2006

Millennium:	3rd millennium
Centuries:	20th century 21st century 22nd century
Decades:	1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s
Years:	2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009

2006 in various calendars

Gregorian calendar	2006 MMVI
Ab urbe condita	2759
Armenian calendar	1455 ԹՎ ՌՆԾԵ
Assyrian calendar	6756
Baháʼí calendar	162–163
Balinese saka calendar	1927–1928
Bengali calendar	1413
Berber calendar	2956
British Regnal year	54 Eliz. 2 – 55 Eliz. 2
Buddhist calendar	2550
Burmese calendar	1368
Byzantine calendar	7514–7515
Chinese calendar	乙酉年 (Wood Rooster) 4703 or 4496     — to — 丙戌年 (Fire Dog) 4704 or 4497
Coptic calendar	1722–1723
Discordian calendar	3172
Ethiopian calendar	1998–1999
Hebrew calendar	5766–5767
Hindu calendars
- Vikram Samvat	2062–2063
- Shaka Samvat	1927–1928
- Kali Yuga	5106–5107
Holocene calendar	12006
Igbo calendar	1006–1007
Iranian calendar	1384–1385
Islamic calendar	1426–1427
Japanese calendar	Heisei 18 (平成１８年)
Javanese calendar	1938–1939
Juche calendar	95
Julian calendar	Gregorian minus 13 days
Korean calendar	4339
Minguo calendar	ROC 95 民國95年
Nanakshahi calendar	538
Thai solar calendar	2549
Tibetan calendar	阴木鸡年 (female Wood-Rooster) 2132 or 1751 or 979     — to — 阳火狗年 (male Fire-Dog) 2133 or 1752 or 980
Unix time	1136073600 – 1167609599

2006 (MMVI) is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar.

It has been designated:

• The Year of the Dog in the Chinese calendar. The next year of the dog will be in the year 2018.
• International Year of Deserts and Desertification.
• The International Asperger's Year, commemorating the 100th anniversary of the birth of Dr Hans Asperger, discoverer of Asperger's Syndrome.
• The Year of Mozart, celebrating the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.

Climate

The first half of 2006 has been tied with 1998 as the warmest for any year since the 1890s (2005 is the warmest year on record).

Events

January

• January 1 - Russia cuts natural gas to Ukraine over a price dispute.
• January 2 - The Bad Reichenhall ice rink roof in Germany collapses after heavy snowfall in the Bavarian Alps, killing 15.
• January 3 - Twelve deceased coal miners and 1 survivor are discovered in the Sago Mine Disaster near Buckhannon, West Virginia in the United States.
• January 4 - Powers are transferred from Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon to his deputy, Vice Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, after Sharon suffers a massive hemorrhagic stroke.
• January 5 - A hotel in Mecca, Saudi Arabia collapses, killing 76 pilgrims visiting to perform hajj.
• January 6 - The record-breaking 2005 Atlantic hurricane season officially draws to a close as Tropical Storm Zeta dissipates.
• 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 7 - U.K. Liberal Democrat leader Charles Kennedy resigns after revelations that he has a drinking problem.
• January 8 - A powerful, magnitude 6.9 earthquake epicentered off the coast of the Greek island of Kythera shakes much of Greece and is felt throughout the eastern Mediterranean basin. Only a few minor injuries and no significant damage are reported.
• January 9 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average closes above 11,000 for the first time since June 7, 2001, closing at 11,011.90.
• January 11 - The 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 pilgrims.

New Horizons, the world's first probe to Pluto, is launched on January 19.

• January 14 - A natural gas explosion in a coal mine kills 8 in Romania.
• January 15 - NASA's Stardust mission successfully ends, the first to return dust from a comet.
• January 22 - Kobe Bryant of the Los Angeles Lakers scores 81 points in a regulation NBA game, second only to Wilt Chamberlain who scored 100 points on December 8, 1961.
• January 23 - Stephen Harper wins the federal election in Canada, forming a minority government.
• January 25 - Hamas wins the majority of seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council elections.
• January 25 - Deus Caritas Est, the first encyclical of Pope Benedict XVI, is promulgated.
• January 27 - Celebrations are held in Salzburg and around the world for the 250th anniversary of the birth of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart.
• January 28 - A trade hall roof collapses in Katowice, Poland, killing 65 people.
• January 31 - Samuel Alito is sworn in as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

February

• February 1 - UAL Corp, United Airlines' parent company, emerges from bankruptcy after being in that position since December 9, 2002, the longest such filing in history.
• February 5 - The Pittsburgh Steelers win Super Bowl XL, defeating the Seattle Seahawks 21-10.
• February 7 - An aging Egyptian passenger ferry carrying more than 1,400 people sinks in the Red Sea off the Saudi coast.

The logo of the 2006 Winter Olympics in Turin, Italy

• February 8 - 2006 East Timor crisis: 404 soldiers desert their barracks in East Timor.
• February 8 - The 48th Annual Grammy Awards are held at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, CA. The big winners of the night are U2 who sweep all 5 nominations, beating Mariah Carey for Album and Song of the Year Awards. Mariah Carey, Kanye West, John Legend, Alison Krauss and her band Union Station each win 3; Kelly Clarkson wins 2.
• February 10 - The 2006 Winter Olympics open in Turin, Italy. The closing ceremony occurs on February 26.
• February 11 - U.S. Vice President Dick Cheney accidentally shoots his friend and lawyer, Harry Whittington, in the face with a shotgun on a south Texas ranch.
• February 16 - Kobe Airport, a controversial offshore airport in Kobe, Japan, opens for airline service.
• February 17 - As many as 1,800 people die when a mudslide occurs on Leyte Island in the Philippines.
• February 19 - Pasta de Conchos mine disaster: Sixty-five miners become trapped underground after an explosion in Nueva Rosita, Mexico; all 65 die.
• February 22 - A bomb 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 1 billionth song is purchased from the Apple iTunes Store.
• 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 Macapagal Arroyo is foiled.
• February 25 - Six police officers, 7 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 his second re-election, sparking riots in Kampala by opposition supporters.

