2008

Millennium:	3rd millennium
Centuries:	20th century 21st century 22nd century
Decades:	1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
Years:	2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

2008 (MMVIII) is the current year, a leap year that started on Tuesday of the Anno Domini (or common era), in accordance to the Gregorian calendar.

2008 has been designated as:

• International Year of Languages;
• International Year of Planet Earth;
• International Year of the Potato;
• International Year of Sanitation;
• European Year of Intercultural Dialogue;
• Year of the Frog, as declared by the international conservation initiative Amphibian Ark.;

In Chinese astrology, most of 2008, starting with February 7 will overlap with the Year of the Rat (Dates before February 7 are Year of the Pig). The next Year of the Rat will be in 2020.

Events

January

• January 1 - Smoking banned in all public places (including bars and restaurants) in Portugal, France and the state of Illinois in the United States.
• January 1 - Cyprus, Malta, and Akrotiri and Dhekelia adopted the euro.
• January 1 - Slovenia takes over the presidency of European Union as the first of new member states.
• January 1 - The Venezuelan bolívar, as a result of a government decree issued on March 7, 2007, is revalued at a ratio of 1 to 1000 and renamed the Bolívar fuerte (ISO 4217 code: VEF).
• January 2 - The price of petroleum hits US$100 per barrel.
• January 2 - Malaysian Health Minister Chua Soi Lek resigns after admitting to being filmed by CCTV cameras in a hotel room having sex with a female friend.
• January 3 - A car bomb detonates, killing at least 4 people and injuring 68, in Diyarbakır, Turkey. Police blame Kurdish rebels.
• January 4 - An unforecasted blizzard creates havoc across eastern Northern Ireland, with falls of 8 inches in one hour.
• January 4 - Though uncommon, light snow falls in the Mexican states of Oaxaca and Querétaro following the previous fall in Veracruz near Xalapa, where the lowest temperatures since the 1950s have been measured (34°F).
• January 4 - 30th Dakar Rally cancelled due to international political tension and the murder of four French tourists on December 24, 2007.
• January 8 - An attempted assassination of Maldivian president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is thwarted because a Boy Scout grabbed the attacker's knife. The Boy Scout was injured, but after a scuffle ensued police arrested the attacker.
• January 10 - Matsushita Electric Industrial Co., known by its brand name "Panasonic", announced to change the company name to "Panasonic Corporation" from October 1.
• January 10 - Tata Motors Limited announces production of the Tata Nano, the world's cheapest car, which is to sell for one lakh rupees (100,000 rupees or US $2500).
• January 12 - The Kuomintang-led Pan-Blue Coalition wins the legislative elections in Taiwan with over 70% of the votes.
• January 12 - A Macedonian Army Mil Mi-17 helicopter crashes in thick fog southeast of Skopje, killing all 11 military personnel on board.
• January 12 - Greenpeace vessel Esperanza disrupted the Japanese whale hunt off Antarctica by chasing the fleet's whale processing factory ship out of the whaling zone.
• January 13 - Two Australians arrived in New Plymouth, New Zealand by kayak and became the first people in history to paddle from Australia to New Zealand.
• January 13 - Katsuaki Watanabe, President and CEO of Toyota, announced that they will deliver a significant fleet of plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEVs), powered by lithium-ion batteries, by 2010.

MESSENGER assembly at Astrotech.

