Title: 2007 Content: 2007 (MMVII) was . The year 2007 was called: * In the Chinese calendar, dates up to February 17 are in the Year of the Dog, while dates from February 18 onwards are in the Year of the Pig. * European Year of Equal Opportunities for All * Year of the Dolphin * UNESCO has formally recognized fifteen anniversaries for 2007.Celebration of anniversaries with which UNESCO will be associated in 2006-2007 == Events == === January === * January 1 – Bulgaria and Romania join the European Union. * January 1 – Bulgarian, Romanian, and Irish become official languages of the European Union, joining 20 other official languages. * January 1 – Slovenia adopted the Euro as its official currency, replacing the tolar. * January 1 – South Korea's Ban Ki-moon became the new UN Secretary-General, replacing Kofi Annan. * January 4 – Nancy Pelosi becomes the first woman Speaker of the House in the United States. * January 12 – The US embassy in Athens was attacked with a rocket propelled grenade, which caused minimal damage and no injuries. * January 13 – The Greek ship Server broke in half off the Norwegian coast, which released over 200 tons of crude oil. * January 18 – Comet McNaught, the brightest comet to have appeared in over forty years, became visible over the Southern Hemisphere. * January 25 – The President of Israel, Moshe Katsav, took a temporary leave of absence due to a sex scandal. * January 30 – Windows Vista, Microsoft's newest NT-based operating system, was released worldwide to consumers. === February === * February 2 – An unseasonal tornado in central Florida killed at least 20 people. * February 2 – A policeman was killed in the Catania football clashes in Italy and 71 people are hospitalized. * February 2 – Chinese President Hu Jintao signed a series of economic deals with Sudan. * February 3 – Italian Prime Minister Romano Prodi cancelled all football matches in Italy whilst an investigation into riots on February 2 began. * February 3 – Five people were killed and 40 were injured in a series of car bombs in the Iraqi city of Kirkuk. * February 3 – A truck bombing in a crowded Baghdad market killed at least 135 people and injured a further 339 others. * February 10 – U.S. Senator Barack Obama of Illinois announced a presidential bid in Springfield. * February 19 – North Korea agreed to give up its nuclear program, for oil. * February 27 – World stock markets plummeted after China and Europe released less-than-expected growth reports. The Dow Jones Industrial Average lost 416.02 points, its largest single-day decline since the September 11, 2001 attacks. === March === * March 4 – Parliamentary elections took place in Estonia and in Abkhazia. * March 6 – Mega Millions set a new world record for the highest jackpot of US$370 million. * March 7 – Garuda Indonesia Flight 200, a Boeing 737-400, crashed at Yogyakarta on the Indonesian island of Java killing many on board. * March 7 – Northern Ireland Assembly election, 2007, was held. * March 8 – Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert admitted that Israel had planned an attack on Lebanon in the event of kidnapped soldiers on the border, months before Hezbollah carried out its kidnapping. * March 11 – Daylight saving time in most of the United States and Canada began; three to four weeks earlier than previously. * March 13 – The Bank of England replaces the £20 note bearing the portrait of Edward Elgar with one featuring Adam Smith. * March 14 – Pi Day * March 15 – March 21 – CeBIT 2007 took place in Hannover, Germany. * March 17 – Chlorine bombs injured hundreds in Baghdad, Iraq. * March 17 – France won the 2007 Six Nations Championship on points difference after a controversial tri. * March 24 – A legislative election took place in the Australian state of New South Wales, with Morris Iemma's Labor government being returned to power with a reduced minority. * March 25 – In Berlin 27 European ministers celebrate 50 year Treaty of Rome. * March 25 – Daylight savings begins in Europe * March 25 – This day marked the 200th anniversary of the finalization of the 1807 Slave trade act, which abolished the slave trade in the British