Year 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.

2006 was designated as:

• International Year of Deserts and Desertification.
• International Asperger's Year.
• Year of Mozart, marking the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Events

January

• January 1 - Sydney, Australia, has its warmest day on record, when the city reaches 45°C (113°F).
• 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 dead 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 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 (11,011.90) for the first time since June 7, 2001.
• 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.
• January 14 - A natural gas explosion in a coal mine kills eight in Romania.
• January 15 - NASA's Stardust mission successfully ends, the first to return dust from a comet.
• January 19 - A suicide bomber in Tel Aviv, Israel injures 20, one of them seriously.
• January 23 - Stephen Harper wins the federal election in Canada, forming a minority government.
• January 25 - Hamas wins the majority of seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council elections.
• January 25 - Deus Caritas Est, the first encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI, is promulgated.
• January 27 - Celebrations are held in Salzburg and around the world for the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
• January 28 - A trade hall roof collapses in Katowice, Poland, killing 65 people.
• January 31 - Samuel Alito is sworn in as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

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 3 - An aging Egyptian passenger ferry carrying more than 1,400 people sinks in the Red Sea off the Saudi coast.
• February 4 - The Wowowee stampede at the PhilSports Arena in Pasig City, Philippines kills 71.
• February 5 - The Pittsburgh Steelers win Super Bowl XL, defeating the Seattle Seahawks 21-10.
• February 8 - 2006 East Timor crisis: 404 soldiers desert their barracks in East Timor.
• February 10 - The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin, Italy. The closing ceremony occurred on February 26.
• February 16 - Kobe Airport, a controversial offshore airport in Kobe, Japan, opens for airline service.
• February 17 - A massive mudslide occurs in Southern Leyte, Philippines; the official death toll is set at 1,126.
• 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 £53.1 million is stolen during the Securitas depot robbery, the largest ever cash robbery in the United Kingdom.
• 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 in Dublin, Ireland are 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 4 - The final contact attempt with Pioneer 10 receives no response.
• March 4 - Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway was christened by Bishop Ole Christian Kvarme at the chapel inside The Royal Palace in Oslo.
• March 5 - The 78th Academy Awards, hosted by Jon Stewart are held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California, with Crash winning Best Picture.
• March 7 - Fifteen people die and many others are injured in three blasts throughout Varanasi, India.
• March 9 - NASA's Cassini-Huygens spacecraft discovers geysers of a liquid substance shooting from Saturn's moon Enceladus, signaling a possible presence of water.
• 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 is found dead in his cell in the UN war crimes tribunal's detention centre, located in the Scheveningen section of The Hague.
• March 12 - Records are broken at Johannesburg, as first Australia, then South Africa set world record totals in one-day internationals. South Africa's total of 438 for 9 sees them win by one wicket, taking the one-day international series 3–2. This was considered as the greatest One Day International ever, it was the highest run chase.
• 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 22 - The Federal Reserve stops the publishing of M3 money supply data.
• 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 scramjet jet engine, Hyshot III, designed to fly at seven times the speed of sound, is successfully tested at Woomera, South Australia.
• March 25 - Seven die in the Capitol Hill Massacre in Seattle, Washington.
• 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 spacecraft, 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 6 - NZSL (New Zealand Sign Language) was made an official language of New Zealand
• April 8 - 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 8 - Bloc 8406 publishes their Manifesto on Freedom and Democracy for Viet Nam in Viet Nam; their name comes from this date.
• April 9 - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is removed from office after four months in a coma.
• April 9 - Hungarian parliamentary election, 2006
• April 10 - Romano Prodi narrowly defeats Silvio Berlusconi in the Italian parliamentary elections.
• April 10 - Brand India Fair at Meerut Victoria Park fire at Meerut, Uttar Pradesh, India, killing 100.
• April 11 - The European Space Agency's Venus Express spaceprobe enters Venus' orbit.
• April 11 - President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad confirms that Iran has successfully produced a few grams of low-grade enriched uranium.
• 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 nine people and injures dozens.
• April 18 - Festivities and memorials across the Bay Area mark the 100th anniversary of the Great San Francisco Earthquake and Fire.
• 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; nine 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 - Four Canadian soldiers are killed 75 kilometers north of Kandahar, Afghanistan by a roadside bomb – the worst one-day combat loss for the Canadian army since the Korean War.
• April 22 - Jalal Talabani re-elected for a second term as President of Iraq.
• April 24 - Three explosions in a tourist section of Dahab, Egypt kill 30 and injure over 115.
• April 25 - The Beaconsfield mine collapse occurs in Tasmania, Australia.
• 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.

