2009
Encyclopedia
2009 was a common year
that started on a Thursday
in the Gregorian calendar
. It was the 2009th year of the Common Era
or the Anno Domini
designation, the 8th year of the 3rd millennium
and the 21st century, and the 10th and last of the 2000s decade.
2009 was designated the:
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Common year
A common year is a common type of calendar year. It has exactly 365 days and so is not a leap year. More generally, it is a calendar year without intercalation....
that started on a Thursday
Common year starting on Thursday
This is the calendar for any common year starting on Thursday, January 1 . Examples: Gregorian years 1987, 1998, 2009, 2015 and 2026...
in the Gregorian calendar
Gregorian calendar
The Gregorian calendar, also known as the Western calendar, or Christian calendar, is the internationally accepted civil calendar. It was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII, after whom the calendar was named, by a decree signed on 24 February 1582, a papal bull known by its opening words Inter...
. It was the 2009th year of the Common Era
Common Era
Common Era ,abbreviated as CE, is an alternative designation for the calendar era originally introduced by Dionysius Exiguus in the 6th century, traditionally identified with Anno Domini .Dates before the year 1 CE are indicated by the usage of BCE, short for Before the Common Era Common Era...
or the Anno Domini
Anno Domini
and Before Christ are designations used to label or number years used with the Julian and Gregorian calendars....
designation, the 8th year of the 3rd millennium
3rd millennium
In contemporary history, the third millennium is a period of time that commenced on January 1, 2001, and will end on December 31, 3000, of the Gregorian calendar. This is the third period of one thousand years in the Anno Domini...
and the 21st century, and the 10th and last of the 2000s decade.
2009 was designated the:
- International Year of AstronomyInternational Year of AstronomyThe International Year of Astronomy was a year-long celebration of astronomy that took place in 2009 to coincide with the 400th anniversary of the first recorded astronomical observations with a telescope by Galileo Galilei and the publication of Johannes Kepler's Astronomia nova in the 17th century...
. - International Year of Natural FibresInternational Year of Natural FibresThe United Nations General Assembly declared 2009 as the International Year of Natural Fibres, as well as the International Year of Astronomy.The proposal for this international year originated in FAO at a joint meeting of the Intergovernmental Group on Hard Fibres and the Intergovernmental Group...
.
January
- January 1
- AustriaAustriaAustria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...
, JapanJapanJapan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, 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...
, MexicoMexicoThe 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...
, TurkeyTurkeyTurkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
, and UgandaUgandaUganda , officially the Republic of Uganda, is a landlocked country in East Africa. Uganda is also known as the "Pearl of Africa". It is bordered on the east by Kenya, on the north by South Sudan, on the west by the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on the southwest by Rwanda, and on the south by...
assume their seatsUnited Nations Security Council election, 2008The 2008 United Nations Security Council election was held on 17 October 2008 during the 63rd session of the United Nations General Assembly, held at United Nations Headquarters in New York City...
on the United Nations Security CouncilUnited Nations Security CouncilThe United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
. - AsunciónAsunciónAsunción is the capital and largest city of Paraguay.The "Ciudad de Asunción" is an autonomous capital district not part of any department. The metropolitan area, called Gran Asunción, includes the cities of San Lorenzo, Fernando de la Mora, Lambaré, Luque, Mariano Roque Alonso, Ñemby, San...
, the capital of ParaguayParaguayParaguay , officially the Republic of Paraguay , is a landlocked country in South America. It is bordered by Argentina to the south and southwest, Brazil to the east and northeast, and Bolivia to the northwest. Paraguay lies on both banks of the Paraguay River, which runs through the center of the...
, becomes the American Capital of CultureAmerican Capital of CultureThe non-governmental organization American Capital of Culture Organization selects one city in the Americas annually to serve as the American Capital of Culture for a period of one year...
and VilniusVilniusVilnius is the capital of Lithuania, and its largest city, with a population of 560,190 as of 2010. It is the seat of the Vilnius city municipality and of the Vilnius district municipality. It is also the capital of Vilnius County...
and LinzLinzLinz is the third-largest city of Austria and capital of the state of Upper Austria . It is located in the north centre of Austria, approximately south of the Czech border, on both sides of the river Danube. The population of the city is , and that of the Greater Linz conurbation is about...
become the European Capitals of CultureEuropean Capital of CultureThe European Capital of Culture is a city designated by theEuropean Union for a period of one calendar year during which it organises a series of cultural events with a strong European dimension....
. - SlovakiaSlovakiaThe Slovak Republic is a landlocked state in Central Europe. It has a population of over five million and an area of about . Slovakia is bordered by the Czech Republic and Austria to the west, Poland to the north, Ukraine to the east and Hungary to the south...
adopts the euroEuroThe euro is the official currency of the eurozone: 17 of the 27 member states of the European Union. It is also the currency used by the Institutions of the European Union. The eurozone consists of Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg,...
as its national currency, replacing the Slovak korunaSlovak korunaIn 1993, coins were introduced in denominations of 10, 20 and 50 haliers, 1, 2, 5 and 10 korunas. The 10 and 20 halier coins were taken out of circulation on 31 December 2003....
.
- Austria
- January 3 – IsraelIsraelThe State of Israel is a parliamentary republic located in the Middle East, along the eastern shore of the Mediterranean Sea...
launches a ground invasion of the Gaza StripGaza Stripthumb|Gaza city skylineThe Gaza Strip lies on the Eastern coast of the Mediterranean Sea. The Strip borders Egypt on the southwest and Israel on the south, east and north. It is about long, and between 6 and 12 kilometres wide, with a total area of...
as the Gaza War enters its second week. - January 7 – RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
shuts off all gas supplies to EuropeEuropeEurope 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 watershed divides of the Ural and Caucasus Mountains, the Ural River, the Caspian and Black Seas, and the waterways connecting...
through UkraineUkraineUkraine is a country in Eastern Europe. It has an area of 603,628 km², making it the second largest contiguous country on the European continent, after Russia...
. Prime MinisterPrime Minister of RussiaThe Chairman of the Government of the Russian Federation The use of the term "Prime Minister" is strictly informal and is not allowed for by the Russian Constitution and other laws....
Vladimir PutinVladimir PutinVladimir Vladimirovich Putin served as the second President of the Russian Federation 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. He became acting President on 31 December 1999, when...
publicly endorses the move and urges greater international involvement in the energy dispute. - January 13 – EthiopiaEthiopiaEthiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
n military forces begin pulling out of SomaliaSomaliaSomalia , officially the Somali Republic and formerly known as the Somali Democratic Republic under Socialist rule, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. Since the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991 there has been no central government control over most of the country's territory...
, where they have tried to maintain order for nearly two years. - January 17 – Israel announces a unilateralUnilateralismUnilateralism is any doctrine or agenda that supports one-sided action. Such action may be in disregard for other parties, or as an expression of a commitment toward a direction which other parties may find agreeable...
ceasefire in the Gaza War. It comes into effect the following day, on which HamasHamasHamas is the Palestinian Sunni Islamic or Islamist political party that governs the Gaza Strip. Hamas also has a military wing, the Izz ad-Din al-Qassam Brigades...
declares a ceasefire of its own. - January 21 – Israel completes its withdrawal from the Gaza Strip. Intermittent air strikes by both sides of the preceding war continue in the weeks to follow.
- January 22 – CongoDemocratic Republic of the CongoThe Democratic Republic of the Congo is a state located in Central Africa. It is the second largest country in Africa by area and the eleventh largest in the world...
lese rebel leader Laurent NkundaLaurent NkundaLaurent Nkunda or Laurent Nkundabatware, or Laurent Nkunda Batware, or as he prefers to be called The Chairman — is a former General in the Armed Forces of the Democratic Republic of Congo and is the former warlord operating in the province of Nord-Kivu, sympathetic to Congolese Tutsis and the...
is captured by RwandaRwandaRwanda or , officially the Republic of Rwanda , is a country in central and eastern Africa with a population of approximately 11.4 million . Rwanda is located a few degrees south of the Equator, and is bordered by Uganda, Tanzania, Burundi and the Democratic Republic of the Congo...
n forces after crossing over the border into Rwanda. - January 26
- The first trial at the International Criminal CourtInternational Criminal CourtThe International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...
is held. Former Union of Congolese PatriotsUnion of Congolese PatriotsThe Union of Congolese Patriots is an armed group in Ituri, northeastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. They were in 2003 said to be 15000 soldiers . It has carried out numerous attacks upon civilians and other serious human rights abuses in pursuit of its policies...
leader Thomas LubangaThomas LubangaThomas Lubanga Dyilo is a former rebel leader from the Democratic Republic of the Congo . He founded and led the Union of Congolese Patriots and was a key player in the Ituri conflict...
is accused of training child soldiers to kill, pillage, and rape. - The IcelandIcelandIceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
ic government and banking system collapse; Prime MinisterPrime Minister of IcelandThe Prime Minister of Iceland is Iceland's head of government. The prime minister is appointed formally by the President and exercises executive authority along with the cabinet subject to parliamentary support....
Geir HaardeGeir HaardeGeir Hilmar Haarde was Prime Minister of Iceland from 15 June 2006 to 1 February 2009 and Chairman of the Icelandic Independence Party from 2005 to 2009. Geir initially led a coalition between his party and the Progressive Party...
immediately resigns.
- The first trial at the International Criminal Court
February
- February 1
- Patriarch Kirill I of Moscow is enthroned as the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox ChurchRussian Orthodox ChurchThe Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
. - Jóhanna SigurðardóttirJóhanna SigurðardóttirJóhanna Sigurðardóttir , , is the Prime Minister of Iceland. Many years a politician, she was previously Iceland's Minister of Social Affairs and Social Security from 1987–1994 and 2007–2009. She has been a member of the Althing for Reykjavík constituencies since 1978, winning re-election on eight...
is appointed as the new Prime Minister of IcelandPrime Minister of IcelandThe Prime Minister of Iceland is Iceland's head of government. The prime minister is appointed formally by the President and exercises executive authority along with the cabinet subject to parliamentary support....
, becoming the world's first openly lesbianLesbianLesbian is a term most widely used in the English language to describe sexual and romantic desire between females. The word may be used as a noun, to refer to women who identify themselves or who are characterized by others as having the primary attribute of female homosexuality, or as an...
head of governmentHead of governmentHead of government is the chief officer of the executive branch of a government, often presiding over a cabinet. In a parliamentary system, the head of government is often styled prime minister, chief minister, premier, etc...
.
- Patriarch Kirill I of Moscow is enthroned as the Patriarch of the Russian Orthodox Church
- February 7 – The deadliest bushfiresFebruary 2009 Victorian bushfiresThe Black Saturday bushfires were a series of bushfires that ignited or were burning across the Australian state of Victoria on and around Saturday, 7 February 2009...
in AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n history begin; they kill 173, injure 500 more, and leave 7,500 homeless. The fires come after Melbourne records the highest-ever temperature2009 southeastern Australia heat waveThe early 2009 southeastern Australia heat wave was a heat wave that commenced in late January and led to record-breaking prolonged high temperatures in the region. The heat wave is considered one of the, if not the, most extreme in the region's history. During the heat wave, fifty separate...
(46.4°C, 115°F) of any capital city in Australia. The majority of the fires are ignited by either fallen or clashing power lines or deliberately lit. - February 8 – The Taliban releases a video of Polish geologist Piotr StańczakPiotr StańczakPiotr Stańczak was a Polish geologist who was beheaded by Islamic terrorists in Pakistan in February 2009. Stańczak was abducted in the city of Attock in September 2008 after gunmen shot dead his driver, translator and bodyguard with whom he was travelling in a car...
, whom they had abducted a few months earlier, being beheadedDecapitationDecapitation is the separation of the head from the body. Beheading typically refers to the act of intentional decapitation, e.g., as a means of murder or execution; it may be accomplished, for example, with an axe, sword, knife, wire, or by other more sophisticated means such as a guillotine...
. It is the first killing of a Western hostage in PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
since American journalist Daniel PearlDaniel PearlDaniel Pearl was an American journalist who was kidnapped and killed by Al-Qaeda.At the time of his kidnapping, Pearl served as the South Asia Bureau Chief of the Wall Street Journal, and was based in Mumbai, India. He went to Pakistan as part of an investigation into the alleged links between...
was executed in 2002. - February 10 – A Russian and an American satellite collide2009 satellite collisionThe 2009 satellite collision was the first accidental hypervelocity collision between two intact artificial satellites in Earth orbit. The collision occurred at 16:56 UTC on February 10, 2009, at above the Taymyr Peninsula in Siberia, when Iridium 33 and Kosmos-2251 collided...
over SiberiaSiberiaSiberia is an extensive region constituting almost all of Northern Asia. Comprising the central and eastern portion of the Russian Federation, it was part of the Soviet Union from its beginning, as its predecessor states, the Tsardom of Russia and the Russian Empire, conquered it during the 16th...
, creating a large amount of space debrisSpace debrisSpace debris, also known as orbital debris, space junk, and space waste, is the collection of objects in orbit around Earth that were created by humans but no longer serve any useful purpose. These objects consist of everything from spent rocket stages and defunct satellites to erosion, explosion...
. - February 11 – Morgan TsvangiraiMorgan TsvangiraiMorgan Richard Tsvangirai is the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe. He is the President of the Movement for Democratic Change - Tsvangirai and a key figure in the opposition to President Robert Mugabe. Tsvangirai was sworn in as the Prime Minister of Zimbabwe on 11 February 2009...
is sworn in as the new Prime Minister of ZimbabwePrime Minister of ZimbabweThe Prime Minister of Zimbabwe is the head of government in Zimbabwe. From 1980 to 1987, Robert Mugabe was the first person to hold the position following independence from the United Kingdom. He took office when Rhodesia became the Republic of Zimbabwe on 18 April 1980...
following the power-sharing deal2008–2009 Zimbabwean political negotiationsThe 2008–2009 Zimbabwean political negotiations between the opposition Movement for Democratic Change , its small splinter group, the Movement for Democratic Change - Mutambara , and the ruling Zimbabwe African National Union – Patriotic Front are intended to negotiate an end to the partisan...
with President Robert MugabeRobert MugabeRobert Gabriel Mugabe is the President of Zimbabwe. As one of the leaders of the liberation movement against white-minority rule, he was elected into power in 1980...
signed in September, 2008. - February 17 – The JEMJustice and Equality MovementThe Justice and Equality Movement is a rebel group involved in the Darfur conflict of Sudan, led by Khalil Ibrahim. Along with other rebel groups, such as the Sudan Liberation Movement , they are fighting against the Sudanese Government, including the government's proxy militia, the Janjaweed...
rebel group in DarfurDarfurDarfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...
, SudanSudanSudan , officially the Republic of the Sudan , is a country in North Africa, sometimes considered part of the Middle East politically. It is bordered by Egypt to the north, the Red Sea to the northeast, Eritrea and Ethiopia to the east, South Sudan to the south, the Central African Republic to the...
sign a pact with the Sudanese government, planning a ceasefire within the next three months. - February 26 – Former Serbian presidentPresident of SerbiaThe President of Serbia is the head of state of Serbia. Presently serving as the head of state is Boris Tadić. He was elected with a narrow majority of 50.31% in the 2008 Serbian presidential elections.-Authority, legal and constitutional rights:...
