2009 in the United States
Encyclopedia
Incumbents
- PresidentPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
: George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
(RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
) (until January 20), 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...
(DemocraticDemocratic Party (United States)The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
) (starting January 20) - Vice PresidentVice President of the United StatesThe Vice President of the United States is the holder of a public office created by the United States Constitution. The Vice President, together with the President of the United States, is indirectly elected by the people, through the Electoral College, to a four-year term...
: Dick CheneyDick CheneyRichard Bruce "Dick" Cheney served as the 46th Vice President of the United States , under George W. Bush....
(RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
) (until January 20), Joe BidenJoe BidenJoseph Robinette "Joe" Biden, Jr. is the 47th and current Vice President of the United States, serving under President Barack Obama...
(DemocraticDemocratic Party (United States)The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
) (starting January 20) - Chief JusticeChief Justice of the United StatesThe Chief Justice of the United States is the head of the United States federal court system and the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States. The Chief Justice is one of nine Supreme Court justices; the other eight are the Associate Justices of the Supreme Court of the United States...
: John RobertsJohn RobertsJohn Glover Roberts, Jr. is the 17th and current Chief Justice of the United States. He has served since 2005, having been nominated by President George W. Bush after the death of Chief Justice William Rehnquist... - Speaker of the House of RepresentativesSpeaker of the United States House of RepresentativesThe Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, or Speaker of the House, is the presiding officer of the United States House of Representatives...
: Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiNancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
(DDemocratic Party (United States)The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
-California) - Senate Majority Leader: Harry ReidHarry ReidHarry Mason Reid is the senior United States Senator from Nevada, serving since 1987. A member of the Democratic Party, he has been the Senate Majority Leader since January 2007, having previously served as Minority Leader and Minority and Majority Whip.Previously, Reid was a member of the U.S...
(DDemocratic Party (United States)The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
-Nevada) - CongressUnited States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
: 110th110th United States CongressThe One Hundred Tenth United States Congress was the meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government, between January 3, 2007, and January 3, 2009, during the last two years of the second term of President George W. Bush. It was composed of the Senate and the House of...
(until January 3), 111th111th United States CongressThe One Hundred Eleventh United States Congress was the meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government from January 3, 2009 until January 3, 2011. It began during the last two weeks of the George W. Bush administration, with the remainder spanning the first two years of...
(starting January 3)
January
- January 6 – The 111th Congress111th United States CongressThe One Hundred Eleventh United States Congress was the meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government from January 3, 2009 until January 3, 2011. It began during the last two weeks of the George W. Bush administration, with the remainder spanning the first two years of...
convenes with Democrats increasing their majority to 256 seats in the House, and to 59 seats in the Senate. - January 8 – The BART Police shooting of Oscar GrantBART Police shooting of Oscar GrantOscar Grant was fatally shot by BART police officer Johannes Mehserle in Oakland, California, United States, in the early morning hours of New Year's Day 2009. Responding to reports of a fight on a crowded Bay Area Rapid Transit train returning from San Francisco, BART Police officers detained...
, an unarmed man, results in protests and several hours of violence in Oakland, CaliforniaOakland, CaliforniaOakland is a major West Coast port city on San Francisco Bay in the U.S. state of California. It is the eighth-largest city in the state with a 2010 population of 390,724...
. - January 9 – A Labor DepartmentUnited States Department of LaborThe United States Department of Labor is a Cabinet department of the United States government responsible for occupational safety, wage and hour standards, unemployment insurance benefits, re-employment services, and some economic statistics. Many U.S. states also have such departments. The...
report shows that the US economy lost nearly 2 million jobs in the last four months of 2008. - January 15 – US Airways Flight 1549US Airways Flight 1549US Airways Flight 1549 was US Airways' scheduled domestic commercial passenger flight from LaGuardia Airport in New York City to Charlotte/Douglas International Airport, Charlotte, North Carolina...
loses power in both engines shortly after takeoff from LaGuardiaLaGuardia AirportLaGuardia Airport is an airport located in the northern part of Queens County on Long Island in the City of New York. The airport is located on the waterfront of Flushing Bay and Bowery Bay, and borders the neighborhoods of Astoria, Jackson Heights and East Elmhurst. The airport was originally...
, forcing the pilot to ditch the aircraft in the Hudson RiverHudson RiverThe Hudson is a river that flows from north to south through eastern New York. The highest official source is at Lake Tear of the Clouds, on the slopes of Mount Marcy in the Adirondack Mountains. The river itself officially begins in Henderson Lake in Newcomb, New York...
. All 155 passengers and crew are rescued with no injuries, and the pilot is hailed as a hero. - January 16 –Circuit City, the number two electronics retailer in the U.S., announces the closing of all 567 of its U.S. stores and the termination of 34,000 jobs.
- January 20 – 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...
is inaugurated as the 44th President of the United StatesPresident of the United StatesThe President of the United States of America is the head of state and head of government of the United States. The president leads the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States Armed Forces....
in front of a crowd of more than one million. - January 22 – President Obama signs executive orders to close the Guantanamo Bay detention camp within one year and to prohibit torture in terrorism interrogations.
- January 29 – IllinoisIllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
Governor Rod BlagojevichRod BlagojevichRod R. Blagojevich is an American politician who served as the 40th Governor of Illinois from 2003 to 2009. A Democrat, Blagojevich was a State Representative before being elected to the United States House of Representatives representing parts of Chicago...
becomes the first state governor to be impeached and removed from office in a quarter century.
February
- February 1 – The Pittsburgh SteelersPittsburgh SteelersThe Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional football team based in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. The team currently belongs to the North Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Founded in , the Steelers are the oldest franchise in the AFC...
win their sixth Super Bowl, defeating the Arizona CardinalsArizona CardinalsThe Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in Glendale, Arizona, a suburb of Phoenix. They are currently members of the Western Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, 27-23. - February 10 – A privately owned American satellite and a Russian military 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...
, scattering 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...
in orbits 300 to 800 miles above Earth, potentially threatening satellites in nearby orbits. - February 12 – To honor the 200th anniversary of the birth of U.S. President Abraham LincolnAbraham LincolnAbraham Lincoln was the 16th President of the United States, serving from March 1861 until his assassination in April 1865. He successfully led his country through a great constitutional, military and moral crisis – the American Civil War – preserving the Union, while ending slavery, and...
, the U.S. Mint launches a series of pennies that commemorate four stages in Lincoln's life. - February 12 – Continental flight 3407 crashes in Clarence Center, New YorkClarence Center, New YorkClarence Center is a hamlet located in the Town of Clarence in Erie County, New York, United States. The population was 1,747 at the 2000 census...
, killing 49 passengers including a 9/11 widow, and one man who was in his house. - February 17 – Peanut Corp, a peanut butterPeanut butterPeanut butter is a food paste made primarily from ground dry roasted peanuts, popular in North America, Netherlands, United Kingdom, and parts of Asia, particularly the Philippines and Indonesia. It is mainly used as a sandwich spread, sometimes in combination as in the peanut butter and jelly...
processor implicated in nine deaths and more than 600 poisonings due to salmonellaSalmonellaSalmonella is a genus of rod-shaped, Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, predominantly motile enterobacteria with diameters around 0.7 to 1.5 µm, lengths from 2 to 5 µm, and flagella which grade in all directions . They are chemoorganotrophs, obtaining their energy from oxidation and reduction...
, files for Chapter 7 bankruptcy just days after its CEO uses the Fifth AmendmentFifth Amendment to the United States ConstitutionThe Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, which is part of the Bill of Rights, protects against abuse of government authority in a legal procedure. Its guarantees stem from English common law which traces back to the Magna Carta in 1215...
to avoid questioning by Congress. - February 18 – President Obama orders the deployment of 17,000 additional US troops to AfghanistanAfghanistanAfghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
. - February 19 – President Obama makes CanadaCanadaCanada is a North American country consisting of ten provinces and three territories. Located in the northern part of the continent, it extends from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west, and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
the site of his first international visit, restoring a tradition that had been altered by President George W. BushGeorge W. BushGeorge Walker Bush is an American politician who served as the 43rd President of the United States, from 2001 to 2009. Before that, he was the 46th Governor of Texas, having served from 1995 to 2000....
. - February 24 – The Orbiting Carbon ObservatoryOrbiting Carbon ObservatoryThe Orbiting Carbon Observatory is a NASA satellite mission intended to provide global space-based observations of atmospheric carbon dioxide . The original spacecraft was lost in a launch failure on February 24, 2009, when the payload fairing of the Taurus rocket which was carrying it failed to...
