2009 In The United States
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Events from the year 2009 in the United States. The year started with the inauguration of
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
and Joe Biden as the 44th and 47th
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
and
Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...
respectively. The nation, still recovering from the 2007–2008 financial crisis, received various economic stimuli through the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
and similar legislation, which most notably gave Americans
tax credits A tax credit is a tax incentive which allows certain taxpayers to subtract the amount of the credit they have accrued from the total they owe the state. It may also be a credit granted in recognition of taxes already paid or a form of state "disc ...
. Though the recession officially ended in June of this year, it did not come without this year's share of bankruptcies and dissolutions, most notably Circuit City and the Chicago Cubs. The year also saw the roots of various movements which would come to define the next ten years, including the
Tea Party movement The Tea Party movement was an American fiscally conservative political movement within the Republican Party that began in 2009. Members of the movement called for lower taxes and for a reduction of the national debt and federal budget defi ...
, and the beginning of the
legalization of same-sex marriage Legalization is the process of removing a legal prohibition against something which is currently not legal. Legalization is a process often applied to what are regarded, by those working towards legalization, as victimless crimes, of which one ...
. The
Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...
gained a filibuster-proof supermajority of seats within the Senate, enabling the passage of the
Affordable Care Act The Affordable Care Act (ACA), formally known as the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act and colloquially known as Obamacare, is a landmark U.S. federal statute enacted by the 111th United States Congress and signed into law by Pres ...
the following year. The year's second
G20 The G20 or Group of Twenty is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union (EU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigatio ...
summit was also held in the city of
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
. Culturally, the nation was wracked by the
death of Michael Jackson On June 25, 2009, American singer Michael Jackson died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication at his home on North Carolwood Drive in the Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles, California. His physician, Conrad Murray, said tha ...
, which triggered an immense response around the world and caused some websites to crash due to an overflow of traffic.


Incumbents


Federal government

*
President President most commonly refers to: *President (corporate title) * President (education), a leader of a college or university * President (government title) President may also refer to: Automobiles * Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ...
:
George W. Bush George Walker Bush (born July 6, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 43rd president of the United States from 2001 to 2009. A member of the Republican Party, Bush family, and son of the 41st president George H. W. Bush, he ...
( R-
Texas Texas (, ; Spanish: ''Texas'', ''Tejas'') is a state in the South Central region of the United States. At 268,596 square miles (695,662 km2), and with more than 29.1 million residents in 2020, it is the second-largest U.S. state by ...
) (until January 20),
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
( D-
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
) (starting January 20) *
Vice President A vice president, also director in British English, is an officer in government or business who is below the president (chief executive officer) in rank. It can also refer to executive vice presidents, signifying that the vice president is on ...
: Dick Cheney ( R-
Wyoming Wyoming () is a state in the Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It is bordered by Montana to the north and northwest, South Dakota and Nebraska to the east, Idaho to the west, Utah to the southwest, and Colorado to the s ...
) (until January 20), Joe Biden ( D-
Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent Del ...
) (starting January 20) * Chief Justice:
John Roberts John Glover Roberts Jr. (born January 27, 1955) is an American lawyer and jurist who has served as the 17th chief justice of the United States since 2005. Roberts has authored the majority opinion in several landmark cases, including '' Nat ...
( New York) * Speaker of the House of Representatives: Nancy Pelosi ( D-
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
) *
Senate Majority Leader The positions of majority leader and minority leader are held by two United States senators and members of the party leadership of the United States Senate. They serve as the chief spokespersons for their respective political parties holding t ...
:
Harry Reid Harry Mason Reid Jr. (; December 2, 1939 – December 28, 2021) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Nevada from 1987 to 2017. He led the Senate Democratic Caucus from 2005 to 2017 and was the Sena ...
( D-
Nevada Nevada ( ; ) is a state in the Western region of the United States. It is bordered by Oregon to the northwest, Idaho to the northeast, California to the west, Arizona to the southeast, and Utah to the east. Nevada is the 7th-most extensive, ...
) *
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
: 110th (until January 3), 111th (starting January 3)


Events


January

* January – The worst month of the Great Recession sees nearly 800,000 jobs lost; the unemployment rate rises to 7.8%, the highest since June 1992. * January 1 – The
BART Police shooting of Oscar Grant Oscar Grant III was a 22-year-old African-American man who was killed in the early morning hours of New Year's Day 2009 by BART Police Officer Johannes Mehserle in Oakland, California. Responding to reports of a fight on a crowded Bay Area Rapid ...
, an unarmed man, results in protests and several hours of violence in
Oakland, California Oakland is the largest city and the county seat of Alameda County, California, United States. A major West Coast of the United States, West Coast port, Oakland is the largest city in the East Bay region of the San Francisco Bay Area, the third ...
. * January 6 ** The
111th Congress The 111th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011. It began during the last weeks of the George W. Bush administration, with th ...
convenes with Democrats increasing their majority to 256 seats in the House, and to 59 seats in the Senate. **
Marianas Trench The Mariana Trench is an oceanic trench located in the western Pacific Ocean, about east of the Mariana Islands; it is the deepest oceanic trench on Earth. It is crescent-shaped and measures about in length and in width. The maximum known ...
,
Rose Atoll Rose Atoll, sometimes called Rose Island or Motu O Manu ("Bird Island") by people of the nearby Manu'a Islands, is an oceanic atoll within the U.S. territory of American Samoa. An uninhabited wildlife refuge, it is the southernmost point bel ...
and
Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument The Pacific Remote Islands Marine National Monument is a group of unorganized, mostly unincorporated United States Pacific Island territories managed by the United States Fish and Wildlife Service of the United States Department of the Int ...
is established. * January 9 – A
Labor Department The Ministry of Labour ('' UK''), or Labor ('' US''), also known as the Department of Labour, or Labor, is a government department responsible for setting labour standards, labour dispute mechanisms, employment, workforce participation, training, a ...
report shows that the U.S. economy lost nearly 2 million jobs in the last four months of 2008. * January 15 –
US Airways Flight 1549 US Airways Flight 1549 was a regularly scheduled US Airways flight from New York City (LaGuardia Airport), to Charlotte and Seattle, in the United States. On January 15, 2009, the Airbus A320 serving the flight struck a flock of birds short ...
loses power in both engines shortly after takeoff from
LaGuardia Airport LaGuardia Airport is a civil airport in East Elmhurst, Queens, New York City. Covering , the facility was established in 1929 and began operating as a public airport in 1939. It is named after former New York City mayor Fiorello La Guardia ...
, forcing the pilot to ditch the aircraft in the
Hudson River The Hudson River is a river that flows from north to south primarily through eastern New York. It originates in the Adirondack Mountains of Upstate New York and flows southward through the Hudson Valley to the New York Harbor between N ...
. All 155 passengers and crew are rescued with no casualties, and the pilot,
Chesley Sullenberger Chesley Burnett "Sully" Sullenberger III (born January 23, 1951) is a retired American fighter pilot, diplomat, and airline pilot best known for his heroism as captain of US Airways Flight 1549 that he ditched in the Hudson River in 2009 af ...
, 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 Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
is sworn in as the 44th
President of the United States The president of the United States (POTUS) is the head of state and head of government of the United States of America. The president directs the executive branch of the federal government and is the commander-in-chief of the United States ...
, and Joe Biden is sworn in as
Vice President of the United States The vice president of the United States (VPOTUS) is the second-highest officer in the executive branch of the U.S. federal government, after the president of the United States, and ranks first in the presidential line of succession. The vice ...
. * 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 26 –
Timothy Geithner Timothy Franz Geithner (; born August 18, 1961) is a former American central banker who served as the 75th United States Secretary of the Treasury under President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013. He was the President of the Federal Reserve Bank o ...
is sworn in as the new
Secretary of Treasury The United States secretary of the treasury is the head of the United States Department of the Treasury, and is the chief financial officer of the federal government of the United States. The secretary of the treasury serves as the principal a ...
, succeeding Henry Paulson. * January 29 –
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
Governor Rod Blagojevich becomes the first
state governor A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
to be impeached and removed from office in a quarter century, and Pat Quinn is sworn in as the 41st
governor of Illinois The governor of Illinois is the head of government of Illinois, and the various agencies and departments over which the officer has jurisdiction, as prescribed in the state constitution. It is a directly elected position, votes being cast by p ...
.


February

* February 1 – The Pittsburgh Steelers win their sixth Super Bowl, defeating the Arizona Cardinals, 27–23. The Steelers became the first NFL team to win six Super Bowl titles. * February 5 – Poisoner
Stacey Castor Stacey Ruth Castor (née Daniels, formerly Wallace; July 24, 1967 – June 11, 2016) was an American convicted murderer from Weedsport, New York. In 2009, she was found guilty of intentionally poisoning her then-husband David Castor with antifre ...
, known as the Black Widow Killer, is convicted of the murder of her husband David and the attempted murder of her daughter Ashley. She is also suspected to have murdered her ex-husband Michael Wallace. * February 10 – A privately owned U.S. satellite and a Russian military satellite collide over
Siberia Siberia ( ; rus, Сибирь, r=Sibir', p=sʲɪˈbʲirʲ, a=Ru-Сибирь.ogg) is an extensive region, geographical region, constituting all of North Asia, from the Ural Mountains in the west to the Pacific Ocean in the east. It has been a ...
, scattering space debris in orbits above Earth, potentially threatening satellites in nearby orbits. * February 12 ** To honor the 200th anniversary of the birth of U.S. President
Abraham Lincoln Abraham Lincoln ( ; February 12, 1809 – April 15, 1865) was an American lawyer, politician, and statesman who served as the 16th president of the United States from 1861 until his assassination in 1865. Lincoln led the nation thro ...
, the U.S. Mint launches a series of pennies that commemorate four stages in Lincoln's life. **
Colgan Air Flight 3407 Colgan Air Flight 3407 (marketed as Continental Connection Flight 3407 under a codeshare agreement with Continental Airlines), was a scheduled passenger flight from Newark, New Jersey, to Buffalo, New York, which crashed on February 12, 2009. Th ...
crashes in Clarence Center, New York, killing 49 passengers, including a 9/11 widow and one man who was in his house. * February 13 – Toon Disney and Jetix relaunched as
Disney XD Disney XD is an American pay television channel owned by the Disney Branded Television and Disney Media and Entertainment Distribution units of The Walt Disney Company. The channel is aimed primarily at older children ages six to eleven yea ...
. * February 17 ** Peanut Corp, a peanut butter processor implicated in nine deaths and more than 600 poisonings due to salmonella, files for
Chapter 7 bankruptcy Chapter 7 of Title 11 of the United States Code (Bankruptcy Code) governs the process of liquidation under the bankruptcy laws of the United States, in contrast to Chapters 11 and 13, which govern the process of ''reorganization'' of a debto ...
just days after its CEO uses the Fifth Amendment to avoid questioning by Congress. ** President
Barack Obama Barack Hussein Obama II ( ; born August 4, 1961) is an American politician who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the ...
signs the
American Recovery and Reinvestment Act American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...
to provide stimulus during the
Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...
. * February 18 – President Obama orders the deployment of 17,000 additional US troops to
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan,; prs, امارت اسلامی افغانستان is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. Referred to as the Heart of Asia, it is bordere ...
. * February 19 – President Obama makes
Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
the site of his first international visit. * February 22 – The
81st Academy Awards The 81st Academy Awards ceremony, presented by the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences (AMPAS), honored the best films of 2008 and took place on February 22, 2009, at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles beginning at 5:30  ...
, hosted by
Hugh Jackman Hugh Michael Jackman (born 12 October 1968) is an Australian actor. Beginning in theatre and television, he landed his breakthrough role as James "Logan" Howlett / Wolverine in the 20th Century Fox ''X-Men'' film series (2000–2017), a role ...
, are held at Kodak Theatre in Hollywood.
Danny Boyle Daniel Francis Boyle (born 20 October 1956) is an English director and producer. He is known for his work on films including '' Shallow Grave'', '' Trainspotting'' and its sequel '' T2 Trainspotting'', '' The Beach'', ''28 Days Later'', '' S ...
's ''
Slumdog Millionaire ''Slumdog Millionaire'' is a 2008 British drama film that is a loose adaptation of the novel '' Q & A'' (2005) by Indian author Vikas Swarup. It narrates the story of 18-year-old Jamal Malik from the Juhu slums of Mumbai. Starring Dev Pa ...
'' wins eight awards, including
Best Picture This is a list of categories of awards commonly awarded through organizations that bestow film awards, including those presented by various film, festivals, and people's awards. Best Actor/Best Actress *See Best Actor#Film awards, Best Actress#F ...
and
Best Director Best Director is the name of an award which is presented by various film, television and theatre organizations, festivals, and people's awards. It may refer to: Film awards * AACTA Award for Best Direction * Academy Award for Best Director * BA ...
. David Fincher's '' The Curious Case of Benjamin Button'' leads the nominations with 13, while the late
Heath Ledger Heath Andrew Ledger (4 April 1979 – 22 January 2008) was an Australian actor and music video director. After playing roles in several Australian television and film productions during the 1990s, Ledger moved to the United States in 1998 to ...
becomes the second performer to win a posthumous acting Oscar, winning Best Supporting Actor for his role as
the Joker The Joker is a supervillain appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by Bill Finger, Bob Kane, and Jerry Robinson, and first appeared in the debut issue of the comic book '' Batman'' on April 25, 1 ...
in
Christopher Nolan Christopher Edward Nolan (born 30 July 1970) is a British-American filmmaker. Known for his lucrative Hollywood blockbusters with complex storytelling, Nolan is considered a leading filmmaker of the 21st century. His films have grossed $5&nb ...
's ''
The Dark Knight ''The Dark Knight'' is a 2008 superhero film directed by Christopher Nolan from a screenplay he co-wrote with his brother Jonathan Nolan, Jonathan. Based on the DC Comics superhero, Batman, it is the sequel to ''Batman Begins'' (2005) and t ...
''. The telecast garners over 36.9 million viewers. * February 24 ** The
Orbiting Carbon Observatory The Orbiting Carbon Observatory (OCO) 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 24 February 2009, when the payload f ...
, a new $278 million
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
satellite designed to precisely measure atmospheric carbon dioxide levels for global warming research, crashes near Antarctica just after launching. ** President Obama addresses
Congress A congress is a formal meeting of the representatives of different countries, constituent states, organizations, trade unions, political parties, or other groups. The term originated in Late Middle English to denote an encounter (meeting of ...
defending financial 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 Charles Ponzi (, ; born Carlo Pietro Giovanni Guglielmo Tebaldo Ponzi; March 3, 1882 – January 15, 1949) was an Italian swindler and con artist who operated in the U.S. and Canada. His aliases included ''Charles Ponci'', ''Carlo'', and ''Cha ...
type scheme.


