2006 EVENTS
January
January 1 -
Sydney ,
Australia has its hottest day on record, when the
city swelters in 45°C heat.
January 1 -
Russia cuts
natural gas to
Ukraine over a
price dispute .
January 2 - The
Bad Reichenhall ice rink roof in
Germany collapses after heavy
snowfall in the
Bavarian Alps , killing 15.
January 3 - Twelve deceased coal miners and one
survivor are discovered in the
Sago Mine Disaster near
Buckhannon, West Virginia ,
U.S.
January 4 - Powers are transferred from Israeli
Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon to his deputy, Vice Prime Minister
Ehud Olmert , after Sharon suffers a massive
hemorrhagic stroke .
January 5 - A hotel in
Mecca ,
Saudi Arabia collapses, killing 76 pilgrims visiting
to perform
hajj .
January 6 - The record-breaking
2005 Atlantic hurricane season officially draws to a
close as
Tropical Storm Zeta dissipates.
January 7 - Embroiled in multiple scandals, former
U.S.
House Majority Leader
Tom DeLay announces he will not seek to reassume his
former post.
January 7 -
UK Liberal Democratic leader
Charles Kennedy resigns after revelations that he
has a drinking problem.
January 8 - A powerful, magnitude 6.9
earthquake centered off the coast of the
Greek island of
Kythera shakes much of
Greece and is felt throughout the eastern
Mediterranean basin.
January 9 - The
Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 11,000 for
the first time since
June 7 ,
2001 , closing at 11,011.90.
January 11 - The
Augustine Volcano in
Alaska erupts twice, marking its first major
eruption since
1986 .
January 12 - A stampede during the
Stoning of the devil ritual on the last day at the
Hajj in
Mina, Saudi Arabia , kills 362
pilgrims .
February
February 1 -
UAL Corporation ,
United Airlines ' parent company, emerges from
bankruptcy after being in that position since December
9, 2002, the longest such filing in history.
February 5 - The
Pittsburgh Steelers win
Super Bowl XL , defeating the
Seattle Seahawks 21-10.
February 7 - An aging
Egyptian passenger ferry carrying more than 1,400
people sinks in the
Red Sea off the Saudi coast.
February 8 -
2006 East Timor crisis : 404 soldiers desert their
barracks in
East Timor .
February 8 - The 48th Annual
Grammy Awards are held at the
Staples Center in
Los Angeles ,
California .
February 10 - The
2006 Winter Olympics open in
Turin ,
Italy . The closing ceremony occurs on
February 26 .
February 11 -
U.S. Vice President
Dick Cheney
accidentally shoots his friend and lawyer,
Harry Whittington , in the face with a shotgun on a
south
Texas ranch.
February 16 -
Kobe Airport , a controversial offshore airport in
Kobe ,
Japan , opens for airline service.
February 17 - As many as 1,800 people die when a
mudslide occurs on
Leyte Island in the
Philippines .
February 19 -
Pasta de Conchos mine disaster : Sixty-five miners
become trapped underground after an explosion in
Nueva Rosita ,
Mexico ; all 65 die.
February 22 - A
bomb heavily damages the
Al Askari Mosque , a
Shiite holy site in
Samarra ,
Iraq .
February 22 - Over Ł53.1 million is stolen during
the
Securitas depot robbery , the largest ever cash
robbery in the
United Kingdom .
February 22 - The 1
billionth song is purchased from the
Apple
iTunes Store .
February 23 - A roof collapses on a
Moscow market, killing 56 people.
February 24 - A
state of emergency is declared in the
Philippines , after an alleged
coup d'état against President
Gloria Macapagal Arroyo is foiled.
February 25 - Police officers, and protesters
injured when a protest prior to the
Love Ulster parade turns into a
major riot .
February 25 -
Uganda 's President
Yoweri Museveni wins his second re-election,
sparking riots in
Kampala by opposition supporters.
March
March 10 - NASA's
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter enters
Mars orbit.
March 11 -
Michelle Bachelet is sworn in as the first female
President of Chile .
March 11 -
Slobodan Milošević was found dead in his cell in the
UN war crimes tribunal 's detention centre, located
in the
Scheveningen section of The
Hague .
March 15 -March
26 - The
2006 Commonwealth Games take place in
Melbourne ,
Australia .
March 17 - The
United States strikes its two remaining
Iowa -class
battleships from the
Naval Vessel Register , ending the age of the
battleship.
March 20 -
Tropical Cyclone Larry makes landfall in
Queensland, Australia .
March 21 - Swedish Minister for Foreign Affairs
Laila Freivalds resigns after over a year of
criticism.
March 22 -
ETA declares a permanent
ceasefire in their campaign for
Basque independence from
Spain .
March 25 - An estimated 500,000 people take to the
streets in downtown
Los Angeles to protest a proposed federal crackdown
on
illegal immigration .
March 25 - A revolutionary
scramjet
jet engine ,
Hyshot III , designed to fly at 7 times the speed of
sound, is successfully tested at
Woomera, South Australia .
March 26 - The
ban on smoking in public places such as
bars and
restaurants comes into effect in
Scotland .
March 30 - The first
Brazilian
astronaut ,
Marcos Pontes , goes to space in a
Russian
Soyuz ,
Soyuz TMA-8 , at 2:29:00 CET.
March 30 - The
al-Dana capsizes off the coast of
Bahrain , killing at least 48 people.
March 30 - The first
World Baseball Classic ends in
San Diego ,
California with
Japan beating
Cuba in the Championship.
April
April 5 - A swan with
Avian Flu is discovered in
Cellardyke in
Fife ,
Scotland (the first case in the
United Kingdom ).
April 8 -
Shedden massacre : The bodies of 8 murdered men are
found in
Shedden, Elgin County, Ontario .
April 8 -
Bristol ,
United Kingdom celebrates the 200th birthday of
Isambard Kingdom Brunel (actually
April 9 ) by relighting the
Clifton Suspension Bridge .
April 8 -
Numbersixvalverde , ridden by Niall Madden, wins the
Grand National at
Aintree .
