2015

Events in the year 2015 in the United States.
==Incumbents==
===Federal Government===
* President: Barack Obama (D-IL)
* Vice President: Joe Biden (D-DE)
* Chief Justice: John Roberts (NY)
* Speaker of the House of Representatives: John Boehner (R-OH) (until October 29); Paul Ryan (R-WI) (starting October 29)
* Senate Majority Leader: Harry Reid (D-NV) (until January 3); Mitch McConnell (R-KY) (starting January 3)
* Congress: 113th (until January 3), 114th (starting January 3)
==Events==
===January===
* January 1
** Under Provisions of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services begins using the Medicare fee schedule to give larger payments to physicians who provide high-quality care compared with cost.
** California's law requiring chickens to be raised in spacious quarters goes into effect.
** California's affirmative consent law goes into effect.
** California bans revenge porn.
** Louisiana's law allowing 16 and 17-year-old people to register to vote.
** New York bans photography with big cats.
** Nevada schools can now deny driver's licenses to students who skip classes.
** Illinois requires e-cigarettes to be sold behind-the-counter.
** Several states raise their minimum wages; Arkansas, Connecticut, Florida, Ohio, Maryland, Massachusetts and Rhode Island.
** Restaurant chain Chick-fil-A reveals that credit card information from up to 9,000 transactions in five states may have been stolen.
* January 3 – The 114th Congress begins, and, as per the 2014 elections, the Republican Party holds majority control of both the Senate and the House of Representatives.
* January 4- Longtime SportsCenter anchor Stuart Scott dies from appendix cancer at the age of 49.
* January 5 – Groundbreaking and construction begin on the $68 billion California High-Speed Rail System, with the new transportation line planning to connect Los Angeles and San Francisco by 2029, reaching speeds of up to 200 mph (320 km/h).
* January 6
** A federal judge sentences former Governor of Virginia Robert F. McDonnell to two years in prison on federal corruption charges.
** A gunman fatally shoots a doctor at a VA hospital in El Paso, Texas, before committing suicide.
* January 12
** The Ohio State Buckeyes defeat the Oregon Ducks to win the inaugural College Football Playoff National Championship at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas by a score of 42–20.
** A federal judge rules that South Dakota's ban on same-sex marriage is unconstitutional, and immediately stays the ruling.
** Bruce Rauner is inaugurated the 42nd governor of Illinois, succeeding Pat Quinn.
* January 14
** The FBI arrests an Ohioan man for threatening to stage an ISIS-inspired attack on the United States Capitol.
** A collision between a train and a prison transport bus near Penwell, Texas leaves at least eight prisoners and two corrections officers dead.
* January 15 – The nominations for the 87th Academy Awards are announced at the Samuel Goldwyn Theater in Beverly Hills, California. The nominees for Best Picture are American Sniper, Birdman, Boyhood, The Grand Budapest Hotel, The Imitation Game, Selma, The Theory of Everything, and Whiplash.
* January 16 – The Supreme Court announces it will hear four appellate rulings whether there is a constitutional right to same-sex marriage. Oral arguments will take place in April and a ruling may occur by June. As part of a settlement the NCAA restores Penn State football coach Joe Paterno's 111 wins that were vacated in July 2012 due to the Jerry Sandusky sexual abuse case. With the 111 restored wins Paterno is once again the winningest coach in NCAA football history
* January 18 – K.C. Undercover and Star vs. the Forces of Evil debuts on Disney Channel and Disney XD.
* January 20 – The President of the United States, Barack Obama, delivers a State of the Union Address to the United States Congress.
* January 23
** The U.S. Southern District of Alabama strikes down the state ban on same-sex marriage in Alabama, saying it has violated equal protection and due process rights.
** The Supreme Court announces it will review the lethal injection protocol used by Oklahoma, which inmates suggest violate the Eighth Amendment's prohibition of cruel and unusual punishment.
* January 26 – A blizzard hits the Northeast, shutting down major cities including New York City and Boston, with up to 60 million people affected.
===February===
* February 1 – Super Bowl XLIX: The New England Patriots defeat the Seattle Seahawks 28–24 at University of Phoenix Stadium in Glendale, Arizona.
* February 3
** A collision between a commuter train and a passenger vehicle kills six in Valhalla, New York.
** The 11th Circuit Court of Appeals refuses to stay a judge's ruling overturning the banning of same-sex marriage in Alabama, but Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore states the next day that the state is not required to issue same-sex marriage licenses.
* February 5 – American electronics retail store franchise RadioShack files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection after 11 consecutive quarterly losses.
* February 10
** U.S. officials announce that in light of the Houthi takeover of the Yemeni capital city of Sana'a and the resignation of Yemeni President Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi, the United States will be closing its embassy in Yemen. All American diplomats working in Yemen are advised to evacuate.
** NBC announces that NBC Nightly News host Brian Williams has been suspended for six months due to revelations that he greatly embellished stories of his role in a helicopter incident in Iraq on the air.
* February 11
** Police arrest suspected shooter Craig Stephen Hicks for killing a Muslim family of three in Chapel Hill, North Carolina. Police state that the shooting was motivated by a long-standing neighbor dispute over parking.
** The New England Journal of Medicine publishes research from the American Cancer Society that mortality due to cigarette smoking in the United States may be substantially greater than previously thought when adding in associations with diseases that have not been formally established as caused by smoking.
* February 13 – Oregon Governor John Kitzhaber announces his resignation (effective February 18) amid allegations his fiancée used taxpayer resources to aid her green-energy consulting business. Kate Brown moves up to Governor from being the Secretary of State.
* February 14 – The New York Police Department reports no murders in New York City over a 12-day period for the first time in the city's history, citing the recent storms and extreme weather events as the possible reason.
* February 16
** A Moscow-based security software company, the Kaspersky Lab, discovers the NSA's ability to hide spying software in hard drives made by several top manufacturers in the computers of users from 30 different countries.
** A federal district court judge in Brownsville, Texas temporarily halts President Barack Obama's executive orders on immigration, allowing Texas and 25 other states to file a lawsuit opposing the orders.
* February 17 – Ashton Carter is sworn in as the 25th Secretary of Defense, replacing Chuck Hagel.
* February 20 – Charles Bothuell IV and Monique Dillard-Bothuell are charged with torture and child abuse of Charles Bothuell V.
* February 22
** In stock car racing, Joey Logano wins the Daytona 500 (extended to 203 laps due to a green-white-checkered finish), making him the second youngest winner of the race after Trevor Bayne, and giving Team Penske their second Daytona 500 victory. Jeff Gordon (in his final season as a full-time driver) leads the most laps with a total of 87 out of 200 and also wins his second pole for the race, and his first since 1999.
** The Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences hold the 87th Academy Awards in the Dolby Theatre in Hollywood, hosted by Neil Patrick Harris. The telecast garners nearly 37.3 million viewers. Birdman wins four awards out of nine nominations, including the awards for Best Picture and its director Alejandro González Iñárritu for Best Director. Wes Anderson's The Grand Budapest Hotel also wins four awards. Eddie Redmayne wins the award for Best Actor for his performance in The Theory of Everything. Julianne Moore wins the award for Best Actress for her performance in Still Alice.
* February 24 – Alaska's law legalizing the private use, but not sale of, recreational marijuana goes into effect.
* February 26
** The U.S. Federal Communications Commission (FCC) rules in favor of net neutrality by applying Title II (common carrier) of the Communications Act of 1934 and Section 706 of the Telecommunications act of 1996 to the Internet.
** The voter-elected legalization of possession and private use of recreational marijuana is put into effect in Washington, D.C.
** A gunman kills seven people then himself in a series of shootings in Tyrone, Missouri.
===March===
* March 2 – A federal judge strikes down Nebraska's ban on same-sex marriage, pending an appeal by the 8th Circuit Court of Appeals.
* March 3
** Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu gives a speech in front of Congress attempting to deter the Obama administration from the current negotiated deal for a nuclear program for Iran.
** Former CIA director and U.S. Army officer David Petraeus pleads guilty in federal court to a charge of unauthorized removal and retention of classified information.
** The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) states that neither the benefits nor the safety of testosterone have been established for low testosterone levels due to aging and has required that testosterone pharmaceutical labels include warning information about the possibility of an increased risk of heart attacks and stroke.
* March 6 – The Dawn spacecraft enters orbit around Ceres, becoming the first spacecraft to orbit a dwarf planet.
* March 9
** President Barack Obama signs an executive order declaring Venezuela a national security threat to the U.S.
** A letter signed by 47 Republican Senators to the leadership of Iran in regards to Iran's nuclear program, warns Iran that according to the U.S. Constitution any foreign treaty made by a President of the United States without Congressional approval can be overturned by a future elected President.
* March 11 – In Missouri, a gunman identified as Jeffery L. Williams shoots two policemen in front of the Ferguson city police headquarters.
* March 12 – The Federal Communications Commission releases the specific details of the net neutrality rules.
* March 19 – Scientists, including an inventor of CRISPR, urge a worldwide moratorium on using gene editing methods to genetically engineer the human genome in a way that can be inherited, writing "scientists should avoid even attempting, in lax jurisdictions, germline genome modification for clinical application in humans" until the full implications "are discussed among scientific and governmental organizations.".
* March 23
** The U.S. Supreme Court affirms Wisconsin's law requiring voters to present photo identification to cast a ballot.
** Texas Senator Ted Cruz announces his run for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election.
* March 25
** The U.S. Army charges U.S. Army soldier Bowe Bergdahl, who was held captive by the Taliban-aligned Haqqani network in Afghanistan from June 2009 until his release in May 2014, with desertion and misbehavior before the enemy.
** Indiana Governor Mike Pence signs Indiana SB 101 into law, prompting a national debate over religious freedom and LGBT rights. After a week of public outcry, the law is modified and similar bills in Arkansas, North Carolina, Georgia, and North Dakota fail to pass their state legislatures.
===April===
* April 1 – Governor Jerry Brown of California signs an executive order mandating that the state reduce its water use by 25% in an effort to confront the severe drought affecting the region.
* April 4 – Walter Scott, an unarmed black man, is shot and killed by a police officer in North Charleston, South Carolina. The officer, Michael Slager, is charged with Scott's murder. The event was filmed by a bystander.
* April 5 – A controversial Rolling Stone article by Sabrina Erdely is retracted after an investigation by the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism concludes that the story around which the article is centered was fabricated and exhibited confirmation bias. Rolling Stone makes no firings in accordance with the retraction.
* April 7 – Kentucky Senator Rand Paul announces his run for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election.
* April 8 – A jury finds Dzhokhar Tsarnaev guilty for his role in perpetrating the Boston Marathon bombing in 2013.
* April 11 – President Barack Obama and Cuban President Raúl Castro discuss historic proposed normalizations to Cuba-United States relations at the 7th Summit of the Americas in Panama City, Panama.
* April 12 – Hillary Clinton announces her run for the Democratic nomination in the 2016 presidential election, the first major Democrat to announce a campaign.
* April 13
** The U.S. Federal Communications Commission publishes the final rule on its new net neutrality regulations.
** The sentencing retrial of Joia Arias concludes in Arizona. Arias had been convicted of the murder of Travis Alexander in 2013 and is sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole, having narrowly avoided the death penalty.
** Florida Senator Marco Rubio announces his run for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election.
* April 14 – President Barack Obama moves forward with removing Cuba from the State Sponsors of Terrorism list in light of his efforts to normalize relations with the country.
* April 23 – Shayna Hubers is convicted of the 2012 murder of her boyfriend Ryan Poston in Lexington, Kentucky. Hubers had shot Poston six times and tried to claim she acted in self-defense.
