2006

Events from the year **2006 in the United States**.

Governors
* Governor of Alabama: Bob Riley (Republican)
* Governor of Alaska: Frank Murkowski (Republican) (until December 4), Sarah Palin (Republican) (starting December 4)
* Governor of Arizona: Janet Napolitano (Democratic)
* Governor of Arkansas: Mike Huckabee (Republican)
* Governor of California: Arnold Schwarzenegger (Republican)
* Governor of Colorado: Bill Owens (Republican)
* Governor of Connecticut: Jodi Rell (Republican)
* Governor of Delaware: Ruth Ann Minner (Democratic)
* Governor of Florida: Jeb Bush (Republican)
* Governor of Georgia: Sonny Perdue (Republican)
* Governor of Hawaii: Linda Lingle (Republican)
* Governor of Idaho: Dirk Kempthorne (Republican) (until May 26), Jim Risch (Republican) (starting May 26)
* Governor of Illinois: Rod Blagojevich (Democratic)
* Governor of Indiana: Mitch Daniels (Republican)
* Governor of Iowa: Tom Vilsack (Democratic)
* Governor of Kansas: Kathleen Sebelius (Democratic)
* Governor of Kentucky: Ernie Fletcher (Republican)
* Governor of Louisiana: Kathleen Blanco (Democratic)
* Governor of Maine: John Baldacci (Democratic)
* Governor of Maryland: Robert L. Ehrlich Jr. (Republican)
* Governor of Massachusetts: Mitt Romney (Republican)
* Governor of Michigan: Jennifer Granholm (Democratic)
* Governor of Minnesota: Tim Pawlenty (Republican)
* Governor of Mississippi: Haley Barbour (Republican)
* Governor of Missouri: Matt Blunt (Republican)
* Governor of Montana: Brian Schweitzer (Democratic)
* Governor of Nebraska: Dave Heineman (Republican)
* Governor of Nevada: Kenny Guinn (Republican)
* Governor of New Hampshire: John Lynch (Democratic)
* Governor of New Jersey: Richard Codey (Democratic) (until January 17), Jon Corzine (Democratic) (starting January 17)
* Governor of New Mexico: Bill Richardson (Democratic)
* Governor of New York: George Pataki (Republican)
* Governor of North Carolina: Mike Easley (Democratic)
* Governor of North Dakota: John Hoeven (Republican)
* Governor of Ohio: Bob Taft (Republican)
* Governor of Oklahoma: Brad Henry (Democratic)
* Governor of Oregon: Ted Kulongoski (Democratic)
* Governor of Pennsylvania: Ed Rendell (Democratic)
* Governor of Rhode Island: Donald Carcieri (Republican)
* Governor of South Carolina: Mark Sanford (Republican)
* Governor of South Dakota: Mike Rounds (Republican)
* Governor of Tennessee: Phil Bredesen (Democratic)
* Governor of Texas: Rick Perry (Republican)
* Governor of Utah: Jon Huntsman Jr. (Republican)
* Governor of Vermont: Jim Douglas (Republican)
* Governor of Virginia: Mark Warner (Democratic) (until January 14), Tim Kaine (Democratic) (starting January 14)
* Governor of Washington: Christine Gregoire (Democratic)
* Governor of West Virginia: Joe Manchin (Democratic)
* Governor of Wisconsin: Jim Doyle (Democratic)
* Governor of Wyoming: Dave Freudenthal (Democratic)

Lieutenant Governors
* Lieutenant Governor of Alabama: Lucy Baxley (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Alaska: Loren Leman (Republican) (until December 4), Sean Parnell (Republican) (starting December 4)
* Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas: Winthrop Paul Rockefeller (Republican) (until July 16), vacant (starting July 16)
* Lieutenant Governor of California: Cruz Bustamante (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Colorado: Jane E. Norton (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Connecticut: Kevin B. Sullivan (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Delaware: John Carney (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Florida: Toni Jennings (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Georgia: Mark Taylor (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Hawaii: Duke Aiona (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Idaho: Jim Risch (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Illinois: Pat Quinn (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Indiana: Becky Skillman (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Iowa: Sally Pederson (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Kansas: John E. Moore (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Kentucky: Steve Pence (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Louisiana: Mitch Landrieu (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Maryland: Michael Steele (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Massachusetts: Kerry Healey (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Michigan: John D. Cherry (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Minnesota: Carol Molnau (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Mississippi: Amy Tuck (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Missouri: Peter Kinder (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Montana: John Bohlinger (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska: Rick Sheehy (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Nevada: Lorraine Hunt (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of New Mexico: Diane Denish (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of New York: Mary Donohue (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of North Carolina: Bev Perdue (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of North Dakota: Jack Dalrymple (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Ohio: Bruce E. Johnson (Republican) (until December 8), vacant (starting December 8)
* Lieutenant Governor of Oklahoma: Mary Fallin (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania: Catherine Baker Knoll (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Rhode Island: Charles J. Fogarty (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of South Carolina: André Bauer (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of South Dakota: Dennis Daugaard (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Tennessee: John S. Wilder (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Texas: David Dewhurst (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Utah: Gary Herbert (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Vermont: Brian Dubie (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Virginia: Tim Kaine (Democratic) (until January 14), Bill Bolling (Republican) (starting January 14)
* Lieutenant Governor of Washington: Brad Owen (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin: Barbara Lawton (Democratic)