April 9 -
Israeli Prime Minister
Ariel Sharon is removed from office after 4 months
in a
coma .
April 10 -
Romano Prodi narrowly defeats
Silvio Berlusconi in the
Italian parliamentary elections.
April 11 - The
ESA 's
Venus Express spaceprobe enters
Venus ' orbit.
April 11 -
President of Iran
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad confirms that Iran has
successfully produced a few grams of 3.5% low-grade
enriched uranium .
April 11 -
Proof , the founding member of
Detroit rap group
D12 , was fatally shot at approximately 4:30am EDT
(08:30 UTC) at the CCC Club on 8 Mile Road in
Detroit ,
Michigan after fatally shooting U.S. military
veteran Keith Bender Jr.
April 16 -
Albert II, Prince of Monaco , reaches the
North Pole , becoming the first reigning monarch ever
to do so.
April 16 -
Ireland commemorates the 90th anniversary of the
1916 Rising for the first time since
1971 .
April 17 - A
suicide bombing by
Islamic Jihad in
Tel Aviv kills 9 people and injures dozens.
April 19 -
Han Myeong Sook becomes the first female
Prime Minister of South Korea .
April 20 -
Iran announces a uranium enrichment deal with
Russia , involving a joint
uranium enrichment firm on Russian soil; 9 days
later Iran announces that it will not move all activity
to Russia, thus leading to a de-facto termination of the
deal.
April 22 -
War on Terror : Four
Canadian soldiers are killed 75 kilometers north of
Kandahar ,
Afghanistan by a roadside bomb (the worst 1-day
combat loss for the Canadian army since the
Korean War ). it was also winstons birthday that day.
April 24 - Three explosions in a tourist section of
Dahab ,
Egypt kill 30 and injure over 115.
April 29 - Massive anti-war demonstrations and a
march down
Broadway in
New York City mark the third year of
war in Iraq .
April 29 - The
Global Night Commute takes place in over 130 cities
around the world to promote the visibility of the
Invisible Children in
Uganda .
April - A jury deliberates over the sentence of
convicted terrorist
Zacarias Moussaoui , finally sentenced to
life in prison
May 3 .
May
May 5 -
NASA
astronomers announce the discovery of a storm system
in the
Jovian
atmosphere , dubbed the
Red Spot Junior on the planet
Jupiter , which has a striking similar appearance to
the famous
Great Red Spot .
May 5 -
Fiat chairman
Sergio Marchionne announces that the
Alfa Romeo automobile brand will return to the
United States in
2008 , after a 13-year hiatus.
May 9 -
Beaconsfield mine collapse : After 14 days trapped
underground, miners Todd Russell and Brant Webb are
rescued in
Beaconsfield ,
Tasmania ,
Australia .
May 13 -
Liverpool F.C. defeat
West Ham United F.C. on penalties in the
2006 FA Cup Final following a 3-3 draw after extra
time.
May 17 -
FC Barcelona beat
Arsenal in the final of the
UEFA Champions League played in Paris
May 20 -
Finland 's
Lordi wins the
2006 Eurovision Song Contest held in
Athens .
May 24 -
East Timor 's Foreign Minister
Horta officially requests military assistance from
the governments of Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and
Portugal.
May 27 - A
6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes central
Java in
Indonesia , killing more than 6,000, injuring at
least 36,000 and leaving some 1.5 million people
homeless.
May 27 - The first demonstration for
homosexual rights in
Moscow is broken up by the police.
May 28 - President
Alvaro Uribe Velez is re-elected in
Colombia for a second term. He becomes the first
president in over a century to serve consecutive terms.
June
July
Roger Federer beats
Rafael Nadal in the final of the men's singles of the
Wimbledon Championships 6-0,7-6,6-7,6-3.
July 10 -
Pakistan International Airlines
Flight 688 crashes in
Multan ,
Pakistan shortly after takeoff, killing all 45
people on board.
July 11 - A
series of coordinated bomb attacks strikes several
commuter trains in
Mumbai ,
India during the evening rush hour.
July 12 -
2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict :
Israeli troops invade
Lebanon in response to
Hezbollah kidnapping 2 Israeli soldiers and killing
3. Hezbollah declares open war against
Israel 2 days later.
July 18 - The
SS Nomadic , the last floating link to
Titanic , returns home to a great reception in
Belfast.
July 21 -
St Louis is hit by two major
derechos (violent windstorms) in a span of three
days.
July 23 - American
Floyd Landis wins the
Tour de France ; however, tour officials soon
announce that he has failed a
doping test.
July 23 -
Zuleyka Rivera becomes
Puerto Rico 's 5th
Miss Universe .
July 28 -
Alejandro Toledo concludes his term as
President of Peru .
Alan Garcia becomes president.
July 30 - The world's longest running music show,
Top of the Pops , broadcasts for the last time on
BBC Two .
July 31 -
Fidel Castro , President of
Cuba , temporarily
relinquishes power to his brother
Raúl before surgery.
August
September
Space Shuttle
Atlantis at the launch of
STS-115.
September 10 - Seven-time
World Champion
Michael Schumacher announces he will retire from
Formula 1 at the end of the year.
September 11 -
Walt Disney Pictures 's
Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest
becomes the third and fastest film in
Hollywood history to reach the
billion
dollar worldwide
box office mark.
September 12 - A stampede at a rally in
Yemen leaves 41 dead.
September 12 - Pope
Benedict XVI gives a lecture in
Germany ; he quotes a criticism of the
Islam faith, sparking
mass protest .
September 13 - The
Dawson College Shooting occurs in
Montreal, Quebec, Canada , leaving 1 student dead and
19 others injured.
September 13 - The
solar system 's largest
dwarf planet , designated until now as 2003 UB313, is
officially named "Eris ";
its satellite is now known as "Dysnomia ".
September 15 -
Spinach contaminated with E. coli kills 1 person and
poisons over 100 others in 20 states of the United
States.
September 16 - Five churches are attacked in
Palestinian areas following the Pope's comments on
Islam.
