2005

Events from the year **2005 in the United States**.

* Chief Justice: William Rehnquist (WI) (until September 3), John Roberts (NY) (starting September 29)
* Speaker of the House of Representatives: Dennis Hastert (R-IL)
* Senate Majority Leader: Bill Frist (R-TN)
* Congress: 108th (until January 3), 109th (starting January 3)

Governors
* Governor of Alabama: Bob Riley (Republican)
* Governor of Alaska: Frank Murkowski (Republican)
* 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)
* Governor of Illinois: Rod Blagojevich (Democratic)
* Governor of Indiana: Joe Kernan (Democratic) (until January 10), Mitch Daniels (Republican) (starting January 10)
* 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: Bob Holden (Democratic) (until January 10), Matt Blunt (Republican) (starting January 10)
* Governor of Montana: Judy Martz (Republican) (until January 3), Brian Schweitzer (Democratic) (starting January 3)
* Governor of Nebraska: Mike Johanns (Republican) (until January 20), Dave Heineman (Republican) (starting January 20)
* Governor of Nevada: Kenny Guinn (Republican)
* Governor of New Hampshire: Craig Benson (Republican) (until January 6), John Lynch (Democratic) (starting January 6)
* Governor of New Jersey: Richard Codey (Democratic)
* 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: Olene S. Walker (Republican) (until January 3), Jon Huntsman Jr. (Republican) (starting January 3)
* Governor of Vermont: Jim Douglas (Republican)
* Governor of Virginia: Mark Warner (Democratic)
* Governor of Washington: Gary Locke (Democratic) (until January 12), Christine Gregoire (Democratic) (starting January 12)
* Governor of West Virginia: Bob Wise (Democratic) (until January 17), Joe Manchin (Democratic) (starting January 17)
* 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)
* Lieutenant Governor of Arkansas: Winthrop Paul Rockefeller (Republican)
* 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: Kathy Davis (Democratic) (until January 10), Becky Skillman (Republican) (starting January 10)
* 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: Joe Maxwell (Democratic) (until January 10), Peter Kinder (Republican) (starting January 10)
* Lieutenant Governor of Montana: Karl Ohs (Republican) (until January 3), John Bohlinger (Republican) (starting January 3)
* Lieutenant Governor of Nebraska:
	+ until January 20: Dave Heineman (Republican)
	+ January 20-January 24: vacant
	+ starting January 24: 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: Jennette Bradley (Republican) (until January 5), Bruce E. Johnson (Republican) (starting January 5)
* 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: Gayle McKeachnie (Republican) (until January 3), Gary Herbert (Republican) (starting January 3)
* Lieutenant Governor of Vermont: Brian Dubie (Republican)
* Lieutenant Governor of Virginia: Tim Kaine (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Washington: Brad Owen (Democratic)
* Lieutenant Governor of Wisconsin: Barbara Lawton (Democratic)

## Events

### January

* January 1 – President George W. Bush delivers a radio address on the Indian Ocean tsunami relief efforts.
* January 3 – President George W. Bush is joined by former Presidents George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton in the Roosevelt Room as he announces that the two former presidents will be involved with the humanitarian response to the tsunami across the region of South and Southeast Asia.
* January 6 – The U.S. Congress certifies the victory of President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney despite the objection of Ohio's electoral votes by Ohio congresswoman Stephanie Tubbs Jones and California senator Barbara Boxer. It was the first objection to a state's electoral votes since 1969.
* January 12 – *Deep Impact* is launched from Cape Canaveral by a Delta 2 rocket.
* January 20 – President George W. Bush and Vice President Dick Cheney begin their second term.
* January 22 – Fox Box, Fox's Saturday morning programming block owned by 4Kids Entertainment, is rebranded as 4Kids TV.
* January 26 – Glendale train crash: Two trains derail in Glendale, California, killing 11 and injuring 200.