Milan MilutinovićMilan MilutinovicMilan Milutinović is a former President of Serbia. He served as Director of the National Library of Serbia , Ambassador of the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia to Greece, Yugoslavia's Federal Minister of Foreign Affairs , and as President of Serbia from 1997 until 2002.After his presidential term...
is acquitted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former YugoslaviaInternational Criminal Tribunal for the former YugoslaviaThe International Tribunal for the Prosecution of Persons Responsible for Serious Violations of International Humanitarian Law Committed in the Territory of the Former Yugoslavia since 1991, more commonly referred to as the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia or ICTY, is a...
regarding war crimeWar crimeWar crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
s during the Kosovo WarKosovo WarThe term Kosovo War or Kosovo conflict was two sequential, and at times parallel, armed conflicts in Kosovo province, then part of FR Yugoslav Republic of Serbia; from early 1998 to 1999, there was an armed conflict initiated by the ethnic Albanian "Kosovo Liberation Army" , who sought independence...
.
March
- March 2 – The President of Guinea-BissauGuinea-BissauThe Republic of Guinea-Bissau is a country in West Africa. It is bordered by Senegal to the north, and Guinea to the south and east, with the Atlantic Ocean to its west....
, João Bernardo VieiraJoão Bernardo VieiraJoão Bernardo "Nino" Vieira was the President of Guinea-Bissau from 1980 to 1999 and again from 2005 to 2009. After seizing power in 1980, Vieira ruled for 19 years, and he won a multiparty presidential election in 1994. He was ousted at the end of the 1998–1999 civil war and went into exile...
, is assassinated during an armed attack on his residence in BissauBissauBissau is the capital city of Guinea-Bissau. The city's borders are conterminous with the Bissau Autonomous Sector. In 2007, the city had an estimated population of 407,424 according to the Instituto Nacional de Estatística e Censos...
. - March 3 – Gunmen attack2009 attack on the Sri Lanka national cricket teamThe Sri Lankan cricket team attack occurred on March 3, 2009, when a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers, part of a larger convoy, was fired upon by 12 gunmen, near the Gaddafi Stadium in Lahore, Pakistan. The cricketers were on their way to play the third day of the second Test against the...
a bus carrying Sri Lankan cricketers in LahoreLahoreLahore is the capital of the Pakistani province of Punjab and the second largest city in the country. With a rich and fabulous history dating back to over a thousand years ago, Lahore is no doubt Pakistan's cultural capital. One of the most densely populated cities in the world, Lahore remains a...
, PakistanPakistanPakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
, killing eight people and injuring several others. - March 4 – The International Criminal CourtInternational Criminal CourtThe International Criminal Court is a permanent tribunal to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression .It came into being on 1 July 2002—the date its founding treaty, the Rome Statute of the...
(ICC) issues an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for war crimeWar crimeWar crimes are serious violations of the laws applicable in armed conflict giving rise to individual criminal responsibility...
s and crimes against humanity in DarfurDarfurDarfur is a region in western Sudan. An independent sultanate for several hundred years, it was incorporated into Sudan by Anglo-Egyptian forces in 1916. The region is divided into three federal states: West Darfur, South Darfur, and North Darfur...
. Al-Bashir is the first sitting head of stateHead of StateA head of state is the individual that serves as the chief public representative of a monarchy, republic, federation, commonwealth or other kind of state. His or her role generally includes legitimizing the state and exercising the political powers, functions, and duties granted to the head of...
to be indicted by the ICC since its establishment in 2002. - March 7 – NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
's Kepler MissionKepler MissionThe Kepler spacecraft is an American space observatory, the space-based portion of NASA's Kepler Mission to discover Earth-like planets orbiting other stars. The spacecraft is named in honor of the 17th-century German astronomer Johannes Kepler...
, a space photometerPhotometerIn its widest sense, a photometer is an instrument for measuring light intensity or optical properties of solutions or surfaces. Photometers are used to measure:*Illuminance*Irradiance*Light absorption*Scattering of light*Reflection of light*Fluorescence...
which will search for extrasolar planets in the Milky WayMilky WayThe Milky Way is the galaxy that contains the Solar System. This name derives from its appearance as a dim un-resolved "milky" glowing band arching across the night sky...
galaxy, is launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force StationCape Canaveral Air Force StationCape Canaveral Air Force Station is an installation of the United States Air Force Space Command's 45th Space Wing, headquartered at nearby Patrick Air Force Base. Located on Cape Canaveral in the state of Florida, CCAFS is the primary launch head of America's Eastern Range with four launch pads...
, FloridaFloridaFlorida is a state in the southeastern United States, located on the nation's Atlantic and Gulf coasts. It is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the north by Alabama and Georgia and to the east by the Atlantic Ocean. With a population of 18,801,310 as measured by the 2010 census, it...
, USA. - March 17 – The President of MadagascarMadagascarThe Republic of Madagascar is an island country located in the Indian Ocean off the southeastern coast of Africa...
, Marc RavalomananaMarc RavalomananaMarc Ravalomanana is a Malagasy politician who was the President of Madagascar from 2002 to 2009. A member of the Merina ethnic group, Ravalomanana served as Mayor of Antananarivo before becoming President in 2002...
, is overthrown in a coup d'étatCoup d'étatA coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
, following a month of rallies in AntananarivoAntananarivoAntananarivo , formerly Tananarive , is the capital and largest city in Madagascar. It is also known by its French colonial shorthand form Tana....
. The military appoints opposition leader Andry RajoelinaAndry RajoelinaAndry Nirina Rajoelina , born May 30 1974, is the former mayor of Antananarivo who became transitional head of state of Madagascar on March 21, 2009 after the 2009 Malagasy political crisis....
as the new president.
April
- April 1 – AlbaniaAlbaniaAlbania , officially known as the Republic of Albania , is a country in Southeastern Europe, in the Balkans region. It is bordered by Montenegro to the northwest, Kosovo to the northeast, the Republic of Macedonia to the east and Greece to the south and southeast. It has a coast on the Adriatic Sea...
and CroatiaCroatiaCroatia , officially the Republic of Croatia , is a unitary democratic parliamentary republic in Europe at the crossroads of the Mitteleuropa, the Balkans, and the Mediterranean. Its capital and largest city is Zagreb. The country is divided into 20 counties and the city of Zagreb. Croatia covers ...
are admitted to the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO). - April 2 – The second G-20G-20 major economiesThe Group of Twenty Finance Ministers and Central Bank Governors is a group of finance ministers and central bank governors from 20 major economies: 19 countries plus the European Union, which is represented by the President of the European Council and by the European Central Bank...
summit2009 G-20 London summitThe 2009 G-20 London Summit is the second meeting of the G-20 heads of state in discussion of financial markets and the world economy, which was held in London on 2 April 2009 at the ExCeL Exhibition Centre. It followed the first G-20 Leaders Summit on Financial Markets and the World Economy, which...
, involving state leaders rather than the usual finance ministers, meets in LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
. Its main focus is an ongoing global financial crisis. - April 3–April 4 – The 21st NATO Summit2009 Strasbourg-Kehl summitThe 2009 Strasbourg–Kehl Summit was a NATO summit of heads of state and heads of government held in Strasbourg, France, and in Kehl and Baden-Baden, Germany, on 3–4 April 2009. The summit marked the 60th anniversary of the establishment of North Atlantic Treaty Organization...
is held, 60 years after the founding of the organization. Former DanishDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
Prime Minister Anders Fogh RasmussenAnders Fogh RasmussenAnders Fogh Rasmussen is a Danish politician, and the 12th and current Secretary General of NATO. Rasmussen served as Prime Minister of Denmark from 27 November 2001 to 5 April 2009....
is appointed as the new Secretary General of NATOSecretary General of NATOThe Secretary General of the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation is the chairman of the North Atlantic Council, the supreme decision-making organisation of the defence alliance. The Secretary-General also serves as the leader of the organisation's staff and as its chief spokesman...
. - April 5 – North KoreaNorth KoreaThe Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country 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 zone between North Korea and South Korea...
launches the Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2In this regard, a delegation of fifteen strong Iranian rocket scientists, including senior officials with Iranian rocket and satellite producer Shahid Hemmat Industrial Group, has been in the DPRK since the beginning of March, to help prepare for the launch...
rocket, prompting an emergency meeting of—but no official reaction from—the United Nations Security CouncilUnited Nations Security CouncilThe United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
. - April 6 – A 6.3 magnitude earthquake2009 L'Aquila earthquakeThe 2009 L'Aquila earthquake occurred in the region of Abruzzo, in central Italy. The main shock occurred at 3:32 local time on 6 April 2009, and was rated 5.8 on the Richter scale and 6.3 on the moment magnitude scale; its epicentre was near L'Aquila, the capital of Abruzzo, which together...
strikes near L'AquilaL'AquilaL'Aquila is a city and comune in central Italy, both the capital city of the Abruzzo region and of the Province of L'Aquila. , it has a population of 73,150 inhabitants, but has a daily presence in the territory of 100,000 people for study, tertiary activities, jobs and tourism...
, ItalyItalyItaly , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, killing nearly 300 and injuring more than 1,500. - April 7 – Former PeruPeruPeru , 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....
vian President Alberto FujimoriAlberto FujimoriAlberto Fujimori Fujimori served as President of Peru from 28 July 1990 to 17 November 2000. A controversial figure, Fujimori has been credited with the creation of Fujimorism, uprooting terrorism in Peru and restoring its macroeconomic stability, though his methods have drawn charges of...
is sentenced to 25 years in prison for ordering killings and kidnappings by security forces. - April 10 – A political crisis2009 Fijian constitutional crisisThe Fijian constitutional crisis of 2009 began on Friday, 10 April 2009. Fijian President Ratu Josefa Iloilo announced on a nationwide radio broadcast that he had suspended the Constitution of Fiji, dismissed all judges and constitutional appointees and assumed all governance in the country after...
begins in FijiFijiFiji , officially the Republic of Fiji , is an island nation in Melanesia in the South Pacific Ocean about northeast of New Zealand's North Island...
when PresidentPresident of FijiThe President of the Republic of Fiji is the head of state of Fiji. The President was appointed by the Great Council of Chiefs for a five-year term under the terms of the now-suspended 1997 constitution. The Great Council of Chiefs is constitutionally required to consult the Prime Minister, but...
Josefa IloiloJosefa IloiloRatu Josefa Iloilovatu Uluivuda, CF, MBE, MSD, KStJ was the President of Fiji from 2000 until 2009, excluding a brief period from 5 December 2006 until 4 January 2007 . He held the traditional title of Tui Vuda, the paramount chief of the Vuda district in Ba Province on Fiji's northwest coast...
suspends the nation's ConstitutionConstitution of FijiThe 1997 Constitution of Fiji was the supreme law of Fiji from its adoption in 1997 until 2009 when President Josefa Iloilo purported to abrogate it. It was also suspended for a period following the 2000 coup d'état led by Commodore Frank Bainimarama....
, dismisses all judges and constitutional appointees and assumes all governanceGovernanceGovernance is the act of governing. It relates to decisions that define expectations, grant power, or verify performance. It consists of either a separate process or part of management or leadership processes...
in the country after the Court of AppealCourt of Appeal (Fiji)The Court of Appeal of Fiji is one of three courts established by Chapter 9 of the Constitution, the others being the High Court and the Supreme Court. The Court of Appeal was a new institution established when the 1997 Constitution came into effect; the other two courts predated it...
rules that the government of Prime MinisterPrime Minister of FijiThe Prime Minister of the Republic of Fiji is the head of government of Fiji. The Prime Minister was appointed by the President under the terms of the now-suspended 1997 constitution....
Frank BainimaramaFrank BainimaramaCommodore Josaia Voreqe Bainimarama, CF, MSD, OStJ, Fijian Navy, known commonly as Frank Bainimarama and sometimes by the chiefly title Ratu , is a Fijian naval officer and politician. He is the Commander of the Fijian Military Forces and, as of April 2009, Prime Minister...
is illegal. - April 11–April 12 – The Fourth East Asia Summit is postponed after ThaiThailandThailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
Prime MinisterPrime Minister of ThailandThe Prime Minister of Thailand is the head of government of Thailand. The Prime Minister is also the chairman of the Cabinet of Thailand. The post has existed since the Revolution of 1932, when the country became a constitutional monarchy....
Abhisit VejjajivaAbhisit VejjajivaAbhisit Vejjajiva , , ; born Mark Abhisit Vejjajiva; 3 August 1964 in Newcastle upon Tyne) is a Thai politician who was the 27th Prime Minister of Thailand from 2008 to 2011 and is the current leader of the Democrat Party...
declares a state of emergency in BangkokBangkokBangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
and surrounding areas. - April 17 – Thirty-four heads of state and government meet in Port of SpainPort of SpainPort of Spain, also written as Port-of-Spain, is the capital of the Republic of Trinidad and Tobago and the country's third-largest municipality, after San Fernando and Chaguanas. The city has a municipal population of 49,031 , a metropolitan population of 128,026 and a transient daily population...
, TrinidadTrinidadTrinidad is the larger and more populous of the two major islands and numerous landforms which make up the island nation of Trinidad and Tobago. It is the southernmost island in the Caribbean and lies just off the northeastern coast of Venezuela. With an area of it is also the fifth largest in...
for the 5th Summit of the Americas5th Summit of the AmericasThe Fifth Summit of the Americas was held at Port of Spain in Trinidad and Tobagofrom April 17 to 19, 2009.Organizers planned for the Fifth Summit to focus on a wide-ranging theme: "Securing Our Citizens' Future by Promoting Human Prosperity, Energy Security and Environmental...
. - April 18 – Roxana SaberiRoxana SaberiRoxana Saberi is an American journalist who was arrested in Iran in January 2009. On April 8, 2009, the Iranian government charged Saberi with espionage, which she denied. She was subsequently sentenced to an eight-year prison term...
, an Iranian-American journalistJournalistA journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
, is sentenced to eight years in prison for espionageEspionageEspionage or spying involves an individual obtaining information that is considered secret or confidential without the permission of the holder of the information. Espionage is inherently clandestine, lest the legitimate holder of the information change plans or take other countermeasures once it...
by an Iranian court. She is released the following month, after an appeals court reduces and suspends her sentence. - April 21 – UNESCO launches The World Digital LibraryWorld Digital LibraryThe World Digital Library is an international digital library operated by UNESCO and the United States Library of Congress.The WDL has stated that its mission is to promote international and intercultural understanding, expand the volume and variety of cultural content on the Internet, provide...
. - April 24 – The World Health OrganizationWorld Health OrganizationThe World Health Organization is a specialized agency of the United Nations that acts as a coordinating authority on international public health. Established on 7 April 1948, with headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland, the agency inherited the mandate and resources of its predecessor, the Health...
expresses concern at the spread of influenzaInfluenzaInfluenza, commonly referred to as the flu, is an infectious disease caused by RNA viruses of the family Orthomyxoviridae , that affects birds and mammals...
from MexicoMexicoThe 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...
and the United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
to other countries. International cases and resulting deaths are confirmed. - April 29 – Amidst RussiaRussiaRussia or , officially known as both Russia and the Russian Federation , is a country in northern Eurasia. It is a federal semi-presidential republic, comprising 83 federal subjects...