## Events

### January

* January 2
	+ The annual Rose Parade in California is drenched in heavy rain for the first time in 51 years.
	+ PepsiCo announces its purchase of Star Foods for an undisclosed price saying that the purchase would strengthen its place as Poland's number one seller of potato chips.
* January 3 – Twelve dead coal miners and one survivor are discovered in the Sago Mine disaster near Buckhannon, West Virginia.
* January 5
	+ The Bush administration proposes spending $114 million on educational programs to expand the teaching of Arabic, Chinese, Persian and other languages typically not taught in public schools.
	+ IBM says that it would freeze pension benefits for its American employees starting in 2008 and offer them only a 401k retirement plan in future.
* January 6
	+ AOL agrees to pay customers as much as $25 million to settle claims that it wrongly billed them for some online services and products.
	+ NYSE says that it has picked Bear Wagner as the firm that will handle trading of its shares when it goes public.
* January 7 – Embroiled in multiple scandals, former U.S. House Majority Leader Tom DeLay announces he will not seek to reassume his former post.
* January 9
	+ Vice President Dick Cheney complains of shortness of breath and is treated at the hospital. The White House says the trip was necessary because of fluid retention as a side effect of a drug Mr. Cheney had taken to treat chronic foot ailments.
	+ The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 11,000 (11,011.90) for the first time since June 7, 2001.
* January 10 – Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger proposes a $125.6 billion budget increasing spending without raising taxes.
* January 11 – The Augustine Volcano in Alaska erupts twice, marking its first major eruption since 1986.
* January 13
	+ The U.S. Government reports that wholesale inflation in 2005 increased by highest amount since 1990.
	+ Rick Wagoner, CEO of the loss-making General Motors says that results will improve in 2006 and 2007.
* January 15 – NASA's Stardust mission successfully ends, the first to return dust from a comet.
* January 17 – California executes Clarence Ray Allen (death by lethal injection), who was sentenced to death in 1982 for arranging the murders of three people.
* January 18 – American International Group (AIG), the world's largest insurer, says that its chief operating officer Donald P. Kanak has resigned and stepped down from the board "for personal reasons".
* January 19 – NASA launches the *New Horizons* spacecraft in a 9-year, 3 billion mile space mission, to flyby and observe the dwarf planetary system of Pluto/Charon and possibly other Kuiper belt objects.
* January 20 – A Maryland judge strikes down a state law banning same-sex marriage saying the measure violated a state constitutional amendment prohibiting sex discrimination.
* January 26 – General Motors reports an $8.6 billion loss for 2005, its biggest loss since 1992.
* January 27 – An inhaled form of insulin wins federal approval offering an alternative to injections for millions of people with diabetes.
* January 30
	+ The White House announces that President Bush has chosen Professor Edward Lazear, a Stanford University business professor to succeed Ben Bernanke as chairman of his Council of Economic Advisors who will succeed Alan Greenspan as Chairman of the Federal Reserve.
	+ Jennifer San Marco kills eight people before committing suicide at a postal facility in Goleta, California. San Marco had worked at the facility previously, but had been let go due to her erratic behavior.
* January 31
	+ Samuel Alito is sworn in as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
	+ Two federal appeals courts uphold rulings that the Partial Birth Abortion Act passed by the United States Congress in 2003 is unconstitutional because it does not include an exception when the health of a pregnant woman is at risk.