March

* March 2 – Insurance giant
AIG American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is an American multinational finance and insurance corporation with operations in more than 80 countries and jurisdictions. , AIG companies employed 49,600 people.https://www.aig.com/content/dam/aig/amer ...
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 The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...
chairman Ben Bernanke says
AIG American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is an American multinational finance and insurance corporation with operations in more than 80 countries and jurisdictions. , AIG companies employed 49,600 people.https://www.aig.com/content/dam/aig/amer ...
took huge, irresponsible risks. * March 7 –
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
launches
Kepler Mission The Kepler space telescope is a disused space telescope launched by NASA in 2009 to discover Earth-sized planets orbiting other stars. Named after astronomer Johannes Kepler, the spacecraft was launched into an Earth-trailing heliocentric orbi ...
, a space
photometer A photometer is an instrument that measures the strength of electromagnetic radiation in the range from ultraviolet to infrared and including the visible spectrum. Most photometers convert light into an electric current using a photoresistor, ...
which searches for planets in the
Milky Way The Milky Way is the galaxy that includes our Solar System, with the name describing the galaxy's appearance from Earth: a hazy band of light seen in the night sky formed from stars that cannot be individually distinguished by the naked eye. ...
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 Embryonic stem cells (ESCs) are pluripotent stem cells derived from the inner cell mass of a blastocyst, an early-stage pre- implantation embryo. Human embryos reach the blastocyst stage 4–5 days post fertilization, at which time they consist ...
, while promising that human cloning will be banned. ** Exactly 17 months after its all-time high of 14,164 on October 9, 2007, the
Dow Jones Industrial Average The Dow Jones Industrial Average (DJIA), Dow Jones, or simply the Dow (), is a stock market index of 30 prominent companies listed on stock exchanges in the United States. The DJIA is one of the oldest and most commonly followed equity inde ...
bottoms out at 6,547 during the late-2000s recession and begins to rise quickly. * March 10 –
Geneva County shootings On March 10, 2009, Michael Kenneth McLendon, 28, fatally shot ten people and wounded six others between the communities of Kinston, Samson, and Geneva, Alabama. McLendon's shooting spree was the deadliest mass shooting in Alabama's history. M ...
: Michael McLendon goes on a killing rampage in
Geneva County, Alabama Geneva County is a county located in the southeastern part of the U.S. state of Alabama. As of the 2020 census, the population was 26,659. Its county seat is Geneva. The county was named after its county seat, which in turn was named after G ...
, in which he kills his mother and six other family members. He then kills three random civilians before committing suicide inside a factory where he used to work. * March 12 – Bernie Madoff pleads guilty to the
Madoff investment scandal The Madoff investment scandal was a major case of stock and securities fraud discovered in late 2008. In December of that year, Bernie Madoff, the former NASDAQ chairman and founder of the Wall Street firm Bernard L. Madoff Investment Securities ...
. * March 13 – A report by the
Federal Reserve The Federal Reserve System (often shortened to the Federal Reserve, or simply the Fed) is the central banking system of the United States of America. It was created on December 23, 1913, with the enactment of the Federal Reserve Act, after a ...
says that U.S. families lost a record 18% of their wealth in 2008. * March 15 –
AIG American International Group, Inc. (AIG) is an American multinational finance and insurance corporation with operations in more than 80 countries and jurisdictions. , AIG companies employed 49,600 people.https://www.aig.com/content/dam/aig/amer ...
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 The ''Seattle Post-Intelligencer'' (popularly known as the ''Seattle P-I'', the ''Post-Intelligencer'', or simply the ''P-I'') is an online newspaper and former print newspaper based in Seattle, Washington, United States. The newspaper was foun ...
'' ends publication, just two weeks after the ''
Rocky Mountain News The ''Rocky Mountain News'' (nicknamed the ''Rocky'') 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 Denver, Colorado shuts down. * March 18 –
New Mexico ) , population_demonym = New Mexican ( es, Neomexicano, Neomejicano, Nuevo Mexicano) , seat = Santa Fe , LargestCity = Albuquerque , LargestMetro = Tiguex , OfficialLang = None , Languages = English, Spanish ( New Mexican), Navajo, Ke ...
becomes the 15th state to abolish the death penalty. * March 21 – Four Oakland police officers are killed in a shoot out. * March 22 – After emitting steam and volcanic ash for weeks, Alaska's Mount Redoubt erupts explosively for the first time in 20 years.


April

* April ** The unemployment rate hits 9% for the first time since September 1983; it will not drop below 9% again until late 2011. * April 1 – Attorney General
Eric Holder Eric Himpton Holder Jr. (born January 21, 1951) is an American lawyer who served as the 82nd Attorney General of the United States from 2009 to 2015. Holder, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama, was the first African Amer ...
dismisses the case against former senator
Ted Stevens Theodore Fulton Stevens Sr. (November 18, 1923 – August 9, 2010) was an American politician and lawyer who served as a U.S. Senator from Alaska from 1968 to 2009. He was the longest-serving Republican Senator in history at the time he left ...
, citing prosecutorial misconduct. * April 3 ** The
Iowa Supreme Court The Iowa Supreme Court is the highest court in the U.S. state of Iowa. The Court is composed of a Chief Justice and six Associate Justices. The Court holds its regular sessions in Des Moines in the Iowa Judicial Branch Building located at 1111 ...
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 The Midwestern United States, also referred to as the Midwest or the American Midwest, is one of four census regions of the United States Census Bureau (also known as "Region 2"). It occupies the northern central part of the United States. I ...
to allow such unions. ** A mass shooting occurs in an immigration center in Binghamton, New York. Gunman Jiverly Anteras Wong, a naturalized citizen from Vietnam, shoots and kills 13 people, and injures four others, before committing suicide. * April 4 – Officers Eric Kelly, Steven Mayhle and Paul Scullio are killed in a shootout by Richard Poplawski in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
. Poplawski is sentenced to death two years later. * April 7 –
Vermont Vermont () is a state in the northeast New England region of the United States. Vermont is bordered by the states of Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, and New York to the west, and the Canadian province of Quebec to ...
legalizes same-sex marriage after the legislature overrides a veto by the governor. * April 8 – Somali pirates
hijack Hijack may refer to: Films * ''Hijack'' (1973 film), an American made-for-television film * ''Hijack!'', a 1975 British film sponsored by the Children's Film Foundation - see Children's Film Foundation filmography * ''Hijack'' (2008 film), a Bol ...
the '' Maersk Alabama'', an American freighter, then kidnap her captain. * April 12 – Three Somali pirates are killed in a sniper operation authorized by President Obama, freeing Captain Philips and ending a multi-day standoff between the
United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...
and the pirates. * April 18 –
Roxana Saberi Roxana Saberi (born April 26, 1977) is an American CBS News correspondent and former Miss North Dakota pageant winner. In 2009, she was held prisoner in Iran's Evin Prison for 101 days under accusations of espionage. She subsequently wrote a b ...
, an Iranian-American journalist, is sentenced by an Iranian court to eight years in prison on charges she allegedly engaged in
espionage Espionage, spying, or intelligence gathering is the act of obtaining secret or confidential information (intelligence) from non-disclosed sources or divulging of the same without the permission of the holder of the information for a tangib ...
. She is released the following month, after an appeals court reduces and suspends her sentence. * April 24 – The
World Health Organization The World Health Organization (WHO) is a specialized agency of the United Nations responsible for international public health. The WHO Constitution states its main objective as "the attainment by all peoples of the highest possible level of ...
calls the reported cases of
swine flu Swine influenza is an infection caused by any of several types of swine influenza viruses. Swine influenza virus (SIV) or swine-origin influenza virus (S-OIV) refers to any strain of the influenza family of viruses that is endemic in pigs. As ...
in Mexico and the U.S. a "public health emergency of international concern". * April 27 – Air Force One photo op controversy: An Air Force One back-up plane and an F-16 fighter jet fly at approximately over Lower Manhattan, in a
photo opportunity A photo op (sometimes written as photo opp), short for photograph opportunity (or photo opportunity), is an arranged opportunity to take a photograph of a politician, a celebrity, or a notable event.United States Department of Defense The United States Department of Defense (DoD, USDOD or DOD) is an executive branch department of the federal government charged with coordinating and supervising all agencies and functions of the government directly related to national sec ...
. Citizens, who have not been informed of the event, are alarmed due to fears of a repeat of the
September 11 attacks The September 11 attacks, commonly known as 9/11, were four coordinated suicide terrorist attacks carried out by al-Qaeda against the United States on Tuesday, September 11, 2001. That morning, nineteen terrorists hijacked four commer ...
. * April 28 – Senator
Arlen Specter Arlen Specter (February 12, 1930 – October 14, 2012) was an American lawyer, author and politician who served as a United States Senator from Pennsylvania from 1981 to 2011. Specter was a Democrat from 1951 to 1965, then a Republican fr ...
( R- PA) switches parties to become a
Democrat Democrat, Democrats, or Democratic may refer to: Politics *A proponent of democracy, or democratic government; a form of government involving rule by the people. *A member of a Democratic Party: **Democratic Party (United States) (D) **Democratic ...
, giving the Democrats a 59-seat majority in the Senate.


