2006

Encyclopedia : 2 : 20 : 200 : 2006

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2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. It is also the current year.

It has been designated:

The year of Aquarius, the Water Bearer in Western astrology. The next year for Aquarius will be in the year 2018.
The Year of the Dog in the Chinese calendar.

Contents

Events

January 1 - Russia cuts natural gas to Ukraine over a price dispute.
January 2 - Fifteen are killed when the Bad Reichenhall ice rink roof in Germany collapses after heavy snowfall in the Bavarian Alps.
January 3 - Twelve deceased coal miners and one survivor are discovered in the Sago Mine Disaster near Buckhannon, West Virginia in the United States.
January 4 - Powers are transferred from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to his deputy, Vice Premier Ehud Olmert, after Sharon suffers a massive hemorrhagic stroke.
January 5 - A hotel in Makkah, 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. U.K. Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy resigns after revelations that he has a drinking problem.
January 8 - A powerful, magnitude 6.9 earthquake epicentered off the coast of the Greek island of Kythera shakes much of Greece and is felt throughout the eastern Mediterranean basin. Only a few minor injuries and no significant damage were reported.
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 10 - At the Macworld Conference & Expo, Apple Computer introduces the first Macs with Intel processors: the iMac (Core Duo) and the MacBook Pro.
January 11 - 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 Muslim pilgrims.

New Horizons, the world's first probe to Pluto, is launched on January 19

January 14 - A natural gas explosion in a coal mine kills eight in Romania.
January 15 - NASA's Stardust mission successfully ends, being the first to return dust from a comet
January 19 - Jet Airways announces its purchase of Air Sahara, creating the largest domestic airliner in India.
January 23 - Stephen Harper wins the 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 - Worldwide celebrations of the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Mozart.
January 28 - A trade hall roof collapses in Katowice, Poland, killing 65 people.

February 1 - UAL. Corp, United Airlines' parent company emerges from bankruptcy after being in such position since December 9, 2002, the longest such filing in history.
February 6 - Stephen Harper is sworn in as Prime Minister of Canada.

The logo of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Torino, Italy

February 10 - The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin, Italy. The closing ceremony occurs on February 26. The next 2010 Winter Olympics will be held in Whistler, Vancouver, Canada.
February 11 - U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shoots friend and lawyer Harry Whittington 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 eighteen hundred people die when a mudslide occurs on the island of Leyte in the Philippines.
February 18 - NASA announces that they will redesign the planned Ares I that will include a five-segment version of the Space Shuttle Solid Rocket Booster, and a uprated version of the Apollo J-2 rocket engine.
February 19 - Sixty-five miners become trapped underground after an explosion in Nueva Rosita, Mexico during the Pasta de Conchos mine disaster. There are no survivors.
February 20-February 21 - Solidarity conference in Bil'in in the Palestinian West Bank.
February 22 - A blast heavily damages the Al Askari Mosque, a Shiite holy site in Samarra, Iraq, causing a wave of protests and counterattacks across Iraq.
February 22 - Over £53.1 million is stolen during the Securitas depot robbery, the largest ever cash robbery in the United Kingdom.
February 22 - The one billionth song is purchased from Apple iTunes.
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'etat against President Gloria Arroyo is foiled.
February 25 - Six police officers, seven protesters, and a journalist receive head wounds when a protest prior to the Love Ulster parade turns into a major riot.
February 25 - Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni wins 2nd re-election, sparking riots in Kampala by opposition supporters.
February 26 - The world population reaches 6.5 billion at 0016 UTC according to the U.S. Census Bureau.

March 2 - The U.S. Federal Reserve releases the redesigned $10 bill into circulation.
March 3 - The first World Baseball Classic opens in Tokyo, Japan.
March 4 - The central Papeete power station is damaged by a fire, resulting in limited power for some areas of Tahiti for a couple of weeks.
March 4 - A new species of shark is discovered in Mexico's Sea of Cortez, bringing the types of Mustelus shark found in the eastern North Pacific to five.
March 4 - The Deep Space Network tries one final contact attempt to Pioneer 10.
March 5 - Crash wins Best Picture, Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) wins Best Director, Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line) wins Best Actress, and Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote) wins Best Actor during the 78th Academy Awards.
March 7 - Fifteen people die and many others are injured in three blasts throughout Varanasi, India.
March 9 - Microsoft unveils the Ultra-Mobile PC, formerly code-named "Origami Project".
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.