### February

* February 6 – Super Bowl XXXIX: The New England Patriots defeat the Philadelphia Eagles 24–21 at Alltel Stadium in Jacksonville, Florida.
* February 10 – North Korea announces that it possesses nuclear weapons as a protection against the hostility it feels from the United States.
* February 14 – The Internet site YouTube goes online.
* February 16 – The Kyoto Protocol goes into effect, without the support of the United States and Australia.
* February 21 – *Avatar: The Last Airbender* premieres on Nickelodeon.
* February 24 – David Hernandez Arroyo goes on a shooting rampage at the Smith County Courthouse in Tyler, Texas. He kills two, including his ex-wife, and injures four people, before being killed in a police chase.
* February 25 – Wichita, Kansas police apprehend the "BTK" serial killer Dennis Rader, 31 years after his first murder.
* February 27 – The 77th Academy Awards, hosted by Chris Rock, are held at Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, with Clint Eastwood's *Million Dollar Baby* winning Best Picture and Best Director, Eastwood's second win for both. Martin Scorsese's *The Aviator* wins five awards out of 11 nominations. The telecast garners over 42.1 million viewers.

### March

* March 1 – *Roper v. Simmons*: The Supreme Court of the United States rules the death penalty unconstitutional for juveniles who committed their crimes before the age of 18.
* March 4 – The car of released Italian hostage Giuliana Sgrena is fired on by U.S. soldiers in Iraq, causing the death of one passenger and injuring two more.
* March 11 – Three people, including a judge, are murdered in the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta, Georgia; the main suspect, Brian Nichols, surrenders to police the next day.
* March 12 – Terry Ratzmann opens fire during a church sermon in New Berlin, Wisconsin, killing seven and injuring four before taking his own life.
* March 21 – Ten are killed in the Red Lake shootings in Minnesota by teenager Jeff Weise, who commits suicide after a shootout with police. It is the worst school shooting since the Columbine High School massacre.
* March 23 – The United States' 11th Circuit Court of Appeals refuses (by a vote of 2–1) to stop the euthanasia of Terri Schiavo, who has been in a vegetative state since 1990, by not ordering the reinsertion of her feeding tube.
* March 24 – *The Office* debuts on NBC.
* March 31 – Terri Schiavo dies at the age of 41 in Pinellas Park, Florida.

### April

* April 8 – *Fever Pitch*, a film starring Jimmy Fallon and Drew Barrymore documenting the Boston Red Sox 2004 World Series run, is released.
* April 9 – Tens of thousands of demonstrators, many of them supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr, march through Baghdad denouncing the U.S. occupation of Iraq, two years after the fall of Saddam Hussein, and rally in the square where his statue was toppled in 2003.
* April 30 – *Newsweek* alleges that American interrogators and guards have desecrated the Qur'an in attempts to rattle Islamic detainees.

### May

* May 10 – A hand grenade ostensibly thrown by Vladimir Arutinian lands about 100 feet (30 m) from United States President George W. Bush while he is giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, but the explosive malfunctions and does not detonate.
* May 13
	+ The United States Department of Defense issues a list of bases to be closed as part of the Base Realignment and Closure process (BRAC 2005).
	+ Serial killer Michael Bruce Ross becomes the first person executed in New England in 45 years.
* May 16 – George Galloway appears before a United States Senate committee to answer allegations of making money from the Iraqi Oil-for-Food Program.
* May 19 – *Star Wars: Episode III – Revenge of the Sith* is released in theaters.
* May 21 – Kingda Ka at Six Flags Great Adventure opens to the public, becoming the fastest and tallest roller coaster in the world at the time.
* May 31 – W. Mark Felt reveals himself to be the Watergate scandal whistleblower called "Deep Throat."

### June

* June 2 – The construction of Northrop Grumman X–47B, the world's first unmanned surveillance attack aircraft that can operate from both land bases and aircraft carriers, begins.
* June 17 – Because of "quadruple-witching" options and futures expiration, the New York Stock Exchange sees the heaviest first-hour trading on record. 704 million shares are traded between 9:30–10:30 a.m. (1.92 billion shares for the day).
* June 23 – The social news site Reddit launches.
* June 24 – A Volna booster rocket carrying the first light sail spacecraft (a joint Russian-United States project) fails 83 seconds after its launch, destroying the spacecraft.
* June 30 – The Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) is passed by the United States.

### July

* July 4
	+ The Italy–USA Foundation is established in Rome, Italy.
	+ NASA's "Copper bullet" from the *Deep Impact* spacecraft hits Comet Tempel 1, creating a crater for scientific studies.
* July 8 – *Fantastic Four*, directed by Tim Story, is released as the first film in the Fantastic Four film series.
* July 10 – Hurricane Dennis strikes near Navarre Beach, Florida as a Category 3 storm. The storm kills 88 people and causes $4 billion in damages.
* July 19 – President Bush nominates John Roberts to the U.S. Supreme Court to fill a vacancy that would be left by the resignation of Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
* July 24 – Lance Armstrong wins a record 7th straight Tour de France before his scheduled retirement. In 2012 he will be disqualified from each of those races and banned from cycling for life for doping offenses by the United States Anti-Doping Agency (USADA).
* July 26 – STS–114 launches as the first "Return to Flight" Space Shuttle mission following the Space Shuttle *Columbia* disaster in 2003.

