What happened in 2006
233 entries recorded for 2006, listed by date. That was 20 years ago.
2006 at a glance
- Years ago
- 20 (as of 2026)
- Century
- 21st century
- Decade
- 2000s
- Generation born
- Generation Z
- Entries here
- 233
- Breakdown
- 45 births · 154 historical events · 34 deaths
January
- January 2
Claudio Echeverri
Claudio Echeverri, Argentine footballer
- January 4
Ehud Olmert
Ehud Olmert becomes acting Prime Minister of Israel after the incumbent, Ariel Sharon, suffers a second, apparently more serious stroke.
- January 4
Marc Guiu
Marc Guiu, Spanish footballer
- January 6
Stefanos Tzimas
Stefanos Tzimas, Greek footballer
- January 9
Sarah Toscano
Sarah Toscano, Italian singer-songwriter and actress
- January 12
Incidents during the Hajj
A stampede during the Stoning of the Devil ritual on the last day at the Hajj in Mina, Saudi Arabia, kills at least 362 Muslim pilgrims.
- January 16
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf
Ellen Johnson Sirleaf is sworn in as Liberia's new president. She becomes Africa's first female elected head of state.
- January 19
Slovak Air Force
A Slovak Air Force Antonov An-24 crashes near Hejce, Hungary, killing 42.
- January 19
Antonov An-24
In the deadliest aviation accident in Slovak history, an Antonov An-24 operated by the Slovak Air Force crashed in northern Hungary, killing 42 of the 43 people on board.
- January 22
Evo Morales
Evo Morales was inaugurated as President of Bolivia, becoming the country's first indigenous president.
- January 24
Schafik Hándal
Schafik Handal, Salvadoran politician (born 1930)
- January 25
OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb
Three independent observing campaigns announced the discovery of OGLE-2005-BLG-390Lb, a super-Earth 21,500 ± 3,300 light-years away from Earth near the center of the Milky Way.
- January 25
Lucha libre
Mexican professional wrestler Juana Barraza is arrested in connection with the serial killing of at least ten elderly women.
- January 28
Katowice International Fair
The roof of one of the buildings at the Katowice International Fair in Poland collapses due to the weight of snow, killing 65 and injuring more than 170 others.
- January 28
Beckett Sennecke
Beckett Sennecke, Canadian ice hockey player
- January 29
India national cricket team
India's Irfan Pathan became the first bowler to take a Test cricket hat-trick in the opening over of a match.
- January 30
2006 Goleta postal facility shooting
The Goleta postal facility shootings occur, killing seven people before the perpetrator took her own life.
- January 31
Gianluca Prestianni
Gianluca Prestianni, Argentine footballer
- January 31
Sára Bejlek
Sára Bejlek, Czech tennis player
February
- February 2
Lucas Bergvall
Lucas Bergvall, Swedish footballer
- February 3
Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen
Al-Qaeda insurgency in Yemen: 23 convicts, including several militants associated with al-Qaeda, escaped from a prison administered by the Political Security Organization in Sanaa, Yemen.
- February 6
Stephen Harper
Stephen Harper becomes Prime Minister of Canada.
- February 7
Dürrüşehvar Sultan
Princess Durru Shehvar of the Ottoman Empire (born 1914)
- February 10
Megan Skiendiel
Megan Skiendiel, American singer, dancer and actress
- February 16
Mobile Army Surgical Hospital
The last Mobile army surgical hospital (MASH) is decommissioned by the United States Army.
- February 17
2006 Southern Leyte mudslide
A massive mudslide occurs in Southern Leyte, Philippines; the official death toll is set at 1,126.
- February 19
Methane
A methane explosion in a coal mine in Nueva Rosita, Mexico, trapped and killed 65 miners.
- February 22
Securitas depot robbery
Seven men staged the largest cash robbery in Britain at a Securitas depot in Tonbridge, Kent, United Kingdom.