's effort to improve relations with NATO and with the WestWestern worldThe Western world, also known as the West and the Occident , is a term referring to the countries of Western Europe , the countries of the Americas, as well all countries of Northern and Central Europe, Australia and New Zealand...
in general, NATO expels two Russian diplomats from NATO headquarters in BrusselsBrusselsBrussels , officially the Brussels Region or Brussels-Capital Region , is the capital of Belgium and the de facto capital of the European Union...
over a spy scandal in EstoniaEstoniaEstonia , officially the Republic of Estonia , is a state in the Baltic region of 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 Lake Peipsi and the Russian Federation . Across the Baltic Sea lies...
. Russia's Foreign Ministry criticises the expulsions.
May
- May 18
- The third C40 Large Cities Climate Leadership GroupLarge Cities Climate Leadership GroupThe Large Cities Climate Leadership Group, now officially known as the C40 is a group of cities working to reduce urban carbon emissions and to adapt to climate change. It believes it has an important role to play as cities contain around 50% of the world population, consume 75% of the world's...
meets in SeoulSeoulSeoul , officially the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea. A megacity with a population of over 10 million, it is the largest city proper in the OECD developed world...
. - Following more than a quarter-century of fighting, the Sri Lankan Civil WarSri Lankan civil warThe Sri Lankan Civil War was a conflict fought on the island of Sri Lanka. Beginning on July 23, 1983, there was an on-and-off insurgency against the government by the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a separatist militant organization which fought to create an independent Tamil state named Tamil...
ends with the total military defeat of the LTTE.
- The third C40 Large Cities Climate Leadership Group
- May 23 – Former President of South KoreaPresident of South KoreaThe 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-hyunRoh Moo-hyun GOM GCB was the 16th President of South Korea .Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for student activists in South Korea. His electoral career later expanded to a focus on overcoming regionalism in South Korean politics, culminating in his...
, under investigation for alleged briberyBriberyBribery, a form of corruption, is an act implying money or gift giving that alters the behavior of the recipient. Bribery constitutes a crime and is defined by Black's Law Dictionary as the offering, giving, receiving, or soliciting of any item of value to influence the actions of an official or...
during his presidential term, commits suicideSuicideSuicide is the act of intentionally causing one's own death. Suicide is often committed out of despair or attributed to some underlying mental disorder, such as depression, bipolar disorder, schizophrenia, alcoholism, or drug abuse...
. - May 25 – North KoreaNorth KoreaThe Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country 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 zone between North Korea and South Korea...
announces that it has conducted a second successful nuclear test2009 North Korean nuclear testThe 2009 North Korean nuclear test was the underground detonation of a nuclear device conducted on 25 May 2009 by North Korea. This was its second nuclear test, the first test having taken place in October 2006. Following the nuclear test, Pyongyang also conducted several missile tests.The test was...
in the province of North Hamgyong. The United Nations Security CouncilUnited Nations Security CouncilThe United Nations Security Council is one of the principal organs of the United Nations and is charged with the maintenance of international peace and security. Its powers, outlined in the United Nations Charter, include the establishment of peacekeeping operations, the establishment of...
condemns the reported test.
June
- June 1 – Air France Flight 447Air France Flight 447Air France Flight 447 was a scheduled airline flight from Rio de Janeiro-Galeão to Paris-Roissy involving an Airbus A330-200 aircraft that crashed into the Atlantic Ocean on 1 June 2009, killing all 216 passengers and 12 aircrew. The investigation is still ongoing, and the cause of the...
, en route from Rio de JaneiroRio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
, BrazilBrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
to ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, crashes into the Atlantic OceanAtlantic OceanThe Atlantic Ocean is the second-largest of the world's oceanic divisions. With a total area of about , it covers approximately 20% of the Earth's surface and about 26% of its water surface area...
, killing all 228 on board. - June 11 – The outbreak2009 flu pandemicThe 2009 flu pandemic was an influenza pandemic, and the second of the two pandemics involving H1N1 influenza virus , albeit in a new version...
of the H1N1 influenza strain, commonly referred to as "swine flu", is deemed a global pandemicPandemicA pandemic is an epidemic of infectious disease that is spreading through human populations across a large region; for instance multiple continents, or even worldwide. A widespread endemic disease that is stable in terms of how many people are getting sick from it is not a pandemic...
, becoming the first condition since the Hong Kong fluHong Kong fluThe Hong Kong flu was a category 2 flu pandemic whose outbreak in 1968 and 1969 killed an estimated one million people worldwide. It was caused by an H3N2 strain of the influenza A virus, descended from H2N2 through antigenic shift, a genetic process in which genes from multiple subtypes reassorted...
of 1967–1968 to receive this designation. - June 13 – Following the reelectionIranian presidential election, 2009Iran's tenth presidential election was held on 12 June 2009, with incumbent Mahmoud Ahmadinejad running against three challengers. The next morning the Islamic Republic News Agency, Iran's official news agency, announced that with two-thirds of the votes counted, Ahmadinejad had won the election...
of IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
ian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, supporters of defeated candidate Mir-Hossein MousaviMir-Hossein MousaviMir-Hossein Mousavi Khameneh is an Iranian reformist politician, artist and architect who served as the seventy-ninth and last Prime Minister of Iran from 1981 to 1989. He was a Reformist candidate for the 2009 presidential election and eventually the leader of the opposition in the post-election...
accuse the government of fraudElectoral fraudElectoral fraud is illegal interference with the process of an election. Acts of fraud affect vote counts to bring about an election result, whether by increasing the vote share of the favored candidate, depressing the vote share of the rival candidates or both...
, and launch a series of sustained protests2009 Iranian election protestsProtests following the 2009 Iranian presidential election against the disputed victory of Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad and in support of opposition candidates Mir-Hossein Mousavi and Mehdi Karroubi occurred in major cities in Iran and around the world starting June 13, 2009...
. - June 18 – NASA launches the Lunar Reconnaissance OrbiterLunar Reconnaissance OrbiterThe Lunar Precursor Robotic Program is a program of robotic spacecraft missions which NASA will use to prepare for future human spaceflight missions to the Moon. Two LPRP missions, the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter and the Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite , were launched in June 2009...
/LCROSS probes to the MoonMoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
, the first American lunar mission since Lunar ProspectorLunar ProspectorThe Lunar Prospector mission was the third selected by NASA for full development and construction as part of the Discovery Program. At a cost of $62.8 million, the 19-month mission was designed for a low polar orbit investigation of the Moon, including mapping of surface composition and possible...
in 1998. - June 20 – The death of Neda Agha-SoltanDeath of Neda Agha-SoltanFootage of the death of Neda Agha-Soltan drew international attention after she was killed during the 2009 Iranian election protests. Her death was captured on video by bystanders and broadcast over the Internet and the video became a rallying point for the opposition...
, an Iranian student shot during a protest, is captured on what soon becomes a viral videoViral videoA viral video is one that becomes popular through the process of Internet sharing, typically through video sharing websites, social media and email...
that helps to turn Neda into an international symbol of the civil unrestCivil disorderCivil disorder, also known as civil unrest or civil strife, is a broad term that is typically used by law enforcement to describe one or more forms of disturbance caused by a group of people. Civil disturbance is typically a symptom of, and a form of protest against, major socio-political problems;...
following the presidential election. - June 21 – As a step toward total independence from the Kingdom of DenmarkKingdom of DenmarkThe Kingdom of Denmark or the Danish Realm , is a constitutional monarchy and sovereign state consisting of Denmark proper in northern Europe and two autonomous constituent countries, the Faroe Islands in the North Atlantic and Greenland in North America. Denmark is the hegemonial part, where the...
, GreenlandGreenlandGreenland is an autonomous country within the Kingdom of Denmark, located between the Arctic and Atlantic Oceans, east of the Canadian Arctic Archipelago. Though physiographically a part of the continent of North America, Greenland has been politically and culturally associated with Europe for...
assumes control over its law enforcement, judicial affairs, and natural resources. Greenlandic becomes the official language. - June 25 – The deathDeath of Michael JacksonOn June 25, 2009, American singer Michael Jackson died of acute propofol intoxication after he suffered a respiratory arrest at his home in the Holmby Hills neighborhood in Los Angeles. His personal physician, Conrad Murray, said he found Jackson in his room, not breathing, but with a faint pulse,...
of American entertainer Michael JacksonMichael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
triggers an outpouring of worldwide grief. Online, reactions to the event cripple several major websites and services, as the abundance of people accessing the web addressesUniform Resource LocatorIn computing, a uniform resource locator or universal resource locator is a specific character string that constitutes a reference to an Internet resource....
pushes internet trafficInternet traffic-Historical Internet Traffic Growth:Because of the distributed nature of the Internet, there is no single point of measurement for total Internet traffic...
to potentially unprecedented and historic levels. - June 28 – The Supreme Court of HondurasSupreme Court of HondurasThe Supreme Court of Honduras is the Supreme Court and Constitutional Court of Honduras. The Supreme Court is the highest judicial authority in Honduras.- Structure, power, and duties :...
orders the arrest and exile2009 Honduran coup d'étatThe 2009 Honduran coup d'état, part of the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, occurred when the Honduran Army ousted President Manuel Zelaya and sent him into exile on June 28, 2009. It was prompted by his attempts to schedule a non binding poll on holding a referendum about convening a...
of President Manuel ZelayaManuel ZelayaJosé Manuel Zelaya Rosales is a politician who was President of Honduras from January 27, 2006 until June 28, 2009. The eldest son of a wealthy businessman, he inherited his father's nickname "Mel," and, before entering politics, was involved in his family's logging and timber businesses.Elected...
, claiming he was violating the nation's constitutionConstitution of HondurasThe Political Constitution of the Republic of Honduras was approved on 11 January 1982, published on 20 January 1982, amended by the National Congress of Honduras 26 times from 1984 to 2005, and 10 interpretations by Congress were made from 1982 to 2005. It is Honduras' twelfth constitution since...
by holding a referendumReferendumA referendum is a direct vote in which an entire electorate is asked to either accept or reject a particular proposal. This may result in the adoption of a new constitution, a constitutional amendment, a law, the recall of an elected official or simply a specific government policy. It is a form of...
to stay in power. The coup d'étatCoup d'étatA coup d'état state, literally: strike/blow of state)—also known as a coup, putsch, and overthrow—is the sudden, extrajudicial deposition of a government, usually by a small group of the existing state establishment—typically the military—to replace the deposed government with another body; either...
is condemned by the United NationsUnited 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 achievement of world peace...
, the Organization of American StatesOrganization of American StatesThe Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
, and multiple nations around the world. - June 30 – Yemenia Flight 626Yemenia Flight 626Yemenia Flight 626 was an Airbus A310-324 twin-engine jet airliner, operated by Yemenia, operating as a scheduled international flight from Sana'a, Yemen, to Moroni, Comoros, that crashed on 30 June 2009 at around 1:50 a.m. local time while on approach to Prince Said Ibrahim International...
crashes off the coast of Moroni, ComorosMoroni, Comoros-References:...
, killing all but one of the 153 passengers and crew.
July
- July 4 – The Organization of American StatesOrganization of American StatesThe Organization of American States is a regional international organization, headquartered in Washington, D.C., United States...
suspends HondurasHondurasHonduras is a republic in Central America. It was previously known as Spanish Honduras to differentiate it from British Honduras, which became the modern-day state of Belize...
due to the country's recent political crisis2009 Honduran coup d'étatThe 2009 Honduran coup d'état, part of the 2009 Honduran constitutional crisis, occurred when the Honduran Army ousted President Manuel Zelaya and sent him into exile on June 28, 2009. It was prompted by his attempts to schedule a non binding poll on holding a referendum about convening a...
after its refusal to reinstate President Zelaya. - July 5 – Over 150 are killed when a few thousand ethnic UyghursUyghur peopleThe Uyghur are a Turkic ethnic group living in Eastern and Central Asia. Today, Uyghurs live primarily in the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region in the People's Republic of China...
target local Han ChineseHan ChineseHan Chinese are an ethnic group native to China and are the largest single ethnic group in the world.Han Chinese constitute about 92% of the population of the People's Republic of China , 98% of the population of the Republic of China , 78% of the population of Singapore, and about 20% of the...
during major rioting in ÜrümqiÜrümqiÜrümqi , formerly Tihwa , is the capital of Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region of the People's Republic of China, in the northwest of the country....
, XinjiangXinjiangXinjiang is an autonomous region of the People's Republic of China. It is the largest Chinese administrative division and spans over 1.6 million km2...
. - July 7 – A public memorial serviceMichael Jackson memorial serviceA public memorial service for Michael Jackson was held on July 7, 2009 at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California 12 days after his death on June 25...
is held for musician Michael Jackson. It is regarded as one of the most prominent funerals of all time. - July 15 – Caspian Airlines Flight 7908Caspian Airlines Flight 7908Caspian Airlines Flight 7908 was a scheduled commercial flight from Tehran, Iran, to Yerevan, Armenia, that crashed near the village of Jannatabad, outside the city of Qazvin in north-western Iran, on 15 July 2009...
crashes near QazvinQazvinQazvin is the largest city and capital of the Province of Qazvin in Iran. At the 2006 census, its population was 349,821, in 96,420 families....
, IranIranIran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
, killing all 168 on board. - July 16 – Iceland'sIcelandIceland , described as the Republic of Iceland, is a Nordic and European island country in the North Atlantic Ocean, on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge. Iceland also refers to the main island of the country, which contains almost all the population and almost all the land area. The country has a population...
national parliamentParliamentA parliament is a legislature, especially in those countries whose system of government is based on the Westminster system modeled after that of the United Kingdom. The name is derived from the French , the action of parler : a parlement is a discussion. The term came to mean a meeting at which...
, the AlthingAlthingThe Alþingi, anglicised variously as Althing or Althingi, is the national parliament of Iceland. The Althingi is the oldest parliamentary institution in the world still extant...
i, votes to pursue joiningIceland and the European UnionIceland applied to join the European Union on 16 July 2009. Negotiations formally began 27 July 2010 and, despite Iceland already being heavily integrated into the EU market, will face contentious issues on fisheries which could potentially derail an agreement...
the EU. - July 22 – The longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century, lasting up to 6 minutes and 38.8 seconds, occurs over parts of AsiaAsiaAsia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...
and the Pacific Ocean.