September 17 - The
Alliance for Sweden claims victory in the
Swedish general election, 2006 .
September 19 -
Prime Minister
Thaksin Shinawatra of
Thailand declares a
state of emergency in
Bangkok as members of the Royal Thai Army stage a
coup d'état . The army announces the removal of Prime
Minister Thaksin Shinawatra from power.
September 22 - A
Transrapid
Maglev train
crashes into a maintenance vehicle on a test track
in
Germany , killing 23 and injuring 10, the first
recorded fatal accident involving a Maglev.
September 24 -
CPC Central Political Bureau committee member,
Shanghai Municipal Party Committee Secretary
Chen Liangyu is dismissed for alleged corruption
charges.
September 25 - The Louisiana
Superdome in New Orleans re-opens 13 months after
Hurricane Katrina with extensive repairs, including
the largest re-roofing project in the United States.
September 26 -
Diet of Japan elects
Shinzo Abe as new
Prime Minister of Japan succeeding
Junichiro Koizumi .
September 27 - An armed suspect
holds 6 female students as hostages in Platte Canyon
High School located in Baily,
Colorado . One hostage is fatally wounded as the
gunman kills himself.
September 28 - After 40 years of development,
Suvarnabhumi Airport , opens in
Bangkok ,
Thailand replacing
Don Mueang International Airport as Bangkok's
primary airport for commercial flights.
September 29 -
Gol Flight 1907 , a
Boeing 737-800 , collides with a business jet over
the
Amazon Rainforest killing all 154 onboard.
September 29 - U.S. Representative
Mark Foley (R-FL) resigns after it is revealed that
he sent explicit e-mails for several years to underage
male pages.
September 30 -
West Coast Eagles win the
AFL Grand Final at the
Melbourne Cricket Ground .
October
October 1 -
Brisbane Broncos beat
Melbourne Storm in the Australian
National Rugby League Grand Final at
Telstra Stadium .
October 1 -
Vodafone Japan , owned by
SoftBank , officially changes its name to Softbank
Mobile Corporation.
October 2 -
Charles Carl Roberts IV , a 32-yr-old milk-truck
driver,
kills 5 female students at an
Amish schoolhouse in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania
before shooting himself.
October 2 -
Per Westerberg takes office as
Speaker of the Riksdag (Speaker of the Parliament)
in
Sweden .
October 4 - The Dow Industrial Average closes above
11,800
for the first time rising 123.27 points, or 1.05%,
finishing at 11,850.61.
October 6 - Hazardous waste plant near
Apex, North Carolina explodes releasing chlorine
gas, resulting in the evacuation of thousands and the
hospitalization of over 100 residents.
Position of earthquake caused by North Korea's
nuclear test.
November
November 1 - The
Stardust Resort & Casino closes after 55 years of
business in
Las Vegas .
November 2 - Competing software manufacturers
Microsoft and
Novell
announce a collaboration on technologies for
inter-operation between
Windows and
SUSE Linux
operating systems .
November 3 -
Iran successfully test-fires 3 new models of sea
missiles in a show of force to assert its military
capacities in the Gulf.
November 3 -
Science predicts 90% of maritime life forms will
be extinct by
2048 .
November 3 -
Ted Haggard resigns as president of the
National Association of Evangelicals , after
allegations of methamphetamine use and sexual relations
with a male prostitute.
November 5 - Former
Iraqi
President
Saddam Hussein and 2 of his senior allies are
sentenced to death by hanging after an Iraqi court finds
them guilty of crimes against humanity.
November 7 -
U.S. Midterm elections :
Democrats win control of both houses of
Congress for the first time since 1994.
November 7 - In the U.S. congressional elections,
Minnesota Democrat
Keith Ellison becomes the first Muslim elected to
the
House of Representatives .
November 7 - The
Japanese town of
Saroma, Hokkaido is struck by a
tornado , killing nine. It is the deadliest tornado
in Japan since 1941.
November 8 - U.S. Defense Secretary
Donald Rumsfeld resigns;
President
Bush nominates
Robert Gates , a former
CIA director, as his replacement. Gates is then
confirmed by the
U.S. Senate and sworn in on December 18.
November 8 -
Margaret Chan is elected as the Director-General of
the
World Health Organization .
November 8 - A
transit of Mercury occurs.
November 11 -
Edinburgh Place Ferry Pier ,
Hong Kong completed the last journey of its 49-year
operation.
November 12 -
Gerald Ford surpasses
Ronald Reagan as the longest lived
President of the United States .
November 12 - The former Soviet republic of
South Ossetia holds a
referendum on independence from
Georgia .
November 15 -
Al Jazeera launches its new English language news
channel,
Al Jazeera English .
November 15 - Start of the Sales and Use Tax
in
Puerto Rico ; a response to the
Puerto Rico budget crisis of May 2006.
November 16 - Rioting in the capital of
Tonga ,
Nuku'alofa destroys approx. 80% of the CBD, 8 bodies
found. Foreign forces requested.
November 17 - U.S. comedian and actor
Michael Richards launches a racially charged tirade
at hecklers during a performance at the Laugh Factory in
Los Angeles
November 17 - Sony's
PlayStation 3 video game console released in US
November 19 - The
94th Grey Cup is held in
Winnipeg ,
Manitoba . The
B.C. Lions beat the
Montreal Alouettes 25-14.
November 19 - Nintendo's
Wii video game console released in US
November 20 -
Iran and
Syria recognize the government of
Iraq , restore
diplomatic relations , and call for a
peace conference .
November 21 -
Pierre Amine Gemayel ,
Lebanon 's Minister of Industry, is assassinated in
Beirut .
[2]
November 21 -
Israel 's Supreme Court finds that Israel must
recognize and register
same-gender marriages celebrated in other countries.
November 21 - A gas explosion in the coal mine
Halemba in
Ruda Slaska ,
Poland , kills 23 miners approximately 1,000 meters
below ground.