Tropical Cyclone Larry, considered the worst tropical cyclone to hit Queensland, off the Australian coast on March 18

March 10 - NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter enters Mars orbit.
March 11 - Slobodan Milošević, former Yugoslav president, dies of a heart attack in his prison cell in The Hague, Netherlands.
March 11 - Michelle Bachelet is sworn in as the first female President of Chile.
March 12 - Springfield, Illinois is hit with its biggest storm in over fifty years as a tornado outbreak sequence causes dozens of tornadoes to occur in Missouri, Kansas, and Illinois over a five-day period.
March 15-March 26 - The 2006 Commonwealth Games take place in Melbourne, Australia.
March 16 - The New Kitakyushu Airport opens in Japan.
March 20 - Tropical Cyclone Larry makes landfall in Queensland, Australia as what is considered to be the worst cyclone to hit the region since 1931.
March 22 - Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) declares a permanent ceasefire in their campaign for Basque independence from Spain.
March 23 - The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System ceases publication of the M3 monetary aggregate.
March 25 - An estimated 500,000 people take to the streets in downtown Los Angeles in protest of a proposed federal crackdown on illegal immigration.
March 25 - A revolutionary scramjet jet engine Hyshot III designed to fly at seven 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 spaceship, Soyuz TMA-8, at 2:29:00 CET.
March 30 - The al-Dana capsizes off the coast of Bahrain killing at least forty-eight people.

April 5 - A swan with Avian Flu is discovered in Cellardyke in Fife, Scotland the first case in the United Kingdom.
April 8 - The bodies of eight murdered men are found in Shedden, Ontario (see Shedden massacre).

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April 8 - Bristol, United Kingdom celebrates the 200th birthday of Isambard Kingdom Brunel (actually April 9) by relighting the Clifton Suspension Bridge.
April 9 - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is taken out of office after four months in a coma.
April 10 - Romano Prodi narrowly defeats Silvio Berlusconi in Italian parliamentary elections.
April 11 - ESA's Venus Express spaceprobe enters Venus's orbit.
April 11 - President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad confirms that Iran had successfully produced a few grams of 3.5% low-enriched uranium.
April 12 - Jurors in the trial of terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui hear cockpit recordings of United Airlines Flight 93, which crashed in a Pennsylvania field during the September 11, 2001 attacks.
April 16 - HSH Albert II, Prince of Monaco, reaches the North Pole, becoming the first reigning monarch ever to do so.
April 17 - Suicide bombing by Islamic Jihad in Tel Aviv kills nine people, injures dozens.
April 17 - Raloxifene is found to be as effective as tamoxifen in preventing breast cancer, but with fewer side effects.
April 18 - A record seven Venezuelan pitchers started games in Major League Baseball.
April 18 - Centennial of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake.
April 19 - Han Myung-sook became South Korea's first female Prime Minister.
April 20 - Iran announces a uranium enrichment deal with Russia, involving a joint uranium enrichment firm on Russian soil. Nine days later Iran announced that it would 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 planted by Taliban militants, the worst one-day combat loss for the Canadian army since the Korean War.
April 23 - A 12-year old boy killed his mother and younger brother at their apartment complex in Forestville, Maryland.
April 24 - Three explosions in a touristy section of Dahab, Egypt kill 30 and injure over 115.
April 24 - Co-founder Scott McNealy steps down as chairman of Sun Microsystems.
April 29 - Massive anti-war demonstrations and a march down Broadway in New York City mark the third year of war in Iraq. Also, the Global Night Commute takes place in over 130 cities around the world to promote the visibility of the Invisible Children in Uganda.