May

* May 5 – In
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
,
Nicole Abusharif Nicole M. Abusharif (born September 14, 1980) is an American woman, convicted of the 2007 Villa Park, Illinois murder of her domestic partner, Rebecca "Becky" Klein. After being found guilty of first-degree murder in May 2009, Abusharif was senten ...
is convicted of the 2007 murder of her domestic partner Rebecca Klein, having suffocated her victim to death. She is later sentenced to serve 50 years imprisonment. * May 11 ** An army sergeant opens fire at a military stress counseling clinic at a U.S. military base in Baghdad, killing five fellow soldiers and wounding one. ** Defense Secretary
Robert Gates Robert Michael Gates (born September 25, 1943) is an American intelligence analyst and university president who served as the 22nd United States secretary of defense from 2006 to 2011. He was originally appointed by president George W. Bush a ...
removes the top US commander in Afghanistan, Gen. David McKiernan, replacing him with Lt. Gen.
Stanley A. McChrystal Stanley Allen McChrystal (born August 14, 1954) is a retired United States Army general best known for his command of Joint Special Operations Command (JSOC) from 2003 to 2008 where his organization was credited with the death of Abu Musab al-Zarq ...
. Gates states a new approach is needed in Afghanistan. McKiernan is the first general to be dismissed from a combat command since Douglas MacArthur during the
Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...
. * May 13 – A
tornado outbreak __NOTOC__ A tornado outbreak is the occurrence of multiple tornadoes spawned by the same synoptic scale weather system. The number of tornadoes required to qualify as an outbreak typically are at least six to ten, with at least two rotational l ...
devastates the north and northeastern Missouri towns of
Green City The sustainable city, eco-city, or green city is a city designed with consideration for social, economic, environmental impact (commonly referred to as the triple bottom line), and resilient habitat for existing populations, without compromis ...
, Novinger, and
Kirksville Kirksville is the county seat and most populous city in Adair County, Missouri. Located in Benton Township, Adair County, Missouri, Benton Township, its population was 17,530 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. Kirksville is home to ...
, killing three. Tornadoes are also reported in Oklahoma,
Kansas Kansas () is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its capital is Topeka, and its largest city is Wichita. Kansas is a landlocked state bordered by Nebraska to the north; Missouri to the east; Oklahoma to the south; and Colorado to th ...
, and
Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...
. * 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 Connection 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 $1,300 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. * May 31 – Physician
George Tiller George Richard Tiller (August 8, 1941 – May 31, 2009) was an American physician from Wichita, Kansas. He gained national attention as the medical director of Women's Health Care Services, which was one of only three abortion clinics nationwide ...
, known for giving
late-term abortions Late termination of pregnancy, also referred to as late-term abortion, describes the termination of pregnancy by induced abortion during a late stage of gestation. In this context, ''late'' is not precisely defined, and different medical publicati ...
, is murdered during a Sunday service at his church in
Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 397,532. The Wichita metro area had a population of 647,610 in 2020. It is located in ...
.


June

* June – The Great Recession officially ends, but job losses continue through December, though at a smaller magnitude; The unemployment rate hits 9.5% for the first time since August 1983. * June 1 **American Muslim Abdulhakim Mujahid Muhammad opens fire outside of a military recruiting office in
Little Rock, Arkansas ( The "Little Rock") , government_type = Council-manager , leader_title = Mayor , leader_name = Frank Scott Jr. , leader_party = D , leader_title2 = Council , leader_name2 ...
, killing one soldier and injuring another. **
Nebraska Nebraska () is a state in the Midwestern region of the United States. It is bordered by South Dakota to the north; Iowa to the east and Missouri to the southeast, both across the Missouri River; Kansas to the south; Colorado to the sout ...
's statewide smoking ban in restaurants, working places, and bars goes into effect. * June 3 – Governor John Lynch signs a
bill Bill(s) may refer to: Common meanings * Banknote, paper cash (especially in the United States) * Bill (law), a proposed law put before a legislature * Invoice, commercial document issued by a seller to a buyer * Bill, a bird or animal's beak Plac ...
allowing for
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
in
New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...
. New Hampshire is the sixth state in the union to allow same-sex marriage. * June 10 – An 88-year-old man opens fire at the
United States Holocaust Museum The United States Holocaust Memorial Museum (USHMM) is the United States' official memorial to the Holocaust. Adjacent to the National Mall in Washington, D.C., the USHMM provides for the documentation, study, and interpretation of Holocaust his ...
in
Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...
, killing a security guard. * June 11 –
Miss California The Miss California competition selects the representative for the state of California in the Miss America competition. The pageant began in Santa Cruz in 1924 and was held there in 1925. During the years 1926 through 1946 in years when the Mi ...
Carrie Prejean Caroline Michelle "Carrie" Prejean Boller (; born 1987) is an American model, former Miss California USA 2009, and Miss USA 2009 first runner-up. Prejean was stripped of her Miss California USA crown for alleged breaches of contract. Litigation ...
, who had become an outspoken critic of
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
after winning her title, has her crown stripped by for alleged breach of contract. * June 12 – Analog television broadcasts
end End, END, Ending, or variation, may refer to: End *In mathematics: ** End (category theory) ** End (topology) **End (graph theory) ** End (group theory) (a subcase of the previous) **End (endomorphism) *In sports and games **End (gridiron footbal ...
in the United States, as the
Federal Communications Commission The Federal Communications Commission (FCC) is an independent agency of the United States federal government that regulates communications by radio, television, wire, satellite, and cable across the United States. The FCC maintains jurisdicti ...
requires all full power stations to send their signals digitally. * June 18 – NASA launches the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter/LCROSS probes to the
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It is the fifth largest satellite in the Solar System and the largest and most massive relative to its parent planet, with a diameter about one-quarter that of Earth (comparable to the width of ...
, the first American lunar mission since Lunar Prospector 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
death Death is the irreversible cessation of all biological functions that sustain an organism. For organisms with a brain, death can also be defined as the irreversible cessation of functioning of the whole brain, including brainstem, and brain ...
of American entertainer
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
triggers an outpouring of worldwide grief. Online, reactions to the event cripple several major websites and services, (such as the crashing of Twitter) and the abundance of people accessing the web addresses pushes
internet traffic Internet traffic is the flow of data within the entire Internet, or in certain network links of its constituent networks. Common traffic measurements are total volume, in units of multiples of the byte, or as transmission rates in bytes per cert ...
to potentially unprecedented levels.


July

* July 3 – Alaska Governor Sarah Palin unexpectedly announces her
resignation Resignation is the formal act of leaving or quitting one's office or position. A resignation can occur when a person holding a position gained by election or appointment steps down, but leaving a position upon the expiration of a term, or choos ...
, 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 presidential run in 2012. * July 7 ** A public memorial service is held for musician Michael Jackson. It is called one of the most prominent funerals of all time, potentially reaching over 2.5 billion people worldwide. ** After an eight-month recount battle,
Al Franken Alan Stuart Franken (born May 21, 1951) is an American comedian, politician, media personality, and author who served as a United States senator from Minnesota from 2009 to 2018. He gained fame as a writer and performer on the television comed ...
is sworn in as the junior senator of
Minnesota Minnesota () is a state in the upper midwestern region of the United States. It is the 12th largest U.S. state in area and the 22nd most populous, with over 5.75 million residents. Minnesota is home to western prairies, now given over to ...
, giving Democrats a majority of sixty seats. * July 22 –
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...
releases
Windows 7 Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, 2009. It is the successor to Windows Vista, released nearly ...
.


August

* August 3 – September 4 – The
111th Congress The 111th United States Congress was a meeting of the legislative branch of the United States federal government from January 3, 2009, until January 3, 2011. It began during the last weeks of the George W. Bush administration, with th ...
takes its summer recess. Their work in their respective
congressional district Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...
s focuses heavily on
healthcare reform Health care reform is for the most part governmental policy that affects health care delivery in a given place. Health care reform typically attempts to: * Broaden the population that receives health care coverage through either public sector insur ...
. Congressmen and Congresswomen host
public forum In United States constitutional law, a forum is a property that is open to public expression and assembly. Types Forums are classified as public or nonpublic. Public forum A public forum also called an ''open forum'', is open to all expression ...
s and town halls in their respective
congressional district Congressional districts, also known as electoral districts and legislative districts, electorates, or wards in other nations, are divisions of a larger administrative region that represent the population of a region in the larger congressional bod ...
s across the nation which focus on
healthcare reform Health care reform is for the most part governmental policy that affects health care delivery in a given place. Health care reform typically attempts to: * Broaden the population that receives health care coverage through either public sector insur ...
issues such as whether or not a public option, stricter regulation of the
healthcare industry The healthcare industry (also called the medical industry or health economy) is an aggregation and integration of sectors within the economic system that provides goods and services to treat patients with curative, preventive, rehabilitative, ...
, or the status quo should be offered. * August 4 –
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korean Peninsula and shares borders with China and Russia to the north, at the Yalu (Amnok) and T ...
n leader Kim Jong-il pardons two American journalists, who had been arrested and imprisoned for
illegal entry Illegal entry is the act of foreign nationals arriving in or crossing the borders into a country in violation of its immigration law. Human smuggling is the practice of aiding people in crossing international borders for financial gain, often i ...
earlier in the year, after former U.S. President
Bill Clinton William Jefferson Clinton ( né Blythe III; born August 19, 1946) is an American politician who served as the 42nd president of the United States from 1993 to 2001. He previously served as governor of Arkansas from 1979 to 1981 and agai ...
meets with Kim in North Korea. * August 8 –
Sonia Sotomayor Sonia Maria Sotomayor (, ; born June 25, 1954) is an American lawyer and jurist who serves as an associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States. She was nominated by President Barack Obama on May 26, 2009, and has served since ...
takes the judicial oath, becoming the third woman and the first Hispanic to serve on the
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
. * August 31 –
The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...
, parent company of
ABC ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet. ABC or abc may also refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting * American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster ** Disney–ABC Television ...
, acquires Marvel Entertainment.


