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2006
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This article documents a current event.
Information may change rapidly as the event progresses. |
2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. It is also the current year.
It has been designated:
- The International Year of Deserts and Desertification
- The Rembrandt Year, commemorating the 400th anniversary of the birth of Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn, Netherlands' greatest 17th-century painter
- The Tricentennial or 300th anniversary of the birth of Benjamin Franklin, Scientist and Statesman
- The Henrik Ibsen Year, celebrating the 100th year since the death of the Norwegian playwright Henrik Ibsen
- The Mozart Year, celebrating the 250th birthday of the Austrian composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. Also the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dmitri Shostakovich
- The Tesla Year, celebrating the 150th birthday of the electrotechnician Nikola Tesla
- The International Asperger's Year, marking the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dr. Hans Asperger, discoverer of Asperger's Syndrome
- The year of city of Patras as European Capital of Culture
- The year of the Dog in Chinese Astrology (beginning on January 29)
- The year of Study abroad, by resolution of the United States Senate
- The year of Aquarius, the Water Bearer in Western astrology.
Events
January
- January 10 - At the Macworld Conference & Expo, Apple Computer introduces the first Macs with Intel processors: the iMac (Core Duo) and the MacBook Pro. In addition, they introduced the iPod nano In-Ear Lanyard Headphones, which combines the iPod nano Lanyard Headphones and the iPod In-Ear Headphones, the iPod Radio Remote, which is a wired remote that adds FM radio to iPods, and finally, the iPod AV Connection Kit, which includes everything to connect your iPod to your TV.
- January 11 - Augustine Volcano in Alaska erupts twice, marking its first major eruption since 1986.
- January 12 - A stampede during the Stoning of the devil ritual on the last day at the Hajj in Mina, Saudi Arabia, kills 362 Muslim pilgrims.
- January 14 - A natural gas explosion in a coal mine kills eight in Romania.
- January 15 - NASA's Stardust mission successfully ends with the return of the first comet samples.
- January 15 - Socialist Michelle Bachelet is elected the first female President of Chile.
- January 16 - Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is inaugurated as the first female President of Liberia.
- January 19 - the New Horizons spacecraft is launched, beginning the first ever mission to Pluto.
- January 19 - Suicide bombing in Tel Aviv, killing only the bomber himself, but injuring 20 people, one of them seriously.
- January 22 - Portuguese elections are won by Anibal Cavaco Silva. He is the first right wing winner since the Carnation Revolution in 1974
- January 23 - A train crashed near Bioče, a village nine miles northeast of Podgorica in Serbia and Montenegro killing 44 and injuring 184 people after the train's brakes failed. See also Bioče train disaster.
- January 23 - In the Canadian federal election, the Conservatives win a plurality of seats in the House of Commons to form a minority government.
- January 24 - The Parliament of Kuwait vote Kuwaiti Emir Saad Al-Abdullah Al-Salim Al-Sabah out of power moments before his official abdication.
- January 24 - The Walt Disney Company aquires Pixar Animation Studios for $7.4 billion.
- January 25 - Hamas wins the Palestinian legislative election, gaining 76 of 132 legislative seats.
- January 25 - Pope Benedict XVI issues his first papal encyclical, Deus Caritas Est.
- January 27 - Worldwide celebrations for the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Mozart.
- January 27 - Western Union discontinues its telegraph service after 155 years of continuous service.
- January 28 - Arrests in Tehran of many bus workers' union activists, hours before a strike calling for the release of their leader Mansour Osanlou.
- January 28 - The roof of a trade hall collapses near the southern Polish city of Katowice, killing 65 people.
- January 29 - Tarja Halonen wins a second term in office in the Finnish presidential election.
- January 29 - ABC news anchor Bob Woodruff is injured when his vehicle is blown up while reporting in Iraq.
- January 29 - Sheikh Sabah Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah is sworn in as the 15th Emir of Kuwait.
- January 31 - Samuel Alito is confirmed to replace Sandra Day O'Connor on the US Supreme Court.
- January 31 - Ben Bernanke is confirmed to replace Alan Greenspan who had been the Chairman of the Federal Reserve in the United States since 1987.
February
- February 5 - The Pittsburgh Steelers defeat the Seattle Seahawks 21-10 in Super Bowl XL, played at Ford Field in Detroit, Michigan
- February 10 - The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin, Italy.