### August

* August 2 – The Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) is signed into law in the United States.
* August 9 – Space Shuttle *Discovery* returns to Edwards Air Force Base at 0814 EDT, completing STS–114, "Return to Flight".
* August 12 – The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is launched.
* August 23 – Hurricane Katrina forms over the Bahamas.
* August 29 – At least 1,836 are killed, and severe damage is caused along the U.S. Gulf Coast, as Hurricane Katrina strikes coastal areas from Louisiana to Alabama, and travels up the entire state of Mississippi (flooding coast 31 feet (9.4 m)), affecting most of eastern North America. Katrina becomes the costliest hurricane in U.S. history with $108 billion in damages. The New Orleans Saints football team will play their entire 2005 season on the road due to the effects of the hurricane.

### September

* September 1 – Oil prices rise sharply following the economic effects of Hurricane Katrina.
* September 3 – Chief Justice William Rehnquist dies at 80 of anaplastic thyroid cancer, creating a vacancy on the Supreme Court.
* September 5 – John Roberts is nominated by President George W. Bush for Chief Justice of the United States, replacing William Rehnquist, who had died two days previously. Roberts was previously nominated to fill the seat of retiring Justice Sandra Day O'Connor, but given the circumstances of Rehnquist's death, O'Connor remains on the Court until her successor is confirmed.
* September 7– The largest evacuation in Houston history takes place as millions evacuate from Hurricane Rita.
* September 14 – The largest U.N. World Summit in history is held in New York City begins.
* September 16 – U.N. World Summit ends.
* September 20 – The NFL sees the groundbreaking ceremony for two new stadiums, the Indianapolis Colts' Lucas Oil Stadium ($720 million) and the Dallas Cowboys' temporarily named Cowboys Stadium ($1.15 billion).
* September 23 – Convicted bank thief and Boricua Popular Army leader, Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, is killed in his home in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico when members of the FBI attempt to serve an arrest warrant.
* September 24
	+ Worldwide protests occur against the Iraq War, with over 150,000 protesters in Washington, D.C. (see Opposition to the Iraq War).
	+ Hurricane Rita hits the U.S. Gulf Coast, devastating areas near Beaumont, Texas and Lake Charles, Louisiana. The Ninth Ward of New Orleans re-floods since Katrina, and Mississippi and Alabama are also affected. The storm kills 120 people and causes $12 billion in damages.
* September 26
	+ U.S. Army Reservist Lynndie England is convicted by a military jury on six of seven counts in connection with the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal.
	+ Sprout (now Universal Kids) is launched by a joint venture between PBS, Comcast, HIT Entertainment, and Sesame Workshop. The new network replaces PBS Kids, allowing for an initial reach of 16.5 million subscribers.
	+ DT Racer is released on the PlayStation 2, developed by Axis Entertainment and published by XS Games.
* September 28 – United States House Majority Leader Tom DeLay (R–Texas) is indicted on charges of criminal conspiracy by a Texas grand jury.
* September 29 – John Roberts is confirmed and sworn in as the 17th Chief Justice of the United States.

