
Recent days: December 9 – December 8 – December 7