### February

* February 1 – UAL Corporation, United Airlines' parent company, emerges from bankruptcy after being in that position since December 9, 2002, the longest such filing in history.
* February 2 – After over 30 years, the Metropolitan Museum of Art says it would relinquish ownership of a 2,500-year-old Greek vase, the Euphronios Krater, to Italy.
* February 3 – Suspicious fires destroy three small churches and damage two others in Bibb County, Alabama.
* February 5 – Super Bowl XL: The Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the Seattle Seahawks 21–10 at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan.
* February 6 – Feeding Frenzy 2 is released by PopCap Games on PC.
* February 9 – AIG apologizes for deceptive business practices and reaches a $1.64 billion settlement with federal and state securities and insurance regulators.
* February 10 – The United States compete at the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy and win 9 gold, 9 silver and 7 bronze medals.
* February 11 – Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shoots and wounds a lawyer while quail hunting in southern Texas.
* February 14 – The Coca-Cola Company says that Warren Buffett, the soft drink maker's largest shareholder, would leave the board in April after 19 years to spend more time managing Berkshire Hathaway.
* February 15 – A group of institutional investors already involved in a lawsuit with the company sue Tyco International to stop its proposed breakup plan.
* February 16
	+ The state of Minnesota sues AIG for underreporting premiums to reduce its tax bill refusing a settlement of $1.2 million.
	+ The chairman of the Federal Reserve, Ben Bernanke, testifies to the U.S. Senate that Chinese ownership of US assets is not large enough to put the country at risk economically.
	+ The Department of Commerce reports that housing starts jumped 14.5% to a 33-year high in January.

### March

* March 2 – The colorized $10 bill is released, with the same color-shifting ink and security features of the $20 and $50 bills that preceded it.
* March 4 – The final contact attempt with Pioneer 10 receives no response.
* March 5 – The 78th Academy Awards, hosted by Jon Stewart, are held at Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, with Paul Haggis' *Crash* controversially winning Best Picture. The film is part of a four-way tie in winning the most awards, with it, Ang Lee's *Brokeback Mountain*, Peter Jackson's *King Kong* and Rob Marshall's *Memoirs of a Geisha* all winning three. *Brokeback Mountain* leads with eight nominations, with Lee also winning Best Director. The telecast garners nearly 39 million viewers.
* March 6 – The first World Baseball Classic is held in San Diego, California.
* March 9 – NASA's Cassini-Huygens spacecraft discovers geysers of a liquid substance shooting from Saturn's moon Enceladus, signaling a possible presence of water.
* March 10 – NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter enters Mars orbit.
* March 14 – Crystal Mangum makes false rape accusations against three members of the Duke University men's lacrosse team, an event which marked the beginning of the Duke lacrosse case
* March 16 – The Blu-ray disc format is released in the United States.
* March 17 – The United States strikes its 2 remaining *Iowa*-class battleships from the Naval Vessel Register, ending the age of the battleship.
* March 22 – The Federal Reserve stops the publishing of M3 money supply data.
* March 25 – Seven die in the Capitol Hill massacre in Seattle, Washington. Perpetrator Kyle Huff's rampage is fueled by his hatred of "rave scene" gatherings.

### April

* April 4 – First material action in the Minor League Baseball umpire strike.
* April 29 – Massive anti-war demonstrations and a march down Broadway in New York City mark the third year of war in Iraq.

### May

* May 1 – The Great American Boycott takes place across the United States as marchers protest for immigration rights.
* May 5 – Fiat chairman Sergio Marchionne announces that the Alfa Romeo automobile brand will return to the United States in 2008, after a 13-year hiatus.

### June

* June 7 – Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and seven of his aides are killed in a U.S. air raid just north of the town of Baquba, Iraq.
* June 9 – Pixar Animation Studios' seventh feature film, *Cars*, is released in theaters.
* June 12 – Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger crashes his motorcycle near Pittsburgh's 10th Street bridge. He is rushed to Mercy Hospital for emergency surgery.
* June 19 – The Carolina Hurricanes defeat the Edmonton Oilers 3–1 in game 7 of the 2006 Stanley Cup Finals to give the Hurricanes their first Stanley Cup in franchise history. It is also the first Stanley Cup Finals since the 2004–05 lockout that cancelled all games that year.
* June 23 – In Miami, the Federal Bureau of Investigation arrests seven men, accusing them of planning to bomb the Sears Tower and other attacks in Miami.
* June 25 – Warren Buffett donates over $30 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
* June 26 – Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument in Hawaii is established as the largest protected area in the world.

### July

* July 4 – STS–121: Space Shuttle *Discovery* is launched to the International Space Station. It returns safely on July 17. It is the second "return to flight" mission after the Space Shuttle *Columbia* disaster.
* July 5 – North Korea test fires missiles, timed with the liftoff of Space Shuttle *Discovery*, preceding the fireworks celebrations that night in America. The long range Taepodong–2 reportedly fails shortly after takeoff.
* July 7 – *Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Man's Chest* is released in theaters as the second film in the Pirates of the Caribbean series.
* July 10 – Henry Paulson is sworn in as the new Secretary of Treasury, succeeding John W. Snow.
* July 22 – Needles, California experiences a record high low temperature of 100 °F (38 °C) at 6:00 am with a high temperature exceeding 120 °F (49 °C), making it one of the few locations on Earth that have recorded a triple-digit overnight low temperature.