* April 25 – Protests in Baltimore, Maryland from Baltimore City Hall to the Inner Harbor against the April 19 death of Freddie Gray in police custody soon turn violent, with extensive property damage, looting, numerous arrests, and injuries of both police officers and citizens being reported. Maryland Governor Larry Hogan declares a state of emergency in the city and deploys the Maryland National Guard in response.
* April 27 – A teacher, Brady Olson, at North Thurston High School in Washington stops a student from going on a shooting rampage.
* April 28 – The Supreme Court hears arguments regarding the issue of whether the Constitution guarantees the right to marriage to same-sex couples.
* April 29
** In a 5–4 decision, the Supreme Court rules in favor of states' right to ban elected judges from soliciting campaign contributions for their own campaigns, the first instance of the court supporting regulations on campaign financing in recent years.
** Senator Bernie Sanders announces his run for the 2016 presidential nomination in an address on the Capitol lawn.
* April 30
** A group of health professionals and human rights activists release evidence suggesting that the American Psychological Association worked closely with the CIA, the Department of Defense, and the George W. Bush administration to provide legal and ethical justifications for the use of torture against prisoners in the early years of the War on Terror.
** NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft concludes its four-year orbital mission over Mercury by crashing into the planet at 3:26 p.m. EDT (1926 GMT) at 14,080 km/h (8,750 mph) at 54.4° N, 149.9° W, near the crater Janáček. NASA confirmed the unobserved impact when the Deep Space Network failed to detect a signal from the spacecraft's beacon, confirming its demise.
===May===
* May 1
** Baltimore state's attorney Marilyn Mosby announces that the six police officers involved in the arrest of Freddie Gray, who died during their custody, will face criminal charges ranging from assault to manslaughter to second-degree homicide.
** Avengers: Age of Ultron, directed by Joss Whedon, is released by Marvel Studios as the eleventh film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the sequel to 2012's The Avengers. It becomes the fifth-highest film of all time at that point (now the eleventh), earning $1.403 billion during its run.
* May 2
** The 141st Kentucky Derby is held at the Churchill Downs racecourse in Louisville, Kentucky, with American Pharoah ridden by Victor Espinoza winning in front of a record crowd.
** An earthquake shakes Galesburg, Michigan.
** In boxing, Floyd Mayweather Jr. of the United States defeats Manny Pacquiao of the Philippines for the united welterweight championship at the MGM Grand Garden Arena on the Las Vegas Strip of Nevada by a unanimous points decision.
* May 3 – Two suspected Islamist gunmen attack the Curtis Culwell Center in the city of Garland, Texas, which was holding an exhibition of drawings of the Muslim prophet Muhammad. Both gunmen are shot dead by police. The Islamic State later claims responsibility for the attack.
* May 4 – Former CEO of Hewlett-Packard Carly Fiorina announces her run for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election. Retired neurosurgeon Ben Carson also announces a run for the same nomination.
* May 5
** Former Arkansas Governor Mike Huckabee announces his run for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election.
** The Obama administration approves the first ferry service from the United States to Cuba in decades, furthering President Obama's efforts to improve relations between the two countries.
* May 10 – An article published in the London Review of Books by Seymour Hersh alleges that the official account of the Navy SEAL raid in Abbottabad, Pakistan, that killed al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden is largely false, and that the Pakistani government was always aware of bin Laden's whereabouts and assisted in the raid itself. The Obama administration later calls the report "baseless".
* May 12 – An Amtrak train derails in the Philadelphia neighborhood for Port Richmond, causing cars to roll over and killing at least 8 people and injuring over 200. The train was later found to have been going nearly twice the speed limit at the time of the incident.
* May 15 – Dzhokhar Tsarnaev is sentenced to death for committing the 2013 Boston Marathon bombing.
* May 17 – A shootout erupts between rival biker gangs in a Twin Peaks restaurant in Waco, Texas, leaving nine dead.
* May 19 – The Federal Trade Commission alleges that four leading cancer charities conned donors out of $187 million over the course of four years, donating only 3% of the money to actual cancer research.
* May 20 – David Letterman broadcasts the last episode of his 22-year run as host of The Late Show on CBS, drawing a record audience.
* May 22
** The State Department begins publishing the e-mails of Hillary Clinton, mostly concerning the 2012 Benghazi attack, that drew controversy earlier in the year when it was revealed that Clinton had been using a private e-mail server for work-related communications during her time as Secretary of State.
** California state officials accept an offer from farmers in the Sacramento-San Joaquin River Delta to reduce their water use by 25% during the growing season in response to the severe drought in the area.
* May 23
** Historic flash flooding levels occur in Texas and Oklahoma in a prolonged outbreak of floods and tornadoes, leaving at least 17 people dead and at least 40 others missing.
** The USA Freedom Act, which aims to end the controversial bulk collection of communication data by the National Security Agency permitted by Section 215 of the USA PATRIOT Act, fails to reach the 60 votes needed to pass in the Senate, despite passing overwhelmingly in the House.
* May 24 – In the IndyCar Series, Juan Pablo Montoya wins the 99th Indianapolis 500. This was this second victory in the race and his first in 15 years, after winning in 2000.
* May 26
** Unidentified criminals use an online service run by the Internal Revenue Service to access the tax information of over 100,000 American taxpayers.
** The Fifth Circuit Court of Appeals denies the Justice Department's request to go forward with President Barack Obama's immigration reform plan that would have effectively blocked the deportation of over 4 million illegal immigrants.
* May 27
** American courts indict fourteen members of FIFA with charges of fraud, money laundering, and racketeering involving tens of millions of dollars over the course of 24 years.
** Nebraska Governor Pete Ricketts's veto on state legislators' vote to ban the death penalty in the state is overridden, making Nebraska the first Republican-controlled state to ban the death penalty since 1973.
** Former Pennsylvania Senator Rick Santorum announces his run for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election.
* May 28 – Former New York Governor George Pataki announces his run for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election.
* May 29 – Cuba is officially removed from the U.S. State Sponsors of Terrorism list.
* May 30 – Former Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley announces his run for the Democratic nomination in the 2016 presidential election.
===June===
* June 1 – South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham announces his run for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election.
* June 2
** The USA Freedom Act passes the Senate after several delays and revisions since its inception and is signed into law by President Barack Obama. Though the law does restrict government surveillance under Section 215 of the Patriot Act, it does not completely end bulk collection of American phone metadata, which will now be collected by phone companies who may give information to the NSA voluntarily under the bill.
** The director of the Transportation Security Administration is reassigned by the Department of Homeland Security after TSA officials were unsuccessful in identifying weapons in screenings 93 percent of the time during a covert test.
* June 3
** Former Rhode Island Governor Lincoln Chafee announces his run for the Democratic nomination in the 2016 presidential election.
** Colorado law enforcement destroy the house of an innocent bystander while trying to arrest a shoplifter.
* June 4
** Chinese hackers are suspected in a hacking attack that results in the theft of personal data from nearly 4 million U.S. federal government workers.
** Former Texas Governor Rick Perry announces his run for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election.
* June 5
** Christopher Monfort is convicted of the 2009 Murder of Timothy Brenton, a Seattle police officer. Brenton had been ambushed and shot by Monfort while sitting in his police car. The perpetrator, motivated by an anti-police agenda, was also convicted of two counts of attempted murder and arson.
** A pool party in McKinney, Texas receives attention when police officer Eric Casebolt is filmed restraining an unarmed teenage girl on the ground and pointing his weapon at other bystanders. Amid heated debate in the media, Casebolt later resigns.
* June 6
** The 2015 Belmont Stakes is held at Belmont Park in Elmont, New York with American Pharoah becoming the first horse in 37 years to win the Triple Crown.
** 2015 Clinton Correctional Facility escape: Richard Matt and David Sweat, two convicted murderers, escape from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, prompting an extensive manhunt. It is the first escape incident at the facility in 150 years.
* June 9 – Former Olympian and television personality Bruce Jenner, coming out as a transgender woman and now going by "Caitlyn", becomes the first transgender person to appear on the cover of Vanity Fair magazine.
* June 10 – Dee Dee Blanchard is murdered by her daughter Gypsy Rose and her daughter's boyfriend. Dee Dee had abused her daughter for many years, forcing her to use a wheelchair and to pretend to be ill.
* June 15
** Rachel Dolezal resigns as president of the Spokane, Washington chapter of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) after allegations that she had lied about her race, claiming to be a black woman when she is actually white.
** Former Florida Governor Jeb Bush announces his run for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election.
** In the NHL, the Western Conference champion Chicago Blackhawks defeat the Eastern Conference champion Tampa Bay Lightning in six games to win their sixth Stanley Cup championship in franchise history, and their third title in six years.
* June 16
** Business magnate and television personality Donald Trump announces his run for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election.
** In the NBA, the Western Conference champion Golden State Warriors defeat the Eastern Conference champion Cleveland Cavaliers in six games to secure their first NBA Finals championship title in 40 years, and their fourth in franchise history.
* June 17
** Nine people are shot and killed during a prayer service at Emanuel African Methodist Episcopal Church, a historically black church, one of them being church pastor and state senator Clementa C. Pinckney. The accused gunman, 21-year-old white supremacist Dylann Roof, is apprehended by police the next morning.
** Treasury Secretary Jack Lew announces that beginning in 2020, an image of a woman will replace that of Alexander Hamilton on the $10 bill, with Lew expecting to choose a woman by the end of this year. Rosa Parks, Harriet Tubman, Eleanor Roosevelt, and Susan B. Anthony have all been considered frontrunners in the consideration.
* June 18 – Four months after Lester Holt was named interim weeknight anchor of NBC Nightly News in the wake of preceding anchor Brian Williams' suspension for his misrepresentation of certain events, NBC News makes the move permanent, with Holt assuming full-time weeknight duties effective June 22. Holt, who had previously anchored Nightly News' Saturday and Sunday editions from 2007 until Williams' suspension, becomes the first African-American to serve as the sole lead anchor of a weeknight network newscast.
* June 19
** Delaware Governor Jack Markell signs a bill into law that decriminalizes the possession and private recreational use of up to one ounce of marijuana. Using marijuana in a public place will now yield a $100 civil fine rather than being treated as a misdemeanor.
** Pixar Animation Studios' 15th feature film, Inside Out, is released in theaters.
* June 22 – Lester Holt replaces a suspended Brian Williams as weeknight anchor of NBC Nightly News. Williams now serves as a breaking news anchor for MSNBC.
* June 23 – Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announces that the U.S. will position tanks and heavy weapons in eastern and central Europe in response to Russia's continued military involvement in Ukraine.
* June 24
** The House of Representatives passes a bill that gives President Barack Obama an authority to negotiate international trade agreements with Congress's approval. It is seen as a stepping stone toward the passing of Obama's proposed trade deal with eleven Asian countries known as the Trans-Pacific Partnership.
** Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal announces his run for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election.
* June 25 – In a 6–3 decision, the Supreme Court upholds subsidies for the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (also known as Obamacare) nationwide, even in states that did not set up their own insurance exchanges.
* June 26
** In a 5–4 decision, the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the Constitution guarantees a right to same-sex marriage in the United States. Justice Anthony Kennedy wrote the majority opinion, joined by Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg, Stephen Breyer, Sonia Sotomayor and Elena Kagan.
** Richard Matt, one of two convicted murderers who escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, is fatally shot by police in Franklin County.