• January 14 - At 19:04:39 UTC, the MESSENGER space probe was at its closest approach during its first flyby of the planet Mercury.
• January 15 - Federal Court of Australia has ordered a Japanese whaling company to stop research whaling within their Exclusive Economic Zone, which Australian government claims as their EEZ because they claim they possesses some part of Antarctica as their land, in Southern Ocean.
• January 15 - Two Australian activists from US based anti-whaling group Sea Shepherd had been detained by Japanese whalers after boarding a harpoon ship Yushin-maru No.2 to protest research whaling in Southern Sea, then handed over an Australian ship three days later. Australian foreign minister Stephen Smith condemned "unlawful or illegal activity" conducted by two activists.
• January 16 - South Korean Presidential Transition Team, which is appointed by South Korean President-elect Lee Myung-bak, announced a plan to merge Unification Ministry, which takes care of North Korean issues, with the Foreign Ministry after 39 years of its operation as an independent ministry or agency, but changed his idea later and the Unification Ministry is retained.
• January 17 - British Airways Flight 38 Boeing 777 landed short of runway at London Heathrow Airport, damaged wings and engines, injured 19 among the 152 people on board.
• January 20 - Presidential election in Serbia.
• January 20 - Legislative elections in Cuba.
• January 21 - Stock markets around the world plunge amid growing fears of a U.S. recession, fueled by the 2007 subprime mortgage financial crisis.
• January 21 - The first National Fetish Day is held in the United Kingdom, promoting the rights of the BDSM community.
• January 22 - Russia stages the largest naval exercise since the fall of the Soviet Union in the Bay of Biscay, amid deteriorating relations with the West. The Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, along with 11 support vessels and 47 long-range bomber aircraft, practised strike tactics off the coast of France and Spain, and test-launched nuclear-capable missiles on foreign waters.
• January 22 - Ben Bernanke lowers the U.S. federal fund rate by .75 point to 3.50%. The discount rate was brought to 4%.
• January 23 - Polish Air Force CASA C-295 crashed during approach to the 12th Air Base near Mirosławiec. All 20 personnel on board died.
• January 23 - Thousands of Palestinians flee into Egypt, as the border wall with Gaza in Rafah is blown up by militants.
• January 24 - A peace deal ends the Kivu conflict in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
• January 24 - Peter Hain resigned British Wales Secretary, British Work and Pensions Secretary after the Electoral Commission referred the failure to report donations to the Metropolitan Police. Prime Minister Gordon Brown called a quick cabinet reshuffle.

Flag of Iraq.

• January 24 - Iraqi Parliament have adopted a new flag of Iraq, removing three stars associated with the Baath Party; a permanent design is expected within the next year.
• January 24 - Prime Minister of Italy Romano Prodi resigned his post, after he lost the vote of confidence in the Senate.
• January 25 - Building for the new Liverpool Arena completed.
• January 25 - China's worst snowstorm since 1954, delays traffic, and causes massive power outages in central and southern parts of the country. According to Chinese news agency Xinhua report, 133 killed by 2008 China blizzard with snowstorm during January and February.
• January 26 - Global Call for Action to raise awareness and advance the movement for a more equal and just world as part of the World Social Forum held in Davos, Switzerland.
• January 27 - Novak Djokovic and Maria Sharapova won 2008 Australian Open in Melbourne, Australia.
• January 29 - Iran's judiciary sentences to prison 54 Bahai religion followers for charity work.
• January 30 - King Bhumibol Adulyadej formally swears in Samak Sundaravej as the new Prime Minister of Thailand.
• January 30 - Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare of Japan made public warning that Chinese dumplings and other products manufactured in a factory in Hebei Province, China, and imported to Japan, had caused mass food poisoning due to traces of pesticide in products' packages.

February

• February 1 - Microsoft offers $44.6 billion to buy Yahoo!.
• February 2 - Rebels attacked the capital of Chad, N'Djamena.
• February 2 - French president Nicolas Sarkozy married Carla Bruni.
• February 3 - Boris Tadić is re-elected in the second round of the Serbian presidential elections.
• February 4 - Iran opens its first space center and launches a rocket to space.
• February 4 - A Palestinian suicide bomber kills one and wounds 13 in a Dimona, Israel shopping center.
• February 4 - LDS Church First Presidency reorganization announced. President Thomas S. Monson and his counselors, Henry B. Eyring and Dieter F. Uchtdorf, were sustained by the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles the previous day.

Primaries and caucuses in U.S. presidential election are held in 24 states.

• February 5 - Super Tuesday, massive multi-state primary in U.S. presidential election, with primaries and caucuses in 24 states, is held.
• February 5 - U.S. stock market indices plunge more than 3% after a report showed signs of economic recession in the service-sector. The S&P 500 fell 3.2%. The Dow Jones Industrial Average fell 370 points.
• February 7 - Space Shuttle Atlantis launches on mission STS-122 to deliver the European-built Columbus science laboratory to the International Space Station.
• February 7 - General election called for Belize's 31 House seats; a referendum to be held simultaneously to determine whether the upper house should be elected.
• February 9 - Camden Market area in London, United Kingdom is devastated by fire, causing evacuations in nearby houses and flats.
• February 10 - Wooden part of Namdaemun, a 600-year-old historic gate located in Seoul, South Korea, was arsoned.
• February 10 - Security incident in North Sea, Flotel Safe Scandinavia, an accommodation rig evacuated by helicopter after a woman was reported to have boarded without authorisation.
• February 10 - Worldwide protests against alleged corruption in the Church of Scientology by the internet group 'Anonymous' as part of 'Project Chanology'.
• February 11 - Complete Smoking ban including nightclubs, pubs, and bars, takes in effect in Thailand.