March

• March 3 - The first World Baseball Classic opens in Tokyo, Japan.
• March 4 - A previously unknown species of shark, Mustelus hacat, is discovered in Mexico's Sea of Cortez, bringing the number of Mustelus species found in the eastern North Pacific to 5.
• March 4 - The final contact attempt with Pioneer 10 receives no response.
• March 4 - Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway was christened by Bishop Ole Christian Kvarme at the chapel inside The Royal Palace in Oslo.
• March 5 - Crash wins Best Picture, Ang Lee (Brokeback Mountain) wins Best Director, Reese Witherspoon (Walk the Line) wins Best Actress, and Philip Seymour Hoffman (Capote) wins Best Actor during the 78th Academy Awards. Three 6 Mafia makes history as they become the first African-American hip-hop group to win an Academy Award for Best Song and also become the first hip-hop artists to ever perform at the ceremony.
• March 7 - Fifteen people die and many others are injured in three blasts throughout Varanasi, India.
• 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.

Tropical Cyclone Larry, considered the worst tropical cyclone to hit Queensland, off the Australian coast on March 18

• March 10 - NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter enters Mars orbit.
• March 11 - Michelle Bachelet is sworn in as the first female President of Chile.
• March 11 - Slobodan Milošević was found dead in his cell in the UN war crimes tribunal's detention centre, located in the Scheveningen section of The Hague.
• March 15-March 26 - The 2006 Commonwealth Games take place in Melbourne, Australia.
• March 17 - The United States, the last nation in the world to have battleships in a reserve fleet, strikes its 2 remaining Iowa-class battleships from the Naval Vessel Register, ending the age of the battleship.
• March 20 - Tropical Cyclone Larry makes landfall in Queensland, Australia as what is considered to be the worst cyclone to hit the region since 1931.
• March 22 - Euskadi Ta Askatasuna (ETA) declares a permanent ceasefire in their campaign for Basque independence from Spain.
• March 25 - An estimated 500,000 people take to the streets in downtown Los Angeles to protest a proposed federal crackdown on illegal immigration.
• March 25 - A revolutionary scramjet jet engine, Hyshot III, designed to fly at 7 times the speed of sound, is successfully tested at Woomera, South Australia.
• March 26 - The ban on smoking in public places such as bars and restaurants comes into effect in Scotland.
• March 30 - The first Brazilian astronaut, Marcos Pontes, goes to space in a Russian Soyuz, Soyuz TMA-8, at 2:29:00 CET.
• March 30 - The al-Dana capsizes off the coast of Bahrain, killing at least 48 people.
• March 30 - The first World Baseball Classic ends in San Diego, California with Japan beating Cuba in the Championship.

April

• April 5 - A swan with Avian Flu is discovered in Cellardyke in Fife, Scotland (the first cases in the United Kingdom).

File:Zacarias Moussaoui2.jpg

A jury in April deliberates over the sentence of convicted terrorist Zacarias Moussaoui and later recommends life in prison without parole on May 3

• April 8 - Shedden massacre: The bodies of 8 murdered men are found in Shedden, Elgin County, Ontario.
• April 8 - Bristol, United Kingdom celebrates the 200th birthday of Isambard Kingdom Brunel (actually April 9) by relighting the Clifton Suspension Bridge.
• April 8 - Numbersixvalverde, ridden by Niall Madden, wins the Grand National at Aintree.
• April 9 - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is removed from office after 4 months in a coma.
• April 10 - Romano Prodi narrowly defeats Silvio Berlusconi in the Italian parliamentary elections.
• April 11 - The ESA's Venus Express spaceprobe enters Venus' orbit.
• April 11 - President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad confirms that Iran has successfully produced a few grams of 3.5% low-grade enriched uranium.
• April 16 - Albert II, Prince of Monaco, reaches the North Pole, becoming the first reigning monarch ever to do so.
• April 17 - A suicide bombing by Islamic Jihad in Tel Aviv kills 9 people and injures dozens.
• April 18 - The Centennial of the 1906 San Francisco earthquake is observed.
• April 19 - Han Myung-sook becomes the first female Prime Minister of South Korea.
• April 20 - Iran announces a uranium enrichment deal with Russia, involving a joint uranium enrichment firm on Russian soil; 9 days later Iran announces that it will not move all activity to Russia, thus leading to a de-facto termination of the deal.
• April 22 - War on Terror: Four Canadian soldiers are killed 75 kilometers north of Kandahar, Afghanistan by a roadside bomb planted by Taliban militants (the worst 1-day combat loss for the Canadian army since the Korean War).
• April 24 - Three explosions in a tourist section of Dahab, Egypt kill 30 and injure over 115.
• April 29 - Massive anti-war demonstrations and a march down Broadway in New York City mark the third year of war in Iraq.
• April 29 - The Global Night Commute takes place in over 130 cities around the world to promote the visibility of the Invisible Children in Uganda.

May

• May 1 - Bolivian President Evo Morales nationalizes his nation's gas fields.
• May 1 - The Great American Boycott takes place across the United States as marchers protest for immigration rights.
• May 4 - A new coalition government takes office in Israel; its 4 political parties hold 67 of the 120 seats in the Knesset.

The location of the epicenter of the earthquake that struck Indonesia on May 27

• May 5 - NASA astronomers announce the discovery of a storm system in the Jovian atmosphere, dubbed the Red Spot Junior on the planet Jupiter, which has a striking similar appearance to the famous Great Red Spot.
• 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. Alfa Romeo sales were to be initially handled by Maserati dealerships.
• May 9 - Beaconsfield mine collapse: After 14 days trapped underground, miners Todd Russell and Brant Webb are rescued in Beaconsfield, Tasmania, Australia.
• May 13 - Liverpool defeats West Ham to win the FA Cup on penalties after a 3-3 draw. [1]
• May 18 - FC Barcelona defeats Arsenal in the final of the UEFA Champions League played in Paris
• May 20 - Finland's Lordi wins the 2006 Eurovision Song Contest held in Athens. The monster-like band earns the most points ever given in the 51-year-old contest.
• May 24 - East Timor's Foreign Minister Horta officially requests military assistance from the governments of Australia, New Zealand, Malaysia and Portugal.
• May 27 - A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes central Java in Indonesia, killing more than 6,000, injuring at least 36,000 and leaving some 1.5 million people homeless.
• May 27 - The first demonstration for homosexual rights in Moscow is broken up by the police.
• May 28 - President Alvaro Uribe Velez is re-elected in Colombia for a second term. He becomes the first president in over a century to serve consecutive terms.