- February 22
UTC+03:00
At approximately 6:44 a.m. local Iraqi time, explosions occurred at the al-Askari Shrine in Samarra, Iraq. The attack on the shrine, one of the holiest sites in Shia Islam, caused the escalation of sectarian tensions in Iraq into a full-scale civil war.
- February 22
S. Rajaratnam
S. Rajaratnam, Singaporean politician, 1st Senior Minister of Singapore (born 1915)
- February 24
President of the Philippines
Philippine President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo declares Proclamation 1017 placing the country in a state of emergency in an attempt to subdue a possible military coup.
March
- March 1
English Wikipedia
English-language Wikipedia reaches its one millionth article, Jordanhill railway station.
- March 1
Peter Osgood
Peter Osgood, English footballer (born 1947)
- March 1
Jack Wild
Jack Wild, English actor (born 1952)
- March 1
Murder of Nonoi
Nurasyura binte Mohamed Fauzi, Singaporean rape and murder victim (born 2003)
- March 2
Monterrey
In Monterrey, Mexico, a man identified as Diego Santoy Riveroll commits a double murder against two children, followed by an attempted murder of his ex-partner, Erika. The incident is popularly known as the Cumbres case.
- March 2
Windy Zhan
Windy Zhan, Hong Kong singer and actress
- March 7
Lashkar-e-Taiba
The terrorist organisation Lashkar-e-Taiba coordinates a series of bombings in Varanasi, India.
- March 7
Gordon Parks
Gordon Parks, American photographer, director, and composer (born 1912)
- March 9
Anna Moffo
Anna Moffo, American soprano (born 1932)
- March 9
Tom Fox (Quaker)
Tom Fox, American activist (born 1951)
- March 10
Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter
The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter arrives at Mars.
- March 10
NASA
NASA's Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter (artist's impression pictured) reached and entered orbit around Mars.
- March 11
Michelle Bachelet
Michelle Bachelet is inaugurated as the first female president of Chile.
- March 12
Mahmudiyah rape and murders
U.S. Army soldiers gang-raped a 14-year-old Iraqi girl and murdered her along with her family members.
- March 12
Mahmoudiyah, Iraq
In Mahmoudiyah, Iraq, 14-year-old Abeer Qassim Hamza al-Janabi is raped and murdered by five American soldiers of the 502nd Infantry Regiment, who also murder both of her parents and her sister.
- March 14
2006 Chadian coup attempt
The 2006 Chadian coup d'état attempt ends in failure.
- March 14
Operation Bringing Home the Goods
Operation Bringing Home the Goods: Israeli troops raid an American-supervised Palestinian prison in Jericho to capture six Palestinian prisoners, including PFLP chief Ahmad Sa'adat.
- March 20
Chadian National Army
Over 150 Chadian soldiers are killed in eastern Chad by members of the rebel UFDC. The rebel movement sought to overthrow Chadian president Idriss Déby.
- March 21
Jack Dorsey
Jack Dorsey sent the first message on the social-media network Twitter.
- March 21
Phra Phrom
A man smashed the statue of Phra Phrom at the Erawan Shrine in Bangkok, Thailand, with a hammer, and was subsequently beaten to death by bystanders.
- March 21
Social media
The social media site Twitter (now officially named X) is founded.
- March 22
Community Peacemaker Teams
Three Christian Peacemaker Team (CPT) hostages are freed by British forces in Baghdad after 118 days of captivity and the murder of their colleague from the U.S., Tom Fox.
- March 24
Hannah Montana
Hannah Montana, starring Miley Cyrus as an actress whose alter ego is the titular character, premiered.
- March 25
Capitol Hill massacre
Capitol Hill massacre: A gunman kills six people before taking his own life at a party in Seattle's Capitol Hill neighborhood.
- March 25
Belarus
Protesters demanding a new election in Belarus, following the rigged 2006 Belarusian presidential election, clash with riot police. Opposition leader Aleksander Kozulin is among several protesters arrested.
- March 25
Seattle
A gunman in Seattle, Washington, U.S., entered a rave afterparty and opened fire, killing six and wounding two, before committing suicide.