### October

* October 1
	+ An Australian photojournalist in Afghanistan, Stephen Dupont, films U.S. soldiers burning two dead Taliban militias' bodies.
	+ The United States housing bubble begins to burst, causing home prices to stop rising unexpectedly and begin to decline.
* October 2
	+ The first regular-season NFL game played outside of the U.S. pits the San Francisco 49ers against the Arizona Cardinals at Estadio Azteca in Mexico City, Mexico. The Cardinals win by a score of 31–14.
	+ A tour boat capsizes on Lake George, New York killing 20 of 47 aboard.
* October 3
	+ U.S. President George W. Bush nominates Harriet Miers to replace Associate Justice Sandra Day O'Connor.
	+ St. Tammany Parish schools reopen in Louisiana, just over a month after Hurricane Katrina.
* October 15 – A riot occurs in Toledo, Ohio during a neo-Nazi rally on racial issues; 114 are arrested.
* October 16 – U.S. helicopters and warplanes bomb two villages near Ramadi in western Iraq, killing about 70 people.
* October 19 – The Houston Astros win their first National League Championship, advancing to their first World Series in franchise history.
* October 24
	+ Hurricane Wilma makes landfall in southwestern Florida as a Category 3 hurricane. There are 23 direct dead, 39 indirect dead and $29.1 billion in damages.
	+ Civil rights activist Rosa Parks, who made headlines when she refused to give up her seat in a Montgomery bus, dies of natural causes at the age of 92 in Detroit. She becomes the first woman to lie in honor in the United States Capitol rotunda.
* October 25 – The Chicago White Sox defeat the Houston Astros 7–5 in 14 innings in the first World Series game in the State of Texas to extend their lead to 3–0, putting them within one win of the Series. The game, which takes 5 hours and 41 minutes to complete, is the longest postseason game by time.
* October 26
	+ The Chicago White Sox beat the Houston Astros in four games to win their first World Series since 1917.
	+ The U.S. death toll in Iraq reaches 2,000.
* October 27 – After issues arise of her competency to adjudicate United States constitutional law, Harriet Miers withdraws her name from consideration for the Supreme Court of the United States.
* October 28 – Vice presidential adviser Lewis "Scooter" Libby resigns after being charged with obstruction of justice, perjury and making a false statement in the CIA leak investigation.
* October 31
	+ U.S. President George W. Bush nominates federal appeals court judge Samuel Alito for Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.
	+ Astronomers announce the discovery of two additional moons orbiting the Pluto/Charon system. Subsequently, named Nix and Hydra, the moons have been found in images from the Hubble Space Telescope.

### November

* November 1
	+ United States Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and his fellow Democrats force a closed session of the Senate over the Lewis Libby indictment.
	+ Charles, Prince of Wales and Camilla, Duchess of Cornwall arrive in the United States for a state visit, their first overseas tour since their marriage.
* November 4
	+ The U.S. and Uruguay governments sign a Bilateral Investment Treaty.
	+ Walt Disney Pictures' 46th feature film, *Chicken Little*, Disney's first fully computer-animated film, is released to stronger box office success than most of the studio's most recent output, though it is one of their biggest critical flops.
* November 6 – Evansville Tornado of November 2005: A tornado hits western Kentucky and southwestern Indiana, killing 25 with $92 million in damages.
* November 20 – *The Washington Post* rebukes journalist Bob Woodward over his conduct in the CIA leak probe.

### December

* December 1 – The unemployment rate falls below 5% for the first time since August 2001; it will remain below 5% until December 2007.
* December 7 – A U.S. federal air marshal fatally shoots Rigoberto Alpizar on a jetway at Miami International Airport in Florida.
* December 8 – Southwest Airlines Flight 1248 overshoots the runway at Chicago Midway Airport, killing a 6-year-old boy and injuring 11 other people.
* December 16 – The 43rd Mersenne prime is found, 230,402,457.1. It was discovered with the GIMPS project by Dr. Curtis Cooper and Dr. Steven Boone, professors at Central Missouri State University.
* December 20
	+ 2005 New York City transit strike: New York City's Transport Workers Union Local 100 goes on strike for three days, shutting down all New York City Subway and Bus services.
	+ Angela Johnson becomes the first woman in 50 years to be sentenced to death by the United States federal government. She is convicted of five murders in Iowa, receiving the death penalty for four of them.
* December 23 – U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announces the first in an expected series of troop drawdowns following the Iraqi elections.