, a new $278 million 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...
satellite designed to precisely measure carbon dioxide levels for global warming research, crashes near Antarctica just after launching. - February 24 – President Obama addresses CongressUnited States CongressThe United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
defending the bailouts as necessary to economic recovery, and vowing economic recovery, stricter regulation of financial institutions, and health care reform. He also warns that future bailouts may be necessary. - February 25 – James Nicholson, the manager of an unregistered hedge fund, Westgate Capital Management, is arrested and charged in federal court with defrauding hundreds of investors in a Ponzi type scheme.
March
- March 2 – Failing insurance giant AIGAIGAIG is American International Group, a major American insurance corporation.AIG may also refer to:* And-inverter graph, a concept in computer theory* Answers in Genesis, a creationist organization in the U.S.* Arta Industrial Group in Iran...
reports nearly $62 billion in losses during the fourth quarter of 2008, and the US government gives it $30 billion more in aid in a new bailout. - March 3 – Federal Reserve chairman Ben BernankeBen BernankeBen Shalom Bernanke is an American economist, and the current Chairman of the Federal Reserve, the central bank of the United States. During his tenure as Chairman, Bernanke has overseen the response of the Federal Reserve to late-2000s financial crisis....
says AIGAIGAIG is American International Group, a major American insurance corporation.AIG may also refer to:* And-inverter graph, a concept in computer theory* Answers in Genesis, a creationist organization in the U.S.* Arta Industrial Group in Iran...
took huge, irresponsible risks. - 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...
launches 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 searches for 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...
that could be similar to earth and habitable by humans. - March 9 – President Obama overturns a Bush-era policy that limited federal funding for embryonic stem cell research, while promising that human cloning will be banned.
- March 9 – Exactly 17 months after its all time high of 14,164 on October 9, 2007, the Dow Jones Industrial AverageDow Jones Industrial AverageThe Dow Jones Industrial Average , also called the Industrial Average, the Dow Jones, the Dow 30, or simply the Dow, is a stock market index, and one of several indices created by Wall Street Journal editor and Dow Jones & Company co-founder Charles Dow...
bottoms out at 6,547 during the Late-2000s recession and begins to rise quickly. - March 13 – A report by the Federal Reserve says that U.S. families lost a record 18% of their wealth in 2008.
- March 15 – AIGAIGAIG is American International Group, a major American insurance corporation.AIG may also refer to:* And-inverter graph, a concept in computer theory* Answers in Genesis, a creationist organization in the U.S.* Arta Industrial Group in Iran...
announces it will pay $450 million in bonuses to top executives despite its central role in the global financial meltdown and despite receiving a $173 billion government bailout. A massive public outcry follows, with Obama calling AIG greedy and reckless. - March 17 – The Seattle Post Intelligencer ends publication, just two weeks after the Rocky Mountain NewsRocky Mountain NewsThe Rocky Mountain News was a daily newspaper published in Denver, Colorado, United States from April 23, 1859, until February 27, 2009. It was owned by the E. W. Scripps Company from 1926 until its closing. As of March 2006, the Monday-Friday circulation was 255,427...
of Denver, Colorado shuts down. - March 18 – New MexicoNew MexicoNew Mexico is a state located in the southwest and western regions of the United States. New Mexico is also usually considered one of the Mountain States. With a population density of 16 per square mile, New Mexico is the sixth-most sparsely inhabited U.S...
becomes the 15th state to abolish the death penaltyCapital punishment in the United StatesCapital punishment in the United States, in practice, applies only for aggravated murder and more rarely for felony murder. Capital punishment was a penalty at common law, for many felonies, and was enforced in all of the American colonies prior to the Declaration of Independence...
. - March 21 – Four Oakland police officers are killed2009 shooting of Oakland police officersTwo shootings of Oakland, California police officers took place on Saturday, March 21, 2009, when four officers were killed by a convicted felon wanted on a no-bail warrant for a parole violation...
in a shoot out. - March 22 – After emitting steam and volcanic ash for weeks, Alaska's Mount Redoubt erupts2009 Mount Redoubt eruptive activityAlaska's Mount Redoubt volcano began erupting on March 22, 2009, and activity continued for several months.During the eruptions, which lasted for several months, reports found ash clouds reaching as high as above sea level. In response, the National Weather Service issued a series of ash fall...
explosively for the first time in 20 years.
April
- April 1 – Attorney General Eric HolderEric HolderEric Himpton Holder, Jr. is the 82nd and current Attorney General of the United States and the first African American to hold the position, serving under President Barack Obama....
dismisses the case against former senator Ted StevensTed StevensTheodore Fulton "Ted" Stevens, Sr. was a United States Senator from Alaska, serving from December 24, 1968, until January 3, 2009, and thus the longest-serving Republican senator in history...
, due to prosecutorial misconduct. - April 3 – The Iowa Supreme CourtIowa Supreme CourtThe Iowa Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Iowa. As constitutional head of the Iowa Judicial Branch, the Court is composed of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices....
unanimously agrees that denying same-sex couples the right to marry is unconstitutional. Iowa becomes the third state to allow same-sex marriage, and is the first state in the American midwest to allow such unions. - April 7 – VermontVermontVermont is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state ranks 43rd in land area, , and 45th in total area. Its population according to the 2010 census, 630,337, is the second smallest in the country, larger only than Wyoming. It is the only New England...
legalizes same-sex marriage after the legislature overrides a vetoVeto overrideA veto override is an action by legislators and decision-makers to override an act of veto by someone with such powers - thus forcing through a new decision. The power to override a veto varies greatly in tandem with the veto power itself. The U.S constitution gives a 2/3 majority Congress the...
by the governor. - April 8 – SomaliSomaliaSomalia , 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...
pirates hijackMaersk Alabama hijackingThe Maersk Alabama hijacking was a series of events involving piracy that began with four Somali pirates seizing the cargo ship southeast of the Somali port city of Eyl. This event ended with the action of 12 April 2009. It was the first successful pirate seizure of a ship registered under the...
the Maersk Alabama, an American freighter, then kidnap her captain. - April 12 – Three SomaliSomaliaSomalia , 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...
pirates are killed in a sniper operation authorized by President Obama, freeing Captain Philips and ending a multi-day standoffMaersk Alabama hijackingThe Maersk Alabama hijacking was a series of events involving piracy that began with four Somali pirates seizing the cargo ship southeast of the Somali port city of Eyl. This event ended with the action of 12 April 2009. It was the first successful pirate seizure of a ship registered under the...
between the United States NavyUnited States NavyThe United States Navy is the naval warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the seven uniformed services of the United States. The U.S. Navy is the largest in the world; its battle fleet tonnage is greater than that of the next 13 largest navies combined. The U.S...
and the pirates. - 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 journalist, is sentenced by an Iranian court to eight years in prison on charges she allegedly engaged in 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...
. She is released the following month, after an appeals court reduces and suspends her sentence. - 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...
calls the reported cases of swine flu in Mexico and the U.S. a "public health emergency of international concern". - April 27 – Air Force One photo op controversy: An Air Force OneAir Force OneAir Force One is the official air traffic control call sign of any United States Air Force aircraft carrying the President of the United States. In common parlance the term refers to those Air Force aircraft whose primary mission is to transport the president; however, any U.S. Air Force aircraft...
back-up plane and an F-16 fighter jet fly at approximately 1,000 ft over Lower ManhattanLower ManhattanLower Manhattan is the southernmost part of the island of Manhattan, the main island and center of business and government of the City of New York...
, in a photo opportunity organized by the United States Department of DefenseUnited States Department of DefenseThe United States Department of Defense is the U.S...
. Citizens, who have not been informed of the event, are alarmed due to fears of a repeat of the September 11 attacks. - April 28 – SenatorUnited States SenateThe United States Senate is the upper house of the bicameral legislature of the United States, and together with the United States House of Representatives comprises the United States Congress. The composition and powers of the Senate are established in Article One of the U.S. Constitution. Each...
Arlen SpecterArlen SpecterArlen Specter is a former United States Senator from Pennsylvania. Specter is a Democrat, but was a Republican from 1965 until switching to the Democratic Party in 2009...
(RRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
-PAPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
) switches partiesParty switchingParty-switching is any change in political party affiliation of a partisan public figure, usually one currently holding elected office.In many countries, party-switching takes the form of politicians refusing to support their political parties in coalition governments...
to become a DemocratDemocratic Party (United States)The Democratic Party is one of two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Republican Party. The party's socially liberal and progressive platform is largely considered center-left in the U.S. political spectrum. The party has the lengthiest record of continuous...
, giving the Democrats a 59 seat majority in the Senate.
May
- May 11 – An army sergeant opens fire at a military stress counseling clinic at a US military base in Baghdad, killing fiveCamp Liberty killingsThe Camp Liberty killings occurred on May 11, 2009, at military counseling clinic at Camp Liberty, Iraq. Sgt. John M. Russell, 44, of the 54th Engineer Battalion based at Warner Barracks in Bamberg, Germany, was taken into custody and charged with five counts of murder and one count of aggravated...
fellow soldiers and wounding one. - May 11 – Defense Secretary Robert GatesRobert GatesDr. Robert Michael Gates is a retired civil servant and university president who served as the 22nd United States Secretary of Defense from 2006 to 2011. Prior to this, Gates served for 26 years in the Central Intelligence Agency and the National Security Council, and under President George H. W....
removes the top US commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David McKiernan, replacing him with Lt. Gen. Stanley A. McChrystalStanley A. McChrystalStanley Allen McChrystal is a retired four-star general in the United States Army. His last assignment was as Commander, International Security Assistance Force and Commander, U.S. Forces Afghanistan...
. Gates states a new approach is needed in Afghanistan. McKiernan is the first general to be dismissed from a combat command since Douglas MacArthurDouglas MacArthurGeneral of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
during the Korean WarKorean WarThe Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. - May 13 – A tornado outbreakTornado outbreakWhile there is no single agreed upon definition, generally at least 6-10 tornadoes produced by the same synoptic scale weather system is considered a tornado outbreak. The tornadoes usually occur within the same day, or continue into the early morning hours of the succeeding day, and within the...
devastates the north and northeastern Missouri towns of Green CityGreen City, MissouriGreen City is a city in Sullivan County, Missouri, United States. The population was 657 at the 2010 census.-Geography:According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which, of it is land and of it is water....
, NovingerNovinger, MissouriNovinger is a city in Nineveh Township, Adair County, Missouri, United States. The population was 456 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Kirksville Micropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:Novinger is located at ....
, and KirksvilleKirksville, MissouriKirksville is the county seat of Adair County, Missouri, United States. It is located in Benton Township. The population was 17,505 at the 2010 census. Kirksville also anchors a micropolitan area that comprises Adair and Schuyler counties. The city is perhaps best known as the location of Truman...
, killing three. Tornadoes are also reported in OklahomaOklahomaOklahoma is a state located in the South Central region of the United States of America. With an estimated 3,751,351 residents as of the 2010 census and a land area of 68,667 square miles , Oklahoma is the 28th most populous and 20th-largest state...
, KansasKansasKansas is a US state located in the Midwestern United States. It is named after the Kansas River which flows through it, which in turn was named after the Kansa Native American tribe, which inhabited the area. The tribe's name is often said to mean "people of the wind" or "people of the south...
, and IllinoisIllinoisIllinois is the fifth-most populous state of the United States of America, and is often noted for being a microcosm of the entire country. With Chicago in the northeast, small industrial cities and great agricultural productivity in central and northern Illinois, and natural resources like coal,...
. - May 14 – Federal transportation officials reveal that low pay leading to sleep deprivation, and failure to pass flight certification tests were factors leading to the crash of Continental flight 3407 near Buffalo that killed 50 people.
- May 19 – President Obama announces vehicle emissions and mileage requirements. Under the new federal rules, vehicles will use 30 percent less fuel and emit one third less carbon dioxide by 2016. The changes will add $1300 to the cost of each new vehicle.
- May 21 – The Senate passes a bill to impose new regulations on the credit card industry, curbing some fees and interest hikes and requiring more transparent disclosure of account terms.
June
- June 1 – NebraskaNebraskaNebraska is a state on the Great Plains of the Midwestern United States. The state's capital is Lincoln and its largest city is Omaha, on the Missouri River....
's statewide smoking banSmoking banSmoking bans are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, which prohibit tobacco smoking in workplaces and/or other public spaces...
in restaurants, working places, and bars goes into effect. - June 3 – Governor John Lynch signs a billBill (proposed law)A bill is a proposed law under consideration by a legislature. A bill does not become law until it is passed by the legislature and, in most cases, approved by the executive. Once a bill has been enacted into law, it is called an act or a statute....
allowing for same-sex marriageSame-sex marriageSame-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
in New HampshireNew HampshireNew Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. The state was named after the southern English county of Hampshire. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Atlantic Ocean to the east, and the Canadian...
. New Hampshire is the sixth state in the union to allow for same-sex marriage. - June 11 – Miss CaliforniaMiss CaliforniaFor the state pageant affiliated with Miss USA, see Miss California USAThe Miss California competition is the pageant that selects the representative for the state of California in the Miss America pageant. Delegates from the states of California, Ohio and Oklahoma have each won the title of Miss...
Carrie PrejeanCarrie PrejeanCaroline Michelle "Carrie" Prejean Boller is an American model, author, former Miss California USA 2009 and Miss USA 2009 first runner-up. Prejean received national attention in 2009 when she told a pageant judge that marriage should be between a man and a woman; pageant judge and gossip blogger...
, who had become an outspoken critic of same-sex marriageSame-sex marriageSame-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
after winning her title, has her crown stripped by Donald TrumpDonald TrumpDonald John Trump, Sr. is an American business magnate, television personality and author. He is the chairman and president of The Trump Organization and the founder of Trump Entertainment Resorts. Trump's extravagant lifestyle, outspoken manner and role on the NBC reality show The Apprentice have...
for alleged breach of contract. - June 12 – Analog televisionAnalog televisionAnalog television is the analog transmission that involves the broadcasting of encoded analog audio and analog video signal: one in which the message conveyed by the broadcast signal is a function of deliberate variations in the amplitude and/or frequency of the signal...
broadcasts endDTV transition in the United StatesThe DTV transition in the United States was the switchover from analog to exclusively digital broadcasting of free over-the-air television programming...
in the United States, as the Federal Communications CommissionFederal Communications CommissionThe Federal Communications Commission is an independent agency of the United States government, created, Congressional statute , and with the majority of its commissioners appointed by the current President. The FCC works towards six goals in the areas of broadband, competition, the spectrum, the...
requires all full power stations to send their signals digitallyDigital televisionDigital television is the transmission of audio and video by digital signals, in contrast to the analog signals used by analog TV...
. - 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 22 – A DC Metro Train collision claims the lives of nine people including the operator in the lead car of the moving train, and injures approximately 80.
- 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 levels.
July
- July 3 – Alaska Governor Sarah PalinSarah PalinSarah Louise Palin is an American politician, commentator and author. As the Republican Party nominee for Vice President in the 2008 presidential election, she was the first Alaskan on the national ticket of a major party and first Republican woman nominated for the vice-presidency.She was...
unexpectedly announces her resignationResignation of Sarah PalinThe resignation of Sarah Palin as Governor of Alaska was announced on July 3, 2009 and became effective on July 26. Sean Parnell, the lieutenant governor, took Palin's place as governor.-Reasons for the resignation:...
, effective July 26, 2009, citing the costs and distractions of battling frivolous ethics investigations launched against her, and prompting several media outlets to speculate that she is preparing for a presidentialUnited States presidential election, 2012The United States presidential election of 2012 is the next United States presidential election, to be held on Tuesday, November 6, 2012. It will be the 57th quadrennial presidential election in which presidential electors, who will actually elect the President and the Vice President of the United...
run in 2012. - 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 called one of the most prominent funerals of all time. - July 7 – After an eight month recount battle, Al FrankenAl FrankenAlan Stuart "Al" Franken is the junior United States Senator from Minnesota. He is a member of the Minnesota Democratic-Farmer-Labor Party, which affiliates with the national Democratic Party....
is sworn in as the junior senator of MinnesotaMinnesotaMinnesota is a U.S. state located in the Midwestern United States. The twelfth largest state of the U.S., it is the twenty-first most populous, with 5.3 million residents. Minnesota was carved out of the eastern half of the Minnesota Territory and admitted to the Union as the thirty-second state...
, giving Democrats a majority of sixty seats.