### August

* August 10 – London Metropolitan Police make 21 arrests in connection to an apparent terrorist plot that involved aircraft traveling from the United Kingdom to the United States. Liquids and gels are banned from checked and carry-on baggage. As of September 26, the Transportation Security Administration adjusts its ban on liquids, aerosols and gels. Travelers are permitted to carry liquids through security checkpoints in containers of 3.4 ounces (100 mL) or less that fit comfortably in one quart-size clear plastic zip-top bag. This procedure came to be known as "3–1–1 for carry-ons" (3.4 ounce containers in a 1 quart bag, 1 bag per passenger). Items purchased in the airside zone after clearing security could be brought on board without restriction. Other exemptions to this restriction include medications and breast milk.
* August 27 – Comair Flight 5191, carrying 50 people, crashes shortly after takeoff from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky. 49 people are killed, leaving a sole survivor.
* August 28 – A Greyhound Lines bus from New York City to Montreal carrying 52 people crashes at mile 115 on I–87 near Elizabethtown, killing five people, including the driver, and seriously injuring others.
* August 29 – The United States commemorates the first anniversary of the Hurricane Katrina.

### September

* September 3 – Gordon B. Hinckley dedicates the Sacramento California Temple, the LDS Church's seventh temple in California.
* September 4
	+ While filming *Ocean's Deadliest*, television host Steve Irwin is stung by a sting ray and killed off the coast of Australia.
	+ *Curious George* debuts on PBS Kids.
* September 8 – The world's tallest living tree, a 115.61 meters (379.3 ft) tall coast redwood (sequoia) now named "Hyperion", is discovered in Redwood National Park.
* September 11 – The United States commemorates the fifth anniversary of the 9/11 attacks in New York City.
* September 15 – Spinach contaminated with E. coli kills two and poisons over 100 others in 20 states.
* September 18 – The CW network debuts as the sixth broadcast network, merging with UPN (owned by CBS which split in the original Viacom, three days after UPN ceased operations) and The WB (owned by Warner Bros., a day after The WB ceased operations).
* September 24 – The New Orleans Saints play their first game at the Superdome since Hurricane Katrina with a 23–3 victory over NFC South rival Atlanta Falcons.

### October

* October 1 – The unemployment rate drops to 4.4%, the lowest since May 2001.
* October 2 – Charles Carl Roberts IV, a 32-year-old milk-truck driver, kills 5 girls at an Amish schoolhouse in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania before shooting himself.
* October 3 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average gains 56.99 points, or 0.49 percent, with a close of 11,727.34, its first all-time high in more than 6 years after it last hit in a record high of 11,722.98 on January 20, 2000.
* October 6 – A hazardous waste plant near Apex, North Carolina explodes, releasing chlorine gas, and resulting in the evacuation of thousands and the hospitalization of over 200 residents.
* October 10 – Google buys YouTube for $1.65 billion.
* October 11 – A plane crashes into a high-rise building New York City, killing two.
* October 12 – Lake Storm "Aphid": A freak snowstorm blows into Buffalo, New York, leaving over 400,000 without power and killing 13.
* October 16 – The last American MASH is decommissioned.
* October 19 – The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes 12,000 for the first time, 12,011.73.
* October 24 – NASA's MESSENGER spacecraft makes its first flyby of Venus (it will be captured into Mercury's orbit on March 18, 2011).
* October 27 – The St. Louis Cardinals defeat the Detroit Tigers to win their 10th world series.

### November

* November 7 – Mid-term elections result in the Democrats gaining control of both houses of Congress.
* November 19 – Nintendo's Wii released in United States.

### December

* December 7 – Smoking is banned in all Ohio bars, restaurants, workplaces and other public places.
* December 10 – Space Shuttle Mission STS–116: Space Shuttle *Discovery* lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center on the first night launch since the 2003 loss of *Columbia*.
* December 13 – U.S. Senator Tim Johnson (D–SD) suffers a brain hemorrhage during a conference call with reporters.
* December 14 – The U.S. spy satellite USA–193, also known as NRO Launch 21 (NROL–21 or simply L–21), is launched but malfunctions.
* December 15 – Lockheed Martin's F–35 Lightning II Joint Strike Fighter successfully flies for the first time.
* December 18 – Robert Gates is sworn in as the new Secretary of Defense, succeeding Donald Rumsfeld.
* December 20 – The Postal Accountability and Enhancement Act is signed into law.
* December 22 – The Space Shuttle *Discovery* lands at Kennedy Space Center, concluding a 2–week mission to the International Space Station.
* December 26 – Former President Gerald Ford dies at the age of 93 in Rancho Mirage, California.

