Here's a few, I'll try and think of some more later:
December 3 1980: Telecom animator Hayao Miyazaki receives a letter from French artist Jean Giraud, who expresses admiration for his work in the 1979 film, The Castle of Cagliostro. Miyazaki, a long-time fan of Giraud, responds with an enthusiastic letter of his own.
December 8 1980: While returning to their apartment in New York, John Lennon and his wife Yoko are accosted by Mark David Chapman, who shoots and wounds both of them before fleeing. The two are both taken to Roosevelt Hospital, where, following a few tense hours, it is pronounced they will both live. Chapman is apprehended hours later.
December 16 1980: Ringo Starr and George Harrison visit John Lennon and his wife at Roosevelt Hospital. Paul McCartney, the fourth Beatle, is unable to make visit before Lennon is discharged from the facility but is able to make a phone-call to his former band-mate. A photo of a visibly healthy Lennon visiting with Starr and Harrison makes the cover of Time magazine.