August
- August 3 – BoliviaBoliviaBolivia officially known as Plurinational State of Bolivia , is a landlocked country in central South America. It is the poorest country in South America...
becomes the first South AmericaSouth AmericaSouth America is a continent situated in the Western Hemisphere, mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere. The continent is also considered a subcontinent of the Americas. It is bordered on the west by the Pacific Ocean and on the north and east...
n country to declare the right of indigenous people to govern themselves. - August 4 – North KoreaNorth KoreaThe Democratic People’s Republic of Korea , , is a country 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 zone between North Korea and South Korea...
n leader Kim Jong-ilKim Jong-ilKim Jong-il, also written as Kim Jong Il, birth name Yuri Irsenovich Kim born 16 February 1941 or 16 February 1942 , is the Supreme Leader of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea...
pardonPardonClemency means the forgiveness of a crime or the cancellation of the penalty associated with it. It is a general concept that encompasses several related procedures: pardoning, commutation, remission and reprieves...
s two American journalists, who had been arrested and imprisoned2009 imprisonment of American journalists by North KoreaOn March 17, 2009, North Korean border guards detained two American journalists, Euna Lee and Laura Ling, who were working for the U.S. independent cable television network Current TV, after they crossed into North Korea from the People's Republic of China without a visa. They were found guilty of...
for illegal entryIllegal entryIllegal entry is the act of foreign nationals arriving in or crossing the borders into a country in violation of its immigration law.Migrants from nations that do not have automatic visa agreements, or who would not otherwise qualify for a visa, often cross the borders illegally in some areas like...
earlier in the year, after former U.S. President Bill ClintonBill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
meets with Kim in North Korea. - August 7 – Typhoon MorakotTyphoon Morakot (2009)Typhoon Morakot was the deadliest typhoon to impact Taiwan in recorded history. It formed early on August 2, 2009 as an unnamed tropical depression...
hits TaiwanTaiwanTaiwan , also known, especially in the past, as Formosa , is the largest island of the same-named island group of East Asia in the western Pacific Ocean and located off the southeastern coast of mainland China. The island forms over 99% of the current territory of the Republic of China following...
, killing 500 and stranding more than 1,000 via the worst flooding on the island in half a century. - August 20 – Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, imprisoned for the 1988 bombing of Pan Am Flight 103Pan Am Flight 103Pan Am Flight 103 was Pan American World Airways' third daily scheduled transatlantic flight from London Heathrow Airport to New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport...
, is released by the ScottishScotlandScotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
government on compassionate groundsCompassionate releaseCompassionate release is a legal system that grants inmates early release from prison sentences on special grounds such as terminal illness or a child in the community with an urgent need for his or her incarcerated guardian...
as he has terminal prostate cancerProstate cancerProstate cancer is a form of cancer that develops in the prostate, a gland in the male reproductive system. Most prostate cancers are slow growing; however, there are cases of aggressive prostate cancers. The cancer cells may metastasize from the prostate to other parts of the body, particularly...
. He returns to his native LibyaLibyaLibya is an African country in the Maghreb region of North Africa bordered by the Mediterranean Sea to the north, Egypt to the east, Sudan to the southeast, Chad and Niger to the south, and Algeria and Tunisia to the west....
.
September
- September 25 – At the G-20 Pittsburgh summit2009 G-20 Pittsburgh summitThe 2009 G-20 Pittsburgh Summit was the third meeting of the G-20 heads of state in discussion of financial markets and the world economy.The G-20 is the premier forum for discussing, planning and monitoring international economiccooperation....
, world leaders announce that the G-20 will assume greater leverage over the world economyWorld economyThe world economy, or global economy, generally refers to the economy, which is based on economies of all of the world's countries, national economies. Also global economy can be seen as the economy of global society and national economies – as economies of local societies, making the global one....
, replacing the role of the G-8G8The Group of Eight is a forum, created by France in 1975, for the governments of seven major economies: Canada, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, the United Kingdom, and the United States. In 1997, the group added Russia, thus becoming the G8...
, in an effort to prevent another financial crisis like that in 2008. - September 26 – Typhoon KetsanaTyphoon Ketsana (2009)Typhoon Ketsana was the most devastating typhoon in the 2009 Pacific typhoon season with a damage of $1.09 billion and 747 fatalities. The storm was the twenty-seventh tropical storm, eighth typhoon and the second major typhoon in the season...
begins to cause record amounts of rainfall in ManilaManilaManila is the capital of the Philippines. It is one of the sixteen cities forming Metro Manila.Manila is located on the eastern shores of Manila Bay and is bordered by Navotas and Caloocan to the north, Quezon City to the northeast, San Juan and Mandaluyong to the east, Makati on the southeast,...
, PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, leading to the declaration of a "state of calamityState of emergencyA state of emergency is a governmental declaration that may suspend some normal functions of the executive, legislative and judicial powers, alert citizens to change their normal behaviours, or order government agencies to implement emergency preparedness plans. It can also be used as a rationale...
" in 25 provincesProvinces of the PhilippinesThe Provinces of the Philippines are the primary political and administrative divisions of the Philippines. There are 80 provinces at present, further subdivided into component cities and municipalities. The National Capital Region, as well as independent cities, are autonomous from any provincial...
. - September 28 – At least 157 demonstrators are killed in a clash2009 Guinea protestThe 2009 Guinea protest was an opposition rally in Conakry, Guinea on Monday, 28 September 2009, with about 50,000 participants protesting against the junta government that came to power after the Guinean coup d'état of December 2008...
with the GuineaGuineaGuinea , officially the Republic of Guinea , is a country in West Africa. Formerly known as French Guinea , it is today sometimes called Guinea-Conakry to distinguish it from its neighbour Guinea-Bissau. Guinea is divided into eight administrative regions and subdivided into thirty-three prefectures...
n military. - September 29 – An 8.3-magnitude earthquake2009 Samoa earthquakeThe 2009 Samoa earthquake was an 8.1 Mw submarine earthquake that took place in the Samoan Islands region at 06:48:11 local time on September 29, 2009 . At a magnitude of 8.1, it was the largest earthquake of 2009....
triggers a tsunamiTsunamiA tsunami is a series of water waves caused by the displacement of a large volume of a body of water, typically an ocean or a large lake...
near the Samoan IslandsSamoan IslandsThe Samoan Islands or Samoa Islands is an archipelago covering in the central South Pacific, forming part of Polynesia and the wider region of Oceania...
. Many communities and harbors in SamoaSamoaSamoa , officially the Independent State of Samoa, formerly known as Western Samoa is a country encompassing the western part of the Samoan Islands in the South Pacific Ocean. It became independent from New Zealand in 1962. The two main islands of Samoa are Upolu and one of the biggest islands in...
and American SamoaAmerican SamoaAmerican Samoa is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the sovereign state of Samoa...
are destroyed, and at least 189 are killed. - September 30 – A 7.6-magnitude earthquake2009 Sumatra earthquakesThe September 2009 Sumatra earthquake occurred just off the southern coast of Sumatra, Indonesia. The major shock hit at 17:16:10 local time on and had a moment magnitude of 7.6. The epicenter was west-northwest of Padang, Sumatra, and southwest of Pekanbaru, Sumatra. Early death-toll estimates...
strikes just off the coast of SumatraSumatraSumatra is an island in western Indonesia, westernmost of the Sunda Islands. It is the largest island entirely in Indonesia , and the sixth largest island in the world at 473,481 km2 with a population of 50,365,538...
, killing around 1,000 in IndonesiaIndonesiaIndonesia , officially the Republic of Indonesia , is a country in Southeast Asia and Oceania. Indonesia is an archipelago comprising approximately 13,000 islands. It has 33 provinces with over 238 million people, and is the world's fourth most populous country. Indonesia is a republic, with an...
.
October
- October 1 – Paleontologists announce the discovery of an ArdipithecusArdipithecusArdipithecus is a very early hominin genus. Two species are described in the literature: A. ramidus, which lived about 4.4 million years ago during the early Pliocene, and A. kadabba, dated to approximately 5.6 million years ago ....
ramidus fossil skeleton, deeming it the oldest remains of a human ancestor yet found. - October 2
- The International Olympic CommitteeInternational Olympic CommitteeThe International Olympic Committee is an international corporation based in Lausanne, Switzerland, created by Pierre de Coubertin on 23 June 1894 with Demetrios Vikelas as its first president...
awards the 2016 Summer Olympics2016 Summer OlympicsThe 2016 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXXI Olympiad, are a major international multi-sport event to be celebrated in the tradition of the Olympic Games, as governed by the International Olympic Committee...
to Rio de JaneiroRio de JaneiroRio de Janeiro , commonly referred to simply as Rio, is the capital city of the State of Rio de Janeiro, the second largest city of Brazil, and the third largest metropolitan area and agglomeration in South America, boasting approximately 6.3 million people within the city proper, making it the 6th...
. - IrelandRepublic of IrelandIreland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...
holds a second referendum on the EU's Lisbon Treaty. The amendment is approved by the Irish electorate, having been rejected in the Lisbon I referendum held in June 2008June 2008June 2008 was the sixth month of the leap year. It began on a Sunday and ended after 30 days on a Monday.-International holidays and commemorations:* June 8 – Dragon Boat Festival * June 9 – Shavuot...
.
- The International Olympic Committee
- October 20 – European astronomers discover 32 exoplanets.
November
- November 3
- The Czech RepublicCzech RepublicThe Czech Republic is a landlocked country in Central Europe. The country is bordered by Poland to the northeast, Slovakia to the east, Austria to the south, and Germany to the west and northwest....
becomes the final member-stateMember State of the European UnionA member state of the European Union is a state that is party to treaties of the European Union and has thereby undertaken the privileges and obligations that EU membership entails. Unlike membership of an international organisation, being an EU member state places a country under binding laws in...
of the European UnionEuropean UnionThe European Union is an economic and political union of 27 independent member states which are located primarily in Europe. The EU traces its origins from the European Coal and Steel Community and the European Economic Community , formed by six countries in 1958...
to sign the Treaty of LisbonTreaty of LisbonThe 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 the sovereignty of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, the House of Braganza....
, thereby permitting that document's initiation into European law. - The Prime Minister of Belgium, Herman Van RompuyHerman Van RompuyHerman Achille Van Rompuy is the first long-term and full-time President of the European Council...
, is designated the first permanent President of the European CouncilPresident of the European CouncilThe President of the European Council is a principal representative of the European Union on the world stage, and the person presiding over and driving forward the work of the European Council...
, a position he takes up on 1 December 2009.
- The Czech Republic
- November 13 – Having analyzed the data from the LCROSSLCROSSThe Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite was a robotic spacecraft operated by NASA. The mission was conceived as a low-cost means of determining the nature of hydrogen detected at the polar regions of the moon. The main LCROSS mission objective was to explore the presence of water ice...
lunar impact, NASANASAThe National Aeronautics and Space Administration is the agency of the United States government that is responsible for the nation's civilian space program and for aeronautics and aerospace research...
announces that it has found a "significant" quantity of water in the Moon'sMoonThe Moon is Earth's only known natural satellite,There are a number of near-Earth asteroids including 3753 Cruithne that are co-orbital with Earth: their orbits bring them close to Earth for periods of time but then alter in the long term . These are quasi-satellites and not true moons. For more...
CabeusCabeus (crater)Cabeus is a lunar crater that is located about from the south pole of the Moon. At this location the crater is seen obliquely from Earth, and it is almost perpetually in deep shadow due to lack of sunlight. Hence, not much detail can be seen of this crater, even from orbit...
crater. - November 20 – CERNCERNThe European Organization for Nuclear Research , known as CERN , is an international organization whose purpose is to operate the world's largest particle physics laboratory, which is situated in the northwest suburbs of Geneva on the Franco–Swiss border...
restarts the Large Hadron ColliderLarge Hadron ColliderThe Large Hadron Collider is the world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator. It is expected to address some of the most fundamental questions of physics, advancing the understanding of the deepest laws of nature....
particle acceleratorParticle acceleratorA particle accelerator is a device that uses electromagnetic fields to propel charged particles to high speeds and to contain them in well-defined beams. An ordinary CRT television set is a simple form of accelerator. There are two basic types: electrostatic and oscillating field accelerators.In...
in Geneva, Switzerland; they had shut it down on September 19, 2008. - November 23 – In the PhilippinesPhilippinesThe Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
, at least 58 are abducted and killedMaguindanao massacreThe Maguindanao massacre, also known as the Ampatuan massacre after the town where the mass graves were found, occurred on the morning of November 23, 2009, in the town of Ampatuan in Maguindanao province, on the island of Mindanao in the Philippines...
in an election-related massacre in the province of MaguindanaoMaguindanaoMaguindanao is a province of the Philippines located in the Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao . Its capital is Shariff Aguak. It borders Lanao del Sur to the north, Cotabato to the east, and Sultan Kudarat to the south....
. This appears to be the deadliest attack on journalistJournalistA journalist collects and distributes news and other information. A journalist's work is referred to as journalism.A reporter is a type of journalist who researchs, writes, and reports on information to be presented in mass media, including print media , electronic media , and digital media A...
s in recent history. - November 27 – DubaiDubaiDubai is a city and emirate in the United Arab Emirates . The emirate is located south of the Persian Gulf on the Arabian Peninsula and has the largest population with the second-largest land territory by area of all the emirates, after Abu Dhabi...
requests a debt deferment following its massive renovation and development projects, as well as the late 2000s economic crisis. The announcement causes global stock marketStock marketA stock market or equity market is a public entity 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.The size of the world stock market was estimated at about $36.6 trillion...
s to drop.
December
- December 1 – The Treaty of LisbonTreaty of LisbonThe 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 the sovereignty of Portugal's new ruling dynasty, the House of Braganza....
comes into force. - December 7 – December 18 – The UNFCCC'sUnited Nations Framework Convention on Climate ChangeThe United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is an international environmental treaty produced at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development , informally known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro from June 3 to 14, 1992...
United Nations Climate Change Conference 2009 conference is held in CopenhagenCopenhagenCopenhagen is the capital and largest city of Denmark, with an urban population of 1,199,224 and a metropolitan population of 1,930,260 . With the completion of the transnational Øresund Bridge in 2000, Copenhagen has become the centre of the increasingly integrating Øresund Region...
, DenmarkDenmarkDenmark is a Scandinavian country in Northern Europe. The countries of Denmark and Greenland, as well as the Faroe Islands, constitute the Kingdom of Denmark . It is the southernmost of the Nordic countries, southwest of Sweden and south of Norway, and bordered to the south by Germany. Denmark...
. - December 16 – AstronomersAstronomyAstronomy is a natural science that deals with the study of celestial objects and phenomena that originate outside the atmosphere of Earth...
discover GJ1214b, the first-known exoplanet on which waterExtraterrestrial liquid waterExtraterrestrial liquid water, the presence of water in its liquid state, is a subject of wide interest because it is a commonly suggested prerequisite for the emergence of extraterrestrial life....
could exist.
January
- January 1
- Nizar RayanNizar RayanNizar Rayan was a top Hamas leader who served as a liaison between the Palestinian organization's political leadership and its military wing. Also a professor of Islamic law, he came to be considered a top clerical authority within Hamas after the death of Sheikh Ahmed Yassin in 2004...
, Palestinian military and political leader (b. 1959) - Johannes Mario SimmelJohannes Mario SimmelJohannes Mario Simmel was an Austrian writer.He was born in Vienna and grew up in Austria and England. He was trained as a chemical engineer and worked in research from 1943 to the end of World War II...