## Memoriam

### January

* January 1
	+ Harry Magdoff, economist (aged 92; Burlington, VT, USA)
	+ Gideon Rodan, Romanian-born physician (aged 71; Bryn Mawr, PA, USA)
	+ Hubert Schoemaker, Dutch-born biochemist and executive (aged 55; Paoli, PA, USA)
* January 6
	+ Lou Rawls, African-American singer, songwriter and actor (aged 72; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
	+ Hugh Thompson Jr., soldier and pilot (aged 62; Pineville, LA, USA)
* January 8 – David Rosenbaum, journalist (aged 63; Washington, DC, USA)
* January 9
	+ Elliot Forbes, conductor and musicologist (aged 88; Cambridge, MA, USA)
	+ W. Cleon Skousen, conservative author and professor (aged 92; Salt Lake City, UT, USA)
* January 10 – Ira Black, physician and neuroscientist (aged 64; Philadelphia, PA, USA)
* January 11
	+ Nixzmary Brown, murder victim (aged 7; Brooklyn, NY, USA)
	+ Eric Namesnik, swimmer (aged 35; Ypsilanti, MI, USA)
* January 12
	+ Eldon Dedini, cartoonist (aged 84; Carmel, CA, USA)
	+ Anne Meacham, actress (aged 80; Canaan, NY, USA)
* January 14 – Shelley Winters, actress (aged 85; Beverly Hills, CA, USA)
* January 15 – Edward Hall, aeronautical engineer and brother of Theodore Hall (aged 91; Torrance, CA, USA)
* January 16 – Stanley Biber, surgeon (aged 82; Pueblo, CO, USA)
* January 18 – Thomas Murphy, executive (aged 90; Boynton Beach, FL, USA)
* January 19
	+ Anthony Franciosa, actor (aged 77; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
	+ Wilson Pickett, singer and songwriter (aged 64; Reston, VA, USA)
* January 23
	+ David Weber, Lithuanian-born musician (aged 92; New York City, NY, USA)
	+ Samuel W. Koster, general and murderer (aged 86; Annapolis, MD, USA)
* January 24 – Chris Penn, actor and brother of Sean Penn (aged 40; Santa Monica, CA, USA)
* January 25 – Herbert Schilder, dental surgeon (aged 77; Newton, MA, USA)
* January 28 – Helmut W. Schulz, German physicist and chemical engineer (aged 94; White Plains, NY, USA)
* January 30
	+ Coretta Scott King, American civil rights activist (aged 78; Rosarito, Mexico)
	+ Wendy Wasserstein, writer (aged 55; New York City, NY, USA)
* January 31
	+ George Koval, Soviet intelligence agent (aged 92; Moscow, Russia)
	+ Paul Regina, actor (aged 49; Smithtown, NY, USA)

### February

* February 1 – Dick Brooks, auto racer (aged 63; Woodruff, SC, USA)
* February 3
	+ Lou Jones, track and field athlete (aged 74; Bronx, NY, USA)
	+ Al Lewis, actor (aged 82; Roosevelt Island, NY, USA)
* February 4
	+ Betty Friedan, feminist, activist, and writer (aged 85; Washington, DC, USA)
	+ William Augustus Jones Jr., minister and civil rights activist (aged 71; Brooklyn, NY, USA)
* February 8 – Barry Martin, dancer, choreographer, and murder victim (aged 44; Manhattan, NY, USA)
* February 10
	+ J Dilla, music producer (aged 32; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
	+ Norman Shumway, surgeon (aged 83; Palo Alto, CA, USA)
	+ John Belluso, writer (aged 36; New York City, NY, USA)
* February 12 – Peter Benchley, writer (aged 65; Princeton, NJ, USA)
* February 13 – Andreas Katsulas, actor (aged 59; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* February 20 – Curt Gowdy, sports announcer (aged 86; Palm Beach, FL, USA)
* February 24
	+ Don Knotts, actor and comedian (aged 81; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
	+ Dennis Weaver, actor (aged 81; Ridgway, CO, USA)
* February 25 – Darren McGavin, actor (aged 83; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* February 28 – Owen Chamberlain, physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (aged 85; Berkeley, CA, USA)