* June 27 – Bree Newsome is taken into custody after climbing the flagpole on the grounds of the South Carolina State House and removing its Confederate flag as an act of protest following the Charleston church shooting ten days earlier. The flag is flown again 45 minutes later.
* June 28 – Convicted murderer David Sweat is shot and apprehended by police near the Canada–US border 22 days after escaping from the Clinton Correctional Facility in New York.
* June 29
** In a 5–4 ruling, the Supreme Court rules that the use of the chemical midazolam hydrochloride in a drug compound used in executions, which the petitioners argued did not properly sedate prisoners before execution and caused excruciating pain in three botched executions in Oklahoma the year prior, does not violate the cruel and unusual punishment statute of the Eighth Amendment of the United States Constitution.
** In a 5–4 ruling, the Supreme Court rules that the Environmental Protection Agency's proposed regulations on toxic emissions from American power plants are unreasonable and violate the Clean Air Act.
* June 30
** California Governor Jerry Brown signs into law a bill that requires California public or private school children to be vaccinated for various diseases to attend, regardless of their parents' religious objections.
** President Barack Obama and Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff announce a statement, both agreeing to lower their greenhouse gas emissions and get 20% of their nations' electricity from renewable energy sources by 2030.
** The United States Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Court approves temporarily resuming the National Security Agency's program of bulk phone metadata collection and surveillance.
** New Jersey Governor Chris Christie announces his run for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election.
===July===
* July 1
** President Barack Obama announces the full re-establishment of diplomatic ties with Cuba, with the countries planning to reopen embassies in each other's capital cities.
** The U.S. Justice Department begins investigating "possible unlawful coordination by some airlines" in the United States to keep plane ticket prices high.
** Oregon's decriminalization of recreational marijuana goes into effect, making it the fourth U.S. state to legalize marijuana use.
** Illegal immigrant Francisco Sanchez is suspected to have killed 32-year-old Kathryn Steinle in San Francisco, sparking criticism of U.S. immigration policy.
* July 2
** BP agrees to pay the Department of Justice an $18.7 billion settlement in reparation for the 2010 BP oil spill that dumped over 125 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. The settlement is the largest paid by a single company in U.S. history.
** A woman dies of measles at the University of Washington Medical Center, the first measles death in the United States since 2003.
** Former Virginia Senator Jim Webb announces his run for the Democratic nomination in the 2016 presidential election.
* July 3 – The Swiss experimental solar-powered aircraft Solar Impulse completes its 118-hour non-stop flight from Japan, landing in Hawaii. It is the longest successful flight of a solar-powered aircraft in history.
* July 5 – The United States beats Japan 5–2 in the final game of the 2015 FIFA Women's World Cup, making it the highest scoring Women's World Cup game in history. The US is the first country to ever win three Women's World Cup titles.
* July 10
** The South Carolina State House formally removes the Confederate battle flag from its grounds after weeks of protest and places it in a museum.
** Basin and Range National Monument is established.
* July 13
** Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker announces his run for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election.
** Sandra Bland, an African-American woman who had been arrested on July 10 following a minor traffic violation in Waller County, Texas, is found dead in her jail cell.
** July 14
** Iran and a coalition including the United States come to an agreement on the nuclear program of Iran after numerous months of debate, agreeing to lift the United Nations Security Council's sanctions against Iran in exchange for the reduction of Iran's stockpile of enriched uranium by about 98 percent for the next 15 years.
** The anti-abortion Center for Medical Progress releases the first of several undercover videos allegedly showing the negotiation of illegal selling of aborted fetal tissue by employees of Planned Parenthood. The videos trigger a strong months-long debate, and their validity is questioned.
** President Barack Obama calls for a reconsideration of the use of solitary confinement in American prisons, and for voting rights for released criminals.
* July 16
** A gunman attacks two military installations in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Five U.S. Marines are killed and two others are injured.
** James Holmes is found guilty of perpetrating the 2012 Aurora, Colorado shooting. Holmes tried to plea not guilty by reason of insanity.
* July 17
** The Cajon Pass wildfire spreads across 4,250 acres (1,720 ha) in the Mojave Desert near the towns of Victorville and Hesperia, north of San Bernardino and south of Bakersfield in the state of California, destroying seven homes (one damaged), 16 out buildings (four damaged), and 74 vehicles and also injuring three people.
** Ant-Man, directed by Peyton Reed, is released by Marvel Studios as the twelfth film of the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) and the final film of its "Phase Two" slate.
* July 20 – After 54 years, the United States reopens its embassy in Havana, Cuba, and Cuba reopens its embassy in Washington, D.C.
* July 21
** Authorities in Waller County, Texas announce that the death of activist Sandra Bland in police custody will be treated as a murder investigation.
** Hackers claim to have stolen and released 2,500 customers' information from extramarital affair dating website Ashley Madison.
** Ohio Governor John Kasich becomes the 16th person to seek the nomination of the Republican Party.
** The National Hockey League announces that it has received formal applications for expansion teams from ownership groups in Las Vegas and Quebec City. If granted, the expansion teams would begin play in the 2017–18 season.
* July 22 – Sharknado 3: Oh Hell No! airs for the first time on Syfy.
* July 23 – A gunman opens fire at a movie theater in Lafayette, Louisiana, killing two people and injuring nine others before committing suicide.
* July 24 – The United States Department of Transportation opens an investigation into whether airlines engaged in price gouging by raising ticket prices in the Northeastern United States following the 2015 Philadelphia train derailment in May.
* July 25
** The 2015 Special Olympics World Summer Games open at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum in Los Angeles, California.
** A fire breaks out on the 14th-floor pool of the Cosmopolitan Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada, leaving two people treated for smoke inhalation.
* July 26
** Verizon employees in nine states (Connecticut, Delaware, Maryland, Massachusetts, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Virginia) and Washington, D.C. vote to go on strike on August 1 if disputes between the union and the company result in no new contracts.
** Nike agrees to pay a combined $2.4 million to consumers of Nike+ FuelBand over false advertising.
** Bobbi Kristina Brown, age 22, the daughter of singers Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown, dies approximately 6 months after having been put in a medically induced coma since being found face-down in a bathtub in her Roswell, Georgia home near Atlanta on January 31, 2015.
* July 31 – Bunk'd debuts on Disney Channel.
===August===
* August 3
** In a unanimous decision, the jury ruled that James Eagan Holmes, convicted for the 2012 movie theatre shooting in Aurora, Colorado, is still eligible for the death penalty.
** U.S. President Barack Obama announces the Clean Power Plan which includes the first-ever Environmental Protection Agency standards on carbon pollution from U.S. power plants.
* August 4 – A street-corner sized sinkhole forms at the intersection of Fifth Avenue and 64th Street in Sunset Park in Brooklyn, New York City around 7:30 am, destroying the street corner. The northbound N Broadway Local train is delayed; there is at least one disconnected pipe and gas lines are being repaired by National Grid workers, and the police have cordoned off the area. No fatalities or injuries have been reported.
* August 6
** The first debate before the 2016 Republican Primaries is held.
** The American news satire program The Daily Show airs its last broadcast with comedian Jon Stewart as host.
* August 7 – The jury in the penalty phase of the trial of Aurora shooter James Holmes reaches a verdict to sentence him to a life in prison without parole for killing 12 and injuring 70 during the attack at Century 16 Theatres in Aurora, Colorado on July 20, 2012 after they reject the death penalty.
* August 12 – Former President Jimmy Carter reveals that he is being treated for brain cancer.
* August 18 – The White House confirms that Haji Mutazz, deputy to ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, has been killed in a U.S. airstrike near Mosul, Iraq.
* August 19
** The U.S. Food and Drug Administration approves the drug flibanserin, sometimes called the "pink pill" or the "female Viagra", designed to boost women's sexual desire.
** Jared Fogle, popular spokesman and advertising figure for the American fast food restaurant chain Subway, agrees to plead guilty to charges of paying to have sex with minors and possession of child pornography.
* August 20 – After an axe attack on cinema-goers in Tennessee earlier in the month, American movie theater chain Regal Entertainment Group announces that it will now perform security bag checks at all its theater venues.
* August 22 – Extramarital affair dating website Ashley Madison is faced with a $578 million class action lawsuit by two Canadian law firms after the breach of thousands of customers' personal data in July.
* August 26 – News reporter Alison Parker and camera operator Adam Ward are shot and killed on live television during an interview in Moneta, Virginia. The shooter, Vester Lee Flanagan (a former colleague of Parker and Ward at station WDBJ in Roanoke), commits suicide several hours later.
* August 27
** Officials report that, in the month of July, California residents reduced their water use by 31.3%, exceeding the 25% mandate put in place by Governor Jerry Brown in response to the ongoing drought in the state.
** McDonald's Corporation and Tyson Foods sever ties with a Tennessee-based farm after an exposé video released by Mercy for Animals depicts farmers stabbing, brutalizing, and stomping on chickens before sending them to companies for consumption.
* August 28 – Ashley Madison CEO Noel Biderman resigns from his position in response to the growing information coming out of the site's hacking incident a month earlier.
* August 31 – The University of Texas–Rio Grande Valley is founded in Brownsville, Texas.
===September===
* September 1
** A widespread manhunt begins in northern Illinois after three suspects shoot and kill a veteran Fox Lake police officer.
** In a federal court settlement, the state of California agrees to reform its use of solitary confinement in prisons.
** The United States Olympic Committee chooses Los Angeles, California as its selection for the American bid for host city of the 2024 Olympic Games.
* September 3 – Kim Davis, a clerk for Rowan County, Kentucky, is found in contempt of court by a federal judge and jailed for five days for refusing to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples on religious grounds, defying the Supreme Court case legalizing same-sex marriage.
* September 6 – Harvard Law School professor Lawrence Lessig announces his run for the Democratic nomination in the 2016 presidential election.
* September 8
** Stephen Colbert begins his run as the successor to David Letterman as host of The Late Show on CBS.
** Phoenix Sundown is arrested in San Diego, California for mailing a package to an underage girl to Abby Lee Dance Company the site of the television reality show Dance Moms.
* September 10 – Senate Democrats block a Republican resolution to reject the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action put forward by President Barack Obama regarding the nuclear program of Iran.
* September 11 – Former Governor of Texas Rick Perry drops out of the race for the Republican nomination in the 2016 presidential election.
* September 13 – The Valley wildfire claims at least three lives in Lake County, California with thousands of people forced to evacuate.
* September 14
** Geography professor Shannon Lamb shoots and kills history professor Ethan Schmidt at Delta State University in Cleveland, Mississippi before committing suicide.
** 2015 Utah floods: Widespread flooding in southern Utah claims at least 20 lives.
* September 16 – After sharp criticism and accusations of racial profiling, police in Irving, Texas drop charges on 14-year-old Ahmed Mohamed, who was suspended from MacArthur High School after authorities believed a reassembled digital clock he brought to school was a makeshift bomb. President Barack Obama also extends an invitation to Mohamed to the White House.
* September 18 – German car manufacturing company Volkswagen is directed by the Obama administration to recall about 500,000 vehicles in the United States after the company is accused of installing software in its diesel-powered cars that allow emissions of 40 times as much polluting exhaust pipe gas as is allowed by the Clean Air Act.
* September 20 – The 67th Primetime Emmy Awards are held at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. Game of Thrones wins the award for Outstanding Drama Series. Veep wins the award for Outstanding Comedy Series. Viola Davis becomes the first African-American woman to win the award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Drama Series.
* September 21 – Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker drops out of the presidential race.
* September 22
** Pope Francis visits Washington, D.C., New York City, and Philadelphia, where he spoke to a joint session of the United States Congress, addressed the United Nations, attended the World Meeting of Families, and held several masses.