September

* September 2 – The Justice Department announces the largest health care fraud settlement in history, $2.3 billion, involving
Pfizer Pfizer Inc. ( ) is an American multinational pharmaceutical and biotechnology corporation headquartered on 42nd Street in Manhattan, New York City. The company was established in 1849 in New York by two German entrepreneurs, Charles Pfizer ...
. * September 8 – President Obama gives a speech to students across America encouraging good study habits and stressing the importance of a good education. The 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 Wilson shouts, "You lie!" as Obama says illegal immigrants would not be covered under his healthcare proposal. The heckling received widespread media attention for many days. * September 12 – The first 9/12 Project protest event is held in
Washington, DC ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan ...
, with attendance being estimated from hundreds of thousands to as many as 2 million people. Numerous other
tea party protests The Tea Party protests were a series of protests throughout the United States that began in early 2009. The protests were part of the larger political Tea Party movement. Most Tea Party activities have since been focused on opposing efforts ...
occurred nationwide as well. * September 24 ** President Obama becomes the first US President to preside over the
UN Security Council The United Nations Security Council (UNSC) is one of the Organs of the United Nations, six principal organs of the United Nations (UN) and is charged with ensuring international security, international peace and security, recommending the admi ...
. Also, at the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is an intergovernmental organization whose stated purposes are to maintain international peace and security, develop friendly relations among nations, achieve international cooperation, and be a centre for harmoniz ...
, Obama outlines stances that his administration will take on
multilateralism In international relations, multilateralism refers to an alliance of multiple countries pursuing a common goal. Definitions Multilateralism, in the form of membership in international institutions, serves to bind powerful nations, discourage ...
and nuclear proliferation and disarmament. ** RAINN Day, the Rape, Abuse and Incest National Network's annual campaign to stop sexual assault, is held on college campuses. * September 24 – 25 – The G20 summit takes place in
Pittsburgh Pittsburgh ( ) is a city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, United States, and the county seat of Allegheny County. It is the most populous city in both Allegheny County and Western Pennsylvania, the second-most populous city in Pennsylva ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
. * September 25 – At the G-20 Pittsburgh summit, world leaders announce that the
G-20 The G20 or Group of Twenty is an intergovernmental forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union (EU). It works to address major issues related to the global economy, such as international financial stability, climate change mitigation, ...
will assume greater leverage over the global economy, replacing the role of 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 Polanski Raymond Roman Thierry Polański , group=lower-alpha, name=note_a ( né Liebling; 18 August 1933) is a French-Polish film director, producer, screenwriter, and actor. He is the recipient of numerous accolades, including an Academy Award, tw ...
is
arrested An arrest is the act of apprehending and taking a person into custody (legal protection or control), usually because the person has been suspected of or observed committing a crime. After being taken into custody, the person can be questi ...
in Switzerland on a United States arrest warrant. * September 28 –
Viacom Viacom, an abbreviation of Video and Audio Communications, may refer to: * Viacom (1952–2006), a former American media conglomerate * Viacom (2005–2019), a former company spun off from the original Viacom * Viacom18, a joint venture between Par ...
rebrands
Noggin Noggin may refer to: General * Noggin or gill (volume), a unit of volume * Noggin (cup), a small cup * Noggin, slang for head A head is the part of an organism which usually includes the ears, brain, forehead, cheeks, chin, eyes, nose, an ...
as
Nick Jr. Nick Jr. (known on-air as the Nick Jr. Channel) is an American pay television channel spun off from Nickelodeon's long-running programming block of the same name. It is run by Paramount Global through its networks division's Kids and Family Gr ...
, and
The N The N (standing for Noggin) was a nighttime programming block on the Noggin television channel, aimed at preteens and teenagers. It was launched on April 1, 2002, by Viacom and Sesame Workshop. Before the block's introduction, Noggin's daytim ...
as
TeenNick TeenNick is an American pay-TV channel that is operated by the Paramount Media Networks division of Paramount Global. Aimed primarily at teens and tweens, its programming includes a variety of live-action series inherited from sister channel Nic ...
, using former Nickelodeon block names to rebrand those channels. All four networks (including the Nick@Nite block and
Nicktoons Nicktoons is a collective name used by Nickelodeon for their original animated series. All Nicktoons are produced partly at the Nickelodeon Animation Studio and list Nickelodeon's parent company (Viacom, now known as Paramount Global) in their ...
) are rebranded with a new universal logo, replacing the iconic "orange splat" logo that had been in use since 1984. In addition, BET J is quietly rebranded as Centric. * September 29 – An 8.3-magnitude earthquake triggers a
tsunami A tsunami ( ; from ja, 津波, lit=harbour wave, ) is a series of waves in a water body caused by the displacement of a large volume of water, generally in an ocean or a large lake. Earthquakes, volcanic eruptions and other underwater exp ...
near the
Samoan Islands The Samoan Islands ( sm, Motu o Sāmoa) are an archipelago covering in the central South Pacific, forming part of Polynesia and of the wider region of Oceania. Administratively, the archipelago comprises all of the Independent State of Samoa an ...
. Many communities and harbors in
Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands ( Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands ( Manono and Apolima); ...
and
American Samoa American Samoa ( sm, Amerika Sāmoa, ; also ' or ') is an unincorporated territory of the United States located in the South Pacific Ocean, southeast of the island country of Samoa. Its location is centered on . It is east of the Internationa ...
are destroyed, and at least 189 are killed.


October

* October 1 ** The unemployment rate peaks at 10.0%, the highest since June 1983. ** Late-night comedian David Letterman announces on his television program that he has been the victim of an
extortion Extortion is the practice of obtaining benefit through coercion. In most jurisdictions it is likely to constitute a criminal offence; the bulk of this article deals with such cases. Robbery is the simplest and most common form of extortion, ...
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 Committee The International Olympic Committee (IOC; french: link=no, Comité international olympique, ''CIO'') is a non-governmental sports organisation based in Lausanne, Switzerland. It is constituted in the form of an association under the Swiss ...
chosen to host the 2016 Summer Olympics, beating early favorite
Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...
despite personal appeals to the committee from first lady Michelle Obama, President Obama, Oprah Winfrey and Hillary Clinton. * October 9 – President Obama wins the Nobel Peace Prize, which surprises many, including Obama himself. * October 12 – The Chicago Cubs
Major League Baseball Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball organization and the oldest major professional sports league in the world. MLB is composed of 30 total teams, divided equally between the National League (NL) and the American League (AL), ...
team files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection. * October 15 – In the
balloon boy hoax The Balloon Boy hoax occurred on October 15, 2009, when a homemade helium-filled gas balloon shaped to resemble a silver flying saucer was released into the atmosphere above Fort Collins, Colorado, by Richard and Mayumi Heene. They then claim ...
, parents claim their young child has been swept away in a large balloon resembling a
spacecraft A spacecraft is a vehicle or machine designed to fly in outer space. A type of artificial satellite, spacecraft are used for a variety of purposes, including communications, Earth observation, meteorology, navigation, space colonization, p ...
, triggering an extensive rescue effort by authorities. They later admit to the hoax and are fined and given short sentences in jail. * October 22 –
Microsoft Microsoft Corporation is an American multinational technology corporation producing computer software, consumer electronics, personal computers, and related services headquartered at the Microsoft Redmond campus located in Redmond, Washin ...
releases
Windows 7 Windows 7 is a major release of the Windows NT operating system developed by Microsoft. It was released to manufacturing on July 22, 2009, and became generally available on October 22, 2009. It is the successor to Windows Vista, released nearly ...
. * October 24 – A female student at Richmond High School in Richmond, California is
gang raped Gang rape, also called serial gang rape, group rape, or multiple perpetrator rape in scholarly literature,Ullman, S. E. (2013). 11 Multiple perpetrator rape victimization. Handbook on the Study of Multiple Perpetrator Rape: A Multidisciplinary Re ...
by a group of several young men. As many as 20 witnesses are believed to have been aware of the attack, but for more than two hours no one notified the police. * October 28 – President Obama signs the
Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act The Matthew Shepard and James Byrd Jr. Hate Crimes Prevention Act is a landmark United States federal law, passed on October 22, 2009, and signed into law by President Barack Obama on October 28, 2009, as a rider to the National Defense Auth ...
, extending federal hate crime law to include crimes motivated by a victim's
gender Gender is the range of characteristics pertaining to femininity and masculinity and differentiating between them. Depending on the context, this may include sex-based social structures (i.e. gender roles) and gender identity. Most cultures ...
,
sexual orientation Sexual orientation is an enduring pattern of romantic or sexual attraction (or a combination of these) to persons of the opposite sex or gender, the same sex or gender, or to both sexes or more than one gender. These attractions are generall ...
,
gender identity Gender identity is the personal sense of one's own gender. Gender identity can correlate with a person's assigned sex or can differ from it. In most individuals, the various biological determinants of sex are congruent, and consistent with the ...
, or
disability Disability is the experience of any condition that makes it more difficult for a person to do certain activities or have equitable access within a given society. Disabilities may be cognitive, developmental, intellectual, mental, physical, ...
. * October 31 – Seattle police officer Timothy Brenton is shot and killed in the city while sitting in his patrol car in a targeted attack against police officers. The murderer is identified as Christopher Monfort.


November

* November 1 – Small business lender
CIT Group CIT Group (CIT), a subsidiary of First Citizens BancShares, is an American financial services company. It provides financing, including factoring, cash management, treasury management, mortgage loans, Small Business Administration loans, le ...
files for Chapter 11 bankruptcy (reorganization) which likely cancels its obligation to pay back the
Troubled Asset Relief Program The Troubled Asset Relief Program (TARP) is a program of the United States government to purchase toxic assets and equity from financial institutions to strengthen its financial sector that was passed by Congress and signed into law by President ...
(TARP) loan of $2.3 billion that it previously received the U.S. government. * November 3 – 2009 United States elections:
Republican Republican can refer to: Political ideology * An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law. ** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
candidates win the
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
and
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
gubernatorial election A governor is an administrative leader and head of a polity or political region, ranking under the head of state and in some cases, such as governors-general, as the head of state's official representative. Depending on the type of political ...
s. In
Maine Maine () is a state in the New England and Northeastern regions of the United States. It borders New Hampshire to the west, the Gulf of Maine to the southeast, and the Canadian provinces of New Brunswick and Quebec to the northeast and ...
, a
ballot measure A referendum (plural: referendums or less commonly referenda) is a direct vote by the electorate on a proposal, law, or political issue. This is in contrast to an issue being voted on by a representative. This may result in the adoption of a ...
repeals a recent action by the state legislature that had legalized
same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...
. In
New York's 23rd congressional district The 23rd congressional district of New York is located in Upstate, and covers much of the Southern Tier. It extends along New York's border with Pennsylvania from the shores of Lake Erie in Chautauqua County to the suburbs of Binghamton in ...
, a Democrat wins the
special election A by-election, also known as a special election in the United States and the Philippines, a bye-election in Ireland, a bypoll in India, or a Zimni election (Urdu: ضمنی انتخاب, supplementary election) in Pakistan, is an election used to f ...
after the Republican-nominated candidate drops out due to pressure by conservatives who favor a minority party candidate. * November 4 – The
New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...
defeat the Philadelphia Phillies to win their 27th world championship. * November 5 –
Fort Hood Fort Hood is a United States Army post located near Killeen, Texas. Named after Confederate General John Bell Hood, it is located halfway between Austin and Waco, about from each, within the U.S. state of Texas. The post is the headquarter ...
becomes the scene of the worst mass shooting at a U.S. military base when Army psychiatrist Maj.
Nidal Malik Hasan Nidal (in Arabic نضال meaning warrior in Arabic) is a given name in Arabic. It may refer to: * Mohammad Nidal al-Shaar (born 1956), Syrian politician and government minister *Abou Nidal, Côte d'Ivoirian singer * Umm Nidal (1948–2013), Palest ...
opens fire, killing 13 and wounding dozens. * November 9 – The
United States Supreme Court The Supreme Court of the United States (SCOTUS) is the highest court in the federal judiciary of the United States. It has ultimate appellate jurisdiction over all U.S. federal court cases, and over state court cases that involve a point o ...
refuses to halt the
execution Capital punishment, also known as the death penalty, is the state-sanctioned practice of deliberately killing a person as a punishment for an actual or supposed crime, usually following an authorized, rule-governed process to conclude that ...
of
John Allen Muhammad John Allen Muhammad (born Williams; December 31, 1960 – November 10, 2009) was an American convicted murderer from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He, along with his partner and accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo (aged 17), a native of Kingston, Jamaic ...
, the co-conspirator in the 2002
Beltway sniper attacks The D.C. sniper attacks (also known as the Beltway sniper attacks) were a series of coordinated shootings that occurred during three weeks in October 2002 throughout the Washington metropolitan area, consisting of the District of Columbia, M ...
that killed ten and seriously injured three. He is executed the following day. * November 13 – Having analyzed the data from the LCROSS lunar impact,
NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the US federal government responsible for the civil List of government space agencies, space program ...
announces that it has found a "significant" quantity of
water Water (chemical formula ) is an Inorganic compound, inorganic, transparent, tasteless, odorless, and Color of water, nearly colorless chemical substance, which is the main constituent of Earth's hydrosphere and the fluids of all known living ...
in the Moon's
Cabeus Cabeus is a Lunar craters, lunar impact crater that is located about from the Lunar south pole, south pole of the Moon. At this location the crater is seen obliquely from Earth, and it is almost Crater of eternal darkness, perpetually in deep sh ...
crater. * November 27 – Golfer
Tiger Woods Eldrick Tont "Tiger" Woods (born December 30, 1975) is an American professional golfer. He is tied for first in PGA Tour wins, ranks second in men's major championships, and holds numerous golf records. * * * Woods is widely regarded as ...
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 murdered by gunman
Maurice Clemmons On November 29, 2009, four police officers of Lakewood, Washington were fatally shot at the Forza (now Blue Steele) Coffee shop, located at 11401 Steele Street #108 South in the Parkland unincorporated area of Pierce County, Washington, near T ...
in
Parkland, Washington Parkland is a census-designated place (CDP) in Pierce County, Washington. The population was 35,803 at the time of the 2010 census and had grown to 38,623 as of the 2020 census. It is an unincorporated suburb of the city of Tacoma and is home t ...
. Clemmons is shot dead by a police officer on December 1.