May

• May 1 - Bolivian President Evo Morales nationalizes his nation's gas fields.
• May 1 - The Great American Boycott takes place across the United States as marchers protest for immigration rights.
• May 4 - A new coalition government takes office in Israel; its four political parties hold 67 of the 120 seats in the Knesset.
• 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 FC defeated West Ham United FC in the FA Cup Final, 3-2 on penalties after a 3-3 draw aet.
• May 20 - Finland's Lordi wins the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest held in Athens.
• May 24 - East Timor's Foreign Minister Ramos-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 gay 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

• June 3 - Montenegro declares independence after a May 21 referendum. The state union of Serbia and Montenegro is dissolved on June 5 leaving Serbia as the successor state.
• June 3 - Seventeen men are arrested in the Greater Toronto Area for alleged ties to a terrorist plot to blow up targets in the region.
• June 6 - The Union of Islamic Courts gains control of Somalia's capital Mogadishu, ending warlord rule of the city.
• June 7 - Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and seven of his aides are killed in a U.S. air raid just north of the town of Baqouba, Iraq.
• June 9 - An explosion kills eight Palestinian civilians on a Gaza beach. Israel denies responsibility for the blast.
• June 9 - Thailand begins celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the accession of Bhumibol Adulyadej to the throne.
• June 9 - The 2006 FIFA World Cup begins in Germany.
• June 10 - President Mahmoud Abbas sets July 26 as the date for a national referendum in the Palestinian National Authority.
• June 18 - The first Kazakh space satellite "KazSat" is launched.
• June 19 - The Carolina Hurricanes defeat the Edmonton Oilers, winning the series 4 games to 3; to win the Stanley Cup and Carolina's first major professional championship.
• June 20 - The Miami Heat win the NBA Finals over the Dallas Mavericks, 4-2.
• June 22 - The Magen David Adom and Palestine Red Crescent Society are officially recognized by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
• June 23 - In Miami, the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrests seven men, accusing them of planning to bomb the Sears Tower and other attacks in Miami.
• June 25 - Warren Buffett donates over US$30 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
• June 28 - Israel launches Operation Summer Rains, an offensive against militants in Gaza.
• June 29 - The Dutch cabinet Balkenende II resigns after the political party of D'66 drops its support.
• June 29 - Women vote for the first time in elections for the National Assembly of Kuwait.