- February 11 - President of Italy Carlo Azeglio Ciampi dissolves the national parliament.
- February 11 - United States Vice President Dick Cheney shoots and injures Harry Whittington while hunting in rural Texas, becoming the first sitting vice president since Aaron Burr to shoot another person.
- February 16 - Kobe Airport, a controversial offshore airport in Kobe, Japan, opens for airline service.
- February 17 - As many as eighteen hundred people die when a mudslide occurs on the island of Leyte in the Philippines.
- February 19 - Sixty-five miners become trapped underground after an explosion in Nueva Rosita, Mexico during the Pasta de Conchos mine disaster. There were no survivors.
- February 22 - A blast heavily damages the Al Askari Mosque, a Shiite holy site in Samarra, Iraq, causing a wave of protests and counterattacks across Iraq.
- February 22 - Over £53.1 million is stolen during the Securitas depot robbery, the largest ever cash robbery in the United Kingdom.
- February 22 - The one billionth song is purchased from Apple iTunes.
- February 23 - A roof collapses on a Moscow Market, killing 56 people.
- February 24 - A state of emergency is declared in the Philippines after an alleged coup d'etat against President Gloria Arroyo is foiled.
- February 25 - Six police officers, seven protesters, and a journalist receive head wounds when a protest prior to the Love Ulster parade turns into a major riot.
- February 25 - Uganda's President Yoweri Museveni wins 2nd re-election, sparking riots in Kampala by opposition supporters.
- February 26 - The world population reaches 6.5 billion at 0016 UTC according to the U.S. Census Bureau.
- February 26 - The Olympic flag is passed to the mayor of Vancouver, home of the 2010 Winter Olympics, during the Closing Ceremony of the 2006 Winter Olympics.
March
- March 7 - Fifteen people die and many others are injured in three blasts throughout Varanasi, India.
- March 9 - Microsoft unveils the Ultra-Mobile PC, formerly code-named "Origami Project".
- March 9 - NASA's Cassini-Huygens spacecraft discovered geysers of water shooting from Saturn's moon Enceladus, signaling a possible presence of water, which was formerly unknown to exist on the moon.
- March 10 - NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter successfully accomplished Mars Orbit Insertion to enter Mars orbit; for the next eight months, the orbiter will adjust its orbit shape, to begin primary science mission.
- March 11 - Slobodan Milošević, former Yugoslav president, is found dead in his prison cell in The Hague, Netherlands. It was subsequently determined that he died due to a heart attack.
- March 11 - Ram Bahadur Banjan, the teenage boy believed by his followers to be the reincarnation of Gautama Buddha, disappears from the tree he had called home for nearly ten months.
- March 11 - Michelle Bachelet is sworn in as the first female President of Chile.
- March 12 - Springfield, Illinois is hit with its biggest storm in over fifty years as a tornado outbreak sequence causes dozens of tornadoes to occur in Missouri, Kansas, and Illinois over a five-day period.
- March 15 - The 2006 Commonwealth Games open in Melbourne, Australia.
- March 18 - South Australia re-elects Mike Rann and the Labor Party. Tasmania also re-elects Labor with Paul Lennon as Leader.
- March 20 - Tropical Cyclone Larry makes landfall in Queensland, Australia, causing severe damage. It is considered to be the worst cyclone to hit the coast of Queensland since 1931.
Predicted and scheduled events
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This article or section contains information about scheduled or expected future events.
It may contain information of a speculative nature and the content may change dramatically as the event approaches and more information becomes available. |
- March 19 - Belarusian presidential election, 2006.
- March 20 - Iranian Oil Bourse begins, causing nations to sell off their dollar assets.
- March 21 - Disney Cruise Line announces that it will send the Disney Magic to Europe in the summer of 2007.
- March 22 - The Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown will deliver his budget
- March 23 - The Board of Governors of the Federal Reserve System will cease publication of the M3 monetary aggregate.
- March 26 - The ban on smoking in public places such as bars and restaurants comes into effect in Scotland.
- March 26 - Ukrainian Parliamentary elections.
- March 26 - Closing ceremony of the 2006 Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.
- March 28 - Kingdom Hearts 2 scheduled to release in North America.
- March 28 - Israeli Parliamentary elections.
- March 29 - Total solar eclipse (Brazil, Mid Atlantic ocean, Sahara, Turkey, Georgia, Russia, Kazakhstan, Mongolia).