- March 25
2006 Belarusian presidential election
Protesters demanding a new election in Belarus, following the presidential vote days earlier, were arrested, including opposition leader Alyaksandr Kazulin.
- March 28
2006 youth protests in France
At least one million union members, students and unemployed take to the streets in France in protest at the government's proposed First Employment Contract law.
- March 30
Cyclone Glenda
Cyclone Glenda, one of the strongest tropical cyclones in the Australian region makes landfall near Onslow, Western Australia.
April
- April 1
Serious Organised Crime Agency
Serious Organised Crime Agency (SOCA) of the Government of the United Kingdom is enforced, but later merged into National Crime Agency on 7 October 2013.
- April 2
Tornado
Over 60 tornadoes break out in the United States; Tennessee is hardest hit with 29 people killed.
- April 11
President of Iran
Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad announces Iran's claim to have successfully enriched uranium.
- April 13
United Front for Democratic Change
The United Front for Democratic Change's attack on the Chadian capital of N'Djamena is repelled by the Chadian army
- April 13
Muriel Spark
Muriel Spark, Scottish novelist, poet, and critic (born 1918)
- April 14
2006 Jama Masjid bombings
Twin blasts triggered by crude bombs during Asr prayer in the Jama Masjid mosque in Delhi injure 13 people.
- April 17
Palestinian suicide attacks
A Palestinian suicide bomber detonated explosives in a restaurant in Tel Aviv, Israel, killing 11 people and injuring 70 others.
- April 17
Palestinians
A Palestinian suicide bomber detonates an explosive device in a Tel Aviv restaurant, killing 11 people and injuring 70.
- April 19
Albert Scott Crossfield
Albert Scott Crossfield, American engineer, pilot, and astronaut (born 1921)
- April 22
Alida Valli
Alida Valli, Italian actress (born 1921)
- April 22
Henriette Avram
Henriette Avram, American computer scientist and academic (born 1919)
- April 24
2006 Dahab bombings
Bombings in the Egyptian resort city of Dahab kill 23 people and injure about 80.
- April 24
Brian Labone
Brian Labone, English footballer (born 1940)
- April 24
Moshe Teitelbaum (Satmar)
Moshe Teitelbaum, Romanian-American rabbi and author (born 1914)
- April 27
One World Trade Center
Construction begins on the Freedom Tower (later renamed One World Trade Center) in New York City.
- April 29
Cyclone Mala
Cyclone Mala made landfall near Thandwe, Myanmar, causing 37 deaths.
- April 29
Xochitl Gomez
Xochitl Gomez, American actress
May
- May 1
Lewis Miley
Lewis Miley, English footballer
- May 3
Armavia Flight 967
Armavia Flight 967 crashes into the Black Sea near Sochi International Airport in Sochi, Russia, killing 113 people.
- May 5
Sudan
The government of Sudan signs an accord with the Sudan Liberation Army.
- May 6
Sadie Sandler
Sadie Sandler, American actress
- May 10
Soraya (musician)
Soraya, Colombian-American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and producer (born 1969)
- May 11
Floyd Patterson
Floyd Patterson, American boxer and actor (born 1935)
- May 11
Konsta Helenius
Konsta Helenius, Finnish ice hockey player
- May 12
2006 São Paulo violence outbreak
Mass unrest by the Primeiro Comando da Capital begins in São Paulo (Brazil), leaving at least 150 dead.
- May 12
Iranian Azerbaijanis
Iranian Azeris interpret a cartoon published in an Iranian magazine as insulting, resulting in massive riots throughout the country.
- May 12
Vasilije Adžić
Vasilije Adžić, Montenegrin footballer
- May 13
2006 São Paulo violence outbreak
São Paulo violence: Rebellions occur in several prisons in Brazil.
- May 15
Haerin
Haerin, Korean singer
- May 17
USS Oriskany
The aircraft carrier USS Oriskany is sunk in the Gulf of Mexico as an artificial reef.