** County clerk Kim Davis once again faces legal action after four couples ask a judge to order Davis to reissue their marriage licenses after she removed her name from them.
* September 25 – Speaker of the House John Boehner announces that he will resign from his position, effective October 30.
* September 28 – NASA announces that there is strong evidence that liquid water flows on Mars during the summer months, increasing the chance of sustainable life on the planet.
===October===
* October 1
** 26-year-old Christopher Harper-Mercer opens fire at Umpqua Community College in Roseburg, Oregon. killing 9 people and injuring 9 others. It is the largest shooting at a college since the Virginia Tech massacre in 2007.
** The SS El Faro, a cargo ship, sinks off the Bahamas after leaving Jacksonville, Florida two days prior, headed to Puerto Rico. It is the worst cargo shipping disaster involving a U.S.-flagged vessel in more than three decades.
* October 2 – The unemployment rate drops to 5%, the lowest since April 2008 and the same as when the Great Recession started in December 2007.
* October 3 – The United States Air Force bombs a Doctors Without Borders hospital in Kunduz, Afghanistan by request of local Afghan forces. The bombing may be in violation of international humanitarian law.
* October 9
** The Obama administration decides to cease American training of Syrian rebels in the war against the Islamic State.
** WikiLeaks releases a controversial portion of the text of the Trans-Pacific Partnership, a multinational trade agreement in negotiation that is backed by President Obama, that covers policy related to intellectual property rights.
** The California Coastal Commission bans the captive breeding of killer whales at the San Diego facility of SeaWorld.
* October 13 – The first debate for the Democratic Party before the 2016 primaries is held in Las Vegas, Nevada and broadcast on CNN.
* October 15 – President Barack Obama announces that the United States will extend its military presence in Afghanistan until the end of 2017.
* October 20 – Former Virginia Senator Jim Webb drops out of the presidential race.
* October 22 – Hillary Clinton testifies for a second time before the Benghazi Committee and answered members' questions for more than eight hours in a public hearing.
* October 23 – Former Governor of Rhode Island Lincoln Chafee drops out of the presidential race.
* October 25 – A drunk driver plows into the Oklahoma State Homecoming parade in Stillwater, Oklahoma, killing four people and injuring 34.
* October 26
** A video surfaces online of a student being violently pulled from her chair in a classroom by a police officer at Spring Valley High School in South Carolina, prompting public outcry and an investigation.
** The World Health Organization releases a finding that processed meat such as sausage and ham can cause cancer.
* October 27 – The United States Senate votes overwhelmingly in favor of the controversial Cybersecurity Information Sharing Act, which would grant companies immunity from lawsuits for sharing personal data with the government for surveillance. The bill has several noted critics, including the American Civil Liberties Union and Edward Snowden.
* October 28 – A military JLENS blimp from the United States Army breaks loose from its moorings at the Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland, and drifts over 16,000 ft above Pennsylvania. F-16 Fighter jets were scrambled to track the blimp that has since deflated, causing widespread power outages from a long cable it dragged along the ground.
* October 29 – Representative Paul Ryan takes over for John Boehner as Speaker of the House of Representatives after being elected following Boehner's resignation.
* October 30
** President Barack Obama orders up to fifty US special operations ground troops to be deployed in Syria to fight Islamic State militants.
** Under new rules from the United States Sentencing Commission, nonviolent drug offenders with reduced jail sentences begin to be released from prison, with the first of many waves totaling nearly 6,000 people, about 1,700 of which are illegal immigrants and may face deportation.
===November===
* November 1 – In Major League Baseball, the Kansas City Royals defeat the New York Mets in the 2015 World Series 4 games to 1 to win their first championship title in 30 years.
* November 2 – Harvard Law School professor Lawrence Lessig drops out of the 2016 presidential election.
* November 5 – Newspapers report that oil companies knew that burning oil and gas could cause global warming since the 1970s but, nonetheless, funded deniers for years.
* November 6 – The Peanuts Movie is released in theaters.
* November 9 – Amid increasing racial tension at the school, Tim Wolfe, president of the University of Missouri System, resigns from his position after a football team strike and a University of Missouri student's hunger strike.
* November 11 – A suspect is arrested by University of Missouri police for making racially charged violent threats on social media as the university protests continue to gain media attention.
* November 12 – NASA scientists report that human-made carbon dioxide (CO2) continues to increase above levels not seen in hundreds of thousands of years: currently, about half of the carbon dioxide released from the burning of fossil fuels remains in the atmosphere and is not absorbed by vegetation and the oceans.
* November 13 – The US Department of Defense announces their belief that an American airstrike in Syria killed Mohammed Emwazi, better known as Jihadi John, who is responsible for numerous recorded beheadings of several hostages of the Islamic State, including American citizens.
* November 17 – Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal withdraws from the 2016 presidential election.
* November 22 – The 2015 New Orleans shooting took place at Bunny Friend playground in the Ninth Ward of New Orleans, Louisiana. In conjunction with the music video recorded at an impromptu unauthorized block party, 17 people were injured, with Joseph "Moe" Allen identified as a suspect.
* November 25 – Pixar Animation Studios' 16th feature film, The Good Dinosaur, is released in theaters.
* November 27 – A gunman opens fire at a Planned Parenthood clinic in Colorado Springs, Colorado, killing 3, including a police officer, and injuring 9. After a 5-hour standoff, shooter Robert Lewis Dear surrenders to police.
===December===
* December 2
** 2015 San Bernardino attack: 14 people are killed in a terrorist attack at a facility for the mentally disabled in San Bernardino, California. It is the deadliest mass shooting in the United States in 2015, and the deadliest since 2012.
** An E. coli outbreak involving over one dozen states and 150 000 products took place.
* December 3
** 2015 NFL season: In American football, Green Bay Packers quarterback Aaron Rodgers throws a 61-yard Hail Mary pass to tight end Richard Rodgers II to give the team a 27-23 victory against the Detroit Lions and advance to 8-4. The pass is the longest game-winning Hail Mary play in National Football League history.
** Defense Secretary Ashton Carter announces that all combat roles in the United States military must be opened to women by April 1.
* December 7 – 2016 presidential candidate Donald Trump calls for a complete ban on Muslims entering the United States, following the events in San Bernardino and Paris, causing nationwide controversy.
* December 9 – Pharmaceutical executive Martin Shkreli is revealed to be the winner of the auction of the single copy of the Wu-Tang Clan album Once Upon a Time in Shaolin, valued at $2 million.
* December 15 – 2015 Los Angeles Unified School District closure: The Los Angeles Unified School District received a credible terrorism threat causing the temporary closure of all Los Angeles Unified Schools.
* December 17 – Martin Shkreli is arrested on securities fraud charges for running a Ponzi-like scheme.
* December 18 – Star Wars: The Force Awakens is released in theaters.
* December 21 – South Carolina Senator Lindsey Graham drops out of the 2016 presidential election.
* December 29 – Former New York Governor George Pataki drops out of the 2016 presidential election.
* December 30 – An arrest warrant issued for comedian Bill Cosby for the alleged drugging and sexual assault of an employee at Temple University in 2004, following over a year of dozens of similar allegations. Cosby remains free on $1 million bail until his trial begins.
==Memoriam==
===January===
* January 1
** Mario Cuomo, 52nd Governor of New York and father of Andrew Cuomo (aged 82; New York City, NY, USA)
** Donna Douglas, actress (aged 82; Zachary, LA, USA)
** Jeff Golub, guitarist (aged 59; New York City, NY, USA)
** Miller Williams, poet (aged 84; Fayetteville, AR, USA)
* January 2
** Little Jimmy Dickens, singer (aged 94; Nashville, TN, USA)
** Arthur Neu, 40th Lieutenant Governor of Iowa (aged 81; Des Moines, IA, USA)
* January 3
** Edward Brooke, U.S. Senator from Massachusetts from 1967 to 1979 (aged 95; Coral Gables, FL, USA)
** Bryan Caldwell, American football player (aged 54; Bay City, TX, USA)
** Maher Hathout, Egyptian-born Islamic leader (aged 79; Duarte, CA, USA)
** Allie Sherman, American football player and coach (aged 91; New York City, NY, USA)
* January 4
** Stu Miller, baseball player (aged 87; Cameron Park, CA, USA)
** Hank Peters, baseball executive (aged 90; Boca Raton, FL, USA)
** Stuart Scott, sports broadcaster (aged 49; Avon, CT, USA)
* January 5
** Arthur E. Chase, businessman and politician (aged 84; Worcester, MA, USA)
** Bernard Joseph McLaughlin, Roman Catholic prelate (aged 102; Tonawanda, NY, USA)
* January 7 – Rod Taylor, Australian-American actor (aged 84; Beverly Hills, CA, USA)
* January 8 – Andraé Crouch, musician and pastor (aged 72; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* January 9
** Samuel Goldwyn Jr., film producer (aged 88; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Robert V. Keeley, Lebanese-American soldier and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Greece (aged 85; Washington, DC, USA)
** Bud Paxson, broadcaster and businessman, founded the Home Shopping Network and Pax TV (aged 79; Kalispell, MT, USA)
** Roy Tarpley, basketball player (aged 50; Arlington, TX, USA)
* January 10
** George Dickerson, actor, writer, and poet (aged 81; New York City, NY, USA)
** Harry V. Jaffa, historian, philosopher, and academic (aged 96; Pomona, CA, USA)
** Taylor Negron, actor, comedian, painter, and playwright (aged 57; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* January 12 – A. J. Masters, country musician (aged 64; Nashville, TN, USA)
* January 18
