List of events
Events from the year 2006 in the United States.
Incumbents
Federal government
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 4 – The Texas Longhorns led by Vince Young defeat the USC Trojans in the thrilling 2006 Rose Bowl, regarded as one of the greatest college football games ever played.
- 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
- 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
- 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
- January 31
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 by a score of 21–10. It is a homecoming for Detroit native Jerome Bettis, who was playing the final game of his 12-year career.
- 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 10-26 – The United States compete at the Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy and win 9 gold, 9 silver and 7 bronze medals.[citation needed]
- 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 US 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.
- February 24 – Yeh for Games, an online game servicing company is founded in Nevada.
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 6-20 – 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
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
July
August
August 10: A United States
TSA agent inspects a service monkey before a flight.
- 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. Forty-nine 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 Interstate 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
October
- October – 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 21 – Jordan Spiz'ike: shoes are released by Michael Jordan and Spike Lee.
- 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
December
Undated
Ongoing
Births
- January 17 – Nick Holliday, soccer player
- January 26 – Mo Gaba, notable baseball superfan and cancer victim (d. 2020)
- February 14 – Josh Pierson, racing driver
- February 17 – Matthew Corcoran, soccer player
- March 1 – Julian Grey, actor
- March 20 – Barron Trump, son of former president Donald Trump
- March 29 – Haven Coleman, activist
- April 8 – Moses Bruce Anthony Martin, son of Chris Martin and Gwyneth Paltrow
- April 18 – Suri Cruise, daughter of Tom Cruise and Katie Holmes
- April 26 – Andy Walken, actor
- May 6 – Sadie Sandler, actress and daughter of Adam Sandler
- June 1 – Bombette Martin, skateboarder
- June 25 – Mckenna Grace, actress
- June 28 – Laurel Griggs, actress (d. 2019)
- June 29 – Sam Lavagnino, voice actor
- July 16 – Corey Jackson, rapper
- July 28 – Katelyn Jong, gymnast
- August 23 – Victoria Martens, notable victim of child abuse (d. 2016)
- September 7
- September 13 – Isabella Rice, actress
- September 17 – Ella Jay Basco, actress
- October 1 – Priah Ferguson, actress
- October 16 – Naomi Wadler, activist
- October 18 – Charlotte Figi, notable medical cannabidiol patient and rare disease victim (d. 2020)
- October 30 – Saniyya Sidney, actress
- November 2 – Hilde Lysiak, journalist
- November 9 – Honestie Hodges, notable victim of police brutality (d. 2020)
- November 16 – Mason Ramsey, singer
- December 4 – Alex Marquez, singer
- December 5 – Ava Kolker, actress
- December 19 – Christopher Yoo, chess player
Deaths
January
- January 1
- January 6
- January 8 – David Rosenbaum, journalist (b. 1942)
- January 9
- January 10 – Ira Black, physician and neuroscientist (b. 1941)
- January 11
- January 12
- January 14 – Shelley Winters, American actress (b. 1920)
- January 15 – Edward Hall, aeronautical engineer and brother of Theodore Hall (b. 1914)
- January 16 – Stanley Biber, surgeon (b. 1923)
- January 18 – Thomas Murphy, executive (b. 1915)
- January 19
- January 23
- January 24 – Chris Penn, actor and brother of Sean Penn (b. 1965)
- January 25 – Herbert Schilder, dental surgeon (b. 1929)
- January 28 – Helmut W. Schulz, German physicist and chemical engineer, died in White Plains, New York (b. 1912)
- January 30
- January 31
February
- February 1 – Dick Brooks, auto racer (b. 1942)
- February 3
- February 4
- February 8 – Barry Martin, dancer, choreographer, and murder victim (b. 1962)
- February 10
- February 12 – Peter Benchley, writer (b. 1940)
- February 13 – Andreas Katsulas, American actor (b. 1946)
- February 20 – Curt Gowdy, sports announcer (b. 1919)
- February 24
- February 25 – Darren McGavin, actor (b. 1922)
- February 28 – Owen Chamberlain, American physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1920)
March
- March 1 – Harry Browne, politician and author (b. 1933)
- March 2 – Phyllis Huffman, American casting director (b. 1944)
- March 5 – Richard Kuklinski, American hitman (b. 1935)
- March 6 – Dana Reeve, American actress (b. 1961)
- March 7 – Gordon Parks, American photographer (b. 1912)
- March 10
- March 13 – Maureen Stapleton, American actress (b. 1925)
- March 17 – Bob Papenbrook, voice actor (b. 1955)
- March 21 – Bob Delegall, actor, director and producer (b. 1945)
- March 23 – Desmond Doss, combat medic (b. 1919)
- March 25
- March 26 – Paul Dana, racing driver (b. 1975)
- March 28
- March 29 – Don Alias, musician (b. 1939)
- March 30 – Philip Hyde, American wildlife photographer (b. 1921)
- March 31 – Jackie McLean, American jazz musician (b. 1931)
April
- April 3
- April 4 – Fred J. Christensen, American fighter pilot (b. 1921)
