Historical Events in 2006

Events 1 - 200 of 280

• Jan 1 Sydney, Australia swelters through its hottest New Year's Day then on record with the temperature peaking at 45 degrees celsius, sparking bush fires and power outages

• Jan 8 A magnitude 6.9 earthquake with its epicenter just off the Greek island of Kythira hits much of the country and is felt throughout the entire eastern Mediterranean Sea.
• Jan 9 "If You're Going Through Hell (Before the Devil Even Knows)" single released by Rodney Atkins (Billboard Song of the Year 2006)
• Jan 12 A stampede during the Stoning the Devil ritual on the last day at the Hajj in Mina, Saudi Arabia, kills at least 362 Muslim pilgrims

• Jan 12 French warship Clemenceau reaches Egypt and is barred access to the Suez Canal. Greenpeace activists board the ship.
• Jan 12 The foreign ministers of the United Kingdom, France, and Germany declare that negotiations with Iran over its nuclear program have reached a dead end and recommend that Iran be referred to the United Nations Security Council.

• Jan 19 A Slovak Air Force Antonov An-24 crashes in Hungary.
• Jan 19 Terrorist blows himself up in Tel Aviv, killing only himself but injuring 20 people, one of them seriously
• Jan 19 The New Horizons probe is launched by NASA on the first mission to Pluto

• Jan 25 Three independent observing campaigns announce the discovery of OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb through gravitational microlensing, the first cool rocky/icy extrasolar planet around a main-sequence star.
• Jan 26 Western Union discontinues its telegram service.
• Jan 29 Irfan Pathan becomes first bowler to take a Test cricket hat-trick in the opening over of a match

• Feb 1 High school senior Epiphanny Prince scores US girls national prep basketball record 113 points in Murry Bergtraum HS's 137-32 win over Brandeis HS; surpasses Cheryl Miller's 105

• Feb 4 A stampede occurs in the ULTRA Stadium near Manila killing 71
• Feb 5 Super Bowl XL, Ford Field, Detroit, MI: Pittsburgh Steelers beat Seattle Seahawks, 21-10; MVP: Hines Ward, Pittsburgh, WR

• Feb 12 A powerful winter storm blankets the Northeastern United States dumping 1 to 2 feet of snow from Washington, D.C. up to Boston, Massachusetts. The storm dumped a record 26.9 inches of snow in New York City.
• Feb 16 The last Mobile Army Surgical Hospital (MASH) is decommissioned by the United States Army
• Feb 17 A massive mudslide occurs in Southern Leyte, Philippines; the official death toll is set at 1,126.
• Feb 19 48th Daytona 500: Jimmie Johnson driving from Hendrick Motorsports wins 203 lap race; goes on to win his first championship
• Feb 22 At least six men stage Britain's biggest robbery ever, stealing £53m (about $92.5 million or 78€ million) from a Securitas depot in Tonbridge, Kent
• Feb 23 Dubai Ports World agrees to postpone its plans to take over management of six U.S. ports after the proposal ignited harsh bipartisan criticism on Capitol Hill.

• Feb 26 XX Winter Olympic Games close in Turin, Italy

• Mar 1 English-language Wikipedia reaches its one millionth article, Jordanhill railway station
• Mar 1 Tarja Halonen is inaugurated as President of Finland for the second and last time
• Mar 4 Final contact attempt with Pioneer 10 by the Deep Space Network. No response received.

• Mar 6 South Dakota Governor Mike Rounds signs a bill into legislation that would ban most abortions in the state.
• Mar 9 Liquid water is discovered on Enceladus, the sixth largest moon of Saturn
• Mar 10 Mass unrest by the PCC started in São Paulo (the biggest city in Brazil) which would eventually kill more than 152 people.
• Mar 10 The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter arrives at Mars.

• Mar 15 18th Commonwealth Games open in Melbourne, Australia
• Mar 16 The United Nations General Assembly votes overwhelmingly to establish the UN Human Rights Council.

• Mar 20 Cyclone Larry makes landfall in eastern Australia, destroying most of the country's banana crop.