November 22 -
Dutch general election, 2006 : The
Christian Democratic Appeal wins a plurality of
seats in
The Netherlands .
November 22 - A
General Election is held for the
House of Keys in the
Isle of Man .
November 22 - Ten people are trapped and killed in
the
Kolkata leather factory fire in
India .
November 23 -
Alexander Litvinenko , a former
Russian
KGB agent, is assassinated in a
London
sushi bar, possibly by the Russian Security Service,
the
FSB .
November 23 - A series of
car bombs and mortar attacks in
Sadr City ,
Baghdad , kill at least 215 people and injure 257
others.
November 24 -
Michael Stone is arrested for breaking into the
parliament buildings at
Stormont while armed.
Bertie Ahern and
Tony Blair 's deadline on
Northern Ireland power-sharing.
November 25 -
Steve Bracks wins the
Victorian state election .
November 26 - US Judge
James Robertson orders the US Treasury to
change the dollar bill .
November 28 -
November 29 - The
NATO Summit 2006 takes place in
Latvia .
November 30 -
South Africa becomes the fifth nation to legalize
gay marriage .
November 30 -
Typhoon Durian triggers a massive mudslide and kills
hundreds of people in the
Philippines .
November 30 - The
2006 Atlantic hurricane season and the
2006 Pacific hurricane season officially end.
November 30 -
Windows Vista , the newest version of operating
system from
Microsoft , released for volume license customers.
December
December 13 - The
Chinese River Dolphin or Baiji becomes extinct.
December 13 - U.S. Senator
Tim Johnson (D-SD) suffers a stroke during a radio
interview, and undergoes emergency surgery at
George Washington University Hospital for bleeding
in the brain.
December 15 -
Lockheed Martin 's
F-35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter successfully
flies for the first time.
December 15 - An alleged assassination attempt on
the Palestinian prime minister
Ismail Haniyeh sparks
inter-Palestinian clashes .
December 15 -
Jigme Singye Wangchuck , the King of
Bhutan , abdicates in favour of his son
Jigme Khesar Namgyal Wangchuck a year earlier than
expected.
December 15 - The
Japanese government passes a bill to upgrade the
Japan Defense Agency to a Ministry
[3] .
December 19 - A
Libyan court
sentences five
Bulgarian nurses and a
Palestinian doctor to death for allegedly knowingly
infecting hundreds of Libyan children with
HIV .
December 20 -
Somalia :
Islamic Courts Union fighters begin
attacking the government-held town of
Baidoa .
December 21 -
Saparmurat Niyazov , the dictator of
Turkmenistan dies unexpectedly, sparking world
concern over a possible power vacuum and instability in
this energy-rich country.
December 21 - Australian cricketer
Shane Warne announces his retirement from the sport.
December 22 - The
Space Shuttle Discovery lands at the Kennedy Space
Center, concluding a
two week mission to the
International Space Station .
December 24 -
Ethiopia admits its troops have
intervened in Somalia .
December 26 - An
oil pipeline explodes in
Nigeria 's commercial capital,
Lagos killing at least 200 people.
December 26 - Former US President
Gerald Ford dies at the age of 93 years and 165 days
at 6:45 p.m. Pacific Standard Time at his home in
Rancho Mirage, California .
December 26 - The
Hengchun earthquake in Taiwan kills 2 people,
damaged about 15 historical buildings and several
undersea cable , disrupting Internet and IDD
telecommunication services in Asia.
December 29 -
War in Somalia : Ethiopian and Transitional
government troops
capture Mogadishu without resistance.
December 30 -
Saddam Hussein , former
Iraq president, is
executed in
Baghdad .
December 30 - The
M/V Senopati Nusantara sinks in
Indonesia with several hundred casualties.
December 31 - At least
eleven bombs go off in
Bangkok hours before the new year.
December 31 - The U. S. death toll in
Iraq reaches 3,000.
December 31 - According to the
Met Office , England experienced its warmest year
since records began in
1659 with an average temperature of 10.82 degrees C.
Major religious holidays
January 6 - Feast of
Epiphany or Día de los Reyes Magos (Day of the
Magi Kings) or La Fęte des Rois (Feast of the Kings)
January 7 -
Christmas in the
Russian Orthodox ,
Serbian Orthodox ,
Coptic Orthodox ,
Ukrainian Catholic and other Eastern Christian
church calendars.
January 10 -
Islamic festival of
Eid ul-Adha begins (ends on
January 12 ).
January 11 - Vaikunta
Ekadashi is observed by
Hindus . This is the day when the Gates of Heaven
open and remain open for the next ten days.
January 14 -
Mahayana Buddhist New Year.
January 14 -
Pongal Harvest Festival in
Tamil Nadu .
January 15 - Maatu Pongal, Festival of
Cows in
Tamil Nadu .
January 16 - Uzhavar Tirunaal,
Farmer 's Day in
Tamil Nadu .
January 29 -
Year of the Dog , 4703, begins. Chinese/Asian New
Year.
January 31 -
Muslim New Year .
February 1 -
Imbolc
Cross-quarter day (Celebrated on
February 2 in some places).
February 9 - Day of
Ashurah .
February 13 -
Tu Bishvat .
February 28 -
Mardi Gras .
March 13 - Jewish holiday of
Purim begins at sunset.
March 14 -
Sikh New Year.
March 21 - Iranian New Year's Day (Norouz ).
March 30 -
Hindu New Year.
April 5 -
Qingming Festival .
April 11 - Birth anniversary of
Muhammad .
April 12 -
Pesach or
Passover begins at sunset, continues for a week.
April 13 - Theravada Buddhist New Year.
April 13 -
Punjabi New Year.
April 14 -
Good Friday in the Western Church Calendar,
Sikh Holiday of
Vaisakhi .
April 14 - Puththaandu
Tamil New Year in the Tamil Calendar, observed by
people in
Tamil Nadu .
April 16 -
Easter in the Western Church Calendar.
April 21 -
Good Friday in the Eastern Church Calendar.
April 23 -
Easter in the Eastern Church Calendar.