August
- August 3–September 4 – The 111th Congress takes its summer recess. Their work in their respective congressional districtCongressional districtA congressional district is “a geographical division of a state from which one member of the House of Representatives is elected.”Congressional Districts are made up of three main components, a representative, constituents, and the specific land area that both the representative and the...
s focuses heavily on healthcare reform. Congressmen and Congresswomen host public forums and town halls in their respective congressional districtCongressional districtA congressional district is “a geographical division of a state from which one member of the House of Representatives is elected.”Congressional Districts are made up of three main components, a representative, constituents, and the specific land area that both the representative and the...
s across the nation which focus on healthcare reform issues such as whether or not a public option, stricter regulation of the healthcare industry, or the status quoStatus quoStatu quo, a commonly used form of the original Latin "statu quo" – literally "the state in which" – is a Latin term meaning the current or existing state of affairs. To maintain the status quo is to keep the things the way they presently are...
should be offered. - 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 8 – Sonia SotomayorSonia SotomayorSonia Maria Sotomayor is an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States, serving since August 2009. Sotomayor is the Court's 111th justice, its first Hispanic justice, and its third female justice....
takes the judicial oath, becoming the third woman and the first Hispanic to serve on the United States Supreme Court. - August 26 – Kidnapping of Jaycee Lee DugardKidnapping of Jaycee Lee DugardThe kidnapping of Jaycee Lee Dugard occurred on June 10, 1991 in South Lake Tahoe, California. Dugard was 11 years old at the time and was abducted from a street while she was walking from home to a school bus stop. Searches began immediately after the kidnapping, but no reliable leads were generated...
: A woman who was kidnapped as a child in 1991 is freed from her abductors after 18 years of false imprisonment.
September
- September 2 – The Justice Department announces the largest health care fraud settlement in history, $2.3 billion, involving PfizerPfizerPfizer, Inc. is an American multinational pharmaceutical corporation. The company is based in New York City, New York with its research headquarters in Groton, Connecticut, United States...
. - September 8 – President Obama gives a speech to students across America encouraging good study habits and stressing the importance of a good education. The showing of speech had been highly criticized by some conservatives who said they feared the president would be indoctrinating schoolchildren with political propaganda.
- September 9 – President Obama addresses a joint session of Congress on the importance of healthcare reform. Representative Joe WilsonJoe Wilson (U.S. politician)Addison Graves Wilson, Sr., most commonly known as Joe Wilson , is the U.S. Representative for , serving since 2001. He is a member of the Republican Party...
(RRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
-SCSouth CarolinaSouth Carolina is a state in the Deep South of the United States that borders Georgia to the south, North Carolina to the north, and the Atlantic Ocean to the east. Originally part of the Province of Carolina, the Province of South Carolina was one of the 13 colonies that declared independence...
) shouts, "You lie!" as Obama says illegal immigrants would not be covered under his healthcare proposal. The heckling was a first in US politics and received widespread media attention for many days. - September 12 – The first 9/12 Project protest event is held in Washington, DC, with attendance being estimated from hundreds of thousands to as many as 2 million people. Numerous other tea party protests occurred nationwide as well.
- September 24 – President Obama becomes the first US President to preside over the UN Security Council. Also at 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...
, Obama outlines stances that his administration will take on climate changeClimate changeClimate change is a significant and lasting change in the statistical distribution of weather patterns over periods ranging from decades to millions of years. It may be a change in average weather conditions or the distribution of events around that average...
, multilateralismMultilateralismMultilateralism is a term in international relations that refers to multiple countries working in concert on a given issue.International organizations, such as the United Nations and the World Trade Organization are multilateral in nature...
, and nuclear proliferationNuclear proliferationNuclear proliferation is a term now used to describe the spread of nuclear weapons, fissile material, and weapons-applicable nuclear technology and information, to nations which are not recognized as "Nuclear Weapon States" by the Treaty on the Nonproliferation of Nuclear Weapons, also known as the...
and disarmament. - September 24 – RAINN Day, the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network's annual campaign to stop sexual assaultSexual assaultSexual assault is an assault of a sexual nature on another person, or any sexual act committed without consent. Although sexual assaults most frequently are by a man on a woman, it may involve any combination of two or more men, women and children....
is held on college campuses. - September 24–25 – The G20 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....
takes place in Pittsburgh, PennsylvaniaPennsylvaniaThe Commonwealth of Pennsylvania is a U.S. state that is located in the Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The state borders Delaware and Maryland to the south, West Virginia to the southwest, Ohio to the west, New York and Ontario, Canada, to the north, and New Jersey to...
. - 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 global economyInternational financeInternational finance is the branch of economics that studies the dynamics of exchange rates, foreign investment, global financial system, and how these affect international trade. It also studies international projects, international investments and capital flows, and trade deficits. It includes...
, replacing the role of the G8G8The 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 global financial crisis like the one that started in 2007. - September 27 – Polish-French film director Roman PolanskiRoman PolanskiRoman Polanski is a French-Polish film director, producer, writer and actor. Having made films in Poland, Britain, France and the USA, he is considered one of the few "truly international filmmakers."...
is arrested in Switzerland on a United States arrest warrant. - 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.
October
- October 1 – Late-night comedian David LettermanDavid LettermanDavid Michael Letterman is an American television host and comedian. He hosts the late night television talk show, Late Show with David Letterman, broadcast on CBS. Letterman has been a fixture on late night television since the 1982 debut of Late Night with David Letterman on NBC...
announces on his television program that he has been the victim of an extortionExtortionExtortion is a criminal offence which occurs when a person unlawfully obtains either money, property or services from a person, entity, or institution, through coercion. Refraining from doing harm is sometimes euphemistically called protection. Extortion is commonly practiced by organized crime...
attempt by someone threatening to reveal that he had sex with his female employees. - October 2 – Rio de Janeiro, Brazil is chosen by 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...
to host the 2016 Summer Olympic Games, beating early favorite ChicagoChicagoChicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
despite personal appeals to the committee from first lady Michelle ObamaMichelle ObamaMichelle LaVaughn Robinson Obama is the wife of the 44th and incumbent President of the United States, Barack Obama, and is the first African-American First Lady of the United States...
, President Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Hillary Clinton. - October 9 – President Obama unexpectedly wins the Nobel Peace Prize2009 Nobel Peace PrizeThe 2009 Nobel Peace Prize was awarded to U.S. President Barack Obama "for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between people." The Norwegian Nobel Committee announced the award on October 9, 2009, citing Obama's promotion of nuclear nonproliferation and...
. He states that he is humbled to be chosen for the award. - October 12 – The Chicago CubsChicago CubsThe Chicago Cubs are a professional baseball team located in Chicago, Illinois. They are members of the Central Division of Major League Baseball's National League. They are one of two Major League clubs based in Chicago . The Cubs are also one of the two remaining charter members of the National...
Major League baseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
team files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. - October 15 – In the balloon boy hoax, parents claim their young child has been swept away in a large balloon resembling a spacecraftSpacecraftA spacecraft or spaceship is a craft or machine designed for spaceflight. Spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, earth observation, meteorology, navigation, planetary exploration and transportation of humans and cargo....
, triggering an extensive rescue effort by authorities. They later admit to the hoax and are fined and given short sentences in jail. - October 28 – President Obama signs the Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention ActMatthew Shepard ActThe Matthew Shepard and James Byrd, Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act, also known as the Matthew Shepard Act, is an American Act of Congress, passed on October 22, 2009, and signed into law by President Barack Obama on October 28, 2009, as a rider to the National Defense Authorization Act for 2010...
, extending federal hate crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's genderGenderGender is a range of characteristics used to distinguish between males and females, particularly in the cases of men and women and the masculine and feminine attributes assigned to them. Depending on the context, the discriminating characteristics vary from sex to social role to gender identity...
, sexual orientationSexual orientationSexual orientation describes a pattern of emotional, romantic, or sexual attractions to the opposite sex, the same sex, both, or neither, and the genders that accompany them. By the convention of organized researchers, these attractions are subsumed under heterosexuality, homosexuality,...
, gender identityGender identityA gender identity is the way in which an individual self-identifies with a gender category, for example, as being either a man or a woman, or in some cases being neither, which can be distinct from biological sex. Basic gender identity is usually formed by age three and is extremely difficult to...
, or disabilityDisabilityA disability may be physical, cognitive, mental, sensory, emotional, developmental or some combination of these.Many people would rather be referred to as a person with a disability instead of handicapped...
.
November
- November 1 – Small business lender CIT Group files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (reorganization) which likely cancels its obligation to pay back the Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) loan of $2.3 billion that it previously received the U.S. government.