### March

* March 1 – Harry Browne, politician and author (aged 72; Franklin, TN, USA)
* March 2 – Phyllis Huffman, casting director (aged 61; Bronx, NY, USA)
* March 5 – Richard Kuklinski, hitman (aged 70; Trenton, NJ, USA)
* March 6 – Dana Reeve, actress (aged 44; Manhattan, NY, USA)
* March 7 – Gordon Parks, photographer (aged 93; New York City, NY, USA)
* March 10
	+ Anna Moffo, soprano (aged 73; New York City, NY, USA)
	+ Ronald H. Nash, philosopher (aged 69; Orlando, FL, USA)
* March 13 – Maureen Stapleton, actress (aged 80; Lenox, MA, USA)
* March 17 – Bob Papenbrook, voice actor (aged 50; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* March 21 – Bob Delegall, actor, director and producer (aged 60; Venice, CA, USA)
* March 23 – Desmond Doss, combat medic (aged 87; Piedmont, AL, USA)
* March 25
	+ Richard Fleischer, film director (aged 89; Woodland Hills, CA, USA)
	+ Buck Owens, singer, bandleader, and TV host (aged 76; Bakersfield, CA, USA)
* March 26 – Paul Dana, racing driver (aged 30; Homestead, FL, USA)
* March 28
	+ Jerry Brudos, murderer (aged 67; Salem, OR, USA)
	+ Charles Schepens, Belgium-born ophthalmologist, surgeon, and insurgent (aged 94; Nahant, MA, USA)
	+ Caspar Weinberger, 15th United States Secretary of Defense (aged 88; Bangor, ME, USA)
* March 29 – Don Alias, musician (aged 66; New York City, NY, USA)
* March 30 – Philip Hyde, wildlife photographer (aged 84; Reno, NV, USA)
* March 31 – Jackie McLean, jazz musician (aged 74; Hartford, CT, USA)

### April

* April 3
	+ Marshall Goldberg, American football player (aged 88; Chicago, IL, USA)
	+ Al Harker, soccer player (aged 95; Camp Hill, PA, USA)
* April 4 – Fred J. Christensen, fighter pilot (aged 84; Northborough, MA, USA)
* April 5 – Gene Pitney, singer (aged 66; Cardiff, Wales, UK)
* April 6 – Francis L. Kellogg, diplomat and prominent socialite (aged 89; New York City, NY, USA)
* April 9
	+ Billy Hitchcock, baseball player (aged 89; Opelika, AL, USA)
	+ Jimmy Outlaw, baseball player (aged 93; Jackson, AL, USA)
* April 11
	+ Mike Murphy, professional musician (aged 60; Cleveland, OH, USA)
	+ Proof, rapper (D12) (aged 32; Detroit, MI, USA)
* April 15 – Louise Smith, race car driver (aged 89; Anderson, SC, USA)
* April 16
	+ Morton Freedgood, author (aged 93; West New York, NJ, USA)
	+ Daniel Schaefer, politician (aged 70; Wheat Ridge, CO, USA)
* April 17 – Elford Albin Cederberg, politician (aged 88; The Villages, FL, USA)
* April 19 – Bob Dove, American football player (aged 85; Canfield, OH, USA)
* April 24 – Sibby Sisti, baseball player (aged 85; Amherst, NY, USA)
* April 25 – Jane Jacobs, American-born Canadian writer and activist (aged 89; Toronto, ON, Canada)
* April 29 – Alberta Nelson, actress (aged 68; Erie, PA, USA)

### May

* May 6 – Lillian Asplund, last American survivor of the RMS Titanic (aged 99; Shrewsbury, MA, USA)
* May 10 – A. M. Rosenthal, Canadian-American journalist (aged 84; Manhattan, NY, USA)
* May 11 – Floyd Patterson, boxer (aged 71; New Paltz, NY, USA)
* May 12 – Sonny Montgomery, general and politician (aged 85; Meridian, MS, USA)
* May 13
	+ Jaroslav Pelikan, historian (aged 82; Hamden, CT, USA)
	+ Johnnie Wilder Jr., R&B singer (aged 56; Dayton, OH, USA)
* May 14 – Robert Bruce Merrifield, biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (aged 84; Cresskill, NJ, USA)
* May 21 – Billy Walker, country musician (aged 77; Fort Deposit, AL, USA)
* May 23 – Lloyd Bentsen, U.S. Senator from Texas from 1971 to 1993 (aged 85; Houston, TX, USA)
* May 27 – Paul Gleason, actor (aged 67; Burbank, CA, USA)
* May 31 – Raymond Davis Jr., chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (aged 91; Blue Point, NY, USA)

### June

* June 1 – William Winn, psychologist (aged 61; Westchester, NY, USA)
* June 2 – Vince Welnick, keyboardist (aged 55; Sonoma County, CA, USA)
* June 6
	+ Billy Preston, artist and musician (aged 59; Scottsdale, AZ, USA)
	+ Hilton Ruiz, jazz pianist (aged 54; New Orleans, LA, USA)
* June 8 – Robert Donner, actor (aged 75; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* June 11 – Michael Bartosh, engineer and businessman (aged 28; Tokyo, Japan)
* June 13
	+ Freddie Gorman, songwriter (aged 67; Palmdale, CA, USA)
	+ Luis Jiménez, sculptor (aged 65; Hondo, NM, USA)
* June 23 – Aaron Spelling, television producer (aged 83; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* June 25 – Arif Mardin, Turkish-American music producer (aged 74; New York City, NY, USA)
* June 27 – Eileen Barton, singer (aged 81; West Hollywood, CA, USA)

