2007 (
MMVIIRoman numerals are a numeral system of ancient Rome based on letters of the alphabet, which are combined to signify the sum of their values. The first ten Roman numerals are:...
) was a
common year starting on MondayThis is the calendar for any common year starting on Monday . Examples: Gregorian year 1990, 2001 & 2007 or Julian year 1918 ....
of the
Gregorian calendarThe Gregorian calendar is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was first proposed by the Calabrian doctor Aloysius Lilius, and decreed by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, on 24 February 1582 by the papal bull Inter gravissimas...
.
2007 was designated as:
- International Heliophysical Year
The International Heliophysical Year is a UN-sponsored but scientifically driven international program of scientific collaboration to understand external drivers of planetary environments and universal processes in solar-terrestrial-planetary-heliospheric physics. The IHY will focus on ...
.
- International Polar Year
The International Polar Year is a collaborative, international effort researching the polar regions. Karl Weyprecht, an Austro-Hungarian naval officer, motivated the endeavor, but died before it first occurred in 1882-1883. Fifty years later a second IPY occurred...
.
- European Year of Equal Opportunities for All
The European Year of Equal Opportunities for All was held in 2007. This designation was made on 31 May 2005 by the European Commission's Directorate-General for Employment, Social Affairs and Equal Opportunities...
.
- Year of Rumi.
- Year of the Dolphin
The year 2007 was proposed and declared as the Year of the Dolphin by the United Nations and United Nations Environment Programme , along with the UN Convention on Migratory Species, and its specialized agreements on dolphin conservation ACCOBAMS and ASCOBANS and the WDCS.- Background :Dolphins...
.
- Scotland's Year of Highland Culture
Highland 2007 was a year-long celebration of Highland culture which took place from January until December 2007. It involved local communities throughout the Scottish Highlands and Islands as well as people across Scotland, the UK and beyond....
.
- Scouting Centenary
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, so that they may play constructive roles in society....
, celebrating 100 years of the Scout MovementScouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, so that they may play constructive roles in society....
.
UNESCOThe United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations established on 16 November 1945...
has recognized fifteen anniversaries for 2007.
January
- January 1
- Bulgaria and Romania join
Enlargement of the European Union is the process of expanding the European Union through the accession of new member states. This process began with the Inner Six, who founded the European Coal and Steel Community in 1951...
the European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
.
- Slovenia
Slovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central Europe bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north...
adopts the EuroThe euro is the official currency of 16 of the 27 Member States of the European Union . The states, known collectively as the Eurozone, are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia and Spain...
as its official currency, replacing the tolarThe tolar was the currency of Slovenia from 1991 until the introduction of the euro on 31 December 2006. It was subdivided into 100 stotinov...
.
- South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often simply referred to as Korea, is a country in East Asia, located on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by China to the west, Japan to the east, and North Korea to the north. Its capital is Seoul, the second largest...
's Ban Ki-moonBan Ki-moon is the current Secretary-General of the United Nations succeeding Kofi Annan in 2007. Before becoming Secretary-General, Ban was a career diplomat in South Korea's Ministry of Foreign Affairs and in the United Nations. He entered diplomatic service the year he graduated from college,...
becomes the new United Nations Secretary-GeneralThe Secretary-General of the United Nations, acronym UNSYG, is the head of the Secretariat, one of the principal organs of the United Nations. The Secretary-General also acts as the de facto spokesperson and leader of the United Nations....
, replacing Kofi AnnanKofi Atta Annan, Honorary GCMG is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the United Nations from 1 January 1997 to 1 January 2007. Annan and the United Nations were the co-recipients of the 2001 Nobel Peace Prize.-Early years and family:Kofi Annan was born in the...
.
- Smoking is banned in all public places in Hong Kong
Hong Kong , officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region, is a highly autonomous territory of the People's Republic of China, facing Guangdong to the north and the South China Sea to the east, west and south...
.
- Adam Air Flight 574
Adam Air Flight 574 was a scheduled domestic passenger flight operated by Adam Air between the Indonesian cities of Surabaya and Manado that disappeared near Polewali in Sulawesi on 1 January 2007. The plane, a Boeing 737-4Q8, was ultimately determined to have crashed into the ocean, from...
, a routine domestic flight in IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
, disappears; debris is found 10 days later, but the aircraft remains missing.
- Angola
Angola, officially the Republic of Angola , is a country in south-central Africa bordered by Namibia on the south, Democratic Republic of the Congo on the north, and Zambia on the east; its west coast is on the Atlantic Ocean. The exclave province of Cabinda has a border with the Republic of the...
joins OPECThe Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries is a cartel of twelve countries made up of Algeria, Angola, Ecuador, Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Libya, Nigeria, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates, and Venezuela. OPEC has maintained its headquarters in Vienna since 1965, and hosts regular...
.
- War in Somalia: Fighters of the Islamic Courts Union abandon their last stronghold in Kismayo
The Fall of Kismayo occurred on January 1, 2007, when the troops of Somalia's Transitional Federal Government and Ethiopian forces entered the Somali city of Kismayo unopposed...
and flee for the Kenyan borderRas Kamboni is a town in the Badhaadhe district of Lower Juba region, Somalia, which lies on a peninsula near the border with Kenya. American officials have said that it has served as a training camp for extremists with connections to Al-Qaeda; al-Sharq al-Awsat reported in May 1999 that al-Qaeda...
.
- January 2 – The new constitution of Gibraltar
Gibraltar is a self-governing British overseas territory located on the southern end of the Iberian Peninsula and Europe at the entrance of the Mediterranean overlooking the Strait of Gibraltar. The territory covers and shares a land border with Spain to the north...
comes into force.
- January 3 – China
The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
conducts an anti-terror raid in XinjiangXinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China and also claimed by the territory of the Republic of China.-Names:Older English-language reference works often refer to the area as Chinese Turkestan, Sinkiang, East...
.
- January 4 – Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Speaker of the United States House of Representatives. She is a member of the Democratic Party...
becomes the first female Speaker of the United States House of RepresentativesThe Speaker of the United States House of Representatives is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives. The current Speaker is Nancy Pelosi, a Democrat representing California's 8th congressional district....
.
- January 5 – War in Somalia: The first shots are fired in the Battle of Ras Kamboni
The Battle of Ras Kamboni was a battle in the 2006-2007 Somali War fought by the Islamic Courts Union and affiliated militias against Ethiopian and the Somali Transitional Federal Government forces for control of Ras Kamboni , a town near the Kenyan border which once served as a training camp for...
.
- January 8
- Daniel Ortega
José Daniel Ortega Saavedra is the current President of Nicaragua, having served since 10 January 2007. He previously served as the 79th President, between 10 January 1985 and 25 April 1990...
becomes President of NicaraguaNicaragua officially the Republic of Nicaragua , is a representative democratic republic. It is the largest country in Central America with an area of 130,373 km
2. The country is bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west of...
for the second time.
- Russia
Russia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n oil supplies to PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
, and UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
are cut as the Russia-Belarus energy disputeThe Russia–Belarus energy dispute began when Russian state-owned gas supplier Gazprom demanded an increase in gas prices paid by Belarus, a country which has been closely allied with Moscow and forms a loose union state with Russia...
escalates; they are restored 3 days later.
- January 9
- War in Somalia: U.S. planes conduct air strikes in Somalia against suspected terrorists
The Battle of Ras Kamboni was a battle in the 2006-2007 Somali War fought by the Islamic Courts Union and affiliated militias against Ethiopian and the Somali Transitional Federal Government forces for control of Ras Kamboni , a town near the Kenyan border which once served as a training camp for...
.
- An AerianTur-M
AerianTur-M was an airline based in Chişinău, Moldova. It was established in 1996 and operated passenger and cargo charter services to the Middle East...
Antonov An-26The Antonov An-26 is a twin-engined light turboprop transport aircraft and is a development of the Antonov An-24, with particular attention to military use. First seen in 1969, it has a modified rear fuselage with a large cargo ramp...
crashesThe 2007 Balad aircraft crash was a January 9, 2007 airplane incident involving an Antonov An-26 airliner, which crashed while attempting to land at the U.S. military base in Balad, Iraq. The crash killed 34 people aboard and left one passenger critically injured...
in Balad, IraqBalad is a city north of Baghdad in the Salah ad Din Governorate Iraq. It is located within the borders of the so-called Sunni Triangle; however, Balad is a primarily Shiite town of approximately 100,000...
; the Islamic Army in IraqThe Islamic Army in Iraq is one of a number of underground Baathist and Islamist militant organizations formed in Iraq following the 2003 invasion of Iraq by United States and coalition military forces, and the subsequent collapse of the Baathist government headed by Saddam Hussein.Although...
claims to have shot it down.
- Apple Inc. announces and introduces the highly speculated iPhone
The iPhone is an Internet and multimedia enabled smartphone designed and marketed by Apple Inc. Because its minimal hardware interface lacks a physical keyboard, the multi-touch screen renders a virtual keyboard when necessary...
at the 2007 Macworld Conference & ExpoProduced by Boston-based IDG World Expo, Macworld Conference & Expo is a tradeshow with conference tracks dedicated to the Apple Macintosh platform. It is held annually in the United States, usually during the second week of January...
.
- January 10 – President of the United States
The President of the United States is the head of state and head of government of the United States and is the highest political official in the United States by influence and recognition...
George W. BushGeorge Walker Bush was the 43rd President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 and the 46th Governor of Texas from 1995 to 2000....
announces a plan to station 21,500 additional troopsIn the context of the Iraq War, the surge refers to United States President George W. Bush's 2007 increase in the number of American troops in order to provide security to Baghdad and Al Anbar Province....
in IraqIraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , also known as Mesopotamia, is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.Iraq shares borders with Jordan to the west, Syria...
.
- January 11
- In Bangladesh
, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, a state of emergency is declared by caretaker President Iajuddin AhmedIajuddin Ahmed was President of Bangladesh from 2002 to 2009.-Early life:Ahmed was born in Bikrampur of Dhaka District, erstwhile Bengal province, British Raj . As the son of Moulvi Ibrahim Mia, Ahmed obtained his B.Sc. and M.S. at the University of Dhaka in 1952 and 1954 respectively and later...
, following weeks of violent protests preceding upcoming parliamentary elections.
- Vietnam
Vietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east...
joins the World Trade OrganizationThe World Trade Organization is an international organization designed by its founders to supervise and liberalize international capital trade. The organization officially commenced on January 1, 1995 under the Marrakesh Agreement, replacing the General Agreements on Tariffs and Trade , which...
as its 150th member.
- China
The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
successfully tests a ground-based ballistic missileA ballistic missile is a missile that follows a sub-orbital ballistic flightpath with the objective of delivering one or more warheads to a predetermined target. The missile is only guided during the relatively brief initial powered phase of flight and its course is subsequently governed by the...
capable of destroying satellites in orbit, drawing criticisms from other countries.
- January 12
- An Argentine
Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
judge issues a warrant for the arrest of former PresidentThe President of Argentina is the head of state of Argentina...
Isabel Martínez de PerónMaría Estela Martínez Cartas de Perón , better known as Isabel Martínez de Perón or Isabel Perón, is a former President of Argentina. She was also the third wife of another former President, Juan Perón...
, in connection with the disappearance of a human rightsHuman rights refer to the "basic rights and freedoms to which all humans are entitled." Examples of rights and freedoms which have come to be commonly thought of as human rights include civil and political rights, such as the right to life and liberty, freedom of expression, and equality before the...
worker in 1976.
- The U.S. Embassy in Athens
Athens , the capital and largest city of Greece, dominates the Attica periphery; as one of the world's oldest cities, its recorded history spans around 3,400 years....
is attacked with a rocket propelled grenadeA rocket-propelled grenade is any hand-held, shoulder-launched anti-tank weapon capable of firing an unguided rocket equipped with an explosive warhead....
, which causes minimal damage and no injuries.
- Comet McNaught
Comet McNaught, also known as the Great Comet of 2007 and given the designation C/2006 P1, is a non-periodic comet discovered on August 7, 2006 by British-Australian astronomer Robert H. McNaught...
, the brightest comet in more than 40 years, makes perihelion.
- January 13 – The Greek ship Server breaks in half off the Norwegian
Norway , officially the Kingdom of Norway, is a country in Northern Europe occupying the western portion of the Scandinavian Peninsula, as well as Jan Mayen and the Arctic archipelago of Svalbard under the Spitsbergen Treaty...
coast, releasing over 200 tons of crude oilAn oil is any substance that is liquid at ambient temperatures and is hydrophobic but soluble in organic solvents. Oils have a high carbon and hydrogen content and are nonpolar substances. The general definition above includes compound classes with otherwise unrelated chemical structures,...
.
- January 14 – The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement
The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement is an international humanitarian movement with approximately 97 million volunteers worldwide which started to protect human life and health, to ensure respect for the human being, and to prevent and alleviate human suffering, without any...
adopts the Red CrystalThe emblems of the International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement, under the Geneva Conventions, are to be placed on humanitarian and medical vehicles and buildings to protect them from military attack on the battlefield. There are four such emblems, three of which are in use: the Red Cross,...
as a non-religious emblem for use in its overseas operations.
- January 17
- Hurricane force winds from storm Kyrill
Kyrill is the name given to a low pressure area that evolved into an unusually violent European windstorm, forming an extratropical cyclone with hurricane-strength winds. It formed over Newfoundland on 15 January, 2007 and moved across the Atlantic Ocean reaching Ireland and Great Britain by the...
claim at least 40 lives in western EuropeEurope is, by convention, one of the world's seven continents. Comprising the westernmost peninsula of Eurasia, Europe is generally divided from Asia to its east by the water divide of the Ural Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian Sea, the Caucasus Mountains , and the Black Sea to the southeast...
.
- Protests occur in India
India, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
and the United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
against the British series of Celebrity Big BrotherCelebrity Big Brother 2007 was the highly controversial fifth series of the United Kingdom reality television series Celebrity Big Brother, a spin-off of Big Brother. The series was broadcast on Channel 4 in the UK , and involved a number of celebrities referred to as 'housemates', who live in the...
, after Jade GoodyJade Cerisa Lorraine Goody was an English celebrity. She came into the public spotlight while appearing on the third series of the Channel 4 reality TV programme Big Brother in 2002, an appearance which led to her own television programmes and the launch of her own products after her eviction.In...
, Danielle LloydDanielle Lloyd is an English glamour model. The former Miss England 2004 and Miss Great Britain 2006 first rose to prominence when she was stripped of her Miss Great Britain 2006 title after posing for nude pictures featured in the December 2006 edition of Playboy magazine and her alleged affair...
and Jo O'MearaJoanne Valda O'Meara is an English singer, dancer and actress. Formerly the lead singer of pop group S Club, she launched a solo career after the group's split in 2003, which was cut short following an appearance on Celebrity Big Brother where she was embroiled in a controversy concerning claims...
were allegedly racially abusive towards BollywoodBollywood is the informal term popularly used for the Hindi-language film industry based in Mumbai, India. The term is often incorrectly used to refer to the whole of Indian cinema; it is only a part of the Indian film industry. Bollywood is the largest film producer in India and one of the...
star Shilpa ShettyShilpa Shetty is an Indian film actress and model. Since making her debut in the film Baazigar , she has appeared in nearly 40 Bollywood, Tamil, Telugu and Kannada films, her first leading role being in the 1994 Aag. Although she has been through years of decline during her career, Shetty has been...
.
- The Doomsday Clock
The Doomsday Clock is a symbolic clock face, maintained since 1947 by the board of directors of the Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists at the University of Chicago, that uses the analogy of the human species being at a time that is "minutes to midnight", wherein midnight represents "catastrophic...
is advanced from 7 to 5 minutes to midnight.
- January 18
- Comet McNaught
Comet McNaught, also known as the Great Comet of 2007 and given the designation C/2006 P1, is a non-periodic comet discovered on August 7, 2006 by British-Australian astronomer Robert H. McNaught...
, the brightest cometA comet is a Small Solar System Body that has coma and is bigger than a meteoroid. When close enough to the Sun, a comet exhibits a visible coma , and sometimes a tail, both because of the effects of solar radiation upon the comet's nucleus...
to appear in more than 40 years, becomes visible over the Southern HemisphereThe Southern Hemisphere is the half of a planet that is south of the equator—the word hemisphere literally means 'half ball'...
.
-
- The strongest storm in the UK in 17 years kills 14 people, and Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
sees the worst storm since 1999 with 13 deaths. Hurricane KyrillKyrill is the name given to a low pressure area that evolved into an unusually violent European windstorm, forming an extratropical cyclone with hurricane-strength winds. It formed over Newfoundland on 15 January, 2007 and moved across the Atlantic Ocean reaching Ireland and Great Britain by the...
causes at least 44 deaths across 20 countries in Western EuropeWestern Europe is the collection of countries in the westernmost region of Europe, though this definition is context-dependent and carries cultural and political connotations. One definition describes Western Europe as a cultural entity—the region lying west of Central Europe...
.
- January 19 – Israel
Israel officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
releases $100 million in frozen assets to President Mahmoud AbbasMahmoud Abbas , also known by the kunya Abu Mazen , has been the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation since 11 November 2004 and became President of the Palestinian National Authority on 15 January 2005 on the Fatah ticket.Elected to serve until 9 January 2009, he unilaterally...
of the Palestinian National AuthorityThe Palestinian National Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip....
, in order to bolster the president's position.
- January 22 – A bombing in a market
The 22 January 2007 Baghdad bombings was a terrorist attack that occurred when two powerful car bombs ripped through the Bab Al-Sharqi market in central Baghdad, killing at least 88 people and wounding 160 others in one of the bloodiest days since the US invasion of Iraq...
in Baghdad, Iraq kills 88 people.
- January 24 – The Israel
Israel officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
i Ministry of JusticeA justice ministry is a ministry or other government agency charged with justice. The ministry is often headed by a minister for justice....
announces that the President of IsraelThe President of the State of Israel is the head of state of Israel. The position is largely an apolitical ceremonial figurehead role, with executive real power lying in the hands of the Prime Minister. The current president is Shimon Peres who took office on 15 July 2007...
, Moshe KatsavMoshe Katsav is a former President of Israel and member of the Knesset.The end of his term of President was marked by controversy, and from 25 January 2007 until his resignation on 1 July 2007, he was on a leave of absence amid impending charges of crimes stemming from his alleged rape of one...
, will be charged with rapeRape, also referred to as sexual assault, is an assault by a person involving sexual intercourse with or without sexual penetration of another person without that person's consent....
and abuse of power.
- January 25 – The President of Israel
The President of the State of Israel is the head of state of Israel. The position is largely an apolitical ceremonial figurehead role, with executive real power lying in the hands of the Prime Minister. The current president is Shimon Peres who took office on 15 July 2007...
, Moshe KatsavMoshe Katsav is a former President of Israel and member of the Knesset.The end of his term of President was marked by controversy, and from 25 January 2007 until his resignation on 1 July 2007, he was on a leave of absence amid impending charges of crimes stemming from his alleged rape of one...
, takes a temporary leave of absenceLeave of absence is a term used to describe a period of time that one is to be away from his/her primary job, while maintaining the status of employee...
due to a sex scandalA sex scandal is a scandal involving allegations or information about possibly-immoral sexual activities being made public. Sex scandals are often associated with movie stars, politicians, or others in the public eye, and become scandals largely because of the prominence of the person involved...
.
- January 28 – A battle
style="float: right; clear: right; background-color: transparent"|-|The Battle of Najaf took place on 28 January 2007 at Zarqa near Najaf, Iraq, betweenIraqi Security Forces style="float: right; clear: right; background-color: transparent"|-|The Battle of Najaf took place on 28 January 2007 at...
between insurgentsThe Iraqi insurgency is composed of a diverse mix of militias, foreign fighters, all-Iraqi units or mixtures using violent measures against the United States-led multinational force in Iraq in Iraq and the post-2003 Iraqi government, or by propaganda or money supportive thereof...
and U.S.-backed Iraqi troops kills 300 suspected resistance members in NajafNajaf is a city in Iraq about 160 km south of Baghdad. Its estimated population in 2008 is 900,600 people. It is the capital of Najaf Governorate...
, IraqIraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , also known as Mesopotamia, is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.Iraq shares borders with Jordan to the west, Syria...
.
- January 28 – February 4 – The 2007 Asian Winter Games are held in Changchun
Changchun is the capital and largest city of Jilin province, located in the northeast of the People's Republic of China, in the center of the Songliao Plain. It is a sub-provincial city. The name originated from the Jurchen language. As of 2007, Changchun has a population of 7.46 million,...
, ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
.
- January 30 – Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is a multinational computer technology corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of software products for computing devices...
releases Windows VistaWindows Vista is a line of operating systems developed by Microsoft for use on personal computers, including home and business desktops, laptops, tablet PCs, and media center PCs...
.
- January 30 – Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is a multinational computer technology corporation that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of software products for computing devices...
releases Office 2007.
- January 31
- The Venezuela
Venezuela , officially titled Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It is a continental mainland with numerous islands located off its coastline in the Caribbean Sea...
n National Assembly gives President Hugo ChávezHugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the President of Venezuela. As the leader of the Bolivarian Revolution, Chávez promotes a political doctrine of participatory democracy, socialism and Latin American and Caribbean cooperation...
the power to rule by decreeRule by decree is a style of governance allowing quick, unchallenged creation of law by a single person or group, and is used primarily by dictators and absolute monarchs, although philosophers such as Giorgio Agamben have argued that it has been generalized since World War I in all modern states,...
for 18 months.
- Delta Air Lines
Delta Air Lines, Inc. is a United States airline based and headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia. Delta operates an extensive domestic and international network, spanning North America, South America, Europe, Asia, Africa, the Middle East, the Caribbean, and Australia...
creditors reject US AirwaysUS Airways, Inc., an operating unit of US Airways Group, is the fifth largest airline in the United States.A member of the Star Alliance, the airline has a fleet of 353 mainline jet aircraft and 319 regional jet and turbo-prop aircraft connecting 200 destinations in North America, Central America,...
' hostile takeoverIn business, a takeover is the purchase of one company by another . In the UK, the term refers to the acquisition of a public company whose shares are listed on a stock exchange, in contrast to the acquisition of a private company.- Friendly takeovers :Before a bidder makes an offer for another...
bid.
- The Mooninite scare occurs in Boston, when devices used in a guerrilla marketing
The concept of guerrilla marketing was invented as an unconventional system of promotions that relies on time, energy and imagination rather than a big marketing budget. Typically, guerrilla marketing campaigns are unexpected and unconventional; potentially interactive; and consumers are targeted...
campaign for the animated television series Aqua Teen Hunger ForceAqua Teen Hunger Force is an American animated television series shown on Cartoon Network as part of its Adult Swim late-night programming block, as well as Teletoon in Canada...
are mistaken for improvised explosive devices.
February
- February 1 – British Prime Minister Tony Blair
Anthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
is questioned for a second time in the 'cash for peeragesCash for Honours is the name given by some in the media to a political scandal in the United Kingdom in 2006 and 2007 concerning the connection between political donations and the award of life peerages...
(Cash for Honours)' probe as a witness.
- February 2
- An unseasonal tornado in central Florida
The 2007 Groundhog Day tornado outbreak was a localized, but devastating tornado event that took place in central Florida early on February 2, 2007. Early morning temperatures had risen well above average for the season, which, combined with increased moisture and a powerful jet stream, created...
kills at least 20 people.
