13 Spencer Williams Jr., American actor (b. 1893) Raymond A. Spruance, American admiral (b. 1886) December 21 – Georges Catroux, French Army general and colonial governor (b. 1877) December 22 Josef von Sternberg, Austrian film director (b. 1894) Enrique Peñaranda , Bolivian general, 38th President of Bolivia, leader during World War II (b. 1892) December 29 – Ricardo Adolfo de la Guardia Arango, 11th President of Panama, leader during World War II (b. 1899) Nobel Prizes Physics – Murray Gell-Mann Chemistry – Derek Barton, Odd Hassel Medicine – Max Delbrück, Alfred Hershey, Salvador Luria Literature – Samuel Beckett Peace – International Labour Organization Economics – Ragnar Frisch, Jan Tinbergen References 1969 – Headlines A report from Rich Lamb of WCBS Newsradio 880 (WCBS-AM New York) Part of WCBS 880's celebration of 40 years of newsradio. 1969 – The Year in Sound An Audiofile produced by Lou Zambrana of WCBS Newsradio 880 (WCBS-AM New York) Part of WCBS 880's celebration of 40 years of newsradio.