• Mar 21 Immigrant workers constructing the Burj Dubayy in Dubai, The United Arab Emirates and a new terminal of Dubai International Airport join together and riot, causing $1M in damage.
• Mar 22 BC Ferries' M/V Queen of the North runs aground on Gil Island British Columbia and sinks; 101 on board, 2 presumed deaths
• Mar 22 ETA, armed Basque separatist group, declares permanent ceasefire
• Mar 22 Three Christian Peacemaker Teams Hostages are freed by British forces in Baghdad after 118 days captivity and the death of their colleague, American Tom Fox
• Mar 23 The Federal Reserve discontinues publishing M3 money supply
• Mar 24 Long-term protests in Belarus are broken by police.

• Mar 25 Capitol Hill massacre: A gunman kills six people before taking his own life at a party in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood
• Mar 25 Protesters demanding a re-election in Belarus following the rigged Belarusian presidential election, 2006 clash with riot police. Opposition leader Aleksander Kozulin is among several protesters arrested.
• Mar 26 Burma's military junta officially names Naypyidaw, a new city in Mandalay Division, the new capital (Yangon previous capital)
• Mar 26 In Scotland the prohibition of smoking in all substantially enclosed public places comes into force
• Mar 27 The United Nations Commission on Human Rights holds its final meeting.
• Mar 28 At least 1 million union members, students and unemployed take to the streets in France in protest at the government's proposed First Employment Contract law
• Mar 30 Marcos Pontes is the first Brazilian astronaut in space
• Mar 30 UK Terrorism Act 2006 becomes law.
• Apr 1 The Serious Organised Crime Agency, dubbed the 'British FBI', is created in the United Kingdom.

• Apr 2 Over 60 tornadoes break out, hardest hit is Tennessee with 29 people killed.

• Apr 6 NZSL (New Zealand sign language) is made an official language of New Zealand
• Apr 8 Shedden massacre: The bodies of eight men, all shot to death, are found in a field in Ontario, Canada. The murders are soon linked to the Bandidos motorcycle gang.
• Apr 10 Hundreds of thousands protest H.R. 4437 (aka the "Sensenbrenner Bill") in the United States.

• Apr 13 Powerful tornadoes rip through Iowa City, Iowa.

• Apr 22 Four Canadian soldiers are killed 75 kilometers north of Kandahar, Afghanistan by a roadside bomb planted by Taliban militants, the worst single day combat loss for the Canadian army since the Korean War
• Apr 22 Nepali security forces open fire on Pro-democracy protesters demonstrating against King Gyanendra, injuring hundreds. The protesters go on to secure the restoration of Parliament and a federal state.
• Apr 24 King Gyanendra of Nepal gives into the demands of protesters and restores the parliament that he dissolved in 2002.

• Apr 27 Construction begins on the Freedom Tower for the new World Trade Center in New York City
• Apr 29 NFL Draft: North Carolina State defensive end Mario Williams first pick from Houston Texans
• May 1 The Puerto Rican government closes the Department of Education and 42 other government agencies due to significant shortages in cash flow.
• May 3 Al-Qaeda member Zacarias Moussaoui is sentenced to life in prison for his part in the 9/11 attacks, in Alexandria, Virginia
• May 3 Armavia Flight 967 crashes into the Black Sea, killing 113 people on board, with no survivors
• May 5 The government of Sudan signs an accord with the Sudan Liberation Army
• May 7 On the final day of the Premier League season, Thierry Henry scores a hat-trick against Wigan Athletic in the last match played at Highbury
• May 9 Estonia ratifies the European Constitution.
• May 9 George Preca is canonized as the first Maltese saint in history

• May 10 Giogio Napolitano is elected President of Italy, first former communist to become President
• May 12 A major rebellion occurs in São Paulo as members of criminal organization Primeiro Comando da Capital attack police officers and stations, eventually escalating to several prisons in Brazil leaving around 130 dead

• May 16 A large earthquake (7.4 on the Richter scale) occurs near New Zealand
• May 17 The aircraft carrier USS Oriskany is sunk in the Gulf of Mexico to be an artificial reef
• May 18 The post Loktantra Andolan government passes a landmark bill curtailing the power of the monarchy and making Nepal a secular country

• May 21 The Republic of Montenegro holds a referendum proposing independence from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro. The Montenegrin people choose independence with a majority of 55%.
• May 21 The Swedish ice hockey team Tre Kronor takes gold in the World Championship, becoming the first nation to hold both the World and Olympic titles separately in the same year.