Empire. * March 31 – Sydney, Australia, turned off its lights for one hour between 7:30pm and 8:30pm as a political statement for Global Climate Change. === April === * April 2 – Smoking in public and work places is banned in Wales. * April 2 – 25th Anniversary of the Falklands War. * April 3 – Ukrainian President Viktor Yushchenko dissolved the Ukrainian parliament in a historic act of anti-communism in Ukraine. It has been nicknamed the "Second Orange Revolution" * April 4 – Iran announces it will release the British sailors and marines that they captured on March 23. * April 4 – Apple Inc. releases Mac Pro with two Quad-Core Intel Xeon processors each running at a speed of 3.0 GHz. * April 5 – The British sailors and marines taken by Iran on March 23 arrive back in Britain. * April 16 – The worst mass shooting in US history occurs at Virginia Tech. * April 27 – Violence erupts in Estonia after the removal of a Soviet war memorial. === May === * May 4 – Tornado strikes Greensburg, Kansas, killing at least twelve and destroying about 90% of the town. * May 5 – Kenya Airways Flight KQ 507 crashes in Cameroon. * May 6 – Manchester United wins the English Premier League after title rivals Chelsea draw against Arsenal. * May 9 – Subtropical Storm Andrea forms off the coast of Florida, the earliest subtropical storm since Subtropical Storm Ana in 2003. * May 10 – Tony Blair announces he will resign as British Prime Minister on June 27 triggering a Labour Party leadership election. * May 16 – Nicolas Sarkozy officially became President of the French Republic after taking over from Jacques Chirac. * May 31 – A calendar blue moon occurred in the Western Hemisphere and parts of the Eastern Hemisphere. === June === * June 1 – A 2100 year old melon is found by archaeologists in western Japan * June 2 – Four people are charged with a terror plot to blow up JFK International Airport in New York City. * June 5 – NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft made its second fly-by of Venus en route to Mercury. * June 5 – A mass grave in southern Ukraine, found accidentally by workers in May, has been confirmed to be filled with thousands of victims of The Holocaust. * June 8 – The Space Shuttle Atlantis successfully launched on mission STS-117. * June 10 - Emma's Theatre got debuted. * June 18 – Nine Charleston, South Carolina firefighters are killed by a roof collapse while battling a furniture store fire. * June 27 – Tony Blair resigns as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom; New Labour Party leader Gordon Brown is appointed Prime Minister by Queen Elizabeth II. * June 29 – British police defuse a bomb in Haymarket, Central London. * June 30 – A calendar blue moon occurs in most of the Eastern Hemisphere. === July === * July 1 – Smoking in public and work places is banned in England. * July 1 – The Concert For Diana is held at Wembley Stadium to commemorate Diana, Princess of Wales. * July 9 – Argentina's capital Buenos Aires is hit by its first snowfall in almost 90 years. * July 14 – Following a presidential decree, Russia withdraws from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe. * July 16 – Earthquake occurs in Japan, killing seven and causing a pipe at a nuclear power plant to break and released about 300 gallons of radioactive water. * July 21 – U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney serves as Acting President for two and a half hours, while President George W. Bush undergoes a colonoscopy procedure. * July 21 – Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, the final book in the Harry Potter series, is released. * July 27 – Two news helicopters collide in midair while covering a police chase in Phoenix, Arizona. This killed both pilots and two photojournalists. * July 29 – Iraq wins its first Asian Cup football championship, beating Saudi Arabia 1–0. * July 30 – New British Prime Minister Gordon Brown visits U.S. President George W. Bush for the first time as Prime Minister. === August === * August 1 – The I-35W Mississippi River Bridge on I-35W in Minneapolis, Minnesota collapsed at 6:05 pm. * August 14 – Pakistan marks 60 years of independence. * August 