May 1 - Bolivian President Evo Morales nationalizes his nation's gas fields.
May 1 - The Great American Boycott takes place across the US nation as marchers protest for illegal immigration rights.
May 4 - A new coalition government takes office in Israel, with four political parties, which together hold 67 of the 120 seats in the Knesset.
May 5 - After disappointing results in the English local elections, British Prime Minister Tony Blair holds major reshuffle of his cabinet, due also to political crises of some high ranking members.

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May 5 - NASA astronomers announce the discovery of a similar storm system in the Jovian atmosphere dubbed the Red Spot Junior, which has a striking similar appearance to the famous Great Red Spot.
May 8 - Judgment is given in London in favour of Apple Computer in Apple Corps v. Apple Computer, a trademark lawsuit brought by The Beatles' company, Apple Corps.
May 8 - Fighting between Palestinian factions leave one Fatah gunman and two Hamas gunmen dead.
May 9 - After 14 days trapped underground after the Beaconsfield mine collapse, miners Todd Russell and Brant Webb are rescued in Beaconsfield, Tasmania, Australia.
May 13 - Liverpool defeat West Ham to win the FA Cup on penalties after a 3-3 draw. [link], [link], [link]
May 17 - Captain Nichola Goddard of the 1st RCHA becomes Canada's first female casualty since World War II, and Canada's first female combat arms casualty.
May 18 - NASA announces that it will drop the Space Shuttle Main Engine for its planned heavy-lift Ares V in favor of the RS-68 rocket engine currently in use on the Delta IV rocket.
May 20 - Finland's Lordi wins the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest held in Athens. The monster-like band earns the most points ever given in the fifty-one year-old history of the contest.
May 22 - Belfast City Airport is officially renamed the George Best Belfast City Airport in memory of the football legend on what would have been his 60th birthday.
May 23 - The collision of a Greek and a Turkish fighter jet above southeastern Aegean Sea results in the death of the Greek pilot. The accident took place as the two aircraft were involved in a mock fight.
May 27 - A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes central Java in Indonesia, killing more than 5,400, injuring at least 6,500 and leaving some 100,000 people homeless. Death toll likely to rise over time.
May 27 - First attempt of a demonstration for the rights of homosexual people in Moscow. It was broken up by the police because it was illegal, and it was "illegal" because a permit was arbitrarily denied.[link].
May 27 - June 3 - The Urdd National Eisteddfod was held at Rhuthin, Denbighshire, North Wales
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 3 - Montenegro declares independence from Serbia after a May 21 referendum.
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. (see also: 2006 Toronto terrorism case)
June 6 - Serbia and Montenegro is formally dissolved.
June 7 - War on Terror: Al-Qaeda terrorist Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and seven of his aides are killed in Iraq during a US air raid just north of the town of Baqouba.
June 9 - An explosion kills eight Palestinian civilians on a Gaza beach. Four days later, after an investigation, Israel very strongly denies any responsibility for the blast.
June 9 - Thailand begins celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the accession of Bhumibol Adulyadej to the throne
June 9 - FIFA World Cup 2006 begins in Germany, with a 4-2 win for the host nation against Costa Rica, and a 2-0 victory for Ecuador over Poland.
June 10 - President Mahmoud Abbas sets July 26 as the date for a national referendum in Palestine.
June 10 - Nathalie Mahy and Stacy Lemmens are missing in Belgium.
June 11 - The first tropical depression of the 2006 Atlantic hurricane season is upgraded by the National Hurricane Center to the year's first tropical storm, Alberto.
June 18 - The first Kazakh space satellite "KazSat" is launched.
June 22 - The Magen David Adom and Palestine Red Crescent Society are officially recognized by the International Committee of the Red Cross
June 23 - War on Terror: In Miami, the FBI arrests seven men accusing them of planning to bomb the Sears Tower and other attacks in Miami, Florida.
June 23-June 29 - Mid-Atlantic United States flood of 2006
June 25 - Warren Buffett donates over $30 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
June 28 - Mideast Crisis:The beginning of Israeli Operation Summer Rains in Gaza.
June 29 - The Dutch cabinet Balkenende II resigned after the political party of D'66 dropped its support.
June 29 - The United States Supreme Court rules in Hamdan v. Rumsfeld that the military commissions to be used to try some detainees in Guantanamo Bay's Camp Delta are illegal.
June 29 - Kuwaiti elections.