- November 3 – Election DayUnited States elections, 2009The 2009 United States general elections were held on Tuesday, November 3. During this off-year election, the only seats up for election in the United States Congress were special elections held throughout the year...
; RepublicanRepublican Party (United States)The Republican Party is one of the two major contemporary political parties in the United States, along with the Democratic Party. Founded by anti-slavery expansion activists in 1854, it is often called the GOP . The party's platform generally reflects American conservatism in the U.S...
candidates win the VirginiaVirginia gubernatorial election, 2009The Virginia gubernatorial election of 2009 took place on November 3, 2009. The election chose Bob McDonnell as the next Governor, Bill Bolling re-elected as Lieutenant Governor, and Ken Cuccinelli as the next Attorney General of the Commonwealth of Virginia. The winners were inaugurated on January...
and New JerseyNew Jersey gubernatorial election, 2009The New Jersey gubernatorial election of 2009 took place on November 3, 2009. Democratic Governor Jon Corzine was running for a second term and was being challenged by Republican Chris Christie, Independent Christopher Daggett and nine others, in addition to several write-in candidates...
gubernatorial elections. In MaineMaineMaine is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States, bordered by the Atlantic Ocean to the east and south, New Hampshire to the west, and the Canadian provinces of Quebec to the northwest and New Brunswick to the northeast. Maine is both the northernmost and easternmost...
, a ballot measure repeals a recent action by the state legislature that had legalized same-sex marriageSame-sex marriageSame-sex marriage is marriage between two persons of the same biological sex or social gender. Supporters of legal recognition for same-sex marriage typically refer to such recognition as marriage equality....
. In New York's 23rd congressional districtNew York's 23rd congressional districtThe 23rd Congressional District of New York is New York's northernmost congressional district for the United States House of Representatives. The district includes all or parts of Clinton, Essex, Franklin, Fulton, Hamilton, Jefferson, Lewis, Madison, Oneida, Oswego and St. Lawrence counties. It...
, a Democrat wins the special electionNew York's 23rd congressional district special election, 2009The 2009 special election for New York's 23rd congressional district was held on November 3, 2009, to select the successor to Republican John M. McHugh...
after the Republican-nominated candidate drops out due to pressure by conservatives who favor a minority party candidate. For more results, see United States elections, 2009United States elections, 2009The 2009 United States general elections were held on Tuesday, November 3. During this off-year election, the only seats up for election in the United States Congress were special elections held throughout the year...
. - November 5 – Ft. Hood military base becomes the scene the worst mass shootingFort Hood shootingThe Fort Hood shooting was a mass shooting that took place on November 5, 2009, at Fort Hood, the most populous U.S. military installation in the world, located just outside Killeen, Texas. In the course of the shooting, a single gunman killed 13 people and wounded 29 others...
at a U.S. military base when Army psychiatristPsychiatristA psychiatrist is a physician who specializes in the diagnosis and treatment of mental disorders. All psychiatrists are trained in diagnostic evaluation and in psychotherapy...
Maj. Nidal Malik HasanNidal Malik HasanNidal Malik Hasan, USA is a United States Army officer and sole suspect in the November 5, 2009, Fort Hood shooting, which occurred less than a month before he would have deployed to Afghanistan....
opens fire, killing 13 and wounding dozens. - November 9 – The United States Supreme Court refuses to halt the execution of John Allen MuhammadJohn Allen MuhammadJohn Allen Muhammad was a spree killer from the United States. He, along with his younger partner, Lee Boyd Malvo, carried out the 2002 Beltway sniper attacks, killing at least 10 people. Muhammad and Malvo were arrested in connection with the attacks on October 24, 2002, following tips from alert...
, the co-conspirator in the 2002 Beltway sniper attacksBeltway sniper attacksThe Washington sniper attacks took place during three weeks in October 2002 in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia. Ten people were killed and three others critically injured in various locations throughout the Washington Metropolitan Area and along Interstate 95 in Virginia...
that killed ten and seriously injured three. He is executed the following day. - 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 27 – Golfer Tiger WoodsTiger WoodsEldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods is an American professional golfer whose achievements to date rank him among the most successful golfers of all time. Formerly the World No...
is involved in a car accident the day after Thanksgiving, triggering media coverage that the married father of two has had affairs with about one dozen women, and ultimately the loss of many of Woods' corporate sponsors. - November 29 – Four police officers are murderedLakewood police officer shootingThe Lakewood police officer shooting took place on Sunday, November 29, 2009, when four Lakewood, Washington police officers were murdered at a coffee shop in the Parkland unincorporated area of Pierce County, Washington...
by gunman Maurice ClemmonsMaurice ClemmonsMaurice Clemmons was an American felon who was responsible for the November 29, 2009, murder of four police officers in Parkland, Washington...
in Parkland, WashingtonParkland, WashingtonParkland is a census-designated place in Pierce County, Washington, United States. The population was 24,053 at the 2000 census and grew to 35,803 as of the 2010 census...
. Clemmons is shot dead by a police officer on December 1.
December
- December 1 – VirginiaVirginiaThe Commonwealth of Virginia , is a U.S. state on the Atlantic Coast of the Southern United States. Virginia is nicknamed the "Old Dominion" and sometimes the "Mother of Presidents" after the eight U.S. presidents born there...
's smoking banSmoking banSmoking bans are public policies, including criminal laws and occupational safety and health regulations, which prohibit tobacco smoking in workplaces and/or other public spaces...
for most restaurants and bars goes into effect. The bill had broad public support. - December 16 – CityCenter a 16797000 square feet (1,560,492.4 m²) hotelHotelA hotel is an establishment that provides paid lodging on a short-term basis. The provision of basic accommodation, in times past, consisting only of a room with a bed, a cupboard, a small table and a washstand has largely been replaced by rooms with modern facilities, including en-suite bathrooms...
, casinoCasinoIn modern English, a casino is a facility which houses and accommodates certain types of gambling activities. Casinos are most commonly built near or combined with hotels, restaurants, retail shopping, cruise ships or other tourist attractions...
, condo and shoppingRetailRetail consists of the sale of physical goods or merchandise from a fixed location, such as a department store, boutique or kiosk, or by mail, in small or individual lots for direct consumption by the purchaser. Retailing may include subordinated services, such as delivery. Purchasers may be...
complex officially opens on the Las Vegas StripLas Vegas StripThe Las Vegas Strip is an approximately stretch of Las Vegas Boulevard in Clark County, Nevada; adjacent to, but outside the city limits of Las Vegas proper. The Strip lies within the unincorporated townships of Paradise and Winchester...
. - December 25 – Videos surface of missing GI, Bowe BergdahlBowe BergdahlBowe Robert Bergdahl is a United States Army soldier who, since June 2009, is in the captivity of the Taliban-supporting Afghanistan Haqqani network.-Military status and disappearance:...
, being held by Taliban forces in Afghanistan since June. The videos are not considered proof he was still living because they appear to be several months old. - December 25 – As Northwest Airlines Flight 253Northwest Airlines Flight 253Northwest Airlines Flight 253 was an international passenger flight from Amsterdam Airport Schiphol in Haarlemmermeer, Netherlands, to Detroit Metropolitan Wayne County Airport in Romulus, Michigan, United States...
approaches Detroit Michigan, Nigerian Al Qaeda member Abdulfarouk Umar Muttalab attempts to detonate plastic explosives concealed in his underwear. He is subdued by passengers and crew and arrested when the plane lands. The following day, he is charged in federal criminal court in Detroit, Michigan.
Ongoing
- War in AfghanistanWar in Afghanistan (2001–present)The War in Afghanistan began on October 7, 2001, as the armed forces of the United States of America, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Afghan United Front launched Operation Enduring Freedom...
(2001–present) - Iraq War (2003–2010)
- Late-2000s recession (2007–2009)
Births
- January 29 - The Suleman octupletsSuleman octupletsThe Suleman octuplets are six male and two female children conceived via in vitro fertilization and subsequently born to Nadya Suleman on January 26, 2009, in Bellflower, California. They presently reside in La Habra, California...
January
- January 3 - Pat HinglePat HingleMartin Patterson "Pat" Hingle was an American actor.-Early life:Hingle was born Martin Patterson Hingle in Miami, Florida, the son of Marvin Louise , a schoolteacher and musician, and Clarence Martin Hingle, a building contractor. Hingle enlisted in the U.S. Navy in December 1941, dropping out of...