15 – Peru is hit by a major Earthquake. * August 15 – India marks 60 years of independence. * August 31 – Malaysia marks 50 years of independence. === September === * September 3 – Adventurer Steve Fossett goes missing. * September 6 – Operatic tenor Luciano Pavarotti dies aged 71. * September 22 – Anti-government protests begin in Burma. === October === * October 18 – Terrorists strike Karachi on the return of Benazir Bhutto. * October 28 – Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner is elected as Argentina's first female President. === November === * November 3 – In Pakistan, General Pervez Musharraf suspends the constitution and declares a State of Emergency. * November 10 – American novelist Norman Mailer dies aged 84. * November 24 – Kevin Rudd is elected Prime Minister of Australia. === December === * December 3 – Kevin Rudd takes office as Prime Minister of Australia. * December 10 – Cristina Fernandez de Kirchner takes office as President of Argentina. * December 11 - Car bombs in Algiers kill 41 people and injured 170 others. * December 19 – Marcus Stephen becomes President of Nauru after Ludwig Scotty loses a vote of confidence. * December 20 – Queen Elizabeth II surpasses Queen Victoria as the oldest monarch in British history. * December 27 – Pakistan's former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto is killed in a terrorist attack. * December 30 – Violence erupts in Kenya, after the disputed election victory of Mwai Kibaki. == Births == * February 28 – Princess Lalla Khadija of Morocco, daughter of King Mohammed VI and Princess Lalla Salma of Morocco. * March 1 - Parker Bates, American child actor, in the film of This Is Us. * March 5- Eugenia Louis Alphonse-daughter of Louis Alphonse, Duke of Anjou, and Venezuelen heiress Margarita Vargas Santaella. * March 17 – Prince Abdul Muntaqim son of Al-Muhtadee Billah Bolkiah and Sarah Pengiran Salleh, the Crown Prince and Princess of Brunei. * March 19 – Prince Abdullah bin Al Ali, son of Prince Ali bin Al Hussein and his wife, Rym Brahimi. * June 3 - Jakob Burns - A Canadian boy was disappear on November 5, 2020 in New Brunswick, Canada. * September 1 – Wakana Matsumoto, singer and idol == Deaths == === January === * January 2 – Teddy Kollek, former Mayor of Jerusalem (b. 1911) * January 4 – Sandro Salvadore, Italian footballer (b. 1939) * January 4 – Marais Viljoen, South African politician (b. 1915) * January 5 – Momofuko Ando, Taiwanese businessman (b. 1910) * January 8 – Iwao Takamoto, American animator (b. 1925) * January 8 – Yvonne De Carlo, Canadian- American actress (b. 1922) * January 9 – Carlo Ponti, Italian movie producer (b. 1912) * January 19 – Bam Bam Bigelow, American professional wrestler (b. 1961) * January 19 – Hrant Dink, Turkish-Armenian journalist (b. 1954) * January 21 – Maria Cioncan, Romanian runner (b. 1977) * January 23 – Ryszard Kapuściński, Polish journalist (b. 1932) * January 28 – Karel Svoboda, Czech composer (b. 1938) * January 30 – Sidney Sheldon, American writer (b. 1917) === February === * February 1 – Gian Carlo Menotti, Italian opera composer (b. 1911) * February 7 – Alan MacDiarmid, New Zealand chemist (b. 1927) * February 8 – Anna Nicole Smith, American model (b. 1967) * February 9 – Ian Richardson, Scottish actor (b. 1934) * February 17 – Maurice Papon, French Nazi collaborator (b. 1910) * February 23 – Pascal Yoadimnadji, Prime Minister of Chad (b. 1950) * February 28 – Arthur Schlesinger Jr, American historian (b. 1917) === March === * March 1 – Sydney Gun Munro, former Governor-General of Saint Vincent and the Grenadines (b. 1916) * March 2 – Henri Troyat, French writer (b. 1911) * March 6 – Jean Baudrillard, French philosopher (b. 1929) * March 8 – John Inman, English actor (b. 1935) * March 9 – Brad Delp, American singer (b. 1951) * March 11 – Betty Hutton, American actress (b. 1921) * March 13 – Arnold Skaaland, American professional wrestler (b. 1925) * March 17 – John Backus, American computer scientist (b. 1924) * March 17 – Ernst Haefliger, Swiss tenor (b. 1929) * March 18 – Bob Woolmer, English cricketer (b. 1948) * March 19 – Luther Ingram, American singer (b. 1937) * March 20 – Taha Yassin Ramadan, former Vice President of Iraq (b. 1937) * March 25 – Andranik Margaryan, Prime Minister of Armenia (b. 1951) * March 27 – Paul Lauterbur, American chemist (b. 1929) * March 29 – Tosiwo Nakayama, 1st President of the Federated States of Micronesia (b. 1931) * March 31 – Paul Watzlawick, American psychologist (b. 1921) === April === * April 4 – Bob Clark, American movie director (b. 1939) * April 5 – Mark St. John, American guitarist (b. 1956) * April 6 – Luigi Comencini, Italian movie director (b. 1916) * April 11 – Kurt Vonnegut, American writer (b. 1922) * April 16 – Jocelyne Couture-Nowak, Canadian instructor of French (b. 1957) * April 16 – Kevin Granata, American associate professor of engineering (b. 1961) * April 16 – Liviu Librescu, Romanian-born engineering professor (b. 1930) * April 16 – Seung-Hui Cho, Korean-born American perpetrator of the Virginia Tech massacre (b. 1984) * April 17 – Kitty Carlisle Hart, American actress and singer (b. 1910) * April 18 – Iccho Itoh, Japanese politician (b. 1945) * April 19 – Jean-Pierre Cassel, French actor (b. 1932) * April 23 – Boris Yeltsin, former President of Russia (b. 1931) * April 23 – David Halberstam, American writer and journalist (b. 1934) * April 24 – Bobby "Boris" Pickett, American singer (b. 1938) * April 25 – Alan Ball, English footballer (b. 1945) * April 26 – Jack Valenti, American movie executive (b. 1921) * April 27 – Mstislav Rostropovich, Russian musician (b. 1927) * April 28 – Carl Friedrich von Weizsaecker, German philosopher (b. 1912) * April 29 – Ivica Racan, 7th Prime Minister of Croatia (b. 1944) * April 30 – Gregory Lemarchal, French singer (b. 1983) === May === * May 3 – Wally Schirra, American astronaut (b. 1923) * May 5 – Theodore Maiman, American physicist (b. 1927) * May 6 – Bernard Weatherill, British politician (b. 1920) * May 11 – Malietoa Tanumafili II, Sovereign Ruler of Samoa (b. 1913) * May 14 – Uli Jogi, Estonian anti-Communist (b. 1930) * May 15 – Yolanda King, American activist (b. 1955) * May 15 – Jerry Falwell, American televangelist (b. 1933) * May 17 – Lloyd Alexander, American writer (b. 1924) * May 18 – Pierre-Gilles de Gennes, French physicist (b. 1932) * May 22 – Pemba Doma Sherpa, Nepali mountaineer (b. 1971) * May 25 – Bartholomew Ulufa'alu, Prime Minister of the Solomon Islands (b. 1950) * May 27 – Zard, Japanese singer (b. 1967) * May 27 – Ed Yost, American inventor (b. 1919) * May 27 – Gretchen Wyler, American actress (b. 1932) * May 30 – Jean-Claude Brialy, French actor (b. 1933) === June === * June 2 – Huang Ju, Chinese politician (b. 1938) * June 4 – Craig L. Thomas, American politician (b. 1933) * June 5 – Povel Ramel, Swedish entertainer (b. 1922) * June 8 – Aden Abdullah Osman Daar, first President of Somalia (b. 1908) * June 10 – Laurence Mancuso, American religious leader (b. 1934) * June 13 – Nestor Rossi, Argentine footballer (b. 1925) * June 13 – Walid Eido, Lebanese politician (b. 1942) * June 14 – Ruth Graham, American poet, wife of Billy Graham (b. 1920) * June 14 – Robin Olds, American fighter pilot (b. 1922) * June 14 – Kurt Waldheim, 9th President of Austria, 4th Secretary-General of the United Nations (b. 1918) * June 15 – Sherri Martel, American professional wrestler (b. 1958) * June 17 - Begum Mahmooda Salim Khan, early Pakistani social activist (b. 1913). * June 18 – Bernard Manning, English comedian (b. 1930) * June 19 – Antonio Aguilar, Mexican singer, actor, equestrian, film producer, and screenwriter (b. 1919) * June 21 – Georg Danzer, Austrian musician (b. 1946) * June 24 – Natasja Saad, Danish rapper (b. 1974) * June 24 – Chris Benoit, Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1967) * June 26 – Jupp Derwall, German footballer (b. 1927) * June 26 – Liz Claiborne, Belgian-born fashion designer (b. 1929) * June 28 – Kiichi Miyazawa, former Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1919) === July === * July 2 – Beverly Sills, American opera singer (b. 1929) * July 4 – Baris Akarsu, Turkish musician (b. 1979) * July 5 – George Melly, British musician (b. 1926) * July 8 – Chandra Shekhar, 8th Prime Minister of India (b. 1927) * July 9 – Charles