June

• June 3 - Montenegro declares independence after a May 21 referendum. The state union of Serbia and Montenegro is dissolved on June 5 leaving Serbia as the successor state.
• June 3 - Seventeen men are arrested in the Greater Toronto Area for alleged ties to a terrorist plot to blow up targets in the region. (see also: 2006 Toronto terrorism case)
• June 6 - The Union of Islamic Courts gains control of Somalia's capital Mogadishu, ending warlord rule of the city.
• June 7 - Al-Qaeda in Iraq leader Abu Musab al-Zarqawi and 7 of his aides are killed in a U.S. air raid just north of the town of Baqouba, Iraq.
• June 9 - An explosion kills 8 Palestinian civilians on a Gaza beach. After an investigation, Israel denies responsibility for the blast.
• June 9 - Thailand begins celebrations of the 60th anniversary of the accession of Bhumibol Adulyadej to the throne.
• June 9 - The 2006 FIFA World Cup begins in Germany.
• June 10 - President Mahmoud Abbas sets July 26 as the date for a national referendum in Palestine.
• June 18 - The first Kazakh space satellite "KazSat" is launched.
• June 20 - The Miami Heat win the NBA Finals 4-2. Dwyane Wade is named MVP
• June 22 - The Magen David Adom and Palestine Red Crescent Society are officially recognized by the International Committee of the Red Cross.
• June 23 - In Miami, the FBI arrests 7 men, accusing them of planning to bomb the Sears Tower and other attacks in Miami.
• June 25 - Warren Buffett donates over $30 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation.
• June 28 - Israel launches Operation Summer Rains, an offensive against militants in Gaza.
• June 29 - The Dutch cabinet Balkenende II resigns after the political party of D'66 drops its support.
• June 29 - Hamdan v. Rumsfeld: The United States Supreme Court rules that the military commissions to be used to try some detainees in the Guantanamo Bay detainment camp are illegal.
• June 29 - Women vote for the first time in elections for the National Assembly of Kuwait.

July

Space Shuttle Discovery lands safely after the STS-121 mission.

• July 1 - The Qinghai-Tibet Railway launches a trial operation, connecting China proper and Tibet for the first time.
• July 2 - A presidential election is held in Mexico. Felipe Calderón is confirmed as the winner on September 5.
• July 4 - STS-121: Space Shuttle Discovery is launched to the International Space Station. It returns safely on July 17.
• July 5 - North Korea test fires at least 7 missiles including a long-range Taepodong-2.
• July 6 - The Nathula Pass between India and China, sealed during the Sino-Indian War, re-opens for trade after 44 years.
• July 9 - S7 Airlines Flight 778 crashes into a concrete barrier shortly after landing, killing at least 122 people and leaving many injured.
• July 9 - Italy wins the 2006 FIFA World Cup by beating France 5-3 on penalties. The score after extra time is 1-1.
• July 10 - Pakistan International Airlines Flight 688 crashes in Multan, Pakistan shortly after takeoff, killing all 45 people on board.
• July 11 - A series of coordinated bomb attacks strikes several commuter trains in Mumbai, India during the evening rush hour.
• July 12 - 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict: Israeli troops invade Lebanon in response to Hezbollah kidnapping 2 Israeli soldiers and killing 3. Hezbollah declares open war against Israel 2 days later.
• July 14 - Jaroslaw Kaczynski, leader of the Law and Justice party, is sworn in as Prime Minister of Poland by his identical twin, President Lech Kaczynski.
• July 18 - The SS Nomadic, the last floating link to Titanic, returns home to a great reception in Belfast.
• July 21 - St Louis is hit by two major derechos (violent windstorms) in a span of three days.
• July 23 - American Floyd Landis wins the Tour de France; however, tour officials soon announce that he has failed a doping test.
• July 23 - Zuleyka Rivera becomes Puerto Rico's 5th Miss Universe, beating 85 other contestants from around the globe to claim the title.
• July 28 - Alejandro Toledo concludes his term as President of Peru. Alan Garcia becomes president.
• July 30 - The world's longest running music show, Top of the Pops, broadcasts for the last time on BBC Two, after 42 years.
• July 31 - Fidel Castro, President of Cuba, temporarily relinquishes power to his brother Raúl before surgery.

August

• August 10 - London Metropolitan Police make 21 arrests in connection to an apparent terrorist plot that involved aircraft traveling from the United Kingdom to the United States. New TSA regulations are put into effect, permanently banning all liquids and gels, including but not limited to deodorants, colognes, toothpaste, and gel implants, in both checked and carryon baggage.
• August 11 - A resolution to end the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict is unanimously accepted by the United Nations Security Council.
• August 14 - A UN cease fire takes effect in the 2006 Israel-Lebanon conflict.
• August 20 - Miss New York's Outstanding Teen Maria DeSantis wins the title of the second Miss America's Outstanding Teen in the Linda Chapin Theatre at the Orange County Convention Center in Orlando, Florida.
• August 22 - Pulkovo Airlines Flight 612 crashes near the Russian border in Ukraine, killing 171 people, including 45 children.
• August 22 - The ICM awards Grigori Perelman the Fields Medal for proving the Poincare conjecture, one of seven Millennium Prize Problems. Perelman refuses the medal.
• August 24 - The International Astronomical Union defines 'planet' at its 26th General Assembly, demoting Pluto to the status of 'dwarf planet' more than 70 years after its discovery.
• August 27 - Comair Flight 5191, carrying 50 people, crashes shortly after take off from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky. Only the first officer survives.
• August 31 - Edvard Munch paintings The Scream and Madonna are recovered in a police raid in Oslo, Norway.

September

• September 1 - A fire kills 29 of 148 people aboard an Iran Air Tours Tu-154M aircraft after the plane lands in Mashhad, Iran.
• September 2 - A Nimrod MR4 based at RAF Kinloss, Scotland, crashes in the Southern Province of Kandahar, Afghanistan, due to a technical fault. All 14 crew on board were killed.
• September 3 - Andre Agassi retires after his final match (against Benjamin Becker in the U.S. Open).
• September 7 - Chiang Kai-shek International Airport in Taipei is renamed to Taiwan Taoyuan International Airport.
• September 9 - Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on mission STS-115 to build up the International Space Station. It returned safe and successful on September 21.

Space Shuttle Atlantis at the launch of STS-115.