## Memoriam

### January

* January 1
	+ Shirley Chisholm, politician, educator and author (aged 80; Ormond Beach, FL, USA)
	+ Eugene J. Martin, artist (aged 66; Lafayette, LA, USA)
	+ Bob Matsui, Japanese-American politician (aged 63; Bethesda, MD, USA)
* January 2
	+ Arnold Denker, chess player (aged 90; Fort Lauderdale, FL, USA)
	+ Maclyn McCarty, geneticist (aged 93; New York City, NY, USA)
* January 3 – Will Eisner, cartoonist, writer and entrepreneur (aged 87; Lauderdale Lakes, FL, USA)
* January 4
	+ Guy Davenport, writer, artist and scholar (aged 77; Lexington, KY, USA)
	+ Robert Heilbroner, writer (aged 85; New York City, NY, USA)
	+ Alton Tobey, artist (aged 90; Mamaroneck, NY, USA)
* January 7 – Rosemary Kennedy, socialite (aged 86; Fort Atkinson, WI, USA)
* January 10 – James Forman, civil rights activist (aged 76; Washington, DC, USA)
* January 11 – Spencer Dryden, rock drummer (aged 66; Petaluma, CA, USA)
* January 15 – Ruth Warrick, singer, actress and political activist (aged 88; New York City, NY, USA)
* January 17 – Virginia Mayo, actress (aged 84; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* January 19 – Lamont Bentley, actor and rapper (aged 31; Ventura County, CA, USA)
* January 20 – Roland Frye, theologian and critic (aged 83; Gladwyne, PA, USA)
* January 21 – Adrianne Leigh Reynolds, murder victim (aged 16; Moline, IL, USA)
* January 23 – Johnny Carson, television host and comedian (aged 79; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* January 25 – Philip Johnson, architect (aged 98; New Canaan, CT, USA)
* January 28 – Lucien Carr, key member of the original New York City circle of the Beat Generation in the 1940s (aged 79; Washington, DC, USA)

### February

* February 1 – John Vernon, Canadian actor (aged 72; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* February 3 – Ernst Mayr, German-American evolutionary biologist (aged 100; Bedford, MA, USA)
* February 4 – Ossie Davis, actor, director, poet, playwright, author and activist (aged 87; Miami Beach, FL, USA)
* February 5 – Bob Brannum, basketball player (aged 79; Marshfield, MA, USA)
* February 6
	+ Elbert N. Carvel, politician (aged 94; Laurel, DE, USA)
	+ Merle Kilgore, singer and songwriter (aged 70; Mexico)
* February 8
	+ Mike Bishop, basketball player (aged 46; Bakersfield, CA, USA)
	+ George Herman, journalist (aged 85; New York City, NY, USA)
	+ Keith Knudsen, drummer (aged 56; Kentfield, CA, USA)
	+ Jimmy Smith, jazz musician (aged 79; Scottsdale, AZ, USA)
* February 10 – Arthur Miller, playwright and husband of Marilyn Monroe (aged 89; Roxbury, CT, USA)
* February 11 – Jack L. Chalker, author and writer (aged 60; Baltimore, MD, USA)
* February 12
	+ Brian Kelly, actor (aged 73; Voorhees Township, NJ, USA)
	+ Sammi Smith, country music singer-songwriter (aged 61; Oklahoma City, OK, USA)
* February 13 – Nelson Briles, baseball player (aged 61; Orlando, FL, USA)
* February 14 – Dick Weber, boxer (aged 75; Florissant, MO, USA)
* February 14 – F. M. Busby, author (aged 83; Seattle, WA, USA)
* February 15 – Samuel T. Francis, American Radical right columnist and writer (aged 57; Cheverly, MD, USA)
* February 20
	+ Sandra Dee, actress (aged 62; Thousand Oaks, CA, USA)
	+ Hunter S. Thompson, journalist (aged 67; Woody Creek, CO, USA)
* February 24 – Hugh Nibley, scholar and prominent member of the Church of Jesus Christ Latter-day Saints (aged 94; Provo, UT, USA)
* February 25 – Ben Bowen, child cancer patient (aged 2; Huntington, WV, USA)
* February 26 – Jef Raskin, computer scientist (aged 61; Pacifica, CA, USA)

### March

* March 6
	+ Hans Bethe, German-born physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (aged 98; Ithaca, NY, USA)
	+ Teresa Wright, actress (aged 86; New Haven, CT, USA)
* March 9 – Chris LeDoux, rodeo performer and singer (aged 56; Casper, WY, USA)
* March 13 – Lyn Collins, R&B singer (aged 56; Pasadena, CA, USA)
* March 17
	+ George F. Kennan, diplomat and political advisor (aged 101; Princeton, NJ, USA)
	+ Andre Norton, writer (aged 93; Murfreesboro, TN, USA)
* March 19 – John DeLorean, car maker (aged 80; Summit, NJ, USA)
* March 21
	+ Bobby Short, pianist and singer (aged 80; New York City, NY, USA)
	+ Jeff Weise, teenage mass murderer and spree killer (aged 16; Red Lake, MN, USA)
* March 29
	+ Johnnie Cochran, lawyer (aged 67; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
	+ Mitch Hedberg, stand-up comedian (aged 37; Livingston, NJ, USA)
* March 30
	+ Robert Creeley, poet (aged 78; Odessa, TX, USA)
	+ Fred Korematsu, Japanese-American civil rights activist (aged 86; Marin County, CA, USA)
* March 31 – Terri Schiavo, right-to-die cause célèbre (aged 41; Pinellas Park, FL, USA)