July 1 - Qinghai-Tibet Railway launches trial operation, connecting China proper and Tibet for the first time.
July 2 - Presidential election in Mexico. Felipe Calderon is confirmed as the winner on July 6.
July 4 - Space Shuttle Discovery or STS-121 is launched as a second Return to Flight mission to the International Space Station.
July 5 - North Korea test fires at least seven missiles including a long-range Taepodong-2
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 FIFA World Cup 2006 by beating France 5-3 on penalties. Score after regular time was 1-1.
July 10 - Pakistan International Airlines Flight 688 crashes in Multan, Pakistan shortly after takeoff. All 45 people on board are killed including two brigadiers, two judges, a university Vice Chancellor and many civilians.
July 10 - Ceiling panels in one of the tunnels of Boston's Big Dig collapse, crushing a passing vehicle and killing its passenger.
July 11 - A series of coordinated bomb attacks strikes several commuter trains in Mumbai, India during evening rush hour.
July 12 - 2006 Israel-Lebanon crisis: Israeli troops enter Lebanon in response to Hezbollah kidnapping two Israeli soldiers.
July 14 - 2006 Israel-Lebanon crisis: Hezbollah declares open war against Israel
July 14 - Minsk: Political courtdecision against the opposition politican Kosulin
15-16 July - The free world music festival, Rhythms of The World takes place in Hitchin
July 17 - A magnitude 7.2 quake causes another tsunami to hit Indonesia

Predicted and scheduled events

This article or section contains information about scheduled or expected future events.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the event approaches and more information becomes available.

July 13-July 22 - World Lacrosse Championship will be held in London, Ontario, Canada
July 15-July 16 - RIAT 2006 at RAF Fairford, UK.
July 20-July 23 - Comic Con International 2006 at San Diego Convention Center
July 21-July 23 - 2600's Hackers On Planet Earth (HOPE) #6 at the Hotel Pennsylvania in New York City, New York
July 23 - Miss Universe finals held in Los Angeles, U.S.A..
July 26 - Referendum in Palestine on what Palestine's policy should be towards Israel.
July 28 - Alejandro Toledo concludes his term as President of Peru. Alan Garcia becomes president.
July 29 -August 5 - World Congress of Esperanto in Florence, Italy.
July 30 - The world's longest running music show Top of the Pops broadcasts for the last time on BBC Two, after 42 years.

August 4 - August 6 - DEF CON 14 at Riviera hotel and casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
August 5 - August 12 - The National Eisteddfod of Wales will be held at Felindre, Swansea, South Wales
August 5-The 2006-07 English Football League season begins.
August 7-August 11 - Apple Computer Worldwide Developers Conference (WWDC) in San Francisco, California.
August 8 - Census in Australia.
August 13-August 18 - The XVI International AIDS Conference will be held in Toronto, Canada.
August 14-August 25 - The 26th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union in Prague, Czech Republic.
August - NASA is due to choose a contractor for the Crew Exploration Vehicle; it is also expected NASA would launch Space Shuttle Atlantis for STS-115 to the ISS as the 3rd space shuttle flight after STS-114 and STS-121.
August 19-The 2006-2007 FA Premier League season begins.

September 5 - News Corporation -- parent company of Fox will launch a new broadcast television network called My Network TV.
September 7 - The 2006 NFL season begins.
September 9-September 14 - Pope Benedict XVI will visit his hometown of Marktl am Inn.
September 17 - Swedish general election, 2006: Sweden holds elections for the Riksdag.
September 18 - CBS Corporation and Time Warner will launch The CW Television Network -- following the shutdown of the WB and UPN television networks.
September 19 - Microsoft plans to release the Xbox Live Vision camera for the Xbox 360 in the United States. This camera will allow users to have video chats with other online users, and be able to use "Digimask" technology that will map a player's facial expressions onto his or her in-game avatar.
September 19-September 20 - 2006 Annual Meetings of the International Monetary Fund and the World Bank Group, Singapore
September 25 - Centenary of the birth of composer Dmitri Shostakovich
September 26 - Scheduled reopening date of the Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans, LA after repairs to the Superdome from damages sustained during Hurricane Katrina.
September 28 - Release of Pokémon Diamond and Pearl, the main games of Pokémon's 4th generation
September 30 - Evanescence's sophomore album The Open Door is released in Australia