May 1 -
Beltane
Cross-quarter day .
June 1 - Jewish holiday of
Shavuot begins at sunset.
August 1 -
Lammas
Cross-quarter day .
August 2 - Jewish fast of
Tisha B'Av begins at sundown; it extends until the
night of
August 3
September 22 - Jewish holiday of
Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown. Continues until
nightfall of the 24th.
September 23 - First day of
Ramadan .
October 1 - Jewish holiday of
Yom Kippur begins at sundown. Ends at nightfall of
the
2nd .
October 21 - Hindu festival of
Diwali .
October 24 - Islamic festival of
Eid ul-Fitr .
October 31 -
Samhain
Cross-quarter day .
December 15 -
Hannukah .
December 21 -
Wiccans celebrate the festival of
Yule
December 25 -
Christmas Day in the Western Church Calendar.
December 31 - Islamic festival of
Eid ul-Adha begins (ends on
January 2 ,
2007 ).
Births
Deaths
January
January 3 -
Steve Rogers , Australian rugby player (b.
1954 )
January 3 -
Bill Skate ,
Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (b.
1954 )
January 4 - Sheikh
Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum ,
Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (b.
1946 )
January 6 -
Lou Rawls , American singer (b.
1933 )
January 8 -
Tony Banks, Baron Stratford , British politician (b.
1943 )
January 14 -
Jim Gary , American sculptor (b.
1939 )
January 14 -
Shelley Winters , American actress (b.
1920 )
January 15 -
Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah ,
Emir of Kuwait (b.
1926 )
January 19 -
Wilson Pickett , American singer (b.
1941 )
January 21 -
Ibrahim Rugova , first
President of Kosovo (b.
1944 )
January 27 -
Johannes Rau ,
President of Germany (b.
1931 )
January 28 -
Yitzchak Kadouri , Iraqi-born rabbi
January 30 -
Coretta Scott King , American civil rights activist
and wife of
Martin Luther King, Jr. (b.
1927 )
February
February 3 -
Al Lewis , American actor (b.
1923 )
February 4 -
Betty Friedan , American feminist, activist, and
writer (b.1921 )
February 8 -
Ron Greenwood , English football manager
West Ham United F.C. and
England National Football Team (b.
1921 )
February 9 - Sir
Freddie Laker , British airline entrepreneur (b.
1922 )
February 10 -
J Dilla , American music producer (b.
1974 )
February 12 -
Ken Hart , American composer, journalist, and
playwright (b.
1917 )
February 13 -
P. F. Strawson , English philosopher (b.
1919 )
February 14 -
Shoshana Damari , Israeli singer and actress (b.
1923 )
February 15 -
Sun Yun-suan ,
Premier of the Republic of China (b.
1913 )
February 16 -
Ernie Stautner , German-born American football player
(b.
1925 )
February 20 -
Lucjan Wolanowski , Polish journalist, writer and
traveler (b.
1920 )
February 22 -
Sinnathamby Rajaratnam , Singapore politician (b.
1925 )
February 23 -
Mauri Favén , Finnish painter (b.
1920 )
February 23 -
Zarra , Spanish footballer (b.
1921 )
February 24 -
Don Knotts , American actor (b.
1924 )
February 24 -
Dennis Weaver , American actor (b.
1924 )
February 25 -
Darren McGavin , American actor (b.
1922 )
February 27 -
Linda Smith , English comedian (b.
1958 )
March
Slobodan Milošević, died at
The Hague while on trial for war crimes
March 1 -
Peter Osgood , English footballer (b.
1947 )
March 2 -
Jack Wild , English actor (b.
1952 )
March 3 -
William Herskovic , Hungarian Holocaust hero and
philanthropist (b.
1914 )
March 4 -
Dave Rose , American artist (b.
1910 )
March 4 -
Edgar Valter , Estonian illustrator and cartoonist
(b.
1929 )
March 4 -
John Reynolds Gardiner , American author and engineer
(b.
1944 )
March 6 -
Dana Reeve , American actress, wife of
Christopher Reeve (b.
1961 )
March 6 -
Kirby Puckett , U.S. baseball player (b.
1960 )
March 6 -
King Floyd , American singer (b.
1945 )
March 9 -
Hanka Bielicka , Polish actress (b.
1915 )
March 9 -
John Profumo , British politician (b.
1915 )
March 11 -
Bernie Geoffrion , Canadian hockey player (b.
1931 )
March 11 -
Slobodan Milošević ,
President of Serbia (b.
1941 )
March 13 -
Maureen Stapleton , American actress (b.
1925 )
March 13 -
Peter Tomarken , American game show host (b.
1942 )
March 14 -
Lennart Meri ,
President of Estonia (b.
1929 )
March 15 -
George Mackey , American mathematician (b.
1916 )
March 23 -
Cindy Walker , American songwriter (b.
1918 )
March 24 -
Lynne Perrie , English actress (b.
1931 )
March 25 -
Rocio Durcal , Spanish singer and actress (b.
1944 )
March 25 -
Buck Owens , American musician (b.
1929 )
March 26 -
Paul Dana , American race car driver (b.
1975 )
March 27 -
Stanislaw Lem , Polish writer (b.
1921 )
March 28 -
Caspar Weinberger ,
United States Secretary of Defense (b.
1917 )
April
April 2 -
Nina Schenk von Stauffenberg , German wife of soldier
Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg (b.
1913 )
April 4 -
Denis Donaldson , Irish Republican informer (b.
1950 )
April 5 -
Gene Pitney , American singer (b.
1941 )
April 8 -
Gerard Reve , Dutch author (b.
1923 )
April 11 -
Proof , American rapper (D12 )
(b.
1975 )
April 11 -
Les Foote , Australian footballer (b.
1924 )
April 11 -
June Pointer , American singer (b.
1953 )
April 12 -
Rajkumar , Indian actor (b.
1929 )
April 12 -
William Sloane Coffin , American university chaplain
and activist (b.
1924 )
April 13 -
Muriel Spark , Scottish novelist (b.