• May 22 Results from the Montenegrin independence referendum, 2006 are announced. 55.4% of voters vote to become independent from the Serbia and Montenegro Union.
• May 26 The May 2006 Java earthquake kills over 5,700 people, leaves 200,000 homeless.

• May 27 Earthquake strikes Java, Indonesia at 5:53:58 AM local time (22:53:58 UTC May 26) devastating Bantul and the city of Yogyakarta, killing over 6,600 people

• May 28 59th Cannes Film Festival: "The Wind That Shakes the Barley" directed by Ken Loach wins the Palme d'Or

• Jun 3 The union of Serbia and Montenegro comes to an end with Montenegro's formal declaration of independence
• Jun 5 Serbia declares independence from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro
• Jun 7 British Houses of Parliament temporarily shut down due to anthrax alert

• Jun 11 60th Tony Awards: "Jersey Boys" (musical) & "The History Boys" (play) win
• Jun 13 The US Senate issues a formal resolution apologizing for failure to create anti-lynching legislation

• Jun 15 Northwestern Hawaiian Islands Marine National Monument (Papahānaumokuākea) established, at 582,578 square miles one of the largest marine conservation areas in the world [1]

• Jun 18 The first Kazakh space satellite, KazSat is launched
• Jun 19 Prime ministers of several northern European nations participate in a ceremonial "laying of the first stone" at the Svalbard Global Seed Vault in Spitsbergen, Norway.
• Jun 19 Stanley Cup Final, PNC Arena, Raleigh, NC: Carolina Hurricanes beat Edmonton Oilers, 3-1 for a 4-3 series victory; Hurricane's first Championship
• Jun 21 Pluto's newly discovered moons are officially named Nix and Hydra

• Jun 28 NBA Draft: Italian power forward Andrea Bargnani is first pick by Toronto Raptors
• Jun 28 The Republic of Montenegro admitted as the 192nd Member of the United Nations by General Assembly resolution 60/264

• Jun 30 Cirque du Soleil's musical-acrobatic extravaganza "The Beatles - LOVE" opens in a specially built theatre at The Mirage, Las Vegas, Nevada
• Jul 1 The first operation of Qinghai-Tibet Railway in the People's Republic of China

• Jul 3 Asteroid labeled as 2004 XP14 flies 432,308 km (268,624 miles) by Earth.
• Jul 3 Detroit Red Wings legend Steve Yzerman officially retires from the NHL, finishing with 692 goals and 1,755 points

• Jul 4 North Korea tests four short-range missiles, one medium-range missile, and a long-range Taepodong-2. The long-range Taepodong-2 reportedly fails in mid-air over the Sea of Japan/East Sea.

• Jul 4 Space Shuttle program: STS-121 Mission - Space Shuttle Discovery launches at 18:37:55 UTC.
• Jul 4 Sri Lanka sets new ODI cricket record score 443-9 in a World Cup win over Netherlands in Amstelveen (Jayasuriya 157, Dilshan 117no)
• Jul 5 Emergency United Nations Security Council meeting at the U.N in New York City because of North Korean missile tests that day
• Jul 5 North Korea tests at least two short-range Nodong-2 missiles, one SCUD missile and one long-range Taepodong-2 missile
• Jul 6 The Nathula Pass between India and China, sealed during the Sino-Indian War, re-opens for trade after 44 years
• Jul 7 Cleveland Indians first baseman Travis Hafner becomes first player in MLB history to hit 5 grand slams before the All-Star break when he homers off Baltimore's Kris Benson
• Jul 9 At least 122 people killed after a Sibir Airlines Airbus A310 passenger jet, carrying 200 passengers veers off the runway while landing at Irkutsk Airport in Siberia in wet conditions
• Jul 9 FIFA World Cup Final, Olympiastadion, Berlin, Germany: Italy beats France, 5-3 on penalties; 1-1 after extra time
• Jul 10 Pakistan International Flight PK-688 crashes in Multan, Pakistan shortly after takeoff, killing all 45 people on board
• Jul 11 209 people are killed in a series of bomb attacks in Mumbai, India
• Jul 12 Hezbollah initiates Operation True Promise.
• Jul 13 UK singer-songwriter Lily Allen releases her debut album "Alright, Still" (Grammy nominee Best Alternative Music Album)