• September 10 - Seven-time World Champion Michael Schumacher announces his retirement from the sport of Formula 1 for the end of the year.
• September 12 - A stampede at a rally in Yemen leaves 41 dead.
• September 12 - Pope Benedict XVI gives a lecture in Germany; he quotes a criticism of the Islam faith, sparking mass protest.
• September 13 - The Dawson College Shooting takes place in Montreal, Quebec, Canada, leaving 1 student dead and 19 others injured.
• September 13 - The solar system's largest dwarf planet, designated until now as 2003 UB313, is officially named "Eris"; its satellite is now known as "Dysnomia".
• September 15 - Spinach contaminated with E. coli kills 1 person and poisons over 100 others in 20 states of the United States.
• September 16 - Five churches are attacked in Palestinian areas following the Pope's comments on Islam.
• September 18 - The Alliance for Sweden claims victory in the Swedish general election, 2006.
• September 19 - Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra of Thailand declares a state of emergency in Bangkok as members of the Royal Thai Army stage a coup d'état. The army announces the removal of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra from power.
• September 22 - A Transrapid Maglev train crashes into a maintenance vehicle on a test track in Germany, killing 23 and injuring 10, the first recorded fatal accident involving a Maglev.
• September 24 - CPC Central Political Bureau committee member, Shanghai Municipal Party Committee Secretay Chen Liangyu was dismissed for alleged corruption charges.
• September 25 - The Louisiana Superdome in New Orleans re-opens 13 months after Hurricane Katrina with extensive repairs, including the largest re-roofing project in the United States.
• September 26 - Diet of Japan elects Shinzo Abe as new Prime Minister of Japan succeeding Junichiro Koizumi.
• September 26 - An armed suspect holds 6 female students as hostages in Platte Canyon High School located in Baily, Colorado. One hostage is fatally wounded as the gunman kills himself. [2]
• September 28 - After 40 years of development, Suvarnabhumi Airport, opens in Bangkok, Thailand replacing Don Mueang International Airport as Bangkok's primary airport for commercial flights.
• September 29 - Gol Flight 1907, a Boeing 737-800, collides with a business jet over the Amazon Rainforest killing all 154 onboard.
• September 29 - U.S. Representative Mark Foley (R-FL) resigns after it is revealed that he sent explicit e-mails for several years to underage male pages.
• September 30 - West Coast Eagles win the AFL Grand Final at the Melbourne Cricket Ground, Fox Footy Channel in Australia ceases transmission.

October

• October 1 - Australian National Rugby League Grand Final at Telstra Stadium. (Brisbane Broncos versus Melbourne Storm.) This is the first time in the 98 year history of the ARL/NRL that a New South Wales team has not made the Final. Brisbane Broncos win 15-8, their 6th NRL Grand Final Victory.
• October 1 - Vodafone Japan, which was already purchased from Vodafone by SoftBank, officially changes its name to Softbank Mobile Corporation.
• October 2 - The Amish school shooting takes place, when Charles Carl Roberts IV, a 32-yr-old milk-truck driver, kills 5 female students at an Amish schoolhouse in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania before shooting himself. Several others are wounded. [3]
• October 2 - Per Westerberg takes office as Speaker of the Riksdag (Speaker of the Parliament) in Sweden.
• October 3 - The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA) Index reaches its all-time high (as of 2006) of 11,727.34 and an all-time intra-day high of 11,758.95.
• October 4 - The Dow Industrial Average closes above 11,800 for the first time rising 123.27 points, or 1.05%, finishing at 11,850.61.
• October 6 - Hazardous waste plant near Apex, North Carolina explodes releasing chlorine gas, resulting in the evacuation of thousands and the hospitalization of over 100 residents.

Position of earthquake caused by North Korea's nuclear test.

• October 9 - North Korea claims to have conducted its first ever nuclear test.
• October 10 - Google buys YouTube for USD $1.65 billion
• October 15 - The UN agrees to sanction North Korea over nuclear testing issue.
• October 15 - Chief Justice of Japan Akira Machida retires upon reaching the age of 70.
• October 17 - The United States population reaches 300 million based on a United States Census Bureau projection.
• October 18 - Microsoft publicly releases Windows Internet Explorer 7.
• October 19 - On the 19th anniversary of the 1987 stock market crash, the Dow Jones Industrial Average closed above 12,000 for the first time gaining 19.05 points, or 0.16%, to 12,011.73.
• October 22 - Michael Schumacher, the most successful driver in the history of Formula One, retires from the sport.
• October 23 - Jeffrey Skilling is sentenced to 24 years and 4 months in federal prison on charges relating to the financial collapse of Enron.
• October 25 - The New Jersey Supreme Court unanimously rules in favor of marriage equality; 4-3 say decision whether to rewrite marriage law or write civil union law for gays (separate but equal debate) is left to the legislature in the next six months. The three dissenting justices dissented because they believed same-sex couples should have the full right to marry [4].
• October 27 - Restorative Justice pioneer Howard Zehr receives the Community of Christ International Peace Award.
• October 27 - The St. Louis Cardinals win the 2006 World Series; David Eckstein is named MVP.
• October 29 - Aviation Development Company Flight 53 crashes shortly after take off in Nigeria.
• October 29 - Luis Inácio Lula da Silva is re-elected President of Brazil.
• October 30 - Former Chilean Dictator Augusto Pinochet is placed under house arrest for crimes committed at the Villa Grimaldi detention centre where thousands were tortured between 1974 and 1977.
• October 30 - An airstrike on a madrasah in Bajaur kills dozens of suspected al-Qaeda and Taliban militants.
• October 30 - The Esperanza Fire burns over 61 square miles of Cabazon, California moutain territory.
• October 31 - Veteran Game Show host Bob Barker announces his retirement from The Price is Right in June 2007 after 35 years as host and after 50 years on television.
• October 31 - A comment by senator John Kerry raises nationwide outrage after accidentally insulting the intelligence of American troops in Iraq.

November

Representatives Nancy Pelosi and Steny Hoyer meeting with President George W. Bush on November 9, 2006.

