| 137521 | December 5 | Birth | 1921 – Alvy Moore, American actor and producer (d. 1997) |
| 137522 | December 5 | Birth | 1922 – Casey Ribicoff, American philanthropist and socialite (d. 2011) |
| 137523 | December 5 | Birth | 1924 – Robert Sobukwe, South African politician (d. 1978) |
| 137524 | December 5 | Birth | 1925 – Anastasio Somoza Debayle, Nicaraguan politician, 73rd President of Nicaragua (d. 1980) |
| 137525 | December 5 | Birth | 1927 – Bhumibol Adulyadej, Thai king |
| 137526 | December 5 | Birth | 1929 – Stanisław Bareja, Polish director (d. 1987) |
| 137527 | December 5 | Birth | 1929 – Madis Kõiv, Estonian physicist, philosopher, and author (d. 2014) |
| 137528 | December 5 | Birth | 1931 – Ladislav Novák, Czech footballer and manager (d. 2011) |
| 137529 | December 5 | Birth | 1932 – Alf Dubs, Baron Dubs, Czech-English politician |
| 137530 | December 5 | Birth | 1932 – Sheldon Lee Glashow, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate |
| 137531 | December 5 | Birth | 1932 – Jim Hurtubise, American race car driver (d. 1989) |
| 137532 | December 5 | Birth | 1932 – Little Richard, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor |
| 137533 | December 5 | Birth | 1933 – Gennadiy Agapov, Russian race walker (d. 1999) |
| 137534 | December 5 | Birth | 1934 – Joan Didion, American author and screenwriter |
| 137535 | December 5 | Birth | 1934 – Nikos Kourkoulos, Greek actor and director (d. 2007) |
| 137536 | December 5 | Birth | 1935 – Marise Chamberlain, New Zealand runner |
| 137537 | December 5 | Birth | 1935 – Calvin Trillin, American journalist, author, and poet |
| 137538 | December 5 | Birth | 1935 – Yury Vlasov, Ukrainian-Russian weightlifter and politician |
| 137539 | December 5 | Birth | 1936 – James Lee Burke, American journalist, author, and academic |
| 137540 | December 5 | Birth | 1938 – JJ Cale, American singer-songwriter and guitarist (Leathercoated Minds) (d. 2013) |
| 137541 | December 5 | Birth | 1938 – J.D. McDuffie, American race car driver (d. 1991) |
| 137542 | December 5 | Birth | 1939 – Minita Chico-Nazario, Filipino lawyer and jurist |
| 137543 | December 5 | Birth | 1940 – Boris Ignatyev, Russian footballer and manager |
| 137544 | December 5 | Birth | 1940 – Peter Pohl, Swedish author, director, and screenwriter |
| 137545 | December 5 | Birth | 1940 – Adrian Street, Welsh wrestler and actor |
| 137546 | December 5 | Birth | 1940 – Frank Wilson, American singer-songwriter and producer (d. 2012) |
| 137547 | December 5 | Birth | 1943 – Eva Joly, Norwegian-French judge and politician |
| 137548 | December 5 | Birth | 1943 – Andrew Yeom Soo-jung, South Korean priest, 5th Archbishop of Seoul |
| 137549 | December 5 | Birth | 1944 – Jeroen Krabbé, Dutch actor, director, and producer |
| 137550 | December 5 | Birth | 1944 – Loukas Sideras, Greek drummer and producer (Aphrodite's Child) |