1918 )
April 15 -
Louise Smith , American race car driver (b.
1916 )
April 17 -
Calum Kennedy , Scottish singer (b.
1928 )
April 18 -
John Lyall , British football player and manager (b.
1940 )
April 19 -
Scott Crossfield , American pilot (b.
1921 )
April 20 -
Anna Svidersky , American murder victim (b.
1988 )
April 21 -
Telę Santana , Brazilian footballer and coach (b.
1931 )
April 23 -
Alida Valli , Italian actress (b.
1921 )
April 24 -
Nasreen Huq , Bangladeshi social worker and human
rights activist (b.
1958 )
April 24 -
Brian Labone , English footballer (b.
1940 )
April 24 -
Steve Stavro , Canadian businessman and sports team
owner (b.
1927 )
April 24 -
Moshe Teitelbaum , Hungarian-born Hassidic rabbi (b.
1914 )
April 25 -
Jane Jacobs , American-born writer and activist (b.
1916 )
April 25 -
Peter Law , British politician (b.
1948 )
April 29 -
John Kenneth Galbraith , Canadian economist (b.
1908 )
May
Lillian Asplund, last American survivor of the
Titanic
May 2 -
Louis Rukeyser , American television host (b.
1933 )
May 3 -
Karel Appel , Dutch painter (b.
1921 )
May 3 -
Pramod Mahajan ,
BJP politician and strategist (b.
1949 )
May 3 -
Earl Woods , American athlete and father of
Tiger Woods (b.
1932 )
May 6 -
Lillian Asplund , last American survivor of the
Titanic disaster (b.
1906 )
May 6 -
Shigeru Kayano , Japanese activist (b.
1926 )
May 7 -
Richard Carleton , Australian journalist (b.
1943 )
May 7 -
Steve Bender , German musician (Dschinghis
Khan ) (b.
1946 )
May 8 -
Iain MacMillan , British photographer (b.
1938 )
May 10 -
Val Guest , British film director (b.
1911 )
May 10 -
Soraya , Colombian-born singer and musician (b.
1969 )
May 11 -
Yossi Banai , Israeli singer and actor (b.
1932 )
May 11 -
Floyd Patterson , American boxer (b.
1935 )
May 13 -
Jaroslav Pelikan , American historian (b.
1923 )
May 16 -
Jorge Porcel , Argentine actor (b.
1936 )
May 19 -
Freddie Garrity , English singer (Freddie
and the Dreamers ) (b.
1940 )
May 21 -
Katherine Dunham , American dancer, choreographer,
and songwriter (b.
1909 )
May 22 -
Lee Jong-wook , Korean Director-General of the World
Health Organisation (b.
1945 )
May 23 -
Lloyd Bentsen , American politician (b.
1921 )
May 24 -
Anderson Mazoka , Zambian politician (b.
1943 )
May 25 -
Desmond Dekker , Jamaican singer and songwriter (b.
1941 )
May 25 -
Tobías Lasser , Venezuelan botanist (b.
1911 )
May 25 -
Kari S. Tikka , Finnish professor (b.
1944 )
May 26 -
Édouard Michelin , French businessman (b.
1963 )
May 27 -
Alex Toth , American comic book artist and cartoonist
(b.
1928 )
May 29 -
Masumi Okada , Japanese actor (b.
1935 )
May 30 -
Shohei Imamura , Japanese film director (b.
1926 )
June
June 1 -
Rocio Jurado , Spanish singer and actress (b.
1944 )
June 6 -
Arnold Newman , American photographer (b.
1918 )
June 6 -
Billy Preston , American artist and musician (b.
1946 )
June 6 -
Hilton Ruiz , Puerto Rican jazz pianist (b.
1952 )
June 7 -
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi , Jordanian militant (b.
1966 )
June 7 -
John Tenta , Canadian professional wrestler, formerly
a
Sumo wrestler (b.
1963 )
June 12 -
Chakufwa Chihana , Malawi politician (b.
1939 )
June 12 -
György Ligeti , Hungarian composer (b.
1923 )
June 12 -
Kenneth Roy Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet ,
Canadian businessman and art collector (b.
1923 )
June 13 -
Charles Haughey ,
Prime Minister of Ireland (b.
1925 )
June 13 -
Hiroyuki Iwaki , Japanese conductor and percussionist
(b.
1932 )
June 14 -
Jean Roba , Belgian comics author (b.
1930 )
June 15 -
Raymond Devos , French humorist (b.
1922 )
June 17 -
Bussunda , Brazilian comedian (b.
1962 )
June 18 -
Gica Petrescu , Romanian musician (b.
1915 )
June 23 -
Aaron Spelling , American television producer (b.
1923 )
June 24 -
Patsy Ramsey , Mother of slain 6-year-old JonBenet
(b.
1956 )
June 25 -
Arif Mardin , Turkish-born music producer (b.
1932 )
June 25 -
Jaap Penraat , Dutch architect and resistance fighter
(b.
1918 )
June 30 -
Robert Gernhardt , German satirist (b.
1937 )
July
July 1 -
Ryutaro Hashimoto , 53rd
Prime Minister of Japan (b.
1937 )
July 1 -
Fred Trueman , English cricketer (b.
1931 )
July 5 -
Gert Fredriksson , Swedish kayaker (b.
1919 )
July 5 -
Kenneth Lay , American businessman (b.
1942 )
July 6 -
Kasey Rogers , American actress, author, and biker
(b.
1925 )
July 7 -
Tom Weir , Scottish climber, author, and broadcaster
(b.
1914 )
July 7 -
Rudi Carrell , Dutch entertainer (b.
1934 )
July 7 -
Syd Barrett , English singer, songwriter, and
guitarist (Pink
Floyd ) (b.
1946 )
July 8 -
June Allyson , American actress (b.
1917 )
July 8 -
Catherine Leroy , French photographer (b.
1945 )
July 10 -
Shamil Basayev , Chechen rebel (b.
1965 )
July 11 -
Ross M. Lence , American political scientist (b.