Lane, American actor (b. 1905) * July 11 – Lady Bird Johnson, former First Lady of the United States (b. 1912) * July 11 – Alfonso López Michelsen, 32nd President of Colombia (b. 1913) * July 12 – Kesha Wizzart, British singer (b. 1988) * July 17 – Julio Redecker, Brazilian politician (b. 1956) * July 18 – Kenji Miyamoto, Japanese Communist politician (b. 1908) * July 20 – Kai Siegbahn, Swedish physicist (b. 1918) * July 20 – Tammy Faye Messner, American televangelist (b. 1942) * July 22 – Andre Milongo, former Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo (b. 1935) * July 22 – Ulrich Muehe, German actor (b. 1953) * July 22 – Laszlo Kovacs, Hungarian cinematographer (b. 1933) * July 23 – Mohammed Zahir Shah, last King of Afghanistan (b. 1914) * July 23 – Ernst Otto Fischer, German chemist (b. 1918) * July 23 – Tom Davis, former Prime Minister of the Cook Islands (b. 1917) * July 25 – Bernd Jakubowski, East German footballer (b. 1952) * July 27 – Abdullah Kurshumi, former Prime Minister of Yemen (b. 1932) * July 29 – Mike Reid, British actor (b. 1940) * July 29 – Tom Snyder, American television personality (b. 1936) * July 30 – Michelangelo Antonioni, Italian movie director (b. 1912) * July 30 – Ingmar Bergman, Swedish movie director (b. 1918) * July 30 – Bill Walsh, American football coach (b. 1931) === August === * August 1 – Ryan Cox, South African cyclist (b. 1979) * August 2 – Franco Dalla Valle, Brazilian Roman Catholic bishop (b. 1945) * August 4 – Lee Hazlewood, American singer (b. 1929) * August 5 – Jean-Marie Lustiger, French Roman Catholic Archbishop (b. 1926) * August 5 – Oliver Hill, American lawyer (b. 1907) * August 6 – Heinz Barth, German Nazi war criminal (b. 1920) * August 12 – Merv Griffin, American television personality (b. 1925) * August 12 – Mike Wieringo, American comic book artist (b. 1963) * August 13 – Yone Minagawa, Japanese supercentenarian (b. 1893) * August 16 – Max Roach, American jazz drummer (b. 1924) * August 17 – Eddie Griffin, American basketball player (b. 1982) * August 24 – Abdul Rahman Arif, 3rd President of Iraq (b. 1916) * August 25 – Raymond Barre, former Prime Minister of France (b. 1924) * August 26 – Gaston Thorn, former Prime Minister of Luxembourg (b. 1928) * August 28 – Miyoshi Umeki, Japanese actress (b. 1929) * August 28 – Antonio Puerta, Spanish footballer (b. 1984) * August 29 – Pierre Messmer, former Prime Minister of France (b. 1916) * August 29 – Chaswe Nsofwa, Zambian footballer (b. 1978) * August 30 – Michael Jackson, British writer (b. 1942) * August 31 – Willie Cunningham, Northern Irish footballer (b. 1930) === September === * September 3 – Steve Fossett, American adventurer (b. 1944) * September 5 – D. James Kennedy, American televangelist (b. 1930) * September 6 – Madeleine L'Engle, American writer (b. 1918) * September 6 – Luciano Pavarotti, Italian tenor (b. 1935) * September 7 – John Compton, former Prime Minister of Saint Lucia (b. 1925) * September 7 – Joseph W. Eschbach, American doctor (b. 1933) * September 10 – Anita Roddick, British businesswoman (b. 1942) * September 10 – Jane Wyman, American actress (b. 1917) * September 11 – Ian Porterfield, British footballer (b. 1946) * September 15 – Colin McRae, Scottish racecar driver (b. 1968) * September 16 – Robert Jordan, American novelist (b. 1948) * September 21 – Hallgeir Brenden, Norwegian cross-country skier (b. 1929) * September 21 – Petar Stambolić, Serbian politician (b. 1912) * September 21 – Coral Watts, American serial killer (b. 1953) * September 22 – Marcel Marceau, French actor (b. 1923) * September 29 – Lois Maxwell, Canadian actress (b. 1927) * September 29 – Gyula Zsivotzky, Hungarian Track (b. 1937) * September 30 – Milan Jelic, Bosnian Serb politician (b. 1956) * September 30 – Oswald Mathias Ungers, German architect (b. 1926) === October === * October 1 – Al Oerter, American athlete (b. 1936) * October 2 – Tex Coulter, American football player (b. 1924) * October 2 – Elfi von Dassanowsky, Austrian singer (b. 1924) * October 2 – Princess Katherine of Greece and Denmark (b. 1913) * October 5 – Walter Kempowski, German writer (b. 1929) * October 5 – Justin Tuveri, Italian-French