December

* December 1 –
Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth ar ...
's smoking ban for most restaurants and bars goes into effect. The bill had broad public support. *December 18 – ''
Avatar Avatar (, ; ), is a concept within Hinduism that in Sanskrit literally means "descent". It signifies the material appearance or incarnation of a powerful deity, goddess or spirit on Earth. The relative verb to "alight, to make one's appeara ...
'', directed by James Cameron, is released in theaters and later becomes the highest-grossing film of all time. * December 25 ** Videos surface of missing GI
Bowe Bergdahl Beaudry Robert "Bowe" Bergdahl (born March 28, 1986) is a United States Army soldier who was held captive from 2009 to 2014 by the Taliban-aligned Haqqani network in Afghanistan and Pakistan. Bergdahl was captured after deserting his post on Ju ...
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. ** As
Northwest Airlines Flight 253 The attempted bombing of Northwest Airlines Flight 253 occurred on December 25, 2009, aboard an Airbus A330 as it prepared to land at Detroit Metropolitan Airport following a transatlantic flight from Amsterdam. Attributed to the terrori ...
approaches Detroit, Nigerian al-Qaeda member
Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab Umar Farouk Abdulmutallab ( ar, عمر فاروق عبد المطلب ; also known as Umar Abdul Mutallab and Omar Farooq al-Nigeri; born December 22, 1986) popularly referred to as the "Underwear Bomber" or "Christmas Bomber", is a Nigerian-bor ...
(whom boarded in
Amsterdam Amsterdam ( , , , lit. ''The Dam on the River Amstel'') is the capital and most populous city of the Netherlands, with The Hague being the seat of government. It has a population of 907,976 within the city proper, 1,558,755 in the urban ar ...
) attempts to detonate
plastic explosive Plastic explosive is a soft and hand-moldable solid form of explosive material. Within the field of explosives engineering, plastic explosives are also known as putty explosives or blastics. Plastic explosives are especially suited for explo ...
s concealed in his underwear until he is subdued by passengers and crew. He is arrested, convicted, and then sentenced to life in prison by a federal court.


Ongoing

*
War in Afghanistan War in Afghanistan, Afghan war, or Afghan civil war may refer to: *Conquest of Afghanistan by Alexander the Great (330 BC – 327 BC) * Muslim conquests of Afghanistan (637–709) *Conquest of Afghanistan by the Mongol Empire (13th century), see al ...
(2001–2021) *
Iraq War {{Infobox military conflict , conflict = Iraq War {{Nobold, {{lang, ar, حرب العراق (Arabic) {{Nobold, {{lang, ku, شەڕی عێراق ( Kurdish) , partof = the Iraq conflict and the War on terror , image ...
(2003–2011) *
Great Recession The Great Recession was a period of marked general decline, i.e. a recession, observed in national economies globally that occurred from late 2007 into 2009. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map). At ...
(2007–2009)


Births

* 2009 – Kristoffer von Hassel, world's youngest known hacker * January 26 –
YaYa Gosselin Felisita Leon "YaYa" Gosselin (born January 26, 2009) is an American actress. She began her career modelling for commercials and made her acting debut in ''After Omelas'' (2017). Following this, she made minor appearances in ''Peppermint (2018 ...
, actress and model * January 29 – The
Suleman octuplets The Suleman octuplets are six male and two female children conceived via in vitro fertilization (IVF) and subsequently born to Nadya Suleman on January 26, 2009, in Bellflower, California. Residing in Lancaster, California, they are the first kn ...
, first known octuplets to survive infancy * February 5 –
Abhimanyu Mishra Abhimanyu Mishra (born February 5, 2009) is an American chess grandmaster. A chess prodigy, he became the youngest player ever to qualify for the grandmaster title on June 30, 2021, at the age of 12 years 4 months and 25 days, beating Sergey ...
, chess prodigy * April 15 –
Julia Butters Julia Butters (born April 15, 2009) is an American teenage actress. She received critical acclaim for her role as Trudi Fraser in Quentin Tarantino's '' Once Upon a Time in Hollywood'' and as Reggie Fabelman in Steven Spielberg's '' The Fabelman ...
, actress * May 18 – Hala Finley, actress * May 29 – Akash Vukoti, spelling prodigy * August 17 – Lexy Kolker, actress * December 5 – Ayelet Galena, notable victim of
congenital disease A birth defect, also known as a congenital disorder, is an abnormal condition that is present at birth regardless of its cause. Birth defects may result in disabilities that may be physical, intellectual, or developmental. The disabilities can r ...
(d.
2012 File:2012 Events Collage V3.png, From left, clockwise: The passenger cruise ship Costa Concordia lies capsized after the Costa Concordia disaster; Damage to Casino Pier in Seaside Heights, New Jersey as a result of Hurricane Sandy; People gat ...
)Seth Galena
entry 13790870598
"EYE on AYELET" blog


Deaths


January

* January 1 –
Ron Asheton Ronald Franklin Asheton (July 17, 1948 – c. January 6, 2009) was an American musician , who was best known as the guitarist, bassist, and co-songwriter for the rock band the Stooges. He formed the Stooges along with Iggy Pop and his brother, ...
, American guitarist and songwriter (b. 1948) * January 2 –
Steven Gilborn Steven Neil Gilborn (July 15, 1936 – January 2, 2009) was an American actor and educator. Gilborn was born in New Rochelle, New York. He attended Swarthmore College, where he was awarded a bachelor's degree in English and earned a Ph.D. ...
, American actor (b. 1936) * January 3 – Pat Hingle, American actor (b.
1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...
) * January 6 –
Cheryl Holdridge Cheryl Lynn Holdridge (''née'' Phelps; June 20, 1944 – January 6, 2009) was an American actress, best known as an original cast member of ''The Mickey Mouse Club''. Early life Holdridge was born in New Orleans, Louisiana. Her mother, Julie ...
, American actress (b. 1944) * January 7 –
Ray Dennis Steckler Ray Dennis Steckler (January 25, 1938 – January 7, 2009), 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 St ...
, American film director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1938) * January 8 –
Don Galloway Donald Poe Galloway (July 27, 1937 – January 8, 2009) was an American stage, film and television actor, best known for his role as Detective Sergeant Ed Brown in the long-running crime drama series '' Ironside'' (1967–1975). He reprised the ...
, American actor (b. 1937) * January 13 – Patrick McGoohan, American actor, director, and producer (b.
1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhan ...
) * January 14 –
Ricardo Montalbán Ricardo Gonzalo Pedro Montalbán y Merino, KSG (; ; November 25, 1920 – January 14, 2009) was a Mexican and American film and television actor. Montalbán's career spanned seven decades, during which he became known for performances in a var ...
, Mexican actor, died in
Los Angeles, California Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the largest city in the state of California and the second most populous city in the United States after New York City, as well as one of the world' ...
(b. 1920) * January 16 –
Andrew Wyeth Andrew Newell Wyeth ( ; July 12, 1917 – January 16, 2009) was an American 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. In his ...
, American artist (b.
1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Fo ...
) * January 24 –
Kay Yow Sandra Kay Yow (March 14, 1942 – January 24, 2009) 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 c ...
, American basketball coach (b.
1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in w ...
) * January 27 – John Updike, American writer and literary critic (b.
1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hiro ...
) * January 28 –
Billy Powell William Norris Powell (June 3, 1952 – January 28, 2009) was an American musician and keyboardist of Southern rock band Lynyrd Skynyrd from 1972 until his death in 2009. Biography Early life Powell was born in Corpus Christi, Texas. He grew u ...
, American musician and songwriter (b.
1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
)


February

* February 4 – Lux Interior, singer (b. 1946) * February 6 **
Philip Carey Philip Carey (born Eugene Joseph Carey, July 15, 1925February 6, 2009) was an American actor. Early life and education On July 15, 1925, Carey was born in Hackensack, New Jersey.James Whitmore James Allen Whitmore Jr. (October 1, 1921 – February 6, 2009) was an American actor. He received numerous accolades, including a Golden Globe Award, a Grammy Award, a Primetime Emmy Award, a Theatre World Award, and a Tony Award, plus two Ac ...
, actor, husband of
Audra Lindley Audra Marie Lindley (September 24, 1918 – October 16, 1997) was an American actress, most famous for her role as landlady Helen Roper on the sitcom ''Three's Company'' and its spin-off ''The Ropers''. Life and career Audra Lindley was born ...
, and father of
James Whitmore Jr. James Allen Whitmore III (born October 24, 1948), better known as James Whitmore Jr., is an American actor and director, best known for his roles as Captain Jim Gutterman on the television program '' Baa Baa Black Sheep'', Freddie Beamer in ''The ...
(b. 1921) * February 7 **
Molly Bee Molly Bee (born Mollie Gene Beachboard; August 18, 1939 – February 7, 2009), was an American country music singer famous for her 1952 recording of the early perennial " I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus" and as Pinky Lee's sidekick on ''The Pinky ...
, singer and actress (b. 1939) **
Jack Cover John Higson Cover Jr. (April 6, 1920 – February 7, 2009) was an American aerospace scientist who was the inventor of the Taser stun gun. Biography Cover was born in New York City on April 6, 1920, and grew up in Chicago. His father was a profes ...
, pilot and physicist, inventor of the
Taser gun A taser is an electroshock weapon used to incapacitate people, allowing them to be approached and handled in an unresisting and thus safe manner. It is sold by Axon, formerly TASER International. It fires two small barbed darts intended to ...
(b. 1920) **
Blossom Dearie Margrethe Blossom Dearie (April 28, 1924 – February 7, 2009) was an American jazz singer and pianist. She had a recognizably light and girlish voice. Profile at AllMusic/ref> Dearie performed regular engagements in London and New York City o ...
, singer and pianist (b.
1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...
) * February 12 – Beverly Eckert, political activist (b.
1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...
) * February 20 –
Robert Quarry Robert Walter Quarry (November 3, 1925 – February 20, 2009) was an American actor, known for several prominent horror film roles. Life and career Quarry was born in Santa Rosa, California, the son of Mable (née Shoemaker) and Paul Quarry ...
, actor (b.
1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Itali ...
) * February 22 –
Howard Zieff Howard Buton Zieff (October 21, 1927 – February 22, 2009) (pronounced Zeef) was an American director, television commercial director, and advertising photographer. Early life Zieff was born to Jewish parents in Chicago, Illinois, then mov ...
, film director (b.
1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 ...
) * February 25 –
Philip José Farmer Philip José Farmer (January 26, 1918 – February 25, 2009) was an American author known for his science fiction and fantasy novels and short stories. Obituary. Farmer is best known for his sequences of novels, especially the ''World of Tiers ...
, writer (b. 1918) * February 26 **
Johnny "Red" Kerr John Graham "Red" Kerr (July 17, 1932 – February 26, 2009) was an American basketball player, coach, and color commentator. He played in the NBA from 1954 to 1966, mainly as a member of the Syracuse Nationals. He later held several coaching ...
, American basketball player, coach, and commentator (b.
1932 Events January * January 4 – The British authorities in India arrest and intern Mahatma Gandhi and Vallabhbhai Patel. * January 9 – Sakuradamon Incident: Korean nationalist Lee Bong-chang fails in his effort to assassinate Emperor Hiro ...
) **
Norm Van Lier Norman Allen Van Lier III (April 1, 1947 – February 26, 2009) was an American professional basketball player and television broadcaster who spent the majority of his career with the Chicago Bulls. Early life Norman Van Lier was born in East L ...
, American basketball player (b. 1947) * February 28 –
Paul Harvey Paul Harvey Aurandt (September 4, 1918 – February 28, 2009) was an American radio broadcaster for ABC News Radio. He broadcast ''News and Comment'' on mornings and mid-days on weekdays and at noon on Saturdays and also his famous '' The Rest ...
, radio commentator (b. 1918)