Steven Spielberg

• February 11 - President of East Timor José Ramos-Horta is seriously wounded in an attack on his home by rebel soldiers. Rebel leader Alfredo Reinado is killed by Ramos-Horta's security guards during the attack.
• February 12 - PDVSA, a state oil company in Venezuela, has suspended sales of crude oil to Exxon Mobil, in response to a legal challenge by them.
• February 12 - Steven Spielberg announced that he would no longer act as artistic director for opening and closing ceremonies of the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing because the Chinese government hasn't done enough to help end ethnic conflict in Darfur.
• February 12 - Bridgestone, under investigation for an alleged price-fixing cartel, uncovered improper payments of at least 150 million yen to foreign governments and withdrew from the marine hose business.
• February 13 - Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of Australia delivers a formal apology to the Stolen Generations.
• February 13 - Prime Minister of Malaysia Abdullah Ahmad Badawi dissolved Malaysian parliament. General Election will follow on March 8.
• February 14 - Steven Kazmierczak shoots dead five students and injures another 18 at Northern Illinois University.
• February 15 - Václav Klaus is re-elected as the President of the Czech Republic.

Flag of Kosovo

• February 16 - Making his first trip to Africa since 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush arrives in Benin, with stops in Tanzania, Rwanda, Ghana, and Liberia coming in the days ahead.
• February 17 - Suicide bombing by Taliban member killed up to 80 in Kandahar, Afghanistan
• February 17 - Kosovo formally declares independence from Serbia, despite opposition from Serbia, Russia, China, Spain, Romania, and other nations. However Belgium, Croatia, France, Germany, Italy, U.K., and U.S. have officially expressed support after an emergency meeting of United Nations Security Council.
• February 17 - Presidential election in Cyprus.
• February 18 - Athens is left paralysed after being hit by its worst snowstorms in more than 50 years.
• February 18 - The British government decided to introduce emergency legislation to temporarily nationalize Northern Rock, the fifth largest mortgage bank in UK, due to NR's financial crisis.
• February 18 - General election is held in Pakistan, delayed from January 8 due to riots in the wake of the assassination of Benazir Bhutto. Opposition parties, including Bhutto's, take more than half of the seats, while President Pervez Musharraf's party suffers a huge defeat.
• February 19 - Fidel Castro announces his resignation as President of Cuba, to be effective on February 24.
• February 19 - Toshiba announced its withdrawal from HD DVD business.
• February 19 - Crude oil closes above $100 USD per barrel for the first time ever, settling at $100.01.
• February 19 - Presidential election in Armenia.
• February 20 - United States Navy destroyed a spy satellite with toxic fuel by shooting it down with a missile launched from USS Lake Erie in the Pacific ocean.
• February 20 - Total lunar eclipse - North and South America, Europe, Africa, and Western Asia.
• February 21 - Hundreds of thousands of Serbs take to the streets in Belgrade to protest against Kosovo's declaration of independence and the partial international recognition of it.
• February 21 - Official launch of International Year of Languages on International Mother Language Day at UNESCO
• February 22 – The Australian Parliament descends into chaos with opposition frontbenchers ejected, question time suspended and speakers unable to control the house. A cardboard cut-out of the Prime Minister is brought into the parliament by opposition members angry about sitting time on a Friday.

File:Raul Castro y Hugo Chavez.jpg

Hugo Chávez and Raúl Castro (right)

• February 22 - No survivors are found after a rescue helicopter discovers the wreckage of Santa Barbara Flight 518 just northeast of the city of Mérida, Venezuela. The commercial plane had 46 people on board, including crew.
• February 22 - Japanese businessman Kazuyoshi Miura is arrested in Saipan, a U.S. territory, on suspicion of the 1981 murder of his wife in Los Angeles.
• February 23 - A B-2 Spirit crashed shortly after takeoff from Andersen Air Force Base in Guam. Both pilots ejected from the plane before it crashed.
• February 24 - Dimitris Christofias is elected President of Cyprus after the second round of voting in the country's presidential election.
• February 24 - Raúl Castro is unanimously elected as President of Cuba by the National Assembly.
• February 24 - The 80th Academy Awards, hosted by Jon Stewart, are held at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California, with No Country for Old Men winning Best Picture.
• February 25 - Lee Myung-bak starts his five-year term as the 17th President of South Korea.
• February 26 - The New York Philharmonic Orchestra performs in North Korea.
• February 27 - Earthquake hits Lincolnshire, United Kingdom registering a reading between 4.7 and 5.4 on the Richter Scale.
• February 27 - Jemaah Islamiyah leader Mas Selamat Kastari escapes from a detention center in Singapore.
• February 28 - Former Prime Minister of Thailand Thaksin Shinawatra is arrested on corruption charges upon returning to Thailand after months of exile.

