| 141241 | December 15 | Birth | 1859 – L. L. Zamenhof, Polish linguist and ophthalmologist, created Esperanto (d. 1917) |
| 141242 | December 15 | Birth | 1860 – Niels Ryberg Finsen, Faroese-Danish physician and educator, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1904) |
| 141243 | December 15 | Birth | 1860 – Abner Powell, American baseball player and manager (d. 1953) |
| 141244 | December 15 | Birth | 1861 – Charles Duryea, American engineer and businessman, co-founded the Duryea Motor Wagon Company (d. 1938) |
| 141245 | December 15 | Birth | 1861 – Pehr Evind Svinhufvud, Finnish lawyer, judge, and politician, 3rd President of Finland (d. 1944) |
| 141246 | December 15 | Birth | 1863 – Arthur Dehon Little, American chemist and engineer (d. 1935) |
| 141247 | December 15 | Birth | 1869 – Leon Marchlewski, Polish chemist and academic (d. 1946) |
| 141248 | December 15 | Birth | 1875 – Emilio Jacinto, Filipino journalist and activist (d. 1899) |
| 141249 | December 15 | Birth | 1875 – Emil Voigt, American gymnast (d. 1961) |
| 141250 | December 15 | Birth | 1878 – Hans Carossa, German author and poet (d. 1956) |
| 141251 | December 15 | Birth | 1885 – Leonid Pitamic, Slovenian lawyer, philosopher, and academic (d. 1971) |
| 141252 | December 15 | Birth | 1888 – Maxwell Anderson, American journalist and playwright (d. 1959) |
| 141253 | December 15 | Birth | 1890 – Harry Babcock, American pole vaulter (d. 1965) |
| 141254 | December 15 | Birth | 1892 – J. Paul Getty, American-English businessman and art collector, founded Getty Oil (d. 1976) |
| 141255 | December 15 | Birth | 1894 – Vibert Douglas, Canadian astronomer (d. 1988) |
| 141256 | December 15 | Birth | 1894 – Josef Imbach, Swiss sprinter (d. 1964) |
| 141257 | December 15 | Birth | 1896 – Betty Smith, American author and playwright (d. 1972) |
| 141258 | December 15 | Birth | 1899 – Harold Abrahams, English sprinter, lawyer, and journalist (d. 1978) |
| 141259 | December 15 | Birth | 1902 – Robert F. Bradford, American lawyer and politician, 57th Governor of Massachusetts (d. 1983) |
| 141260 | December 15 | Birth | 1903 – Tamanishiki San'emon, Japanese sumo wrestler, the 32nd Yokozuna (d. 1938) |
| 141261 | December 15 | Birth | 1907 – Oscar Niemeyer, Brazilian architect, designed the United Nations Headquarters and the Cathedral of Brasília (d. 2012) |
| 141262 | December 15 | Birth | 1908 – Swami Ranganathananda, Indian monk, scholar, and author (d. 2005) |
| 141263 | December 15 | Birth | 1909 – Sattar Bahlulzade, Azerbaijani-Russian painter (d. 1974) |
| 141264 | December 15 | Birth | 1910 – John Hammond, American record producer and critic (d. 1987) |
| 141265 | December 15 | Birth | 1911 – Nicholas P. Dallis, American psychiatrist and illustrator (d. 1991) |
| 141266 | December 15 | Birth | 1911 – Stan Kenton, American pianist and composer (d. 1979) |
| 141267 | December 15 | Birth | 1913 – Roger Gaudry, Canadian chemist and businessman (d. 2001) |
| 141268 | December 15 | Birth | 1913 – Prudent Joye, French hurdler and therapist (d. 1980) |
| 141269 | December 15 | Birth | 1913 – Muriel Rukeyser, American poet, academic, and activist (d. 1980) |
| 141270 | December 15 | Birth | 1916 – Miguel Arraes, Brazilian lawyer and politician, Governor of Pernambuco (d. 2005) |