, actor (b. 1924) - January 6 - Ron AshetonRon AshetonRonald Frank Asheton was an American guitarist and co-songwriter with Iggy Pop for the rock band The Stooges.Asheton is ranked as number 29 on Rolling Stones list of 100 Greatest Guitarists of All Time....
, musician (b. 1948) - January 7 - Ray Dennis StecklerRay Dennis StecklerRay Dennis Steckler , also known by the pseudonym Cash Flagg, was an American film director, producer, screenwriter and actor best known as the low-budget auteur of such cult films as The Incredibly Strange Creatures Who Stopped Living and Became Mixed-Up Zombies...
, filmmaker (b. 1938) - January 8 - Don GallowayDon GallowayDonald "Don" Galloway was an American actor of stage, film and television, a political libertarian and journalist, perhaps best-known for his role as Raymond Burr's protégé, Detective Sergeant Ed Brown, on the long-running crime drama Ironside...
, actor (b. 1937) - 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...
, 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...
, actor (b. 1920) - 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....
, painter (b. 1917) - January 24 - Kay YowKay YowSandra Kay Yow was an American basketball coach. She was the head coach of the NC State Wolfpack women's basketball team from 1975 to 2009. A member of the Naismith Hall of Fame, she had more than 700 career wins. She also coached the U.S...
, basketball coach (b. 1942) - January 27 - John UpdikeJohn UpdikeJohn Hoyer Updike was an American novelist, poet, short story writer, art critic, and literary critic....
, writer (b. 1932) - January 28 - Billy PowellBilly PowellWilliam Norris "Billy" Powell was an American musician. He was the longtime keyboardist of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd, from 1970 until his death in 2009.-Biography:...
, musician (b. 1952)
February
- February 4 - Lux Interior, musician (b. 1946)
- 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...
, actor (b. 1921) - February 12 - Beverly EckertBeverly EckertBeverly Eckert was an activist and advocate for the creation of the 9/11 Commission. She was one of the members of the 9/11 Family Steering Committee for the 9/11 Commission. Eckert's husband, Sean Rooney, died aged 50 in the attacks of September 11, 2001...
, political activist (b. 1951) - February 20 - Robert QuarryRobert QuarryRobert Walter Quarry was an American actor, known for several prominent horror film roles.Quarry was born in Santa Rosa, California, the son of Mable and Paul Quarry, a doctor. His films include Count Yorga, Vampire , its sequel The Return of Count Yorga , and Dr...
, actor (b. 1925) - February 22 - Howard ZieffHoward ZieffHoward Zieff , was an American director, television commercial director, and advertising photographer.-Biography:...
, director (b. 1927) - 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....
, author (b. 1918) - February 26 - Norm Van LierNorm Van LierNorman Allen Van Lier III was an NBA basketball player and television broadcaster who spent the majority of his career with the Chicago Bulls.-Biography:...
, basketball player (b. 1947) - February 26 - Johnny "Red" Kerr, basketball player, coach, and commentator (b. 1932)
- February 28 - Paul HarveyPaul HarveyPaul Harvey Aurandt , better known as Paul Harvey, was an American radio broadcaster for the ABC Radio Networks. He broadcast News and Comment on weekday mornings and mid-days, and at noon on Saturdays, as well as his famous The Rest of the Story segments. His listening audience was estimated, at...
, radio broadcaster (b. 1918)
March
- March 3 - Flemming FlindtFlemming FlindtFlemming Flindt was a Danish choreographer born in Copenhagen. He studied at the Royal Danish Ballet and Paris Opera Ballet schools, joined the Royal Danish Ballet and was promoted to soloist in 1955...
, ballet dancer and choeographer (b. 19361936 in Denmark-Incumbents:* Monarch - HM Christian X* Prime minister - Thorvald Stauning-Births:* 13 March – Finn Kobberø, badminton player * 30 June – Flemming Flindt, ballet dancer and choeographer...
) - March 4 - Horton FooteHorton FooteAlbert Horton Foote, Jr. was an American playwright and screenwriter, perhaps best known for his Academy Award-winning screenplays for the 1962 film To Kill a Mockingbird and the 1983 film Tender Mercies, and his notable live television dramas during the Golden Age of Television...
, playwright and screenwriter (b. 1918) - March 13
- Andrew "Test" Martin, professional wrestler (b. 1975)
- James PurdyJames PurdyJames Otis Purdy was a controversial American novelist, short story-writer, poet, and playwright who, since his debut in 1956, published over a dozen novels, and many collections of poetry, short stories, and plays. His work has been translated into more than 30 languages. He has been praised by...
, writer (b. 1914)
- March 15 - Ron SilverRon SilverRonald Arthur "Ron" Silver was an American actor, director, producer, radio host and political activist.-Early life:...
, 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...
, actress (b. 1963) - March 23 - Lloyd RubyLloyd RubyLloyd Ruby was an American racecar driver.Ruby raced in the USAC Championship Car series in the 1958-1977 seasons, with 177 career starts, including every Indianapolis 500 race during 1960-1977. He finished in the top ten 88 times, with 7 victories. His best Indy finish was 3rd in 1964...
, racecar driver (born 1928) - March 25 - Dan SealsDan SealsDanny Wayland "Dan" Seals was an American musician. The younger brother of Seals & Crofts member Jim Seals, he first gained fame as the "England Dan" half of the soft rock duo England Dan and John Ford Coley, which charted nine pop and adult contemporary singles between 1976 and 1980, including...
, musician (b. 1948) - March 28
- Earle Brucker, Jr.Earle Brucker, Jr.Earle Francis Brucker, Jr. was a professional baseball player. He played two games as a catcher in Major League Baseball for the Philadelphia Athletics in 1948. After playing several seasons in minor league baseball, including a brief stint in the Pacific Coast League in 1953, he retired from...
, baseballMajor League BaseballMajor League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player (b. 19251925 in the United States-Incumbents:*President - Calvin Coolidge*Vice President - vacant until March 4, Charles G. Dawes-January–March:*January 5 – Nellie Tayloe Ross becomes Governor of Wyoming, the first female governor in the United States....
) - Peter F. DonnellyPeter F. DonnellyPeter F. Donnelly was an American patron of the arts. He was a former Vice-Chairman of Americans for the Arts, a co-founder of the Seattle Arts Commission and a pivotal figure in the Seattle artistic community for more than 45 years..Born in Lynn, Massachusetts, Donnelly graduated from Boston...
, artsARtsaRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
patron, vice-chairman of Americans for the ArtsAmericans for the ArtsAmericans for the Arts is a nonprofit organization whose primary focus is advancing the arts in the United States. With offices in Washington, D.C. and New York City, it has a record of more than 50 years of service...
, complications of pancreatic cancerPancreatic cancerPancreatic cancer refers to a malignant neoplasm of the pancreas. The most common type of pancreatic cancer, accounting for 95% of these tumors is adenocarcinoma, which arises within the exocrine component of the pancreas. A minority arises from the islet cells and is classified as a...
(b. 19381938 in the United States-January–March:* January 3 – The March of Dimes is established by Franklin D. Roosevelt.* January 16 – Two landmark live recordings are produced this day: the very first of Mahler's Ninth by the Vienna Philharmonic under Bruno Walter in the face of dire circumstance; and Benny Goodman...
) - 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....
, President of Guyana (1997–1999), abdominal aortic aneurysmAbdominal aortic aneurysmAbdominal aortic aneurysm is a localized dilatation of the abdominal aorta exceeding the normal diameter by more than 50 percent, and is the most common form of aortic aneurysm...
(b. 19201920 in the United States-January:* January 2 – The second of the Palmer Raids takes place with another 4,000 suspected communists and anarchists arrested and held without trial. These raids take place in several U.S. cities....
) - 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...
, film composer (b. 1924) (French-born, but spent much time in the U.S.) - Martin J. KleinMartin J. KleinMartin J. Klein was a science historian of 19th and 20th century physics. At Yale University, he was the Eugene Higgins emeritus professor of the history of physics and an emeritus professor of physics...
, historianHistorianA historian is a person who studies and writes about the past and is regarded as an authority on it. Historians are concerned with the continuous, methodical narrative and research of past events as relating to the human race; as well as the study of all history in time. If the individual is...
and physicistPhysicistA physicist is a scientist who studies or practices physics. Physicists study a wide range of physical phenomena in many branches of physics spanning all length scales: from sub-atomic particles of which all ordinary matter is made to the behavior of the material Universe as a whole...