- Palestinian factional violence: Hamas
Hamas is a Palestinian Islamic socio-political organization which includes a paramilitary force, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
and its rival FatahNot to be confused with Fatah Revolutionary Council also known as Abu Nidal OrganizationFataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the center-left of the spectrum...
renew their truce after violence broke out following the initial ceasefire.
- Chinese
The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
President Hu JintaoHu Jintao is currently the Paramount Leader of the People's Republic of China, holding the titles of General Secretary of the Communist Party of China since 2002, President of the People's Republic of China since 2003, and Chairman of the Central Military Commission since 2004, succeeding Jiang...
signs a series of economic deals with SudanSudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest country in Africa and in the Arab World, and tenth largest in the world by area...
.
- War in Somalia: Eight people are killed in a mortar attack in Somalia
Somalia , officially the Republic of Somalia and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic, is a country located in the Horn of Africa...
's capital MogadishuMogadishu is the largest city in Somalia and the nation's capital.Located in the coastal Benadir region on the Indian Ocean, the city has served as an important port for centuries....
.
- Martti Ahtisaari
Martti Oiva Kalevi Ahtisaari is a former President of Finland , 2008 Nobel Peace Prize laureate and United Nations diplomat and mediator, noted for his international peace work....
unveils a United NationsThe United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
plan for the final status of KosovoKosovo is a disputed territory in the Balkans. Its majority is governed by the partially-recognised Republic of Kosovo , a self-declared independent state which has de facto control over the territory; the exceptions are some Serb enclaves...
; SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country located in both Central and Southeastern Europe. Its territory covers the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and central part of the Balkans...
n leaders denounce the proposal.
- The IPCC
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a scientific intergovernmental body tasked to evaluate the risk of climate change caused by human activity. The panel was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme , two organizations...
publishes its fourth assessment reportClimate Change 2007, the Fourth Assessment Report of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change , is the fourth in a series of reports intended to assess scientific, technical and socio-economic information concerning climate change, its potential effects, and options for...
, having concluded that global climate change is "very likely" to have a predominantly human cause.
- February 3
- The deadly H5N1
Influenza A virus subtype H5N1, also known as "bird flu", A or simply H5N1, is a subtype of the Influenza A virus which can cause illness in humans and many other animal species...
strain of bird flu is found at a Bernard MatthewsBernard Matthews is a British farming and food products business, which specialises in the farming of turkeys. Founded by Bernard Trevor Matthews in 1950, the company is headquartered in Norwich, Norfolk, England,and has 56 farms throughout Norfolk, Suffolk and Lincolnshire...
turkeyA turkey is either of two living species of large birds in the genus Meleagris. One species, Meleagris gallopavo, commonly known as the Wild Turkey, is native to the forests of North America...
farm in SuffolkSuffolk is a non-metropolitan county of historic origin in East Anglia, England. It has borders with Norfolk to the north, Cambridgeshire to the west and Essex to the south. The North Sea lies to the east...
, England.
- A state of emergency
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend certain normal functions of government, alert citizens to alter their normal behaviors, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale for suspending civil liberties...
is declared in IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
after 'El Nino'-like flooding.
- A truck bombing
The 3 February 2007 Baghdad market bombing was the detonation of a large truck bomb in a busy market in the Iraqi capital of Baghdad on February 3, 2007...
in a crowded BaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is coterminous. Having a municipal population estimated at 6.5 million, it is the largest city in Iraq and the second largest in the Arab World....
market kills at least 135 people and injures a further 339 others.
- February 11 – Portuguese
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
voters agree to legalise abortionAn abortion is the termination of a pregnancy by the removal or expulsion from the uterus of a fetus or embryo. An abortion can occur spontaneously due to complications during pregnancy or can be induced, in humans and other species...
in a national referendumA referendum , ballot question, or plebiscite is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal...
.
- February 12 – An armed gunman shoots and kills 5 people at the Trolley Square Mall in Salt Lake City, Utah
Utah is a western state of the United States. It was the 45th state admitted to the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80 percent of Utah's 2,736,424 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering around Salt Lake City. In contrast, vast expanses of the state are nearly uninhabited, making...
, before being killed by the police, bringing the evening's rampage death toll to 6.
- February 13
- North Korea
North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , is a state in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer area between North Korea and South Korea...
agrees to shut down its nuclear facilities in Yongbyon by April 14 as a first step towards complete denuclearization, receiving in return energy aid equivalent to 50,000 tons of heavy fuel oil.
- Taiwan
The Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan, is a state in East Asia that has evolved from a single-party state with full global recognition and jurisdiction over China into a democratic state with limited international recognition and jurisdiction only over Taiwan and minor islands, though it...
opposition leader Ma Ying-jeouMa Ying-jeou is the current President of the Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan, and the Chairman of the Kuomintang Party, also known as the Chinese Nationalist Party...
resigns as KuomintangThe Kuomintang of China , translated as the Chinese Nationalist Party, is a political party of the Republic of China , commonly known as Taiwan since the 1970s. It is the founding and the ruling political party of the ROC...
party chairman after being indicted on charges of embezzlement; Ma also announces his candidacy for the 2008 presidential election.
- February 22 – A large fire causes 26 fatalities in the "Reģi" care center in Alsunga
Alsunga is a village in Alsunga parish, Latvia. It was first mentioned in 1230, as an old settlement of Curonians. In 1372, a castle was built for the vogt of Kuldīga komtur. Nowadays, only a small part of the castle has survived. In 1567, Saint Miķelis church was built. Nowadays it is one of most...
, LatviaLatvia , officially the Republic of Latvia is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , and to the southeast by Belarus . Across the Baltic Sea to the west lies Sweden...
.
- February 25 – The 79th Academy Awards
The 79th Academy Awards ceremony , honored the best films of 2006 and took place on February 25, 2007 at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, California on ABC. Ellen DeGeneres hosted the ceremony for the first time. The producer was Laura Ziskin. The announcers were Don LaFontaine and Gina Tuttle.The...
ceremony, hosted by Ellen DeGeneresEllen Lee DeGeneres is an American stand-up comedienne, television hostess and actress. She hosts the syndicated talk show The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and is also a judge on American Idol, having joined the show in its ninth season.She has hosted both the Academy Awards and the Primetime Emmys. As a...
, is held at the Kodak TheatreThe Kodak Theatre is a live theatre in the Hollywood and Highland retail, dining, and entertainment complex on Hollywood Boulevard and North Highland Avenue in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles...
in Hollywood. The DepartedThe Departed is a American crime drama film remake of the 2002 Hong Kong film Infernal Affairs. The Departed was directed by Martin Scorsese, written by William Monahan and stars Leonardo DiCaprio, Matt Damon, Jack Nicholson, Martin Sheen, Alec Baldwin, Ray Winstone, Vera Farmiga and Mark Wahlberg...
wins Best PictureThe Academy Award for Best Motion Picture is one of the Academy Awards of Merit presented annually by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences to artists working in the motion picture industry. The Best Picture category is the only category in which every member of the Academy is eligible...
.
- February 26 –
- The International Court of Justice
The International Court of Justice is the primary judicial organ of the United Nations. It is based in the Peace Palace in The Hague, Netherlands...
finds SerbiaSerbia , officially the Republic of Serbia , is a country located in both Central and Southeastern Europe. Its territory covers the southern part of the Pannonian Plain and central part of the Balkans...
guilty of failing to prevent genocideGenocide is the deliberate and systematic destruction, in whole or in part, of an ethnic, racial, religious, or national group.While precise definition varies among genocide scholars, a legal definition is found in the 1948 United Nations Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of...
in the Srebrenica massacreThe Srebrenica Massacre, also known as the Srebrenica Genocide, refers to the July 1995 killing of more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys, as well as the ethnic cleansing of 25,000-30,000 refugees in the area of Srebrenica in Bosnia and Herzegovina, by units of the Army of Republika Srpska under the...
, but clears it of direct responsibility and complicity in the caseThe Application of the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide , case 91, International Court of Justice Judgement returned on 26 February 2007....
.
- Estonia
Estonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by the Russian Federation...
becomes the first country to holdThe idea of having electronic voting in Estonia originated in early 2001 and quickly gained popularity among heads of the then proactively "e-minded" coalition government of the small northeastern European country...
general Internet electionsElectronic voting is a term encompassing several different types of voting, embracing both electronic means of casting a vote and electronic means of counting votes....
.
- February 27
- The Chinese Correction: World stock market
A stock market is a public market for the trading of company stock and derivatives at an agreed price; these are securities listed on a stock exchange as well as those only traded privately....
s plummet after China and Europe release less-than-expected growth reports.
- 2007 Bagram Air Base bombing
The 2007 Bagram Air Base bombing was a suicide attack that had killed up to 23 people and injured 20 more at the Bagram Air Base in Afghanistan, while Dick Cheney, the Vice President of the United States, was visiting...
: A Taliban suicide attack at Bagram Air Base while Vice President of the United States Dick CheneyRichard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 in the administration of George W. Bush....
is visiting kills 23, but he is not injured.
- February 28 – The New Horizons
New Horizons is a NASA robotic spacecraft mission currently en route to the dwarf planet Pluto. It is expected to be the first spacecraft to fly by and study Pluto and its moons, Charon, Nix, and Hydra. NASA may also approve flybys of one or more other Kuiper Belt Objects.New Horizons was launched...
space probeA robotic spacecraft is a spacecraft with no humans on board, that is usually under telerobotic control. A robotic spacecraft designed to make scientific research measurements is often called a space probe. Many space missions are more suited to telerobotic rather than crewed operation, due to...
makes a gravitational slingshotIn orbital mechanics and aerospace engineering, a gravitational slingshot, gravity assist or swing-by is the use of the relative movement and gravity of a planet or other celestial body to alter the path and speed of a spacecraft, typically in order to save fuel, time, and expense. Gravity assist...
against JupiterJupiter is the fifth planet from the Sun and the largest planet within the Solar System. It is a gas giant with a mass slightly less than one-thousandth that of the Sun but is two and a half times the mass of all of the other planets in our Solar System combined. Jupiter is classified as a gas...
, which changes its trajectory towards PlutoPluto, formal designation 134340 Pluto, is the second-largest known dwarf planet in the Solar System and the tenth-largest body observed directly orbiting the Sun...
.
March
- March 1
- The International Polar Year
The International Polar Year is a collaborative, international effort researching the polar regions. Karl Weyprecht, an Austro-Hungarian naval officer, motivated the endeavor, but died before it first occurred in 1882-1883. Fifty years later a second IPY occurred...
, a $1.5 billion research program to study both the North PoleThe North Pole, also known as the Geographic North Pole or Terrestrial North Pole, is, subject to the caveats explained below, defined as the point in the northern hemisphere where the Earth's axis of rotation meets the Earth's surface...
and South PoleThe South Pole, also known as the Geographic South Pole or Terrestrial South Pole, is one of the two points where the Earth's axis of rotation intersects the surface. It is the southernmost point on the surface of the Earth and lies on the opposite side of the Earth from the North Pole...
, is launched in ParisParis is the capital of France and the country's most populous city. It is situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
.
- Airbus
Airbus
SAS is an aircraft manufacturing subsidiary of EADS, a European aerospace company. Based in Toulouse, France, and with significant activity across Europe, the company produces around half of the world's jet airliners.Airbus began as a consortium of aerospace manufacturers...
announces that it will cease work indefinitely on the A380F freight aircraft.
- March 3 – A total lunar eclipse occurs.
- March 6 – Mega Millions
Mega Millions is a multi-jurisdictional $1 lottery game in the United States. There are 12 jurisdictions that have Mega Millions, while 32 others, including the District of Columbia, and the US Virgin Islands, offer Powerball, Mega Millions' main competitor...
sets a new world record for the highest lottery jackpotLottery jackpot records have always attracted attention of lottery analysts and players.It is generally believed that Spanish Sorteo Extraordinario de Navidad is the world's largest lottery...
of US $370 million.
- March 7 – Garuda Indonesia Flight 200
Garuda Indonesia Flight 200 was the scheduled domestic passenger flight of a Boeing 737-497 operated by Garuda Indonesia between Jakarta and Yogyakarta, Indonesia. The aircraft crashed and burst into flames while landing at Adisucipto International Airport on March 7, 2007...
(Boeing 737-400) crashes at Yogyakarta on the IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
n island of JavaJava is an island of Indonesia and the site of its capital city, Jakarta. Once the centre of powerful Hindu-Buddhist kingdoms, Islamic sultanates, and the core of the colonial Dutch East Indies, Java now plays a dominant role in the economic and political life of Indonesia...
, killing many on board.
- March 8 – Israel
Israel officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
i Prime Minister Ehud OlmertEhud Olmert is an Israeli political figure, and former Prime Minister of Israel having served from 2006 to 2009. Olmert was the mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003. In 2003 he was elected to the Knesset and became a minister and Acting Prime Minister in the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon...
admits that Israel had planned an attack on LebanonLebanon , officially the Republic of Lebanon
[Republic of Lebanon is the most common term used by Lebanese government agencies...]
in the event of kidnapped soldiers on the border, months before HezbollahHezbollah is a Shi'a Islamist political and paramilitary organisation based in Lebanon. Hezbollah is now also a major provider of social services, which operate schools, hospitals, and agricultural services for thousands of Lebanese Shiites, and plays a significant force in Lebanese politics...
carried out its kidnapping.
- March 12 – BBC journalist Alan Johnston
Alan Graham Johnston is a British journalist working for the BBC. He has been the BBC's correspondent in Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and the Gaza Strip...
disappearsThe kidnapping of Alan Johnston, a BBC journalist, by the Palestinian Durmush Hamula in Gaza City began on 12 March 2007 and lasted for nearly four months ....
in Gaza City, the Gaza StripThe Gaza Strip lies on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Egypt on the south-west and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometers wide, with a total area of . The area is recognized internationally as part of the Palestinian territories...
.
- March 17 – Chlorine
Chlorine Chlorine Chlorine ( , from the Greek word 'χλωρóς' (khlôros, meaning 'pale green'), is the chemical element with atomic number 17 and symbol Cl. It is a halogen, found in the periodic table in group 17 (formerly VII, VIIa, or VIIb). As the chloride ion, which is part of common salt and...
bombs injure hundreds in BaghdadBaghdad is the capital of Iraq and of Baghdad Governorate, with which it is coterminous. Having a municipal population estimated at 6.5 million, it is the largest city in Iraq and the second largest in the Arab World....
, IraqIraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , also known as Mesopotamia, is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.Iraq shares borders with Jordan to the west, Syria...
.
- March 22 – NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization ); ), also called "the Atlantic Alliance", is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on April 4, 1949...
troops kill 38 in 2 assaults in Helmand ProvinceHelmand is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the southwest of the country. Its capital is Lashkar Gah. The Helmand River flows through the mainly desert region, providing water for irrigation....
, AfghanistanThe Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East...
.
- March 23 – Naval forces of Iran's Revolutionary Guard
The Army of the Guardians of the Islamic Revolution is a branch of Iran's military, founded after the Iranian revolution. Sepāh is thought to number as many as 120,000 with its own small naval and air units...
seize Royal Navy personnelIranian military personnel seized 15 Royal Navy personnel during 2007 and held them for 12 days. On 23 March 2007, 15 British Royal Navy personnel, from HMS Cornwall, searching a merchant vessel were surrounded by the Navy of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and subsequently detained off the...
in disputed Iran-Iraq waters.
- March 27 – Prime Minister of Latvia
The Prime Minister of Latvia is the most powerful member of the Government of the Republic of Latvia, and presides over the Latvian Cabinet of Ministers...
Aigars KalvitisAigars Kalvītis is a Latvian politician and the former Prime Minister of Latvia.Kalvītis graduated from Latvian University of Agriculture in 1992 with a degree in economics. From 1992 to 1998, he was a manager at various agriculture-related businesses...
and Prime minister of RussiaThe Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation is the second most powerful official of the Russian Federation, who, under Article 24 of the Federal Constitutional Law On the Government of the Russian Federation, "heads the Government of the Russian Federation".Nowhere in the Russian Law...
Mikhail FradkovMikhail Yefimovich Fradkov is a Russian politician who was the Prime Minister of Russia from March 2004 to September 2007.-Biography:Fradkov was born near the city now known as Samara in a family of Jewish origin...
finally sign a border treaty between LatviaLatvia , officially the Republic of Latvia is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , and to the southeast by Belarus . Across the Baltic Sea to the west lies Sweden...
and RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
.
- March 31 – Sydney
Sydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"...
, AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
turns off its lights for 1 hour between 7:30pm and 8:30pm as a political statementThe term political statement is usually used to refer to any act or non verbal form of communication that is intended to influence a decision to be made for or by a group....
about Global Climate Change.
April
- April 2 – The Solomon Islands
The Solomon Islands is a country in Melanesia, east of Papua New Guinea, consisting of nearly one thousand islands. Together they cover a land mass of 28,400 square kilometres . The capital is Honiara, located on the island of Guadalcanal.The Solomon Islands are believed to have been...
are shaken by a magnitude 8.1 earthquakeAn earthquake is the result of a sudden release of energy in the Earth's crust that creates seismic waves. Earthquakes are recorded with a seismometer, also known as a seismograph...
, and hit by a subsequent tsunamiA is a series of water waves that is caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, such as an ocean. The original Japanese term literally translates as "harbor wave." Tsunamis are a frequent occurrence in Japan; approximately 195 events have been recorded...
killing 52.
- April 3 – Second Orange Revolution
The Orange Revolution was a series of protests and political events that took place in Ukraine from late November 2004 to January 2005, in the immediate aftermath of the run-off vote of the 2004 Ukrainian presidential election which was claimed to be marred by massive corruption, voter...
: Ukrainian PresidentThe President of Ukraine is the head of state of Ukraine, representing the state in international relations, administers the foreign political activity of the State, conducts negotiations and concludes international treaties of Ukraine....
Viktor YushchenkoViktor Andriyovych Yushchenko is the third and current President of Ukraine. He took office on January 23, 2005....
dissolves the Ukrainian Parliament, following defections that increased the majority of his opponents.
- April 4
- NATO
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization ); ), also called "the Atlantic Alliance", is an intergovernmental military alliance based on the North Atlantic Treaty which was signed on April 4, 1949...
and Afghan forces retake a key town from the Taliban, SanginSangin is a town in Helmand province of Afghanistan, with population of approximately 14,000 people. It is located on in the valley of the Helmand River at 888 m altitude, 95 km to the north-east of Lashkar Gah. Sangin is notorious as one of the central locations of the opium trade in the south of...
in southern Helmand ProvinceHelmand is one of the 34 provinces of Afghanistan. It is in the southwest of the country. Its capital is Lashkar Gah. The Helmand River flows through the mainly desert region, providing water for irrigation....
.
- Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran is a country in Western Asia. The name Iran has been in use natively since the Sassanid period and came into international use from 1935, before which the country was known internationally as Persia...
announces it will release the British sailors and marinesIranian military personnel seized 15 Royal Navy personnel during 2007 and held them for 12 days. On 23 March 2007, 15 British Royal Navy personnel, from HMS Cornwall, searching a merchant vessel were surrounded by the Navy of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards and subsequently detained off the...
that they captured on March 23. The captives arrive back in the UK the next day.
- April 5 – The Greek cruise ship M/S Sea Diamond strikes a reef off the harbor of Santorini
Santorini is a small, circular archipelago of volcanic islands located in the southern Aegean Sea, about southeast from Greece's mainland. The largest island is known as Thēra , forming the southernmost member of the Cyclades group of islands, with an area of approximately and a 2001 census...
; the ship sinks the next day.
- April 6 – Severe clashes between 2 rival factions erupt in Parachinar
Parachinar is the capital of Kurram Agency, FATA of Pakistan. It is about 290 km west of the capital, Islamabad. It is situated on a neck of Pakistani territory south of Peshawar, that juts into Paktia Province in Afghanistan and is the closest point in Pakistan to Kabul and borders on the...
, a tribal area of PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
bordering the famous Tora BoraTora Bora , known locally as Spīn Ghar, is a cave complex situated in the White Mountains of eastern Afghanistan, in the Pachir Wa Agam District of Nangarhar province, approximately 50 km west of the Khyber Pass and 10 km north of the border of the Federally Administered Tribal Areas in...
Heights.
- April 11 – Al Qaeda claims responsibility for 2 bomb blasts
The 2007 Algiers bombings occurred on April 11, 2007 when two suicide car bombs exploded in the Algerian capital Algiers.The headquarters of the Algerian prime minister were hit by a large explosion that left many people dead and injured and could be heard 10km away...
in the Algerian capital of AlgiersAlgiers is the capital and largest city of Algeria, and the second largest city in the Maghreb . According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630...
, which kill 33 people and injure 222 others.
- April 14 – Retired chess champion Garry Kasparov
Garry Kasparov is a Russian former World Chess Champion, writer, and political activist, whom many consider the greatest chess player of all time.Kasparov became the youngest ever undisputed World Chess Champion in 1985...
is detained in Moscow for participating in a banned march.
- April 16 – Thirty-two people are killed in the Virginia Tech massacre
The Virginia Tech massacre was a school shooting that took place April 16, 2007 on the campus of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States. In two separate attacks, approximately two hours apart, the perpetrator, Seung-Hui Cho, killed 32 people and...
on the premises of Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State UniversityVirginia Polytechnic Institute and State University, better known as Virginia Tech, is a public land grant polytechnic university in Blacksburg, Virginia, United States...
in Blacksburg, VirginiaBlacksburg is an incorporated town located in Montgomery County, Virginia, United States, with a population of 39,284 at the 2000 census, with an estimated increase to 41,796 in 2008...
.
- April 18 – Thirty-two Chinese
The People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
steelSteel is an alloy consisting mostly of iron, with a carbon content between 0.2% and 2.1% by weight, depending on the grade. Carbon is the most cost-effective alloying material for iron, but various other alloying elements are used such as manganese, chromium, vanadium, and tungsten...
workers are burnt to death in the Qinghe Special Steel Corporation disasterThe Qinghe Special Steel Corporation disaster was an industrial disaster that occurred on April 18, 2007, in Tieling, Liaoning Province, China. Thirty-two people were killed and six were injured when a ladle used to transport molten steel separated from an overhead rail in the Qinghe Special Steel...
.
- April 19 – U.S. and allied air forces conduct massive exercises over South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often simply referred to as Korea, is a country in East Asia, located on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by China to the west, Japan to the east, and North Korea to the north. Its capital is Seoul, the second largest...
with over 500 planes.
- April 23 – Bogotá
Bogotá – officially named Bogotá, D.C. , formerly called Santa Fe de Bogotá – is the capital city of Colombia, as well as the most populous city in the country, with 6,776,009 inhabitants...
, ColombiaColombia , officially the Republic of Colombia , is a constitutional republic in northwestern South America. Colombia is bordered to the east by Venezuela and Brazil; to the south by Ecuador and Peru; to the north by the Caribbean Sea; to the northwest by Panama; and to the west by the Pacific Ocean...
begins its term as World Book CapitalWorld Book Capital is a title bestowed by UNESCO to a city in recognition of the quality of its programs to promote books and reading and the dedication of all players in the book industry....
.
- April 24 – Gliese 581 c
Gliese 581 c or Gl 581 c is an extrasolar planet orbiting the red dwarf star Gliese 581. With a mass at least 5.36 times that of the Earth, it is classified as a super-Earth, a category which incorporates planets exceeding the mass of Earth but smaller than 10 Earth masses...