- March 29 - Attack Submarines USS Groton to start to be deactivated. Los Angeles class submarines USS Indianapolis, USS-Birmingham, USS-New York City and USS-Atlanta also begin to be deactivated.
- March 30 - The launch of Channel 6, Ireland's newest television service.
April
May
- May 2 - "Pearl Jam", the eighth studio album by Pearl Jam, is to be released
- May 4 - UK local elections, 2006 - Local elections to be held across England.
- May 5 - Mission Impossible 3, the latest installment in the action film franchise, will be released in the United States.
- May 6 - The 132nd of The Kentucky Derby will take place at Churchill Downs in Louisville, Kentucky.
- May 7 - Highly anticipated video game New Super Mario Bros. scheduled to be released in North America. The game will be the first game in over 10 years to follow the same formula that made the series so well known.
- May 8 - Stadium Arcadium, the Red Hot Chili Peppers ninth studio album, is to be released
- May 8 - We Don't Need To Whisper, Angels and Airwaves debut album, is to be released
- May 19 - The Da Vinci Code (film) to be released to public.
- May 20 - The 131st Running of the Preakness Stakes will take place at Pimlico Race Course in Baltimore, Maryland.
- May 20 - The Eurovision Song Contest 2006 grand final is to take place in Athens, Greece.
- May 21 - Referendum in Montenegro on whether to remain with Serbia in the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro or become independent.
- May 25-May 28 - Pope Benedict XVI's pilgrimage to Poland
- Parliamentary elections in the Czech Republic
June
July-August
- July - Magic the Gathering Dissension set will release.
- July 1 - Electronic equipment imported to or sold in the European Union will have to be lead free soldered, to comply with the Restriction of Hazardous Substances Directive.
- July 2 - Presidential election in Mexico.
- July 9 - FIFA World Cup 2006 Final Game at the Olympic Stadium, Berlin.
- July 11- Microsoft will terminate support for Windows 98 SE and Windows ME.
- July 14 - Roger Waters plans to put on a show, a remake of Dark Side of the Moon.
- July 20 - World Jump Day will take place.
- July 23 - Microsoft is scheduled to release the Windows Vista Operating System to PC vendors, such as HP and Dell.
- July 28 - Alejandro Toledo concludes his term as President of Peru.
- July 29 to August 5 - World Congress of Esperanto in Florence, Italy.
- August 8 - Census in Australia.
- August 13 to August 18 - The XVI International AIDS Conference will be held in Toronto, Canada.
- August 14 to August 25 - The 26th General Assembly of the International Astronomical Union in Prague, Czech Republic.
- August 19 to September 3 - FIBA Basketball World Championship 2006 scheduled to be held in Japan. Qualifying matches scheduled to be held in Sapporo, Sendai, Hamamatsu, and Hiroshima, followed by the final tournament at Saitama Super Arena in Saitama City.
September
October-December
Major religious holidays
Unknown/undecided dates
- Brazil will officially adopt the Digital TV System (Probably Japanese)
- Al Jazeera will launch its new satellite service, Al Jazeera International, in Europe, Asia, and North America sometime during the spring.
- NATO Summit 2006 will take place in Latvia.
- White House proposed Plebiscite to decide whether Puerto Rico will mantain its territorial status or change to another status (to be decided then in other referenda)
- Airbus plans to release into service Airbus A380, the biggest commercial airliner in the world.
- The European Space Agency plans to launch the KEO space time capsule
- Irish referendum on the European Constitution: The Republic of Ireland is expected to hold a referendum on the European Constitution.
- The new Wembley Stadium is expected to open.
- A bridge linking Savannakhet, Laos, over the Mekong, to Mukdahan, Thailand is expected to be completed late in the year.
- The Stardust Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada will officially close in late 2006 after 55 years of continuous operation to make way for the $4 billion dollar Echelon Place a new mega resort scheduled to officially open in 2010.
- Nintendo will release its next home console, codenamed Revolution, as well as their upcoming game The Legend of Zelda: Twilight Princess.
- NASA plans to launch STS-115 using Space Shuttle Atlantis. It will be the nineteenth station flight. The launch is currently scheduled for August unless STS-121 is not launched on schedule.
- The new Suvarnabhumi Airport in Bangkok, Thailand opens, replacing Don Muang as Bangkok's primary airport.