(b. 19241924 in the United States-January–March:* February 7 – Death penalty: The first state execution using gas in the United States takes place in Nevada.* February 12 – Rhapsody in Blue, by George Gershwin, is first performed in New York City at Aeolian Hall....
)
- Earle Brucker, Jr.
- March 29 - Andy HallettAndy HallettAndrew Alcott "Andy" Hallett was an American singer and actor best known for playing the part of Lorne in the television series Angel. He used his singing talents often on the show, and performed two songs on the series' 2005 soundtrack album, Angel: Live Fast, Die Never.-Early life:Andrew Alcott...
, actor (b. 1975)
April
- April 6 - Sandra CantuSandra Cantu homicideThe Sandra Cantu homicide occurred on or about March 27, 2009, in Tracy, California. Sandra Cantu was reported missing on March 27, 2009, wearing a pink Hello Kitty t-shirt and black leggings...
(b. 20012001 in the United States-Incumbents:* President: Bill Clinton , George W. Bush * Vice President: Al Gore , Dick Cheney * Chief Justice: William Rehnquist...
) - April 7 - Jack WranglerJack WranglerJack Wrangler was an American actor of gay and straight adult film, theatrical producer, and director. Open about his homosexuality and adult film work throughout his career, Wrangler was considered an icon of the gay-liberation movement.In 2008, a feature-length documentary film, Wrangler:...
, gay porn star (b. 1946) - April 9 - Nick AdenhartNick AdenhartNicholas James Adenhart was an American right-handed baseball starting pitcher who played two seasons in Major League Baseball for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim...
, baseball player (b. 1986) - April 12 - Marilyn ChambersMarilyn ChambersMarilyn Chambers was an American pornographic actress, exotic dancer, model, actress and vice-presidential candidate...
, pornographic actress (b. 1952) - April 12 - 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...
, queer theorist (b. 1950) - April 13 - Mark FidrychMark FidrychMark Steven Fidrych , nicknamed "The Bird", was a Major League Baseball pitcher. He pitched his entire career for the Detroit Tigers ....
, baseball player (b. 1954) - April 13 - Harry KalasHarry KalasHarry Norbert Kalas was an American sportscaster, best known for his Ford C. Frick Award-winning role as lead play-by-play announcer for Major League Baseball's Philadelphia Phillies...
, sportscaster (b. 1936) - 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...
, actress and comedienne (b. 1922) - April 27 - Greg PageGreg Page (boxer)Greg Page was a boxer from Louisville, Kentucky. He was the World Boxing Association Heavyweight Champion from 1984 to 1985...
, boxer (b. 1958)
May
- May 2 - 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...
, politician and football player (b. 1935) - 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...
, actor, comedian, writer, and chef (b. 1933) - May 8 - Dom DiMaggioDom DiMaggioDominic Paul DiMaggio , nicknamed "The Little Professor", was a Major League Baseball center fielder. He played his entire 11-year baseball career for the Boston Red Sox...
, baseball player (b. 1917) - 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...
, basketball coach (b. 1930) - May 15 - Wayman TisdaleWayman TisdaleWayman Lawrence Tisdale was an American professional basketball player in the NBA and a smooth jazz bass guitarist. A three-time All American at the University of Oklahoma, he was elected to the National Collegiate Basketball Hall of Fame in 2009.-Early life:Tisdale was born in Fort Worth, Texas...
, basketball player and musician (b. 1964) - May 15 - Rodger McFarlaneRodger McFarlaneRodger Allen McFarlane was an American gay rights activist who served as the first paid executive director of the Gay Men's Health Crisis and later served in leadership positions with Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS, Bailey House and the Gill Foundation.-Biography:McFarlane was born on February...
, gay rights activist (b. 1955) - May 18 - Wayne AllwineWayne AllwineWayne Anthony Allwine was an American voice actor, a sound effects editor and foley artist for The Walt Disney Company. He was born in Glendale, California. He was the voice of Mickey Mouse for 32 years, narrowly the longest to date, and was married to voice actress Russi Taylor.Allwine was the...
, voice actor (b. 1947) - May 31 - Dr. George TillerGeorge TillerGeorge Richard Tiller, MD was an American physician from Wichita, Kansas. He was the medical director of a clinic in Wichita, Women's Health Care Services, one of only three nationwide which provided abortions after the 21st week of pregnancy .Pro-life group Operation Rescue kept a daily vigil...
, partial care abortion specialist (b. 1941)
June
- 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...
, actor (b. 1936) - June 3 - 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....
- musician (b. 1928) - June 23 - Ed McMahonEd McMahonEdward Peter "Ed" McMahon, Jr. was an American comedian, game show host and announcer. He is most famous for his work on television as Johnny Carson's sidekick and announcer on The Tonight Show from 1962 to 1992. He also hosted the original version of the talent show Star Search from 1983 to 1995...
- television personality (b. 1923) - 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...
- actress (b. 1947) - June 25 - 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...
- singer and pop icon (b. 1958) - June 28 - Billy MaysBilly MaysWilliam Darrell "Billy" Mays, Jr. was an American television direct-response advertisement salesperson most notable for promoting OxiClean, Orange Glo, and other cleaning, home-based, and maintenance products on the Home Shopping Network, and through his company, Mays Promotions, Inc...
- infomercial salesperson (b. 1958) - June 30 - Harve PresnellHarve PresnellHarve Presnell was an American actor and singer. He began his career in the mid 1950s as a classical baritone, singing with orchestras and opera companies throughout the United States...
- actor (b. 1933)
July
- July 1 - 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...
, actor (b. 1912) - 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 :...
, music industry executive (b. 1931) - July 4 - Steve McNairSteve McNairStephen LaTreal McNair was an American football quarterback who spent the majority of his NFL career with the Tennessee Titans....
, NFL football player (Tennessee TitansTennessee TitansThe Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee, United States. They are members of the South Division of the American Football Conference in the National Football League . Previously known as the Houston Oilers, the team began play in 1960 as a charter...
and Baltimore RavensBaltimore RavensThe Baltimore Ravens are a professional football franchise based in Baltimore, Maryland.The Baltimore Ravens are officially a quasi-expansion franchise, having originated in 1995 with the Cleveland Browns relocation controversy after Art Modell, then owner of the Cleveland Browns, announced his...
) (b. 1973) - July 6 - 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...
, politician (b. 1916) - July 17 - 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...
, news anchor (b. 1916) - 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....
, writer (b. 1930) - July 23 - E. Lynn HarrisE. Lynn HarrisEverette "E." Lynn Harris was an American author. Openly gay, he was best known for his depictions of African American men who were on the down-low and closeted...
, writer (b. 1955) - July 25 - Vernon ForrestVernon ForrestVernon Forrest, nicknamed "The Viper", was an American professional boxer who became a world champion in the welterweight and light middleweight divisions and noted for his two victories over Shane Mosley and upset losses to Ricardo Mayorga.- Early years and amateur career :Forrest began boxing at...
, boxer (b. 1971) - 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...
, choreographer (b. 1919)
August
- 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...
, screenwriter, television producer (b. 1914) - August 6 - John Hughes, film director, producer, screenwriter (b. 1950)
- 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...
, founder of Special OlympicsSpecial OlympicsSpecial Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities, providing year-round training and competitions to more than 3.1 million athletes in 175 countries....
, sister of John F. KennedyJohn F. KennedyJohn Fitzgerald "Jack" Kennedy , often referred to by his initials JFK, was the 35th President of the United States, serving from 1961 until his assassination in 1963....
(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...
, guitarist (b. 1915) - August 18 - Robert NovakRobert NovakRobert David Sanders "Bob" Novak was an American syndicated columnist, journalist, television personality, author, and conservative political commentator. After working for two newspapers before serving for the U.S. Army in the Korean War, he became a reporter for the Associated Press and then for...
, political columnist and commentator (b. 1931) - August 19 - Don HewittDon HewittDonald Shepard "Don" Hewitt was an American television news producer and executive, best known for creating 60 Minutes, the CBS television news magazine, in 1968, which at the time of his death, was the longest-running prime-time broadcast on American television...
, creator of 60 Minutes60 Minutes60 Minutes is an American television news magazine, which has run on CBS since 1968. The program was created by producer Don Hewitt who set it apart by using a unique style of reporter-centered investigation....