- May 18
Federal Parliament of Nepal
The Parliament of Nepal unanimously voted to strip King Gyanendra of many of his powers.
- May 18
2006 Nepalese revolution
The post Loktantra Andolan government passes a landmark bill curtailing the power of the monarchy and making Nepal a secular country.
- May 21
Republic of Montenegro (1992–2006)
The Republic of Montenegro holds a referendum proposing independence from the State Union of Serbia and Montenegro; 55% of Montenegrins vote for independence.
- May 22
Lee Jong-wook
Lee Jong-wook, South Korean physician and diplomat (born 1945)
- May 23
Stratovolcano
Alaskan stratovolcano Mount Cleveland erupts.
- May 24
An Inconvenient Truth
An Inconvenient Truth, a documentary film that has been credited for raising international public awareness of climate change and re-energizing the environmental movement, was released.
- May 27
2006 Yogyakarta earthquake
An earthquake registering 6.4 Mw struck near the city of Yogyakarta on the southern side of the Indonesian island of Java, killing more than 5,700 people.
- May 29
Gukesh Dommaraju
Gukesh Dommaraju, Indian chess player
June
- June 3
Serbia and Montenegro
The union of Serbia and Montenegro comes to an end with Montenegro's formal declaration of independence.
- June 6
Billy Preston
Billy Preston, American singer-songwriter, pianist, and actor (born 1946)
- June 7
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi
Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, Jordanian militant (born 1966)
- June 8
Jaxon (cartoonist)
Jaxon, American illustrator and publisher, co-founded Rip Off Press (born 1941)
- June 8
Matta El Meskeen
Matta El Meskeen, Egyptian monk, theologian, and author (born 1919)
- June 13
Pablo García (footballer, born 2006)
Pablo García, Spanish footballer
- June 13
Macklin Celebrini
Macklin Celebrini, Canadian ice hockey player
- June 15
George W. Bush
US president George W. Bush designated 140,000 square miles (360,000 km2) around the Northwestern Hawaiian Islands as the Papahānaumokuākea Marine National Monument, now one of the world's largest protected areas.
- June 15
Raymond Devos
Raymond Devos, Belgian-French comedian and clown (born 1922)
- June 15
Herb Pearson
Herb Pearson, New Zealand cricketer (born 1910)
- June 18
Kazakhstan
The first Kazakh space satellite, KazSat-1, is launched.
- June 21
Pluto
Pluto's newly discovered moons are officially named Nix and Hydra.
- June 21
Yeti Airlines
A Yeti Airlines de Havilland Canada DHC-6 Twin Otter crashes at Jumla Airport in Nepal, killing nine people.
- June 22
Zépiqueno Redmond
Zépiqueno Redmond, Dutch footballer
- June 23
Eli Junior Kroupi
Eli Junior Kroupi, French footballer
- June 25
Mckenna Grace
Mckenna Grace, American actress, singer and songwriter
- June 26
Mari Alkatiri
Mari Alkatiri, the first Prime Minister of East Timor, resigns after weeks of political unrest.
- June 29
Hamdan v. Rumsfeld
Hamdan v. Rumsfeld: The U.S. Supreme Court rules that President George W. Bush's plan to try Guantanamo Bay detainees in military tribunals violates U.S. and international law.
- June 29
Sam Lavagnino
Sam Lavagnino, American child voice actor
July
- July 1
Qinghai–Tibet railway
The first operation of Qinghai–Tibet Railway is conducted in China.
- July 3
Valencia Metro derailment
The Valencia Metro derailment kills 41 people.
- July 4
Space Shuttle program
Space Shuttle program: Discovery launches STS-121 to the International Space Station. The event gained wide media attention as it was the only shuttle launch in the program's history to occur on the United States' Independence Day.
- July 5
United Nations Security Council
The United Nations Security Council held an emergency meeting hours after North Korea reportedly tested at least seven ballistic missiles.
- July 5
North Korea
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.