, a potentially habitable Earth-like extrasolar planet, is discovered in the constellationIn modern astronomy, a constellation is an area of the celestial sphere, defined by exact boundaries.The term "constellation" can also be used loosely to refer to just the more prominent visible stars that seem to form a pattern in that area.-Definitions:...
LibraLibra is a constellation of the zodiac. Its name is Latin for weighing scales, and its symbol is . It is fairly faint, with no first magnitude stars, and lies between Virgo to the west and Scorpius to the east.-Notable features:...
.
- April 25 – U.S. Representative Dennis Kucinich
Dennis John Kucinich is a Democratic member of the United States House of Representatives and was a candidate for the Democratic nomination for President of the United States in the 2004 and 2008 elections....
(D-Ohio) introduces articles to impeach Vice PresidentThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people through the Electoral College to a four-year term...
Dick CheneyRichard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States from 2001 to 2009 in the administration of George W. Bush....
.
- April 26 – Russians riot in Tallinn
Tallinn is the capital and largest city of Estonia. It occupies a surface of in which 405,867 inhabitants live. It is situated on the northern coast of the country, on the banks of the Gulf of Finland, south of Helsinki.-Historical names:...
, EstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by the Russian Federation...
, about moving the Bronze SoldierThe Bronze Soldier is the informal name of a controversial Soviet World War II war memorial in Tallinn, Estonia, marking several war graves. Originally named "Monument to the Liberators of Tallinn" , it is sometimes called Alyosha, or Tõnismäe monument after its old location...
; 2 nights of rioting leave 2 dead.
May
- May 3 – The U.S. House of Representatives passes the Matthew Shepard Act
The Matthew Shepard Act , is a proposed bill in the United States Congress that would expand the 1969 United States federal hate-crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's actual or perceived gender, sexual orientation, gender identity, or disability.The bill would also:* remove the current...
. It is the first time that the House brings a gay rights bill to the floor for a vote.
- May 4 – A tornado
The May 2007 Tornado Outbreak was an extended tornado outbreak that started on May 4, 2007, affecting portions of the Central United States. The most destructive tornado in the outbreak occurred on the evening of May 4 in western Kansas, where about 95% of the city of Greensburg in Kiowa County was...
kills 12 in Greensburg, KansasGreensburg is a city in central Kiowa County, located in Southwest Kansas, in the Central United States. The population was 1,574 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat and most populous city of Kiowa County...
, destroying about 90% of the town.
- May 5 – Kenya Airways Flight KQ 507 crashes in Cameroon
The Republic of Cameroon is a unitary republic of central and western Africa. It is bordered by Nigeria to the west; Chad to the northeast; the Central African Republic to the east; and Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, and the Republic of the Congo to the south. Cameroon's coastline lies on the Bight of...
.
- May 6 – French Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy
Nicolas Sarkozy is the 23rd and current President of the French Republic and ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra...
wins the French presidential election, succeeding incumbent President Jacques ChiracJacques René Chirac served as the President of France from 17 May 1995 until 16 May 2007. As President he also served as an ex officio Co-Prince of Andorra and Grand Master of the French Légion d'honneur. Chirac was the second-longest serving President of France , behind François Mitterrand...
10 days later.
- May 7 – The 2007 Chinese slave scandal
The 2007 Chinese slave scandal was a series of forced labour cases in Shanxi, China. Thousands of Chinese people including children had been forced to work as slaves in illegal brickyards, and tortured by the owners of the brickyards...
is exposed.
- May 9 – Subtropical Storm Andrea forms off the coast of Florida
Florida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
, the earliest since Subtropical Storm Ana in 2003.
- May 15 – The coalition government of Fatah
Not to be confused with Fatah Revolutionary Council also known as Abu Nidal OrganizationFataḥ is a major Palestinian political party and the largest faction of the Palestine Liberation Organization , a multi-party confederation. In Palestinian politics it is on the center-left of the spectrum...
and HamasHamas is a Palestinian Islamic socio-political organization which includes a paramilitary force, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
in the Palestinian National AuthorityThe Palestinian National Authority is the administrative organization established to govern parts of the Palestinian territories of the West Bank and Gaza Strip....
breaks down, as massive fighting breaks out in Gaza StripThe Gaza Strip lies on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Egypt on the south-west and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometers wide, with a total area of . The area is recognized internationally as part of the Palestinian territories...
.
- May 16 – The United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
General AssemblyFor two articles dealing with membership in the General Assembly, see:*General Assembly members*General Assembly observersThe United Nations General Assembly is one of the five principal organs of the United Nations and the only one in which all member nations have equal representation...
, recognizing that genuine multilingualismMultilingualism is the use of two or more languages, either by an individual speaker or by a community of speakers. Multilingual speakers outnumber monolingual speakers in the world's population.-Multilingual individuals:...
promotes unity in diversity and international understanding, proclaims 2008 the International Year of LanguagesThe United Nations General Assembly proclaimed 2008 as the International Year of Languages, pursuant to a resolution of UNESCO. The resolution also reaffirmed the need to achieve full parity among the six official languages on United Nations websites....
http://www.un.org/News/Press/docs/2007/ga10592.doc.htm.
- May 17 – The Russian Orthodox Church Abroad and the Moscow Patriarchate re-unite after 80 years of schism.
- May 20
- Sheikh Mohammed bin Rashid al-Maktoum of Dubai
Dubai is one of the seven emirates and the most populous state of the United Arab Emirates . It is located along the southern coast of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula. The Dubai Municipality is sometimes called Dubai state to distinguish it from the emirate...
makes the largest single charitable donation in modern history, committing €7.41 billion to an educational foundation in the Middle East.
- Clashes in Tripoli, Lebanon
Tripoli is a city in Lebanon. Situated north of Batroun and the cape of Lithoprosopon, Tripoli is the capital of the North Governorate and the Tripoli District...
, spark the 2007 Lebanon conflictThe 2007 Lebanon conflict began when fighting broke out between Fatah al-Islam, an Islamist militant organization, and the Lebanese Armed Forces on May 20, 2007 in Nahr al-Bared, an UNRWA Palestinian refugee camp near Tripoli. It was the most severe internal fighting since Lebanon's 1975–90 civil...
.
- May 21 – The 19th century
The 19th century was a period in history marked by the collapse of the Spanish, Portuguese, Chinese, Ottoman, Holy Roman and Mughal empires...
ship Cutty SarkThe Cutty Sark is a clipper ship. Built in 1869, she served as a merchant vessel , and then as a training ship until being put on public display in 1954. She is preserved in dry dock in Greenwich, London. However, the ship was badly damaged in a fire on 21 May 2007 while undergoing extensive...
is badly damaged by fire in London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
, UK.
- May 26 – Russia
Russia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
is once again recognized as a full-fledged superpowerA superpower is a state with a leading position in the international system and the ability to influence events and its own interests and project power on a worldwide scale to protect those interests; it is traditionally considered to be one step higher than a great power.Alice Lyman Miller ,...
by the United StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
.
- May 27 – Radio Caracas Televisión
Radio Caracas Televisión Internacional is a Venezuelan cable television network headquartered in the Caracas, Venezuela neighborhood of Quinta Crespo. It is sometimes referred to as the Canal de Bárcenas. Owned by Empresas 1BC, RCTV Internacional was inaugurated as Radio Caracas Televisión on 15...
(RCTV) is taken off the air after the government of VenezuelaVenezuela , officially titled Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It is a continental mainland with numerous islands located off its coastline in the Caribbean Sea...
refuses to renew its license. This action results in protestsThe May – June 2007 RCTV protests were a series of protests in Venezuela that began in the middle of May 2007. The cause of the protests was the refusal by the government to renew the broadcasting license of Venezuela's oldest private television network, Radio Caracas Televisión , instead creating...
. On July 16, 2007, RCTV resumes broadcasting via cable and satellite.
- May 31 – A calendar blue moon
A blue moon is a full moon that is not timed to the regular monthly pattern. Most years have twelve full moons which occur approximately monthly, but in addition to those twelve full lunar cycles, each calendar year contains an excess of roughly eleven days. The extra days accumulate, so that every...
occurs in the Western HemisphereThe Western Hemisphere, also Western hemisphere or western hemisphere, is a geographical term for the half of the Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian , the other half being the eastern hemisphere...
and parts of the Eastern HemisphereThe Eastern Hemisphere, also Eastern hemisphere or eastern hemisphere, is a geographical term for the half of the Earth that is east of the Prime Meridian and west of 180° longitude. It is also used to refer to Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, vis-à-vis the Western Hemisphere, which includes...
.
June
- June 1
- A 2,100-year-old melon is discovered by archaeologists in western Japan.
- U.S. warships bombard a Somali village where Islamic militants had set up a base.
- June 2 – Four people are charged in a terror plot to blow up JFK International Airport in New York
New York is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States and is the nation's third most populous. The state is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
.
- June 3 – The Valley of Geysers
The Valley of Geysers is the only geyser field in Eurasia and the second largest concentration of geysers in the world...
in RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
is destroyed by a mudflow.
- June 4 – Ten people, including a Californian National Guard officer and former Hmong general, are charged in a plot to overthrow the Laotian Government.
- June 5
- NASA
The National Aeronautics and Space Administration is an agency of the United States government, responsible for the nation's public space program. NASA was established by the National Aeronautics and Space Act on July 29, 1958, replacing its predecessor, the National Advisory Committee for...
's MESSENGERThe MErcury Surface, Space ENvironment, GEochemistry and Ranging probe is a NASA spacecraft, launched August 3, 2004 to study the characteristics and environment of Mercury from orbit...
spacecraft makes its second fly-by of VenusVenus is the second-closest planet to the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6...
en route to MercuryFor the liquid metallic element, see Mercury .Mercury is the innermost and smallest planet in the Solar System, orbiting the Sun once every 87.969 days. The orbit of Mercury has the highest eccentricity of all the Solar System planets, and it has the smallest axial tilt. It completes three...
.
- A mass grave in southern Ukraine, found accidentally by workers in May, is confirmed to be filled with thousands of Holocaust victims.
- A train crash near Kerang in Victoria
Victoria is the second most populous state in Australia. Geographically smallest mainland state, Victoria is bordered by New South Wales to the north, South Australia to the west, and Tasmania to the south, across the Bass Strait. Victoria is the most densely populated state, with over 70% of...
, AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
kills 11 people and injures 23 others.
- June 6 – Twelve people are killed by cyclone Gonu in Oman
Oman , officially the Sultanate of Oman , is an Arab country in southwest Asia on the southeast coast of the Arabian Peninsula. It borders the United Arab Emirates on the northwest, Saudi Arabia on the west and Yemen on the southwest....
.
- June 6–8 – The 33rd G8 summit
The 33rd G8 summit took place at Kempinski Grand Hotel in Heiligendamm in the old Duchy of Mecklenburg in the Northern German state of Mecklenburg-Vorpommern on the Baltic Coast...
takes place amid strong protests in HeiligendammHeiligendamm is a German seaside resort, founded in 1793. The small cluster of structures which still survive are reminders of the glory days of days gone by when this part of the Baltic Sea was one of the playgrounds of Europe's aristocracy. It is the oldest seaside spa in Germany...
, GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
.
- June 8
- The Space Shuttle Atlantis
Space Shuttle Atlantis is one of the three currently operational orbiters in the Space Shuttle fleet of NASA, the space agency of the United States...
is launched on mission STS-117STS-117 was a Space Shuttle mission flown by Space Shuttle Atlantis, launched from pad 39A of the Kennedy Space Center on June 8, 2007.Damage from a hail storm on February 26, 2007 had previously caused the launch to be postponed from an originally-planned launch date of March 15, 2007.The...
.
- Storms in the coastal city of Newcastle, New South Wales
The Newcastle metropolitan area is the second most populated area in the Australian state of New South Wales and includes most of the Newcastle and Lake Macquarie Local Government Areas...
kill 9 and flood the city and its surrounding areas.
- June 18 – Nine Charleston, South Carolina
Charleston is a city in Charleston County, South Carolina in the U.S. state of South Carolina. It is the largest city and county seat of Charleston County. The city was founded as Charlestown or Charles Towne, Carolina in 1670, and moved to its present location from a location on the west bank of...
firefighters are killed by a roof collapse while battling a furniture store fireThe Charleston Sofa Super Store fire occurred on June 18, 2007, in Charleston, South Carolina, United States, in which a flashover and structural collapse contributed to the deaths of nine Charleston firefighters.-Fire and collapse:...
.
- June 22 – An F5
The Fujita scale , or Fujita-Pearson scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation...
tornadoA tornado is a violent, dangerous, rotating column of air which is in contact with both the surface of the earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud...
tears through Elie, ManitobaElie is the largest community in the Rural Municipality of Cartier in the Canadian province of Manitoba. The town of approximately 550 people is located approximately 30 km west of Winnipeg along the Trans-Canada Highway. The Assiniboine River forms the northern boundary of the municipality...
; no injuries are reported.
- June 24
- The refurbished Millennium Dome
The Millennium Dome, often referred to simply as The Dome, is the original name of a large dome-shaped building, originally used to house the Millennium Experience, a major exhibition celebrating the beginning of the third millennium...
, now called The O2, reopens in London[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
.
- Labour Party (UK) leadership election, 2007
The 2007 Labour Party Leadership Election was formally triggered on 10 May 2007 by the resignation of Tony Blair, Labour Leader since 21 July 1994...
: Gordon BrownJames Gordon Brown is the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom and Leader of the Labour Party. Brown became Prime Minister in June 2007, after the resignation of Tony Blair and three days after becoming leader of the governing Labour Party...
is elected Leader of the Labour Party UK, succeeding incumbent Tony BlairAnthony Charles Lynton "Tony" Blair is a British politician who served as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2 May 1997 to 27 June 2007. He was the Member of Parliament for Sedgefield from 1983 to 2007 and Leader of the Labour Party from 1994 to 2007...
, and becoming Prime Minister of the United KingdomThe Prime Minister of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is the political leader of the United Kingdom and the Head of Her Majesty's Government...
3 days later.
- June 25 – Following the wettest June on record in the United Kingdom, Sheffield and South Yorkshire are affected by flooding
The 2007 United Kingdom floods were a series of destructive floods that occurred in various areas across the country during the summer of 2007...
. Much of Sheffield, Doncaster and Rotherham is flooded when the River Don breaches its banks.
- June 27 – The military police of the state of Rio de Janeiro
Rio de Janeiro is one of the 26 states of Brazil.It is located in the Brazilian geopolitical region of the Southeast and its boundaries, all of them with other Brazilian states in the Southeast region , are with Minas Gerais ,...
invades the favelaA favela is the generally used term for a shanty town in Brazil. In the late 19th century, the first settlements were called bairros africanos , and they were the place where former slaves with no land ownership and no options for work lived. Over the years, many freed black slaves moved in...
of Complexo do AlemãoComplexo do Alemão is a group of favelas in northern Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.-History:An article published by O Globo in 2007 revealed the origin of Complexo do Alemão. After World War I, a Pole named Leonard Kaczmarkiewicz bought the land...
, causing a massacre}The Complexo do Alemão massacre was the result of an ongoing conflict between drug dealers and the police in the borough of the same name in Rio de Janeiro, which consisted of a group of large favelas in the northern region of the city. The massacre happened on June 27, 2007, when a huge Military...
.
- June 28 – In the aftermath of Greece
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
's worst heatwave in a century, at least 11 people are reported dead from heatstroke, approximately 200 wildfireA wildfire is any uncontrolled fire that occurs in the countryside or a wilderness area. Reflecting the type of vegetation or fuel, other names such as brush fire, bushfire, forest fire, grass fire, hill fire, peat fire, vegetation fire, and wildland fire may be used to describe the same phenomenon...
s break out nationwide, and the country's electricity grid nearly collapses due to record breaking demand.
- June 29 – British
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
police defuse a bomb in Haymarket, Central LondonThe term Central London refers to the districts of London which are considered closest to the centre. There is no conventional definition, nor any official one, for the entire area that can be called "central London". Central London covers about 10 square miles on areas both north and south of the...
.
- June 30
- A Jeep Cherokee
The Jeep Cherokee is a unibody compact SUV. It shared the name of the original full-size SJ model, but without a body-on-frame chassis, it actually set the stage for the modern SUV. Its innovative appearance and sales popularity spawned important imitators as other automakers began to notice that...
drives into the entrance of the main terminal of Glasgow International AirportGlasgow International Airport is located west of Glasgow city centre, near the towns of Paisley and Renfrew in Renfrewshire, Greater Glasgow, Scotland....
in an apparent terrorist incidentThe 2007 Glasgow International Airport attack occurred on Saturday 30 June 2007, at 15:11 BST, when a dark green Jeep Cherokee loaded with propane canisters was driven into the glass doors of the Glasgow International Airport terminal and set ablaze...
, resulting in a petrol-driven fire.
- A calendar blue moon
A blue moon is a full moon that is not timed to the regular monthly pattern. Most years have twelve full moons which occur approximately monthly, but in addition to those twelve full lunar cycles, each calendar year contains an excess of roughly eleven days. The extra days accumulate, so that every...
occurs in most of the Eastern HemisphereThe Eastern Hemisphere, also Eastern hemisphere or eastern hemisphere, is a geographical term for the half of the Earth that is east of the Prime Meridian and west of 180° longitude. It is also used to refer to Europe, Asia, Africa, and Australia, vis-à-vis the Western Hemisphere, which includes...
.
- The Hawaii Superferry
The Hawaii Superferry was a Hawaii-based transportation company that provided passenger and vehicle transportation between Honolulu Harbor on the island of Oahu and Kahului Harbor on Maui...
arrives in Honolulu after a 7,600 mile journey from Mobile, AlabamaMobile is the third most populous city in the Southern U.S. state of Alabama and is the county seat of Mobile County. It is located on the Mobile River and the central Gulf Coast of the United States. The population within the city limits was 198,915 during the 2000 census...
.
July
- July 1
- Portugal
Portugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
takes over the Presidency of the Council of the European UnionPresidency of the Council of the European Union is the responsibility for the functioning of the Council of the European Union which is rotated between European Union member states every six months...
from GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
.
- The Concert For Diana
Concert for Diana was a concert held at the new Wembley Stadium in London, England, United Kingdom in honor of Diana, Princess of Wales, on 1 July 2007, which would have been her 46th birthday; 31 August that year brought the 10th anniversary of her death...
is held at Wembley Stadium to commemorate Diana, Princess of WalesDiana, Princess of Wales, was the first wife of Charles, Prince of Wales. Their sons, Princes William and Harry, are second and third in line to the thrones of the United Kingdom and fifteen other Commonwealth Realms.A public figure from the announcement of her engagement to Prince Charles, Diana...
.
- July 2 – Venus
Venus is the second-closest planet to the Sun, orbiting it every 224.7 Earth days. The planet is named after Venus, the Roman goddess of love and beauty. After the Moon, it is the brightest natural object in the night sky, reaching an apparent magnitude of −4.6...
and SaturnSaturn is the sixth planet from the Sun and the second largest planet in the Solar System, after Jupiter. Saturn, along with Jupiter, Uranus and Neptune, is classified as a gas giant...
are in conjunctionConjunction is a term used in positional astronomy and astrology. It means that, as seen from some place , two celestial bodies appear near one another in the sky...
, separation 46 arcsecs.
- July 3 – Torrential rains cause the onset of the 2007 Sudan floods
On 3 July 2007, flash floods started to devastate many parts of Sudan, including some areas in conflict-battered Darfur and war-torn Southern Sudan.-Damage:...
, the worst in the SudanSudan is a country in northeastern Africa. It is the largest country in Africa and in the Arab World, and tenth largest in the world by area...
's history.
- July 4 – After being held captive for 114 days, BBC
The British Broadcasting Corporation, usually referred to by its abbreviation as the "BBC", is the longest established and largest broadcaster in the world...
journalist Alan JohnstonAlan Graham Johnston is a British journalist working for the BBC. He has been the BBC's correspondent in Uzbekistan, Afghanistan and the Gaza Strip...
is freed by his Palestinian kidnappers.
- July 7 – Live Earth
Live Earth is an annual event developed to combat climate change.-Background:The plans for the first Live Earth concerts were announced at a media event in Los Angeles on 15 February 2007 by Al Gore, Kevin Wall and other celebrities...
Concerts are held throughout 9 major cities around the worldWorld is a highly common name for the planet Earth, but it was originally used to mean the sum of human civilization living on it, specifically human experience, history, or the 'human condition' in general....
.
- July 8 – Boeing
The Boeing Company is a major aerospace and defense corporation, founded by William E. Boeing in Seattle, Washington. Boeing has expanded over the years, merging with McDonnell Douglas in 1997. Its international headquarters has been in Chicago, Illinois, since 2001...
launches the new Boeing 787The Boeing 787 Dreamliner is a mid-sized, wide-body, twin-engine jet airliner currently under development by Boeing Commercial Airplanes. Its maximum seating capacity in a one-class configuration is between 290 to 330 passengers depending on variant...
.
- July 10 – Zheng Xiaoyu
Zheng Xiaoyu was director of the State Food and Drug Administration of the People's Republic of China. He was sentenced to death in the first instance trial at Beijing No.1 Intermediate Court on May 29, 2007...
, head of the State Food and Drug Administration of the People's Republic of ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
, is executed.
- July 12 – Queen Elizabeth II visits the world's largest Commonwealth war grave in Ypres
Ypres is a Belgian municipality located in the Flemish province of West Flanders. The municipality comprises the city of Ypres and the villages of Boezinge, Brielen, Dikkebus, Elverdinge, Hollebeke, Sint-Jan, Vlamertinge, Voormezele, Zillebeke, and Zuidschote...
, BelgiumThe Kingdom of Belgium is a country in northwest Europe. It is a founding member of the European Union and hosts its headquarters, as well as those of other major international organizations, including NATO...
to pay respects to fallen soldiers of the Battle of Passchendaele.
- July 14 – Following a presidential decree, Russia
Russia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
withdraws from the Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in EuropeThe original Treaty on Conventional Armed Forces in Europe was negotiated and concluded during the last years of the Cold War and established comprehensive limits on key categories of conventional military equipment in Europe and mandated the destruction of excess weaponry...
.
- July 15 – In Tacoma, Washington
Tacoma is a mid-sized urban port city in and the county seat of Pierce County, Washington, United States. The city is on Washington's Puget Sound, southwest of Seattle, northeast of the state capital, Olympia, and northwest of Mount Rainier National Park...
, the second span of the Tacoma Narrows BridgeThe Tacoma Narrows Bridge is a pair of mile-long suspension bridges in the U.S. state of Washington, which carry State Route 16 across the Tacoma Narrows between Tacoma and the Kitsap Peninsula. They replaced a bridge that was opened to traffic on July 1 1940 and which became famous four months...
opens to traffic, making it the longest twin suspension bridge in the world.
- July 16 – An earthquake in Japan
is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
kills 7 and causes a pipe at a nuclear power plant to break, releasing about 300 gallons of radioactive water.
- July 17 – TAM Linhas Aéreas Flight 3054 overruns the runway of Congonhas-São Paulo International Airport and crashes, killing all 186 and others on the ground.