(b. 1922) - August 25 - Edward M. Kennedy, senator and politician (b. 1932)
- August 26 - Dominick DunneDominick DunneDominick John Dunne was an American writer and investigative journalist, whose subjects frequently hinged on the ways in which high society interacts with the judicial system...
, writer and journalist (b. 1925) - August 28 - Adam GoldsteinAdam GoldsteinAdam Michael Goldstein was an American DJ, remixer, record producer and musician better known as DJ AM. Goldstein was a member of the rock band Crazy Town, co-owner of a management company called Deckstar and worked on albums for Papa Roach, Madonna and Will Smith, among others...
, disc jockey known as DJ AM (b. 1973)
September
- September 11 - Gertrude BainesGertrude BainesGertrude Baines was an American supercentenarian, who became the oldest recognized living person according to Guinness World Records on January 2, 2009, until her own death on September 11, 2009, at age 115 years 158 days...
, oldest person in the world (b. 1894) - September 11 - Jim CarrollJim CarrollJames Dennis "Jim" Carroll was an author, poet, autobiographer, and punk musician. Carroll was best known for his 1978 autobiographical work The Basketball Diaries, which was made into the 1995 film of the same name, starring Leonardo DiCaprio as Carroll.-Biography:Carroll was born to a...
, poet, musician, and author (b. 1949) - September 11 - Larry GelbartLarry GelbartLarry Simon Gelbart was an American television writer, playwright, screenwriter and author.-Early life:...
, screenwriter, creator of M*A*S*H (b. 1928) - 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...
, agronomist (b. 1914) - September 12 - Jack Kramer, tennis player (b. 1921)
- September 13 - Paul BurkePaul Burke (actor)Paul Burke was an American actor best known for his lead roles in two 1960s ABC television series, Naked City and Twelve O'Clock High...
, actor (b. 1926) - September 14 - 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:...
, actor and comedian (b. 1935) - September 14 - Jody Powell, Press Secretary (b. 1943)
- 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...
, actor and dancer (b. 1952) - September 16 - Myles BrandMyles BrandMyles Neil Brand, Ph. D. was the 14th president of the University of Oregon, president of the United States' National Collegiate Athletic Association , and 16th president of Indiana University.-Personal life:...
, President of NCAA (b. 1942) - September 16 - Mary TraversMary Travers (singer)Mary Allin Travers was an American singer-songwriter and member of the folk music group Peter, Paul and Mary, along with Peter Yarrow and Noel Stookey...
, folk singer (Peter, Paul and MaryPeter, Paul and MaryPeter, Paul and Mary were an American folk-singing trio whose nearly 50-year career began with their rise to become a paradigm for 1960s folk music. The trio was composed of Peter Yarrow, Paul Stookey and Mary Travers...
) (b. 1936) - September 18 - Irving KristolIrving KristolIrving Kristol was an American columnist, journalist, and writer who was dubbed the "godfather of neoconservatism"...
, writer (b. 1920) - September 21 - Robert GintyRobert GintyRobert Ginty was an American movie actor, producer, scenarist, and director of movies and TV series episodes.-Early life:...
, actor (b. 1948) - September 24 - Susan AtkinsSusan AtkinsSusan Denise Atkins was a convicted American murderer who was a member of the "Manson family", led by Charles Manson. Manson and his followers committed a series of nine murders at four locations in California, over a period of five weeks in the summer of 1969...
, multiple murderer (b. 1948) - September 27 - William SafireWilliam SafireWilliam Lewis Safire was an American author, columnist, journalist and presidential speechwriter....
, political columnist and former speechwriter (b. 1929)
October
- 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...
, 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...
, singer (b. 1927) - October 14 - Lou AlbanoLou AlbanoLouis Vincent "Captain Lou" Albano was an Italian-American professional wrestler, manager and actor. He was active as a professional wrestler from 1953 until 1969, then he became a manager, until 1995....
, wrestler (b. 1933) - October 14 - Bruce WassersteinBruce WassersteinBruce Jay Wasserstein was an American investment banker and businessman. He was a graduate of the McBurney School, University of Michigan, Harvard Business School, and Harvard Law School, and spent a year at Cambridge University...
, investment banker (b. 1947) - October 22 - Soupy SalesSoupy SalesSoupy Sales was an American comedian, actor, radio-TV personality and host, and jazz aficionado. He was best known for his local and network children's television show, Lunch with Soupy Sales; a series of comedy sketches frequently ending with Sales receiving a pie in the face, which became his...
, comedian (b. 1926) - October 23 - Shiloh Pepin (b. 19991999 in the United States-Incumbents:* President: Bill Clinton * Vice President: Al Gore * Chief Justice: William Rehnquist* Speaker of the House of Representatives: Newt Gingrich , Dennis Hastert...
) - October 26 - Troy SmithTroy Smith (businessman)Troy Nuel Smith, Sr. was an American entrepreneur who founded Sonic Drive-In, a fast-food restaurant chain based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma that recreates the drive-in diner feel of the 1950s, complete with carhops who usually wear roller skates. By the time of Smith's death in 2009, the chain had...
, founder of Sonic Drive-InSonic Drive-InSonic Drive-In is an American drive-in fast-food restaurant chain based in Oklahoma City, Oklahoma, complete with carhops who sometimes wear rollerskates. As of August 31, 2010, there were 3,500 restaurants in 43 U.S. states. Sonic serves approximately 3 million customers daily.-1950s:Following...
(b. 1922)
November
- November 3 - Carl BallantineCarl BallantineCarl Ballantine was an American magician, comedian and actor. Billing himself as "The Great Ballantine", "The Amazing Ballantine" or "Ballantine: The World's Greatest Magician", his vaudeville-style comedy routine involved transparent or incompetent stage magic tricks, which tended to flop and go...
, actor, comedian, and magician (b. 1917) - November 3 - Lorissa McComasLorissa McComasLorissa McComas was an American lingerie, nude and softcore model.McComas graduated from Princeton High School in 1988...
, actress and erotic model (b. 1970) - November 10 - John Allen MuhammadJohn Allen MuhammadJohn Allen Muhammad was a spree killer from the United States. He, along with his younger partner, Lee Boyd Malvo, carried out the 2002 Beltway sniper attacks, killing at least 10 people. Muhammad and Malvo were arrested in connection with the attacks on October 24, 2002, following tips from alert...
, spree killer (Beltway Sniper) (b. 1960) - November 15 - Dennis ColeDennis ColeDennis Cole was an American film and television actor.Before breaking into acting, Cole was a model for men's physique magazines. His first big acting break came when he landed a starring role in the ABC police drama Felony Squad, which ran from 1966 to 1969...
, actor (b. 1940) - November 15 - Ken OberKen OberKen Ober was an American game show host, comedian, and actor.- Early life and career :Born Kenneth Oberding in Brookline, Massachusetts, he was raised in Hartford, Connecticut. Ober hosted four game shows over the course of his career. He received his break after appearing as a contestant on Star...
, comedian and game show host (b. 1957)
December
- December 4 - Eddie FatuEddie FatuEdward Smith "Eki" Fatu was a Samoan-American professional wrestler better known by his ring name Umaga...
, professional wrestler known as Umaga(b. 1973) - 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...
, actor (b. 1919) - December 12 - Val AveryVal AveryVal Avery was an American character actor who appeared in hundreds of movies and television shows since the 1950s. In a career that spanned 50 years, Avery appeared in over 100 films and had appearances in over 300 television series.-Early life:Avery was born in Philadelphia...
, actor (b. 1924) - December 15 - Oral RobertsOral RobertsGranville "Oral" Roberts was an American Pentecostal televangelist and a Christian charismatic. He founded the Oral Roberts Evangelistic Association and Oral Roberts University....
, evangelist (b. 1918) - 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...
, business executive (b. 1930) - December 17 - Chris Henry, NFL football player (Cincinnati Bengals) (b. 1983)
- 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...
, actress (b. 1919) - December 17 - Dan O'BannonDan O'BannonDaniel Thomas "Dan" O'Bannon was an American motion picture screenwriter, director and occasional actor, usually in the science fiction and horror genres.-Early life and career:...
, screenwriter, director, and actor (b. 1946) - December 19 - 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,...
, 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...
, actress (b. 1977) - December 20 - Arnold StangArnold StangArnold Stang was an American comic actor who played a small and bespectacled, yet brash and knowing big-city type.-Career:...
, actor (b. 1918) - December 28 - The RevThe 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...
, musician (b. 1981) - December 29 - Dr. Death Steve Williams, professional wrestler (b. 1960)