March

• March 1 - Singapore Flyer, the world's tallest ferris wheel, opens to the public.
• March 1 - In Gaza Strip at least 52 Palestinians and two Israeli soldiers are killed in the most intense Israeli air strikes since 2005.
• March 1 - AOL ends support for Netscape Navigator.
• March 2 - 2008 Russian presidential election: Dmitry Medvedev is elected President of Russia with about 70% of the vote. He is scheduled to succeed Vladimir Putin in May.
• March 2 - 2008 South American diplomatic crisis: Venezuela and Ecuador move troops to the Colombian border following a Colombian raid against FARC guerrillas inside Ecuador's national territory.
• March 3 - U.S.-based Sea Shepherd conservation group injures four Japanese whalers near Antarctica by throwing bottles of butyric acid at their vessel.
• March 4 - John McCain secures the 2008 U.S. Republican Party presidential nomination after winning primary elections in Texas, Vermont, Ohio, and Rhode Island.
• March 6 - No one is injured when a small bomb explodes at an unoccupied U.S. military recruiting station in Times Square, New York City.
• March 6 - Eight Israeli civilians are killed and nine wounded when a Palestinian attacker opens fire at a Jewish seminary in Jerusalem.
• March 7 - Ex Town Councilman of Mondragón-Arrasate, Isaías Carrasco, is killed by ETA gunmen.
• March 8 - General election in Malaysia.
• March 8 - General election in Malta.

Predicted and scheduled events

March

• March 9 - First European Space Agency Automated Transfer Vehicle (Unmanned cargo spacecraft created to supply the International Space Station) is scheduled for launch from Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana.
• March 9 - Spanish general election.
• March 12 - The British Budget will be unveiled by Alistair Darling as his first position of Chancellor of the Exchequer.
• March 14 - Iranian parliamentary election, 2008.
• March 15 - Second set of international protests against the Church of Scientology as part of Project Chanology.
• March 15 - Nickelodeon Universe theme park set to open at Mall of America.
• March 16 - The 2008 Formula 1 World Championship begins in Melbourne, Australia.
• March 22 - Republic of China presidential election to be held in Taiwan.
• March 29 - Zimbabwe presidential election.
• March 30 - The 2008 British Touring Car Championship season begins at Brands Hatch.
• March 30 - Smoking will be banned in all public places (including bars and restaurants) in the Isle of Man.

April

• April 2-April 4 - The 20th NATO summit will be held in Bucharest, Romania. It is expected that Albania, Croatia, and the Republic of Macedonia will be invited to join NATO following the summit.
• April 6 - Presidential election in Montenegro.
• April 6 - The Corporate Manslaughter and Corporate Homicide Act 2007 comes into force in the UK.
• April 13 - Elections in Italy. A new parliament is going to be elected after President Giorgio Napolitano dissolved the Chamber of Deputies and the Senate. Administrative elections in Italy.
• April 20 - Elections in Paraguay.

May

• May - The Large Hadron Collider (located at CERN, near Geneva, Switzerland) is to begin operation; it will be the world’s largest particle physics laboratory.
• May 1 - Local elections, for 143 English councils and all Welsh councils, to take place in the United Kingdom.
• May 1 - Elections for the London Mayor and London Assembly to take place.
• May 1 - Entry into force of the London Agreement, aimed at reducing the translation costs associated with European patents.
• May 8 - Israel will celebrate its 60th Independence Day in the Yom Ha'atzmaut celebration.
• May 14 - The UEFA Cup Final to be held at the City of Manchester Stadium in Manchester, United Kingdom.
• May 16 - Dominican Republic presidential elections.
• May 16 - V Summit of the European Union-Latin America and the Caribbean Leaders in Lima, Peru.
• May 16 - Launch of the The Gamma-ray Large Area Space Telescope Space Telescope, or GLAST.
• May 21 - The UEFA Champions League Final to be held at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow.
• May 24 - The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 Final will take place in Belgrade, Serbia, following semi-finals on May 20 and 22.
• May 25 - NASA's Phoenix spacecraft will land on Mars.
• May 25 - The 92nd edition of the Indianapolis 500 will be run at Indianapolis Motor Speedway as the main race of the IndyCar Series.