- July 18 – Nelson Mandela
Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela is a former President of South Africa, the first to be elected in a fully representative democratic election, who held office from 1994–99. Before his presidency, Mandela was an anti-apartheid activist, and the leader of the African National Congress's armed wing Umkhonto...
convenes a group of world leaders to contribute their ideas to tackle some of the world's toughest problems.
- July 19
- Russia expels 4 British embassy staff in a tit-for-tat response over Britain's expulsion of 4 of Russia's diplomats. Russia also refuses to cooperate with Britain over the war on terror.
- Prathiba Patil is elected as the first female President of India
The President of India or Rashtrapati is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. In theory, the President possesses considerable power...
.
- July 21 – The final book of the Harry Potter
Harry Potter is a series of seven fantasy novels written by British author J. K. Rowling. The books chronicle the adventures of the adolescent wizard Harry Potter, together with Ron Weasley and Hermione Granger, his friends from the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry...
series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is released and sells over 11 million copies in the first 24 hours, becoming the fastest selling book in history.
- July 22
- Floods cause chaos through wide areas of Great Britain
Great Britain is an island lying to the northwest of Continental Europe. It is the ninth largest island in the world, and the largest European island. With a population of about 59.6 million people, it is the third most populated island on Earth. Great Britain is surrounded by over 1000 smaller...
, especially the counties of GloucestershireGloucestershire is a county in South West England. The county comprises part of the Cotswold Hills, part of the flat fertile valley of the River Severn, and the entire Forest of Dean....
, WarwickshireWarwickshire is a landlocked non-metropolitan county in the West Midlands region of England. The county town is Warwick, although the largest town is Nuneaton in the far north of the county. The shape of the administrative area Warwickshire differs considerably from that of the historic county...
, WorcestershireWorcestershire or ; abbreviated Worcs) is a historic and administrative county located in the West Midlands region of central England. In 1974 it was merged with the county of Herefordshire to form the single administrative county of Hereford and Worcester; which was divided in 1998,...
, and OxfordshireOxfordshire is a county in the South East England region, bordering on Northamptonshire, Buckinghamshire, Berkshire, Wiltshire, Gloucestershire, and Warwickshire....
, leaving hundreds homeless and thousands of vehicles stranded on major roads.
- A bus carrying 50 Polish pilgrim
A pilgrim is one who undertakes a pilgrimage, literally 'far afield'. This is traditionally a visit to a place of some religious or historic significance; often a considerable distance is traveled...
s crashes near GrenobleGrenoble is a city in south-eastern France situated at the foot of the French Alps where the Drac joins the Isère River. Located in the Rhône-Alpes region, Grenoble is the capital of the department of Isère. The proximity of the mountains make the city named "Capital of Alps."The history of the...
, FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
, killing 26 people and injuring 24.
August
- August 1
- The I-35W Mississippi River Bridge on I-35W
Interstate 35W , an Interstate Highway in Minnesota, is the western route of Interstate 35. I-35 splits into two branch routes: I-35W, which serves Minneapolis, and I-35E, which serves St. Paul....
over the Mississippi RiverThe Mississippi River is the second longest river in the United States, with a length of from its source in Lake Itasca in Minnesota to its mouth in the Gulf of Mexico....
in Minneapolis, MinnesotaMinneapolis is the largest city in the U.S. state of Minnesota and is the county seat of Hennepin County. The city lies on both banks of the Mississippi River, just north of the river's confluence with the Minnesota River, and adjoins Saint Paul, the state's capital. Known as the Twin Cities,...
collapses at 6:05 pm CST during the later part of rush hourA rush hour or peak hour is a part of the day during which traffic congestion on roads and crowding on public transport is at its highest...
, killing 13 people.
- Scouting
Scouting, also known as the Scout Movement, is a worldwide youth movement with the stated aim of supporting young people in their physical, mental and spiritual development, so that they may play constructive roles in society....
celebrates its 100th birthdayThe Scouting 2007 Centenary comprised celebrations around the world in which Scouts celebrated 100 years of the world Scout movement. The original celebrations were focused on the United Kingdom, such as the camp on Brownsea Island, the birthplace of Scouting, and the 21st World Scout Jamboree in...
with worldwide celebrations.
- In a decision in the Supreme Court of South Australia
The Supreme Court of South Australia is the superior court for the Australian State of South Australia. It has unlimited jurisdiction within the state in civil matters, and hears the most serious criminal matters. The Supreme Court is the highest South Australian court in the Australian court...
by Justice Thomas Gray, Bruce Trevorrow, a member of the Stolen Generation, is awarded $775,000 compensation.
- August 3 – Foot and mouth disease
An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the United Kingdom was confirmed by the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs , on 3 August 2007, in the parish of Normandy, Surrey....
is found on a farm at WanboroughWanborough is a small hamlet in Surrey approximately 6 km west of Guildford on the northern slopes of the Hog's Back. Neighbouring villages include: Puttenham and Christmas Pie...
, near to GuildfordGuildford is the county town of Surrey, England, as well as the seat for the borough of Guildford and the administrative headquarters of the South East England region...
, SurreySurrey is a county in the South East of England and is one of the Home Counties. The county borders Greater London, Kent, East Sussex, West Sussex, Hampshire, and Berkshire. The historic county town is Guildford...
. A UKThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
-wide ban on movement of all livestock is put in place the following day.
- August 4 – The Phoenix spacecraft launches toward the Martian north pole.
- August 6
- Israel
Israel officially the State of Israel , is a developed state in Western Asia located on the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Lebanon in the north, Syria in the northeast, Jordan in the east, and Egypt on the southwest, and contains geographically diverse features within its...
i Prime Minister Ehud OlmertEhud Olmert is an Israeli political figure, and former Prime Minister of Israel having served from 2006 to 2009. Olmert was the mayor of Jerusalem from 1993 to 2003. In 2003 he was elected to the Knesset and became a minister and Acting Prime Minister in the government of Prime Minister Ariel Sharon...
arrives in the historic Palestinian town of JerichoJericho is a city located near the Jordan River in the West Bank of the Palestinian Territories. It is the capital of the Jericho Governorate, and has a population of over 20,000 Palestinians. Situated well below sea level on an east-west route north of the Dead Sea, Jericho is the lowest...
, becoming the first Prime Minister of Israel to visit the West BankThe West Bank is a landlocked territory and is the eastern part of the Palestinian territories; on the west bank of the River Jordan in the Middle East. To the west, north, and south, the West Bank shares borders with the state of Israel, which maintains the security of this area. To the east,...
or Gaza StripThe Gaza Strip lies on the coast of the Mediterranean Sea. It borders Egypt on the south-west and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometers wide, with a total area of . The area is recognized internationally as part of the Palestinian territories...
in more than 7 years. Olmert meets with Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud AbbasMahmoud Abbas , also known by the kunya Abu Mazen , has been the Chairman of the Palestine Liberation Organisation since 11 November 2004 and became President of the Palestinian National Authority on 15 January 2005 on the Fatah ticket.Elected to serve until 9 January 2009, he unilaterally...
.
- The Crandall Canyon Mine
The Crandall Canyon Mine, formerly Genwal Mine, was an underground bituminous coal mine in northwestern Emery County, Utah.The mine made headline news when six miners were trapped by a collapse in August 2007...
in Emery County, UtahUtah is a western state of the United States. It was the 45th state admitted to the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80 percent of Utah's 2,736,424 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering around Salt Lake City. In contrast, vast expanses of the state are nearly uninhabited, making...
collapses, trapping 6 miners.
- August 14
- Multiple suicide bombings kill 572 people in Qahtaniya
Kahataniya or Gıruzer is a northern Iraqi town about 100 km from Mosul. It was one of two villages targeted in the 2007 Qahtaniya bombings against the local Yazidi community, an ancient pre-Islamic sect....
, northern IraqIraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , also known as Mesopotamia, is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.Iraq shares borders with Jordan to the west, Syria...
.
- At least 22 people are killed, and at least 39 missing, as a bridge collapses in the southeastern province of Hunan
' is a province of China, located to the south of the middle reaches of the Yangtze River and south of Lake Dongting...
, ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
.
- August 15 – An 8.0 earthquake
The 2007 Peru earthquake was an earthquake measuring 8.0 on the moment magnitude scale that hit the central coast of Peru on Wednesday August 15, 2007; it occurred at 23:40:58 UTC and lasted for about three minutes...
strikes PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico...
, killing 512 people, injuring more than 1,500, and causing tsunamiA is a series of water waves that is caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, such as an ocean. The original Japanese term literally translates as "harbor wave." Tsunamis are a frequent occurrence in Japan; approximately 195 events have been recorded...
warnings in the Pacific OceanThe Pacific Ocean is the largest of the Earth's oceanic divisions. Its name is derived from the Latin name Tepre Pacificum, "peaceful sea", bestowed upon it by the Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan. It extends from the Arctic in the north to Antarctica in the south, bounded by Asia and...
.
- August 16 – The Crandall Canyon Mine
The Crandall Canyon Mine, formerly Genwal Mine, was an underground bituminous coal mine in northwestern Emery County, Utah.The mine made headline news when six miners were trapped by a collapse in August 2007...
in Emery County, UtahUtah is a western state of the United States. It was the 45th state admitted to the Union, on January 4, 1896. Approximately 80 percent of Utah's 2,736,424 people live along the Wasatch Front, centering around Salt Lake City. In contrast, vast expanses of the state are nearly uninhabited, making...
, collapses a second time, killing 3 rescue workers and injuring 6 more.
- August 17 Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was the second President of Russia and is the current Prime Minister of Russia as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus...
issues a statement, revealing that RussiaRussia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
is to resume the flight exercises of its strategic bombers in remote areas. The flights were suspended in 1991 after the Collapse of the Soviet Union.
- August 18
- Typhoon Sepat
Typhoon Sepat was the eighth tropical storm of the 2007 Pacific typhoon season that affected the Philippines and made landfall in Taiwan and Fujian.-Meteorological history:On August 11, a low-level circulation center...
makes landfall in eastern TaiwanTaiwan , also known as Formosa , is the largest island of the Republic of China in East Asia. Taiwan is located east of the Taiwan Strait, off the southeastern coast of mainland China...
.
- The remnants of Tropical Storm Erin
Tropical Storm Erin was the second tropical cyclone to make landfall in the United States in the 2007 Atlantic hurricane season. The fifth named storm of the season, it formed in the Gulf of Mexico on August 14 from a persistent area of convection...
re-strengthen into a tropical storm over Oklahoma, causing widespread flooding and wind damage.
- August 21 – Hurricane Dean, a powerful Category 5
The Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale is a classification used for most Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms. The scale divides hurricanes into five categories distinguished by the intensities of their sustained winds...
storm, slams into a largely evacuated Yucatán PeninsulaThe Yucatán Peninsula, in southeastern Mexico, separates the Caribbean Sea from the Gulf of Mexico, with the northern coastline on the Yucatán Channel...
of MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
- August 25
- Greek
Greece , officially the Hellenic Republic , is a country in southeastern Europe, situated on the southern end of the Balkan Peninsula....
Prime Minister Kostas KaramanlisKonstantinos Karamanlis , often shortened to Kostas , is a former Prime Minister of Greece and president of the right-conservative New Democracy party, founded by his uncle Konstantinos Karamanlis...
declares a national state of emergencyA state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend certain normal functions of government, alert citizens to alter their normal behaviors, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale for suspending civil liberties...
after a series of devastating wildfiresThe 2007 Greek forest fires were a series of massive forest fires that broke out in several areas across Greece throughout the summer of 2007. The most destructive and lethal infernos broke out on August 23, expanded rapidly and raged out of control until August 27, until they were put out in early...
ravage western Peloponese and southern EuboeaFor the mythological figure, see Euboea Euboea is the second largest Greek island in area and population, after Crete. It is separated from the mainland of Greece by the narrow Euripus Strait...
, killing 68 people.
- Forty-four people are dead after 2 bombs explode
The Hyderabad bombings refers to the incident in which two bombs exploded almost simultaneously on 25 August 2007 in Hyderabad, capital of the Indian state of Andhra Pradesh. The first bomb exploded in Lumbini Amusement Park at 19:45 hrs IST...
in Hyderabad, IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
.
- August 30 – 2007 United States Air Force nuclear weapons incident
The 2007 United States Air Force nuclear weapons incident occurred at Minot Air Force Base and Barksdale Air Force Base on August 29–30, 2007. Six AGM-129 ACM cruise missiles, loaded with a W80-1 variable yield nuclear warhead, were alleged to have been mistakenly loaded on a United States...
: A B-52 flies from Minot AFB, ND to Barksdale AFB, LA carrying 6 nuclear warheads.
September
- September 1 – Finland
Finland , officially the Republic of Finland
, is a Nordic country and democracy situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland...
switches off all of its analogue terrestrial televisionTerrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which do not involve satellite transmission or via underground cables—typically through the atmosphere from a transmitting antenna....
signals as part of the digital switchover.
- September 2–9 – The Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation
Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation is a forum for 21 Pacific Rim countries to cooperate on regional trade and investment liberalisation and facilitation. APEC's objective is to enhance economic growth and prosperity in the region and to strengthen the Asia-Pacific community...
summit hosts its 19th annual city meetingAPEC Australia 2007 was made up of a series of political meetings held around Australia between the 21 member economies of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation. These meetings culminated in Leaders Week, where the heads of government of each member economy attended Sydney, New South Wales from 2...
in SydneySydney is the largest city in Australia, and the state capital of New South Wales. Sydney has a metropolitan area population of approximately 4.34 million and an area of approximately 12,000 square kilometres. Its inhabitants are called Sydneysiders, and Sydney is often called "the Harbour City"...
.
- September 3 – British
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
troops withdraw from the BasraAl-Baṣrah is the capital of Basra Province, and had an estimated population of 3,800,200 as of 2009. Basra is also Iraq's main port, although it is incapable of deep water access, which is handled at the the port of Umm Qasr...
region of IraqIraq , officially the Republic of Iraq , also known as Mesopotamia, is a country in Western Asia spanning most of the northwestern end of the Zagros mountain range, the eastern part of the Syrian Desert and the northern part of the Arabian Desert.Iraq shares borders with Jordan to the west, Syria...
.
- September 4 – Northeast Nicaragua
Nicaragua officially the Republic of Nicaragua , is a representative democratic republic. It is the largest country in Central America with an area of 130,373 km
2. The country is bordered by Honduras to the north and Costa Rica to the south. The Pacific Ocean lies to the west of...
takes a direct hit from Hurricane Felix. The hurricane is a strong Category 5The Saffir–Simpson Hurricane Scale is a classification used for most Western Hemisphere tropical cyclones that exceed the intensities of tropical depressions and tropical storms. The scale divides hurricanes into five categories distinguished by the intensities of their sustained winds...
storm when it reaches the coast.
- September 6
- Operation Orchard
Operation Orchard was an Israeli airstrike on a target in the Deir ez-Zor region of Syria carried out just after midnight on September 6, 2007. The White House and Central Intelligence Agency later declared that American intelligence indicated the site was a nuclear facility with a military...
: Israeli airplanes strike a suspected nuclear site in Syria.
- A bomb explodes in Batna, Algeria as a crowd gathers to see Algerian President Abdelaziz Bouteflika
Abdelaziz Bouteflika has been the President of Algeria since 1999.- Family :Abdelaziz Bouteflika was born on March 2, 1937 in Oujda, French Morocco. He was the first child of his mother and the second child of his father...
; 19 people die, 107 are wounded by the attack.
- September 8 – Over 50 people die when a car bomb explodes in the Algeria
Algeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country located in North Africa. It is the largest country on the Mediterranean sea, the second largest on the African continent and the eleventh-largest country in the world in terms of land area.It is bordered by Tunisia in...
n port city of DellysDellys is a small coastal town in northern Algeria, almost due north of Tizi-Ouzou and just east of the river Sebaou. It is notable for an Ottoman-era casbah, two colonial-era lighthouses , and some beaches; the principal activities of the area are fishing and farming. In Roman times, it was...
.
- September 12
- The Sandiganbayan
The Sandiganbayan is a special court in the Philippines which was established under Presidential Decree No. 1606. Its rank is equivalent to the Court of Appeals. The court consists of 14 Associate Justices and 1 Presiding Justice...
finds former PhilippinesThe Philippines officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
President Joseph EstradaJoseph Ejercito Estrada was the 13th President of the Philippines, serving from 1998 until his ouster in the 2001 EDSA Revolution....
guilty beyond reasonable doubt on the charges of plunder, but acquits him on the charges of perjuryPerjury, also known as forswearing, is the willful act of swearing a false oath or affirmation to tell the truth, whether spoken or in writing, concerning matters material to a judicial proceeding. That is, the matter lied about would affect the outcome of the case...
.
- Japan
is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, People's Republic of China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
ese Prime Minister Shinzo Abewas the 90th Prime Minister of Japan, elected by a special session of the National Diet on 26 September 2006. He was Japan's youngest post-World War II prime minister and the first born after the war. He resigned abruptly on 12 September 2007 after months of mounting political pressure...
announces his resignation, effective September 19.
- Russia
Russia , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia . It is a semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
n Prime Minister Mikhail FradkovMikhail Yefimovich Fradkov is a Russian politician who was the Prime Minister of Russia from March 2004 to September 2007.-Biography:Fradkov was born near the city now known as Samara in a family of Jewish origin...
and his entire cabinetMikhail Fradkov's Second Cabinet was the twelfth cabinet of the government of the Russian Federation, preceded by Mikhail Fradkov's First Cabinet, which followed the cabinet led by Mikhail Kasyanov, who had been dismissed by President Vladimir Putin on February 242004 shortly before the...
resign.
- September 13 – The Burj Dubai
Burj Dubai , a supertall skyscraper under construction in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, is the tallest man-made structure ever built, at...
becomes the world's tallest free standing structure, after surpassing the CN TowerThe CN Tower, located in downtown Toronto, Ontario, Canada, is a communications and observation tower standing tall. It surpassed the height of the Ostankino Tower while still under construction in 1975, becoming the tallest free-standing structure on land in the world...
in TorontoToronto is the most populous city in Canada and the provincial capital of Ontario. It is located in Southern Ontario on the northwestern shore of Lake Ontario. With over 2.5 million residents, it is the fifth most populous municipality in North America...
.
- September 14
- The SELENE
SELENE , better known in Japan by its nickname , was the second Japanese lunar orbiter spacecraft. Produced by the Institute of Space and Astronautical Science and NASDA , the spacecraft was launched September 14, 2007...
spacecraft launches. JAXAThe , or JAXA, is Japan's national aerospace agency. JAXA was formed on October 1, 2003, as an Independent Administrative Institution through the merger of three previously independent organizations...
has called the mission, "the largest lunarThe Moon is Earth's only natural satellite and the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System. The average centre-to-centre distance from the Earth to the Moon is , about thirty times the diameter of the Earth. The common centre of mass of the system is located at about —a quarter the Earth's...
mission since the Apollo program."
- Viktor Zubkov
Viktor Alekseyevich Zubkov is a Russian politician and businessman who was the Prime Minister of Russia from September 2007 to May 2008. He was a financial crime investigator until September 12, 2007, when he was nominated by President Vladimir Putin to replace Prime Minister Mikhail Fradkov, who...
is approved as the new Prime Minister of RussiaThe Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation is the second most powerful official of the Russian Federation, who, under Article 24 of the Federal Constitutional Law On the Government of the Russian Federation, "heads the Government of the Russian Federation".Nowhere in the Russian Law...
after a vote in the DumaThe State Duma in the Russian Federation is the lower house of the Federal Assembly of Russia , the upper house being the Federation Council of Russia. The Duma is headquartered in central Moscow, a few steps from Manege Square. Its members are referred to as deputies...
.
- September 15 – Over 3,000 Taiwanese American
A Taiwanese American is an American having Taiwanese ancestry. It has more political means....
s and their supporters rally in front of the UN in New York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
to demand that the UN accept Taiwan. At the same time, over 300,000 Taiwanese peopleTaiwanese people may refer to individuals who either claim or are imputed cultural identity focused on the island of Taiwan and/or the lands and territories which have been governed by the Republic of China since 1945...
rally in Taiwan to make the same plea.
.jpg)
- September 16 – One-Two-GO Airlines Flight 269
One-Two-GO Airlines Flight 269 was a scheduled flight from Bangkok's Don Mueang International Airport to Phuket International Airport in the Thai resort island of Phuket. On 16 September 2007, amid heavy rains and strong crosswinds at Phuket International Airport, the pilots failed to heed a...
crashes in Phuket, ThailandThe Kingdom of Thailand is an independent country that lies in the heart of Southeast Asia.It is bordered to the north by Laos and Burma, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the west by the Andaman Sea and Burma...
, killing 89 passengers and crew.
- September 19 – Typhoon Wipha hits Fuding
Fuding City is a county-level city in northeastern Ningde Municipality, on Fujian's border with Zhejiang Province.-Situation:The city is mountainous and has a good deal of seacoast. FuAn City lies to the west and Xiapu County to the south. North and east lie counties in Wenzhou, ZJ...
, ChinaThe People's Republic of China , commonly known as China, is the largest country in East Asia and the most populous in the world with over 1.3 billion people, approximately one-fifth of the world's population...
. Authorities had evacuated over 2 million people prior to the storm's landfall.
- September 20 – The 2007 Universal Forum of Cultures
The Universal Forum of Cultures Monterrey 2007 was an international civil-society event that took place in the city of Monterrey, Mexico, starting on September and ending in December of mentioned year...
opens in MonterreyMonterrey Monterrey Monterrey (also known as "Sultana del Norte" (Sultan of the North), is the capital city of the northeastern Mexican state of Nuevo León
It has the third largest metropolitan area in Mexico, after Mexico City and Guadalajara. In 2005, the city...
, MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
- September 21 – The Supreme Court of Chile
The Supreme Court of Chile is the highest court in Chile. It also administrates the lower courts in the nation. It is located in the capital Santiago....
rules that former PeruPeru , officially the Republic of Peru , is a country in western South America. It is bordered on the north by Ecuador and Colombia, on the east by Brazil, on the southeast by Bolivia, on the south by Chile, and on the west by the Pacific Ocean.Peruvian territory was home to the Norte Chico...
vian President Alberto FujimoriAlberto Ken'ya Fujimori served as President of Peru from July 28, 1990, to November 17, 2000. A controversial figure, Fujimori has been credited with uprooting terrorism in Peru and restoring its macroeconomic stability, though his methods have drawn charges of authoritarianism and human rights...
must be extradited to Peru, to face charges of corruption and human rights abuse.
- September 25 – The critically acclaimed video game Halo 3
Halo 3 is a first-person shooter video game developed by Bungie for Xbox 360. The game is the third title in the Halo series and concludes the story arc that began in Halo: Combat Evolved and continued in Halo 2...
is released.
- September 26
- Emperor
The of Japan is the symbol of the state and of the unity of the Japanese people. He is the head of the Japanese Imperial Family. He is also the highest authority of the Shinto religion...
Akihitois the current of Japan, and the 125th Emperor according to Japan's traditional order of succession. He acceded to the throne in 1989, and is the 20th most senior monarch or lifelong leader...
swears in Yasuo Fukudawas the 91st Prime Minister of Japan, serving from 2007 to 2008. He was previously the longest-serving Chief Cabinet Secretary in Japanese history, serving for three and a half years under Prime Ministers Yoshiro Mori and Junichiro Koizumi....
as the 91st Prime Minister of JapanThe is the usual English-language term used for the head of government of Japan, although the literal translation of the Japanese name for the office is Minister for the general administration of the Cabinet...