### July

* July 5 – Kenneth Lay, businessman (aged 64; Snowmass, CO, USA)
* July 7 – John Money, New Zealand psychologist, sexologist and author (aged 84; Towson, MD, USA)
* July 8 – June Allyson, actress (aged 88; Ojai, CA, USA)
* July 13 – Red Buttons, actor and comedian (aged 87; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* July 16 – Destiny Norton, murder victim (aged 5; Salt Lake City, UT, USA)
* July 17 – Mickey Spillane, writer (aged 88; Murrells Inlet, SC, USA)
* July 19 – Jack Warden, actor (aged 85; New York City, NY, USA)
* July 21
	+ Mako, Japanese-American actor and singer (aged 72; Somis, CA, USA)
	+ J. Madison Wright Morris, actress (aged 21; Lexington, KY, USA)
* July 30 – Murray Bookchin, libertarian socialist (aged 85; Burlington, VT, USA)

### August

* August 1 – Rufus Harley, jazz musician (aged 70; Philadelphia, PA, USA)
* August 3 – Arthur Lee, musician (aged 61; Memphis, TN, USA)
* August 6 – Marcus Fiesel, murder victim (aged 3; Union Township, OH, USA)
* August 9 – James Van Allen, physicist (aged 91; Iowa City, IA, USA)
* August 11 – Mike Douglas, talk show host and actor (aged 86; Palm Beach Gardens, FL, USA)
* August 13 – Tony Jay, English-American actor and voice artist (aged 73; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* August 16 – Herschel Green, fighter pilot (aged 86; Torrance, CA, USA)
* August 20 – Joe Rosenthal, photographer (aged 94; Novato, CA, USA)
* August 21 – John Hulett, African American civil rights activist (aged 78; Lowndes County, AL, USA)
* August 23 – Ed Warren, paranormal investigator and author (aged 79; Monroe, CT, USA)
* August 28 – Melvin Schwartz, Nobel-winning physicist (aged 73; Twin Falls, ID, USA)
* August 30 – Glenn Ford, Canadian actor (aged 90; Beverly Hills, CA, USA)

### September

* September 1 – Nellie Connally, socialite (aged 87; Austin, TX, USA)
* September 2 – Bob Mathias, athlete (aged 75; Fresno, CA, USA)
* September 7 – Robert Earl Jones, actor and boxer (aged 96; Englewood, NJ, USA)
* September 9 – Herbert Rudley, actor (aged 96; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* September 10 – Daniel Wayne Smith, actor (aged 20; Nassau, Bahamas)
* September 11 – Pat Corley, actor (aged 76; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* September 13 – Ann Richards, 45th Governor of Texas from 1991 to 1995 (aged 73; Austin, TX, USA)
* September 17 – Patricia Kennedy Lawford, socialite (aged 82; New York City, NY, USA)
* September 22 – Edward Albert, actor (aged 55; Malibu, CA, USA)
* September 23 – Etta Baker, piedmont blues guitarist (aged 93; Fairfax, VA, USA)
* September 26
	+ Byron Nelson, golfer (aged 94; Roanoke, TX, USA)
	+ Iva Toguri D'Aquino, propagandist for Japan in World War II (aged 90; Chicago, IL, USA)
* September 30 – Josh Graves, bluegrass musician (aged 79; Nashville, TN, USA)

### October

* October 2
	+ Frances Bergen, actress (aged 83; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
	+ Tamara Dobson, actress (aged 59; Baltimore, MD, USA)
* October 5 – George King, basketball player and coach (aged 78; Naples, FL, USA)
* October 6 – Buck O'Neil, baseball player and manager (aged 94; Kansas City, MO, USA)
* October 7 – Anna Politkovskaya, American-born Russian journalist (aged 48; Moscow, Russia)
* October 9 – Glenn Myernick, soccer player and coach (aged 51; Thornton, CO, USA)
* October 11 – Cory Lidle, baseball player (aged 34; New York City, NY, USA)
* October 13 – Hilda Terry, cartoonist (aged 92; New York City, NY, USA)
* October 14
	+ Freddy Fender, singer (aged 69; Corpus Christi, TX, USA)
	+ Gerry Studds, politician (aged 69; Boston, MA, USA)
* October 17 – Megan Meier, notable victim (aged 13; Dardenne Prairie, MO, USA)
* October 18 – Alvin M. Weinberg, nuclear physicist (aged 91; Oak Ridge, TN, USA)
* October 20 – Jane Wyatt, actress (aged 96; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* October 21 – Sandy West, rock musician, former member of The Runaways (aged 47; San Dimas, CA, USA)
* October 24 – Enolia McMillan, American civil rights activist (aged 102; Stevenson, MD, USA)
* October 27 – Brad Will, activist (aged 36; Oaxaca, Mexico)
* October 28 – Red Auerbach, basketball coach and official (aged 89; Washington, DC, USA)
* October 30 – Clifford Geertz, anthropologist (aged 80; Philadelphia, PA, USA)