** Cynthia Layne, singer-songwriter (aged 51; Indianapolis, IN, USA)
** Dallas Taylor, drummer (aged 66; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* January 19
** Ward Swingle, singer-songwriter and conductor (Les Double Six) (aged 87; Eastbourne, England, UK)
** Reies Tijerina, pastor and activist (aged 88; El Paso, TX, USA)
* January 21
** Marcus Borg, scholar, theologian, and author (aged 72; Powell Butte, OR, USA)
** Vince Camuto, fashion designer and businessman, co-founded Nine West (aged 78; Greenwich, CT, USA)
* January 22 – Wendell Ford, 53rd Governor of Kentucky (aged 90; Owensboro, KY, USA)
* January 23
** Ernie Banks, baseball player (aged 83; Chicago, IL, USA)
** Nick Koback, baseball player and golfer (aged 79; Hartford, CT, USA)
* January 24 – Joe Franklin, radio and television host (aged 88; Manhattan, NY, USA)
* January 27 – Charles H. Townes, Nobel physicist (aged 99; Oakland, CA, USA)
* January 30 – Carl Djerassi, chemist (aged 91; San Francisco, CA, USA)
* January 31 – Lizabeth Scott, actress (aged 93; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
===February===
* February 2 – Joseph Alfidi, pianist, composer, and conductor (aged 65; Brussels, Belgium)
* February 3 – Charlie Sifford, golfer and first African American to play on the PGA Tour (aged 92; Cleveland, OH, USA)
* February 5 – Val Logsdon Fitch, Nobel physicist (aged 91; Princeton, NJ, USA)
* February 7
** Billy Casper, golfer (aged 83; Springville, UT, USA)
** Marshall Rosenberg, psychologist and author (aged 80; Albuquerque, NM, USA)
** Dean Smith, basketball player and coach (aged 83; Chapel Hill, NC, USA)
** John C. Whitehead, banker and politician, 9th United States Deputy Secretary of State (aged 92; New York City, NY, USA)
* February 9 – Ed Sabol, American football filmmaker (aged 98; Scottsdale, AZ, USA)
* February 10
** Bill Enyart, American football player (aged 67; Turner, OR, USA)
** Dane A. Miller, businessman (aged 69; Cleveland, OH, USA)
* February 11
** Bob Simon, journalist and television news correspondent (aged 73; New York City, NY, USA)
** Jerry Tarkanian, basketball coach (aged 84; Las Vegas, NV, USA)
* February 12
** David Carr, writer (aged 58; New York City, NY, USA)
** Movita Castaneda, actress and wife of Marlon Brando (aged 98; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Gary Owens, disc jockey, actor, and announcer (aged 80; Encino, CA, USA)
* February 14
** Louis Jourdan, French-born actor and singer (aged 93; Beverly Hills, CA, USA)
** Philip Levine, poet (aged 87; Fresno, CA, USA)
* February 15 – Arnaud de Borchgrave, Belgian-born journalist and executive (aged 88; Washington, DC, USA)
* February 16 – Lesley Gore, singer, songwriter, and activist (aged 68; New York City, NY, USA)
* February 17 – June Fairchild, actress and dancer (aged 68; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* February 18
** Cass Ballenger, lawyer and politician (aged 88; Hickory, NC, USA)
** Dave Cloud, singer-songwriter and actor (aged 58; Nashville, TN, USA)
* February 19 – Harris Wittels, actor, comedian, writer, and producer (aged 30; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* February 21
** Robert O. Marshall, convicted murderer (aged 75; Bridgeton, NJ, USA)
** Bruce Sinofsky, documentary filmmaker (aged 58; Vacaville, CA, USA)
** Clark Terry, musician and composer (aged 94; Pine Bluff, AR, USA)
* February 24
** Irving Kahn, businessman and investor (aged 109; New York City, NY, USA)
** Donald Keough, business executive (aged 88; Atlanta, GA, USA)
* February 25 – Eugenie Clark, zoologist (aged 92; Sarasota, FL, USA)
* February 26 – Earl Lloyd, basketball player and first African American in the NBA (aged 86; Crossville, TN, USA)
* February 27 – Leonard Nimoy, actor and director (aged 83; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* February 28
** Alex Johnson, baseball player (aged 72; Detroit, MI, USA)
** Ezra Laderman, composer (aged 90; New Haven, CT, USA)
** Thomas J. Stanley, writer and academic (aged 71; Marietta, GA, USA)
===March===
* March 1
** Joshua Fishman, linguist (aged 88; Bronx, NY, USA)
** Orrin Keepnews, writer and record producer (aged 91; El Cerritos, CA, USA)
** Minnie Miñoso, Cuban-born baseball player (aged 91; Chicago, IL, USA)
** Daniel von Bargen, actor (aged 64; Montgomery, OH, USA)
* March 2
** Dean Hess, minister and U.S. Air Force officer (aged 97; Huber Heights, OH, USA)
** Jenna McMahon, television actress, writer, and producer (aged 89; Monterey, CA, USA)
* March 4 – Harve Bennett, television and film producer and screenwriter (aged 84; Medford, OR, USA)
* March 5
** Edward Egan, Roman Catholic prelate (aged 82; New York City, NY, USA)
** Albert Maysles, documentary filmmaker and brother of David Maysles (aged 88; New York City, NY, USA)
* March 7
** F. Ray Keyser Jr., 72nd Governor of Vermont (aged 87; Brandon, VT, USA)
** Lew Soloff, musician and composer (aged 71; New York City, NY, USA)
* March 8 – Sam Simon, television producer, director, and screenwriter and husband of Jennifer Tilly (aged 59; Pacific Palisades, CA, USA)
* March 10
** Windell Middlebrooks, actor (aged 36; San Fernando Valley, CA, USA)
** Claude Sitton, newspaper reporter and editor (aged 89; Atlanta, GA, USA)
* March 11 – Jimmy Greenspoon, musician and composer (aged 67; North Potomac, MD, USA)
* March 12 – Michael Graves, architect (aged 80; Princeton, NJ, USA)
* March 13
** Irwin Hasen, cartoonist (aged 96; Manhattan, NY, USA)
** Al Rosen, baseball player and executive (aged 91; Rancho Mirage, CA, USA)
* March 15
** Sally Forrest, actress (aged 86; Beverly Hills, CA, USA)
** Mike Porcaro, guitarist (aged 59; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* March 16
** Bruce Crump, drummer (aged 57; Memphis, TN, USA)
** Jack Haley, basketball player and sportscaster (aged 51; Los Alamitos, CA, USA)
* March 18 – Lyle E. Schaller, church consultant and writer (aged 91; Oklahoma City, OK, USA)
* March 20
** Robert Kastenmeier, lawyer, and politician (aged 91; Arlington, VA, USA)
** Gregory Walcott, actor (aged 87; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* March 21 – Chuck Bednarik, American football player (aged 89; Richland, PA, USA)
* March 22 – Tom Koch, comedy writer (aged 89; Laguna Woods, CA, USA)
* March 27
** Rod Hundley, basketball player and broadcaster (aged 80; Phoenix, AZ, USA)
** Janet L. Norwood, statistician (aged 91; Austin, TX, USA)
* March 28
** Richard L. Bare, film and television director, producer and screenwriter (aged 101; Newport Beach, CA, USA)
** Gene Saks, stage and film director and actor and husband of Bea Arthur (aged 93; East Hampton, NY, USA)
* March 30 – Robert Z'Dar, actor and victim of rare congenital deformity (aged 64; Pensacola, FL, USA)
===April===
* April 1
** John Paul Hammerschmidt, United States Representative from Arkansas from 1967 to 1993 (aged 92; Springdale, AR, USA)
** Eddie LeBaron, American football quarterback (aged 85; Stockton, CA, USA)
* April 2 – Robert Schuller, minister and televangelist (aged 88; Artesia, CA, USA)
* April 3 – Sarah Brady, gun control activist and wife of James Brady (aged 73; Alexandria, VA, USA)
* April 4 – Bob Burns, rock drummer (aged 64; Cartersville, GA, USA)
* April 5
** Richard Dysart, actor (aged 86; Santa Monica, CA, USA)
** Victor Gotbaum, labor leader (aged 93; Manhattan, NY, USA)
** Lon Simmons, sportscaster (aged 91; Daly City, CA, USA)
** Gardner C. Taylor, minister and civil rights activist (aged 96; Durham, NC, USA)
** Tom Towles, actor (aged 65; Pinellas, FL, USA)
** Julie Wilson, singer and actress (aged 90; New York City, NY, USA)
* April 6
** James Best, actor (aged 88; Hickory, NC, USA)
** Ray Charles, musician, arranger and conductor (aged 96; Beverly Hills, CA, USA)
** Milton Delugg, musician and arranger (aged 96; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Ben Powers, actor (aged 64; New Bedford, MA, USA)
** Art Powell, American football player (aged 78; San Diego, CA, USA)
* April 7
** Eugene Louis Faccuito, dancer, choreographer and teacher (aged 90; New York City, NY, USA)
** Stan Freberg, voice actor and comedian (aged 88; Santa Monica, CA, USA)
** Stanley Kutler, historian (aged 80; Fitchburg, WI, USA)
** Geoffrey Lewis, actor and father of Juliette Lewis (aged 79; Woodland Hills, CA, USA)
** Naomi Wilzig, writer and art collector (aged 80; Miami Beach, FL, USA)
* April 10
** Raúl Héctor Castro, 14th Governor of Arizona (aged 98; San Diego, CA, USA)
** Ray Graves, American football player and coach (aged 96; Clearwater, FL, USA)
** Lauren Hill, basketball player (aged 19; Cincinnati, OH, USA)
** Judith Malina, German-born actress, writer and director (aged 88; Englewood, NJ, USA)
* April 13 – Herb Trimpe, comic book artist and writer (aged 75; Hurley, NY, USA)
* April 14 – Percy Sledge, singer (aged 74; Baton Rouge, LA, USA)
* April 15
** Sidney Abbott, author and activist (aged 77; Southold, NY, USA)
** Barbara Strauch, journalist and author (aged 63; Rye, NY, USA)
* April 16 – Lee Remmel, sportswriter and American football executive (aged 90; Green Bay, WI, USA)
* April 17
** A. Alfred Taubman, real estate developer and philanthropist (aged 91; Bloomfield Hills, MI, USA)
** Francis George, O.M.I., Cardinal, Archbishop Emeritus of Chicago, USCCB President (aged 78; Chicago, IL, USA)
* April 19 – Betty Willis, visual artist and graphic designer (aged 91; Overton, NV, USA)
* April 20
** Doug Buffone, American football player and sportscaster (aged 70; Chicago, IL, USA)
** Frederic Morton, Austrian-born writer (aged 90; Vienna, Austria)
** Bob St. Clair, American football player (aged 84; Santa Rosa, CA, USA)
* April 21
** M. H. Abrams, literary critic (aged 102; Ithaca, NY, USA)
** Steve Byrnes, television announcer and producer (aged 56; Fort Mill, SC, USA)
* April 22 – Audree Norton, actress (aged 88; Fremont, CA, USA)
* April 23 – Richard Corliss, film critic and magazine editor (aged 71; New York City, NY, USA)
* April 24
** Thomas Joseph Connolly, bishop (aged 92; Beaverton, OR, USA)
** Sid Tepper, songwriter (aged 96; Miami Beach, FL, USA)
** George C. Young, lawyer and judge (aged 98; Orlando, FL, USA)
* April 25
** Jim Fanning, Canadian-American baseball player, manager and executive (aged 87; London, ON, Canada)
** Dan Fredinburg, software engineer and business executive (aged 33; Mount Everest, Nepal)
** Don Mankiewicz, German-born screenwriter and novelist (aged 93; Monrovia, CA, USA)
* April 26
** Jayne Meadows, actress, sister of Audrey Meadows and wife of Steve Allen (aged 95; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Bill Valentine, baseball player and umpire (aged 82; Little Rock, AR, USA)
* April 27
