2nd » Franz Josef I of Austria called Franz Josef I becomes Emperor of Austria.
5th » California Gold Rush: In a message to the Congress of the United States called U.S. Congress, U.S. President James K. Polk confirms that large amounts of gold had been discovered in California.
Famous Deaths for December 1848
18th » Bernard Bolzano, Bohemian priest and mathematician (b. 1781)
19th » Emily Brontë, English author and poet (b. 1818)