1943 )
July 11 -
John Spencer , British snooker player (b.
1935 )
July 13 -
Red Buttons , American actor and comedian (b.
1919 )
July 16 -
Bob Orton , American wrestler (b.
1929 )
July 17 -
Mickey Spillane , American writer (b.
1918 )
July 18 -
Raul Cortez , Brazilian actor (b.
1931 )
July 19 -
Jack Warden , American actor (b.
1920 )
July 20 -
Lim Kim San , Singapore politician (b.
1916 )
July 20 -
Ted Grant , British politician (b.
1913 )
July 21 -
Ta Mok , Cambodian military leader (b.
1926 )
July 21 -
Mako Iwamatsu , Japanese-born actor (b.
1933 )
July 22 -
José Antonio Delgado , Venezuelan mountain climber
(b.
1965 )
July 22 -
Gianfrancesco Guarnieri , Italian-born Brazilian
actor and playwright (b.1934 )
July 25 -
Hani Mohsin , Malaysian actor (b.
1965 )
July 28 -
David Gemmell , British author (b.
1948 )
August
Nobel Prize for Literature winner Naguib Mahfouz
August 3 -
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf , German-born soprano (b.
1915 )
August 3 -
Arthur Lee , American musician (b.
1945 )
August 4 -
John Dorian , American physician (b.
1992 )
August 9 -
James van Allen , American physicist (b.
1914 )
August 11 -
Mike Douglas , American entertainer (b.
1925 )
August 13 -
Tony Jay , English-born actor (b.
1933 )
August 13 -
Payao Poontarat , Thai boxer (b.
1957 )
August 15 -
Te Atairangi Kaahu , Maori queen (b.
1931 )
August 15 -
Faas Wilkes , former Dutch football player(b.
1923 )
August 16 -
Alfredo Stroessner ,
President of Paraguay (b.
1912 )
August 20 -
Joe Rosenthal , American photographer (b.
1911 )
August 21 -
Bismillah Khan , Indian musician (b.
1916 )
August 21 -
S. Yizhar , Israeli writer (b.
1916 )
August 23 -
Maynard Ferguson , Canadian trumpet player and
bandleader (b.
1928 )
August 23 -
Wolfgang Priklopil , Austrian kidnapper of Natascha
Kampusch (b.
1962 )
August 26 -
Rainer Barzel , German politician (b.
1924 )
August 26 -
Clyde Walcott , Barbadian cricketer (b.
1926 )
August 27 -
Hrishikesh Mukherjee , Indian filmmaker (b.
1922 )
August 30 -
Glenn Ford , Canadian actor (b.
1916 )
August 30 -
Naguib Mahfouz , Egyptian writer,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1911 )
September
September 2 -
Charlie Williams , British comedian (b.
1927 )
September 2 -
Bob Mathias , American athlete (b.
1930 )
September 2 -
Willi Ninja , American dancer and choreographer (b.
1961 )
September 4 -
Steve Irwin , Australian environmentalist and
television personality (b.
1962 )
September 4 -
Giacinto Facchetti , Italian footballer (b.
1942 )
September 4 -
Colin Thiele , Australian author and educator (b.
1920 )
September 7 -
Robert Earl Jones , American stage and film actor (b.
(1910 )
September 8 -
Hilda Bernstein , English-born author, artist, and
activist (b.
1915 )
September 8 -
Peter Brock , Australian race car driver (b.
1945 )
September 9 -
Richard Burmer , American composer, sound designer,
and electronic musician (b.
1955 )
September 9 -
William B. Ziff, Jr. , American publishing executive
(b.
1930 )
September 10 -
Taufa'ahau Tupou IV ,
King of Tonga (b.
1918 )
September 11 -
Joachim Fest , German historian and journalist (b.
1926 )
September 11 -
Johannes Bob van Benthem , Dutch lawyer (b.
1921 )
September 13 -
Ann Richards , Governor of Texas, USA (b.
1933 )
September 14 -
Elizabeth Choy , Singapore World War II hero (b.
1910 )
September 15 -
Oriana Fallaci , Italian journalist (b.
1929 )
September 15 -
Abe Saffron , Australian nightclub owner and property
developer (b.
1920 )
September 16 -
Rob Levin , American computer programmer, head of
FreeNode and
PDPC (b.
1955 )
September 17 -
Patricia Kennedy Lawford , American socialite, sister
of
John F. Kennedy , wife of entertainer
Peter Lawford (b.
1924 )
September 17 -
Dorothy C. Stratton , Director of the
United States Coast Guard Women's Reserve,
SPARS (b.
1899 )
September 19 -
Roy Schuiten , Dutch cyclist (b.
1950 )
September 20 -
Armin Jordan , Swiss conductor (b.
1932 )
September 20 -
John W. Peterson , American composer (b.
1921 )
September 23 -
Malcolm Arnold , English composer (b.
1921 )
September 23 -
Aladár Pege , Hungarian musician(b.
1939 )
September 24 -
Tetsuro Tamba , Japanese actor (b.
1922 )
September 26 -
Byron Nelson , American golfer (b.
1912 )
September 26 -
Iva Toguri D'Aquino , American propagandist for Japan
in World War II (b.
1916 )
September 29 -
Walter Hadlee , New Zealand cricketer (b.
1915 )
September 29 -
Jan Werner Danielsen , Norwegian musician (b.
1976 )
October
P.W. Botha, South African President
October 6 -
Buck O'Neil , American Negro League baseball player
(b.
1911 )
October 6 -
Wilson Tucker , American writer (b.
1914 )
October 7 -
Anna Politkovskaya , American-born Russian journalist
(b.
1958 )
October 8 -
Mark Porter , New Zealand race car driver (racing
accident) (b.
1975 )
October 9 -
Paul Hunter , British snooker player (b.
1978 )
October 10 -
Michael John Rogers , English ornithologist (b.
1932
October 11 -
Cory Lidle , U.S. baseball player (b.
1972 )
October 14 -
Freddy Fender , American singer (b.