** Suzanne Crough, actress (aged 52; Laughlin, NV, USA)
** Jack Ely, singer and guitarist (aged 71; Terrebonne, OR, USA)
** Verne Gagne, American football player, professional wrestler and wrestling promoter (aged 89; Bloomington, MN, USA)
** Harvey R. Miller, bankruptcy lawyer (aged 82; Manhattan, NY, USA)
* April 28 – Marcia Brown, children's author and illustrator (aged 96; Laguna Hills, CA, USA)
* April 29 – Jean Nidetch, businesswoman and weight-loss activist (aged 91; Parkland, FL, USA)
* April 30
** Ben E. King, singer (aged 76; Hackensack, NJ, USA)
** William Pfaff, author and journalist (aged 86; Paris, France)
===May===
* May 1
** Stephen Milburn Anderson, director and screenwriter (aged 67; Denver, CO, USA)
** Pete Brown, golfer (aged 80; Augusta, GA, USA)
** Dave Goldberg, businessman, entrepreneur and husband of Sheryl Sandberg (aged 47; Nuevo Vallarta, Mexico)
** Grace Lee Whitney, actress and entertainer (aged 85; Coarsegold, CA, USA)
* May 2
** Michael Blake, author and screenwriter (aged 69; Tucson, AZ, USA)
** Guy Carawan, folk musician and musicologist (aged 87; New Market, TN, USA)
* May 4
** Marv Hubbard, American football player (aged 68; Walnut Creek, CA, USA)
** Joshua Ozersky, food writer and historian (aged 47; Chicago, IL, USA)
* May 5 – Oscar Holderer, German-born scientist and engineer (aged 95; Huntsville, AL, USA)
* May 6
** Richard J. Bartlett, New York State legislator and jurist (aged 89; Glens Falls, NY, USA)
** Jerome Cooper, jazz drummer (aged 68; Brooklyn, NY, USA)
** Jim Wright, United States Representative from Texas from 1955 to 1989 (aged 92; Fort Worth, TX, USA)
* May 9
** Johnny Gimble, country fiddler (aged 88; Dripping Springs, TX, USA)
** Elizabeth Wilson, actress (aged 94; New Haven, CT, USA)
* May 10
** Jerry Dior, graphic designer (aged 82; Edison, NJ, USA)
** Rachel Rosenthal, French-born artist, teacher and activist (aged 88; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Victor Salvi, harpist, harp maker and entrepreneur (aged 95; Milan, Italy)
* May 11 – Stan Cornyn, record label executive (aged 81; Carpinteria, CA, USA)
* May 12
** Tony Ayala Jr., boxer (aged 52; San Antonio, TX, USA)
** Peter Gay, German-born historian (aged 91; New York City, NY, USA)
** Bill Guthridge, college basketball coach (aged 77; Chapel Hill, NC, USA)
** William Zinsser, writer, editor, literary critic and teacher (aged 92; Manhattan, NY, USA)
* May 13 – Earl Averill Jr., baseball player (aged 83; Tacoma, WA, USA)
* May 14 – B.B. King, blues musician (aged 89; Las Vegas, NV, USA)
* May 15
** Alfred DelBello, Lieutenant Governor of New York from 1983 to 1985 (aged 80; Waccabuc, NY, USA)
** Corey Hill, mixed martial artist (aged 36; Tampa, FL, USA)
** John Stephenson, actor (aged 92; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* May 16
** Dean Potter, rock climber and alpinist (aged 43; Yosemite National Park, CA, USA)
** Garo Yepremian, Cypriot-born American football player (aged 70; Media, PA, USA)
* May 17
** Chinx, rapper (aged 31; Queens, NY, USA)
** Margaret Dunning, businesswoman and philanthropist (aged 104; Santa Barbara, CA, USA)
* May 19
** Bruce Lundvall, record company executive (aged 79; Wyckoff, NJ, USA)
** Dale D. Myers, aerospace engineer, Deputy Administrator of NASA, and executive (aged 93; La Costa, CA, USA)
** Happy Rockefeller, Second Lady of the United States, as wife of Nelson A. Rockefeller (aged 88; Pocantico Hills, NY, USA)
* May 20
** Bob Belden, jazz saxophonist, composer, arranger and producer (aged 58; New York City, NY, USA)
** Mary Ellen Trainor, actress (aged 62; Montecito, CA, USA)
* May 21 – Louis Johnson, bass guitarist (aged 60; Las Vegas, NV, USA)
* May 22
** Marques Haynes, basketball player (aged 89; Plano, TX, USA)
** Aminah Robinson, artist (aged 75; Columbus, OH, USA)
* May 23
** Hugh Ambrose, historian and son of Stephen E. Ambrose (aged 48; Helena, MT, USA)
** Leo Berman, businessman and politician (aged 79; Tyler, TX, USA)
** Anne Meara, actress and comedian, wife of Jerry Stiller and mother of Ben Stiller (aged 85; New York City, NY, USA)
** John Forbes Nash Jr., American Nobel mathematician (aged 86; Monroe Township, NJ, USA)
* May 24 – Marcus Belgrave, jazz trumpeter (aged 78; Ann Arbor, MI, USA)
* May 25
** Mary Ellen Mark, photographer (aged 75; New York City, NY, USA)
** John M. Murphy, United States Representative from New York from 1963 to 1981 (aged 88; New York City, NY, USA)
* May 27 – S. Parker Gilbert, business executive (aged 81; New York City, NY, USA)
* May 28 – Reynaldo Rey, actor and comedian (aged 75; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* May 29
** Henry Carr, track and field athlete and American football player (aged 73; Griffin, GA, USA)
** Doris Hart, tennis player (aged 89; Coral Gables, FL, USA)
** Betsy Palmer, actress (aged 88; Danbury, CT, USA)
* May 30
** Jim Bailey, singer, actor and female impersonator (aged 77; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Beau Biden, attorney and politician, son of Joe Biden and stepson of Jill Biden (aged 46; Bethesda, MD, USA)
** Lennie Merullo, baseball player (aged 98; Reading, MA, USA)
* May 31
** Nico Castel, Portuguese-born opera tenor and diction coach (aged 83; New York City, NY, USA)
** Will Holt, singer and songwriter (aged 86; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Slim Richey, jazz guitarist and fiddler (aged 77; Austin, TX, USA)
===June===
* June 1 – Jean Ritchie, folk musician (aged 92; Berea, KY, USA)
* June 2 – Irwin Rose, biologist (aged 88; Deerfield, MA, USA)
* June 3
** Bevo Francis, basketball player (aged 82; Highlandtown, OH, USA)
** Margaret Juntwait, radio broadcaster (aged 58; Saddle River, NJ, USA)
** Eugene Kennedy, psychologist, theologian and writer (aged 86; St. Joseph, MI, USA)
* June 5
** Jane Briggs Hart, aviator and activist (aged 93; West Hartford, CT, USA)
** Irving Mondschein, track and field athlete and American football player (aged 91; Hershey, PA, USA)
* June 6
** Vincent Bugliosi, attorney and writer (aged 80; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Ronnie Gilbert, folk musician and activist (aged 88; Mill Valley, CA, USA)
* June 7 – Harold LeDoux, cartoonist (aged 88; Dallas, TX, USA)
* June 8
** Frank Cappuccino, boxing referee (aged 86; Yardley, PA, USA)
** Mervin Field, pollster (aged 94; Mill Valley, CA, USA)
* June 9
** Vincent Musetto, newspaper editor and film critic (aged 74; Bronx, NY, USA)
** Pumpkinhead, rapper (aged 39; NJ, USA)
* June 10 – Robert Chartoff, film producer (aged 81; Santa Monica, CA, USA)
* June 11
** Jim Ed Brown, country music singer (aged 81; Franklin, TN, USA)
** Ornette Coleman, jazz musician and composer (aged 85; New York City, NY, USA)
** Jack King, NASA spokesman (aged 84; Cocoa Beach, FL, USA)
** Dusty Rhodes, wrestler (aged 69; Orlando, FL, USA)
* June 12
** Monica Lewis, singer and actress (aged 93; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Patrick Lennox Tierney, historian and academic (aged 101; Salt Lake City, UT, USA)
** Frederick Pei Li, Chinese-born physician (aged 75; Brookline, MA, USA)
* June 13 – George Winslow, child actor (aged 69; Camp Meeker, CA, USA)
* June 14 – John Carroll, journalist and editor (aged 73; Lexington, KY, USA)
* June 15
** Elisabeth Elliot, Belgian-born missionary and author (aged 88; Magnolia, MA, USA)
** Kirk Kerkorian, businessman and philanthropist (aged 98; Beverly Hills, CA, USA)
** Blaze Starr, stripper and burlesque performer (aged 83; Wilsondale, WV, USA)
* June 16 – Stephen Blauner, music manager and film producer (aged 81; Marina del Rey, CA, USA)
* June 17
** John David Crow, American football player and coach (aged 79; Bryan, TX, USA)
** Nelson Doubleday Jr., publisher and baseball owner (aged 81; Locust Valley, NY, USA)
** Jimmy Lee, investment banker (aged 62; Darien, CT, USA)
** Clementa C. Pinckney, pastor and member of the South Carolina Senate (aged 41; Charleston, SC, USA)
** Jeralean Talley, supercentenarian (aged 166; Inkster, MI, USA)
* June 18
** Phil Austin, comedian and writer (aged 74; Fox Island, WA, USA)
** Ralph J. Roberts, businessman (aged 95; Philadelphia, PA, USA)
** Jack Rollins, film producer and talent manager (aged 100; New York City, NY, USA)
** Danny Villanueva, American football player and broadcaster (aged 77; Ventura, CA, USA)
** Allen Weinstein, historian (aged 77; Gaithersburg, MD, USA)
* June 19 – James Salter, writer (aged 90; Sag Harbor, NY, USA)
* June 20
** Bob Barry Jr., sportscaster (aged 58; Oklahoma City, OK, USA)
** Harold Feinstein, photographer (aged 84; Merrimac, MA, USA)
** Elson Floyd, educator and university president (aged 59; Pullman, WA, USA)
* June 21
** Darryl Hamilton, baseball player and broadcaster (aged 50; Pearland, TX, USA)
** Gunther Schuller, musician and composer (aged 89; Boston, MA, USA)
* June 22
** Albert Evans, ballet dancer (aged 47; New York City, NY, USA)
** Don Featherstone, artist (aged 79; Fitchburg, MA, USA)
** James Horner, composer and conductor (aged 61; Los Padres National Forest, CA, USA)
** Buddy Landel, wrestler (aged 53; Chilhowie, VA, USA)
* June 23
** Harvey Pollack, basketball statistician (aged 93; Philadelphia, PA, USA)
** Dick Van Patten, actor (aged 86; Santa Monica, CA, USA)
* June 24
** Mario Biaggi, United States Representative from New York from 1969 to 1988 (aged 97; New York City, NY, USA)
** Marva Collins, educator (aged 78; Beaufort County, SC, USA)
* June 26
** Damion Cook, American football player (aged 36; Nashville, TN, USA)
** Chris Thompson, television producer, director and writer (aged 63; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Donald Wexler, architect (aged 89; Palm Desert, CA, USA)
* June 28
** Jack Carter, comedian and actor (aged 93; Beverly Hills, CA, USA)
** Thomas P. Kennedy, Massachusetts state senator (aged 63; Brockton, MA, USA)
** Ben Wattenberg, author and commentator (aged 81; Washington, DC, USA)
* June 29 – Glenn Ford, exonerated death row inmate (aged 65; New Orleans, LA, USA)
===July===
* July 1 – Lawrence Herkimer, cheerleader (aged 89; Dallas, TX, USA)
* July 2
** David Aronson, Lithuanian-born artist (aged 91; Natick, MA, USA)
** Charlie Sanders, American football player (aged 68; Royal Oak, MI, USA)
** John Whitman, investment banker and husband of Christine Todd Whitman (aged 71; Morristown, NJ, USA)
* July 3
** Boyd K. Packer, religious leader (aged 90; Cottonwood Heights, UT, USA)
** Wayne Townsend, Indiana state senator and gubernatorial candidate (aged 89; South Haven, MI, USA)
* July 4