- July 6
Martín Ríos (murderer)
A gunman killed an 18-year-old man and injured six other people in a mass shooting on Cabildo Avenue in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
- July 6
Nathu La
The Nathu La pass between India and China, sealed during the Sino-Indian War, re-opens for trade after 44 years.
- July 7
Spiritwood Incident
A shootout happens in Spiritwood, Canada, killing two Royal Canadian Mounted Police and wounding a third officer.
- July 9
S7 Airlines Flight 778
One hundred and twenty-five people are killed when S7 Airlines Flight 778, an Airbus A310 passenger jet, veers off the runway while landing in wet conditions at Irkutsk Airport in Siberia.
- July 9
Italy national football team
Italy won their fourth FIFA World Cup title, defeating France 5–3 on penalties following a 1–1 draw after extra time (players pictured).
- July 10
Typhoon Ewiniar (2006)
Typhoon Ewiniar made landfall in South Korea, causing damages across the country amounting to 2.06 trillion won (US$1.4 billion).
- July 10
Pakistan International Airlines Flight 688
A Pakistan International Airlines Fokker F27 Friendship crashes near Multan International Airport, killing all 45 people on board.
- July 11
2006 Mumbai train bombings
Mumbai train bombings: 209 people are killed in a series of bomb attacks in Mumbai, India.
- July 12
Hezbollah
Hezbollah forces crossed the Israel–Lebanon border and attacked Israeli military positions while firing rockets and mortars at Israeli towns, sparking a five-week war.
- July 12
2006 Hezbollah cross-border raid
A cross-border raid by Hezbollah militants starts the 2006 Lebanon War.
- July 15
X (social network)
Twitter, later one of the largest social media platforms in the world, is launched.
- July 17
2006 Pangandaran earthquake and tsunami
The 7.7 Mw Pangandaran tsunami earthquake severely affects the Indonesian island of Java, killing 668 people, and leaving more than 9,000 injured.
- July 18
Caleb Wilson (basketball)
Caleb Wilson, American basketball player
- July 19
Dani Muñoz
Dani Muñoz, Spanish footballer
- July 21
Endrick
Endrick, Brazilian footballer
- July 22
Javon Walton
Javon Walton, American actor and boxer
- July 30
Top of the Pops
The world's longest running music show Top of the Pops is broadcast for the last time on BBC Two. The show had aired for 42 years.
- July 30
2006 Lebanon War
Lebanon War: The Israeli Air Force attacked a three-story building near the Lebanese village of Qana, killing at least 28 civilians, including 16 children.
- July 30
2006 Qana airstrike
An Israeli airstrike kills 28 Lebanese civilians, including 16 children.
- July 31
Fidel Castro
Following intestinal surgery, Fidel Castro provisionally transferred the duties of the Cuban presidency to his brother Raúl.
August
- August 2
Héctor Fort
Héctor Fort, Spanish footballer
- August 4
Sri Lankan civil war
Sri Lankan civil war: Seventeen employees of the French nongovernmental organization ACF International were massacred in Mutur.
- August 4
2006 Trincomalee massacre of NGO workers
A massacre is carried out by Sri Lankan government forces, killing 17 employees of the French INGO Action Against Hunger (known internationally as Action Contre la Faim, or ACF).
- August 9
2006 transatlantic aircraft plot
British police arrested 24 people for conspiring to detonate liquid explosives carried on board airliners travelling from the UK to the US and Canada.
- August 11
Oil tanker
The oil tanker MT Solar 1 sinks off the coast of Guimaras and Negros Islands in the Philippines, causing the country's worst oil spill.
- August 14
2006 Lebanon War
Lebanon War: A ceasefire takes effect three days after the United Nations Security Council's approval of United Nations Security Council Resolution 1701, formally ending hostilities between Lebanon and Israel.
- August 14
Sri Lankan civil war
Sri Lankan Civil War: Sixty-one schoolgirls killed in Chencholai bombing by Sri Lanka Air Force air strike.
