What Happened in December 2006

Historical Events

Event of Interest

Dec 5 Greg Maddux signs a one-year deal with the San Diego Padres worth $10 million

MLB Pitching Legend Greg Maddux — MLB Pitching Legend
Greg Maddux

Dec 6 NASA reveals photographs taken by Mars Global Surveyor suggesting the presence of liquid water on Mars
Dec 7 A tornado struck Kensal Green, North West London, seriously damaging around 150 properties.
Dec 9 Moscow suffers its worst fire since 1977, killing 45 women in a drug rehabitational center.
Dec 9 72nd Heisman Trophy Award: Troy Smith, Ohio State (QB)
Dec 10 One million Lebanese opposition supporters gather in downtown Beirut, calling for the government to resign.

Conference of Interest

Dec 11 International Conference to Review the Global Vision of the Holocaust is opened in Tehran, Iran by Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad — Iran President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad

Dec 12 Peugeot produces its last car at the Ryton Plant signalling the end of mass car production in Coventry, formerly a major centre of the British motor industry.
Dec 13 The Baiji, or Chinese River Dolphin, announced as extinct.
Dec 15 First flight of the F-35 Lightning II.

Event of Interest

Dec 15 B.B. King is awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President George W. Bush

Blues Musician B.B. King — Blues Musician
B.B. King

43rd US President George W. Bush — 43rd US President
George W. Bush

Dec 20 A judge rules against the death penalty in the case of Naveed Haq, a man convicted in the shooting death and injuries at the Jewish Federation in Seattle.
Dec 21 Puzzle Play aired to network Ten, replacing In the Box
Dec 22 Australian archaeologist Sue O'Connor finds first evidence of modern humans in Jerimalai cave, near Lene Hara cave in East Timor
Dec 26 The 2006 Hengchun earthquake with 7.1 magnitude hit Taiwan.
Dec 30 Madrid Barajas International Airport is bombed.

Famous Weddings

Dec 2 "Emmerdale" actor Nick Miles (44) weds Stephanie Lumb at the Roundthorn Country House Hotel in Penrith, England
Dec 9 "The Office" actress Lucy Davis (33) weds actor Owain Yeoman (28) at St. Paul's Cathedral in London
Dec 17 Contemporary Christian and Latin pop singer Jaci Velasquez (27) weds "Salvador" lead singer Nic Gonzalez in Austin, Texas
Dec 27 Supermodel Niki Taylor (31) weds NASCAR driver Burney Lamar (26) at The Grande Colonial Hotel in La Jolla, California
Dec 29 Comedian Jay Mohr (36) weds "Las Vegas" actress Nikki Cox (28) at the Hotel Bel-Air in Los Angeles, California
Dec 30 Canadian pair figure skaters David Pelletier (31) weds partner Jamie Sale (28) at the Fairmont Banff Springs hotel in Alberta, Canada
Dec 31 L.A. Galaxy soccer player Landon Donovan (24) weds actress Bianca Kajlich (29) at Bacara Resort in Santa Barbara, California
Dec 31 Actor Robert Lindsay (57) weds actress and TV presenter Rosemarie Ford (44) at the Buckinghamshire Golf Club

Famous Divorces

Dec 22 "Grey's Anatomy" actress Sandra Oh (35) divorces Oscar-winning Sideways director Alexander Payne (45) due to irreconcilable differences after 5 years of marriage
Dec 29 One Tree Hill actress Sophia Bush (24) divorces actor Chad Michael Murray (25) for the reason of fraud after 5 months of marriage

Divorce of Interest

Dec 29 NBA basketball star Michael Jordan (43) divorces Juanita Vanoy (47) due to irreconcilable differences after 17 years of marriage

Basketball Superstar Michael Jordan — Basketball Superstar
Michael Jordan

Famous Deaths

Dec 1 Claude Jade, French actress (b. 1948)
Dec 1 Bruce Trigger, Canadian archaeologist (McGill University) (b. 1937)
Dec 2 Mariska Veres, Dutch singer (b. 1947)
Dec 2 Dave Mount, English rocker (Mud), dies at 59
Dec 3 Logan Whitehurst, American musician (b. 1977)
Dec 4 James Kim, American television personality (b. 1971)
Dec 5 David Bronstein, Ukrainian-born chess grandmaster (b. 1924)
Dec 6 John Feeney, Documentary film-director (b. 1922)
Dec 7 Jeane Kirkpatrick, American ambassador (b. 1926)
Dec 7 Jay McShann, American musician (b. 1910)
Dec 8 Martha Tilton, American singer (b. 1915)
Dec 8 José Uribe, Dominican baseball player (b. 1959)
Dec 9 Freddie Marsden, English rock drummer (Gerry and the Pacemakers), dies at 66