Deaths
Main article: Deaths in 2006
January
- January 1 - Henry Magdoff, American political commentator (b. 1913)
- January 1 - Bryan Harvey (musician), American singer and guitarist (b. 1956)
- January 2 - Steve Rogers, Australian rugby player (b. 1954)
- January 3 - Bill Skate, Prime Minister of Papua New Guinea (b. 1954)
- January 4 - Sheikh Maktoum bin Rashid Al Maktoum, Prime Minister of the United Arab Emirates (b. 1946)
- January 4 - Irving Layton, Canadian poet (b. 1912)
- January 6 - Lou Rawls, American singer (b. 1933)
- January 6 - Hugh Thompson, counselor and war hero (b. 1943)
- January 7 - Heinrich Harrer, Austrian mountaineer and explorer (b. 1912)
- January 8 - Tony Banks, British politician (b. 1943)
- January 9 - Mikk Mikiver, Estonian actor, director (b. 1937)
- January 14 - Shelley Winters, American actress (b. 1920)
- January 15 - Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1926)
- January 16 - Stanley Biber, American physician (b. 1923)
- January 19 - Wilson Pickett, American singer (b. 1941)
- January 21 - Ibrahim Rugova, first President of Kosovo (b. 1944)
- January 24 - Chris Penn, American actor (b. 1965)
- January 27 - Johannes Rau, President of Germany (b. 1931)
- January 28 - Yitzchak Kaduri, Iraqi-born rabbi (b. 1894?)
- January 30 - Coretta Scott King, American civil rights activist and wife of Martin Luther King, Jr. (b. 1927)
February
- February 4 - Betty Friedan, American feminist (b. 1921)
- February 4 - Al Lewis, American actor (b. 1910?)
- February 9 - Ron Greenwood, English footballer and manager (b. 1921)
- February 10 - Jay Dee, American hip hop record producer and MC (b. 1974)
- February 11 - Peter Benchley, American author (b. 1940)
- February 11 - Jockey Shabalala, South African singer with Ladysmith Black Mambazo (b. 1943)
- February 15 - Sun Yun-suan, Premier of China (b. 1913)
- February 16 - Betty Heathfield, British mining community activist (b. 1927)
- February 16 - Ernie Stautner, German-born American football player (b. 1925)
- February 16 - Mike Durham, Pro wrestler known as Johnny Grunge (b. 1966)
- February 17 - Ray Barretto, American Latin-Jazz and Salsa musician (b. 1929)
- February 20 - Curt Gowdy, American sports broadcaster (b. 1919)
- February 24 - Don Knotts, American actor (b. 1924)
- February 24 - Dennis Weaver, American actor (b. 1924)
- February 25 - Darren McGavin, American actor (b. 1922)
- February 27 - Ferenc Bene, Hungarian football player (b. 1944)
March
- March 1 - Harry Browne, American writer, politician, and investment analyst (b. 1933)
- March 1 - Jack Wild, British actor (b. 1952)
- March 3 - Charlie Hodge, American singer and guitarist (b. 1929)
- March 6 - Kirby Puckett, baseball player (b. 1960)
- March 6 - Dana Reeve, American actress, wife of Christopher Reeve (b. 1961)
- March 7 - Gordon Parks, American artist (b. 1912)
- March 9 - John Profumo, British cabinet minister (b. 1915)
- March 9 - Geir Ivarsøy, Norwegian programmer, co-founder of Opera Software ASA (b. 1957)
- March 10 - Anna Moffo, American soprano (b. 1930, not 1932)
- March 11 - Bernie Geoffrion, Canadian hockey player (b. 1931)
- March 11 - Slobodan Milošević, President of Serbia (b. 1941)
- March 12 - István Gyulai, Hungarian sports official (b. 1943)
- March 12 - Victor Sokolov, Russian dissident journalist and priest (b. 1947)
- March 13 - Maureen Stapleton, American actress (b. 1925)
- March 13 - Peter Tomarken, Television game show host (b. 1942)
- March 14 - Lennart Meri, President of Estonia (b. 1929)
- March 15 - Red Storey, Canadian footballer and hockey referee (b. 1918)
- March 16 - K. Leroy Irvis, first African American Speaker of the House (b. 1919)
- March 17 - Oleg Cassini, American fashion designer (b. 1913)
- March 17 - Ray Meyer, American basketball coach (b. 1913)
- March 19 - Mohammad Ali (actor), Pakistani Film Actor (b. 1936)
Fictional references
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