July

• July 1 - The Qinghai-Tibet Railway launches a trial operation, connecting China proper and Tibet for the first time.
• July 2 - A presidential election is held in Mexico. Felipe Calderón is confirmed as the winner on September 5.
• July 4 - Space Shuttle Mission STS-121 : Discovery is launched to the International Space Station. It returns safely on July 17. It was the second return to flight mission after the Space Shuttle Columbia disaster.
• July 5 - North Korea test fires missiles, timed with the liftoff of Discovery, preceding the fireworks celebrations that night in America. The long range Taepodong-2 reportedly fails shortly after takeoff.
• July 6 - The Nathula Pass between India and China, sealed during the Sino-Indian War, re-opens for trade after 44 years.
• July 9 - S7 Airlines Flight 778 crashes into a concrete barrier shortly after landing, killing at least 122 people and leaving many injured.
• July 9 - Italy wins the 2006 FIFA World Cup by beating France 5-3 on penalties. The score after extra time is 1-1.
• July 10 - Pakistan International Airlines Flight 688 crashes in Multan, Pakistan shortly after takeoff.
• July 11 - A series of coordinated bomb attacks strikes several commuter trains in Mumbai, India during the evening rush hour.
• July 12 - 2006 Lebanon War: Israeli troops invade Lebanon in response to Hezbollah kidnapping two Israeli soldiers and killing 3. Hezbollah declares open war against Israel 2 days later.
• July 17 - Space Shuttle Discovery returns to Earth from the International Space Station, thirteen days after its launch.
• July 18 - The SS Nomadic, the last floating link to Titanic, returns home to a large reception in Belfast.
• July 19 - U.S. President George W. Bush uses veto power for the first time in his presidency.
• July 21 - St Louis is hit by two major derechos (violent windstorms) in a span of three days.
• July 22 - Canada defeats USA 15-11 in the 2006 World Lacrosse Championship. This marked only the second time the USA had not won the gold medal, and only the second time Canada had won the gold. Geoff Snider was announced as MVP.
• July 23 - Phonak team rider, American cyclist Floyd Landis, wins the Tour de France.
• July 28 - Alejandro Toledo concludes his term as President of Peru, and Alan Garcia becomes president.
• July 28 - Actor Mel Gibson is arrested for drunk driving in California and launches an anti-semitic tirade.
• July 30 - The world's longest running music show, Top of the Pops, broadcasts for the last time on BBC Two.
• July 31 - Cuban president Fidel Castro temporarily relinquishes power to his brother Raúl before surgery.

August

• August 10 - London Metropolitan Police make 21 arrests in connection to an apparent terrorist plot that involved aircraft traveling from the United Kingdom to the United States. Liquids and gels are banned from checked and carryon baggage.
• August 11 - A resolution to end the 2006 Lebanon War is unanimously accepted by the United Nations Security Council.
• August 14 - A UN cease fire takes effect in the 2006 Lebanon War.
• August 22 - Pulkovo Airlines Flight 612 crashes near the Russian border in Ukraine, killing 171 people, including 45 children.
• August 22 - The ICM awards Grigori Perelman the Fields Medal for proving the Poincare conjecture, one of seven Millennium Prize Problems. Perelman refuses the medal.
• August 23 - In Austria Natascha Kampusch manages to escape after being kidnapped eight years ago by Wolfgang Priklopil who locked her up in his cellar. Priklopil commits suicide by throwing himself in front of a train.
• August 24 - The International Astronomical Union defines 'planet' at its 26th General Assembly, demoting Pluto to the status of 'dwarf planet' more than 70 years after its discovery.
• August 27 - Comair Flight 5191, carrying 50 people, crashes shortly after take off from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky.
• August 28 - A Greyhound Lines bus from New York City to Montreal, carrying 52 people, crashes at mile 115 on Interstate 87 near Elizabethtown killing 5 people including the driver and several are seriously injured.
• August 31 - Edvard Munch paintings The Scream and Madonna are recovered in a police raid in Oslo, Norway.

September

• September 1 - A fire kills 29 of 148 aboard an Iran Air Tours Tu-154M aircraft after the plane lands in Mashhad, Iran.
• September 2 - A Nimrod MR2 based at RAF Kinloss, Scotland, crashes in the Southern Province of Kandahar, Afghanistan, due to a technical fault. All 14 crew onboard are killed.
• September 3 - Spain wins the 2006 FIBA World Championship.
• September 9 - Space Shuttle Mission STS-115: Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on a mission to build up the International Space Station. It returns on September 21.
• September 10 - Seven time Formula 1 World champion Michael Schumacher announces his retirement.
• 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 Islamic faith, sparking mass protest.
• September 13 - The Dawson College Shooting occurs in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, leaving one 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 one 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 wins the Swedish general election, 2006 after ousting the Social Democratic government which have ruled Sweden since 1994 .
• September 17 - Protests start near the Hungarian Parliament.
• 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; it is the first recorded fatal accident involving a Maglev.
• September 23 - Toomas Hendrik Ilves is elected President of Estonia.
• September 24 - Europe wins the Ryder Cup in Ireland.
• September 24 - Communist Party of China 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 six female students as hostages in Platte Canyon High School located in Bailey, Colorado. One hostage is killed 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.