June

• June 1 - Landmark Broadway musical Rent will end its run after 12 years and more than 4,300 shows.
• June 6–June 8 - Rock am Ring and Rock im Park rock festival(s) in Germany.
• June 7–June 29 - Switzerland and Austria host the UEFA Euro 2008 tournament.
• June 14 - Expo 2008 scheduled to begin in Zaragoza, Spain.

July

• July 1 - Smoking will be banned in all public places (including bars and restaurants) in the Netherlands.
• July 7–July 9 - 34th G8 summit will be held in Tōyako, Hokkaidō in Japan
• July 8–July 20 - World Gliding Championships will be held in Rieti, Italy.
• July 15–July 20 - World Youth Day will take place in Sydney, Australia, the largest youth gathering in the Southern Hemisphere with the visit of Pope Benedict XVI.
• July 30–August 5 - The XXII World Congress of Philosophy will take place in Seoul, the capital of South Korea.
• July 31 - After three decades as the Chairman of Microsoft Corporation, Bill Gates will step down from daily duties.

August

File:Beijing 2008 Tiananmen Square1.jpg

The 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijng

• August 1 - Beijing South railway station, the largest passenger station in Asia, will reopen following a reconstruction project.
• August 1 - Total solar eclipse.
• August 2–August 9 - The National Eisteddfod of Wales will be held in Cardiff, South Wales.
• August 2–August 16 - World Gliding Championships will be held in Lüsse, Germany.
• August 6–August 10 - Denvention 3, the 66th World Science Fiction Convention, will be held in Denver, Colorado.
• August 8–August 24 - The 2008 Summer Olympics will take place in Beijing, China.
• August 11 - Elections to be held in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao: Regional Governor, Regional Vice Governor and Members of the Regional Legislative Assembly following Republic Act No. 9333.
• August 14 - 2008 Formula Zero Championship begins in Rotterdam, the Netherlands.
• August 25—August 28 - Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado for U.S. presidential election.
• August 28 - Scheduled date for beginning of the final maintenance Space Shuttle mission to Hubble Space Telescope.

September

• September 1 to September 4 - Republican National Convention in Minneapolis-St. Paul, Minnesota for U.S. presidential election.
• September 27 - The Australian Football League Grand Final will be played at the Melbourne Cricket Ground.

October

• October 30-November 16 - The inaugural FIFA U-17 Women's World Cup will be held in New Zealand.

November

• November 2 - The 2008 Formula 1 World Championship will end at São Paulo, Brazil.
• November 4 - Presidential election slated in the United States to elect the 44th President of the United States. There will also be Congressional Elections for the House of Representatives and 1/3rd of the Senators.
• November 4 - Gubernatorial election slated in Puerto Rico to elect the Governor of the island.
• November 15 - New Zealand will hold a general election on or before this date.
• November 20 - December 7 - 2008 FIFA U-20 Women's World Cup to be held in Chile.
• November 22 - APEC Peru 2008 Summit in Lima.
• November 25 - Greenland holds election for increased autonomy from Denmark.
• November 28 - Legislative election in Romania.

December

• December 15 - The Netherlands Antilles will be formally abolished.
• December 24 - The New I-35W Mississippi River bridge in Minneapolis is expected to be completed after the bridge collapsed in August of 2007.
• December 30 - The Burj Dubai expected to be completed. It will be the world's tallest building.

Unknown dates

• The United Nations is to review drug policies around the world.
• The United Kingdom will complete a 5-year process to cease analog television broadcasts region-by-region, starting with Border. This process has already begun.
• New China Central Television headquarters buildings open.
• The "Simón Bolívar" Satellite, a result of an agreement between Venezuela and China, will be launched this year.