, Austrian writer (b. 1924) - Helen SuzmanHelen SuzmanHelen Suzman, DBE was a South African anti-apartheid activist and politician.-Biography:Helen Suzman, a life-long citizen of South Africa, was born as Helen Gavronsky in 1917 to Jewish immigrants....
, South African activist and politician (b. 1917)
- Nizar Rayan
- January 12
- Claude BerriClaude BerriClaude Berri , born Claude Berel Langmann, was one of the great all-rounders of French cinema: an actor, writer, producer, director and distributor. "Out of my failure as an actor was born my desire to direct. Then my relative failure as a director forced me to become a producer. In order to get my...
, French film director (b. 1934) - Arne NæssArne NæssArne Dekke Eide Næss was a Norwegian philosopher, the founder of deep ecology. He was the youngest person to be appointed full professor at the University of Oslo....
, Norwegian philosopher (b. 1912)
- Claude Berri
- January 13 – Patrick McGoohanPatrick McGoohanPatrick Joseph McGoohan was an American-born actor, raised in Ireland and England, with an extensive stage and film career, most notably in the 1960s television series Danger Man , and The Prisoner, which he co-created...
, American-born British actor (b. 1928) - January 14 – Ricardo MontalbánRicardo MontalbánRicardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG was a Mexican radio, television, theatre and film actor. He had a career spanning six decades and many notable roles...
, Mexican-born American actor (b. 1920) - January 15 – Said SeyamSaid SeyamSaid Seyam was the Interior Minister of the Palestinian government of March 2006. He joined Hamas, and became one of its top commanders. During the Gaza War, Seyam was killed in an Israeli airstrike in Jabalia.-Personal life:...
, Palestinian politician (b. 1957) - January 16 – Andrew WyethAndrew WyethAndrew Newell Wyeth was a visual artist, primarily a realist painter, working predominantly in a regionalist style. He was one of the best-known U.S. artists of the middle 20th century....
, American painter (b. 1917) - January 20
- Stéphanos II Ghattas, Egyptian Patriarch of Alexandria (b. 1920)
- Sheila F. Walsh (aka Sophie Leyton), British writer (b. 1928)
- January 25 – Mamadou DiaMamadou DiaMamadou Dia was a Senegalese politician who served as the first Prime Minister of Senegal from 1957 until 1962, when he was forced to resign and was subsequently imprisoned amidst allegations that he was planning to stage a military coup to overthrow President Léopold Sédar Senghor.- Biography...
, 1st Prime Minister of Senegal (b. 1910) - January 27
- John UpdikeJohn UpdikeJohn Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic....
, American writer (b. 1932) - R. VenkataramanR. VenkataramanRamaswamy Venkataraman was an Indian lawyer, Indian independence activist and politician who served as a Union minister and as the eighth President of India....
, 8th President of India (b. 1910)
- John Updike
- January 30 – Ingemar JohanssonIngemar JohanssonJens Ingemar Johansson was a Swedish boxer and former heavyweight champion of the world. Johansson was the fifth heavyweight champion born outside the United States. In 1959 he defeated Floyd Patterson by TKO in the third round, after flooring Patterson seven times in that round, to win the World...
, Swedish boxer (b. 1932)
February
- February 6 – James WhitmoreJames WhitmoreJames Allen Whitmore, Jr. was an American film and stage actor.-Early life:Born in White Plains, New York, to Florence Belle and James Allen Whitmore, Sr., a park commission official, Whitmore attended Amherst Central High School in Snyder, New York, before graduating from The Choate School in...
, American actor (b. 1921) - February 9 – Eluana EnglaroEluana EnglaroEluana Englaro was an Italian woman from Lecco, who entered a persistent vegetative state on January 18, 1992, following a car accident, and subsequently became the focus of a court battle between supporters and opponents of euthanasia...
, Italian patient in right-to-die case (b. 1970) - February 25 – Philip José FarmerPhilip José FarmerPhilip José Farmer was an American author, principally known for his award-winning science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories....
, American writer (b. 1918) - February 27 – Manea MănescuManea ManescuManea Mănescu was a former Romanian communist politician who served as Prime Minister for five years during Nicolae Ceauşescu's Communist regime....
, Romanian Prime Minister (b. 1916)
March
- March 2 – João Bernardo VieiraJoão Bernardo VieiraJoão Bernardo "Nino" Vieira was the President of Guinea-Bissau from 1980 to 1999 and again from 2005 to 2009. After seizing power in 1980, Vieira ruled for 19 years, and he won a multiparty presidential election in 1994. He was ousted at the end of the 1998–1999 civil war and went into exile...
, President of Guinea-Bissau (b. 1939) - March 14 – Alain BashungAlain BashungAlain Bashung was a French singer, songwriter and actor.- Youth :Alain Bashung was the son of a Breton factory worker and French Kabyle father, whom he never knew. His mother remarried, and at the age of one, Bashung was sent to Strasbourg to live with his new stepfather's parents...
, French singer, songwriter and actor (b. 1947) - March 15 – Ron SilverRon SilverRonald Arthur "Ron" Silver was an American actor, director, producer, radio host and political activist.-Early life:...
, American actor and political activist (b. 1946) - March 18 – Natasha RichardsonNatasha RichardsonNatasha Jane Richardson was an English actress of stage and screen. A member of the Redgrave family, she was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and the granddaughter of Michael Redgrave and Rachel Kempson...
, English actress (b. 1963) - March 20 – Abdellatif FilaliAbdellatif FilaliDr. Abdellatif Filali was a Moroccan politician and diplomat under King Hassan II.Filali was born in Beni Mellal, Morocco. He served as Prime Minister of Morocco from 25 May 1994 to 4 February 1998...
, 13th Prime Minister of Morocco (b. 1928) - March 25 – Yukio Endo, Japanese gymnast (b. 1937)
- March 28 – Janet JaganJanet JaganJanet Jagan was an American-born socialist politician who was President of Guyana from December 19, 1997, to August 11, 1999. She previously served as Prime Minister of Guyana from March 17, 1997, to December 19, 1997....
, American-born President of Guyana (b. 1920) - March 29 – Maurice JarreMaurice JarreMaurice-Alexis Jarre was a French composer and conductor.Although he composed several concert works, he is best known for his film scores, and is particularly known for his collaborations with film director David Lean. Jarre composed the scores to all of Lean's films since Lawrence of Arabia...
, French composer and conductor (b. 1924) - March 31 – Raúl AlfonsínRaúl AlfonsínRaúl Ricardo Alfonsín was an Argentine lawyer, politician and statesman, who served as the President of Argentina from December 10, 1983, to July 8, 1989. Alfonsín was the first democratically-elected president of Argentina following the military government known as the National Reorganization...
, 49th President of Argentina (b. 1927)
April
- April 12
- Marilyn ChambersMarilyn ChambersMarilyn Chambers was an American pornographic actress, exotic dancer, model, actress and vice-presidential candidate...
, American pornographic actress (b. 1952) - Eve Kosofsky SedgwickEve Kosofsky SedgwickEve Kosofsky Sedgwick was an American academic scholar in the fields of gender studies, queer theory , and critical theory. Her critical writings helped create the field of queer studies...
, American social theorist (b. 1950)
- Marilyn Chambers
- April 14 – Maurice DruonMaurice DruonMaurice Druon was a French novelist and a member of the Académie française.Born in Paris, France, Druon was the nephew of the writer Joseph Kessel, with whom he translated the Chant des Partisans, a French Resistance anthem of World War II, with music and words originally by Anna Marly.In 1948...
, French novelist (b. 1918) - April 19 – J. G. BallardJ. G. BallardJames Graham Ballard was an English novelist, short story writer, and prominent member of the New Wave movement in science fiction...
, English novelist (b. 1930) - April 22
- Ken AnnakinKen AnnakinKenneth Cooper Annakin, OBE was an English film director.- Biography :Annakin grew up in Beverley, Yorkshire where he attended the local school. He began his career in feature films following an early experience making documentaries. His first filmwork was in 1947 with the Rank Organisation...
, English film director (b. 1914) - Jack CardiffJack CardiffJack Cardiff, OBE, BSC was a British cinematographer, director and photographer.His career spanned the development of cinema, from silent film, through early experiments in Technicolor to filmmaking in the 21st century...
, English cinematographer (b. 1914)
- Ken Annakin
- April 25 – Beatrice ArthurBeatrice ArthurBeatrice "Bea" Arthur was an American actress, comedienne and singer whose career spanned seven decades. Arthur achieved fame as the character Maude Findlay on the 1970s sitcoms All in the Family and Maude, and as Dorothy Zbornak on the 1980s sitcom The Golden Girls, winning Emmy Awards for both...
, American actress (b. 1922) - April 28 – Ekaterina MaximovaEkaterina MaximovaEkaterina Sergeevna Maximova was a Soviet and Russian ballerina of international renown.-Career:Maximova was born in Moscow, Soviet Union. An artist who combined great technical prowess with piquant prettiness, Maximova enjoyed her greatest successes in Giselle, Don Quixote, Cinderella and The...
, Soviet-Russian ballerina (b. 1939)
May
- May 2
- Augusto BoalAugusto BoalAugusto Boal was a Brazilian theatre director, writer and politician. He was the founder of Theatre of the Oppressed, a theatrical form originally used in radical popular education movements...
, Brazilian theatre director (b. 1931) - Jack KempJack KempJack French Kemp was an American politician and a collegiate and professional football player. A Republican, he served as Housing Secretary in the administration of President George H. W. Bush from 1989 to 1993, having previously served nine terms as a congressman for Western New York's 31st...
, American politician and football player (b. 1935)
- Augusto Boal
- May 4 – Dom DeLuiseDom DeLuiseDominick "Dom" DeLuise was an American actor, comedian, film director, television producer, chef, and author. He was the husband of actress Carol Arthur from 1965 until his death and the father of: actor, director, pianist, and writer Peter DeLuise; actor David DeLuise; and actor Michael DeLuise...
, American actor and comedian (b. 1933) - May 9 – Chuck DalyChuck DalyCharles Jerome "Chuck" Daly was an American basketball head coach. He led the Detroit Pistons to consecutive National Basketball Association Championships in 1989 and 1990, and the Dream Team to the men's basketball gold medal at the 1992 Summer Olympics. He had a 14-year NBA coaching...
, American basketball coach (b. 1930) - May 13 – Achille CompagnoniAchille CompagnoniAchille Compagnoni was an Italian mountaineer. Together with Lino Lacedelli, on 31 July 1954 he was the first man to reach the summit of K2.-Biography:...
, Italian mountaineer (b. 1914) - May 17 – Mario BenedettiMario BenedettiMario Benedetti was an Uruguayan journalist, novelist, and poet....
, Uruguayan writer (b. 1920) - May 18 – Velupillai PrabhakaranVelupillai PrabhakaranThiruvenkadam Velupillai Prabhakaran was the founder and leader of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam , a militant organization that sought to create an independent Tamil state in the north and east of Sri Lanka...
, Sri Lankan militant (b. 1954) - May 19 – Robert F. FurchgottRobert F. FurchgottRobert Francis Furchgott was a Nobel Prize-winning American biochemist.Furchgott was born in Charleston, SC, to Arthur Furchgott and Pena Sorentrue Furchgott...
, American scientist (b. 1916)
- May 23 – Roh Moo-hyunRoh Moo-hyunRoh Moo-hyun GOM GCB was the 16th President of South Korea .Roh's pre-presidential political career was focused on human rights advocacy for student activists in South Korea. His electoral career later expanded to a focus on overcoming regionalism in South Korean politics, culminating in his...
, 16th President of South Korea (b. 1946) - May 27 – Clive GrangerClive GrangerSir Clive William John Granger was a British economist, who taught in Britain at the University of Nottingham and in the U.S.A. at the University of California, San Diego. In 2003, Granger was awarded the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, in recognition that he and his co-winner, Robert F...
, British economist (b. 1934) - May 30
- Luís CabralLuís CabralLuís Severino de Almeida Cabral was the first President of Guinea-Bissau. He served from 1974 to 1980, when a military coup d'état led by João Bernardo "Nino" Vieira deposed him...
, 1st President of Guinea-Bissau (b. 1931) - Ephraim KatzirEphraim KatzirEphraim Katzir was an Israeli biophysicist and former Israeli Labor Party politician. He was the fourth President of Israel from 1973 until 1978.-Biography:...
, 4th President of Israel (b. 1916) - Gaafar NimeiryGaafar NimeiryGaafar Muhammad an-Nimeiry was the Nubian President of Sudan from 1969 to 1985...
, 5th President of the Sudan (b. 1930)
- Luís Cabral
June
- June 2 – David EddingsDavid EddingsDavid Eddings was an American author who wrote several best-selling series of epic fantasy novels.-Biography:...
, American author (b. 1931)
- June 3
- David CarradineDavid CarradineDavid Carradine was an American actor and martial artist, best known for his role as a warrior monk, Kwai Chang Caine, in the 1970s television series, Kung Fu, which later had a 1990s sequel series, Kung Fu: The Legend Continues...
, American actor (b. 1936) - Koko TaylorKoko TaylorKoko Taylor sometimes spelled KoKo Taylor was an American Chicago blues musician, popularly known as the "Queen of the Blues." She was known primarily for her rough, powerful vocals and traditional blues stylings....
, American musician (b. 1928)
- David Carradine
- June 6 – Jean DaussetJean DaussetJean-Baptiste-Gabriel-Joachim Dausset was a French immunologist born in Toulouse, France. He married Rose Mayoral in 1963, with whom he had two children, Henri and Irène...
, French immunologist and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916) - June 8 – Omar BongoOmar BongoEl Hadj Omar Bongo Ondimba , born as Albert-Bernard Bongo, was a Gabonese politician who was President of Gabon for 42 years from 1967 until his death in office in 2009....
, President of Gabon (b. 1935) - June 12 – Félix MalloumFélix MalloumGeneral Félix Malloum or Félix Malloum Ngakoutou Bey-Ndi was a Chadian politician from the south. He served as an officer in the Chadian Military and as a member of the ruling Chadian Progressive Party . He later became the Chief of Staff with the rank of colonel...
, 3rd President of Chad (b. 1932) - June 13 – Mitsuharu MisawaMitsuharu Misawawas a Japanese professional wrestler. He made his professional debut on August 21, 1981 for All Japan Pro Wrestling . From 1984 until 1990, Misawa wrestled as the second generation Tiger Mask, as All Japan Pro Wrestling had purchased the rights of the Tiger Mask gimmick from New Japan Pro Wrestling...
, Japanese professional wrestler (b. 1962)
- June 17 – Ralf DahrendorfRalf DahrendorfRalf Gustav Dahrendorf, Baron Dahrendorf, KBE, FBA was a German-British sociologist, philosopher, political scientist and liberal politician....
, German-British social theorist and politician (b. 1929)
- June 25
- Farrah FawcettFarrah FawcettFarrah Fawcett was an American actress and artist. A multiple Golden Globe and Emmy Award nominee, Fawcett rose to international fame when she first appeared as private investigator Jill Munroe in the first season of the television series Charlie's Angels, in 1976...
, American actress (b. 1947) - Michael JacksonMichael JacksonMichael Joseph Jackson was an American recording artist, entertainer, and businessman. Referred to as the King of Pop, or by his initials MJ, Jackson is recognized as the most successful entertainer of all time by Guinness World Records...