October

• October 1 - Vodafone Japan, owned by SoftBank, officially changes its name to Softbank Mobile Corporation.
• October 1 - The Brisbane Broncos become the National Rugby League premiers after defeating the Melbourne Storm 15 - 8 in the grand final.
• October 2 - Charles Carl Roberts IV, a 32-yr-old milk-truck driver, kills five girls at an Amish schoolhouse in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania before shooting himself.
• October 2 - Per Westerberg takes office as Speaker of the Riksdag 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.
• October 9 - North Korea claims to have conducted its first-ever nuclear test.
• October 10 - Google buys YouTube for USD $1.65 billion.
• October 11 - New York Yankees pitcher Cory Lidle is killed, along with his flight instructor, when his plane crashes into a building in New York City's Upper East Side.
• October 13 - South Korean Ban Ki-moon is elected as the new Secretary-General of the United Nations.
• October 15 - The UN agrees to sanction North Korea over nuclear testing claims.
• October 15 - Chief Justice of Japan Akira Machida retires.
• October 15 - Declaration of the establishment of the Islamic State of Iraq.
• October 16 - The last MASH was decommissioned.
• October 17 - The United States population reaches 300 million based on a United States Census Bureau projection.
• October 18 - Microsoft publicly releases Windows Internet Explorer 7.
• October 19 - On the 19th anniversary of the 1987 stock market crash, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 12,000 for the first time gaining 19.05 points, or 0.16%, to 12,011.73.
• October 23 - Jeffrey Skilling is sentenced to 24 years and 4 months in federal prison on charges relating to the financial collapse of Enron.
• October 24 - NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft makes its first flyby of Venus (will be captured into Mercury's orbit on March 18 2011).
• October 25 - While denying the right to marry, the New Jersey Supreme Court otherwise grants equal social and financial benefits to same-sex couples.
• October 27 - Last Ford Taurus rolls off Atlanta Assembly line.
• October 27 - The St. Louis Cardinals win the 2006 World Series.
• October 29 - Aviation Development Company Flight 53 crashes shortly after take off in Nigeria.
• October 29 - Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva is re-elected President of Brazil.
• October 30 - Former President of Chile Augusto Pinochet is placed under house arrest for crimes committed at the Villa Grimaldi detention centre.
• October 30 - An airstrike on a madrasah in Bajaur kills dozens of suspected al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.
• October 30 - The Esperanza Fire burns over of Cabazon, California mountain territory.

November

• November 1 - The Stardust Resort & Casino closes after 48 years of business in Las Vegas.
• 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 - 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 two 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 Central Intelligence Agency 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 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 15 - The U.S. state of Hawaii bans smoking in all enclosed public places.
• November 16 - Rioting in Nukualofa, the capital of Tonga, destroys approx. 80% of the CBD; 8 bodies found and foreign forces requested.
• 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.
• November 21 - Israel's Supreme Court finds that Israel must recognize and register same-sex 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 - 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 26 - US Judge James Robertson orders the US Treasury to change the dollar bill.
• November 30 - South Africa becomes the fifth nation to legalize gay marriage.
• November 30 - Typhoon Durian triggers a massive mudslide and kills at least 720 people in Albay province on the island of Luzon in the Philippines.
• November 30 - Windows Vista, the newest version of operating system from Microsoft, released for volume license customers.