Ongoing events

• Iraq War
• War in Afghanistan
• Conflict in Darfur
• Israeli-Palestinian conflict
• 6th Round of the Belgian State Reform

Deaths

Main article: Deaths in 2008

2008 in various calendars

Gregorian calendar	2008 MMVIII
Ab urbe condita	2761
Armenian calendar	1457 ԹՎ ՌՆԾԷ
Assyrian calendar	6758
Baháʼí calendar	164–165
Balinese saka calendar	1929–1930
Bengali calendar	1415
Berber calendar	2958
British Regnal year	56 Eliz. 2 – 57 Eliz. 2
Buddhist calendar	2552
Burmese calendar	1370
Byzantine calendar	7516–7517
Chinese calendar	丁亥年 (Fire Pig) 4705 or 4498     — to — 戊子年 (Earth Rat) 4706 or 4499
Coptic calendar	1724–1725
Discordian calendar	3174
Ethiopian calendar	2000–2001
Hebrew calendar	5768–5769
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	2064–2065
- Shaka Samvat	1929–1930
- Kali Yuga	5108–5109
Holocene calendar	12008
Igbo calendar	1008–1009
Iranian calendar	1386–1387
Islamic calendar	1428–1430
Japanese calendar	Heisei 20 (平成２０年)
Javanese calendar	1940–1941
Juche calendar	97
Julian calendar	Gregorian minus 13 days
Korean calendar	4341
Minguo calendar	ROC 97 民國97年
Nanakshahi calendar	540
Thai solar calendar	2551
Tibetan calendar	阴火猪年 (female Fire-Pig) 2134 or 1753 or 981     — to — 阳土鼠年 (male Earth-Rat) 2135 or 1754 or 982
Unix time	1199145600 – 1230767999

January

• January 1 - Salvatore Bonanno, American mobster (b. 1932)
• January 1 - Peter Caffrey, Irish actor (b. 1949)
• January 1 - Erich Kästner, German veteran of World War I (b. 1900)
• January 1 - Thiyagarajah Maheswaran, Sri Lankan Tamil politician (b. 1960)
• January 2 - Galyani Vadhana, Thai princess (b. 1923)
• January 3 - Aleksandr Abdulov, Russian actor (b. 1953)
• January 3 - Yo-Sam Choi, Korean boxer (b. 1972)
• January 3 - Werner Dollinger, German politician (b. 1918)
• January 5 - Raymond Forni, French politician (b. 1941)
• January 5 - Clinton Grybas, Australian sports commentator (b. 1975)
• January 6 - Fr. John O'Brien, Irish priest and musician (b. 1931)
• January 7 - Edward "Buddy" LeRoux, American businessman (b. 1930)
• January 7 - Philip Agee, American spy (b. 1935)
• January 8 - Moshe Levi, Israeli military commander (b. 1936)
• January 9 - John Harvey-Jones, English businessman (b. 1924)
• January 10 - Christopher Bowman, American figure skater (b. 1967)
• January 10 - Andrés Henestrosa, Mexican writer and politician (b. 1906)
• January 10 - Maila Nurmi, Finnish-American actress and television personality (b. 1921)
• January 11 - Edmund Hillary, New Zealand mountaineer, explorer, and philanthropist (b. 1919)
• January 11 - Carl Karcher, American businessman (b. 1917)
• January 12 - Adriano González León, Venezuelan poet and writer (b. 1931)
• January 13 - Johnny Podres, American baseball player (b. 1932)
• January 15 - Brad Renfro, American actor (b. 1982)
• January 15 - Jason MacIntyre, Scottish racing cyclist (b. 1973)
• January 16 - Nikola Kljusev, Macedonian prime minister (b. 1927)
• January 17 - Bobby Fischer, American-Icelandic chess grandmaster (b. 1943)
• January 17 - Ernie Holmes, American football player (b. 1948)
• January 17 - Allan Melvin, American actor (b. 1922)
• January 18 - Georgia Frontiere, American businesswoman (b. 1927)
• January 18 - Lois Nettleton, American actress (b. 1927)
• January 19 - Don Wittman, Canadian sportscaster (b. 1936)
• January 19 - Suzanne Pleshette, American actress (b. 1937)
• January 19 - Frances Lewine, American journalist (b. 1921)
• January 19 - Morris Maddocks, English Anglican priest (b.1928)
• January 20 - Louis de Cazenave, French veteran of World War I (b. 1897)
• January 22 - Heath Ledger, Australian actor (b. 1979)
• January 23 - Andrzej Andrzejewski, Polish brigadier general (b. 1961)
• January 24 - Randy Salerno, American news anchor (b. 1963)
• January 27 - Anna Loginova, Russian bodyguard and model (b. 1979)
• January 27 - Gordon B. Hinckley, American Mormon leader (b. 1910)
• January 27 - Suharto, 2nd President of Indonesia (b. 1921)
• January 28 - Christodoulos, Archbishop of Athens (b. 1939)
• January 29 - Margaret Truman, American writer (b. 1924)
• January 30 - Jeremy Beadle, English television presenter (b. 1948)