October 2 - Brazilian General Elections, 2006: Presidential election, Legislative: full renewal of the Chamber of Deputies and renewal of one third of the Federal Senate (one of each state's three seats); State sphere: Gubernatorial elections, renewal of the State Legislative body (State Assembly) in all states.
October 4 - Premiere of Lost season 3.
October 12 - The USA is projected to reach a population of 300 million residents. [link] [link]
October 15 - Chief Justice of Japan Akira Machida will be forced to retire upon reaching the age of 70.
October 23 - Jeffrey Skilling is scheduled to be sentenced on charges relating to the financial collapse of Enron.
October 24 - NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft to Mercury makes the first of two Venus flybys.
October 25 Microsoft plans to release Windows Vista to corporate partners.
October 31 Square-Enix's twelth installment of the Final Fantasy series, Final Fantasy XII ships in the United States and Canada.

November 7 - Midterm elections are held in the United States.
November 8 - A transit of Mercury will occur beginning at 19:12 UTC.
November 11 - Gerald Ford, if still living, becomes the longest lived President of the United States.
November 11 - The PlayStation 3 video game system is to be released in Japan
November 17 - The PlayStation 3 video game system is to be released in North America, Europe, Australia and the rest of world
November 18 - November 19 - Meeting of the G20 industrial nations in Melbourne, Australia.
November 22 - A General Election will take place for the House of Keys in the Isle of Man.
November 24 - Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair's deadline on Northern Ireland power sharing.
November 27-December 15 - The XV Asiad Games begin Doha
November 28-November 29 - The NATO Summit 2006 will take place in Latvia.
November 30 - The 2006 Atlantic hurricane season and the 2006 Pacific hurricane season officially end.
November - NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is expected to end aerobraking stage and begin a two-year long science phase mission.

December 2-December 3 - The Liberal Party of Canada will hold its leadership convention

List of Events by Month
2006: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December
2005: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December,
2004: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December,
2003: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December,
2002: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December,
2001: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December,
2000: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December,
1999: January, February, March, April, May, June, July, August, September, October, November, December,

Major religious holidays

January 6 - Feast of Epiphany or Dia de los Reyes Magos (Day of the Magi Kings).
January 7 - Christmas in the Russian Orthodox and Serbian Orthodox church calendar.
January 10 - Islamic festival of Eid ul-Adha begins (ends on January 12)
January 11 - Vaikunta Ekadasi 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 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 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.
June 1 - Jewish holiday of Shavuot begins at sunset.
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 24 - Islamic festival of Eid ul-Fitr.
October 26 - Hindu festival of Diwali.
December 16 - Channukah
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 2 - 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, British politician (b. 1943)
January 12 - Amrish Puri, Bollywood Actor (b. 1932)
January 14 - Shelley Winters, American actress (b. 1920)
January 15 - Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1926)
January 19 - Geoff Rabone, New Zealand cricketer (b. 1921)
January 19 - Wilson Pickett, American singer (b. 1941)
January 21 - Ibrahim Rugova, first President of Kosovo (b. 1944)
January 24 - Chris Penn, American actor (b. 1965)
January 27 - Johannes Rau, President of Germany (b. 1931)
January 28 - Yitzchak Kadouri, Jewish Orthodox rabbi (b. around 1900)
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 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 17 - Bill Cowsill, American singer (b. 1948)
February 24 - Don Knotts, American actor (b. 1924)
February 24 - Dennis Weaver, American actor (b. 1924)
February 25 - Darren McGavin, American actor (b. 1922)