** Scot Breithaupt, cyclist (aged 57; Indio, CA, USA)
** Diana Douglas, Bermudian-born actress, wife of Kirk Douglas, mother of Michael Douglas and Joel Douglas (aged 92; Woodland Hills, CA, USA)
** William Conrad Gibbons, military historian (aged 88; Monroe, VA, USA)
* July 5
** James Bonard Fowler, police officer and killer of Jimmie Lee Jackson (aged 81; Geneva County, AL, USA)
** Amanda Peterson, actress (aged 43; Greeley, CO, USA)
** Burt Shavitz, beekeeper and businessman (aged 80; Bangor, ME, USA)
** Jack Steadman, American football executive (aged 86; Overland Park, MO, USA)
* July 6
** Michael Birck, businessman (aged 77; Chicago, IL, USA)
** Jerry Weintraub, film producer (aged 77; Santa Barbara, CA, USA)
* July 8
** Irwin Keyes, actor (aged 63; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Ken Stabler, American football player (aged 69; Gulfport, MS, USA)
** James Tate, poet (aged 71; Amherst, MA, USA)
* July 9
** Christian Audigier, French fashion designer and entrepreneur (aged 57; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Jim Bede, aircraft designer (aged 82; Cleveland, OH, USA)
** Paul Gebhard, anthropologist and sexologist (aged 98; IN, USA)
** Michael Masser, songwriter and record producer (aged 74; Rancho Mirage, CA, USA)
* July 11
** Claudia Alexander, Canadian-born geophysicist and planetary scientist (aged 56; Arcadia, CA, USA)
** Patricia Crone, Danish-born author and historian (aged 70; Princeton, NJ, USA)
** Hussein Fatal, rapper (aged 42; Banks County, GA, USA)
** James U. Cross, general (aged 90; Gatesville, TX, USA)
** Lawrence K. Karlton, lawyer and judge (aged 80; Sacramento, CA, USA)
* July 12
** D'Army Bailey, activist and actor (aged 73; Memphis, TN, USA)
** JaJuan Dawson, American football player (aged 37; Lavon Lake, TX, USA)
* July 14 – Marlene Sanders, broadcaster and journalist, wife of Jerome Toobin and mother of Jeffrey Toobin (aged 84; New York City, NY, USA)
* July 15 – Howard Rumsey, jazz double-bassist (aged 97; Newport Beach, CA, USA)
* July 17
** Bill Arnsparger, American football coach (aged 88; Athens, AL, USA)
** John H. Gibbons, scientist (aged 86; Crozet, VA, USA)
* July 18
** Buddy Buie, songwriter and record producer (aged 74; Dothan, AL, USA)
** George Coe, actor (aged 86; Santa Monica, CA, USA)
** Van Miller, American football broadcaster (aged 87; Tonawanda, NY, USA)
** Alex Rocco, actor (aged 79; Studio City, CA, USA)
* July 19
** Van Alexander, bandleader and composer (aged 100; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Josh Greenberg, entrepreneur (aged 28; Gainesville, FL, USA)
* July 20
** Wayne Carson, musician, songwriter and record producer (aged 72; Nashville, TN, USA)
** Sally Gross, dancer and choreographer (aged 81; Sag Harbor, NY, USA)
** Tom Moore, cartoonist (aged 87; El Paso, TX, USA)
* July 21
** Theodore Bikel, Austrian-born actor, musician and activist (aged 91; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** E. L. Doctorow, author, editor and professor (aged 84; New York City, NY, USA)
** Paul Freeman, conductor (aged 79; Victoria, BC, Canada)
* July 22
** Christopher M. Fairman, scholar, author, and academic (aged 54; Columbus, OH, USA)
** Don Joyce, musician and radio personality (aged 71; Oakland, CA, USA)
** Marilyn C. Jones, baseball player (aged 88; Bradenton, FL, USA)
** Daron Norwood, country music singer (aged 49; Hereford, TX, USA)
* July 23 – William Wakefield Baum, Roman Catholic cardinal (aged 88; Washington, DC, USA)
* July 24 – Peg Lynch, actress and writer (aged 98; Becket, MA, USA)
* July 26
** Richard Bass, businessman and mountaineer (aged 85; Dallas, TX, USA)
** Bobbi Kristina Brown, reality television personality and singer, daughter of Whitney Houston and Bobby Brown (aged 22; Duluth, GA, USA)
** Vic Firth, musician and businessman (aged 85; Boston, MA, USA)
** Ann Rule, nonfiction crime writer (aged 83; Burien, WA, USA)
** Joe Williams, film critic (aged 56; Jefferson County, MO, USA)
* July 28
** James H. Allen, children's television host and clown (aged 87; Portland, OR, USA)
** Carolyn Kaelin, surgeon (aged 54; Charlestown, MA, USA)
** Fred Otnes, illustrator (aged 89; Westport, CT, USA)
* July 29
** Buddy Emmons, guitarist (aged 78; Nashville, TN, USA)
** Mike Pyle, American football player (aged 76; Highland Park, IL, USA)
* July 30
** Lynn Anderson, country music singer (aged 67; Nashville, TN, USA)
** Jerome Kohlberg Jr., businessman (aged 90; Martha's Vineyard, MA, USA)
** Roddy Piper, Canadian wrestler (aged 61; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Louis Sokoloff, neuroscientist (aged 93; Washington, DC, USA)
* July 31
** Curtis Brown, American football player (aged 60; St. Louis, MO, USA)
** Alan Cheuse, writer and critic (aged 75; San Jose, CA, USA)
** Howard W. Jones, gynecological surgeon (aged 104; Norfolk, VA, USA)
** Billy Pierce, baseball pitcher (aged 88; Palos Heights, IL, USA)
** Richard Schweiker, U.S. Senator from Pennsylvania from 1969 to 1981 (aged 89; Pomona, NJ, USA)
===August===
* August 2
** Forrest Bird, aviator, physician, and inventor (aged 94; Sagle, ID, USA)
** Tyler Drumheller, intelligence official (aged 63; Falls Church, VA, USA)
* August 3
** Robert Conquest, Anglo-American historian and poet (aged 98; Stanford, CA, USA)
** Mel Farr, American football player and businessman (aged 70; Detroit, MI, USA)
** Coleen Gray, actress (aged 92; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Cynthia Macdonald, poet and mother of Jennifer Macdonald (aged 87; Logan, UT, USA)
** Giovanni Riggi, mob boss (aged 90; Edison, NJ, USA)
** Arnold Scaasi, Canadian fashion designer (aged 85; Manhattan, NY, USA)
* August 4
** Irving Harper, industrial designer (aged 99; Rye, NY, USA)
** Elsie Hillman, political leader, philanthropist, and activist (aged 89; Pittsburgh, PA, USA)
** Billy Sherrill, record producer and arranger (aged 78; Nashville, TN, USA)
* August 6 – Frederick R. Payne Jr., United States Marine Corps general and aviator (aged 104; Rancho Mirage, CA, USA)
* August 7
** Terrence Evans, actor (aged 81; Burbank, CA, USA)
** Frances Oldham Kelsey, Canadian-American pharmacologist (aged 101; London, ON, Canada)
** Jerome G. Miller, social worker (aged 83; Woodstock, VA, USA)
** Louise Suggs, golfer (aged 91; Sarasota, FL, USA)
* August 8
** David Dill, Minnesota State Representative (aged 60; Armstrong, ON, Canada)
** Ann McGovern, children's writer (aged 85; New York City, NY, USA)
** Sean Price, rapper (aged 43; New York City, NY, USA)
** Sam S. Walker, general (aged 90; Charlotte, NC, USA)
* August 9
** Frank Gifford, American football player and sportscaster, husband of Kathie Lee Gifford (aged 84; Greenwich, CT, USA)
** John Henry Holland, computer scientist, electrical engineer, and psychologist (aged 86; Ann Arbor, MI, USA)
* August 10
** Buddy Baker, NASCAR driver (aged 74; Lake Norman of Catawba, NC, USA)
** Biff Liff, theatrical manager and producer (aged 96; Yorktown Heights, NY, USA)
* August 11 – Richard S. Ross, cardiologist (aged 91; Baltimore, MD, USA)
* August 13 – John A. Nerud, horse trainer and owner (aged 102; Old Brookville, NY, USA)
* August 14 – Bob Johnston, record producer (aged 83; Nashville, TN, USA)
* August 15 – Julian Bond, Georgia state legislator and civil rights activist (aged 75; Fort Walton Beach, FL, USA)
* August 16
** Jacob Bekenstein, Mexican-born Israeli-American theoretical physicist (aged 68; Helsinki, Finland)
** Peter W. Schramm, Hungarian-American political scientist and academic (aged 68; Ashland, OH, USA)
* August 17
** Yvonne Craig, ballet dancer and actress (aged 78; Pacific Palisades, CA, USA)
** Mike Gaechter, American football player (aged 75; Dallas, TX, USA)
* August 18
** William Jay Smith, poet (aged 97; Lenox, MA, USA)
** Louis Stokes, United States Representative from Ohio (aged 90; Cleveland, OH, USA)
** Bud Yorkin, film and television producer, director, writer and actor (aged 89; Bel Air, CA, USA)
* August 19 – George Houser, minister and civil rights activist (aged 99; Santa Rosa, CA, USA)
* August 20 – Melody Patterson, actress (aged 66; Hollister, MO, USA)
* August 21 – Jimmy Evert, tennis player and coach, father of Chris Evert (aged 91; Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA)
* August 22
** Merl Reagle, crossword constructor (aged 65; Tampa, FL, USA)
** Lou Tsioropoulos, basketball player (aged 84; Louisville, KY, USA)
* August 24 – Joseph F. Traub, computer scientist (aged 83; Santa Fe, NM, USA)
* August 25
** James "Red" Duke, trauma surgeon (aged 86; Houston, TX, USA)
** James L. Flanagan, electrical engineer (aged 89; Warren Township, NJ, USA)
** Frank E. Petersen, United States Marine Corps general (aged 83; Stevensville, MD, USA)
* August 26 – Amelia Boynton Robinson, civil rights activist (aged 104; Montgomery, AL, USA)
* August 27
** George Cleve, Austrian-born music conductor (aged 79; Berkeley, CA, USA)
** Darryl Dawkins, basketball player (aged 58; Allentown, PA, USA)
* August 28 – Nelson Shanks, painter (aged 77; Andalusia, PA, USA)
* August 29 – Kyle Jean-Baptiste, actor (aged 21; Brooklyn, NY, USA)
* August 30
** Brad Anderson, cartoonist (aged 91; Woodlands, TX, USA)
** Wes Craven, film director, producer, writer, and actor (aged 76; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Wayne Dyer, self-help writer and motivational speaker (aged 75; Maui County, HI, USA)
** Marvin Mandel, 56th Governor of Maryland (aged 95; Compton, MD, USA)
** J. Donald Millar, physician and public health administrator (aged 81; Murrayville, GA, USA)
** Oliver Sacks, English neurologist and writer (aged 82; New York City, NY, USA)
* August 31 – Tom Scott, American football player (aged 84; Charlottesville, VA, USA)
===September===
* September 1
** Dean Jones, actor (aged 84; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Ben Kuroki, combat aviator (aged 98; Camarillo, CA, USA)
* September 3
** Gabrielle Burton, novelist and screenwriter (aged 76; Venice, CA, USA)
** Stanton R. Cook, newspaper executive (aged 90; Kenilworth, IL, USA)
* September 4
** Jean Darling, actress (aged 93; Rödermark, Germany)
** Warren Murphy, author (aged 81; Virginia Beach, VA, USA)
* September 5 – Denny Greene, singer and music executive (aged 66; Dayton, OH, USA)
* September 6
** Martin Milner, actor (aged 83; Carlsbad, CA, USA)
** John Perreault, art curator and critic (aged 78; New York City, NY, USA)
** Gaylord Shaw, journalist (aged 73; Duncan, OK, USA)
* September 7
** Dickie Moore, actor (aged 89; Wilton, CT, USA)
** Candida Royalle, pornographic actress, producer, and director (aged 64; Mattituck, NY, USA)
* September 8