February

• February 1 - Beto Carrero, Brazilian businessman (b. 1937)
• February 1 - Shell Kepler, American actress (b. 1958)
• February 2 - Earl Butz, American government official (b. 1909)
• February 2 - Barry Morse, Canadian actor (b. 1918)
• February 3 - Sheldon Brown, American bicycle mechanic (b. 1944)
• February 4 - Harry Richard Landis, American World War I veteran (b. 1899)
• February 5 - Maharishi Mahesh Yogi, Indian spiritual leader (b. 1917)
• February 6 - John McWethy, American print and television journalist (b. 1947)
• February 7 - Tamara Desni, German-born English actress (b. 1913)
• February 7 - Hoang Minh Chinh, Vietnamese politician and dissident (b. 1922)
• February 7 - Guy Severin, Russian academician and engineer (b. 1926)
• February 8 - Chua Ek Kay, Singaporean painter (b. 1947)
• February 8 - Phyllis Whitney, American mystery writer (b. 1903)
• February 9 - Jazeh Tabatabai, Iranian artist and writer (b. 1931)
• February 9 - Trichen Jurme Kunzang Wangyal, Tibetan spiritual leader (b. 1930)
• February 10 - Ron Leavitt, American television producer (b. 1947)
• February 10 - Roy Scheider, American actor (b. 1932)
• February 11 - Alfredo Reinado, East Timorese rebel (b. 1967)
• February 11 - Tom Lantos, American politician (b. 1928)
• February 12 - Imad Mugniyah, Lebanese militant (b. 1962)
• February 12 - Badri Patarkatsishvili, Georgian businessman and politician (b. 1955)
• February 13 - Kon Ichikawa, Japanese film director (b. 1915)
• February 13 - Henri Salvador, French singer (b. 1917)
• February 15 - Steve Fossett, American adventurer (b. 1944)
• February 18 - Alain Robbe-Grillet, French writer (b. 1922)
• February 19 - Natalia Bessmertnova, Russian ballerina (b. 1941)
• February 19 - Lydia Shum, Hong Kong comedian and actress (b. 1945)
• February 23 - Janez Drnovšek, 2nd President and 2nd Prime Minister of Slovenia (b. 1950)
• February 23 - Denis Lazure, Canadian politician (b. 1925)
• February 26 - Buddy Miles, American drummer (b. 1947)
• February 26 - Dan Shomron, Israeli military leader (b. 1937)
• February 27 - William F. Buckley, Jr., American author and conservative commentator (b. 1925)
• February 27 - Myron Cope, American sportscaster (b. 1929)
• February 27 - Sujatha, Tamil writer (b. 1935)
• February 27 - Boyd Coddington, American car-builder (b. 1944)
• February 28 - Joseph M. Juran, American engineer and philanthropist (b. 1904)
• February 28 - Philip Rabinowitz, South African sprinter (b. 1904)
• February 28 - Mike Smith, English singer (b. 1943)

March

• March 1 - Raúl Reyes, Colombian militant (b. 1948)
• March 2 - Sofiko Chiaureli, Georgian actress (b. 1937)
• March 2 - Jeff Healey, Canadian guitarist (b. 1966)
• March 3 - Giuseppe Di Stefano, Italian operatic tenor (b. 1921)
• March 4 - Gary Gygax, American writer and game designer (b. 1938)
• March 4 - Elena Nathanael, Greek film actress (b. 1941)
• March 5 - Joseph Weizenbaum, German-American author and computer scientist (b. 1923)
• March 6 - Gustaw Holoubek, Polish actor and director (b. 1923)