- August 14
Bruno Kirby
Bruno Kirby, American actor (born 1949)
- August 18
Summer McIntosh
Summer McIntosh, Canadian swimmer
- August 20
Sri Lankan civil war
Sri Lankan Civil War: Sri Lankan Tamil politician and former MP S. Sivamaharajah is shot dead at his home in Tellippalai.
- August 22
Grigori Perelman
Grigori Perelman was awarded the Fields Medal for his proof of the Poincaré conjecture in mathematics but refused to accept the medal.
- August 22
Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise Flight 612
Pulkovo Aviation Enterprise Flight 612 crashes near the Russian border over eastern Ukraine, killing all 170 people on board.
- August 23
Natascha Kampusch
Natascha Kampusch (pictured), who had been abducted at the age of ten in Vienna, escaped from her captor's house in Strasshof an der Nordbahn after more than eight years in captivity.
- August 24
International Astronomical Union
The International Astronomical Union passed a resolution redefining the term planet and classifying Pluto as a dwarf planet.
- August 25
Pavlo Lazarenko
Former Prime Minister of Ukraine Pavlo Lazarenko is sentenced to nine years imprisonment for money laundering, wire fraud, and extortion.
- August 25
Kimi Antonelli
Kimi Antonelli, Italian race car driver
- August 26
Victoria Mboko
Victoria Mboko, Canadian tennis player
- August 27
Comair Flight 5191
Comair Flight 5191 crashed (wreckage pictured) while inadvertently attempting to take off from the wrong runway at Blue Grass Airport in Lexington, Kentucky, killing 49 of the 50 people on board, and causing the Federal Aviation Administration to modify air traffic control rules.
- August 27
Kang Ju-hyeok
Kang Ju-hyeok, South Korean footballer
- August 31
Edvard Munch
Edvard Munch's famous painting, The Scream, stolen on August 22, 2004, is recovered in a raid by Norwegian police.
September
- September 5
Waziristan Accord
The Waziristan Accord is signed between the Government of Pakistan and local Taliban militants in North Waziristan, obliging the Taliban to expel foreign jihadists and the government to compensate the tribes for loss of life and property and launch reconstruction projects.
- September 6
Prince Hisahito of Akishino
Prince Hisahito of Akishino, Japanese prince
- September 7
Ian Chen (actor)
Ian Chen, American actor
- September 9
Space Shuttle Atlantis
Space Shuttle Program: Space Shuttle Atlantis is launched on STS-115 to resume assembling the International Space Station. It is the first ISS assembly mission after the Columbia disaster back in 2003.
- September 9
Richard Burmer
Richard Burmer, American composer and engineer (born 1955)
- September 9
Matt Gadsby
Matt Gadsby, English footballer (born 1979)
- September 9
Gérard Brach
Gérard Brach, French director and screenwriter (born 1927)
- September 11
Oliver Peake
Oliver Peake, Australian cricketer
- September 17
Fourpeaked Mountain
Fourpeaked Mountain in Alaska erupts, marking the first eruption for the volcano in at least 10,000 years.
- September 17
Őszöd speech
An audio tape of a private speech by Hungarian Prime Minister Ferenc Gyurcsány is leaked to the public, in which he confessed that his Hungarian Socialist Party had lied to win the 2006 election, sparking widespread protests across the country.
- September 18
The CW
The CW Television Network debuts in the US, following the merger of UPN and The WB.
- September 19
2006 Thai coup d'état
The Thai army stages a coup. The Constitution is revoked and martial law is declared.
- September 21
Alisha Palmowski
Alisha Palmowski, British female racing driver
- September 22
Maglev
Twenty-three people were killed in a maglev train collision in Lathen, Germany.
- September 28
Typhoon Xangsane
Typhoon Xangsane passed Manila on its way to causing more than 300 deaths, mostly in the Phillippines and Vietnam.
- September 29
Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907
Gol Transportes Aéreos Flight 1907 collided in mid-air with an Embraer Legacy business jet near Peixoto de Azevedo, Brazil, killing 154 people and triggering a national aviation crisis.