.
- The first confirmed deaths result from the Myanmar
Burma, officially the Union of Myanmar, is the largest country by geographical area in mainland Southeast Asia or Indochina. The country is bordered by China on the northeast, Laos on the east, Thailand on the southeast, Bangladesh on the west, India on the northwest and the Bay of Bengal to the...
military's crackdown on weeks-long anti-government protestsThe 2007 Burmese anti-government protests were a series of anti-government protests that started in Burma on August 15, 2007...
. Buddhist monksA Bhikku , Bhikṣu is a fully ordained male Buddhist monastic. Female monastic is called Bhikkhuni . Bhikkhus and Bhikkhunis keep many precepts: they live by the vinaya's framework of monastic discipline, the basic rules of which are called the patimokkha...
are arrested and InternetThe Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standardized Internet Protocol Suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
access is cut from the public.
- In southern Vietnam
Vietnam , officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam , is the easternmost country on the Indochina Peninsula in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by China to the north, Laos to the northwest, Cambodia to the southwest, and the South China Sea to the east...
the Can Tho BridgeCần Thơ Bridge is a cable-stayed bridge currently under construction over the Hậu River, the largest distributary of the Mekong River, in the city of Cần Thơ in southern Vietnam. The bridge is expected to be 2.75 kilometres long . It will have a 6-lane carriageway measuring 23 metres in width,...
, which is under construction, collapsesThe collapse of Cần Thơ Bridge was a severe construction accident in southern Vietnam. The accident occurred at 8 am local time on the morning of September 26, 2007, when a 90 meter section of an approach ramp, which was over 30 meters above the ground, collapsed. There were 250 engineers and...
, killing scores of workers.
October
- October 2 – South Korea
South Korea, officially the Republic of Korea and often simply referred to as Korea, is a country in East Asia, located on the southern half of the Korean Peninsula. It is neighbored by China to the west, Japan to the east, and North Korea to the north. Its capital is Seoul, the second largest...
n PresidentThe President of the Republic of Korea is, according to the Constitution of the Republic of Korea, chief executive of the government, commander-in-chief of the armed forces, and the head of state of the Republic of Korea...
Roh Moo-hyunRoh Moo-hyun was the 16th President of South Korea . Before entering politics, he was a human rights lawyer....
and North KoreaNorth Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea , is a state in East Asia, occupying the northern half of the Korean Peninsula. Its capital and largest city is Pyongyang. The Korean Demilitarized Zone serves as the buffer area between North Korea and South Korea...
n leader Kim Jong-ilKim Jong-il is the paramount leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea...
meet in PyongyangPyongyang is the capital of North Korea, located on the Taedong River. According to preliminary results from the 2008 population census, it has a population of 3,255,388.The city was split from the South P'yŏngan province in 1946...
, for the second Inter-Korean SummitInter-Korean Summits are meetings between the leaders of North Korea and South Korea. There have been two major meetings in the last decade, the first in 2000 and the second in 2007. The importance of these summits lies in the lack of formal communication between North and South Korea, which...
.
- October 4 – Spanish
Spain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
authorities arrest 22 people associated with the banned BatasunaBatasuna was a Basque nationalist political party based mainly in Spain, where it was outlawed in 2003, after a court ruling declared proven that the party was financing ETA with public money...
party, which campaigns for BasqueThe Basque Country as a greater region is a European cultural region in the western Pyrenees that spans the border between France and Spain, on the Atlantic coast....
independence, but also has ties to the terrorist group ETAor ETA , is a terrorist, criminal, Basque nationalist and separatist organization. Founded in 1959, it evolved from a group advocating traditional cultural ways to a paramilitary group with the goal of independence for the greater Basque Country from a Marxist-Leninist perspective.Since 1968, ETA...
.
- October 8 – Track and field star Marion Jones
Marion Lois Jones, also known as Marion Jones-Thompson , is a former world champion track and field athlete...
surrenders her 5 OlympicThe Olympic Games are a major international event of summer and winter sports, in which thousands of athletes compete in a wide variety of events. The Games are currently held every two years, with Summer and Winter Olympic Games alternating. Originally, the ancient Olympic Games were held in...
medals she won in the 2000 Sydney GamesThe Sydney 2000 Summer Olympic Games or the Millennium Games/Games of the New Millennium, officially known as the Games of the XXVII Olympiad, were an international multi-sport event which was celebrated between 16 September and 1 October 2000 in Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, after admitting to dopingIn sports, the use of performance-enhancing drugs is commonly referred to by the disparaging term "doping", particularly by those organizations that regulate competitions. The use of performance enhancing drugs is mostly done to improve athletic performance. This is why many sports ban the use of...
.
- October 14
- Robert Dziekanski, a Polish immigrant to Canada
Canada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
, dies after being tasered five times by the Vancouver RCMP, prompting nation-wide controversy on use of the weapon.
- Al-habileen/lahij
Lahij or Lahej is a city and an area located between Ta'izz and Aden in Yemen. From the 18th to the 20th century, its rulers were of the Al-Abdali family who with Al-Sallami, Al-Ramada, Al-Sindi and al-Aqrabi, claims relation to Ahl al-Bayt...
: Four citizens are killed on the 44th anniversary of the revolution against BritishThe British Empire comprised the dominions, colonies, protectorates, mandates, and other territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom, that had originated with the overseas colonies and trading posts established by England in the late 16th and early 17th centuries. At its height it was...
colonial rule in South Yemen.
- October 15
- Members of the Armed Offenders Squad
The Armed Offenders Squad is a specialist unit of the New Zealand Police designed to "cordon, contain and appeal to" armed and dangerous offenders. As the name explains, they are called upon when conflict with an armed offender has occurred or is considered imminent.The AOS draw upon a varied...
, Special Tactics GroupPreviously known as the Anti-Terrorist Squad, the Special Tactics Group is the full-time tactical and Counter-terrorism group of the New Zealand Police....
and several hundred New Zealand Police officersThe New Zealand Police is the national police force of New Zealand, responsible for enforcing criminal law, enhancing public safety, maintaining order and keeping the peace throughout New Zealand...
take part in anti-terror raids in New ZealandOn Monday, 15 October 2007, several raids were conducted across New Zealand in relation to the discovery of an alleged paramilitary training camp deep in the Urewera mountain range near the town of Ruatoki in the eastern Bay of Plenty....
.
- October 17 – Whitehaven becomes the first place in the United Kingdom
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
to have one of its analogue terrestrial televisionTerrestrial television is a mode of television broadcasting which do not involve satellite transmission or via underground cables—typically through the atmosphere from a transmitting antenna....
signals switched off as part of the digital switchoverDigital switchover is the name given to the process by which UK analogue broadcast television in an area is converted to digital television. It is sometimes referred to as "analogue switch off". For full details see UK Digital switchover....
.
- October 18
- After 8 years in exile, Benazir Bhutto
Benazir Bhutto was a Pakistani politician who chaired the Pakistan Peoples Party , a centre-left political party in Pakistan. Bhutto was the first woman elected to lead a Muslim state, having twice been Prime Minister of Pakistan . She was Pakistan's first and to date only female prime minister...
returns to her homeland PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
. The same night, suicide attackers blow themselves up near Bhutto's convoyThe 2007 Karachi bombing of October 18, 2007 in Karachi, Pakistan, was an attack on a motorcade carrying former Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto. The bombing occurred two months before she was assassinated...
, killing 136, including 20 police officers. Bhutto escapes uninjured.
- In New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States, and the center of the New York metropolitan area, which is among the most populous urban areas in the world. A leading global city, New York exerts a powerful influence over worldwide commerce, finance, culture, fashion and entertainment...
, one of the worlds leading art galleries, the Salander/O'Reilly Galleries, is forced into closure amidst scandal and lawsuits.
- Lucky Dube
Lucky Philip Dube was a South African reggae musician. He recorded 22 albums in Zulu, English and Afrikaans in a 25-year period and was South Africa's biggest selling reggae artist...
, a famous South African reggaeReggae is a music genre first developed in Jamaica in the late 1960s.While sometimes used in a broader sense to refer to most types of Jamaican music, the term reggae more properly denotes a particular music style that originated following on the development of ska and rocksteady. Reggae is based...
artist, is murdered in front of two of his children in an attempted carjacking in the JohannesburgJohannesburg also known as Jozi or Jo'burg, is the largest city in South Africa. Johannesburg is the provincial capital of Gauteng, the wealthiest province in South Africa, having the largest economy of any metropolitan region in Sub-Saharan Africa...
suburb of Rosettenville.
- October 19 – A gas explosion rocks Glorietta
Glorietta is a large shopping mall in the Ayala Center in Makati City, Metro Manila, Philippines. The mall is owned by the Zobel de Ayala family and its holding company, Ayala Corporation...
, a shopping mall in Makati, PhilippinesThe Philippines officially known as the Republic of the Philippines, is a country in Southeast Asia with Manila as its capital city. It comprises 7,107 islands in the western Pacific Ocean....
, killing 11 and injuring more than 100The 2007 Glorietta explosion occurred in the Glorietta 2 section of the Glorietta shopping complex at Ayala Center in Makati, Metropolitan Manila, in the Philippines on October 19, 2007 at around 1:25 PM PST. Initial reports indicated that the explosion originated from an LPG tank explosion in an...
.
- October 20 – November 9 – Wildfires in Southern California
Southern California, or SoCal, is defined as the southern portion of the U.S. state of California. Its population centers around three major metropolitan areas, each of which have over 3 million people; the Los Angeles Metropolitan Area with over 12 million inhabitants, the San Bernardino-Riverside...
result in the evacuation of more than a million people, and destroy over 1,600 homes and businesses.
- October 24 – In the space of a few hours, Comet Holmes
Comet Holmes is a periodic comet in our solar system, discovered by the British amateur astronomer Edwin Holmes on November 6, 1892...
develops a coma and flares up to half a million times its former brightness, becoming visible to the naked eye. Its coma later becomes larger in volume than the SunThe Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. The Earth and other matter orbit the Sun, which by itself accounts for about 99.86% of the Solar System's mass....
, making it the second comet to do so in 2007 after Comet McNaught.
- October 28
- The Vatican
The Holy See is the episcopal jurisdiction of the Bishop of Rome, commonly known as the Pope, and is the preeminent episcopal see of the Catholic Church, forming the central government of the Church. As such, diplomatically, and in other spheres the Holy See acts and speaks for the whole Catholic...
beatifiesBeatification is a recognition accorded by the Catholic Church of a dead person's accession to Heaven and capacity to intercede on behalf of individuals who pray in his or her name . Beatification is the third of the four steps in the canonization process...
498 SpanishSpain , officially the Kingdom of Spain , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula.
[The Spanish constitution does not establish any official denomination of the country, even though España , Estado español and Nación española are used interchangeably...]
victims of religious persecution from before and during the Spanish Civil WarThe Spanish Civil War was a major conflict that devastated Spain from 17 July 1936 to 1 April 1939. It began after an attempted coup d'état by a group of Spanish Army generals against the government of the Second Spanish Republic, then under the leadership of president Manuel Azaña...
.
- Cristina Fernández de Kirchner
Cristina Elizabet Fernández de Kirchner , commonly known as Cristina Kirchner, is the current President of Argentina. A member of the Justicialist Party, she was a Senator for Buenos Aires Province prior to taking office...
becomes the first female elected president of ArgentinaArgentina, officially the Argentine Republic , is the second largest country in South America, constituted as a federation of 23 provinces and an autonomous city, Buenos Aires. It is the eighth largest country in the world by land area and the largest among Spanish-speaking nations, though Mexico,...
.
- October 31 – The World Economic Forum
The World Economic Forum is a Geneva-based non-profit foundation best known for its annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland which brings together top business leaders, international political leaders, selected intellectuals and journalists to discuss the most pressing issues facing the world...
releases The Global Competitiveness Report 2007-2008The Global Competitiveness Report is a yearly report published by the World Economic Forum. The first report was released in 1979. The 2009-2010 report covers 133 major and emerging economies, down from 134 considered in the 2008-2009 report as Moldova was excluded due to lack of survey data...
.
November
- November 3 – President Pervez Musharraf
General Pervez Musharraf , NI, TBt, was the 10th President of Pakistan and the Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army,....
declares a state of emergencyA state of emergency was declared by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on November 3, 2007, and lasted until December 15, 2007,during which time the constitution of Pakistan was suspended....
in PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
.
- November 4
- The DARPA Grand Challenge
The DARPA Grand Challenge is a prize competition for driverless cars, sponsored by the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency , the most prominent research organization of the United States Department of Defense...
, a prized competition for driverless cars to navigate safely in traffic is scheduled.
- Reformation Sunday is observed by Lutherans and other Protestants around the world, to commemorate the 490th anniversary (October 31) of the Ninety-Five Theses, which began the Protestant Reformation
The Protestant Reformation was a Christian reform movement in Europe which is generally deemed to have begun with Martin Luther's Ninety-Five Theses in 1517 although a number of precursors such as Jan Hus predate that event...
.
- November 5 – The Writers Guild of America goes on a strike
The 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike, more commonly known as the Writers' Strike, was a strike by the Writers Guild of America, East and the Writers Guild of America, West ....
that lasts until February 12, 2008.
- November 6 – A suicide bomber kills at least 50 people in Mazari Sharif, Afghanistan
The Islamic Republic of Afghanistan is a landlocked country in south central Asia. It is variously described as being located within Central Asia, South Asia, or the Middle East...
, including 6 members of the National AssemblyThe National Assembly is Afghanistan's national legislature. It is a bicameral body, comprising two chambers:*Wolesi Jirga or the House of the People: the 250-member lower house....
.
- November 7
- Jokela school shooting
The Jokela school massacre was a school shooting that occurred on November 7, 2007, at Jokela High School in Jokela, a town in the municipality of Tuusula, Finland. The gunman, 18-year-old student Pekka-Eric Auvinen, entered the school on that morning armed with a semi-automatic pistol. He killed...
: FinnishFinland , officially the Republic of Finland
, is a Nordic country and democracy situated in the Fennoscandian region of northern Europe. It borders Sweden on the west, Russia on the east, and Norway on the north, while Estonia lies to its south across the Gulf of Finland...
youth Pekka-Eric Auvinen kills 8 people and wounds 1 at the Jokela School Centre.
- A 48-hour-long state of emergency
A state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend certain normal functions of government, alert citizens to alter their normal behaviors, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale for suspending civil liberties...
for TbilisiTbilisi is the capital and the largest city of Georgia, lying on the banks of the Mt'k'vari River. The name is derived from an early Georgian form Tp'ilisi and it was officially known as Tiflis until 1936...
is declared by GeorgianGeorgia Georgia Georgia is a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia. Situated at the juncture of Western Asia and Eastern Europe, it is bounded to the west by the Black Sea, to the north by Russia, to the south by Turkey and Armenia, and to the east by Azerbaijan...
President Mikheil SaakashviliMikheil Saakashvili is a Georgian politician, the President of Georgia and leader of the United National Movement Party...
, due to the intense anti-government protestsThe 2007 Georgian demonstrations were a series of anti-government protests in Georgia. The demonstrations peaked on November 2, 2007, when 50,000-100,000 rallied in downtown Tbilisi, capital of Georgia. People protested against the allegedly corrupt government of president Mikheil Saakashvili...
that have gripped the capital city.
- November 13 – An explosion
The Batasang Pambansa bombing occurred on the night of November 13, 2007, at the Batasang Pambansa Complex in Quezon City, Philippines...
hits the south wing of the House of Representatives of the PhilippinesThe House of Representatives of the Philippines is the lower chamber of the Congress of the Philippines. The Senate is the upper chamber. The House is often informally called the Congress. Members of the house are called Congressmen and their title is Representative...
in Quezon CityQuezon City , is the former capital and the most populous city in the Philippines. Located on the island of Luzon, Quezon City is one of the cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila, the National Capital Region. The city was named after Manuel L...
, north of ManilaThe City of Manila , or simply Manila or Maynila, is the capital of the Philippines and one of the 17 cities and municipalities that make up Metro Manila. It is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay, on the western portion of the National Capital Region, in the western side of Luzon...
, killing 4 people, including BasilanBasilan is an island province of the Philippines most of which is located within the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao , except its capital, Isabela City, which is administered as part of the Zamboanga Peninsula Region...
Congressman Wahab AkbarWahab Akbar was a Filipino politician who served three terms as governor of Basilan. Later elected as congressman for the lone district of Basilan in the House of Representatives, Akbar was one of 5 people killed in a bomb attack at the Batasang Pambansa which police publicly suspected was...
, and wounding 6 others.
- November 14
- High Speed 1 from London
[]London is the capital of England and the United Kingdom. It has been a major settlement for two millennia, and the history of London goes back to its founding by the Romans, when it was named Londinium. London's core, the ancient City of London, the 'square mile', retains its medieval boundaries...
to the Channel TunnelThe Channel Tunnel , also known as the Chunnel, is a undersea rail tunnel linking Folkestone, Kent in the UK with Coquelles, near Calais in northern France beneath the English Channel at the Strait of Dover. At its lowest point it is deep...
is opened to passengers.
- A 7.7 magnitude earthquake occurs
The 2007 Antofagasta earthquake was an earthquake registered on November 14, 2007 at 15:40:53 UTC . Its epicenter was located between the localities of Quillagua and Tocopilla, affecting the Tarapacá and the Antofagasta regions in northern Chile. The earthquake had a moment magnitude of 7.7 and...
in northern ChileChile, officially the Republic of Chile , is a country in South America occupying a long, narrow coastal strip between the Andes mountains to the east and the Pacific Ocean to the west. It borders Peru to the north, Bolivia to the northeast, Argentina to the east, and the Drake Passage in the far...
.
- November 16 – Over 3,000 people are believed to have died after Cyclone Sidr
Cyclone Sidr was the strongest named cyclone in the Bay of Bengal...
hits Bangladesh, officially the People's Republic of Bangladesh is a country in South Asia. It is bordered by India on all sides except for a small border with Burma to the far southeast and by the Bay of Bengal to the south...
, with the death toll expected to rise.
- November 18 – The Zasyadko mine disaster
The 2007 Zasyadko mine disaster was a mining accident that happened on November 18, 2007 at the Zasyadko coal mine in the eastern Ukrainian city of Donetsk.At present, 101 miners are dead:the worst accident in Ukraine’s history...
in eastern UkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It is bordered by Russia to the east; Belarus to the north; Poland, Slovakia, and Hungary to the west; Romania and Moldova to the southwest; and the Black Sea and Sea of Azov to the south. The city of Kiev is both the capital and the largest city of...
claims the lives of 101 miners.
- November 20 – The UK's HM Revenue and Customs admits that it has misplaced 2 computer discs which contained the records of child benefit claimants data, including bank details and National Insurance
National Insurance in the United Kingdom was initially a contributory system of insurance against illness and unemployment, and later also provided retirement pensions and other benefits...
numbers, in the United Kingdom, leaving up to 7.25 million households susceptible to identity theft.
- November 21
- Senegal
Senegal , officially the Republic of Senegal, is a country south of the Sénégal River in western Africa. Senegal is bounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Mauritania to the north, Mali to the east, and Guinea and Guinea-Bissau to the south, and it also encircles The Gambia on its three sides,...
ese street vendors riot in DakarDakar is the capital city of Senegal, located on the Cape Verde Peninsula, on the country's Atlantic coast. It is Senegal's largest city. Its position, on the western edge of Africa , is an advantageous departure point for trans-Atlantic and European trade; this fact aided its growth into a major...
, after government attempts to ban them from operating in the center of the capital city.
- In Calcutta, protests over Bangladeshi feminist writer Taslima Nasreen turn into deadly riots; troops are deployed.
- November 24 – Police break up anti-Putin demonstrations
Protests in Russia started on November 24th, 2007 in Saint Petersburg and Moscow.Police broke up anti-Putin demonstrations in Moscow, detaining former world chess champion Gary Kasparov, who has become an outspoken critic of the government...
in Saint PetersburgSaint Petersburg is a city and a federal subject of Russia located on the Neva River at the head of the Gulf of Finland on the Baltic Sea. The city's other names were Petrograd and Leningrad...
and MoscowMoscow is the capital and the largest city of Russia. It is also the largest metropolitan area in Europe, and ranks among the largest urban areas in the world. Moscow is a major political, economic, cultural, religious, financial, educational, and transportation centre of Russia and the world, a...
.
- November 25
- The 2009 Federal Elections are held in Australia. Prime Minister of Australia
The Prime Minister of Australia is the head of government of the Commonwealth of Australia, holding office on commission from the Governor-General. The office of Prime Minister is, in practice, the most powerful political office in Australia...
, John HowardJohn Winston Howard, AC was the 25th Prime Minister of Australia from 11 March 1996 to 3 December 2007. He is the second-longest serving Australian Prime Minister after Sir Robert Menzies....
loses the election to Opposition Leader, Kevin RuddKevin Michael Rudd is the 26th and current Prime Minister of Australia and federal leader of the centre-left Australian Labor Party . Under Rudd's leadership, the Labor Party won the 2007 federal election on 24 November against the incumbent centre-right Liberal/National coalition government led...
and loses his seat of BennelongThe Division of Bennelong is an Australian electorate in New South Wales. The division was created in 1949 and is named for Bennelong, an Aboriginal man befriended by the first Governor of New South Wales, Arthur Phillip...
to former ABCThe Australian Broadcasting Corporation, commonly referred to as "the ABC", is Australia's national public broadcaster. With a total budget of AUD$1.13 Billion annually, the corporation provides television, radio, online and mobile services throughout metropolitan and regional Australia, as well as...
journalist, Maxine McKewMaxine Margaret McKew is an Australian politician and the Parliamentary Secretary for Early Childhood Education and Child Care in the First Rudd Ministry. Since 2007, she has been the member of the House of Representatives for the Division of Bennelong, New South Wales.Before entering politics,...
.
- Nawaz Sharif
Mian Muhammad Nawaz Sharif, also known as Nawaz Sharif, is a Pakistani politician and businessman. He was twice elected as Prime Minister of Pakistan, serving two non-consecutive terms, the first from November 1, 1990 to July 18, 1993 and the second from February 17, 1997 to October 12, 1999...
makes a second attempt to return to Pakistan along with his brother Shahbaz SharifMian Muhammad Shahbaz Sharif, also known as Shahbaz Sharif , is a well known Pakistani politician and President of Pakistan Muslim League Nawaz . He is the brother of Nawaz Sharif, former Prime Minister of Pakistan...
and other family members.
- Riots continue for a second night in Val-d'Oise
Val-d'Oise is a French department named after the Oise River, located in the Île-de-France region.Paris-Charles de Gaulle Airport, France's main international airport is partially located in Roissy-en-France, a commune of Val d'Oise.-History:...
, FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
following the death of 2 youths in a motorcycle collision with a police vehicle.
- The United Nations Development Programme releases the 2007/2008 Human Development Report
The Human Development Report is an annual milestone publication by the United Nations Development Programme .The report was first launched in 1990. Its goal was to place people at the centre of the development process in terms of economic debate, policy and advocacy...
.
- November 27 – The Annapolis Conference
-Attendees:U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice organized and hosted the conference. Palestinian President Mahmoud Abbas, Israeli Prime Minister Ehud Olmert, and U.S. President George W. Bush attended the meeting...