March

* March 3 –
Flemming Flindt Flemming Flindt (30 June 1936 – 3 March 2009) was a Denmark, Danish choreographer born in Copenhagen. He studied at the Royal Danish Ballet and Ballet de l'Opéra National de Paris, Paris Opera Ballet schools, joined the Royal Danish Ballet and ...
, Danish dancer and choreographer (b.
1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
) * March 4 –
Horton Foote Albert Horton Foote Jr. (March 14, 1916March 4, 2009) was an American playwright and screenwriter. He received Academy Awards for his screenplays for the 1962 film ''To Kill a Mockingbird'', which was adapted from the 1960 novel of the same name ...
, writer and screenwriter (b.
1916 Events Below, the events of the First World War have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 1 – The British Royal Army Medical Corps carries out the first successful blood transfusion, using blood that had been stored and cooled. * J ...
) * March 13 ** Andrew "Test" Martin, Canadian wrestler, died in
Tampa, Florida Tampa () is a city on the Gulf Coast of the United States, Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The city's borders include the north shore of Tampa Bay and the east shore of Old Tampa Bay. Tampa is the largest city in the Tampa Bay area and ...
(b.
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
) **
James Purdy James Otis Purdy (July 17, 1914 March 13, 2009) was an American novelist, short-story writer, poet, and playwright who, from his debut in 1956, published over a dozen novels, and many collections of poetry, short stories, and plays. His work ha ...
, writer (b.
1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...
) * March 15 –
Ron Silver Ronald Arthur Silver (July 2, 1946 – March 15, 2009) was an American actor/activist, director, producer, and radio host. As an actor, he portrayed Henry Kissinger, Alan Dershowitz and Angelo Dundee. He was awarded a Tony in 1988 for Best Acto ...
, actor and political activist (b. 1946) * March 18 –
Natasha Richardson Natasha Jane Richardson (11 May 1963 – 18 March 2009) was an English actress of stage and screen. A member of the Redgrave family, Richardson was the daughter of actress Vanessa Redgrave and director/producer Tony Richardson and the granddaug ...
, British actress, died in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the most densely populated major city in the Un ...
(b. 1963) * March 20 – Mel Brown, American-Canadian singer-songwriter and guitarist (b. 1939) * March 22 – Howard Komives, American professional basketball player (b. 1941) * March 23 –
Lloyd Ruby Lloyd Ruby (January 12, 1928 – March 23, 2009) was an American racecar driver who raced in the USAC Championship Car series for 20 years, achieving 7 victories and 88 top-ten finishes. He also had success in endurance racing, winning the 24 Hour ...
, racecar driver (b.
1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhan ...
) * March 24 –
George Kell George Clyde Kell (August 23, 1922 – March 24, 2009) was an American Major League Baseball third baseman who played 15 seasons for the Philadelphia Athletics (1943–1946), Detroit Tigers (1947–1952), Boston Red Sox (1952–1954), Chicago Whi ...
, American baseball player and broadcaster (b.
1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éireann, the day after Éamon de Valera ...
) * March 25 **
John Hope Franklin John Hope Franklin (January 2, 1915 – March 25, 2009) was an American historian of the United States and former president of Phi Beta Kappa, the Organization of American Historians, the American Historical Association, and the Southern Histo ...
, American historian (b. 1915) **
Dan Seals Danny Wayland Seals (February 8, 1948 – March 25, 2009) was an American musician. The younger brother of Seals and Crofts member Jim Seals, he first gained fame as one half of the soft rock duo England Dan & John Ford Coley, who charted ...
, singer, songwriter, musician, and brother of
Jim Seals Seals and Crofts was an American soft rock duo made up of James Eugene Seals (October 17, 1942 – June 6, 2022) and Darrell George "Dash" Crofts (born August 14, 1938) They are best known for their hits " Summer Breeze" (1972), " Diamond Girl ...
(b. 1948) * March 27 – Sandra Cantu, murder victim (b. 2001) * March 28 ** Peter F. Donnelly, arts patron executive (b. 1938) **
Janet Jagan Janet Rosenberg Jagan (October 20, 1920 – March 28, 2009) was a U.S.-born Guyanese politician who served as the President of Guyana, serving from December 19, 1997, to August 11, 1999. She was the first female President of Guyana. She previou ...
, American-born 6th President of Guyana from 1997 till 1999. (b. 1920) **
Maurice Jarre Maurice-Alexis Jarre (; 13 September 1924 – 28 March 2009) allmusic Biography/ref> was a French composer and conductor. Although he composed several concert works, Jarre is best known for his film scores, particularly for his collaborations wit ...
, French composer, died in
Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...
,
California California is a state in the Western United States, located along the Pacific Coast. With nearly 39.2million residents across a total area of approximately , it is the most populous U.S. state and the 3rd largest by area. It is also the m ...
(b.
1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...
) **
Martin J. Klein Martin Jesse Klein (June 25, 1924 – March 28, 2009), usually cited as M. J. Klein, was a science historian of 19th and 20th century physics. Biography Klein was born in the Bronx, New York City. He was an only child and both his parents we ...
, historian and physicist (b.
1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...
) * March 29 –
Andy Hallett Andrew Alcott Hallett (August 4, 1975 – March 29, 2009) was an American singer and actor who became known from playing the part of Lorne in the television series ''Angel'' (2000–2004). He used his singing talents often on the show, and p ...
, actor and singer (b.
1975 It was also declared the ''International Women's Year'' by the United Nations and the European Architectural Heritage Year by the Council of Europe. Events January * January 1 - Watergate scandal (United States): John N. Mitchell, H. R. ...
)


April

* April 7 –
Jack Wrangler John Robert Stillman (July 11, 1946 – April 7, 2009) billed professionally as Jack Wrangler was an Americans, American List of male performers in gay porn films, gay and heterosexual, straight pornographic film actor, theatrical producer, and ...
, actor (b. 1946) * April 9 –
Nick Adenhart Nicholas James Adenhart (August 24, 1986 – April 9, 2009) was an American right-handed baseball starting pitcher who played parts of two seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Los Angeles Angels of Anaheim. In just four career games, Ad ...
, American baseball player and murder victim (b.
1986 The year 1986 was designated as the International Year of Peace by the United Nations. Events January * January 1 **Aruba gains increased autonomy from the Netherlands by separating from the Netherlands Antilles. **Spain and Portugal enter ...
) * April 12 ** Marilyn Chambers, actress (b.
1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
) ** Eve Kosofsky Sedgwick, academic, writer, and civil rights activist (b.
1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...
) * April 15 –
Ed Blake Edward James Blake (December 23, 1925 – April 15, 2009) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball who played four seasons with the Cincinnati Reds and the Kansas City Athletics. In eight career games, Blake pitched 8⅔ innin ...
, baseball player and plumber (b. 1925) * April 13 **
Mark Fidrych Mark Steven Fidrych ( ; August 14, 1954 – April 13, 2009), nicknamed "The Bird", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) baseball pitcher. He pitched his entire career for the Detroit Tigers (1976–1980). Known for his quirky antics ...
, American baseball player (b. 1954) **
Harry Kalas Harold Norbert Kalas (March 26, 1936 – April 13, 2009) 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, a position he held fr ...
, sportscaster (b.
1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
) * April 25 –
Bea Arthur Beatrice Arthur (born Bernice Frankel; May 13, 1922 – April 25, 2009) was an American actress and comedian. Born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, Arthur began her career on stage in 1947, attracting critical acclaim before achieving ...
, actress, comedian, and wife of
Gene Saks Gene Saks (born Jean Michael Saks; November 8, 1921 – March 28, 2015) was an American director and actor. An inductee of the American Theater Hall of Fame, his acting career began with a Broadway debut in 1949. As a director, he was nominated ...
(b.
1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éireann, the day after Éamon de Valera ...
) * April 27 – Greg Page, boxer and murder victim (b.
1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...
)


May

* May 2 **
Danny Gans Danny Davies Gans (October 25, 1956 – May 1, 2009) was an American singer, comedian and vocal impressionist. Career Gans was a performer on the Las Vegas Strip and the surrounding area, where he was billed as "The Man of Many Voices." He h ...
, singer and comedian (b.
1956 Events January * January 1 – The Anglo-Egyptian Condominium ends in Sudan. * January 8 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. evangelical Christian missionaries, Nate Saint, Roger Youderian, Ed McCully, Jim Elliot and Pete Fleming, ar ...
) ** Jack Kemp, American football player and 9th
United States Secretary of Housing and Urban Development The United States secretary of housing and urban development (or HUD secretary) is the head of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, a member of the president's Cabinet Cabinet or The Cabinet may refer to: Furnitur ...
from 1989-1993. (b. 1935) * May 4 –
Dom DeLuise Dominick DeLuise (August 1, 1933 – May 4, 2009) was an American actor, comedian, director, producer, chef, and author. Known primarily for his comedic performances, he rose to fame in the 1970s as a frequent guest on television variety sho ...
, actor, comedian, writer, and chef (b. 1933) * May 8 –
Dom DiMaggio Dominic Paul DiMaggio (February 12, 1917 – May 8, 2009), nicknamed "The Little Professor", was an American Major League Baseball center fielder. He played his entire 11-year baseball career for the Boston Red Sox (1940–1953). DiMaggio ...
, American baseball player and brother of
Joe DiMaggio Joseph Paul DiMaggio (November 25, 1914 – March 8, 1999), nicknamed "Joltin' Joe", "The Yankee Clipper" and "Joe D.", was an American baseball center fielder who played his entire 13-year career in Major League Baseball for the New York Yank ...
(b.
1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Fo ...
) * May 9 – Chuck Daly, American basketball coach (b.
1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...
) * May 15 **
Rodger McFarlane Rodger Allen McFarlane (February 25, 1955 – May 15, 2009) 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 Fight ...
, civil rights activist (b. 1955) **
Wayman Tisdale Wayman Lawrence Tisdale (June 9, 1964 – May 15, 2009) was an American professional basketball player in the National Basketball Association (NBA) and a smooth jazz bass guitarist. A three-time All American at the University of Oklahoma,
, American basketball player and musician (b.
1964 Events January * January 1 – The Federation of Rhodesia and Nyasaland is dissolved. * January 5 - In the first meeting between leaders of the Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches since the fifteenth century, Pope Paul VI and Patriarc ...
) * May 18 –
Wayne Allwine Wayne Anthony Allwine (February 7, 1947 – May 18, 2009) was an American voice actor, sound effects editor and foley artist for The Walt Disney Company. He is best remembered as the 3rd official voice of Mickey Mouse. He is the longest-tenured ...
, actor (b. 1947) * May 19 –
Robert F. Furchgott Robert Francis Furchgott (June 4, 1916 – May 19, 2009) was a Nobel Prize-winning American biochemist who contributed to the discovery of nitric oxide as a transient cellular signal in mammalian systems. Early life and education Furchgott ...
, American scientist (b. 1916) * May 24 –
Jay Bennett Jay Walter Bennett (November 15, 1963 – May 24, 2009) was an American multi-instrumentalist, engineer, producer, and singer-songwriter, best known as a member of the band Wilco from 1994 to 2001. Biography Early life and work with Wilco Jay ...
, American musician (b. 1963) * May 30 – Brisenia Flores, murder victim (b.
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
) * May 31 –
George Tiller George Richard Tiller (August 8, 1941 – May 31, 2009) was an American physician from Wichita, Kansas. He gained national attention as the medical director of Women's Health Care Services, which was one of only three abortion clinics nationwide ...
, abortion physician and murder victim (b. 1941)