, American performer and recording artist (b. 1958)
- Farrah Fawcett
- June 30 – Pina BauschPina BauschPhilippina "Pina" Bausch was a German performer of modern dance, choreographer, dance teacher and ballet director...
, German choreographer (b. 1940)
July
- July 1
- Alexis ArgüelloAlexis ArgüelloAlexis Argüello , also known by the stage name El Flaco Explosivo , was a Nicaraguan professional boxer and politician...
, Nicaraguan boxer and politician (b. 1952) - Karl MaldenKarl MaldenKarl Malden was an American actor. In a career that spanned more than seven decades, he performed in such classic films as A Streetcar Named Desire, for which he won the Academy Award for Best Supporting Actor, On the Waterfront and One-Eyed Jacks...
, American actor (b. 1912)
- Alexis Argüello
- July 4 – Allen KleinAllen KleinAllen Klein was an American businessman, talent agent and record label executive. His clients included The Beatles and The Rolling Stones.- The accountant :...
, American businessman (b. 1931)
- July 6
- Vasily AksyonovVasily AksyonovVasily Pavlovich Aksyonov was a Soviet and Russian novelist. He is known in the West as the author of The Burn and Generations of Winter , a family saga depicting three generations of the Gradov family between 1925 and 1953.-Early life:Vasily Aksyonov was...
, Russian novelist (b. 1932) - Robert McNamaraRobert McNamaraRobert Strange McNamara was an American business executive and the eighth Secretary of Defense, serving under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson from 1961 to 1968, during which time he played a large role in escalating the United States involvement in the Vietnam War...
, 8th United States Secretary of Defense (b. 1916)
- Vasily Aksyonov
- July 17
- Meir AmitMeir AmitMeir Amit was an Israeli politician and general. He served as Director of the Mossad from 1963 to 1968 before entering politics and holding two ministerial positions.-Biography:...
, Israeli general and politician (b. 1921) - Walter CronkiteWalter CronkiteWalter Leland Cronkite, Jr. was an American broadcast journalist, best known as anchorman for the CBS Evening News for 19 years . During the heyday of CBS News in the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the most trusted man in America" after being so named in an opinion poll...
, American newscaster (b. 1916) - Leszek Kołakowski, Polish philosopher (b. 1927)
- Meir Amit
- July 19 – Frank McCourtFrank McCourtFrancis "Frank" McCourt was an Irish-American teacher and Pulitzer Prize–winning writer, best known as the author of Angela’s Ashes, an award-winning, tragicomic memoir of the misery and squalor of his childhood....
, Irish-American author (b. 1930)
- July 26 – Merce CunninghamMerce CunninghamMercier "Merce" Philip Cunningham was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of the American avant-garde for more than 50 years. Throughout much of his life, Cunningham was considered one of the greatest creative forces in American dance...
, American choreographer (b. 1919) - July 31 – Bobby RobsonBobby RobsonSir Robert William "Bobby" Robson, CBE was an English footballer and manager, who coached seven European clubs and the England national team during his career....
, English footballer and manager (b. 1933)
August
- August 1 – Corazon AquinoCorazon AquinoMaria Corazon Sumulong Cojuangco-Aquino was the 11th President of the Philippines and the first woman to hold that office in Philippine history. She is best remembered for leading the 1986 People Power Revolution, which toppled Ferdinand Marcos and restored democracy in the Philippines...
, 11th President of the Philippines (b. 1933) - August 5 – Budd SchulbergBudd SchulbergBudd Schulberg was an American screenwriter, television producer, novelist and sports writer. He was known for his 1941 novel, What Makes Sammy Run?, his 1947 novel The Harder They Fall, his 1954 Academy-award-winning screenplay for On the Waterfront, and his 1957 screenplay for A Face in the...
, American screenwriter (b. 1914) - August 6
- John Hughes, American film director and writer (b. 1950)
- Willy DeVilleWilly DeVilleWilly DeVille was an American singer and songwriter. During his thirty-five year career, first with his band Mink DeVille and later on his own, Deville created original songs rooted in traditional American musical styles. He worked with collaborators from across the spectrum of contemporary...
, American singer-songwriter (b. 1950)
- August 8 – Daniel JarqueDaniel JarqueDaniel Jarque i González was a Spanish footballer who played as a central defender.Jarque played his entire career with Espanyol, and was named team captain one month before his death from a heart attack, at the age of 26....
, Spanish Footballer (b. 1983) - August 11 – Eunice Kennedy ShriverEunice Kennedy ShriverEunice Kennedy Shriver, DSG a member of the Kennedy family, sister to President John F. Kennedy and Senators Robert F. Kennedy and Edward Kennedy, was the founder in 1962 of Camp Shriver, and in 1968, the Special Olympics...
, American founder of the Special Olympics (b. 1921) - August 13 – Les PaulLes PaulLester William Polsfuss —known as Les Paul—was an American jazz and country guitarist, songwriter and inventor. He was a pioneer in the development of the solid-body electric guitar which made the sound of rock and roll possible. He is credited with many recording innovations...
, American musician and inventor (b. 1915) - August 18 – Kim Dae-jung, 15th President of South Korea (b. 1925)
- August 24 – Toni SailerToni SailerAnton Engelbert "Toni" Sailer was an Austrian alpine ski racer, who is considered among the best the in the sport. He won three gold medals in alphine skiing at the 1956 Winter Olympics, becoming the only triple gold medalist from that Games and thus the most successful athlete in 1956...
, Austrian alpine ski racer (b. 1935) - August 25 – Ted KennedyTed KennedyEdward Moore "Ted" Kennedy was a United States Senator from Massachusetts and a member of the Democratic Party. Serving almost 47 years, he was the second most senior member of the Senate when he died and is the fourth-longest-serving senator in United States history...
, American politician (b. 1932) - August 26 – Abdul Aziz al-HakimAbdul Aziz al-HakimSayyed Abdul Aziz al-Hakim was an Iraqi theologian and politician and the leader of Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq, a party that enjoys approximately 5% support in the Iraqi Council of Representatives....
, Iraqi politician and theologian (b. 1953) - August 27 – Sergey MikhalkovSergey MikhalkovSergey Vladimirovich Mikhalkov was a Soviet and Russian author of children's books and satirical fables who had the opportunity to write the lyrics of his country's national anthem on three different occasions, spanning almost 60 years.-Life and career:...
, Soviet-Russian author (b. 1913)
September
- September 8 – Aage Bohr, Danish physicist and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1922)
- September 11
- Juan AlmeidaJuan Almeida BosqueJuan Almeida Bosque was a Cuban politician and one of the original commanders of the Cuban Revolution. After the 1959 revolution, he was a prominent figure in the Communist Party of Cuba; at the time of his death in 2009, he was a Vice-President of the Cuban Council of State and was its third...
, Cuban revolutionary and politician (b. 1927) - Yoshito UsuiYoshito Usui, born in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan, was a manga artist known for the popular manga Crayon Shin-chan. He and his wife raised two daughters; both had moved out of the house at the time of Usui's death.-Biography:...
, Japanese manga artist (b. 1958)
- Juan Almeida
- September 12
- Norman BorlaugNorman BorlaugNorman Ernest Borlaug was an American agronomist, humanitarian, and Nobel laureate who has been called "the father of the Green Revolution". Borlaug was one of only six people to have won the Nobel Peace Prize, the Presidential Medal of Freedom and the Congressional Gold Medal...
, American agronomist and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1914) - Jack Kramer, American tennis player (b. 1921)
- Norman Borlaug
- September 14
- Patrick SwayzePatrick SwayzePatrick Wayne Swayze was an American actor, dancer and singer-songwriter. He was best known for his tough-guy roles, as romantic leading men in the hit films Dirty Dancing and Ghost, and as Orry Main in the North and South television miniseries. He was named by People magazine as its "Sexiest...
, American actor and dancer (b. 1952) - Henry GibsonHenry GibsonHenry Gibson was an American actor and songwriter, best known as a cast member of Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In and for his recurring role as Judge Clark Brown on Boston Legal.-Early life:...
, American actor and songwriter (b. 1935)
- Patrick Swayze
- September 17 – Noordin Mohammad Top, Malaysian Islamist militant (b. 1968)
- September 18 – Irving KristolIrving KristolIrving Kristol was an American columnist, journalist, and writer who was dubbed the "godfather of neoconservatism"...
, American writer and political commentator (b. 1920) - September 23 – Ertuğrul Osman, 43rd Head of the Ottoman Dynasty (b. 1912)
- September 25 – Alicia de LarrochaAlicia de LarrochaAlicia de Larrocha y de la Calle was a Spanish pianist from Catalonia. One of the great piano legends of the 20th century, Reuters called her "the greatest Spanish pianist in history", Time "one of the world's most outstanding pianists" and The Guardian "the leading Spanish pianist of her...
, Spanish pianist (b. 1923) - September 28 – Guillermo EndaraGuillermo EndaraGuillermo David Endara Galimany was the President of Panama from 1989 to 1994. He ran for office in 2004 and 2009 but lost to the former President Martin Torrijos and to the incumbent President Ricardo Martinelli....
, President of Panama, 1989–1994 (b. 1936) - September 29 – Pavel PopovichPavel Popovich- Biography :He was born in Uzyn, Kiev Oblast of Soviet Union . to Roman Porfirievich Popovich and Theodosia Kasyanovna Semyonov. He had two sisters and two brothers ....
, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1930)
October
- October 2 – Marek EdelmanMarek EdelmanMarek Edelman was a Jewish-Polish political and social activist and cardiologist.Before World War II, he was a General Jewish Labour Bund activist. During the war he co-founded the Jewish Combat Organization. He took part in the 1943 Warsaw Ghetto Uprising, becoming its leader after the death of...
, Polish political and social activist (b. 1922) - October 4
- Shōichi NakagawaShoichi Nakagawawas a Japanese conservative politician in the Liberal Democratic Party , who served as Minister of Finance from September 24, 2008 to February 17, 2009. He previously held the posts of Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry and Ministry of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries in the cabinet of...
, Japanese politician (b. 1953) - Günther RallGünther RallLieutenant-General Günther Rall was the third most successful fighter ace in history. A flying ace or fighter ace is a military aviator credited with shooting down five or more enemy aircraft during aerial combat. He achieved a total of 275 victories during World War II: 272 on the Eastern Front,...
, German fighter pilot (b. 1918)
- Shōichi Nakagawa
- October 4 – Mercedes SosaMercedes SosaHaydée Mercedes Sosa, known as La Negra, was an Argentine singer who was popular throughout South America and some countries outside the continent. With her roots in Argentine folk music, Sosa became one of the preeminent exponents of nueva canción. She gave voice to songs written by both...
, Argentine singer (b. 1935) - October 5 – Israel GelfandIsrael GelfandIsrael Moiseevich Gelfand, also written Israïl Moyseyovich Gel'fand, or Izrail M. Gelfand was a Soviet mathematician who made major contributions to many branches of mathematics, including group theory, representation theory and functional analysis...
, Soviet-American mathematician (b. 1913) - October 7 – Irving PennIrving PennIrving Penn was an American photographer known for his portraiture and fashion photography.-Early career:Irving Penn studied under Alexey Brodovitch at the Philadelphia Museum School of Industrial Art from which he was graduated in 1938. Penn's drawings were published by Harper's Bazaar and he...
, American photographer (b. 1917)
- October 13 – Al MartinoAl MartinoAl Martino was an American singer and actor. He had his greatest success as a singer between the early 1950s and mid 1970s, being described as "one of the great Italian American pop crooners", and also became well known as an actor, particularly for his role as singer Johnny Fontane in The...
, American singer and actor (b. 1927)
- October 19 – Joseph WisemanJoseph WisemanJoseph Wiseman was a Canadian theater and film actor, best known for starring as the titular antagonist of the first James Bond film, Dr. No, his role as Manny Weisbord on Crime Story, and his career on Broadway...
, Canadian actor (b. 1918) - October 30 – Claude Lévi-StraussClaude Lévi-StraussClaude Lévi-Strauss was a French anthropologist and ethnologist, and has been called, along with James George Frazer, the "father of modern anthropology"....
, French anthropologist (b. 1908) - October 31 – Qian Xuesen, Chinese scientist (b. 1911)
November
- November 3 – Francisco AyalaFrancisco Ayala (novelist)Francisco Ayala García-Duarte was a Spanish writer, the last representative of the Generation of '27.- Biography :...
, Spanish novelist (b. 1906) - November 8 – Vitaly GinzburgVitaly GinzburgVitaly Lazarevich Ginzburg ForMemRS was a Soviet theoretical physicist, astrophysicist, Nobel laureate, a member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and one of the fathers of Soviet hydrogen bomb...
, Russian physicist and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916) - November 10 – Robert EnkeRobert EnkeRobert Enke was a German football goalkeeper.Enke played at leading clubs in several European countries, namely Barcelona, Benfica and Fenerbahçe, but made the majority of his appearances for Bundesliga side Hannover 96 in his homeland.He won eight full international caps for the German national...
, German footballer (b. 1977) - November 15
- Patriarch Pavle, Patriarch of the Serbian Orthodox Church (b. 1914)
- Pierre HarmelPierre HarmelPierre Charles José Marie Harmel, from 1991 Count Harmel was a Belgian lawyer, Christian Democratic politician and diplomat...
, 39th Prime Minister of Belgium (b. 1911)
- November 16 – Antonio de NigrisAntonio de NigrisAntonio de Nigris Guajardo was a Mexican footballer who played as a striker.During his career, which was cut short at 31 by a fatal heart attack, he played in six different countries, also representing twelve clubs in nine years.-Club career:Born in Monterrey, Nuevo León, de Nigris became...
, Mexican footballer (b. 1978) - November 20 – Lino LacedelliLino LacedelliLino Lacedelli was an Italian mountaineer.-Early life:Lacedelli was born in Cortina d'Ampezzo ....
, Italian mountaineer (b. 1925) - November 21 – Konstantin FeoktistovKonstantin FeoktistovKonstantin Petrovich Feoktistov was a Soviet cosmonaut and an eminent space engineer. Feoktistov also wrote several books on space technology and exploration...
, Soviet cosmonaut (b. 1926) - November 24 – Samak SundaravejSamak SundaravejSamak Sundaravej was a Thai Chinese politician who briefly served as the Prime Minister of Thailand and Minister of Defense in 2008, as well as the leader of the People's Power Party in 2008.-Early life and family:...
, 25th Prime Minister of Thailand (b. 1935) - November 30 – Milorad PavićMilorad Pavic (writer)Milorad Pavić was a Serbian poet, prose writer, translator, and literary historian. He was also a candidate for Nobel Prize in Literature....
, Serbian writer (b. 1929)
December
- December 3 – Richard ToddRichard ToddRichard Todd OBE was an Irish-born British stage and film actor and soldier.-Early life:Richard Todd was born as Richard Andrew Palethorpe-Todd in Dublin, Ireland. His father, Andrew William Palethorpe Todd, was an Irish physician and an international Irish rugby player who gained three caps for...