** Merv Adelson, real estate developer and television producer (aged 85; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Andrew Kohut, pollster and news commentator (aged 73; Baltimore, MD, USA)
** Tyler Sash, American football player (aged 27; Oskaloosa, IA, USA)
* September 9 – Einar H. Ingman Jr., United States Army soldier and Medal of Honor recipient (aged 85; Tomahawk, WI, USA)
* September 10 – Norman Farberow, psychologist and suicidologist (aged 97; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* September 11
** Roy Marble, basketball player (aged 48; Lansing, MI, USA)
** Lawrence S. Phillips, businessman (aged 88; Boca Raton, FL, USA)
** Kerry Simon, chef and restaurateur (aged 60; Las Vegas, NV, USA)
* September 12
** Melvin Bernhardt, stage and television director (aged 84; Manhattan, NY, USA)
** Frank D. Gilroy, playwright, screenwriter, film producer and director (aged 89; Monroe, NY, USA)
* September 13
** Moses Malone, basketball player (aged 60; Norfolk, VA, USA)
** Gary Richrath, rock guitarist and songwriter (aged 65; LA, USA)
** Carl Emil Schorske, historian (aged 100; East Windsor Township, NJ, USA)
* September 16 – Joe Morrone, soccer coach (aged 79; Storrs, CT, USA)
* September 17 – Milo Hamilton, sportscaster (aged 88; Houston, TX, USA)
* September 19 – Jackie Collins, British novelist (aged 77; Beverly Hills, CA, USA)
* September 20 – Jack Larson, actor, librettist, screenwriter and producer (aged 87; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* September 21
** Ben Cauley, trumpeter (aged 67; Memphis, TN, USA)
** Leon Root, orthopedic surgeon (aged 86; Roxbury, CT, USA)
** Robert E. Simon, real estate developer (aged 101; Reston, VA, USA)
* September 22
** Yogi Berra, baseball player, coach and manager (aged 90; West Caldwell, NJ, USA)
** Elizabeth Fink, civil rights attorney (aged 70; New York City, NY, USA)
** James David Santini, United States Representative from Nevada (aged 78; Rockville, MD, USA)
** Richard G. Scott, nuclear engineer and LDS Church leader (aged 86; Salt Lake City, UT, USA)
** Phyllis Tickle, religious writer and lecturer (aged 81; Millington, TN, USA)
* September 27
** Wilton Felder, saxophonist and bass player (aged 75; Whittier, CA, USA)
** Denise Lor, singer and actress (aged 86; New York City, NY, USA)
===October===
* October 1
** Don Edwards, United States Representative from California from 1963 to 1995 (aged 100; Carmel-by-the-Sea, CA, USA)
** Cal Neeman, baseball player (aged 86; Lake St. Louis, MO, USA)
** Jacob Pressman, Conservative rabbi (aged 95; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Johnny Strange, adventurer (aged 23; Uri, Switzerland)
* October 2
** Willie Akins, jazz saxophonist (aged 76; St. Louis, MO, USA)
** Hal Schacker, baseball player (aged 90; Tampa, FL, USA)
** Andy Sperandeo, magazine editor (aged 70; Brookfield, WI, USA)
* October 3
** Olga Hirshhorn, art collector (aged 95; Naples, FL, USA)
** Barbara Meek, actress (aged 81; Providence, RI, USA)
** Paul R. Norby, U.S. Navy admiral (aged 102; Wayzata, MN, USA)
** Dave Pike, jazz musician (aged 77; Del Mar, CA, USA)
** Arthur A. Small, lawyer and Iowa state legislator (aged 81; Iowa City, IA, USA)
** Peter Tillers, Latvian-born legal scholar (aged 72; Cambridge, MA, USA)
* October 4
** William A. Culpepper, judge (aged 99; Little Rock, AR, USA)
** S. Malcolm Gillis, academic (aged 74; Houston, TX, USA)
** J. Whyatt Mondesire, journalist and civil rights activist (aged 65; Philadelphia, PA, USA)
** Jim Thomas, American-born Canadian football player (aged 76; Columbus, MS, USA)
** Neal Walk, basketball player (aged 67; Phoenix, AZ, USA)
* October 5
** Frank Albanese, boxer and actor (aged 84; Staten Island, NY, USA)
** Larry Brezner, film producer (aged 73; Duarte, CA, USA)
** Mary Jane Farell, bridge player (aged 95; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Andrew Rubin, actor (aged 69; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* October 6
** Kevin Corcoran, producer, director, and actor (aged 66; Burbank, CA, USA)
** Rich Davis, physician and businessman (aged 89; Leawood, KS, USA)
** Smokey Johnson, drummer (aged 78; New Orleans, LA, USA)
** Billy Joe Royal, singer and musician (aged 73; Morehead City, NC, USA)
** Sandra Spuzich, golfer (aged 78; Indianapolis, IN, USA)
** William Stanley, mammalogist (aged 58; Ethiopia)
* October 7
** Gene Allen, art director (aged 97; Newport Beach, CA, USA)
** Ray Appleton, jazz drummer (aged 74; Indianapolis, IN, USA)
** Harry Gallatin, basketball player and coach (aged 88; Edwardsville, IL, USA)
** Hy Hollinger, journalist and publicist (aged 97; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Kenneth Koe, chemist (aged 90; Shrewsbury, MA, USA)
** Charles P. West, Delaware state legislator (aged 94; Gumboro, DE, USA)
** Gail Zappa, businesswoman, wife of Frank Zappa (aged 70; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* October 8
** Dennis Eichhorn, comics writer (aged 70; Boise, ID, USA)
** Tom Goode, American football player (aged 76; West Point, MS, USA)
** Paul Prudhomme, chef, cookbook writer and restaurateur (aged 75; New Orleans, LA, USA)
** Jan Wallman, nightclub owner (aged 93; New York City, NY, USA)
** Stephen B. Wiley, New Jersey state senator (aged 86; Shelburne, VT, USA)
* October 9
** Raymond Duncan, entrepreneur and vintner (aged 84; Denver, CO, USA)
** Koopsta Knicca, rapper (aged 40; Memphis, TN, USA)
** Dave Meyers, basketball player (aged 62; Temecula, CA, USA)
** Larry Rosen, record producer (aged 75; Park Ridge, NJ, USA)
* October 10 – Richard F. Heck, chemist (aged 84; Manila, Philippines)
* October 11
** Dean Chance, baseball player and manager (aged 74; Wooster, OH, USA)
** Jack Drake, lawyer and politician (aged 81; Atlantic, IA, USA)
* October 12 – Joan Leslie, actress (aged 90; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* October 23 – James P. Liautaud, industrialist, inventor and business theorist (aged 79; Wascott, WI, USA)
* October 24 – Maureen O'Hara, Irish-American actress (aged 95; Boise, ID, USA)
* October 25 – Flip Saunders, basketball player and coach (aged 60; Minneapolis, MN, USA)
* October 26 – Leo Kadanoff, physicist (aged 78; Chicago, IL, USA)
* October 28
** Nancy Dye, historian and academic (aged 68; Lakewood, OH, USA)
** Bruce L. Edwards, scholar and academic (aged 63; Katy, TX, USA)
===November===
* November 1
** Fred Thompson, politician and actor (aged 73; Nashville, TN, USA)
** Houston McTear, sprinter (aged 58; Stockholm, Sweden)
* November 3 – Howard Coble, politician (aged 84; Greensboro, NC, USA)
* November 4
** Lee Robinson, politician (aged 72; Macon, GA, USA)
** Melissa Mathison, screenwriter (aged 65; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** René Girard, French-born historian and literary critic (aged 91; Stanford, CA, USA)
* November 5
** Ed Lechner, football player (aged 95; St. Paul, MN, USA)
** George Barris, custom car designer (aged 89; Encino, CA, USA)
* November 6 – Chuck Pyle, country singer-songwriter (aged 70; Colorado Springs, CO, USA)
* November 7
** Gunnar Hansen, Icelandic-born actor (aged 68; Northeast Harbor, ME, USA)
** Gladys-Marie Fry, folklorist and historian (aged 84; Silver Spring, MD, USA)
* November 10 – Allen Toussaint, musician and songwriter (aged 77; Madrid, Spain)
* November 12
** Earl E. Anderson, general (aged 96; Bethesda, MD, USA)
** Bruce Dayton, businessman and philanthropist (aged 97; Orono, MN, USA)
* November 14
** Nick Bockwinkel, wrestler, sportscaster, and actor (aged 80; Las Vegas, NV, USA)
** Norm Ellenberger, basketball player and coach (aged 83; Watersmeet, MI, USA)
* November 18 – Mal Whitfield, middle-distance runner (aged 91; Washington, DC, USA)
* November 20 – Jim Perry, television personality, game show host (aged 82; Ashland, OR, USA)
* November 21 – Bob Foster, boxer (aged 73; Albuquerque, NM, USA)
* November 23
** Dan Fante, author and playwright (aged 71; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Douglass North, economist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (aged 95; Benzonia, MI, USA)
** Jim Sochor, American football player and coach (aged 77; Davis, CA, USA)
* November 24 – Steve Wildstrom, technology columnist and consultant (aged 68; Kensington, MD, USA)
===December===
* December 1
** Jim Loscutoff, basketball player (aged 85; Naples, FL, USA)
** Shirley Gunter, R&B singer (aged 81; Las Vegas, NV, USA)
** Joseph Engelberger, engineer and inventor (aged 90; Newtown, CT, USA)
* December 2
** George T. Sakato, soldier, Medal of Honor recipient (aged 94; Denver, CO, USA)
** Sandy Berger, Former United States National Security Advisor (aged 70; Washington, DC, USA)
* December 3
** Lawrence Pugh, businessman, chief executive of VF Corporation (aged 82; Naples, FL, USA)
** Scott Weiland, singer-songwriter and musician (aged 48; Bloomington, MN, USA)
* December 4 – Robert Loggia, actor (aged 85; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* December 10
** Dolph Schayes, basketball player and coach (aged 87; Syracuse, NY, USA)
** Ron Bouchard, race car driver and businessman (aged 67; Boston, MA, USA)
** Michael Cavallari, brother of television personality Kristin Cavallari (aged 30; UT, USA)
* December 12
** Rose Siggins, actress (aged 43; Denver, CO, USA)
** Evelyn S. Lieberman, former White House Deputy Chief of Staff (aged 71; Washington, DC, USA)
* December 13 – Benedict Anderson, academic (aged 79; Batu, Indonesia)
* December 20
** Patricia Elliott, actress and singer (aged 77; New York City, NY, USA)
** Ray Mathews, American football player and coach (aged 86; Mercer, PA, USA)
* December 21
** Arlin Adams, lawyer and judge (aged 94; Philadelphia, PA, USA)
** Emmanuel Yarbrough, sumo wrestler, mixed martial artist, and actor (aged 51; Richmond, VA, USA)
* December 23 – Alfred G. Gilman, pharmacologist and biochemist (aged 74; Dallas, TX, USA)
* December 25 – Jason Wingreen, actor (aged 95; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* December 27
** Ellsworth Kelly, artist and sculptor (aged 92; Spencertown, NY, USA)
** Haskell Wexler, cinematographer and film director (aged 93; Santa Monica, CA, USA)
** Meadowlark Lemon, basketball player (aged 83; Scottsdale, AZ, USA)
* December 28
** Eloy Inos, 8th Governor of the Northern Mariana Islands (aged 66; Seattle, WA, USA)
** Ian Murdock, German-born software programmer (aged 42; San Francisco, CA, USA)
* December 30 – Doug Atkins, football player (aged 85; Knoxville, TN, USA)
* December 31
** Natalie Cole, singer and daughter of Nat King Cole (aged 65; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
** Wayne Rogers, actor (aged 82; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
==External links==
* 2015 in the United States
Category:United States History: Volume 24