Major religious holidays

• January 7 - Christmas in Eastern Christianity
• January 10 - New Year by Lunar calendar, celebrated by Muslims
• February 5 - Carnival (Shrove Tuesday)
• February 6 - Ash Wednesday, observance of Lent begins
• February 7 - Chinese New Year (also Lunar New Year / Spring Festival)
• March 1 - Saint David's Day, National holiday of Wales
• March 15 - St. Patrick's Day, celebrated in Ireland, the United States, and most of the English speaking world. (held on March 15 instead of the usual 17th to avoid the second day in Holy Week.)
• March 20 - March Equinox, also known as Ostara
• March 20 - Purim
• March 21 - Nowruz (Iranian new year holiday)
• March 23 - Easter Sunday, the earliest Easter has fallen since 1913
• March 25 - Holi
• April 20 - Passover
• April 23 - St. George's Day
• April 27 - Pascha in Eastern Christianity
• May 1 - Ascension of Jesus in Western Christianity
• May 1 - Beltane, a Cross-quarter day
• May 20 - Vesak in Buddhism
• June 9 - Shavuot
• June 20 - June Solstice, also known as Midsummer or Litha
• August 1 - Lammas, a Cross-quarter day
• August 15 - Assumption of Mary
• September 22 - September Equinox, also known as Mabon (falls on September 23 for eastern Asian countries due to time differences)
• September 30 - Rosh Hashana
• October 2 - Eid ul-Fitr
• October 9 - Yom Kippur
• October 28 - Diwali
• November 1 - Samhain, a Cross-quarter day and Neopagan new year
• November 30 - St. Andrew's Day, Scottish national day
• December 8 - Immaculate Conception
• December 8 - Eid ul-Adha
• December 21 - Hanukkah begins at sundown
• December 21 - December Solstice, also known as Yule
• December 25 - Christmas in Western Christianity

2008 in fiction

Books

• Isaac Asimov's 1955 short story Franchise takes place in 2008, the premise being that the U.S. president will be selected by a computer program looking for the "most representative citizen".
• John Barnes, Mother of Storms (1995) begins with a 2008 UN resolution barring any nation from acquiring nuclear weapons after June 1, 2008, subject to penalty of preemptive strike.
• Gregory Benford's books The Jupiter War and The Threads of Time are set in 2008.
• The Galactic Milieu Series by Julian May features Earth's first contact with an alien race on June 20, 2008.
• In Francis Anderson's 1992 book "Future Undetermined" the UN bans civilians from owning handguns on March 29.
• Ian McDonald's "Chaga Saga" (Evolution's Shore and Kirinya) begins with the March 13, 2008 impact arrival of the plant form Chaga from outer space.
• Alan E. Nourse's 1957 book Rocket to Limbo begins with the March 3, 2008 launch of the starship Argonaut on a centuries-long trip to Alpha Centauri.
• The Mote in God's Eye (1974) by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle postulates that faster-than-light travel is perfected in 2008.
• The Next War, a controversial 1996 novel about the post-Soviet era, co-authored by former U.S. Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, looks at a possible 2008 nuclear confrontation between the United States and Russia.

Computer and video games

Set in 2008:

• Ghost Recon (2001): Russia attempts to reunite the Soviet Union and invades several Eastern European countries. The UN intervenes with peacekeeping forces.
• Splinter Cell series: Sam Fisher goes undercover.
• Twisted Metal 3 (1998)
• Shattered Union (2005): U.S. President David Jefferson Adams is elected in a sham election, and becomes the most unpopular president in U.S. history.
• Resident Evil 5 (2009)
• Mega Man (1987)

Film

• Jason X (Friday the 13th series, 2002): Mass murderer Jason Voorhees is captured for the 2nd time and sentenced to death. Though the US government is unsure how to execute him, an electric chair, a gas chamber, a firing squad, and hanging are all tried - none of which work.
• The Lake House (2006): The ending takes place on Valentine's Day, 2008.
• 5 Centimetres Per Second (2007): The final act takes place in Tokyo during 2008.
• Set in 2008:
  • Silent Running (1971)
  • Southland Tales (2007)
  • The Manchurian Candidate (2004)

Television

• Dawson's Creek (2003 series finale): The characters meet once again. Dawson is creator of a television series, The Creek, based on his life.
• Futurama (1999 first episode "Space Pilot 3000"): Stop N' Drop Suicide booths are invented.
• The 2007 series of Doctor Who Present time (such as Smith and Jones) is primarily set in 2008.
• The Future Boy Conan anime is set to begin in July 2008 with a devastating war resulting in the five continents sinking deep below the sea.
• Doraemon: According to the original manga story, a time machine will be invented in 2008.
• Heroes: According to the episode Out of Time, the Shanti virus wipes out about 93% of the world's population, from a break out in March of 2008. Peter Petrelli accidentally teleports himself and Caitlin to sometime around June 14, 2008, when any survivors in New York City are forcibly evacuated.

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External links

• 2008 Calendar at Internet Accuracy Project