October
- October 1
Priah Ferguson
Priah Ferguson, American actress
- October 2
West Nickel Mines School shooting
A gunman killed five Amish girls before committing suicide in a one-room schoolhouse in Nickel Mines, Pennsylvania.
- October 4
WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks is launched.
- October 5
Jacob Tremblay
Jacob Tremblay, Canadian actor
- October 7
Anna Politkovskaya
Anna Politkovskaya (pictured), a Russian journalist and human-rights activist, was assassinated in the elevator of her apartment block in Moscow.
- October 9
2006 North Korean nuclear test
North Korea conducts its first nuclear test.
- October 15
Seismic magnitude scales
The 6.7 Mw Kiholo Bay earthquake rocks Hawaii, causing property damage, injuries, landslides, power outages, and the closure of Honolulu International Airport.
- October 15
2006 Kiholo Bay earthquake
An earthquake registering 6.7 Mw occurred off the northwestern coast of the island of Hawaii.
- October 22
Panama Canal expansion project
A Panama Canal expansion proposal is approved by 77.8% of voters in a national referendum.
- October 28
Bykivnia graves
A funeral service takes place at the Bykivnia graves for Ukrainians who were killed by the Soviet secret police.
- October 28
Yoon Do-young
Yoon Do-young, South Korean footballer
- October 29
ADC Airlines Flight 053
ADC Airlines Flight 053 crashes after takeoff from Nnamdi Azikiwe International Airport in Abuja, Nigeria killing 96 people and injuring nine.
November
- November 3
Paul Mauriat
Paul Mauriat, French pianist, composer, and conductor (born 1925)
- November 3
Alberto Spencer
Alberto Spencer, Ecuadorean footballer (born 1937)
- November 4
Darja Varfolomeev
Darja Varfolomeev, Russian-German rhythmic gymnast
- November 5
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein, the former president of Iraq, and his co-defendants Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti and Awad Hamed al-Bandar, are sentenced to death in the al-Dujail trial for their roles in the 1982 massacre of 148 Shia Muslims.
- November 8
Israeli–Palestinian conflict
Israeli-Palestinian conflict: The Israeli Defense Force kill 19 Palestinian civilians in their homes during the shelling of Beit Hanoun.
- November 10
Sri Lankan Tamils
Sri Lankan Tamil politician Nadarajah Raviraj is assassinated in Colombo.
- November 10
Nadarajah Raviraj
Nadarajah Raviraj, a prominent Sri Lankan Tamil politician and human rights lawyer, was assassinated in Colombo.
- November 10
National Museum of the Marine Corps
The National Museum of the Marine Corps in Quantico, Virginia is opened and dedicated by U.S. President George W. Bush, who announces that Marine Corporal Jason Dunham will posthumously receive the Medal of Honor.
- November 10
Hong Eunchae
Hong Eunchae, South Korean singer
- November 11
Elizabeth II
Queen Elizabeth II unveils the New Zealand War Memorial in London, United Kingdom, commemorating the loss of soldiers from the New Zealand Army and the British Army.
- November 12
South Ossetia
Although the Georgian government declared it illegal, South Ossetia held a referendum on independence, with more than 99 percent of voters in favour of preserving the region's status as a de facto independent state.
- November 15
Al Jazeera English
Al Jazeera English launches worldwide.
- November 16
Mason Ramsey
Mason Ramsey, American singer
- November 21
Pierre Amine Gemayel
Anti-Syrian Lebanese politician and government minister Pierre Gemayel is assassinated in suburban Beirut.
- November 23
23 November 2006 Sadr City bombings
A series of bombings kills at least 215 people and injures 257 others in Sadr City, making it the second deadliest sectarian attack since the beginning of the Iraq War in 2003.
- November 27
House of Commons of Canada
The House of Commons of Canada approves a motion introduced by Prime Minister Stephen Harper recognizing the Québécois as a nation within Canada.