, a peace conference trying to end the Arab-Israeli conflict, is held in Annapolis, Maryland in the United States.
- November 28 – President of Pakistan
The President of Pakistan is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan has a parliamentary form of government. According to the Constitution, the President is chosen by the Electoral College to serve a five-year term. The electoral college comprises the Senate, National...
Pervez MusharrafGeneral Pervez Musharraf , NI, TBt, was the 10th President of Pakistan and the Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army,....
stands down as the head of the Pakistan ArmyThe Pakistan Army is a branch of the Pakistan military that protects the state borders and territories.The Pakistan Army, combined with the Navy and Air Force, makes Pakistan's armed forces the sixth largest military in the world. The Army is modelled on the United Kingdom armed forces and came...
, and is successed by Lt. General Ashfaq Parvez KayaniGeneral Ashfaq Parvez Kayani, NI, HI, afwc, fsc, psc, is a Pakistani general and the current Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army. He replaced Pervez Musharraf as the leader of the army on November 29, 2007...
.
- November 29 – The Armed Forces of the Philippines
The Armed Forces of the Philippines is composed of the Philippine Army, Philippine Navy and Philippine Air Force. The AFP is a volunteer force and has a total active strength of 113,500 with 131,000 personnel in reserve and is one of Asia's weakest military. The AFP leadership consists of the...
lays siege to The Peninsula ManilaThe Peninsula Manila , is a hotel in the Philippines. It is located on the corner of Ayala Avenue and Makati Avenue in in the central business district of Makati City, in Metro Manila. It is located also in Barangay Urdaneta...
, after soldiers led by SenatorThe Senate of the Philippines is the upper chamber of the bicameral legislature of the Philippines, the Congress of the Philippines...
Antonio Trillanes stage a mutiny.
- November 30 – Atlasjet Flight 4203
Atlasjet Flight 4203 was a scheduled flight from Istanbul's Atatürk International Airport to Isparta Süleyman Demirel Airport in Isparta, Turkey. On November 30, 2007 it crashed outside the town of Keçiborlu, 18 km from Isparta at around 01:36 EET...
crashes near KeçiborluKeçiborlu is a town and district of Isparta Province in the Mediterranean region of Turkey. The town had 10,390 inhabitants according to 2000 census....
, TurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey
, is a Eurasian country that stretches across the Anatolian peninsula in Western Asia and Thrace in the Balkan region of southeastern Europe...
, killing all 56 people on board.
December
- December 2 –
- Venezuela
Venezuela , officially titled Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It is a continental mainland with numerous islands located off its coastline in the Caribbean Sea...
n President Hugo ChávezHugo Rafael Chávez Frías is the President of Venezuela. As the leader of the Bolivarian Revolution, Chávez promotes a political doctrine of participatory democracy, socialism and Latin American and Caribbean cooperation...
's proposed changes to the Venezuelan constitution||The Constitution of the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela is the current and twenty-sixth constitution of Venezuela. It was drafted in mid-1999 by a constitutional assembly that was created by popular referendum...
are narrowly defeated in a nationwide referendumA constitutional referendum was held in Venezuela on December 2, 2007 to amend 69 articles of the 1999 Constitution. Reform was needed, according to Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez, to implement his socialist agenda; detractors said he was using the reforms to become a dictator.The referendum...
.
- Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
started to broadcast ISDB-based SBTVDSBTVD, short for Sistema Brasileiro de Televisão Digital is a technical standard for digital television broadcast used in Brazil, Peru, Argentina, Chile and Venezuela, based on Japanese ISDB-T standard, launched in commercial operation on December 2, 2007 at Sao Paulo, Brazil.SBTVD standard was...
in a ceremony with Brazilian President Luiz Inácio Lula da SilvaLuiz Inácio Lula da Silva , known popularly as Lula, is the thirty-fifth and current President of Brazil.A founding member of the Workers' Party , he ran for President three times unsuccessfully, first in the 1989 election. Lula achieved victory in 2002, and was inaugurated as President on 1...
.
- December 3 – Winter Storms bring record amounts of rain fall in the Pacific Northwest
The Pacific Northwest is a region in the northwest of North America, bound by the Pacific Ocean to the west. There are several partially overlapping definitions of the region, but they generally include the Canadian province of British Columbia and the U.S. states of Washington and Oregon, and...
, causing flooding and closing a 20-mile portion of Interstate 5Interstate 5 is the main Interstate Highway on the West Coast of the United States, paralleling the Pacific Ocean from Canada to Mexico and serving some of the largest cities of that part of the U.S., including Seattle, Tacoma, Portland, Sacramento, San Francisco/Oakland, Los Angeles, and San Diego...
for several days. At least eight deaths and billions of dollars in damages occur in WashingtonWashington is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. Washington was carved out of the western part of Washington Territory which had been ceded by Britain in 1846 by the Oregon Treaty as settlement of the Oregon Boundary Dispute. It was admitted to the Union as the...
.
- December 3 – 14 – The United Nations Climate Change Conference is held at Nusa Dua
Nusa Dua is known as an enclave of large international 5-star resorts in south-eastern Bali. It is located 40 kilometres from Denpasar, the provincial capital of Bali, and administered under Kuta South District...
in BaliBali is an Indonesian island located at the westernmost of the Lesser Sunda Islands, lying between Java to the west and Lombok to the east. It is one of the country's 33 provinces with the provincial capital at Denpasar towards the south of the island....
, IndonesiaThe Republic of Indonesia is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia comprises 17,508 islands. With an estimated population of around 237 million people, it is the world's fourth most populous country, with the world's largest population of Muslims.Indonesia is a republic, with an...
.
- December 5 – Robert A. Hawkins shoots 8 people dead and injures 5 at the Westroads Mall
The Westroads Mall shooting was a murder-suicide that occurred on December 5, 2007, at the Von Maur department store in the Westroads Mall in Omaha, Nebraska, United States. Nineteen-year-old Robert A. Hawkins killed nine people and wounded four, two of them critically...
in OmahaOmaha may refer to:*Omaha , a Native American tribe that currently resides in the northeastern part of the U.S. state of Nebraska-Places:United States* Omaha, Nebraska* Omaha, Arkansas* Omaha, Georgia* Omaha, Illinois* Omaha, TexasNew Zealand...
, NebraskaNebraska is a state located on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha....
, then commits suicide.
- December 7 – Uranus
Uranus is the seventh planet from the Sun, and the third-largest and fourth most massive planet in the Solar System. It is named after the ancient Greek deity of the sky Uranus the father of Kronos and grandfather of Zeus...
' orbitIn physics, an orbit is the gravitationally curved path of one object around a point or another body, for example the gravitational orbit of a planet around a star....
is positioned such that the sunThe Sun is the star at the center of the Solar System. The Earth and other matter orbit the Sun, which by itself accounts for about 99.86% of the Solar System's mass....
shines directly above its equatorThe equator is the intersection of the Earth's surface with the plane perpendicular to the Earth's axis of rotation and containing the Earth's center of mass. In simpler language, it is an imaginary line on the Earth's surface equidistant from the North Pole and South Pole that divides the Earth...
(i.e. an equinoxAn equinox occurs twice a year, when the tilt of the Earth's axis is inclined neither away from nor towards the Sun, the Sun being vertically above a point on the Equator...
).
- December 8 – The 2007 Africa-EU Summit
The Africa-EU Summit, which was held on 8 December – 9 December 2007 in Lisbon, Portugal, was the second summit between heads of state and government from EU and Africa . It was hosted by Portugal, the holder of the EU's rotating presidency...
takes place as European UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 Member States, located primarily in Europe. Committed to regional integration, the EU was established by the Treaty of Maastricht on 1 November 1993 upon the foundations of the pre-existing European Economic Community...
and African UnionThe African Union is an intergovernmental organization consisting of 52 African states. Established on July 9 2002, the AU was formed as a successor to the Organization of African Unity...
leaders gather in LisbonLisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal. It is also the seat of the district of Lisbon and the main city of the Lisbon region...
, PortugalPortugal , officially the Portuguese Republic , is a country located in southwestern Europe on the Iberian Peninsula. Portugal is the westernmost country of mainland Europe and is bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the west and south and by Spain to the north and east...
, for their first joint summit in 7 years. The BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
and CzechThe Czech Republic is a country in Central Europe that is sometimes considered to be Eastern European. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west and northwest, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague...
prime ministers boycott the event due to the presence of Zimbabwean President Robert MugabeRobert Gabriel Karigamombe Mugabe is the current President of Zimbabwe.He has held power as the head of government since 1980, as Prime Minister from 1980 to 1987, and as the first executive head of state since 1987...
.
- December 10 – The United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and the achieving of world peace...
deadline for a negotiated settlement on the future of KosovoKosovo is a disputed territory in the Balkans. Its majority is governed by the partially-recognised Republic of Kosovo , a self-declared independent state which has de facto control over the territory; the exceptions are some Serb enclaves...
passes without an international agreement.
- December 11 – In Algiers
Algiers is the capital and largest city of Algeria, and the second largest city in the Maghreb . According to the 1998 census, the population of the city proper was 1,519,570 and that of the urban agglomeration was 2,135,630...
, AlgeriaAlgeria , officially the People's Democratic Republic of Algeria, is a country located in North Africa. It is the largest country on the Mediterranean sea, the second largest on the African continent and the eleventh-largest country in the world in terms of land area.It is bordered by Tunisia in...
, 2 bombs explode within 10 minutes of each other, the first near a UN office and the other detonated close to the Algerian Supreme Court. The official death count for both blasts stands at 31.
- December 13
- European leaders sign the Treaty of Lisbon
The Treaty of Lisbon of 1668 was a peace treaty between Portugal and Spain, concluded at Lisbon on 13 February 1668, through the mediation of England, in which Spain recognized Portuguese independence.-The principals:...
in LisbonLisbon is the capital and largest city of Portugal. It is also the seat of the district of Lisbon and the main city of the Lisbon region...
.
- The revised version of the European Patent Convention
The Convention on the Grant of European Patents of 5 October 1973, commonly known as the European Patent Convention , is a multilateral treaty instituting the European Patent Organisation and providing an autonomous legal system according to which European patents are granted...
(EPC), known as the EPC 2000The EPC 2000 or European Patent Convention 2000 is the version of the European Patent Convention as revised by the Act Revising the Convention on the Grant of European Patents signed in Munich on November 29, 2000. On June 28, 2001, the Administrative Council of the European Patent Organisation...
, enters into force.
- Former U.S. Senator George J. Mitchell
George John Mitchell, Jr., GBE is the American special envoy to the Middle East for the Obama administration. A Democrat, Mitchell was a United States Senator who served as the Senate Majority Leader from 1989 to 1995...
publicly releases a reportThe Report to the Commissioner of Baseball of an Independent Investigation into the Illegal Use of Steroids and Other Performance Enhancing Substances by Players in Major League Baseball, informally known as the "Mitchell Report", is the result of former United States Senator George J...
, accusing 89 retired and active Major League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of play in North American professional baseball. Specifically, Major League Baseball refers to the organization that operates the National League and the American League, by means of a joint organizational structure that has developed gradually between...
players of anabolic steroidAnabolic steroids, or anabolic-androgenic steroids , are a class of steroid hormones related to the hormone testosterone. They increase protein synthesis within cells, which results in the buildup of cellular tissue , especially in muscles...
use.
- December 15 – President of Pakistan
The President of Pakistan is the head of state of the Islamic Republic of Pakistan. Pakistan has a parliamentary form of government. According to the Constitution, the President is chosen by the Electoral College to serve a five-year term. The electoral college comprises the Senate, National...
Pervez MusharrafGeneral Pervez Musharraf , NI, TBt, was the 10th President of Pakistan and the Chief of Army Staff of the Pakistan Army,....
lifts the state of emergencyA state of emergency was declared by Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf on November 3, 2007, and lasted until December 15, 2007,during which time the constitution of Pakistan was suspended....
in PakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
.
- December 19
- Vladimir Putin
Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin was the second President of Russia and is the current Prime Minister of Russia as well as chairman of United Russia and Chairman of the Council of Ministers of the Union of Russia and Belarus...
, President of Russia, is announced as Time magazine'sTime is an American newsmagazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong. As of 2009, Time no longer publishes a Canadian advertiser edition...
2007 Person of the YearPerson of the Year is an annual issue of the United States newsmagazine Time that features and profiles a man, woman, couple, group, idea, place, or machine that "for better or for worse, ...has done the most to influence the events of the year."- History :The tradition of selecting a Man of the...
.
- An explosion and fire at the T2 Laboratories
T2 Laboratories Inc. of 3043 Faye Road, Jacksonville, Florida, USA, was a facility that specialized in the design and manufacture of specialty chemicals primarily for gasoline additives...
facility in Jacksonville, FloridaJacksonville is the largest city in the U.S. state of Florida, and is the county seat of Duval County. Since 1968, as a result of the consolidation of the city and county government, and a corresponding expansion of the city limits to include almost the entire county, Jacksonville became the...
kills 4 and injures 14.
- The Flying Phantom
The Flying Phantom was a tug boat based in Greenock in Scotland owned by Svitzer. It sank in the River Clyde at Clydebank on 19 December 2007, with the loss of Stephen Humpreys , Robert Cameron and Eric Blackley with only Brian Haitchison surviving...
sinks in the River ClydeThe River Clyde is a major river in Scotland. It is the ninth longest river in the United Kingdom, and the third longest in Scotland. Flowing through the major city of Glasgow, it was an important river for shipbuilding and trade in the British Empire....
, killing 3 crew personnel.
- December 20
- A group of activist Lakota people send a letter to the United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
State Department, declaring their secession from the Union as the Republic of LakotahThe Republic of Lakotah or Lakotah is a proposed country in North America to serve as a homeland for the Lakota.Its boundaries would be surrounded by the borders of the United States, covering thousands of square miles in North Dakota, South Dakota, Nebraska, Wyoming, and Montana...
.
- An earthquake
The 2007 Gisborne earthquake was an earthquake of magnitude 6.8 on the Richter scale which struck in the Pacific Ocean, 50 km off the eastern coast of New Zealand's North Island at 8.55 pm NZDT on 20 December 2007...
of magnitude 6.6 MLThe Richter magnitude scale, also known as the local magnitude scale, assigns a single number to quantify the amount of seismic energy released by an earthquake. It is a base-10 logarithmic scale obtained by calculating the logarithm of the combined horizontal amplitude of the largest displacement...
hits the east coast of the North IslandThe North Island is one of the two main islands of New Zealand, separated from the South Island by Cook Strait. The island is in area, making it the world's 14th-largest island...
of New ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses , and numerous smaller islands, most notably Stewart Island/Rakiura and the Chatham Islands. The indigenous Māori named New Zealand Aotearoa, commonly translated as The Land of the Long White Cloud...
, causing 1 death and significant damage in the town of GisborneGisborne is the name of the largest settlement within the Gisborne Region of northeastern New Zealand.Gisborne is named for an early Colonial Secretary William Gisborne. The council is located in the town of Gisborne .-Geography:The city of Gisborne is located at the north end of Poverty Bay...
.
- The Pablo Picasso
Pablo Diego José Francisco de Paula Juan Nepomuceno María de los Remedios Cipriano de la Santísima Trinidad Ruiz y Picasso was a Spanish painter, draughtsman, and sculptor. Commonly known simply as Picasso, he is one of the most recognized figures in 20th-century art...
painting Portrait of Suzanne BlochPortrait of Suzanne Bloch is a painting by the Spanish artist Pablo Picasso, executed in Paris in 1904, towards the end of his blue period...
, together with Candido PortinariCandido Portinari was one of the most important Brazilian painters and also a prominent and influential practitioner of the neo-realism style in painting....
's O Lavrador de Café, is stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art.
- December 21 – The Czech Republic
The Czech Republic is a country in Central Europe that is sometimes considered to be Eastern European. The country borders Poland to the northeast, Germany to the west and northwest, Austria to the south and Slovakia to the east. The capital and largest city is Prague...
, EstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a country in Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by the Gulf of Finland, to the west by the Baltic Sea, to the south by Latvia , and to the east by the Russian Federation...
, HungaryHungary , in English officially the Republic of Hungary , is a landlocked country in the Carpathian Basin of Central Europe, bordered by Austria, Slovakia, Ukraine, Romania, Serbia, Croatia, and Slovenia. Its capital is Budapest. Hungary is a member of OECD, NATO, EU, V4 and is a Schengen state...
, LatviaLatvia , officially the Republic of Latvia is a country in the Baltic region of Northern Europe. It is bordered to the north by Estonia , to the south by Lithuania , to the east by the Russian Federation , and to the southeast by Belarus . Across the Baltic Sea to the west lies Sweden...
, LithuaniaLithuania , officially the Republic of Lithuania is a country in Northern Europe, the southernmost of the three Baltic states. Situated along the southeastern shore of the Baltic Sea, it shares borders with Latvia to the north, Belarus to the southeast, Poland, and the Russian exclave of...
, MaltaMalta , officially the Republic of Malta , is a densely populated developed European country in the European Union. The Southern European island nation is an archipelago that includes the inhabited islands of Malta, Gozo and Comino, along with a number of smaller, uninhabited islands...
, PolandPoland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe . Poland is bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
, SlovakiaThe Slovak Republic is a landlocked country in Eastern Europe with a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia borders the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south. The largest city is its capital, Bratislava...
, and SloveniaSlovenia , officially the Republic of Slovenia , is a country in Central Europe bordering Italy to the west, the Adriatic Sea to the southwest, Croatia to the south and east, Hungary to the northeast, and Austria to the north...
join the SchengenThe Schengen Agreement is a treaty signed between five of the ten member states of the European Community in 1985. It was supplemented by the Convention implementing the Schengen Agreement some five years later...
border-free zone.
- December 23 – Conjunction (astronomy and astrology): A grand celestial alignment takes place.
- December 24 – The Nepal
Nepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia and the world's youngest republic. It is bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
ese government announces that the country's 240-year-old monarchyThe Kingdom of Nepal was a monarchy in South Asia, established in 1768 under Prithvi Narayan Shah and abolished in 2008 when the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal was proclaimed.-Unification:...
will be abolished in 2008 and a new republicA republic is a form of government in which the head of state is not a monarch and the people have an impact on its government. The word 'republic' is derived from the Latin phrase res publica which can be translated as "a public affair".Both modern and ancient republics vary widely in their...
will be declared.
- December 25 – An overcrowded suspension bridge collapses near Nepalgunj
Nepalgunj , also spelled Nepalganj, is a town in Nepal, located in the Banke district of the Bheri zone , near Nepal's southern border with India. It is 16 km south of Kohalpur. It is the transport hub for western, mid-western and far-western regions of Nepal...
, NepalNepal , officially the Federal Democratic Republic of Nepal, is a landlocked country in South Asia and the world's youngest republic. It is bordered to the north by the People's Republic of China, and to the south, east, and west by the Republic of India...
. At least 15 people are dead, with 100 to 200 missing.
- December 27 – Former Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country located at the crossroads of South Asia, the Middle East, and Central Asia...
i prime minister Benazir BhuttoBenazir Bhutto was a Pakistani politician who chaired the Pakistan Peoples Party , a centre-left political party in Pakistan. Bhutto was the first woman elected to lead a Muslim state, having twice been Prime Minister of Pakistan . She was Pakistan's first and to date only female prime minister...
is assassinated, and at least 20 others are killed by a bomb blastThe assassination of Benazir Bhutto occurred on 27 December 2007 in Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Bhutto, twice Prime Minister of Pakistan and then-leader of the opposition Pakistan Peoples Party, had been campaigning ahead of elections due in January 2008...
at an election rally in Rawalpindi' Rāwalpindī) is a city in the Potwar Plateau near Pakistan's capital city of Islamabad, in the province of Punjab. Rawalpindi is the fourth largest city in Pakistan after Karachi, Lahore and Faisalabad. Locally known as Pindi, the area was home to the pre-historic Soanian culture indigenous to...
.
- December 31 – Over 200 people are killed in Kenya
The Republic of Kenya is a country in East Africa. Lying along the Indian Ocean, at the equator, Kenya is bordered by Ethiopia , Somalia , Tanzania , Uganda plus Lake Victoria , and Sudan . The capital city is Nairobi. Kenya spans an area about 85% the size of France or Texas...
, due to riots over the results of the December 27 presidential electionA presidential election was held as part of the Kenyan general election on December 27, 2007; parliamentary elections were held on the same date. Incumbent President Mwai Kibaki was declared the winner and sworn in on December 30, despite opposition leader Raila Odinga's claims of victory...
.
Births
- February 28 – HRH Princess Lalla Khadija of Morocco
Princess Lalla Khadija of Morocco is the second child of Mohammed VI of Morocco and his wife, Princess Lalla Salma. Lalla Khadija's elder brother is Moulay Hassan, Crown Prince of Morocco....
, daughter of Mohammed VIMohammed VI is the present King of Morocco. He was born on 21 August 1963 and ascended to the throne in July 1999.-Education:His father, the late King Hassan II, was keen on giving him a religious and political education from an early age...
of MoroccoMorocco, officially the Kingdom of Morocco, is a country located in North Africa with a population of nearly 32 million and an area just under . Its capital is Rabat, and its largest city is Casablanca. Morocco has a coast on the Atlantic Ocean that reaches past the Strait of Gibraltar into the...
and his wife, Princess Lalla SalmaPrincess Lalla Salma of Morocco born Salma Bennani on May 10, 1978 is the Princess Consort of King Mohammed VI of Morocco and the first wife of a Moroccan ruler to have been publicly acknowledged and given a royal title.-Early Life and Education:...
.
- March 12 – Xan Windsor, Lord Culloden
Xan Richard Anders Windsor, Lord Culloden is the only child of Earl and Countess of Ulster.His father being the only son of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester, Lord Culloden is second in line to the Dukedom of Gloucester, and 21st in line to the British Throne...
, son of Alexander Windsor, Earl of UlsterAlexander Patrick Gregers Richard Windsor, Earl of Ulster is the only son of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. As the eldest son and heir of the Duke of Gloucester, he is styled Earl of Ulster...
and Claire Windsor, Countess of UlsterClaire Alexandra Windsor, Countess of Ulster is the wife of Alexander Windsor, Earl of Ulster, who is the son and heir of the Duke and Duchess of Gloucester. She was born in Sheffield, Yorkshire, and studied medicine at King's College London, graduating in 2001.Lady Ulster is the daughter of...
.
- March 14 – Simeon Hassan Muñoz, son of Princess Kalina of Bulgaria
Princess Kalina of Bulgaria , is the fifth child and only daughter of Tsar Simeon II of Bulgaria and his wife Doña Margarita Gómez-Acebo y Cejuela....
and Kitín Muñoz.
- March 17 – HRH Prince Abdul Muntaqim
Abdul Muntaqim is the first born prince and thus far only child of His Royal Highness Al-Muhtadee Billah, heir to the Sultan of Brunei, and his wife, Her Royal Highness Pengiran Anak Sarah....
, son of HRH Al-Muhtadee Billah and his wife, HRH Pengiran Anak Sarah, the Crown Prince and Princess of Brunei.
- March 19 – HRH Prince Abdullah bin Al Ali, son of Prince Ali bin Al Hussein and Rym Brahimi.
- April 7 – HRH Princess Haalah bint Al Hashim
Princess Haalah bint Al Hashim, is the first daughter of Prince Hashim bin Al Hussein and Princess Fahdah Hashim. She is Queen Noor's first granddaughter....