December

• December 1 - Felipe Calderón takes office as President of Mexico.
• December 1 - The 15th Asian Games start in Doha, Qatar; the closing ceremony takes place on December 15.
• December 2 - In Rome, about two million people, led by opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi, demonstrate against Romano Prodi's government.
• December 2 - Stéphane Dion is elected the new Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, on the fourth ballot.
• December 3 - Ed Stelmach is elected the new Leader of the Progressive Conservatives, Alberta, after the second ballot results, and second choice votes for Ted Morton have been added up. Ed becomes the Premier-designate of Alberta.
• December 3 - Hugo Chávez is re-elected President of Venezuela.
• December 3 - Explosive demolition of Germany's tallest chimney at former Westerholt Power Station.
• December 5 - The military seizes power in Fiji by means of a coup d'état led by Commodore Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama.
• December 7 - Smoking is banned in all Ohio bars, restaurants, workplaces, and other public places.
• December 9 - A fire at a hospital in Moscow kills 45 people.
• December 10 - Space Shuttle Mission STS-116 : Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center on the first night launch since the 2003 loss of Columbia.
• December 10 - Christer Fuglesang becomes the first Swede in space.
• December 11 - The Holocaust conference is opened in Tehran, Iran by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
• December 12 - Peugeot produce their last car at the Ryton Plant signalling the end of mass car production in a city that was once a major centre of the British motor industry; Coventry.
• 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.
• December 14 - U.S. Spy Satellite USA 193, also known as NRO Launch 21 (NROL-21 or simply L-21) is launched and malfunctions soon after.
• 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 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.
• December 19 - Murder investigation when the bodies of five murdered prostitutes were discovered at different locations near Ipswich in Suffolk, England.
• December 19 - A Libyan court sentences five Bulgarian nurses and a Palestinian doctor to death for 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 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 - The Hengchun earthquake in Taiwan kills two people, damaged about 15 historical buildings and several undersea cables, 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, causing several hundred casualties.
• December 30 - The Free State Project completes its "First 1,000" pledge.
• December 30 - The Spanish terrorist group ETA set off a bomb in Madrid Barajas International Airport, killing two Ecuadorians.
• December 31 - At least eleven bombs go off in Bangkok hours before the new year.
• December 31 - The Met Office announces that England has experienced its warmest year since records began in 1659, with an average temperature of .

Major religious holidays

• January 6 - Feast of Epiphany or Día de los Reyes Magos (Day of the Magi Kings) or La Fête 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.
• 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 23 - 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 in the Western Church Calendar.
• December 31 - Islamic festival of Eid ul-Adha begins (ends on January 2, 2007).

Ongoing

• War in Iraq.

Births

• June 3 - Countess Leonore of Orange-Nassau, Jonkvrouwe van Amsberg, daughter of Princess Laurentien of the Netherlands and Prince Constantijn of the Netherlands.
• June 18 - Countess Zaria of Orange-Nassau, Jonkvrouwe van Amsberg, daughter of Princess Mabel of Orange-Nassau and Prince Friso of Orange-Nassau.
• September 6 - Prince Hisahito of Akishino, son of Princess Akishino and Prince Akishino, the prince is third in line to the throne of Japan.
• October 24 - World's youngest premature baby (22 weeks in the womb)
• October 25 - Krista and Tatiana Hogan, notable conjoined twins.

Deaths

January

• January 1 - Charles Steen, American geologist, The "Uranium King" (b. 1919)
• January 2 - John Woodnutt, British actor (b. 1924)
• January 2 - Cecilia Muñoz-Palma, first female Philippine Supreme Court Justice (b. 1913)
• 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 4 - Robert Howard White, Mayor of Papatoetoe, New Zealand (b. 1914)
• January 6 - Lou Rawls, American singer (b. 1933)
• January 8 - Tony Banks, Baron Stratford, British politician (b. 1943)
• January 9 - Andy Caldecott, Australian motorcycle racer (b. 1964)
• 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 19 - Geoff Rabone, New Zealand cricket player (b. 1921)
• January 21 - Ibrahim Rugova, first President of Kosovo (b. 1944)
• January 21 - Bedanand Jha, Nepalese politician
• January 24 - Chris Penn, American actor (b. 1965)
• January 25 - Anna Malle, American pornographic actress (b. 1967)
• January 27 - Johannes Rau, President of Germany (b. 1931)
• January 28 - Yitzchak Kadouri, Iraqi-born rabbi (b. 1900)
• January 30 - Coretta Scott King, American civil rights activist and wife of Martin Luther King, Jr. (b. 1927)