March

March 2 - Jack Wild, British actor (b. 1952)
March 3 - William Herskovic, Hungarian Holocaust hero and philanthropist (b. 1914)
March 4 - Roman Ogaza, Polish football player (b. 1952)
March 4 - Edgar Valter, Estonian children's book 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 - King Floyd, American soul singer (b. 1945)
March 6 - Kirby Puckett, American baseball player (b. 1960)
March 11 - Slobodan Milošević, President of Serbia (b. 1941)
March 13 - Peter Tomarken, American game show host (b. 1942)
March 14 - Lennart Meri, President of Estonia (b. 1929)
March 23 - Cindy Walker, American songwriter (b. 1918)
March 25 - Rocio Durcal, Spanish singer and actress (b. 1944)
March 25 - Buck Owens, American musician (b. 1929)
March 27 - Stanisław 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 freedom fighter Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg (b. 1913)
April 4 - Denis Donaldson, Irish Republican informer (shot) (b. 1950)
April 5 - Gene Pitney, American singer (b. 1941)
April 8 - Gerard Reve, Dutch author (b. 1923)
April 11 - DeShaun "Proof" Holton, American rapper (b. 1975)
April 11 - Les Foote, Australian footballer (b. 1924)
April 11 - June Pointer, American vocalist (b. 1953)
April 12 - Dr. 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 19 - Scott Crossfield, American pilot (b. 1921)
April 21 - Telê Santana, Brazilian footballer and coach (b. 1931)
April 23 - Alida Valli, Italian actress (b. 1921)
April 23 - Ghafar Baba, Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister (b. 1925)
April 24 - Nasreen Pervin Huq, Bangladeshi social worker and human rights activist (b. 1958)
April 24 - Bonnie Owens, American singer (b. 1929)
April 24 - Steve Stavro, Canadian businessman and sports team owner (b. 1927)
April 24 - Moshe Teitelbaum, Hassidic rabbi (b. 1914)
April 25 - Peter Law, British politician (b. 1948)
April 25 - Jane Jacobs, American-born writer and activist (b. 1916)
April 27 - Julia Thorne, American author and ex-wife of Senator John Kerry (b. 1944)
April 28 - Steve Howe, American baseball player (truck accident) (b. 1958)
April 29 - John Kenneth Galbraith, American economist (b. 1908)

May

May 2 - Louis Rukeyser, American television host (b. 1933)
May 3 - Earl Woods, American athlete and father of Tiger Woods (b. 1932)
May 3 - Karel Appel, Dutch painter (b. 1921)
May 6 - Konstantin Beskov, Russian footballer and coach (b. 1920)
May 6 - Grant McLennan, Australian singer and songwriter (The Go-Betweens) (b. 1958)
May 6 - Shigeru Kayano, Japanese activist (b. 1926)
May 7 - Richard Carleton, Australian journalist (b. 1943)
May 8 - Iain MacMillan, British photographer (b. 1938)
May 10 - Soraya, Colombian singer and musician (b. 1969)
May 10 - Val Guest, British film director (b. 1911)
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 21 - Billy Walker, American singer (b. 1929)
May 22 - Lee Jong-wook, Korean Director-General of the World Health Organisation (b. 1945)
May 23 - Lloyd Bentsen, American politician (b. 1921)
May 25 - Desmond Dekker, Jamaican singer and songwriter (b. 1941)
May 25 - Kari S. Tikka, Finnish Professor of Finance (b. 1944)
May 26 - Édouard Michelin, French businessman (b. 1963)
May 27 - Paul Gleason, American actor (b. 1944)
May 27 - Alex Toth, American comic book artist and cartoonist (b. 1928)
May 28 - Arthur Widmer, inventor (b. 1914}