World War I veteran (b. 1897) * October 7 – Norifumi Abe, Japanese motorcycle racer (b. 1975) * October 7 – Stephane Maurice Bongo-Nouarra, former Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo (b. 1937) * October 11 – Werner von Trapp, Austrian musician and singer (b. 1915) * October 12 – Kisho Kurokawa, Japanese architect (b. 1934) * October 12 – Soe Win, Burmese politician (b. 1948) * October 13 – Bob Denard, French mercenary (b. 1929) * October 14 – Big Moe, American rapper (b. 1974) * October 15 – Bernard Scudder, British poet (b. 1954) * October 16 – Toše Proeski, Macedonian singer (b. 1981) * October 16 – Deborah Kerr, Scottish actress (b. 1921) * October 18 – Lucky Dube, South African musician (b. 1964) * October 22 – Eve Curie, French writer (b. 1905) * October 24 – Petr Eben, Czech composer (b. 1929) * October 25 – Puntsagiin Jasrai, former Prime Minister of Mongolia (b. 1933) * October 26 – Arthur Kornberg, American winner of the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine (b. 1928) * October 28 – Evelyn Hamann, German actress (b. 1942) * October 28 – Porter Wagoner, American country music singer (b. 1927) * October 29 – La Sa Ra, Indian writer (b. 1916) * October 30 – Robert Goulet, American singer and actor (b. 1933) === November === * November 1 – Paul Tibbets, American pilot (b. 1929) * November 2 – The Fabulous Moolah, American professional wrestler (b. 1923) * November 5 – Nils Liedholm, Swedish footballer (b. 1922) * November 6 – Hank Thompson, American country musician (b. 1925) * November 6 – Enzo Biagi, Italian journalist (b. 1920) * November 8 – Chad Varah, British Anglican priest (b. 1911) * November 9 – Luis Herrera Campins, former President of Venezuela (b. 1925) * November 10 – Norman Mailer, American writer (b. 1923) * November 10 – Laraine Day, American actress (b. 1920) * November 12 – Janlavyn Narantsralt, former Prime Minister of Mongolia (b. 1957) * November 12 – Ira Levin, American writer (b. 1929) * November 17 – Ambroise Noumazalaye, former Prime Minister of the Republic of the Congo (b. 1933) * November 19 – Kevin DuBrow, American rock singer (b. 1955) * November 20 – Ian Smith, 8th Prime Minister of Rhodesia (b. 1919) * November 23 – Oscar Carmelo Sanchez, Bolivian footballer (b. 1971) * November 24 – William O'Neill, American politician, former Governor of Connecticut (b. 1930) * November 27 – Sean Taylor, American football player (b. 1983) * November 28 – Elly Beinhorn, German pilot and writer (b. 1907) * November 28 – Gudrun Wagner, German festival organiser (b. 1944) * November 30 – Francois-Xavier Ortoli, French politician (b. 1925) * November 30 – Evel Knievel, American stuntman (b. 1938) === December === * December 1 – Ken McGregor, Australian tennis player (b. 1929) * December 4 – Pimp C, American rapper (b. 1973) * December 5 – Karlheinz Stockhausen, German composer (b. 1928) * December 6 – Katy French, Irish model (b. 1983) * December 12 – Ike Turner, American musician (b. 1931) * December 16 – Dan Fogelberg, American musician (b. 1951) * December 19 – Inti Chauveau, French professor (b. 1925) * December 20 – Kazumi Tanaka, Japanese voice actor (b. 1951) * December 22 – Chrysostomos I, Archbishop of Cyprus (b. 1927) * December 23 – Oscar Peterson, Canadian jazz pianist (b. 1925) * December 27 – Benazir Bhutto, former Prime Minister of Pakistan (b. 1953) * December 27 – Jan Kawalerowicz, Polish movie director (b. 1922) * December 27 – Jaan Kross, Estonian writer (b. 1920) * December 28 – Aidin Nikkah Bahrami, Iranian basketball player (b. 1982) * December 29 – Phil O'Donnell, Scottish footballer (b. 1972) * December 31 – Muhammad Osman Said, former Prime Minister of Libya (b. 1922) * December 31 – Ettore Sottsass, Italian architect (b. 1917) == Nobel prize winners == * Chemistry – Gerhard Ertl * Economics – Leonid Hurwicz * Economics – Eric S. Maskin * Economics – Roger B. Myerson * Literature – Doris Lessing * Medicine – Mario R. Capecchi * Medicine – Sir Martin J. Evans * Medicine – Oliver Smithies * Peace – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change * Peace – Al Gore * Physics – Albert Fert * Physics – Peter Grünberg