February

• February 1 - Dick Brooks, American auto racer (b. 1942)
• February 1 - Bryce Harland, New Zealand diplomat (b. 1931)
• 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 (b. 1921)
• February 8 - Akira Ifukube, Japanese classical music/film composer (b. 1914)
• 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 - Andreas Katsulas, Greek-American actor (b. 1946)
• 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 - Anthony Burger, American musician and singer (b. 1961)
• 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 25 - Florian ZaBach, American musician and TV personality (b. 1931)
• February 27 - Linda Smith, English comedian (b. 1958)
• February 28 - Ron Cyrus, American politician, father of Billy Ray Cyrus (b. 1935)

March

• March 1 - Harry Browne, American Libertarian Presidential candidate (b. 1933)
• March 1 - Peter Osgood, English footballer (b. 1947)
• March 1 - Peter Snow, New Zealand doctor
• 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 8 - Brian Barratt-Boyes, New Zealand heart surgeon (b. 1924)
• 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 6 - Francis L. Kellogg, U.S. diplomat and prominent socialite (b. 1917)
• April 8 - Gerard Reve, Dutch author (b. 1923)
• April 11 - Proof, American rapper (D12) (b. 1973)
• 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 - Telê Santana, Brazilian footballer and coach (b. 1931)
• April 23 - Alida Valli, Italian actress (b. 1921)
• April 23 - Johnny Checketts, New Zealand flying ace (b. 1912)
• 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

• May 2 - Louis Rukeyser, American television host (b. 1933)
• May 3 - Karel Appel, Dutch painter (b. 1921)
• May 3 - Pramod Mahajan, Indian Bharatiya Janata Party 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 13 - Johnnie Wilder, Jr., American R&B singer (b. 1949)
• 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 24 - Michał Życzkowski, Polish technician (b. 1930)
• 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)
• May 30 - David Lloyd, New Zealand biologist (b. 1938)

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 (b. 1963)
• June 11 - Neroli Fairhall, New Zealand archer (b. 1944)
• June 12 - Chakufwa Chihana, Malawi politician (b. 1939)
• June 12 - György Ligeti, Hungarian composer (b. 1923)
• June 12 - Kenneth Thomson, 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 18 - Chris and Cru Kahui, infant twin brothers murdered in New Zealand (b. 2006)
• 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 - Mohamed Haneef, Maldivian Politician and former Vice-President of Islamic Democratic Party of Maldives (b. 1946)
• 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 3 - Joseph Goguen, American computer scientist (b. 1941)
• 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 (b. 1946)
• July 7 - John Money, Sexologist (b. 1921)
• 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)
• July 30 - Murray Bookchin, American libertarian socialist (b. 1921)

August

• August 2 - Luisel Ramos, Uruguayan model (b. 1984)
• August 3 - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, German-born soprano (b. 1915)
• August 3 - Arthur Lee, American musician (b. 1945)
• August 6 - Hirotaka Suzuoki, Japanese Seiyu (b. 1950)
• 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 20 - Cpl Bryan Budd VC, British soldier (Afghanistan). (b. 1977)
• August 21 - Bismillah Khan, Indian musician (b. 1916)
• August 21 - S. Yizhar, Israeli writer (b. 1916)
• August 23 - Maynard Ferguson, Canadian musician 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)
• August 30 - Robin Cooke, Baron Cooke of Thorndon, New Zealand jurist and member of the British House of Lords (b. 1926)