### April

* April 5
	+ Jack Keller, songwriter and producer (aged 68; Nashville, TN, USA)
	+ Saul Bellow, writer (aged 89; Brookline, MA, USA)
* April 14 – Saunders Mac Lane, mathematician (aged 95; San Francisco, CA, USA)
* April 16 – Marla Ruzicka, activist, founder of Campaign for Innocent Victims in Conflict (aged 28; Baghdad, Iraq)
* April 19 – Ruth Hussey, actress (aged 93; Newbury Park, CA, USA)
* April 22 – Philip Morrison, physicist (aged 89; Cambridge, MA, USA)
* April 26 – Mason Adams, actor (aged 86; Manhattan, NY, USA)
* April 28 – Chris Candido, professional wrestler (aged 33; New Brunswick, NJ, USA)

### May

* May 7 – Peter W. Rodino, politician (aged 95; West Orange, NJ, USA)
* May 8 – Lloyd Cutler, attorney and Presidential advisor (aged 87; Washington, DC, USA)
* May 13 – George Dantzig, mathematician (aged 90; Stanford, CA, USA)
* May 14 – Jimmy Martin, musician (aged 77; Nashville, TN, USA)
* May 16 – Eliza Jane Scovill, AIDS victim (aged 3; Van Nuys, CA, USA)
* May 17 – Frank Gorshin, actor, impressionist and comedian (aged 72; Burbank, CA, USA)
* May 21 – Howard Morris, actor (aged 85; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* May 22 – Thurl Ravenscroft, voice actor (aged 91; Fullerton, CA, USA)
* May 26 – Eddie Albert, actor (aged 99; Los Angeles, CA, USA)

### June

* June 4 – Ronald F. Marryott, admiral (aged 71; MD, USA)
* June 6
	+ Maurice Rabb Jr., ophthalmologist (aged 72; Chicago, IL, USA)
	+ Dana Elcar, actor (aged 77; Ventura, CA, USA)
	+ Anne Bancroft, actress and wife of Mel Brooks (aged 73; New York City, NY, USA)
* June 7 - Terry Long, American football player (aged 45; Pittsburgh, PA, USA)
* June 13 – Lane Smith, actor (aged 69; Northridge, CA, USA)
* June 20
	+ Charles David Keeling, climate scientist (aged 77; San Diego, CA, USA)
	+ Jack Kilby, electronics engineer, Nobel Prize laureate (aged 81; Dallas, TX, USA)
* June 24 – Paul Winchell, ventriloquist, comedian, actor, voice artist, humanitarian and inventor (aged 82; Moorpark, CA, USA)
* June 25
	+ Domino Harvey, British-American bounty hunter (aged 35; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
	+ John Fiedler, actor (aged 80; Englewood, NJ, USA)
* June 27 – Shelby Foote, historian and novelist (aged 88; Memphis, TN, USA)
* June 28
	+ Danny Dietz, naval officer (aged 25; Kunar Province, Afghanistan)
	+ Erik S. Kristensen, naval officer (aged 33; Kunar Province, Afghanistan)
	+ Michael P. Murphy, naval officer (aged 29; Kunar Province, Afghanistan)
	+ Stephen C. Reich, 160th SOAR officer (aged 34; Kunar Province, Afghanistan)

### July

* July 1 – Luther Vandross, singer, songwriter and record producer (aged 54; Edison, NJ, USA)
* July 4
	+ June Haver, actress and singer (aged 79; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
	+ Hank Stram, football coach (aged 82; Covington, LA, USA)
* July 5 – James Stockdale, admiral and vice presidential candidate (aged 81; Coronado, CA, USA)
* July 6
	+ Bruno Augenstein, German-American mathematician and physicist (aged 82; CA, USA)
	+ L. Patrick Gray, FBI director (aged 88; Atlantic Beach, FL, USA)
	+ Ed McBain, screenwriter and crime fiction writer (aged 78; Weston, CT, USA)
* July 9 – Kevin Hagen, television actor (aged 77; Grants Pass, OR, USA)
* July 11 – Frances Langford, radio and film actress and singer (aged 92; Jensen Beach, FL, USA)
* July 14 – Joe Harnell, pianist and composer (aged 80; Sherman Oaks, CA, USA)
* July 16 – John Ostrom, paleontologist (aged 77; Litchfield, CT, USA)
* July 18 – William Westmoreland, general (aged 91; Charleston, SC, USA)
* July 20 – James Doohan, Canadian actor (aged 85; Redmond, WA, USA)
* July 23 – Myron Floren, accordionist (aged 85; Rolling Hills Estates, CA, USA)
* July 25 – Ford Rainey, actor (aged 96; Santa Monica, CA, USA)
* July 26 – Jack Hirshleifer, economist (aged 79; Pacific Palisades, CA, USA)