June

June 1 - Rocio Jurado, Spanish singer and actress (b. 1944)
June 2 - Johnny Grande, American keyboardist (Bill Haley & His Comets) (b. 1930)
June 2 - Vince Welnick, American keyboardist (The Grateful Dead, The Tubes) (b. 1951)
June 6 - Billy Preston, American artist and musician (b. 1946)
June 6 - Hilton Ruiz, Puerto Rican jazz pianist (b. 1952)
June 6 - Arnold Newman, American photographer (b. 1918)
June 7 - John Tenta, Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1963)
June 7 - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Jordanian terrorist (b. 1966)
June 10 - Nathalie Mahy, (10), Belgian girl that since 10 june is missing
June 10 - Stacy Lemmens, (7), Belgian girl that since 10 june is missing
June 11 - Michael Bartosh, computer scientist (b. 1977)
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, former Prime Minister of Ireland (b. 1925)
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 - Gică Petrescu, Romanian musician (b. 1915)
June 23 - Aaron Spelling, American television producer (b. 1923)
June 25 - Jaap Penraat, Dutch architect and member of Dutch resistance in World War II (b. 1918)
June 25 - Arif Mardin, Turkish-American music producer (b. 1932)
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 - Benjamin Hendrickson, American actor (b. 1950)
July 5 - Kenneth Lay, American businessman (b. 1942)
July 5 - Gert Fredriksson, Swedish kayaker (b. 1919)
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 war photographer (b. 1945)
July 9 - Shamil Basayev, Chechen separatist vice-president (b. 1965)
July 9 - Kel Mitchell, Actor, composer, writer, producer and himself (b. 1978)
July 13 - Red Buttons, American comedian (b. 1919)
July 16 - Winthrop Paul Rockefeller, billionaire and US politician (b. 1948)
July 16 - Bob Orton, American wrestler (b. 1929)
July 17 - Mickey Spillane, crime fiction writer (b. 1918)

Unknown/undecided dates

The Nintendo Wii will be released during the 4th quarter of 2006.
Brazil will officially adopt the Digital TV System (Probably Japanese, or a new system, the Brazilian Digital TV System)
Al Jazeera will launch its new satellite service, Al Jazeera International, in Europe, Asia, and North America sometime during the spring.
White House proposed plebiscite to decide whether Puerto Rico will mantain its territorial status or change to another status (to be decided then in other referenda)
The European Space Agency plans to launch the KEO space time capsule
Irish referendum on the European Constitution: The Republic of Ireland is expected to hold a referendum on the European Constitution.
A bridge linking Savannakhet, Laos, over the Mekong, to Mukdahan, Thailand is expected to be completed late in the year.
The Stardust Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada will officially close in late 2006 after 55 years of continuous operation to make way for the $4 billion dollar Echelon Place a new mega resort scheduled to officially open in 2010.
NASA plans to launch STS-115 using Space Shuttle Atlantis. It will be the nineteenth station flight. The launch is currently scheduled for August unless STS-121 is not launched on schedule.
The new Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand opens, replacing Don Muang as Bangkok's primary airport.
Boston's Big Dig, or Central Artery/Tunnel Project will be substantially completed after 15 years of construction, totaling $14.6 billion.

Fictional references

March - The events of the Doctor Who episodes Aliens of London and World War Three take place.
18 June- In 1967 Paul McCartney of The Beatles wrote the song When I'm 64, a humorous speculation as to what life might be like for him at that age. He turned 64 on 18 June 2006.
September - The events of Doctor Who episode Boom Town take place.
December 24-December 25 - The events of Doctor Who episode The Christmas Invasion take place.
The events of [[Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow]] take place.
The events of the third season of the Transformers cartoon take place.
In 2002, an actor portraying a future version of Stan Marsh tells his younger counterpart that he'll be sent to juvenile hall sometime during the course of the year on South Park.
The central character in the BBC series Life on Mars came from 2006 before he travelled through time to 1973.
The N64 video game, [[BattleTanx: Global Assault]] took place during this year.
According to Penny Galactica's robot UNI in Disney Adventures' Kid Gravity comic, this will be the first year we build cities on Mars.
In Seven Ancient Wonders, a book by Matthew Reilly, March 20th was the day of the coming of Tartarus.
Presumed year of birth of Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell saga.
As stated in The Bible Code, 2006 is the apparent occurrence of the apocalypse.
In the 1978 Blues Brothers live album, Briefcase Full of Blues the opening track "I Can't Turn You Loose" features the host lamenting that the Blues will exist only in the classical records department of your local public library by 2006.

List of Events by Month

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[[Wikinews:Category:2006|2006]]

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