• November 2 - Competing software manufacturers Microsoft and Novell announce a collaboration on technologies for inter-operation between Windows and SUSE Linux operating systems.
• November 3 - Iran successfully test-fires 3 new models of sea missiles in a show of force to assert its military capacities in the Gulf.
• November 3 - Science predicts 90% of maritime life forms will be extinct by 2048.
• November 3 - Ted Haggard resigns as president of the National Association of Evangelicals, after allegations of methamphetamine use and sex with a gay prostitute.
• November 5 - Former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein and 2 of his senior allies are sentenced to death by hanging after an Iraqi court finds them guilty of crimes against humanity.
• November 7 - U.S. Midterm elections: Democrats win control of both houses of Congress for the first time since 1994.
• November 7 - In the U.S. congressional elections, Minnesota Democrat Keith Ellison becomes the first Muslim elected to the House of Representatives.
• November 7 - The Japanese town of Saroma, Hokkaido is struck by a tornado, killing nine. It is the deadliest tornado in Japan since 1941.
• November 8 - U.S. Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld resigns; President Bush nominates Robert Gates, a former CIA director, as his replacement.
• November 8 - A transit of Mercury occurs.
• November 12 - Gerald Ford surpasses Ronald Reagan as the longest lived President of the United States.
• November 12 - The former Soviet republic of South Ossetia holds a referendum on independence from Georgia.
• November 15 - Al Jazeera launches its new English language news channel, Al Jazeera English.
• November 15 - Start of the Sales and Use Tax in Puerto Rico; a response to the Puerto Rico budget crisis of May 2006.
• November 17 - U.S. comedian and actor Michael Richards launches a racial tirade during a performance at the Laugh Factory in Los Angeles, after losing his temper with some African American hecklers.
• November 19 - Jimmie Johnson and the Lowe's #48 Monte Carlo SS team wins the 2006 NASCAR Nextel Cup Championship.
• November 20 - Iran and Syria recognize government of Iraq, restore diplomatic relations, and call for peace conference.
• November 21 - Pierre Amine Gemayel, Lebanon's Minister of Industry, is assassinated in Beirut. [5]
• November 21 - Israel's Supreme Court finds that Israel must recognize and register same-gender marriages celebrated in other countries.
• November 21 - Twenty-three miners are killed in a gas explosion in a coal mine Halemba in Ruda Slaska, Poland, approximately 1,000 meters below the ground
• November 22 - The CDA won a pluralty of seats in the 2006 Elections in The Netherlands.
• November 22 - A General Election was held for the House of Keys in the Isle of Man.
• November 23 - Alexander Litvinenko, a former Russian KGB agent, is assassinated in a London sushi bar, possibly by the Russian Security Service, the FSB.
• November 23 - A series of car bombs and mortar attacks strike in Sadr City, Baghdad, and kill at least 215 people and injured 257 others.
• November 24 - Michael Stone is arrested for breaking into the parliament buildings at Stormont while armed. Bertie Ahern and Tony Blair's deadline on Northern Ireland power-sharing.
• November 25 - Steve Bracks wins the Victorian state election.
• November 26 - US Judge James Robertson orders the US Treasury to change the dollar bill.
• November 28-November 29 - The NATO Summit 2006 takes place in Latvia.
• November 30 - South Africa becomes the fifth nation to legalize gay marriage.
• November 30 - Typhoon Durian triggers a massive mudslide and kills hundreds of people in the Philippines.
• November 30 - The 2006 Atlantic hurricane season and the 2006 Pacific hurricane season officially end.
• November 30 - Windows Vista, the newest version of Windows for Microsoft, released for volume license customers.

December

• December 1 - Felipe Calderón sworn in as the President of Mexico by the Congress in Mexico.
• December 1 - The 15th Asian Games start in Doha, Qatar; the closing ceremony takes place on December 15.
• December 1 - Typhoon Durian kills at least 388 people in Albay province on the island of Luzon in the Philippines.
• December 1 - U.S. billionaire Kirk Kerkorian sells the last of his shares in General Motors.
• December 2 - In Rome, about 2 million people, led by opposition leader Silvio Berlusconi, demonstrate against Romano Prodi's government.
• December 2 - Stephane Dion is elected the new Leader of the Liberal Party of Canada, on the fourth ballot.
• December 3 - Hugo Chavez is re-elected President of Venezuela.
• December 3 - Explosive demolition of Germany's tallest chimney at former Westerholt Power Station.
• December 5 - The military seizes power in Fiji by means of a coup d'état led by Commodore Josaia Voreqe "Frank" Bainimarama.
• December 8 - Ethiopian and Islamic Courts Union clash in Somalia sparking the Ethiopian war in Somalia
• December 9 - 45 people are killed in a fire at a hospital in Moscow.
• December 9 - Space Shuttle Discovery lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center to begin STS-116. Christer Fuglesang becomes the first Swede in space.
• December 10 - The Nobel Prize ceremonies take place in Stockholm and Oslo.
• December 11 - The Holocaust conference is opened in Tehran, Iran by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.
• December 13 - Chinese River Dolphin or Baiji, announced as extinct.

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Major religious holidays

• January 6 - Feast of Epiphany or Día de los Reyes Magos (Day of the Magic Kings).
• January 7 - Christmas in the Russian Orthodox, Serbian Orthodox, Coptic Orthodox, Ukrainian Catholic and other Eastern Christian church calendars.
• January 10 - Islamic festival of Eid ul-Adha begins (ends on January 12).
• January 11 - Vaikunta Ekadashi is observed by Hindus. This is the day when the Gates of Heaven open and remain open for the next ten days.
• January 14 - Mahayana Buddhist New Year.
• January 14 - Pongal Harvest Festival in Tamil Nadu.
• January 15 - Maatu Pongal, Festival of Cows in Tamil Nadu.
• January 16 - Uzhavar Tirunaal, Farmer's Day in Tamil Nadu.
• January 29 - Year of the Dog, 4703, begins. Chinese/Asian New Year.
• January 31 - Muslim New Year.
• February 1 - Imbolc Cross-quarter day (Celebrated on February 2 in some places).
• February 9 - Day of Ashurah.
• February 13 - Tu Bishvat.
• February 28 - Mardi Gras.
• March 13 - Jewish holiday of Purim begins at sunset.
• March 14 - Sikh New Year.
• March 21 - Iranian New Year's Day (Norouz).
• March 30 - Hindu New Year.
• April 5 - Qingming Festival.
• April 11 - Birth anniversary of Muhammad.
• April 12 - Pesach or Passover begins at sunset, continues for a week.
• April 13 - Theravada Buddhist New Year.
• April 13 - Punjabi New Year.
• April 14 - Good Friday in the Western Church Calendar, Sikh Holiday of Vaisakhi.
• April 14 - Puththaandu Tamil New Year in the Tamil Calendar, observed by people in Tamil Nadu.
• April 16 - Easter in the Western Church Calendar.
• April 21 - Good Friday in the Eastern Church Calendar.
• April 23 - Easter in the Eastern Church Calendar.
• May 1 - Beltane Cross-quarter day.
• June 1 - Jewish holiday of Shavuot begins at sunset.
• August 1 - Lammas Cross-quarter day.
• September 22 - Jewish holiday of Rosh Hashanah begins at sundown. Continues until nightfall of the 24th.
• September 23 - First day of Ramadan.
• October 1 - Jewish holiday of Yom Kippur begins at sundown. Ends at nightfall of the 2nd.
• October 21 - Hindu festival of Diwali.
• October 24 - Islamic festival of Eid ul-Fitr.
• October 31 - Samhain Cross-quarter day.
• December 16 - Channukah.
• December 25 - Christmas Day in the Western Church Calendar.
• December 31 - Islamic festival of Eid ul-Adha begins (ends on January 2, 2007).