, daughter of Prince Hashim bin Al HusseinPrince Hashim bin Al Hussein was born on 10 June 1981. He is the son of King Hussein and Queen Noor. In her autobiography, Queen Noor states that Hashim was named after the clan of Hashim, a tribe to which the Prophet Muhammad and King Hussein belong...
and Princess Fahdah Mohammed Abu Neyan.
- April 10 – HRH Princess Ariane of the Netherlands
Princess Ariane of the Netherlands, Princess of Orange-Nassau is the daughter of heir apparent to the throne of the Netherlands Prince Willem-Alexander and Princess Máxima...
, daughter of Prince Willem-AlexanderWillem-Alexander, Prince of Orange , Prince of the Netherlands, Prince of Orange-Nassau, Jonkheer van Amsberg, is the eldest son of Queen Beatrix of the Netherlands and the heir apparent to the Dutch throne.-Early life and education:Willem-Alexander Claus George Ferdinand was born on 27 April 1967...
and Princess MáximaPrincess Máxima of the Netherlands is the spouse of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange, heir apparent to the throne of the Netherlands.-Early life and education:...
.
- April 18 – HRH Princess Hayah bint Al Hamzah, daughter of Prince Hamzah and Princess Noor bint Asem bin Nayef.
- April 18 – HRH Prince Lerotholi Seeiso
Prince Lerotholi Seeiso is a member of the Royal Family of Lesotho.Prince Lerotholi Mohato Bereng Seeiso was born in Maseru the third child only son of King Letsie III of Lesotho and Queen 'Masenate Mohato Seeiso. He has two older sisters the Princesses Senate and Maseeiso...
, son of King Letsie III of LesothoLetsie III is the king of Lesotho. He succeeded his father, Moshoeshoe II, when the latter was forced into exile in 1990. His father was briefly restored in 1995 but soon died in a car crash in early 1996, and Letsie became king again.He was educated in the United Kingdom at Ampleforth College...
and Queen Masenate Mohato Seeiso.
- April 21 – HRH Princess Isabella of Denmark
Princess Isabella of Denmark, Countess of Monpezat is a member of the Danish Royal Family. She is the daughter of Crown Prince Frederik and his wife, the Australian-born Crown Princess Mary....
, daughter of Crown Prince Frederik of DenmarkFrederik, Crown Prince of Denmark is the heir apparent to the Throne of Denmark. Frederik is the elder son of Queen Margrethe II and Henrik, the Prince Consort...
and his wife, Crown Princess MaryMary, Crown Princess of Denmark is the wife of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark.-Early life:...
.
- April 29 – HRH Infanta Sofía of Spain
The Infanta Sofía of Spain is the second child of Felipe, Prince of Asturias and his wife Princess Letizia. As the daughter of the heir to the throne, she is styled and titled Her Royal Highness, Infanta of Spain...
, daughter of Felipe, Prince of AsturiasFelipe, Prince of Asturias , is the third child and only son of King Juan Carlos and Queen Sofía of Spain...
and his wife, Letizia, Princess of AsturiasLetizia, Princess of Asturias is the wife of Felipe, the Prince of Asturias, who is heir apparent to the Spanish throne. Before her marriage with the prince, she was a journalist. She is styled HRH The Princess of Asturias...
.
- September 22 – Albert Windsor, son of Lord Nicholas Windsor
Lord Nicholas Windsor is the youngest child of the Duke and Duchess of Kent, and a great-grandson of King George V of the United Kingdom.-Early years:...
and Paola Doimi de FrankopanLady Nicholas Windsor is the wife of Lord Nicholas Windsor, son of the Duke and Duchess of Kent.-Early life:Paola Doimi de Lupis was born in London in 1969...
.
- December 17 – James Windsor, Viscount Severn, son of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex
The Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex is the third son and fourth child of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh...
and Sophie, The Countess of WessexSophie, Countess of Wessex is the wife of Prince Edward, Earl of Wessex, himself the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth II and Prince Philip, Duke of Edinburgh. Married in 1999, she worked in public relations until 2002 and now supports her husband in his royal duties...
.
January
- January 2 – Teddy Kollek
Theodor "Teddy" Kollek was mayor of Jerusalem from 1965 to 1993, as well as founder of the Jerusalem Foundation. Kollek was re-elected five times, in 1969, 1973, 1978, 1983 and 1989. After reluctantly running for a seventh term in 1993 at the age of 82, he lost to Likud candidate and future Prime...
, Austrian-born mayor of Jerusalem (b. 1911)
- January 4 – Marais Viljoen
Marais Viljoen was the last ceremonial State President of South Africa from 4 June 1979 until 3 September 1984.-Early life:Marais was the youngest of six children...
, State President of South AfricaThe President of the Republic of South Africa is the head of state and head of government under South Africa's Constitution. From 1961 to 1994, the head of state was called the State President....
(b. 1915)
- January 5 – Momofuku Ando
, ORS, was the Taiwanese-Japanese founder and chairman-emeritus of Nissin Food Products Co., Ltd., and the inventor of instant noodles and cup noodles.- Early life :...
, Japanese inventor (b. 1910)
- January 8 – Iwao Takamoto
Iwao Takamoto was an American animator, television producer, and film director. He was most famous as being a production and character designer for Hanna-Barbera Productions shows such as Scooby-Doo.-Biography:...
, Japanese animator (b. 1925)
- January 8 – Yvonne de Carlo
Yvonne De Carlo was a Canadian-born American film and television actress, dancer and singer. In her six-decade career, her most prolific appearances in film came in the 1940s and 1950s and included her best-known film roles, such as Salome Where She Danced and The Ten Commandments, opposite...
, American actress (b. 1922)
- January 9 – Jean-Pierre Vernant
Jean-Pierre Vernant was a French historian and anthropologist, specialist in ancient Greece. Influenced by Claude Lévi-Strauss, Vernant developed a structuralist approach to Greek myth, tragedy, and society which would itself be influential among classical scholars...
, French historian and anthropologist (b. 1914)
- January 10 – Carlo Ponti
Carlo Ponti was an Italian film producer with over 140 production credits, and the husband of Italian movie star Sophia Loren.-Career:...
, Italian film producer (b. 1912)
- January 10 – Gary Phillips
Gary Phillips was the keyboardist with The Greg Kihn Band. He joined them in 1981, just before their US #15 hit "The Breakup Song". They had a #2 US/#63 UK hit with "Jeopardy" in 1983. He had also played with Copperhead, with Larry Lynch and John Cipollina...
, American keyboardist with The Greg Kihn BandThe Greg Kihn Band is an American band that was started by frontman Greg Kihn and bassist Steve Wright. Their most successful singles include "The Breakup Song " and "Jeopardy" .-History:...
(b. 1947)
- January 11 – Robert Anton Wilson
Robert Anton Wilson became, at various times, an American novelist, essayist, philosopher, polymath, psychonaut, futurist, libertarian and self-described agnostic mystic...
, American author and conspiracy researcher (b. 1932)
- January 12 – Alice Coltrane
Alice Coltrane was an American jazz pianist, organist, harpist, composer, and the wife of John Coltrane.-Biography:...
, American jazz musician (b. 1937)
- January 13 – Michael Brecker
Michael Leonard Brecker was an American jazz saxophonist and composer. Acknowledged as "a quiet, gentle musician widely regarded as the most influential tenor saxophonist since John Coltrane," he has been awarded 15 Grammy Awards as both performer and composer and was inducted into Down Beat's...
, American jazz musician (b. 1949)
- January 14 – Darlene Conley
Darlene Conley was an American actress.Conley's career spanned fifty years, but she was best known for her performances in daytime television, and in particular, for her portrayal of larger-than-life fashion industrialist Sally Spectra on The Bold and the Beautiful. Conley played the role from...
, American actress (b. 1934)
- January 15 – Barzan Ibrahim al-Tikriti
Barzan Ibrahim al-Hasan al-Tikriti was one of three uterine half-brothers of Saddam Hussein, and a leader of the Mukhabarat, the Iraqi intelligence service...
, Iraqi politician (b. 1951)
- January 15 – Awad Hamed al-Bandar
Awad Hamad al-Bandar was an Iraqi chief judge under Saddam Hussein's presidency. He was the head of the Revolutionary Court which issued death sentences against 143 Dujail residents, in the aftermath of the failed assassination attempt on the president on July 8, 1982 Awad Hamad al-Bandar
- January 15 – Bo Yibo
Bo Yibo was a Chinese politician and one of the Eight Immortals of the Communist Party of China....
, Chinese politician (b. 1908)
- January 15 – Pura Santillan-Castrence
Pura Santillan-Castrence was a Filipino writer and diplomat. Of Filipino women writers, she was among the first to gain prominence writing in the English language. She was named a Chevalier de Légion d'honneur by the French government.-Early life:She was born in Manila in March 1905...
, Filipino writer and diplomat (b. 1905)
- January 16 – Benny Parsons
Benjamin Stewart Parsons was an American NASCAR driver, and later an announcer/analyst on TBS, ESPN, NBC and TNT...
, American race car driver and television personality (b. 1941)
- January 17 – Art Buchwald
Arthur Buchwald was an American humorist best known for his long-running column that he wrote in The Washington Post, which in turn was carried as a syndicated column in many other newspapers. His column focused on political satire and commentary...
, American humorist (b. 1925)
- January 19 – Hrant Dink
Hrant Dink was a Turkish-Armenian editor, journalist and columnist.As editor-in-chief of the bilingual Turkish-Armenian newspaper Agos , Dink was a prominent member of the Armenian minority in Turkey...
, Turkish-Armenian journalist (b. 1954)
- January 19 – Denny Doherty
Dennis Gerrard Stephen Doherty was a Canadian singer and songwriter. He was most widely known as a founding member of the 1960s musical group The Mamas & the Papas.-Early career:...
, Canadian musician (The Mamas & the PapasThe Mamas & the Papas were a vocal group of the 1960s. The group recorded and performed from 1965 to 1968 with a short reunion in 1971, releasing five albums and 11 Top 40 hit singles...
) (b. 1940)
- January 19 – Bam Bam Bigelow, American wrestler (b. 1961)
- January 21 – Maria Cioncan
Maria Cioncan was a middle distance runner from Romania, best known for winning a bronze medal in the 1500 metres event at the 2004 Summer Olympics. Born in Maieru, she set personal bests in both 800 and 1500 metres during the games...
, Romanian athlete (b. 1977)
- January 22 – Abbé Pierre
LAbbé Pierre, GOQ was a French Catholic priest, member of the Resistance during World War II, and deputy of the Popular Republican Movement . He founded in 1949 the Emmaus movement, which has the goal of helping poor and homeless people and refugees...
, French priest and founder of Emmaus (b. 1912)
- January 23 – Ryszard Kapuscinski
Ryszard Kapuściński was a Polish journalist whose dispatches in book form brought him a global reputation. Also a photographer and poet, he was born in Pińsknow in Belarusin the Kresy Wschodnie, or eastern borderlands of the second Polish Republic...
, Polish journalist and author (b. 1932)
- January 26 – Gump Worsley
Lorne John "Gump" Worsley was a professional ice hockey goaltender. Born and raised in Montreal, he was given his nickname due to friends deciding he looked like comic-strip character Andy Gump.-Career:...
, Canadian hockey player (b. 1929)
- January 28 – Cyril Demarne
Cyril Thomas Demarne OBE was a British firefighter. He served in London during the Second World War, throughout the Blitz. He was later involved in establishing aviation firefighting units in Australasia and in Beirut. In retirement, he wrote several books based on his wartime...
, British wartime firefighter (b. 1905)
- January 28 – Hsu Wei Lun, Taiwanese actress (b. 1978)
- January 30 – Sidney Sheldon
Sidney Sheldon was an American writer. His TV works spanned a 20-year period during which he created The Patty Duke Show , I Dream of Jeannie and Hart to Hart , but it was not until after he turned 50 and began writing best-selling novels such as Master of the Game , The Other Side of Midnight...
, American author and screenwriter (b. 1917)
- January 31 – Kirka Babitzin
Kirill "Kirka" Babitzin was one of Finland's most famous popular musicians.-Biography:Kirill Babitzin was born in Helsinki in 1950 to a Russian emigrant family. He first got into music at the age of five when his grandmother gave him an accordion...
, Finnish singer (b. 1950)
- January 31 – Lee Bergere
Lee Bergere was an American actor, perhaps best known for his role as Joseph Aynders in the 1980s television series Dynasty....
, American actor (b. 1924)
February
- February 1 – Gian Carlo Menotti
Gian Carlo Menotti was an Italian-American composer and librettist. Although he often referred to himself as an American composer, he kept his Italian citizenship. He wrote the classic Christmas opera Amahl and the Night Visitors among about two dozen other operas intended to appeal to popular...
, Italian-born composer and librettist (b. 1911)
- February 3 – Ralph de Toledano
Ralph de Toledano was a major figure in the conservative movement in the United States throughout the second half of the 20th century.-Life:...
, Moroccan-born American political columnist and author (b. 1916)
- February 3 – Pedro Knight
Pedro Knight Caraballo was an accomplished Cuban-American musician who was better known for being the husband of legendary singer Celia Cruz....
, Cuban-born musician (b. 1921)
- February 3 – Billy Henderson
Billy Henderson was an African-American singer. He was an original member and founder of The Spinners, a soul vocal group....
, American singer (The SpinnersThe Spinners are a Detroit, Michigan-based soul vocal group , and most popular during the 1970s. The group still tours . The band is also listed occasionally as The Motown Spinners, or The Detroit Spinners...
) (b. 1939)
- February 4 – Barbara McNair
Barbara McNair was an African-American singer and actress.Born Barbara Joan McNair in Chicago, Illinois and raised in Racine, Wisconsin, McNair studied music at the American Conservatory of Music in Chicago...
, American singer and actress (b. 1934)
- February 6 – Frankie Laine
Frankie Laine, born Francesco Paolo LoVecchio , was a successful American singer, songwriter and actor whose career spanned 75 years, from his first concerts in 1930 with a marathon dance company to his final performance of "That's My Desire" in 2005...
, American singer (b. 1913)
- February 7 – Alan MacDiarmid
Alan Graham MacDiarmid ONZ was a chemist, and one of three recipients of the Nobel Prize for Chemistry in 2000.- Early life :He was born in Masterton, New Zealand as one of five children - three brothers and two sisters...
, New Zealand chemist, Nobel PrizeThe Nobel Prize in Chemistry is awarded annually by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences to scientists in the various fields of chemistry. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895, awarded for outstanding contributions in chemistry, physics, literature,...
laureate (b. 1927)
- February 7 – Helen Duncan, New Zealand politician (b. 1941)
- February 8 – Anna Nicole Smith
Vickie Lynn Marshall , better known under the stage name of Anna Nicole Smith, was an American model, sex symbol, actress and television personality. She first gained popularity in Playboy, becoming the 1993 Playmate of the Year. She modeled for clothing companies, including Guess jeans and Lane...
, American model and television personality (b. 1967)
- February 9 – Benedict Kiely
Benedict "Ben" Kiely was an Irish author and broadcaster from Omagh, County Tyrone, Ireland.-Early life:Benedict Kiely was born in Dromore, County Tyrone to Thomas Joseph Kiely and Sara Alice Gormley. He was the youngest of six children, Rita, Gerald, Eileen, Kathleen and Macartan; four of whom...
, Irish author and broadcaster (b. 1919)
- February 9 – Ian Richardson
Ian William Richardson CBE was a Scottish actor best known for his portrayal of the Machiavellian Tory politician, Francis Urquhart, in the BBC's House of Cards trilogy. He was also as a leading Shakespearian stage actor...
, Scottish actor (b. 1934)
- February 9 – Alejandro Finisterre
Alexandre Campos Ramírez was a butt, inventor and editor....
, Spanish poet, editor, and inventor of table football (b. 1919)
- February 10 – Cardell Willis
Cardis Cardell Willis, better known as Cardell Willis, and often billed as C. Cardell Willis, was an influential Milwaukee comic. He was locally known mostly in the 1970s, 1980's, and 1990's...
, American Comedian, and comedic mentor (b. 1937)
- February 10 – Jung Da Bin
Jeong Da-bin was a Korean actress who committed suicide.- Biography :Born Jeong Hye-Seon, in Seoul, Jung Da Bin attended Yongdok Girls High School and Gongguk University. There, she majored in drama for two years. In Taiwan, she gained popularity in playing schoolgirl types, especially for her...
, Korean actress (b. 1980)
- February 11 – Reginald Hugh Hickling
Reginald Hugh Hickling , who generally went by the name Hugh Hickling, was a British lawyer, colonial civil servant, law academic and author....
, British lawyer, colonial civil servant, law academic and author (b. 1920)
- February 12 – Peggy Gilbert
Peggy Gilbert, born Margaret F. Knechtges , was an American jazz saxophonist and bandleader. She was born in Sioux City, Iowa.-Biography :...
, American saxophonist (b. 1905)
- February 13 – Elizabeth Jolley
Monica Elizabeth Jolley AO was an English-born award-winning writer who settled in Western Australia in the late 1950s...
, Australian writer (b. 1923)
- February 13 – Charles Norwood
Charles Whitlow Norwood, Jr., D.D.S. was an American politician and dentist, serving as a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives from 1995 until his death...
, American politician (b. 1941)
- February 13 – Eliana Ramos
Eliana "Elle" Ramos was a Uruguayan fashion model.-Modeling:Ramos was a well-known fashion model in Latin America and was signed to Dotto Models, a renowned modeling agency in Argentina.-Death:...
, Uruguayan model (b. 1988)
- February 13 – Johanna Sällström
Johanna Maria Ellinor Sällström was a Swedish actress. She worked as an actress for more than 15 years before her suicide, which may in part have been caused by her experiences in the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami....
, Swedish actress (b. 1974)
- February 14 – Ryan Larkin
Ryan Larkin was a Canadian animator, artist, and sculptor who rose to fame with the psychedelic 1969 Oscar-nominated short Walking and the acclaimed Street Musique...
, Canadian animator, artist, and sculptor (b. 1943)
- February 15 – Robert Adler
Robert Adler was an Austrian-born American inventor who held numerous patents.-Achievements:Adler was born in Vienna, where he earned a Ph.D. in Physics from the University of Vienna in 1937. After emigrating to the United States, he began working at Zenith Electronics in the research division in...
, Austrian-born inventor (b. 1913)
- February 17 – Maurice Papon
Maurice Papon was a French civil servant, industrial leader and Gaullist politician, convicted for crimes against humanity for his participation in the deportation of over 1600 Jews during World War II when he was secretary general for police of the Prefecture of Bordeaux.Papon also participated...
, French Vichy government official (b. 1910)
- February 17 – Dermot O'Reilly
Dermot Anthony O'Reilly was an Irish-born Canadian musician, producer and songwriter....
, Irish-born musician (Ryan's FancyRyan’s Fancy was a musical group active from the 1960s until the 1980s, all three of whose members were Irish immigrants to Canada.Denis Ryan, Fergus O'Byrne, and Dermot O'Reilly, were originally members of the Sons of Erin. The original Sons of Erin line-up featured Dermot and Fergus along with...
) (b. 1942)
- February 17 – Mike Awesome
Michael Lee Alfonso , better known by his ring name Mike Awesome, was an American professional wrestler best known in America for his work in Extreme Championship Wrestling, World Championship Wrestling, and in World Wrestling Entertainment and also in Japan for his work with Frontier Martial-Arts...
, American professional wrestler (b. 1965)
- February 18 – Juan "Pachín" Vicéns, Puerto Rican basketball player (b. 1933)
- February 22 – Lothar-Günther Buchheim
Lothar-Günther Buchheim was a German author, painter, and art collector. He is best known for his novel Das Boot , which became an international bestseller and was adapted in 1981 as an Oscar-nominated film.-Early life:Buchheim was born in Weimar in Thuringia, the second son of artist Charlotte...
, German author, painter, and art collector (b. 1918)
- February 22 – Fons Rademakers
Fons Rademakers was a Dutch filmmaker and actor.During a career spanning several decades he directed 11 films, including The Assault, which won the Academy Award for Best Foreign Language Film in 1986, and The Village on the River, nominated for the same award in 1959...
, Dutch film director (b. 1920)
- February 22 – Dennis Johnson
Dennis Wayne Johnson , nicknamed "DJ", was an American professional basketball player for the National Basketball Association's Seattle SuperSonics, Phoenix Suns and Boston Celtics and coach of the Los Angeles Clippers of the NBA...
, American basketball player (b. 1954)
- February 24 – Damien Nash
Damien Darnell Nash was an American football player who was a running back for the Denver Broncos of the National Football League. He died after the 2006-2007 season, his only season with the Broncos....
, American football player (b. 1982)
- February 24 – Bruce Bennett
Bruce Bennett was an American actor and Olympic silver medalist shot putter. During the 1930s, he went by his real name of Herman Brix .-Early life and Olympics:...
, American actor (b. 1906)
- February 27 – Bobby Rosengarden
Robert Marshall Rosengarden was a jazz drummer, percussionist and bandleader. A native of Elgin, Illinois, he was a solid and versatile contributor on countless recording sessions and playing in TV network orchestras and talk-show bands.Rosengarden began playing drums when he was 12, and later...
, American drummer (b. 1924)
- February 28 – Arthur M. Schlesinger, Jr., American historian and political commentator (b. 1917)
- February 28 – Billy Thorpe
William Richard "Billy" Thorpe, AM was a renowned English-born Australian pop / rock singer-songwriter and musician...
, Australian musician (Billy Thorpe & the AztecsBilly Thorpe and the Aztecs were an Australian pop and rock group dating from the mid-sixties. The group enjoyed huge success in the mid-1960s, but split in 1967. They re-emerged in the early seventies to become one of the most popular Australian hard-rock bands of the period...
) (b. 1946)
- February 28 – Charles Forte, English hotelier (b. 1908)
March
- March 2 – Henri Troyat
Henri Troyat was a French author, biographer, historian and novelist of Armenian descent.-Biography:Troyat was born Levon Aslan Torossian in Moscow to parents of Armenian descent. His family fled Russia in anticipation of revolution...
, French writer (b. 1911)
- March 2 – Madi Phala
Madi Phala was a South African artist. His most recent works were predominantly painting, and collage and dealt with the theme of the African herd boy.Phala was born February 2 1955 in Kwa-Thema, Springs, South Africa....
, South African artist (b. 1955)
- March 3 – Warja Honegger-Lavater
Warja Honegger-Lavater was born in Winterthur, Switzerland. She was a Swiss artist and illustrator noted primarily for working in the artist's books genre by creating accordion fold books that re-tell classic fairy tales with symbols rather than words .- Personal life :Honegger-Lavater spent the...
, Swiss illustrator (b. 1913)
- March 4 – Natalie Bodanya
Natalie Bodanya was an American operatic soprano who had an active international career from the late 1920s through the 1940s...
, American soprano (b. 1908)
- March 4 – Thomas Eagleton
Thomas Francis Eagleton was a United States Senator from Missouri, serving from 1968–1987. He is best remembered for briefly being a Democratic Vice Presidential nominee, sharing the ticket under George McGovern in 1972...
, American politician (b. 1929)
- March 4 – Bob Hattoy
Bob Hattoy was an American activist on issues related to gay rights, AIDS and the environment.Hattoy worked in the White House under American President Bill Clinton from 1993 to 1999. He also served as chairman of the research committee of the Presidential Commission on HIV/AIDS, having himself...