, Irish-born British actor (b. 1919) - December 4
- Eddie FatuEddie FatuEdward Smith "Eki" Fatu was a Samoan-American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Umaga...
, Samoan-American professional wrestler (b. 1973) - Vyacheslav TikhonovVyacheslav TikhonovVyacheslav Vasilyevich Tikhonov was a Soviet and Russian actor whose best known role was as Soviet spy Stirlitz in the television series Seventeen Moments of Spring. He was a recipient of numerous state awards, including the titles of People's Artist of the USSR and Hero of Socialist Labour .-...
, Soviet-Russian actor (b. 1928)
- Eddie Fatu
- December 5
- Alfred HrdlickaAlfred HrdlickaAlfred Hrdlicka was an Austrian sculptor, draughtsman, painter and artist. His surname is sometimes written Hrdlička.After learning to be a dental technician from 1943 to 1945, Hrdlicka studied painting until 1952 at the Akademie der bildenden Künste under Albert Paris Gütersloh and Josef...
, Austrian artist (b. 1928) - Otto Graf LambsdorffOtto Graf LambsdorffOtto Friedrich Wilhelm Freiherr von der Wenge Graf Lambsdorff, known as Otto Graf Lambsdorff, was a German politician of the Free Democratic Party.- Biography :...
, German politician (b. 1926)
- Alfred Hrdlicka
- December 9 – Gene BarryGene BarryGene Barry was an American stage, screen, and television actor. Barry is best remembered for his leading roles in the films The Atomic City and The War of The Worlds and for his portrayal of the title character in the TV series Bat Masterson, among many roles.-Personal life:Barry was born...
, American actor (b. 1919) - December 13 – Paul SamuelsonPaul SamuelsonPaul Anthony Samuelson was an American economist, and the first American to win the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences. The Swedish Royal Academies stated, when awarding the prize, that he "has done more than any other contemporary economist to raise the level of scientific analysis in...
, American economist and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1915) - December 16
- Roy E. DisneyRoy E. DisneyRoy Edward Disney, KCSG was a longtime senior executive for The Walt Disney Company, which his father Roy Oliver Disney and his uncle Walt Disney founded. At the time of his death he was a shareholder , and served as a consultant for the company and Director Emeritus for the Board of Directors...
, American businessman (b. 1930) - Yegor GaidarYegor GaidarYegor Timurovich Gaidar was a Soviet and Russian economist, politician and author, and was the Acting Prime Minister of Russia from 15 June 1992 to 14 December 1992....
, Russian politician (b. 1956)
- Roy E. Disney
- December 17 – Jennifer JonesJennifer JonesPhylis Lee Isley , better known by her stage name Jennifer Jones, was an American actress. A five-time Academy Award nominee, Jones won the Academy Award for Best Actress for her performance in The Song of Bernadette .-Early life:Jones was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, the daughter of Flora Mae and...
, American actress (b. 1919) - December 19
- Hussein-Ali Montazeri, Iranian scholar and human rights activist (b. 1922)
- Kim PeekKim PeekLaurence Kim Peek was an American savant. Known as a "megasavant", he had a photographic or eidetic memory, but also social difficulties, possibly resulting from a developmental disability related to congenital brain abnormalities. He was the inspiration for the character of Raymond Babbitt,...
, American savant (b. 1951)
- December 20 – Brittany MurphyBrittany MurphyBrittany Anne Murphy-Monjack , known professionally as Brittany Murphy, was an American actress and singer. She starred in films such as Clueless, Just Married, Girl Interrupted, Spun, 8 Mile, Uptown Girls, Sin City, Happy Feet, and Riding in Cars with Boys...
, American actress (b. 1977) - December 21 – Edwin G. KrebsEdwin G. Krebs-External links:*Hughes, R. 1998. *Krebs, E.G. * *...
, American biologist and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1918) - December 23 – Ngapoi Ngawang JigmeNgapoi Ngawang JigmeNgapoi Ngawang Jigme was a Tibetan senior official who assumed various military and political responsibilities both before and after 1951. He is often known simply as Ngabo in English sources.-Early life:...
, Tibetan politician (b. 1910) - December 24 – Rafael CalderaRafael CalderaRafael Antonio Caldera Rodríguez was president of Venezuela from 1969 to 1974 and again from 1994 to 1999.Caldera taught sociology and law at various universities before entering politics. He was a founding member of COPEI, Venezuela's Christian Democratic party...
, 54th and 60th President of Venezuela (b. 1916) - December 28 – James "The Rev" SullivanThe RevJames Owen Sullivan , more commonly known by his stage name The Reverend Tholomew Plague, often shortened to The Rev, was an American musician, best known as the drummer for the American heavy metal band Avenged Sevenfold...
, American Metal drummer (b. 1981) - December 30 – Abdurrahman WahidAbdurrahman WahidAbdurrahman Wahid, born Abdurrahman Addakhil , colloquially known as , was an Indonesian Muslim religious and political leader who served as the President of Indonesia from 1999 to 2001...
, 4th President of Indonesia (b. 1940)
Nobel Prizes
- ChemistryNobel Prize in ChemistryThe 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,...
– Ada YonathAda YonathAda E. Yonath is an Israeli crystallographer best known for her pioneering work on the structure of the ribosome. She is the current director of the Helen and Milton A. Kimmelman Center for Biomolecular Structure and Assembly of the Weizmann Institute of Science. In 2009, she received the Nobel...
, Venkatraman Ramakrishnan, and Thomas A. SteitzThomas A. Steitz-Publications:* Steitz, T. A., et al. , nsls newsletter, .* Steitz, T. A., et al. , NSLS Activity Report .-External links:* , from the Office of Scientific and Technical Information, United States Department of Energy... - Economics – Elinor OstromElinor OstromElinor Ostrom is an American political economist. She was awarded the 2009 Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, which she shared with Oliver E. Williamson, for "her analysis of economic governance, especially the commons." She was the first, and to date, the only woman to win the prize in...
and Oliver E. WilliamsonOliver E. WilliamsonOliver Eaton Williamson is an American economist, professor at the University of California, Berkeley and recipient of the Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences.... - LiteratureNobel Prize in LiteratureSince 1901, the Nobel Prize in Literature has been awarded annually to an author from any country who has, in the words from the will of Alfred Nobel, produced "in the field of literature the most outstanding work in an ideal direction"...
– Herta MüllerHerta MüllerHerta Müller is a Romanian-born German novelist, poet and essayist noted for her works depicting the effects of violence, cruelty and terror, usually in the setting of Communist Romania under the repressive Nicolae Ceauşescu regime which she experienced herself... - Peace – Barack ObamaBarack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
- PhysicsNobel Prize in PhysicsThe Nobel Prize in Physics is awarded once a year by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences. It is one of the five Nobel Prizes established by the will of Alfred Nobel in 1895 and awarded since 1901; the others are the Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Nobel Prize in Literature, Nobel Peace Prize, and...
– Charles K. KaoCharles K. KaoThe Honorable Sir Charles Kuen Kao, GBM, KBE, FRS, FREng is a pioneer in the development and use of fiber optics in telecommunications...
, Willard BoyleWillard BoyleWillard Sterling Boyle, was a Canadian physicist and co-inventor of the charge-coupled device. On October 6, 2009, it was announced that he would share the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics for "the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit—the CCD sensor".-Life:Born in Amherst, Nova Scotia, he...
, and George E. SmithGeorge E. SmithGeorge Elwood Smith is an American scientist, applied physicist, and co-inventor of the charge-coupled device. He was awarded a one-quarter share in the 2009 Nobel Prize in Physics for "the invention of an imaging semiconductor circuit—the CCD sensor".Smith was born in White Plains, New York... - Physiology or MedicineNobel Prize in Physiology or MedicineThe Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine administered by the Nobel Foundation, is awarded once a year for outstanding discoveries in the field of life science and medicine. It is one of five Nobel Prizes established in 1895 by Swedish chemist Alfred Nobel, the inventor of dynamite, in his will...
– Elizabeth BlackburnElizabeth BlackburnElizabeth Helen Blackburn, AC, FRS is an Australian-born American biological researcher at the University of California, San Francisco, who studies the telomere, a structure at the end of chromosomes that protects the chromosome. Blackburn co-discovered telomerase, the enzyme that replenishes the...
, Carol W. GreiderCarol W. GreiderCarolyn Widney "Carol" Greider is an American molecular biologist. She is Daniel Nathans Professor and Director of Molecular Biology and Genetics at Johns Hopkins University. She discovered the enzyme telomerase in 1984, when she was a graduate student of Elizabeth Blackburn at the University of...
, and Jack W. SzostakJack W. SzostakJack William Szostak is a Canadian American biologist of Polish British descent and Professor of Genetics at Harvard Medical School and Alexander Rich Distinguished Investigator at Massachusetts General Hospital, Boston. He was awarded the 2009 Nobel Prize for Physiology or Medicine, along with...
Major religious holidays
- January 6 – ChristmasChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
in most Armenian Apostolic Churches of ChristianityChristianityChristianity is a monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus as presented in canonical gospels and other New Testament writings... - January 7 – ChristmasChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
in the Russian Orthodox ChurchRussian Orthodox ChurchThe Russian Orthodox Church or, alternatively, the Moscow Patriarchate The ROC is often said to be the largest of the Eastern Orthodox churches in the world; including all the autocephalous churches under its umbrella, its adherents number over 150 million worldwide—about half of the 300 million...
and Georgian Orthodox Church of Christianity - January 14 – PongalPongalThai Ponggal is a harvest festival celebrated by Tamils in the Indian state of Tamil Nadu, Indian Union Territory of Pondicherry and in Sri Lanka. Pongal coincides with the festival Makara Sankranthi celebrated throughout India. Pongal in Tamil means "boiling over" or "spill over". The boiling...
- January 26 – Lunar New YearChinese New YearChinese New Year – often called Chinese Lunar New Year although it actually is lunisolar – is the most important of the traditional Chinese holidays. It is an all East and South-East-Asia celebration...
- February 23 – Shivaratri
- February 25 – Ash WednesdayAsh WednesdayAsh Wednesday, in the calendar of Western Christianity, is the first day of Lent and occurs 46 days before Easter. It is a moveable fast, falling on a different date each year because it is dependent on the date of Easter...
- March 10 – MawlidMawlidMawlid or sometimes ميلاد , mīlād is a term used to refer to the observance of the birthday of the Islamic prophet Muhammad which occurs in Rabi' al-awwal,...
- March 11 – HoliHoliHoli , is a religious spring festival celebrated by Hindus. Holi is also known as festival of Colours. It is primarily observed in India, Nepal, Pakistan, and countries with large Indic diaspora populations following Hinduism, such as Suriname, Malaysia, Guyana, South Africa, Trinidad, United...
- April 3 – Rama NavamiRama NavamiRam Navami also known as Sri Ram Navami is a Hindu festival, celebrating the birth of Lord Rama to King Dasharatha and Queen Kausalya of Ayodhya. Ram is the 7th incarnation of the Dashavatara of Vishnu. Years later Lord Rama was married to Sita on the...
- April 8 – PassoverPassoverPassover is a Jewish holiday and festival. It commemorates the story of the Exodus, in which the ancient Israelites were freed from slavery in Egypt...
begins - April 12 – EasterEasterEaster is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
in Western Christianity - April 14 – VaisakhiVaisakhiVaisakhi is an ancient harvest festival celebrated across North Indian states, especially Punjab by all Punjabis regardless of religion. In Sikhism the Khalsa was founded on same day as the Vaisakhi festival, so Sikhs celebrate twice as much....
in SikhismSikhismSikhism is a monotheistic religion founded during the 15th century in the Punjab region, by Guru Nanak Dev and continued to progress with ten successive Sikh Gurus . It is the fifth-largest organized religion in the world and one of the fastest-growing... - April 19 – Easter for many Eastern Christians
- May 2 – Buddha's BirthdayBuddha's BirthdayBuddha's Birthday, the birthday of the Prince Siddhartha Gautama, is a holiday traditionally celebrated in Mahayana Buddhism.- East Asia except Japan :...
- May 8 – Buddha Purnima / Vaisakhi Purnima
- May 28 – ShavuotShavuotThe festival of is a Jewish holiday that occurs on the sixth day of the Hebrew month of Sivan ....
begins - August 6 – Raksha Bandhan
- August 14 – Krishna Janmashtami
- August 22 – RamadanRamadan (calendar month)Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic calendar, and the month in which the Quran was revealed.Ramadan is the holiest of months in the Islamic calendar, and fasting in this month is one of the Five Pillars of Islam. The month is spent by Muslims fasting during the daylight hours from dawn to...
begins - August 23 – Ganesh ChaturthiGanesh ChaturthiGanesh Chaturthi , also known as Vinayaka Chaturthi is the Hindu festival of Ganesha also called Vinayagar in Tamil Nadu, the son of Shiva and Parvati, who is believed to bestow his presence on earth for all his devotees in the duration of this festival...
- September 2 – OnamOnamOnam is a Hindu festival celebrated by the people of Kerala, India. The festival commemorates the Vamana avatar of Vishnu and the subsequent homecoming of the legendary Emperor Mahabali. It falls during the month of Chingam and lasts for ten days...
- September 18 – Rosh HashanahRosh HashanahRosh Hashanah , , is the Jewish New Year. It is the first of the High Holy Days or Yamim Nora'im which occur in the autumn...
begins - September 19 – Navratri begins
- September 20 – Eid ul-FitrEid ul-FitrEid ul-Fitr, Eid al-Fitr, Id-ul-Fitr, or Id al-Fitr , often abbreviated to Eid, is a Muslim holiday that marks the end of Ramadan, the Islamic holy month of fasting . Eid is an Arabic word meaning "festivity," while Fiṭr means "breaking the fast"...
- September 27 – Yom KippurYom KippurYom Kippur , also known as Day of Atonement, is the holiest and most solemn day of the year for the Jews. Its central themes are atonement and repentance. Jews traditionally observe this holy day with a 25-hour period of fasting and intensive prayer, often spending most of the day in synagogue...
begins - September 28 – DussehraVijayadashamiVijayadashami also known as Dasara, is one of the most important festivals celebrated in various forms, across India, Nepal and Bangladesh...
- October 2 – SukkotSukkotSukkot is a Biblical holiday celebrated on the 15th day of the month of Tishrei . It is one of the three biblically mandated festivals Shalosh regalim on which Hebrews were commanded to make a pilgrimage to the Temple in Jerusalem.The holiday lasts seven days...
begins - October 17 – DiwaliDiwaliDiwali or DeepavaliThe name of the festival in various regional languages include:, , , , , , , , , , , , , popularly known as the "festival of lights," is a festival celebrated between mid-October and mid-December for different reasons...
- November 1 – All Saints' Day in Western ChristianityWestern ChristianityWestern Christianity is a term used to include the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church and groups historically derivative thereof, including the churches of the Anglican and Protestant traditions, which share common attributes that can be traced back to their medieval heritage...