• Jul 20 During an appearance on "The Tonight Show", Colin Farrell is confronted by telephone sex worker Dessarae Bradford, who had been stalking the actor
• Jul 27 The Federal Republic of Germany is deemed guilty in the loss of Bashkirian 2937 and DHL Flight 611, because it is illegal to outsource flight surveillance
• Jul 30 Bruce Sutter, relief pitcher for Cubs, Cardinals, and Braves, inducted into MLB Hall of Fame, in Cooperstown, New York
• Jul 30 World's longest running music show "Top of the Pops" is broadcast for the last time on BBC Two. The show aired for 42 years.

• Aug 3 Barry Bonds' 715th MLB home run ball (moved him past Babe Ruth for 2nd all-time) fetches $220,100 at auction
• Aug 3 Brazilian Champ Car driver Cristiano da Matta crashes into a deer during testing at Road America, Wisconsin; seriously injured but returns to racing in 2008
• Aug 4 Dame Silvia Cartwright steps down as the Governor-General of New Zealand and is replaced by The Honourable Anand Satyanand, who is sworn in 23 August

• Aug 6 American children's program "Blue's Clues" concludes its 10-year run on Nickelodeon cable channel
• Aug 6 For a MLB record 11th time in his career, Padres closer Trevor Hoffman records 30 or more saves in a season; beats mark set by Lee Smith, baseball's all-time saves leader

• Aug 10 Scotland Yard disrupts major terrorist plot to destroy aircraft travelling from the United Kingdom to the United States. All toiletries are banned from commercial aircraft.
• Aug 13 Cleveland Indians first baseman Travis Hafner ties Don Mattingley's MLB mark of 6 grand slams in a season when he homers off Kansas City's Luke Hudson

• Aug 23 Natascha Kampusch, who was abducted at the age of 10, managed to escape from her captor Wolfgang Priklopil, after 8 years of captivity.

• Aug 24 The International Astronomical Union (IAU) redefines the term "planet" such that Pluto is considered a Dwarf Planet.

• Aug 25 Hyperion, the world's tallest living tree, a Redwood standing 115.55 m (379.1 ft), discovered by naturalists Chris Atkins and Michael Taylor in Redwood National and State Parks, California

• Aug 26 New Zealand retain Tri Nations Rugby Series with 45-26 win over South Africa in Pretoria; All Blacks flyhalf Dan Carter lands 4 penalties and 4 conversions

• Aug 27 Comair Flight 5191 crashes on takeoff from Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky, bound for Hartsfield-Jackson International Airport in Atlanta, Georgia killing 49 of 50 on board

• Sep 1 Luxembourg becomes the 1st country to complete the move to all digital television broadcasting

• Sep 3 Los Angeles Sparks center Lisa Leslie wins the WNBA's Most Valuable Player award, joining Sheryl Swoopes as the league's only three-time winners
• Sep 4 Damon Allen moves past ex-CFL & NFL star Warren Moon as pro football's all-time leading passer; throws for 207 yards & 2 scores as Toronto routs Hamilton, 40-6; Allen 70,595 career passing yards
• Sep 4 Tiger Woods matches the lowest final round of his career (8-under 63) in the Deutsche Bank C'ship at Norton, MA to win for the 5th straight time and 7th time this PGA Tour season

• Sep 13 At Dawson College (Montreal), Kimveer Gill kills one student and wounds 19 others before committing suicide.
• Sep 15 Trudy Pitts becomes 1st jazz artist to play a concert on Philadelphia's Kimmel Center's new 7,000 pipe organ
• Sep 18 "Watching You" single released by Rodney Atkins (Billboard Song of the Year 2007)
• Sep 18 Right wing protesters riot the building of the Hungarian Television in Budapest, Hungary, one day after an audio tape was made public, in which Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány admitted he and his party lied during the 2006 general elections.
• Sep 19 Thai military stages a coup in Bangkok. The Constitution is revoked and martial law is declared.
• Sep 22 A German maglev train crashes, killing 23.

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