, American activist (b. 1950)
- March 4 – Richard Joseph
Richard Joseph was a British computer game composer, musician and sound specialist. He had a career spanning some 20 years starting in the early days of gaming on the C64 and the Amiga and onto succeeding formats through to the present day.After being diagnosed with lung cancer, he died on 4...
, British game music composer (b. 1954)
- March 4 – Sunil Kumar Mahato
Sunil Kumar Mahato was a member of the 14th Lok Sabha of India. A member of the Jharkhand Mukti Morcha political party, he represented the constituency of Jamshedpur in the eastern state of Jharkhand....
, Indian parliamentarian (b. 1966)
- March 4 – Tadeusz Nalepa
Tadeusz Nalepa – was a Polish composer, guitar player, vocalist and lyricist.-Career:Nalepa graduated from the Music Academy in Rzeszów in the departments of violin, clarinet and contrabass...
, Polish composer, guitar player, vocalist and lyricist (b. 1934)
- March 4 – Ian Wooldridge
Ian Wooldridge, OBE was a British sports journalist. He was with the Daily Mail for nearly 50 years. He died from cancer...
, British sports journalist (b. 1932)
- March 4 – Jorge Kolle Cueto
Jorge Kolle Cueto was a Bolivian communist politician. Kolle was one of the founding members of the Communist Party of Bolivia in 1950. He held the position of First Secretary of the party and edited the central party organ, Unidad. He also had an influence in the miners and factory workers trade...
, Bolivian politician
- March 6 – Jean Baudrillard
Jean Baudrillard was a French cultural theorist, sociologist, philosopher, political commentator, and photographer. His work is frequently associated with postmodernism and post-structuralism.-Life:...
, French philosopher and sociologist (b. 1929)
- March 6 – Allen Coage
Allen James Coage was an American professional wrestler with the WWF and Stampede Wrestling among many other companies, better known by his ring names Bad News Brown and Bad News Allen. He was also the 1976 Olympic bronze medal winner in judo, in the heavyweight division...
, American professional wrestler (b. 1943)
- March 6 – Ernest Gallo, American winemaker (b. 1909)
- March 8 – John Inman
Frederick John Inman was an English actor who was best known for his role as Mr. Humphries in Are You Being Served?, a British sitcom in the 1970s and 1980s. Inman was also well known in the United Kingdom as a pantomime dame.Born in 1935, Inman made his stage debut aged 13...
, English actor (b. 1935)
- March 9 – Brad Delp
Bradley E. Delp was an American musician, best known as the lead vocalist of the rock band Boston. Delp was known for his high range. -Early life:...
, American singer (BostonBoston is an American rock band from Boston, Massachusetts that achieved its most notable successes during the 1970s and 1980s. Centered on guitarist, keyboardist, songwriter, and producer Tom Scholz, the band is a staple of classic rock radio playlists...
) (b. 1951)
- March 9 – Thomas Mason
Thomas Boyd Mason was an American U.S. attorney and actor.-Biography:Mason was appointed U.S. attorney for the Western District of Virginia by John F. Kennedy in 1961...
, U.S. Attorney (b. 1919)
- March 10 – Ernie Ladd
Ernest "Ernie" Ladd , nicknamed "The Big Cat" was an American collegiate and professional football player and a professional wrestler.-Pro Football career:...
, American football player and professional wrestler (b. 1938)
- March 10 – Angela Webber
Angela Webber was an Australian author, TV writer, producer and comedian.-Early life:Webber was born in 1954 to Bruce Webber, the head of light entertainment for ABC radio, and Nan, a journalist...
, Australian author, TV writer, producer and comedian (b. 1954)
- March 10 – Richard Jeni
Richard John Colangelo , better known by the stage name of Richard Jeni, was an American stand-up comedian and actor.- Early life :...
, American comedian (b. 1957)
- March 11 – Betty Hutton
Betty Hutton was an American stage, film, and television actress and singer.-Early life:Hutton was born as Elizabeth June Thornburg, a daughter of railroad foreman Percy E. Thornburg and his wife, the former Mabel Lum...
, American actress (b. 1921)
- March 12 – Antonio Ortiz Mena
Antonio Ortiz Mena was a Mexican politician and economist.He studied law at the National Autonomous University of Mexico and was appointed director of the Mexican Social Security Institute from 1952 to 1958.From 1958 to 1970 he served as Secretary of Finance and Public Credit for a twelve-year...
, Mexican politician and economist (b. 1907)
- March 13 – Arnold Skaaland
Arnold Skaaland was an American professional wrestler and professional wrestling manager.-Career:Skaaland served in the U.S. Marines during World War II. After a short-lived attempt to make a living through boxing, he became a professional wrestler and debuted in 1946 as "Arnold Skaaland"...
, American wrestler (b. 1925)
- March 14 – Lucie Aubrac
Lucie Samuel born Lucie Bernard , and better known as Lucie Aubrac, was a French history teacher and member of the French Resistance during World War II.- Biography :...
, French World War II Resistance fighter (b. 1912)
- March 14 – Gareth Hunt
Alan Leonard Hunt was an English actor, known as Gareth Hunt, best remembered for playing the footman Frederick Norton in Upstairs, Downstairs and Mike Gambit in The New Avengers.-Early life:...
, English actor (b. 1943)
- March 16 – Manjural Islam
Manjural Islam Rana , also known as Qazi Manjural Islam, was a Bangladeshi cricketer who played six Tests and 25 One Day Internationals for Bangladesh. Born in Khulna, Rana was a slow left arm orthodox bowler...
, Bangladeshi cricketer (b. 1984)
- March 16 – Sir Arthur Marshall
Sir Arthur Gregory George Marshall, OBE, was a British aviation pioneer and businessman, chairman of Marshall Aerospace between 1942 and 1989.- Early life and education :...
, British aviation engineer (b. 1903)
- March 17 – Jim Cronin
James "Jim" Michael Cronin MBE was the founder in 1987 of Monkey World in Dorset, England, a sanctuary for abused and neglected primates...
, British businessman (b. 1952)
- March 17 – Roger Bennett
Roger Bennett was a Southern Gospel pianist, singer, songwriter, and co-founder of the award winning Gospel Quartet Legacy Five. Prior to forming Legacy Five, he served nearly 20 years as pianist for The Cathedrals....
, American gospel musician (b. 1952)
- March 18 – Bob Woolmer
Robert Andrew Woolmer was an international cricketer, professional cricket coach and also a professional commentator...
, English cricketer and coach (b. 1948)
- March 19 – Calvert DeForest
Calvert DeForest , also known by his character Larry "Bud" Melman, was an American actor and comedian, best known for his appearances on Late Night with David Letterman and the Late Show with David Letterman....
, American actor and comedian (b. 1921)
- March 19 – Luther Ingram
###Luther Ingram was an R&B and soul singer and songwriter.-Career:Born Luther Thomas Ingram in Jackson, Tennessee, his early interest in music led to him making his first record in 1965 at the age of 18. His first three recordings failed to chart but that changed when he signed for KoKo Records...
, American singer (b. 1937)
- March 20 – Taha Yassin Ramadan
Taha Yasin Ramadan al-Jizrawi was the Vice President of Iraq from March 1991 to the fall of Saddam Hussein in April 2003.- Capture, trial and execution :...
, Vice President of Iraq (b. 1938)
- March 23 – Eric Medlen
Eric Medlen , son of John and Mary Medlen and brother of Eryn Medlen, was an NHRA Top Fuel Funny Car driver...
, American race car driver (b. 1973)
- March 25 – Andranik Margaryan, 14th Prime Minister of Armenia (b. 1951)
- March 29 – Leslie Waller
Leslie Elson Waller , author, the son of Ukrainian immigrants, was born in Chicago, Illinois. He suffered from amblyopia and poliomyelitis as a child, but graduated from Hyde Park High School by the age of 16...
, American novelist (b. 1923)
April
- April 1 – Laurie Baker
Laurence Wilfred "Laurie" Baker was an award-winning British-born Indian architect, renowned for his initiatives in cost-effective energy-efficient architecture and for his unique space utilisation and simple but beautful aesthetic sensibility...
, English architect (b. 1917)
- April 1 – Driss Chraibi
Driss Chraïbi was a Moroccan author whose novels deal with colonialism, culture clashes, generational conflict and the treatment of women and are often semi-autobiographical....
, Moroccan writer (b. 1926)
- April 1 – Hans Filbinger
Hans Karl Filbinger was a conservative German politician and a leading member of the Christian Democratic Union in the 1960s and 1970s, serving as the first chairman of the CDU Baden-Württemberg and vice chairman of the federal CDU. He was Minister President of Baden-Württemberg from 1966 to 1978...
, German jurist and politician (b. 1913)
- April 2 – Henry Lee Giclas, American astronomer (b. 1910)
- April 3 – Eddie Robinson
Edward Gay Robinson was an American college football coach at Grambling State University. Robinson holds the record for the most victories of any head coach in Division I college football.-Biography:Robinson was born in Jackson, Louisiana to the son of a sharecropper and a domestic worker...
, American football coach (b. 1919)
- April 4 – Bob Clark
Benjamin "Bob" Clark was an American actor, director, screenwriter and producer best known for directing and writing the script with Jean Shepherd to the 1983 holiday film A Christmas Story...
, American film director (b. 1939)
- April 5 – Thomas Stoltz Harvey
Thomas Stoltz Harvey was a pathologist who conducted the autopsy on Albert Einstein in 1955. He kept Einstein's brain after the autopsy, apparently without permission from the Einstein family. The managing director of the Einstein Memorial Hospital expected Dr. Harvey to write a report on...
Pathologist who conducted Albert EinsteinAlbert Einstein was a theoretical physicist. His many contributions to physics include the special and general theories of relativity, the founding of relativistic cosmology, the first post-Newtonian expansion, explaining the perihelion advance of Mercury, prediction of the deflection of...
's autopsy (b. 1912)
- April 5 – Leela Majumdar
Leela Majumdar , was a Bengali writer.-Early life:Born to Surama Devi and Pramada Ranjan Ray , Leela spent her childhood days at Shillong, where she studied at the Loreto Convent. In 1919, her father was transferred to Calcutta, and she joined St...
, Bengali children's author (b. 1908)
- April 5 – Darryl Stingley
Darryl Floyd Stingley was an American professional football wide receiver whose career was cut short by injury. He played his entire career with the New England Patriots of the National Football League. He died from heart disease and pneumonia complicated by quadriplegia.-Early life:Stingley was...
, American football player (b. 1951)
- April 5 – Poornachandra Tejaswi
Kuppali Puttappa Poornachandra Tejaswi was a prominent Kannada writer and novelist who has made a great impession in "Navya" period of Kannada literature and inaugurated the bandaya or protest literature with his short-story collection Abachoorina Post Offisu.At early stages of his writing...
, Indian writer and novelist (b. 1938)
- April 6 – Luigi Comencini
Luigi Comencini was an Italian film director. Together with Dino Risi, Ettore Scola and Mario Monicelli, he was considered among the masters of the commedia all'italiana genre....
, Italian film director (b. 1916)
- April 7 – Johnny Hart
Johnny Hart was an American cartoonist noted as the creator of the comic strip B.C. and co-creator of the strip The Wizard of Id. Hart was recognized with several awards, including five from the National Cartoonists Society, and the Swedish Adamson Award...
, American cartoonist (b. 1931)
- April 7 – Barry Nelson
Barry Nelson was an American actor, noted as the first actor to portray Ian Fleming's secret agent James Bond.-Early life:...
, American actor (b. 1920)
- April 7 – Carey W. Barber, English Jehovah's Witnesses leader (b. 1905)
- April 9 – AJ Carothers
AJ Carothers was an American playwright and television writer, best known for his work with Disney, who was a very close friend. So much so in fact that Carothers gave a eulogy at Disney's funeral.Born in Houston, Texas,he sold his first story to a classmate when he was 9 for 14 cents...
, American writer (b. 1931)
- April 10 – Kevin Crease
Kevin John Crease was a South Australian television presenter and newsreader. He was most noted for presenting South Australian edition of the Nine Network's National Nine News with Rob Kelvin between 1987 and 2007....
Australian news presenter and entertainer (b. 1936)
- April 11 – Roscoe Lee Browne
Roscoe Lee Browne was an American actor and director, known for his rich voice and dignified bearing.-Biography:Browne was the son of Baptist minister Sylvanus Browne and his wife Lovie...
, American actor (b. 1925)
- April 11 – Ronald Speirs
Ronald C. "Sparky" Speirs was a United States Army officer who served in the U.S. 101st Airborne Division during World War II. He was initially a platoon leader in Company "D" of the 2nd Battalion of the 506th Parachute Infantry Regiment...
, United States ArmyThe United States Army is the branch of the United States Military responsible for land-based military operations. It is the largest and oldest established branch of the U.S. military and is one of seven uniformed services...
officerAn officer is a member of an armed force who holds a position of authority. Commissioned officers derive authority directly from a sovereign power and, as such, hold a commission charging them with the duties and responsibilities of a specific office or position...
(b. 1920)
- April 11 – Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. was an American novelist known for works blending satire, black comedy, and science fiction including Slaughterhouse-Five , Cat's Cradle , and Breakfast of Champions...
, American novelist and playwright (b. 1922)
- April 13 – Don Selwyn
Don C. Selwyn was a Maori actor and film director from New Zealand. He was a founding member of the New Zealand Maori Theatre Trust and directed the 2002 film The Merchant of Venice, the first Maori language feature film with English subtitles.Born of Ngati Kuri and Te Aupouri descent, Selwyn grew...
, Māori actor and film director (b. circa 1936)
- April 14 – June Callwood
June Rose Callwood, CC, O.Ont. was a Canadian journalist, author and social activist. She was born in Chatham, Ontario and grew up in nearby Belle River.-Early life and career:...
, Canadian journalist (b. 1924)
- April 14 – Don Ho
Don Ho, born Donald Tai Loy Ho , was a Hawaiian and traditional pop musician, singer and entertainer.-Life and career:...
, American musician (b. 1930)
- April 15 – Brant Parker
Brant Parker was an American cartoonist. He co-created and drew The Wizard of Id comic strip until passing the job on to his son, Jeff Parker, in 1997. Cartoonist Johnny Hart, his co-creator, continued writing the strip until his own death on April 7, 2007.Parker studied at the Otis Art Institute...
, American cartoonist (b. 1920)
- April 16 – Frank Bateson
Frank Bateson, OBE, was a New Zealand astronomer who specialized in the study of variable stars.Frank Maine Bateson was born in Wellington on October 31, 1909 and studied in Australia and New Zealand...
, New Zealand astronomer (b. 1909)
- April 17 – Kitty Carlisle Hart
Kitty Carlisle was an American singer, actress and spokeswoman for the arts. She is best remembered as a regular panelist on the television game show To Tell the Truth. She served 20 years on the New York State Council on the Arts. In 1991, she received the National Medal of Arts from President...
, American singer, actress & talk show panelist (b. 1910)
- April 18 – Iccho Itoh
, born , was the mayor of the Japanese city of Nagasaki; he first took office in 1995. He was a graduate from Waseda University, and majored in political science.-Career:...
, Mayor of Nagasaki, Japan (b. 1945)
- April 20 – Michael Fu Tieshan
Bishop Michael Fu Tieshan of Beijing was the top leader of the Chinese Catholic Patriotic Association....
, Chinese bishop (b. 1931)
- April 22 – Juanita Millender-McDonald
Juanita Millender-McDonald was an American politician who served as a member of the United States House of Representatives from 1996 until her death in 2007, representing California's 37th congressional district, which includes most of South Central Los Angeles and the city of Long Beach, California...
, American politician (b. 1938)
- April 23 – David Halberstam
David Halberstam was an American Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author known for his early work on the Vietnam War, his work on politics, history, business, media, American culture, and his later sports journalism.-Life and career:Halberstam was of Jewish ancestry and, after the family...
, American author and journalist (b. 1934)
- April 23 – Boris Yeltsin
Boris Nikolayevich Yeltsin was the first President of the Russian Federation, serving from 1991 to 1999....
, first President of the Russian FederationThe President of the Russian Federation is the head of state, supreme commander-in-chief and holder of the highest office within the Government of Russia. Executive power is split between the President and the Prime Minister, who is the head of government...
(b. 1931)
- April 25 – Alan Ball, English footballer (b. 1945)
- April 25 – Arthur Milton
Clement Arthur Milton was an English cricketer and footballer. He played County cricket for Gloucestershire from 1948 to 1974, playing six Test matches for the English cricket team in 1958 and 1959. He also played domestic football for Arsenal between 1951 and 1955, and then for a brief period...
, English cricketer and footballer (b. 1928)
- April 25 – Bobby Pickett, American singer (b. 1938)
- April 26 – Jack Valenti
Jack Joseph Valenti was a long-time president of the Motion Picture Association of America. During his 38-year tenure in the MPAA, he created the MPAA film rating system, and he was generally regarded as one of the most influential pro-copyright lobbyists in the world...
, American film executive, creator of MPAA film rating systemThe Motion Picture Association of America's film-rating system is used in the U.S. and its territories to rate a film's thematic and content suitability for certain audiences...
(b. 1921)
- April 26 – Conchita Montenegro
Conchita Montenegro was a Spanish model, dancer, stage and screen actress. She was educated in a convent in Madrid, Spain. Montenegro had browneyes, wavy black hair, and an olive complexion...
, Spanish model and actress (b. 1912)
- April 27 – Mstislav Rostropovich
Mstislav Leopoldovich Rostropovich KBE , known to close friends as “Slava,” was a Soviet and Russian cellist and conductor. He was married to the soprano Galina Vishnevskaya...
, Russian cellist and conductor (b. 1927)
- April 28 – Dabbs Greer
Robert William "Dabbs" Greer was an American actor who performed many diverse supporting roles in film and television for some fifty years. His southern voice fitted well in shows featuring rustic characters, such as Westerns...
, American actor (b. 1917)
- April 28 – Carl Friedrich von Weizsäcker
Carl Friedrich Freiherr von Weizsäcker was a German physicist and philosopher. He was the longest-living member of the research team which performed nuclear research in Germany during the Second World War, under Werner Heisenberg's leadership...
, German physicist and philosopher (b. 1912)
- April 29 – Ivica Račan
Ivica Račan was a Croatian leftist politician who led the Social Democratic Party of Croatia between 1989, through two name changes, up to 2007, a few weeks before his death...
, 7th Prime Minister of Croatia (b. 1944)
- April 29 – Josh Hancock
Joshua Morgan Hancock was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played for the Boston Red Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, Cincinnati Reds and St. Louis Cardinals. Born in Cleveland, Mississippi, he lived in St. Louis during the off-season...
, American baseball player (b. 1978)
- April 29 – Dick Motz
Richard Charles Motz was a New Zealand cricketer. A right-arm fast bowler and hard-hitting lower order batsman, Motz played 32 Test matches for the New Zealand cricket team between 1961 and 1969....
, New Zealand cricket player (b. 1940)
- April 30 – Grégory Lemarchal
Grégory Jean-Paul Lemarchal was a French singer who rose to fame by winning the fourth series of the reality TV programme Star Academy France, broadcast on the TF1 television network....
, French singer (b. 1983)
- April 30 – Kevin Mitchell, American football player (b. 1971)
- April 30 – Tom Poston
Thomas Gordon "Tom" Poston was an American television and film actor. He starred on television in a career that began in 1950...
, American actor (b. 1921)
- April 30 – Gordon Scott
Gordon Scott was an American actor known for his portrayal of Tarzan in five films from 1955 to 1960.-Early life:...
, American actor (b. 1926)
May
- May 2 – Juan Valdivieso
Juan Valdivieso Padilla was a Peruvian footballer goalkeeper and manager.During his career he played club football for Alianza Lima, and made 10 appearances for the Peruvian national team he participated at the 1930 FIFA World Cup and 1936 Summer Olympics.After retiring as a player he went on to...
, Peruvian footballer (b. 1910)
- May 2 – Brad McGann
Brad McGann MNZM , was a New Zealand film director and screenwriter.McGann was born in New Zealand in 1964. He completed a Bachelor of Commerce degree at the University of Otago and in 1988 completed a one-year post-graduate course at the Swinburne School of Film and Television in Melbourne...
, New Zealand film director and screenwriter (b. 1964)
- May 3 – Wally Schirra
Walter Marty Schirra, Jr. was one of the original Mercury 7 astronauts chosen for the Project Mercury, America's first effort to put humans in space. He was the only person to fly in all of America's first three space programs...
, American astronaut (b. 1923)
- May 3 – Knock Yokoyama
Knock Yokoyama was a Japanese comedian and politician.Born Isamu Yamada in Kobe, he adopted his current stage name while directing the Manga Trio manzai troupe from 1959 to 1968...
, Japanese comedian and politician (b. 1932)
- May 5 – Theodore Maiman
Theodore Harold "Ted" Maiman was an American physicist who made the first laser. Maiman received the Japan Prize in 1987...
, American physicist (b. 1927)
- May 5 – Gusti Wolf
Gusti Wolf was an Austrian stage, film, and television actress.Born in Vienna, Wolf made her stage debut at the Burgtheater in 1934 and from there moved on to Ostrava, Munich, and Berlin...
, Austrian actress (b. 1912)
- May 6 – Lesley Blanch
Lesley Blanch, MBE, FRSL was an English writer, fashion editor and writer of history....
, English writer and fashion editor (b. 1904)
- May 7 – Emma Lehmer
Emma Markovna Lehmer was a mathematician known for her work on reciprocity laws in algebraic number theory...
, Russian-born mathematician (b. 1906)
- May 11 – Bernard Gordon
Bernard Gordon was an American writer and producer. For much of his 27-year career, he toiled in obscurity, prevented from taking screen credit by the Hollywood Blacklist. Among his best-known works are screenplays for Flesh and Fury, Earth vs...
, American screenwriter (b. 1918)
- May 11 – Malietoa Tanumafili II, Samoan head of state (b. 1913)
- May 12 – Mullah Dadullah Akhund, Afghani Taliban military leader
- May 12 – Teddy Infuhr
Teddy Infuhr , was an American child actor.-Biography:Missouri-born child actor Teddy Infuhr, youngest of four, moved with his family to Los Angeles when he was three and was initially prodded into acting by his mother...
, American child actor (b. 1936)
- May 14 – Colin St John Wilson
Sir Colin Alexander St John Wilson, FRIBA, RA, was a British architect, lecturer and author. He spent over 30 years progressing the project to build a new British Library in London, originally planned to be built in Bloomsbury and now completed near Kings Cross.-Early and private life:Wilson was...
, English architect (b. 1922)
- May 15 – Jerry Falwell
Jerry Lamon Falwell, Sr. was an American evangelical Christian pastor, televangelist, and a conservative commentator. He was the founding pastor of the Thomas Road Baptist Church, a megachurch in Lynchburg, Virginia...
, American evangelist (b. 1933)
- May 15 – Yolanda King
Yolanda Denise King was the first-born child of Coretta Scott King and civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. Her younger siblings are Martin Luther King, III, Dexter Scott King, and Rev. Dr...
, American actress and activist, daughter of Martin Luther King, Jr.Martin Luther King, Jr. was an American clergyman, activist and prominent leader in the African-American civil rights movement. His main legacy was to secure progress on civil rights in the United States and