Births

• June 3 - Countess Leonore of Orange-Nassau, Jonkvrouwe van Amsberg
• June 18 - Countess Zaria of Orange-Nassau, Jonkvrouwe van Amsberg
• August 16 - Princess Luisa of Savoy
• September 6 - Prince Hisahito of Akishino, third in line to the throne of Japan

Deaths

Main article: Deaths in 2006

January

• January 3 - Steve Rogers, Australian rugby league 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 6 - Lou Rawls, American singer (b. 1933)
• January 8 - Tony Banks, British politician (b. 1943)
• January 12 - Amrish Puri, Indian actor (b. 1932)
• January 14 - Jim Gary, American sculptor (b. 1939)
• January 14 - Shelley Winters, American actress (b. 1920)
• January 15 - Jaber Al-Ahmad Al-Jaber Al-Sabah, Emir of Kuwait (b. 1926)
• January 19 - Wilson Pickett, American singer (b. 1941)
• January 21 - Ibrahim Rugova, first President of Kosovo (b. 1944)
• January 27 - Johannes Rau, President of Germany (b. 1931)
• January 28 - Yitzchak Kadouri, Iraqui-born rabbi (b. around 1900)
• 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, activist, and writer (b.1921)
• February 10 - J Dilla, American music producer (b. 1974)
• February 12 - Ken Hart, American composer, journalist, and playwright (b. 1917)
• February 13 - P. F. Strawson, English philosopher (b. 1919)
• February 14 - Shoshana Damari, Israeli singer and actress (b. 1923)
• February 15 - Sun Yun-suan, Premier of the Republic of China (b. 1913)
• February 16 - Ernie Stautner, German-born American football player (b. 1925)
• February 20 - Lucjan Wolanowski, Polish journalist, writer and traveller (b. 1920)
• February 22 - Sinnathamby Rajaratnam, Singapore politician (b. 1925)
• February 23 - Mauri Favén, Finnish painter (b. 1920)
• February 23 - Zarra, Spanish football player (b. 1921)
• 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 - Linda Smith, English comedian (b. 1958)

March

• March 3 - William Herskovic, Hungarian Holocaust hero and philanthropist (b. 1914)
• March 4 - Edgar Valter, Estonian illustrator and cartoonist (b. 1929)
• March 4 - John Reynolds Gardiner, American author and engineer (b. 1944)
• March 6 - Dana Reeve, American actress, wife of Christopher Reeve (b. 1961)
• March 6 - Kirby Puckett, American baseball player (b. 1960)
• March 9 - Hanka Bielicka, Polish actress (b. 1915)
• March 11 - Bernie Geoffrion, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1931)
• March 11 - Slobodan Milošević, President of Serbia (b. 1941)
• March 14 - Lennart Meri, President of Estonia (b. 1929)
• March 23 - Cindy Walker, American songwriter (b. 1918)
• March 25 - Rocio Durcal, Spanish singer and actress (b. 1944)
• March 25 - Buck Owens, American musician (b. 1929)
• March 27 - Stanislaw Lem, Polish writer (b. 1921)
• March 28 - Caspar Weinberger, United States Secretary of Defense (b. 1917)

April

• April 2 - Nina Schenk von Stauffenberg, German wife of soldier Claus Schenk von Stauffenberg (b. 1913)
• April 4 - Denis Donaldson, Irish Republican informer (shot) (b. 1950)
• April 5 - Gene Pitney, American singer (b. 1941)
• April 8 - Gerard Reve, Dutch author (b. 1923)
• April 11 - Proof, American rapper (D12) (b. 1975)
• April 11 - Les Foote, Australian footballer (b. 1924)
• April 11 - June Pointer, American singer (b. 1953)
• April 12 - Rajkumar, Indian actor (b. 1929)
• April 12 - William Sloane Coffin, American university chaplain and activist (b. 1924)
• April 13 - Muriel Spark, Scottish novelist (b. 1918)
• April 15 - Louise Smith, American race car driver (b. 1916)
• April 17 - Calum Kennedy, Scottish singer (b. 1928)
• April 19 - Scott Crossfield, American pilot (b. 1921)
• April 21 - Telê Santana, Brazilian footballer and coach (b. 1931)
• April 23 - Alida Valli, Italian actress (b. 1921)
• April 24 - Nasreen Huq, Bangladeshi social worker and human rights activist (b. 1958)
• April 24 - Steve Stavro, Canadian businessman and sports team owner (b. 1927)
• April 24 - Moshe Teitelbaum, Hungarian-born Hassidic rabbi (b. 1914)
• April 25 - Jane Jacobs, American-born writer and activist (b. 1916)
• April 25 - Peter Law, British politician (b. 1948)
• April 29 - John Kenneth Galbraith, Canadian economist (b. 1908)