June

* June 1 **
Thomas Berry Thomas Berry, CP (November 9, 1914 – June 1, 2009) was a Catholic priest, cultural historian, and scholar of the world’s religions, especially Asian traditions. Later, as he studied Earth history and evolution, he called himself a “geolog ...
, priest and theologian (b.
1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...
) ** Bob Christie, American racecar driver (b.
1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...
) ** Ken Clark, American actor (b.
1927 Events January * January 1 – The British Broadcasting ''Company'' becomes the British Broadcasting ''Corporation'', when its Royal Charter of incorporation takes effect. John Reith becomes the first Director-General. * January 7 ...
) * June 2 **
David Eddings David Carroll Eddings (July 7, 1931 – June 2, 2009) was an American fantasy writer. With his wife Leigh, he authored several best-selling epic fantasy novel series, including '' The Belgariad'' (1982–84), '' The Malloreon'' (1987–91), ''The ...
, American author (b. 1931) **
FrancEyE FrancEyE aka Frances Dean Smith (March 19, 1922 – June 2, 2009), was an American poet. Biography Frances Dean Smith was born Frances Elizabeth Dean, in San Rafael, California, on March 19, 1922. During her childhood her family moved to the Ea ...
, American poet (b. 1922) ** Alfred Kern, American novelist and academic (b. 1924) **
Paul O. Williams Paul O. Williams (January 17, 1935 – June 2, 2009) was an American science fiction writer and haiku poet. Williams won multiple awards including the John W. Campbell Award and the Museum of Haiku Literature Award; and was professor emeritus of ...
, American science fiction author (b. 1935) * June 3 **
David Carradine David Carradine ( ; born John Arthur Carradine Jr.; December 8, 1936 – June 3, 2009) was an American actor best known for playing martial arts roles. He is perhaps best known as the star of the 1970s television series '' Kung Fu'', playi ...
, American actor, martial artist, died in
Bangkok Bangkok, officially known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon and colloquially as Krung Thep, is the capital and most populous city of Thailand. The city occupies in the Chao Phraya River delta in central Thailand and has an estimated populati ...
,
Thailand Thailand ( ), historically known as Siam () and officially the Kingdom of Thailand, is a country in Southeast Asia, located at the centre of the Indochinese Peninsula, spanning , with a population of almost 70 million. The country is b ...
(b. 1936) **
Koko Taylor Koko Taylor (born Cora Anna Walton, September 28, 1928 – June 3, 2009) was an American singer whose style encompassed Chicago blues, electric blues, rhythm and blues and soul blues. Sometimes called "The Queen of the Blues", she was known f ...
, American singer (b. 1928) * June 5 ** Peter L. Bernstein, American financial historian, economist and educator (b. 1919) ** Alan Berkman, American physician and activist (b. 1945) **
Fleur Cowles Fleur Fenton Cowles (January 20, 1908 – June 5, 2009
by
Jeff Hanson Jeff Hanson (March 3, 1978 – June 5, 2009) was a singer-songwriter, guitarist and multi-instrumentalist,Ola Hudson Ola Hudson ('' née'' Oliver; October 12, 1946 – June 5, 2009) was an American fashion designer and costumier. She designed costumes for several famous musicians, including the Pointer Sisters, Diana Ross, Janet Jackson, David Bowie, John Len ...
, American born - English fashion designer and costumier (b. 1946) ** Richard Jacobs, American businessman and real estate developer (b.
1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Itali ...
) **
Del Monroe Del Monroe (April 7, 1932June 5, 2009) was an American film, television and stage actor. He is best known for his role as Seaman Kowalski in the television series ''Voyage to the Bottom of the Sea'', which was broadcast on ABC from September 14 ...
, American actor (b. 1932) * June 6 **
Mary Howard de Liagre Mary Howard de Liagre (May 18, 1913 – June 6, 2009) was an American actress usually credited as Mary Howard. Howard came from Tulsa, Oklahoma, and took dancing lessons when she was in kindergarten. Among her dancing instructors was Albert ...
, American actress and singer (b. 1913) **
Jim Owens James Donald Owens (March 6, 1927 – June 6, 2009) was an American football player and coach. He was the head coach at the University of Washington from 1957 to 1974, compiling a record of in 18 seasons. Owens played college football at the U ...
, American football player and coach (b. 1927) * June 14 –
Jackie Ronne Jackie Ronne (October 13, 1919 – June 14, 2009) was an American explorer of Antarctica and the first woman in the world to be a working member of an Antarctic expedition (1947–48). She is also the namesake of the Ronne Ice Shelf. Biography ...
, Antarctic explorer (b.
1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the ...
) * June 23 –
Ed McMahon Edward Leo Peter McMahon Jr. (March 6, 1923 – June 23, 2009) was an American announcer, game show host, comedian, actor, singer, and combat aviator. McMahon and Johnny Carson began their association in their first TV series, the ABC game sh ...
, film actor, television comedian, variety and game show host, announcer and spokesman (b. 1923) * June 25 ** Farrah Fawcett, American actress (b. 1947) **
Michael Jackson Michael Joseph Jackson (August 29, 1958 – June 25, 2009) was an American singer, songwriter, dancer, and philanthropist. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. Over a ...
, American actor, singer, songwriter and dancer (b. 1958) * June 27 –
Gale Storm Josephine Owaissa Cottle (April 5, 1922 – June 27, 2009), known professionally as Gale Storm, was an American actress and singer. After a film career from 1940 to 1952, she starred in two popular television programs of the 1950s, '' My Litt ...
, American actress (b. 1922) * June 28 –
Billy Mays William Darrell Mays Jr. (July 20, 1958 – June 28, 2009) was an American television direct-response advertisement salesperson. Throughout his career, he promoted a wide variety of products, including OxiClean, Orange Glo, Kaboom, ...
, advertisement salesperson (b.
1958 Events January * January 1 – The European Economic Community (EEC) comes into being. * January 3 – The West Indies Federation is formed. * January 4 ** Edmund Hillary's Commonwealth Trans-Antarctic Expedition completes the third ...
) * June 30 –
Harve Presnell George Harvey Presnell (September 14, 1933 – June 30, 2009) 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. His career re ...
, actor and singer (b. 1933)


July

* July 1 –
Karl Malden Karl Malden (born Mladen George Sekulovich; March 22, 1912 – July 1, 2009) was an American actor. He was primarily a character actor, who according to Robert Berkvist, "for more than 60 years brought an intelligent intensity and a homespun aut ...
, American actor and spokesman (b. 1912) * July 4 **
Allen Klein Allen Klein (December 18, 1931 July 4, 2009) was an American businessman whose aggressive negotiation tactics affected industry standards for compensating recording artists. He founded ABKCO Music & Records Incorporated. Klein increased profits ...
, American businessman (b.
1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...
) **
Steve McNair Stephen LaTreal McNair (February 14, 1973 – July 4, 2009),Steve McNair Found Dead
...
, American football player and murder victim (b.
1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...
) * July 6 –
Robert McNamara Robert Strange McNamara (; June 9, 1916 – July 6, 2009) was an American business executive and the eighth United States Secretary of Defense, serving from 1961 to 1968 under Presidents John F. Kennedy and Lyndon B. Johnson. He remains the ...
, American business executive and 8th United States Secretary of Defense (b. 1916) * July 17 –
Walter Cronkite Walter Leland Cronkite Jr. (November 4, 1916 – July 17, 2009) was an American broadcast journalist who served as anchorman for the ''CBS Evening News'' for 19 years (1962–1981). During the 1960s and 1970s, he was often cited as "the mo ...
, radio and television journalist (b. 1916) * July 19 –
Frank McCourt Francis McCourt (August 19, 1930July 19, 2009) was an Irish-American teacher and writer. He won a Pulitzer Prize for his book ''Angela's Ashes'', a tragicomic memoir of the misery and squalor of his childhood. Early life and education Frank Mc ...
, Irish-American writer (b.
1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...
) * July 23 – E. Lynn Harris, American writer (b. 1955) * July 25 –
Vernon Forrest Vernon Forrest (February 12, 1971 – July 25, 2009) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1992 to 2008. He held multiple world championships in two weight classes, including the WBC, IBF, ''Ring'' magazine and lineal welterweig ...
, American boxer and murder victim (b. 1971) * July 26 –
Merce Cunningham Mercier Philip "Merce" Cunningham (April 16, 1919 – July 26, 2009) was an American dancer and choreographer who was at the forefront of American modern dance for more than 50 years. He frequently collaborated with artists of other discipl ...
, American dancer and choreographer (b.
1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the ...
)


August

* August 1 –
Naomi Sims Naomi Ruth Sims (March 30, 1948 – August 1, 2009) was an American model, businesswoman, and author, She was the first African-American model to appear on the cover of '' Ladies' Home Journal'', which occurred in November 1968, and is widely c ...
, model, businesswoman and author (b. 1948) * August 5 –
Budd Schulberg Budd Schulberg (born Seymour Wilson Schulberg, March 27, 1914 – August 5, 2009) was an American screenwriter, television producer, novelist and sports writer. He was known for his novels '' What Makes Sammy Run?'' and ''The Harder They Fall;'' ...
, writer, screenwriter, sportswriter, and husband of Geraldine Brooks (b.
1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...
) * August 6 – John Hughes, film director, producer, and screenwriter (b.
1950 Events January * January 1 – The International Police Association (IPA) – the largest police organization in the world – is formed. * January 5 – Sverdlovsk plane crash: ''Aeroflot'' Lisunov Li-2 crashes in a snowstorm. All 19 ...
) * August 11 –
Eunice Kennedy Shriver Eunice Mary Kennedy Shriver (July 10, 1921 – August 11, 2009) was an American philanthropist and a member of the Kennedy family. She was the founder of the Special Olympics, a sports organization for persons with physical and intellectual disa ...
, founder of
Special Olympics Special Olympics is the world's largest sports organization for children and adults with intellectual disabilities and physical disabilities, providing year-round training and activities to 5 million participants and Unified Sports partners in ...
(b. 1921) * August 12 –
Rashied Ali Rashied Ali, born Robert Patterson (July 1, 1933 – August 12, 2009) was an American free jazz and avant-garde drummer best known for playing with John Coltrane in the last years of Coltrane's life. Biography Early life Patterson was born and ...
, American free jazz drummer (b. 1933) * August 13 – Les Paul, guitarist, songwriter, and inventor (b.
1915 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January – British physicist Sir Joseph Larmor publishes his observations on "The Influence of Local Atmospheric Cooling on Astronomical Refraction". * January ...
) * August 18 –
Robert Novak Robert David Sanders Novak (February 26, 1931 – August 18, 2009) was an American syndicated columnist, journalist, television personality, author, and conservative political commentator. After working for two newspapers before serving in the ...
, political columnist and commentator (b.
1931 Events January * January 2 – South Dakota native Ernest Lawrence invents the cyclotron, used to accelerate particles to study nuclear physics. * January 4 – German pilot Elly Beinhorn begins her flight to Africa. * January 22 – Sir I ...
) * August 19 –
Don Hewitt Donald Shepard Hewitt (December 14, 1922 – August 19, 2009) was an American television news producer and executive, best known for creating the CBS television news magazine ''60 Minutes'' in 1968, which at the time of his death was the longest- ...
, television producer (b.
1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éireann, the day after Éamon de Valera ...
) * August 25 – Edward M. Kennedy, Senator from Massachusetts from 1962 till 2009 (b. 1932) * August 26 –
Dominick Dunne Dominick John Dunne (October 29, 1925 – August 26, 2009) was an American writer, investigative journalist, and producer. He began his career in film and television as a producer of the pioneering gay film '' The Boys in the Band'' (1970) and ...
, writer, journalist, and father of
Dominique Dunne Dominique Ellen Dunne (November 23, 1959 – November 4, 1982) was an American actress. Born and raised in Santa Monica, California, Dunne studied acting at Milton Katselas' Workshop, where she appeared in stage productions. She made her ...
and
Griffin Dunne Thomas Griffin Dunne (; born June 8, 1955) is an American actor, film producer, and film director. Dunne studied acting at Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre, The Neighborhood Playhouse School of the Theatre in New York City. He is kn ...
(b.
1925 Events January * January 1 ** The Syrian Federation is officially dissolved, the State of Aleppo and the State of Damascus having been replaced by the State of Syria. * January 3 – Benito Mussolini makes a pivotal speech in the Itali ...
) * August 28 –
Adam Goldstein Adam Michael Goldstein (March 30, 1973 – August 28, 2009), known professionally as DJ AM, was an American disc jockey (DJ). Born in Philadelphia, Goldstein became interested in deejaying as a child after watching Herbie Hancock perform his 1 ...
, DJ (b.
1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...
)