Augusto Pinochet

Dec 10 Augusto Pinochet, Chilean general and dictator of Chile (1973-90), dies of congestive heart failure and pulmonary edema at 91

Dec 11 Elizabeth Bolden, American Supercentenarian (oldest verified person in the world at the time of her death), dies at 116
Dec 12 Paul Arizin, American basketball player (b. 1928)

Peter Boyle

Dec 12 Peter Boyle, American actor, dies of multiple myeloma at 71

Dec 12 Kenny Davern, American jazz clarinetist (b. 1935)
Dec 12 Raymond P. Shafer, 38th Governor of Pennsylvania (b. 1917)
Dec 12 Al Shugart, pioneering American computer engineer and co-founder of Seagate Technology (b. 1930)
Dec 13 Lamar Hunt, American sports executive (b. 1932)
Dec 14 Anton Balasingham, chief political strategist of Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (b. 1938)
Dec 14 Ahmet Ertegün, Turkish-American businessman and co-founder of Atlantic Records, dies at 83
Dec 14 Mike Evans, American actor (b. 1949)
Dec 14 Otmar Macha, Czech composer (Quattro Group), dies at 84
Dec 15 Clay Regazzoni, Swiss Formula One driver, dies at 67
Dec 15 Henny Alma [Hendrika den Broek], Dutch actress (Soldier of Orange), dies at 83
Dec 16 Don Jardine, Canadian professional wrestler (b. 1940)
Dec 16 Taliep Petersen, South African singer and composer (b. 1950)
Dec 16 Pnina Salzman, Israeli pianist (b. 1922)
Dec 17 Larry Sherry, American baseball player (b. 1935)

Joseph Barbera

Dec 18 Joseph Barbera, American cartoonist (Hanna-Barbera - Tom and Jerry, Flintstones), dies at 95

Dec 18 Ruth Bernhard, American photographer (1905)
Dec 18 Mike Dickin, British radio broadcaster (b. 1943)
Dec 18 Shaukat Siddiqui, Pakistani author, journalist and political activist (b. 1923)
Dec 20 Shi Yuejun, Chinese serial killer
Dec 21 Scobie Breasley, Australian jockey (b. 1914)
Dec 21 Saparmurat Niyazov, President of Turkmenistan (b. 1940)
Dec 22 Elena Mukhina, Russian gymnast (b. 1960)
Dec 22 Galina Ustvolskaya, Russian composer (b. 1919)
Dec 22 Dennis Linde, American songwriter (b. 1943)
Dec 23 Charlie Drake [Charles Springall], English comedian, dies at 81
Dec 23 Timothy J. Tobias, American composer and musician (b. 1952)
Dec 23 Johnny Vincent, English footballer for Birmingham City and Middlesbrough (b. 1947)
Dec 24 Braguinha [Carlos Alberto Ferreira Braga], Brazilian songwriter, dies at 99
Dec 24 Frank Stanton, American television executive (b. 1908)
Dec 24 Kenneth Sivertsen, Norwegian singer, poet and comedian (b. 1961)

James Brown

Dec 25 James Brown, rhythm & blues, gospel, jazz, soul and funk singer or simply The Godfather of Soul (Genius of Love, Hot Pants) dies of heart failure at 73

Dec 25 Hiroaki Hidaka, Japanese serial killer (b. 1962)
Dec 26 Ivar Formo, Norwegian skier (b. 1951)

Gerald Ford

Dec 26 Gerald Ford [Leslie King], 38th US President (R: 1974-77) and 41st US Vice President (R: 1973-74), dies at 93

Dec 28 Jamal Karimi-Rad, Iranian Minister of Justice (b. 1956)
Dec 28 Komei Abe, Japanese composer, dies at 95

Saddam Hussein

Dec 30 Saddam Hussein, President of Iraq (1979-2003), hanged in Baghdad at 69

Dec 30 Terry Peck, Falkland Islander (b. 1938) who acted as a scout for 3rd Battalion, The Parachute Regiment in the Falklands War
Dec 30 Michel Plasse, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1948)
Dec 31 George Sisler, Jr., baseball executive (b. 1917)
Dec 31 Liese Prokop, Austrian pentathlete (Olympic silver 1968), dies at 65

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