- April 5 – Gene Pitney, singer (b. 1941)
- April 6 – Francis L. Kellogg, diplomat and prominent socialite (b. 1917)
- April 9
- April 11 – Proof, American rapper (D12) (b. 1973)
- April 15 – Louise Smith, American race car driver (b. 1916)
- April 16
- April 17 – Al Cederberg, American politician (b. 1918)
- April 19 – Bob Dove, American football player (b. 1921)
- April 24 – Sibby Sisti, American baseball player (b. 1920)
- April 25 – Jane Jacobs, American-born Canadian writer and activist (b. 1916)
- April 29 – Alberta Nelson, American actress (b. 1937)
May
- May 6 – Lillian Asplund, last American survivor of the RMS Titanic (born 1906)
- May 10 – A. M. Rosenthal, Canadian-American journalist (b. 1922)
- May 11 – Floyd Patterson, boxer (b. 1935)
- May 12 – Gillespie V. Montgomery, general and politician (b. 1920)
- May 13
- May 14 – Robert Bruce Merrifield, biochemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1921)
- May 21 – Billy Walker, country musician (b. 1929)
- May 23 – Lloyd Bentsen, U.S. Senator from Texas from 1971 to 1993 (b. 1921)
- May 27 – Paul Gleason, actor (b. 1939)
- May 31 – Raymond Davis Jr., chemist and physicist, Nobel Prize laureate (born 1914)
June
July
August
- August 1 – Rufus Harley, jazz musician (b. 1936)
- August 3 – Arthur Lee, American musician (b. 1945)
- August 6 – Marcus Fiesel, murder victim (b. 2003)
- August 9 – James Van Allen, physicist (b. 1914)
- August 11 – Mike Douglas, talk show host and actor (b. 1920)
- August 13 – Tony Jay, English-American actor and voice artist (b. 1933)
- August 16 – Herschel Green, fighter pilot (b. 1920)
- August 20 – Joe Rosenthal, photographer (b. 1911)
- August 21 – John Hulett, African American civil rights activist (b. 1927)
- August 23 – Ed Warren, paranormal investigator and author (b. 1926)
- August 28 – Melvin Schwartz, Nobel-winning physicist (b. 1932)
- August 30 – Glenn Ford, Canadian actor (b. 1916)
September
- September 1 – Nellie Connally, American socialite (b. 1919)
- September 2 – Bob Mathias, American athlete (b. 1930)
- September 7 – Robert Earl Jones, American actor and boxer (b. 1910)
- September 9 – Herbert Rudley, American actor (b. 1910)
- September 10
- September 11 – Pat Corley, actor (b. 1930)
- September 13 – Ann Richards, 45th Governor of Texas from 1991 till 1995. (b. 1933)
- September 17 – Patricia Kennedy Lawford, American socialite (b. 1924)
- September 22 – Edward Albert, American actor (b. 1951)
- September 23 – Etta Baker, American piedmont blues guitarist (b. 1913)
- September 26
- September 30 – Josh Graves, American bluegrass musician (b. 1927)
October
- October 2
- October 5 – George King, American basketball player and coach (b. 1928)
- October 6 – Buck O'Neil, American baseball player and manager (b. 1911)
- October 7 – Anna Politkovskaya, American-born Russian journalist (b. 1958)
- October 9 – Glenn Myernick, American soccer player and coach (b. 1954)
- October 11 – Cory Lidle, American baseball player (b. 1972)
- October 13 – Hilda Terry, American cartoonist (b. 1914)
- October 14
- October 17 – Megan Meier, notable victim (b. 1992)
- October 18 – Alvin Weinberg, American nuclear physicist (b. 1915)
- October 20 – Jane Wyatt, actress (b. 1910)
- October 21 – Sandy West, rock musician, former member of The Runaways (b. 1959)
- October 24 – Enolia McMillan, American civil rights activist (b. 1904)
- October 27 – Brad Will, American activist (b. 1970)
- October 28 – Red Auerbach, basketball coach and official (b. 1917)
- October 30 – Clifford Geertz, American anthropologist (b. 1926)
November
- November 1
- November 2
- November 3
- November 4
- November 5 – Samuel Bowers, American Ku Klux Klansman and convicted killer (b. 1924)
- November 8 – Basil Poledouris, American composer (b. 1945)
- November 9 – Ed Bradley, African-American journalist (b. 1941)
- November 10 – Jack Palance, American actor (b. 1919)
- November 14
- November 16 – Milton Friedman, American Nobel economist (b. 1912)
- November 17 – Ruth Brown, American singer (b. 1928)
- November 20
- November 23
- November 24 – Walter Booker, American jazz bassist (b. 1933)
- November 25 – Kenneth M. Taylor, American pilot (b. 1919)
- November 26 – Dave Cockrum, American comic book artist (b. 1943)
- November 30 – Shirley Walker, composer and conductor for film and television (b. 1945)
December
- December 2 – Kari Edwards, poet (b. 1954)
- December 3 – Logan Whitehurst, musician (b. 1977)
- December 7 – Jeane Kirkpatrick, political theorist and U.N. ambassador (b. 1926)
- December 8 – Martha Tilton, singer (b. 1915)
- December 9 – Georgia Gibbs, singer (b. 1919)
- December 11 – Elizabeth Bolden, supercentenarian (b. 1890)
- December 12
- December 13
- December 14 – Mike Evans, American actor (b. 1949)
- December 16 – Marjorie F. Lambert, American archaeologist, anthropologist (b. 1908)
- December 18 – Joseph Barbera, cartoonist (b. 1911)
- December 25 – James Brown, American musician (b. 1933)
- December 26 – Gerald Ford, American politician, 38th President of the United States (b. 1913)
- December 29 – Red Wolf, American bucking bull (b. 1988)
- December 30 – Sadam Hussein, President of Iraq from July 16, 1979, until April 9, 2003
- December 31 – Seymour Martin Lipset, American sociologist (b. 1922)
See also