- November 27 – Eid al-Adha
- December 11 – HanukkahHanukkahHanukkah , also known as the Festival of Lights, is an eight-day Jewish holiday commemorating the rededication of the Holy Temple in Jerusalem at the time of the Maccabean Revolt of the 2nd century BCE...
begins - December 18 – Islamic New Year (1 MuharramMuharramMuharram is the first month of the Islamic calendar. It is one of the four sacred months of the year in which fighting is prohibited...
1431) - December 25 – ChristmasChristmasChristmas or Christmas Day is an annual holiday generally celebrated on December 25 by billions of people around the world. It is a Christian feast that commemorates the birth of Jesus Christ, liturgically closing the Advent season and initiating the season of Christmastide, which lasts twelve days...
in Western ChristianityWestern ChristianityWestern Christianity is a term used to include the Latin Rite of the Catholic Church and groups historically derivative thereof, including the churches of the Anglican and Protestant traditions, which share common attributes that can be traced back to their medieval heritage...
and most Eastern Orthodox Churches
In fiction
Set in 2009:- Abuse (1996)
- IncomingIncomingIncoming is a 3D shooter developed by Rage Software and published by Interplay. The PC version was released in late 1998 and the Dreamcast version, a launch title for the console, was released in March 1998 in Japan and Europe and in July 1998 for the rest of the world...
(1998) - Half-Life (1998) – although the date is never explicitly referenced, 2009 is the last year that Half-Life could be set in, as calendars in the game display '200X.'
- Dino CrisisDino Crisisis a survival horror video game by Capcom, originally released in 1999 for the PlayStation and later ported to Microsoft Windows and Dreamcast in 2000...
(1999) - Metal Gear Solid 2: Sons of LibertyMetal Gear Solid 2: Sons of Libertyis a stealth action video game directed by Hideo Kojima, developed by Konami Computer Entertainment Japan and published by Konami for the PlayStation 2 in 2001....
(2001), the Plant chapter occurs on 29 and 30 April 2009, causing devastation to New York CityNew York CityNew York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
from its coast, when Arsenal Gear crash lands into Federal HallFederal HallFederal Hall, built in 1700 as New York's City Hall, later served as the first capitol building of the United States of America under the Constitution, and was the site of George Washington's inauguration as the first President of the United States. It was also where the United States Bill of...
. - Mercenaries: Playground of DestructionMercenaries: Playground of DestructionMercenaries: Playground of Destruction is a third-person shooter video game developed by Pandemic Studios and published on January 11, 2005 by LucasArts for PlayStation 2 and Xbox...
(2005): Storyline begins on 31 August. - FahrenheitFahrenheit (video game)Fahrenheit, also known as Indigo Prophecy in North America, is a cinematic adventure video game developed by Quantic Dream and manufactured and marketed by Atari Europe SAS...
(also known as "Indigo Prophecy" in North America) (2005) - Shattered UnionShattered UnionShattered Union is a turn-based tactics video game developed by PopTop Software and published by 2K Games in 2005.-Story:In an alternate timeline of 2009, following George W...
(2005): U.S. President David Jefferson Adams is elected in a sham election, and becomes the most unpopular president in U.S. history. - Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six: LockdownTom Clancy's Rainbow Six: LockdownTom Clancy's Rainbow Six: Lockdown is the fourth game in the Rainbow Six series. The initial design and PlayStation 2 version were developed by Red Storm Entertainment and the Xbox version was developed by the Ubisoft Montreal studio. Both are published by Ubisoft...
(2005) - MINERVA (2005), is set in October 2009.
- Shin Megami Tensei: Persona 3 (2006), takes place between April 2009 and March 2010.
- Tom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double AgentTom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double AgentTom Clancy's Splinter Cell: Double Agent is an action-adventure stealth game, developed and published by Ubisoft. The series, endorsed by American author Tom Clancy, follows the character Sam Fisher, an agent employed by a black-ops division of the National Security Agency, dubbed Third...
(2006) - FreejackFreejackFreejack is a 1992 science fiction film directed by Geoff Murphy, starring Emilio Estevez, Mick Jagger, Rene Russo, Jonathan Banks, Grand L. Bush and Anthony Hopkins. Upon its release in the United States, the film received mostly negative reviews. The story was adapted from Immortality, Inc., a...
(1992), in November - 2009 Lost Memories2009 Lost Memories2009 Lost Memories is a 2002 South Korean science fiction action thriller film directed by Lee Si-myung. It was distributed by CJ Entertainment and was released on February 1, 2002.-Plot:...
(2002) - 20122012 (film)2012 is a 2009 American disaster film directed by Roland Emmerich. It stars John Cusack, Chiwetel Ejiofor, Amanda Peet, Oliver Platt, Thandie Newton, Danny Glover, and Woody Harrelson. It was produced by Emmerich's production company, Centropolis Entertainment and was distributed by Columbia Pictures...
(2009): The initial events take place in India in late 2009. - I Am LegendI Am Legend (film)I Am Legend is a 2007 post-apocalyptic science fiction film directed by Francis Lawrence and starring Will Smith. It is the third feature film adaptation of Richard Matheson's 1954 novel of the same name, following 1964's The Last Man on Earth and 1971's The Omega Man. Smith plays virologist Robert...
(2007): The events triggering the story begin 9 December 2009. - CloverfieldCloverfieldCloverfield is a 2008 American disaster-monster film directed by Matt Reeves, produced by J. J. Abrams and written by Drew Goddard.The film follows six young New Yorkers attending a going-away party on the night that a gigantic monster attacks the city...
(2008): On 22 May, the events of the story take place. - Eagle EyeEagle EyeEagle Eye is a 2008 thriller film directed by D. J. Caruso and starring Shia LaBeouf and Michelle Monaghan. The two portray a young man and a single mother who are brought together and coerced by an anonymous caller into carrying out a plan by a possible terrorist organization...
(2008): The events of the movie take place between 26 January and 12 April 2009. - Navy (2017)
- MacrossThe Super Dimension Fortress Macrossis an anime television series. According to story creator Shoji Kawamori, it depicts "a love triangle against the backdrop of great battles" during the first Human-alien war....
(1982–1983) (adapted outside Japan as the first part of RobotechRobotechRobotech is an 85-episode science fiction anime adaptation produced by Harmony Gold USA in association with Tatsunoko Production Co., Ltd. and first released in the United States in 1985...
): The alien ZentradiZentradiThe are a fictional, militastic race of alien, humanoid giants and often the main antagonist in The Super Dimension Fortress Macross anime series and its Robotech adaptation....
arrive at Earth on February 7 (February 9 in Robotech), triggering the devastating Space War I or First Robotech War. - Family MattersFamily Matters (TV series)Family Matters is an American sitcom about a middle-class African-American family living in Chicago, Illinois, which ran on national television for nine full seasons. The series was a spin-off of Perfect Strangers, but revolves around the Winslow family...
: In the 1994 episode "Father of the Bride", Carl Winslow sleeps for fifteen years and wakes up in the year 2009 where main characters Steve UrkelSteve UrkelSteven Quincy Urkel, generally known as Steve Urkel or simply Urkel, is a fictional character on the ABC/CBS sitcom Family Matters, portrayed by Jaleel White...
and Laura Winslow are married with four children. - CharmedCharmedCharmed is an American television series that originally aired from October 7, 1998, until May 21, 2006, on the now defunct The WB Television Network. The series was created in 1998 by writer Constance M...
("Morality Bites", 1999) Phoebe HalliwellPhoebe HalliwellPhoebe Halliwell is a fictional character from the television series Charmed. One of the featured leads, Phoebe is introduced in the series as a witch and, more specifically, a Charmed One one of the most powerful witches of all time. The character was portrayed by Lori Rom in the unaired pilot,...
is executed on February 26 by burning at the stake for murdering a man with her powers. - Batman BeyondBatman BeyondBatman Beyond is an American animated television series created by Warner Bros. Animation in collaboration with DC Comics as a continuation of the Batman legacy...
(1999 – 2001): In the episode "Out of the Past," it is revealed that sometime in 2009, BatmanBatmanBatman is a fictional character created by the artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger. A comic book superhero, Batman first appeared in Detective Comics #27 , and since then has appeared primarily in publications by DC Comics...
fought Ra's al GhulRa's al GhulRa's al Ghul is a DC Comics supervillain and is one of Batman's greatest enemies. His name in Arabic has been translated in the comics as "The Demon's Head" and references the name of the star Algol. Created by writer Dennis O'Neil and artist Neal Adams, he was introduced in Batman #232's...
in an incident referred to as "The Near-Apocalypse of 09." The event is also referenced again in the Justice League UnlimitedJustice League UnlimitedJustice League Unlimited is an American animated television series that was produced by Warner Bros. Animation and aired on Cartoon Network. Featuring a wide array of superheroes from the DC Comics universe, and specifically based on the Justice League superhero team, it is a direct sequel to the...
episode "Epilogue" - Blue GenderBlue Genderis a 26-episode anime created by Ryōsuke Takahashi broadcast in Japan from 1999-2000. Blue Gender was created by the Japanese animation studio, AIC and is distributed in the United States by Funimation Entertainment...
(1999–2000): A vicious new disease breaks out forcing Yuji Kaido and other infected humans into cryogenic stasis until a cure can be found. - Dark AngelDark Angel (TV series)Dark Angel is an American biopunk/cyberpunk science fiction television series created by James Cameron and Charles H. Eglee. The show premiered in the United States on the Fox network on October 3, 2000, and was canceled after two seasons...
(2000–2002): Max GuevaraMax GuevaraMax Guevara is a fictional television character and protagonist in the cyberpunk science fiction television program Dark Angel. She is portrayed by Jessica Alba as an adult and Geneva Locke as a child...
and her "brothers and sisters" escape from Manticore in 2009. America is devastated by an electromagnetic pulse later in the same year. - Ultraman NexusUltraman Nexuswas produced by Tsuburaya Productions and Chubu-Nippon Broadcasting. It was the 20th entry in the Ultra Series. The series aired on Tokyo Broadcasting System, including TBS, CBC, MBS, etc. The show ran from October 2, 2004 until June 25, 2005, with a total of 37 broadcast episodes...
(2004–2005) is set in 2009, acting as a sequel to the 2004 film Ultraman: The NextUltraman (2004 film)Ultraman: The Next, released in Japan simply titled , is a 2004 tokusatsu superhero film. It is part of the Ultra Series' experimental Ultra N Project, and features an Ultraman character codenamed "The Next"...
which was set in its production year. - The West Wing ("The TicketThe Ticket (The West Wing)"The Ticket" is episode 133 of The West Wing, and the first episode of the seventh season.-Plot:The season opener starts with a scene from three years in the future; a reunion of several main characters at the opening of Bartlet's Presidential library. References are made to the lives of the...
", 2005): Former President Jed Bartlet opens his presidential library in New Hampshire and chats with some of his former staffers. - 2007 television series The Sarah Jane AdventuresThe Sarah Jane AdventuresThe Sarah Jane Adventures is a British science fiction television series, produced by BBC Cymru Wales for CBBC, created by Russell T Davies and starring Elisabeth Sladen...
is set in this time, the earliest January following "a year and a half" after Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
episode "School ReunionSchool Reunion (Doctor Who)"School Reunion" is the third episode in the second series of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It first aired on 29 April 2006. The episode's narrative takes place some time after the events of "The Christmas Invasion"...
". - Doctor WhoDoctor WhoDoctor Who is a British science fiction television programme produced by the BBC. The programme depicts the adventures of a time-travelling humanoid alien known as the Doctor who explores the universe in a sentient time machine called the TARDIS that flies through time and space, whose exterior...
:
- Series 3 (2007) episode Last of the Time LordsLast of the Time Lords"Last of the Time Lords" is an episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. It was broadcast on BBC One on 30 June 2007, and is the thirteenth and final episode of Series 3 of the revived Doctor Who series...
is set mainly in a parallel year. - Series 4 (2008) episodes Partners In Crime, The Sontaran Strategem/The Poison Sky and The Stolen EarthThe Stolen Earth"The Stolen Earth" is the twelfth episode of the fourth series and the 750th overall episode of the British science fiction television series Doctor Who. The episode was written by show runner and head writer Russell T Davies and is the first of a two-part crossover story; the concluding episode is...
/Journey's EndJourney's End (Doctor Who)"Journey's End" is the thirteenth episode of the fourth series of British science fiction television series Doctor Who first broadcast on BBC One on 5 July 2008. It is the second episode of a two-part crossover story featuring the characters of spin-off shows Torchwood and The Sarah Jane...
; and Turn Left, (which is set in a parallel universe).- The Red DwarfRed DwarfRed Dwarf is a British comedy franchise which primarily comprises eight series of a television science fiction sitcom that aired on BBC Two between 1988 and 1999 and Dave from 2009–present. It gained cult following. It was created by Rob Grant and Doug Naylor, who also wrote the first six series...
miniseriesMiniseriesA miniseries , in a serial storytelling medium, is a television show production which tells a story in a limited number of episodes. The exact number is open to interpretation; however, they are usually limited to fewer than a whole season. The term "miniseries" is generally a North American term...
Back To EarthRed Dwarf: Back to EarthRed Dwarf: Back to Earth is a three part TV miniseries continuation of the science fiction sitcom Red Dwarf, broadcast on the British television channel Dave between 10 April and 12 April 2009 and subsequently released on DVD on 15 June 2009 & on Blu-ray on 31 August 2009. It was the first...
s scenes on EarthEarthEarth is the third planet from the Sun, and the densest and fifth-largest of the eight planets in the Solar System. It is also the largest of the Solar System's four terrestrial planets...
are set in the EasterEasterEaster is the central feast in the Christian liturgical year. According to the Canonical gospels, Jesus rose from the dead on the third day after his crucifixion. His resurrection is celebrated on Easter Day or Easter Sunday...
season of 2009. - Wilson TuckerWilson TuckerArthur Wilson "Bob" Tucker was an American mystery, action adventure, and science fiction writer, who wrote professionally as Wilson Tucker....
, The Year of the Quiet SunThe Year of the Quiet Sun (novel)The Year of the Quiet Sun is a 1970 science fiction novel by Wilson Tucker about the use of forward time travel to ascertain future political and social events. It won a retrospective John W. Campbell Memorial Award in 1976...
(1970) - Gregory BenfordGregory BenfordGregory Benford is an American science fiction author and astrophysicist who is on the faculty of the Department of Physics and Astronomy at the University of California, Irvine...
, Threads of Time (1974) - David BrinDavid BrinGlen David Brin, Ph.D. is an American scientist and award-winning author of science fiction. He has received the Hugo, Locus, Campbell and Nebula Awards.-Biography:...
, The PostmanThe PostmanThe Postman , is a post-apocalyptic science fiction novel by David Brin. A drifter stumbles across the uniform of an old United States Postal Service letter carrier and with empty promises of aid from the "Restored United States of America", gives hope to a community threatened by local warlords...
(1985) - Robert W. Sawyer, FlashforwardFlashforward (novel)Flashforward is a science fiction novel by Canadian author Robert J. Sawyer first published in 1999. The novel is set in 2009. At CERN, the Large Hadron Collider accelerator is performing a run to search for the Higgs boson. The experiment has a unique side effect: the entire human race loses...
(1999)
- The Red Dwarf