September

• September 1 - György Faludy, Hungarian poet (b. 1910)
• 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 (a.k.a "The Crocodile Hunter," Australian environmentalist and television personality (killed by stingray) (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 and 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, American politician (b. 1933)
• September 14 - Elizabeth Choy, Singaporean World War II hero (b. 1910)
• September 14 -Mickey Hargitay, Hungarian-born actor and bodybuilder (b. 1926)
• 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 (b. 1955)
• September 17 - Patricia Kennedy Lawford, American socialite, sister of John F. Kennedy (b. 1924)
• September 17 - Dorothy C. Stratton, Director of the United States Coast Guard Women's Reserve (b. 1899)
• September 19 - Roy Schuiten, Dutch cyclist (b. 1950)
• September 19 - Hugh Kawharu, New Zealand academic and Māori chief (b. 1927)
• 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 - Michael A. Monsoor, a United States Navy SEAL killed in Iraq and posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor.
• September 29 - Walter Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer (b. 1915)
• September 29 - Jan Werner Danielsen, Norwegian musician (b. 1976)

October

• October 6 - Buck O'Neil, American 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 (b. 1975)
• October 9 - Paul Hunter, British snooker player (b. 1978)
• October 10 - Michael John Rogers, English ornithologist (b. 1932)
• October 11 - Cory Lidle, American baseball player (b. 1972)
• October 14 - Nancy Lynn, American aviator (b. 1956)
• 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 20 - Jane Wyatt, American actress (b. 1910)
• October 21 - Sandy West, American musician (b. 1959)
• October 24 - Enolia McMillan, American first female president of the NAACP (b. 1904)
• October 25 - Danny Rolling, American murderer (b. 1954) (executed)
• October 28 - Red Auerbach, American basketball coach and official (b. 1917)
• October 28 - Trevor Berbick, Jamaican boxer (b. 1955)
• October 30 - Clifford Geertz, American anthropologist (b. 1926)
• October 31 - Pieter Willem Botha, former State President of South Africa (b. 1916)

November

• November 1 - Adrienne Shelly, American actress & director (b. 1966)
• 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 4 - Frank Arthur Calder, Canadian politician (b. 1915)
• November 4 - Sergi López Segú, Spanish footballer (b. 1967)
• 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 15 - Ana Carolina Reston, Brazilian fashion model (b. 1985)
• 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 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)
• November 28 - Bernard Orchard, British biblical scholar (b. 1912)

December

• December 3 - James Kim, American television personality (b. 1971)
• December 3 - Logan Whitehurst, American comedy singer (b. 1977)
• December 3 - Craig Hinton, British novelist (b. 1964)
• December 4 - Ross A. McGinnis, American soldier, posthumously awarded the Medal of Honor (b. 1987)
• December 5 - David Bronstein, Soviet Union chess grandmaster (b. 1924)
• December 6 - John Feeney, New Zealand documentary film-director (b. 1922)
• 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, Chilean dictator (b. 1915)
• December 12 - Paul Arizin, American basketball player (b. 1928)
• December 12 - Peter Boyle, American actor (b. 1935)
• December 12 - Raymond P. Shafer, American politician (b. 1917)
• December 13 - Lamar Hunt, American sports executive (b. 1932)
• December 13 - "Homesick" James Williamson, American blues musician (b. 1910)
• December 13 - Federico Crescentini, Sanmarinese football player (b. 1982)
• 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 - Yukio Aoshima, Japanese politician, novelist and TV-actor (b. 1932)
• 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, and 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 (b. 1937)
• December 30 - Antony Lambton, Viscount Lambton, British politician (b. 1922)

Nobel Prizes

• Chemistry - Roger D. Kornberg.
• Economics - Edmund Phelps.
• Literature - Orhan Pamuk.
• Peace - Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank.
• Physics - John C. Mather, George F. Smoot.
• Physiology or Medicine - Andrew Z. Fire, Craig C. Mello.

See also

• 21st century.

References

External links