May

• May 2 - Louis Rukeyser, American television host (b. 1933)
• May 3 - Karel Appel, Dutch painter (b. 1921)
• May 3 - Earl Woods, athlete and father of Tiger Woods
• May 6 - Lillian Asplund, the last American survivor of the Titanic disaster (b. 1906)
• May 6 - Shigeru Kayano, Japanese activist (b. 1926)
• May 7 - Richard Carleton, Australian journalist (b. 1943)
• May 8 - Iain MacMillan, British photographer (b. 1938)
• May 10 - Val Guest, British film director (b. 1911)
• May 10 - Soraya, Colombian-born singer and musician (b. 1969)
• May 11 - Yossi Banai, Israeli singer and actor (b. 1932)
• May 11 - Floyd Patterson, American boxer (b. 1935)
• May 13 - Jaroslav Pelikan, American historian (b. 1923)
• May 16 - Jorge Porcel, Argentine actor (b. 1936)
• May 19 - Freddie Garrity, English singer (Freddie and the Dreamers) (b. 1940)
• May 21 - Katherine Dunham, American dancer, choreographer, and songwriter (b. 1909)
• May 22 - Lee Jong-wook, Korean Director-General of the World Health Organisation (b. 1945)
• May 23 - Lloyd Bentsen, American politician (b. 1921)
• May 25 - Desmond Dekker, Jamaican singer and songwriter (b. 1941)
• May 25 - Tobías Lasser, Venezuelan botanist (b. 1911)
• May 25 - Kari S. Tikka, Finnish professor (b. 1944)
• May 26 - Édouard Michelin, French businessman (b. 1963)
• May 27 - Alex Toth, American comic book artist and cartoonist (b. 1928)

June

• June 1 - Rocio Jurado, Spanish singer and actress (b. 1944)
• June 6 - Arnold Newman, American photographer (b. 1918)
• June 6 - Billy Preston, American artist and musician (b. 1946)
• June 6 - Hilton Ruiz, Puerto Rican jazz pianist (b. 1952)
• June 7 - Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Jordanian militant (b. 1966)
• June 12 - Chakufwa Chihana, Malawi politician (b. 1939)
• June 12 - György Ligeti, Hungarian composer (b. 1923)
• June 12 - Kenneth Roy Thomson, 2nd Baron Thomson of Fleet, Canadian businessman and art collector (b. 1923)
• June 13 - Charles Haughey, Prime Minister of Ireland (b. 1925)
• June 14 - Jean Roba, Belgian comics author (b. 1930)
• June 15 - Raymond Devos, French humorist (b. 1922)
• June 17 - Bussunda, Brazilian comedian (b. 1962)
• June 18 - Gica Petrescu, Romanian musician (b. 1915)
• June 23 - Aaron Spelling, American television producer (b. 1923)
• June 25 - Arif Mardin, Turkish-born music producer (b. 1932)
• June 25 - Jaap Penraat, Dutch architect and member of Dutch resistance in World War II (b. 1918)
• June 30 - Robert Gernhardt, German satirist (b. 1937)

July

• July 1 - Ryutaro Hashimoto, 53rd Prime Minister of Japan (b. 1937)
• July 1 - Fred Trueman, English cricketer (b. 1931)
• July 5 - Gert Fredriksson, Swedish kayaker (b. 1919)
• July 5 - Kenneth Lay, American businessman (b. 1942)
• July 6 - Kasey Rogers, American actress, author, and biker (b. 1925)
• July 7 - Tom Weir, Scottish climber, author, and broadcaster (b. 1914)
• July 7 - Rudi Carrell, Dutch entertainer (b. 1934)
• July 7 - Syd Barrett, English singer, songwriter, and guitarist (Pink Floyd) (b. 1946)
• July 8 - June Allyson, American actress (b. 1917)
• July 8 - Catherine Leroy, French photographer (b. 1945)
• July 10 - Shamil Basayev, Chechen rebel (b. 1965)
• July 11 - Ross M. Lence, American political scientist (b. 1943)
• July 13 - Red Buttons, American actor and comedian (b. 1919)
• July 16 - Bob Orton, American wrestler (b. 1929)
• July 17 - Mickey Spillane, American writer (b. 1918)
• July 18 - Raul Cortez, Brazilian actor (b. 1931)
• July 19 - Jack Warden, American actor (b.1920)
• July 20 - Lim Kim San, Singapore politician (b. 1916)
• July 20 - Ted Grant, British Trotskyist politician (b. 1913)
• July 21 - Ta Mok, Cambodian military leader (b. 1926)
• July 21 - Mako Iwamatsu, Japanese-born actor (b. 1933)
• July 22 - José Antonio Delgado, Venezuelan mountain climber (b. 1965)
• July 22 - Gianfrancesco Guarnieri, Italian-born actor and playwright (b.1934)
• July 25 - Hani Mohsin, Malaysian actor (b. 1965)
• July 28 - David Gemmell, British author (b. 1948)

August

• August 3 - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, German-born soprano (b. 1915)
• August 9 - James van Allen, American physicist (b. 1914)
• August 11 - Mike Douglas, American entertainer (b. 1925)
• August 15 - Te Atairangi Kaahu, Maori queen (b. 1931)
• August 16 - Alfredo Stroessner, dictator of Paraguay (b. 1912)
• August 20 - Joe Rosenthal, American photographer (b. 1911)
• August 21 - Bismillah Khan, Indian musician (b. 1916)
• August 21 - S. Yizhar, Israeli writer (b. 1916)
• August 23 - Maynard Ferguson, Canadian trumpet player and bandleader (b. 1928)
• August 26 - Rainer Barzel, German politician (b. 1924)
• August 26 - Clyde Walcott, Barbadian cricketer (b. 1926)
• August 27 - Hrishikesh Mukherjee, Indian filmmaker (b. 1922)
• August 30 - Glenn Ford, Canadian actor (b. 1916)
• August 30 - Naguib Mahfouz, Egyptian writer, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911)

September

• September 2 - Charlie Williams, British comedian (b. 1927)
• September 2 - Bob Mathias, American athlete (b. 1930)
• September 4 - Steve Irwin, Australian environmentalist and television personality (b. 1962)
• September 4 - Giacinto Facchetti, Italian footballer (b. 1942)
• September 4 - Colin Thiele, Australian author and educator (b. 1920)
• September 8 - Hilda Bernstein, English-born author, artist, and activist (b. 1915)
• September 8 - Peter Brock, Australian race car driver (b. 1945)
• September 9 - Richard Burmer, American composer, sound designer, and electronic musician (b. 1955)
• September 9 - William B. Ziff, Jr., American publishing executive (b. 1930)
• September 10 - Taufa'ahau Tupou IV, King of Tonga (b. 1918)
• September 11 - Joachim Fest, German historian and journalist (b. 1926)
• September 11 - Johannes Bob van Benthem, Dutch lawyer (b. 1921)
• September 13 - Ann Richards, Governor of Texas (b. 1933)
• September 14 - Elizabeth Choy, Singapore World War II hero (b. 1910)
• September 15 - Oriana Fallaci, Italian journalist (b. 1929)
• September 15 - Abe Saffron, Australian nightclub owner and property developer (b. 1920)
• September 16 - Rob Levin, American computer programmer, head of FreeNode and PDPC (b. 1955)
• September 17 - Patricia Kennedy Lawford, American socialite, sister of John F. Kennedy (b. 1924)
• September 17 - Dorothy C. Stratton, Director of the U.S. Coast Guard Women's Reserve (b. 1899)
• September 19 - Roy Schuiten, Dutch cyclist (b. 1950)
• September 20 - Armin Jordan, Swiss conductor (b. 1932)
• September 26 - Byron Nelson, American golfer (b. 1912)
• September 29 - Walter Hadlee, New Zealand cricketer (b. 1915)