### August

* August 1 – John Alevizos, businessman (aged 85; Weston, MA, USA)
* August 2 – Jay Hammond, politician (aged 83; Port Alsworth, AK, USA)
* August 8 – John H. Johnson, businessman and publisher. (aged 87; Chicago, IL, USA)
* August 9 – Matthew McGrory, screen actor noted for his height (aged 82; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* August 16 – Joe Ranft, screenwriter, animator, storyboard artist and voice actor (aged 45; Mendocino County, CA, USA)
* August 17 – John N. Bahcall, astrophysicist (aged 70; New York City, NY, USA)
* August 21 – Robert Moog, pioneer of electronic music (aged 71; Asheville, NC, USA)
* August 23 – Brock Peters, actor (aged 78; Los Angeles, CA, USA)

### September

* September 1 – R. L. Burnside, blues singer (aged 78; Memphis, TN, USA)
* September 2 – Bob Denver, actor (aged 70; Winston-Salem, NC, USA)
* September 3
	+ William Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the United States (aged 80; Arlington, VA, USA)
	+ James Rossi, Olympic cyclist (aged 69; Des Plaines, IL, USA)
* September 14 – Robert Wise, film director (aged 91; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* September 25
	+ Don Adams, actor (aged 82; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
	+ Urie Bronfenbrenner, Russian-born professor of psychology (aged 88; Ithaca, NY, USA)

### October

* October 12 – Jack White, journalist and reporter (aged 63; Barnstable, MA, USA)
* October 18 – Bill King, sports broadcaster (aged 78; San Leandro, CA, USA)
* October 21
	+ Tara Correa-McMullen, actress (aged 16; Inglewood, CA, USA)
	+ Alvin Neelley, murderer (aged 52; Milledgeville, GA, USA)
* October 22 – Arman, French-American artist (aged 76; New York City, NY, USA)
* October 24 – Rosa Parks, civil rights activist (aged 92; Detroit, MI, USA)
* October 28 – Richard Smalley, chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (aged 62; Houston, TX, USA)

### November

* November 1 – Michael Piller, screenwriter and producer (aged 57; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* November 4 – Sheree North, actress, dancer and singer (aged 73; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* November 12 – James Fyfe, criminologist and instructor (aged 63; Princeton, NJ, USA)
* November 13 – Eddie Guerrero, Mexican-American professional wrestler (aged 38; Minneapolis, MN, USA)
* November 15 – Adrian Rogers, religious leader (aged 74; Memphis, TN, USA)
* November 16 – Henry Taube, Canadian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (aged 89; Palo Alto, CA, USA)
* November 18
	+ Harold J. Stone, actor (aged 92; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
	+ Elias Syriani, Jordanian-born convicted murderer (aged 67; Raleigh, NC, USA)
* November 24 – Pat Morita, actor (aged 73; Las Vegas, NV, USA)

### December

* December 2
	+ William P. Lawrence, admiral and pilot (aged 75; Crownsville, MD, USA)
	+ Nat Mayer Shapiro, painter (aged 86; New York City, NY, USA)
* December 10 – Richard Pryor, actor and comedian (aged 65; Los Angeles, CA, USA)
* December 14 – Stew Bowers baseball player (aged 90; Havertown, PA, USA)
* December 20 – Bradford Cannon, Boston plastic surgeon (aged 98; Lincoln, MA, USA)
* December 21 – Elrod Hendricks, baseball player and coach (aged 64; Glen Burnie, MD, USA)
* December 31
	+ Sanora Babb, writer (aged 98; Hollywood Hills, CA, USA)
	+ Enrico Di Giuseppe, operatic tenor (aged 73; Voorhees Township, NJ, USA)