The following events occurred in December 1909:
December 1, 1909 (Wednesday) The United States severed diplomatic relations with Nicaragua, with Secretary of State Knox ordering the Nicaraguan charge d'affaires to leave. Aleksandër Xhuvani University, the first university in Albania, was founded in Elbasan as a teacher's college, the Shkolla Normale e Elbasanit. The payout from the first "Christmas club" was made, by the Carlisle (Pa.) Trust Company. Born: Franz Bardon, in Katherein, Austria-Hungary (now Opava, Czech Republic) (d. 1958)
December 2, 1909 (Thursday)
The Union of South Africa was created by royal proclamation of the parliamentary act that consolidated four British colonies. The National Hockey Association, forerunner of the National Hockey League, was founded. Giovanni Giolitti resigned as Prime Minister of Italy. He was succeeded by Sidney Sonnino. The first airplane flight in Turkey was made by Baron De Cotters.
December 3, 1909 (Friday) Two British ships sank in a storm in the Irish Sea, killing more than 60 people. SS Ellan Vannin sank as it sailed from Ramsey on the Isle of Man, on its way to Liverpool, with the loss of 32 people (21 crew and 11 passengers). The 30-member crew of the freighter SS Thistledor drowned in Bideford Bay off the coast of Appledore, Torridge. The British House of Commons was dissolved and elections were called for January by Prime Minister Asquith.
December 4, 1909 (Saturday) King Gustaf V of Sweden disguised himself and spent a day working as a stevedore, so that he could see working conditions first hand. "Mr. Bernadotte" spent the day unloading sacks of coal at a Stockholm harbor. The Montreal Canadiens were founded. The first Grey Cup game was played, with the University of Toronto defeating Parkdale Canoe Club 26–6 at Rosedale Field in Toronto. The New York Amsterdam News, an African-American newspaper founded by James H. Anderson, published its first issue. Edward Sheldon's play The Nigger opened on Broadway. Later made into a novel (1910) and a film (1915), the play was described by critic George Jean Nathan as one of the "ten dramatic shocks of the century". One historian notes that the play "is, despite its politically incorrect title, a prominent defense of miscegenation". American Cyanamid shipped its first carload of cyanamide fertilizer. The chemical manufacturer later diversified, producing products such as Centrum vitamins, Old Spice after shave, and Pine-Sol cleaner.
December 5, 1909 (Sunday) The first manned glider flights in Australia and Japan took place on the same day. At Narrabeen, New South Wales, George Augustine Taylor flew in a glider of his own design, and his wife Florence Mary Taylor flew the same day. A boy near Tokyo flew on a biplane glider built by Yves le Prieur and Lt. Shirou Aibara. In a duel fought between two members of the Senate of Bolivia, Senator Adolfo Trigo Acha shot and killed Senator Emilio Fernandez Molina. Trigo continued to serve as the Senator from Tarija Department.
December 6, 1909 (Monday) Saratov State University was founded in the Russian city of Saratov. Antonio Fernandez of Spain became only the fourth person in history to die in an airplane crash, when his aircraft fell apart while he was flying at Nice. Born: Freddy Martin, American bandleader; in Cleveland (d. 1983) Rulon Jeffs, President of the Fundamentalist Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-Day Saints; in Salt Lake City (d. 2002)
December 7, 1909 (Tuesday) United States patent No. 942,700 was granted for Bakelite ("Condensation product of phenol and formaldehyde and method of making the same"), the first synthetic plastic, and patent No. 942,809 for the process, both to Leo Baekeland. SS Marquette & Bessemer No. 2, a ferry, departed from Conneaut, Ohio, at , bound for Port Stanley, Ontario, and was never seen again. One of the 49 persons on board was carrying $32,000 in a briefcase. The ship went down in Lake Erie and had not been located as of 2009. Calvin Coolidge defeated Henry E. Bicknell to win election as Mayor of Northampton, Massachusetts, his first political office. The town of Anderson, Missouri, was incorporated. Born: Nikola Vaptsarov, Bulgarian poet; in Bansko (d. 1942) Teddy Hill, American bandleader; in Birmingham, Alabama (d. 1978) Died: Whitcomb Judson, 66, American inventor
December 8, 1909 (Wednesday) Colonel Sergey Karpov, director of Russia's secret police, the Okhrana, was assassinated in the Russian capital of St. Petersburg. Aleksandr Petrov, a Bolshevik who had infiltrated the Okhrana, planted the bomb that killed the security chief. Born: Franz Six, Nazi German administrator; in Mannheim (d. 1975)