October

• October 6 - Wilson Tucker, American writer (b. 1914)
• October 7 - Anna Politkovskaya, American-born Russian journalist (b. 1958)
• October 9 - Paul Hunter, British snooker player (b. 1978)
• October 11 - Cory Lidle, American baseball player (b. 1972)
• October 14 - Freddy Fender, American singer (b. 1937)
• October 16 - Lister Sinclair, Canadian broadcaster and playwright (b. 1921)
• October 16 - Valentín Paniagua, President of Peru (b. 1936)
• October 28 - Red Auerbach, American basketball coach and official (b. 1917)
• October 28 - Trevor Berbick, Jamaican boxer (b. 1955)
• October 31 - Pieter Willem Botha, State President of South Africa (b. 1916)

November

• November 1 - William Styron, American writer (b. 1925)
• November 2 - Wally Foreman, Australian sports commentator (b. 1948)
• November 2 - Adrien Douady, French mathematician (b. 1935)
• November 3 - Paul Mauriat, French musician (b. 1925)
• 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, American journalist (b. 1941)
• November 10 - Jack Palance, American actor (b. 1919)
• November 16 - Milton Friedman, American economist, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1912)
• November 17 - Ferenc Puskás, Hungarian footballer (b. 1927)
• November 17 - Bo Schembechler, American football coach (b. 1929)
• November 17 - Ruth Brown, American singer (b. 1928)
• November 20 - Robert Altman, American film director (b. 1925)
• November 21 - Pierre Amine Gemayel, Lebanese politician (b. 1972)
• November 22 - John Allan Cameron, Canadian musician (b. 1938)
• November 23 - Alexander Litvinenko, Russian-born spy (b. 1962)
• November 23 - Philippe Noiret, French actor (b. 1930)
• November 23 - Anita O'Day, American singer (b. 1919)
• November 23 - Willie Pep, American boxer (b. 1922)
• November 24 - Walter Booker, American jazz bassist (b. 1933)
• November 24 - Juice Leskinen, Finnish singer-songwriter (b. 1950)
• November 25 - Leo Chiosso, Italian poet (b. 1920)
• November 25 - Valentin Elizalde, Mexican singer (b. 1979)
• November 26 - Dave Cockrum, American comic book artist (b. 1943)
• November 27 - Alan Freeman, Australian-born broadcaster and disc jockey (b. 1927)

December

• December 3 - Craig Hinton, British novelist (b. 1964)
• December 5 - Michael A. Guido, American mayor of Dearborn, Michigan (b. 1955)
• December 7 - Jeane Kirkpatrick, American political theorist and U.N. ambassador (b. 1926)
• December 10 - Augusto Pinochet, President of Chile (b. 1915)
• December 12 - Paul Arizin, American basketball player (b. 1928)
• December 12 - Peter Boyle, American actor (b. 1935)
• December 13 - Lamar Hunt, American sports executive (b. 1932)

Unknown/undecided dates

• Brazil will officially adopt the Digital TV System (Probably Japanese, or a new system, the Brazilian Digital TV System)
• White House proposed plebiscite to decide whether Puerto Rico will maintain its territorial status or change to another status (to be decided then in other referenda)
• To those who believe in The Bible Code, 2006 will be the year of the apocalypse.
• 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.
• Boston's Big Dig, or Central Artery/Tunnel Project will be substantially completed after 15 years of construction, totaling $14.6 billion.

Nobel Prizes

• Chemistry - Roger D. Kornberg
• Literature - Orhan Pamuk
• Peace - Muhammad Yunus and the Grameen Bank
• Physics - John C. Mather, George F. Smoot
• Physiology or Medicine - Andrew Z. Fire, Craig C. Mello
• Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel - Edmund Phelps

2006 in fiction and popular culture

Books

• Seven Ancient Wonders by Matthew Reilly (2005): March 20 is the day of the coming of Tartarus.

Comics and manga

• Ghost in the Shell: Presumed year of birth of Motoko Kusanagi.
• Kid Gravity: According to Penny Galactica's robot UNI, the first year we build cities on Mars.

Computer and video games

• Set in 2006:
  • Driver: Parallel Lines (2006): The first half of the game is set in 1978; the second half is set in 2006.
  • BattleTanx: Global Assault (1999)
  • Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Pandora Tomorrow

Music

• Briefcase Full of Blues by the Blues Brothers (1978): On the opening track "I Can't Turn You Loose," Elwood Blues laments that the blues will exist only in the classical music records department of your local public library by 2006.
• "When I'm Sixty-Four" was written by Paul McCartney when he was a teenager in the 1950s, but wasn't recorded until late 1966 when his own father turned 64; it was released in 1967 on the Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band album; McCartney turned 64 on June 18.

Television

• Doctor Who:
  • "Aliens of London" and "World War Three" (both 2005): Set in March
  • "Boom Town" (2005): Set in September
  • "The Christmas Invasion" (2005): Set on December 24-December 25
• Jeremiah (2002-2004): A viral plague kills every human being that has entered puberty, leaving only children alive.
• Life on Mars (2006-2007): Central character Sam Tyler travels in time from 2006 to 1973.
• South Park ("My Future Self n' Me," 2002): An actor portraying a future version of Stan Marsh tells his younger counterpart that he'll be sent to juvenile hall sometime during the course of the year.
• The West Wing: on November 8, Congressman Matt Santos of Texas defeats Senator Arnold Vinick of California in the 2006 US presidential election.

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