### November

* November 1
	+ Adrienne Shelly, actress and director (aged 40; New York City, NY, USA)
	+ William Styron, writer (aged 81; Martha's Vineyard, MA, USA)
* November 2
	+ Red Hayworth, baseball player (aged 90; High Point, NC, USA)
	+ Carroll Knicely, publisher (aged 77; Glasgow, KY, USA)
	+ Leonard Schrader, screenwriter (aged 62; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* November 3
	+ Belden Bly, teacher (aged 92; Wakefield, MA, USA)
	+ Sputnik Monroe, professional wrestler (aged 77; FL, USA)
* November 4
	+ Nelson S. Bond, writer (aged 97; Roanoke, VA, USA)
	+ William Lee Brent, black panther party member (aged 75; Havana, Cuba)
* November 5 – Samuel Bowers, Ku Klux Klansman and convicted killer (aged 82; Sunflower County, MS, USA)
* November 8 – Basil Poledouris, composer (aged 61; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* November 9 – Ed Bradley, African-American journalist (aged 65; New York City, NY, USA)
* November 10 – Jack Palance, actor (aged 87; Montecito, CA, USA)
* November 14
	+ Sumner Shapiro, admiral (aged 80; McLean, VA, USA)
	+ Pete Suder, baseball player (aged 90; Aliquippa, PA, USA)
* November 16 – Milton Friedman, American Nobel economist (aged 94; San Francisco, CA, USA)
* November 17 – Ruth Brown, singer (aged 78; Henderson, NV, USA)
* November 20
	+ Robert Altman, film director (aged 81; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
	+ Andre Waters, American football player and coach (aged 44; Tampa, FL, USA)
* November 23
	+ Anita O'Day, American singer (aged 87; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
	+ Willie Pep, boxer (aged 84; Rocky Hill, CT, USA)
* November 24 – Walter Booker, jazz bassist (aged 72; Manhattan, NY, USA)
* November 25 – Kenneth M. Taylor, pilot (aged 86; Tucson, AZ, USA)
* November 26 – Dave Cockrum, comic book artist (aged 63; Belton, SC, USA)
* November 30 – Shirley Walker, composer and conductor for film and television (aged 61; Reno, NV, USA)

### December

* December 2 – Kari Edwards, poet (aged 52; San Francisco, CA, USA)
* December 3 – Logan Whitehurst, musician (aged 29; Los Banos, CA, USA)
* December 7 – Jeane Kirkpatrick, political theorist and U.N. ambassador (aged 80; Bethesda, MD, USA)
* December 8 – Martha Tilton, singer (aged 91; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* December 9 – Georgia Gibbs, singer (aged 88; New York City, NY, USA)
* December 11 – Elizabeth Bolden, supercentenarian (aged 116; Memphis, TN, USA)
* December 12
	+ Paul Arizin, basketball player (aged 78; Springfield, PA, USA)
	+ Peter Boyle, actor (aged 71; New York City, NY, USA)
	+ Ellis Rubin, attorney and author (aged 81; Miami, FL, USA)
	+ Raymond P. Shafer, politician (aged 89; Meadville, PA, USA)
* December 13
	+ Lamar Hunt, sports executive (aged 74; Dallas, TX, USA)
	+ Homesick James, blues musician (aged 96; Springfield, MO, USA)
	+ Rebecca Riley, murder victim (aged 4; Hull, MA, USA)
* December 14 – Mike Evans, actor (aged 57; Twentynine Palms, CA, USA)
* December 16 – Marjorie F. Lambert, archaeologist, anthropologist (aged 98; Santa Fe, NM, USA)
* December 18 – Joseph Barbera, cartoonist (aged 95; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* December 25 – James Brown, musician (aged 73; Atlanta, GA, USA)
* December 26 – Gerald Ford, 38th President of the United States from 1974 to 1977, 40th Vice President of the United States from 1973 to 1974 (aged 93; Rancho Mirage, CA, USA)
* December 29 – Red Wolf, bucking bull (aged 18; Mont Belvieu, TX, USA)
* December 30 – Sadam Hussein, President of Iraq from 1979 to 2003 (aged 71; Baghdad, Iraq)
* December 31 – Seymour Martin Lipset, sociologist (aged 84; Arlington, VA, USA)