December
- December 1
Same-sex marriage in South Africa
The law on same-sex marriage comes into force in South Africa, legalizing same-sex marriage for the first time on the African continent.
- December 4
Jena Six
Six black teenagers assaulted a white student in Jena, Louisiana; the subsequent court cases became a cause célèbre for perceived racial injustice in the United States.
- December 5
Frank Bainimarama
Commodore Frank Bainimarama overthrows the government in Fiji.
- December 6
NASA
NASA reveals photographs taken by Mars Global Surveyor suggesting the presence of liquid water on Mars.
- December 6
John Feeney (filmmaker)
John Feeney, New Zealand director and producer (born 1922)
- December 9
Space Shuttle program
Space Shuttle program: Space Shuttle Discovery is launched on STS-116 carrying the P5 truss segment of the International Space Station.
- December 11
International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust
The International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust is opened in Tehran, Iran, by then-president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad; nations such as Israel and the United States express concern.
- December 11
Holocaust denial
Criticized worldwide as a "meeting of Holocaust deniers", the International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust opened in Tehran.
- December 11
Mexican drug war
The first action in the Mexican drug war began as President Felipe Calderón ordered Mexican soldiers and Federal Police units into the state of Michoacán.
- December 11
Felipe Calderón
Felipe Calderón, the president of Mexico, launches a military-led offensive to put down the drug cartel violence in the state of Michoacán. This effort is often regarded as the first event in the Mexican drug war.
- December 13
Lamar Hunt
Lamar Hunt, American businessman, co-founded the American Football League and World Championship Tennis (born 1932)
- December 18
United Arab Emirates
United Arab Emirates holds its first-ever elections.
- December 18
2006–2007 Southeast Asian floods
The first of a series of floods strikes Malaysia. The death toll of all flooding is at least 118, with over 400,000 people displaced.
- December 20
Anne Rogers Clark
Anne Rogers Clark, American dog breeder and trainer (born 1929)
- December 21
Saparmurat Niyazov
Saparmyrat Nyýazow, Turkmen engineer and politician, 1st President of Turkmenistan (born 1940) (date death announced)
- December 21
Cooper Flagg
Cooper Flagg, American basketball player
- December 22
Callan McKenna
Callan McKenna, Scottish footballer
- December 26
2006 Hengchun earthquakes
Two earthquakes off the southwest coast of Taiwan damaged submarine communications cables, disrupting Internet services in Asia and affecting financial transactions.
- December 28
War in Somalia (2006–2009)
Somali Civil War: Troops of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government and their Ethiopian allies captured Mogadishu unopposed.
- December 29
Anglo-American loan
The UK settles its Anglo-American loan, post-WWII loan debt.
- December 29
Ethan Mbappé
Ethan Mbappé, French footballer
- December 30
Basque nationalism
Basque nationalist group ETA detonated a van bomb at Madrid–Barajas Airport in Spain, ending a nine-month ceasefire.
- December 30
Madrid–Barajas Airport
Madrid–Barajas Airport is bombed.
- December 30
Saddam Hussein
Saddam Hussein, the former president of Iraq, was executed after being found guilty of crimes against humanity by the Iraqi High Tribunal.
- December 30
President of Iraq
Former president of Iraq Saddam Hussein is executed.
- December 30
MV Senopati Nusantara
The Indonesian ferry MV Senopati Nusantara sank in the Java Sea during a storm, killing at least 400 people.
- December 31
War in Somalia (2006–2009)
War in Somalia: Transitional Federal Government forces attacked the last stronghold of the Islamic Courts Union in the town of Jilib.
Questions about 2006
What happened in 2006?
This site records 233 entries for 2006, including Claudio Echeverri on January 2. They are listed below by date.
How long ago was 2006?
20 years ago, counting from 2026. Anyone born in 2006 turns 20 this year.
Which century is 2006 in?
2006 falls in the 21st century, in the 2000s.
Which generation was born in 2006?
Generation Z (1997–2012). First generation raised with smartphones and social media.
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