1937 )
October 16 -
Lister Sinclair , Canadian broadcaster and playwright
(b.
1921 )
October 16 -
Valentín Paniagua ,
President of Peru (b.
1936 )
October 18 -
Anna Russell , British-born comedian and music
satirist (b.
1911 )
October 24 -
Rosa Parks , African American activist (b.
1913 )
October 28 -
Red Auerbach , American basketball coach and official
(b.
1917 )
October 28 -
Trevor Berbick , Jamaican boxer (b.
1955 )
October 31 -
Pieter Willem Botha , former
State President of South Africa (b.
1916 )
November
November 1 -
William Styron , American writer (b.
1925 )
November 2 -
Adrien Douady , French mathematician (b.
1935 )
November 2 -
Wally Foreman , Australian sports commentator (b.
1948 )
November 3 -
Paul Mauriat , French musician (b.
1925 )
November 5 -
Mustafa Bülent Ecevit , Turkish politician, poet,
writer and journalist (b.
1925 )
November 5 -
Samuel Bowers , American Ku Klux Klansman and
convicted killer (b.
1924 )
November 7 -
Bryan Pata , American college football player (b.
1984 )
November 8 -
Basil Poledouris , American composer (b.
1945 )
November 9 -
Ed Bradley , American journalist (b.
1941 )
November 10 -
Gerald Levert , American singer (b.
1966 )
November 10 -
Jack Palance , American actor (b.
1919 )
November 11 -
Belinda Emmett , Australian actress and singer (b.
1974 )
November 16 -
Milton Friedman , American economist,
Nobel Prize laureate (b.
1912 )
November 17 -
Ferenc Puskás , Hungarian footballer (b.
1927 )
November 17 -
Bo Schembechler , American football coach (b.
1929 )
November 17 -
Ruth Brown , American singer (b.
1928 )
November 20 -
Robert Altman , American film director (b.
1925 )
November 20 -
Andre Waters , American football player (b.
1962 )
November 21 -
Pierre Amine Gemayel , Lebanese politician (b.
1972 )
November 22 -
John Allan Cameron , Canadian musician (b.
1938 )
November 23 -
Alexander Litvinenko , Russian-born spy (b.
1962 )
November 23 -
Philippe Noiret , French actor (b.
1930 )
November 23 -
Anita O'Day , American singer (b.
1919 )
November 23 -
Willie Pep , American boxer (b.
1922 )
November 24 -
Walter Booker , American jazz bassist (b.
1933 )
November 24 -
Juice Leskinen , Finnish singer and songwriter (b.
1950 )
November 25 -
Leo Chiosso , Italian poet (b.
1920 )
November 25 -
Valentin Elizalde , Mexican singer (b.
1979 )
November 25 -
Phyllis Fraser Cerf Wagner , American actress,
journalist and children's book publisher (b.
1916 )
November 26 -
Dave Cockrum , American comic book artist (b.
1943 )
November 27 -
Alan Freeman , Australian-born broadcaster and disc
jockey (b.
1927 )
December
President of Turkmenistan Saparmurat Niyazov
Gerald Ford, the 38th President of the United
States
Saddam Hussein, executed by hanging
December 3 -
Logan Whitehurst , American comedy singer (b.
1977 )
December 3 -
Craig Hinton , British novelist (b.
1964 )
December 5 -
David Bronstein , Soviet Union chess grandmaster (b.
1924 )
December 7 -
Jeane Kirkpatrick , American political theorist and
U.N. ambassador (b.
1926 )
December 7 -
J. B. Hunt , American trucking magnate (b.
1927 )
December 8 -
Jose Uribe , Dominican
Major League Baseball player (b.
1959 )
December 10 -
Augusto Pinochet , self-appointed
President of Chile (b.
1915 )
December 12 -
Paul Arizin , American basketball player (b.
1928 )
December 12 -
Peter Boyle , American actor (b.
1935 )
December 12 -
Raymond P. Shafer , 38th
Governor of Pennsylvania (b.
1917 )
December 13 -
Lamar Hunt , American sports executive (b.
1932 )
December 14 -
Ahmet Ertegün , Turkish record executive (b.
1923 )
December 14 -
Mike Evans , American actor (b.
1949 )
December 15 -
Clay Regazzoni , Swiss race car driver (b.
1939 )
December 16 -
Don Jardine , Canadian professional wrestler (b.
1940 )
December 18 -
Joseph Barbera , American animator (b.
1911 )
December 20 -
Ma Ji , Chinese actor (b.
1934 )
December 21 -
Saparmurat Niyazov ,
President of Turkmenistan (b.
1940 )
December 22 -
Elena Mukhina , Russian gymnast (b.
1960 )
December 23 -
Robert Stafford , American politician (b.
1913 )
December 23 -
Dutch Mason , Canadian blues musician (b.
1938 )
December 23 -
Marilyn Waltz , American actress, model & Playboy
Playmate (b.
1931 )
December 24 -
Braguinha , Brazilian songwriter (b.
1907 )
December 24 -
Charlie Drake , English comedian (b.
1925 )
December 24 -
Frank Stanton , American television executive (b.
1908 )
December 24 -
Kenneth Sivertsen , Norwegian musician, composer,
poet and comedian (b.
1961 )
December 25 -
James Brown , American singer (b.
1933 )
December 26 -
Gerald R. Ford , 38th
President of the United States (b.
1913 )
December 26 -
Chris Brown , U.S. baseball player (b.
1961 )
December 30 -
Saddam Hussein , 5th
President of Iraq ,
executed in Baghdad (b.
1937 )
December 30 -
Antony Lambton, Viscount Lambton , British politician
(b.
1922 )
Nobel Prizes
2006 in fiction and popular
culture Fiction and popular culture set in or referencing the
year 2006:
Books
The Bible Code (1997): According to purported
codes hidden in the
Torah , the apocalypse was to have occurred in 2006.
Nuclear wars, major destructive earthquakes, etc., were
predicted for 2006 based on Bible Codes.
Comics and manga
Computer and video games
Literature
Music
Television