September

* September 11 **
Jim Carroll James Dennis Carroll (August 1, 1949 – September 11, 2009) was an American author, poet, autobiographer, and punk musician. Carroll was best known for his 1978 autobiographical work '' The Basketball Diaries'', which inspired a 1995 film of ...
, poet, musician, and writer (b. 1949) **
Larry Gelbart Larry Simon Gelbart (February 25, 1928 – September 11, 2009) was an American television writer, playwright, screenwriter, director and author, most famous as a creator and producer of the television series ''M*A*S*H'', and as co-writer of the B ...
, screenwriter and television producer (b.
1928 Events January * January – British bacteriologist Frederick Griffith reports the results of Griffith's experiment, indirectly proving the existence of DNA. * January 1 – Eastern Bloc emigration and defection: Boris Bazhan ...
) * September 12 **
Norman Borlaug Norman Ernest Borlaug (; March 25, 1914September 12, 2009) was an American agronomist who led initiatives worldwide that contributed to the extensive increases in agricultural production termed the Green Revolution. Borlaug was awarded multiple ...
, agronomist and Nobel Peace Prize laureate (b.
1914 This year saw the beginning of what became known as World War I, after Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria, heir to the Austrian throne was Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, assassinated by Serbian nationalist Gavrilo Princip. It als ...
) ** Jack Kramer, tennis player (b. 1921) * September 13 – Paul Burke, actor (b.
1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of Viet ...
) * September 14 **
Henry Gibson Henry Gibson (born James Bateman; September 21, 1935 – September 14, 2009) was an American actor and poet. His best-known roles include his time as a cast member of the TV sketch-comedy series ''Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In'' from 1968 to 19 ...
, actor and comedian (b. 1935) **
Jody Powell Joseph Lester "Jody" Powell, Jr. (September 30, 1943 – September 14, 2009) was an American political advisor who served as a White House press secretary during the presidency of Jimmy Carter. Powell later co-founded a public relations firm. E ...
, 14th White House Press Secretary from 1977 till 1981. (b.
1943 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Soviet Union announces that 22 German divisions have been encircled at Stalingrad, with 175,000 killed and 137,650 captured. * January 4 ...
) **
Patrick Swayze Patrick Wayne Swayze (; August 18, 1952 – September 14, 2009) was an American actor, dancer, and singer known for playing distinctive lead roles, particularly romantic, tough, and comedic characters. He was also known for his media image and ...
, actor, dancer, singer, songwriter, and husband of
Lisa Niemi Lisa Niemi Swayze (born May 26, 1956) is an American writer, dancer, choreographer, actress, and director. She is the widow of actor and dancer Patrick Swayze. Early life Lisa Anne Haapaniemi was born in Houston, Texas, the only daughter of ...
(b.
1952 Events January–February * January 26 – Black Saturday in Egypt: Rioters burn Cairo's central business district, targeting British and upper-class Egyptian businesses. * February 6 ** Princess Elizabeth, Duchess of Edinburgh, becomes m ...
) * September 16 **
Myles Brand Myles Neil Brand (May 17, 1942 – September 16, 2009) was a philosopher and university administrator who served as the 14th president of the University of Oregon, the 16th president of Indiana University, and the fourth president of the Natio ...
, collegiate administrator (b.
1942 Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * January 1 – WWII: The Declaration by United Nations is signed by China, the United Kingdom, the United States, the Soviet Union, and 22 other nations, in w ...
) **
Mary Travers Mary Allin Travers (November 9, 1936 – September 16, 2009) was an American singer-songwriter who was known for being in the famous 1960s folk trio Peter, Paul and Mary, along with Peter Yarrow and Paul Stookey. Travers grew up amid the burg ...
, singer and songwriter (b.
1936 Events January–February * January 20 – George V of the United Kingdom and the British Dominions and Emperor of India, dies at his Sandringham Estate. The Prince of Wales succeeds to the throne of the United Kingdom as King E ...
) * September 18 –
Irving Kristol Irving Kristol (; January 22, 1920 – September 18, 2009) was an American journalist who was dubbed the "godfather of neoconservatism". As a founder, editor, and contributor to various magazines, he played an influential role in the intellectual ...
, columnist, journalist, writer, and father of
William Kristol William Kristol (; born December 23, 1952) is an American neoconservative writer. A frequent commentator on several networks including CNN, he was the founder and editor-at-large of the political magazine ''The Weekly Standard''. Kristol is now ...
(b. 1920) * September 21 –
Robert Ginty Robert Winthrop Ginty (November 14, 1948 – September 21, 2009) was an American actor, producer, screenwriter, and director perhaps best known for playing Thomas Craig Anderson on the television series '' The Paper Chase''. Early life Ginty wa ...
, actor and television director (b. 1948) * September 24 –
Susan Atkins Susan Denise Atkins (May 7, 1948 – September 24, 2009) was an American convicted murderer who was a member of Charles Manson's "Family". Manson's followers committed a series of nine murders at four locations in California, over a perio ...
, murderer (b. 1948) * September 27 –
William Safire William Lewis Safire (; Safir; December 17, 1929 – September 27, 2009Safire, William (1986). ''Take My Word for It: More on Language.'' Times Books. . p. 185.) was an American author, columnist, journalist, and presidential speechwriter. He w ...
, writer, political columnist, and speechwriter (b.
1929 This year marked the end of a period known in American history as the Roaring Twenties after the Wall Street Crash of 1929 ushered in a worldwide Great Depression. In the Americas, an agreement was brokered to end the Cristero War, a Catholic ...
)


October

* October 5 –
Israel Gelfand Israel Moiseevich Gelfand, also written Israïl Moyseyovich Gel'fand, or Izrail M. Gelfand ( yi, ישראל געלפֿאַנד, russian: Изра́иль Моисе́евич Гельфа́нд, uk, Ізраїль Мойсейович Гел ...
, Soviet-American mathematician (b. 1913) * October 7 – Irving Penn, photographer (b.
1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Fo ...
) * October 13 –
Al Martino Al Martino (born Jasper Cini; October 7, 1927 – October 13, 2009) 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 croone ...
, singer and actor (b. 1927) * October 14 **
Lou Albano Louis Vincent Albano (July 29, 1933 – October 14, 2009) was an Italian-American professional wrestler, manager and actor, who performed under the ring/stage name "Captain" Lou Albano. He was active as a professional wrestler from 1953 until 1 ...
, Italian-born American wrestler, wrestling manager, and actor (b. 1933) **
Bruce Wasserstein Bruce Jay Wasserstein (December 25, 1947 – October 14, 2009) was an American investment banker, businessman, and writer. He was a graduate of the McBurney School, University of Michigan, Harvard Business School, and Harvard Law School, and ...
, banker, businessman, writer, lawyer, and brother of
Wendy Wasserstein Wendy Wasserstein (October 18, 1950 – January 30, 2006) was an American playwright. She was an Andrew Dickson White Professor-at-Large at Cornell University. She received the Tony Award for Best Play and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama in 1989 ...
(b. 1947) * October 19 –
Joseph Wiseman Joseph Wiseman (May 15, 1918 – October 19, 2009) was a Canadian-American theatre, film, and television actor who starred as the villain Julius No in the first James Bond film, '' Dr. No'' in 1962. Wiseman was also known for his role as Manny We ...
, Canadian actor (b. 1918) * October 22 –
Soupy Sales Milton Supman (January 8, 1926 – October 22, 2009), known professionally as Soupy Sales, was an American comedian, actor, radio-television personality, and jazz aficionado. He was best known for his local and network children's television serie ...
, comedian, actor, radio personality, television regular panelist and host (b.
1926 Events January * January 3 – Theodoros Pangalos declares himself dictator in Greece. * January 8 **Abdul-Aziz ibn Saud is crowned King of Hejaz. ** Crown Prince Nguyễn Phúc Vĩnh Thuy ascends the throne, the last monarch of Viet ...
) * October 23 – Shiloh Pepin, notable victim of rare congenital deformity (b.
1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...
) * October 26 –
Troy Smith Troy James Smith (born July 20, 1984) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Ohio State, was recognized as an All-American, and won the Heisman Trophy in 2006. He was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fi ...
, businessman (b.
1922 Events January * January 7 – Dáil Éireann, the parliament of the Irish Republic, ratifies the Anglo-Irish Treaty by 64–57 votes. * January 10 – Arthur Griffith is elected President of Dáil Éireann, the day after Éamon de Valera ...
)


November

* November 3 **
Carl Ballantine Carl Ballantine (September 28, 1917 – November 4, 2009) 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 come ...
, actor, comedian, and magician (b.
1917 Events Below, the events of World War I have the "WWI" prefix. January * January 9 – WWI – Battle of Rafa: The last substantial Ottoman Army garrison on the Sinai Peninsula is captured by the Egyptian Expeditionary Fo ...
) ** Lorissa McComas, actress and model (b.
1970 Events January * January 1 – Unix time epoch reached at 00:00:00 UTC. * January 5 – The 7.1 Tonghai earthquake shakes Tonghai County, Yunnan province, China, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of X (''Extreme''). Between 10,000 and ...
) * November 10 –
John Allen Muhammad John Allen Muhammad (born Williams; December 31, 1960 – November 10, 2009) was an American convicted murderer from Baton Rouge, Louisiana. He, along with his partner and accomplice Lee Boyd Malvo (aged 17), a native of Kingston, Jamaic ...
, murderer (b.
1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...
) * November 15 **
Dennis Cole Dennis Cole (July 19, 1940 – November 15, 2009) was an American actor in film and television. A familiar face on the screen during the 1960s and 1970s, Cole made guest appearances in numerous television series. After the 1991 murder of Jo ...
, actor and husband of
Jaclyn Smith Jacquelyn Ellen "Jaclyn" Smith (born October 26, 1945) is an American actress and businesswoman. She is best known for her role as Kelly Garrett in the television series '' Charlie's Angels'' (1976–1981), and was the only original female lead ...
(b.
1940 A calendar from 1940 according to the Gregorian calendar, factoring in the dates of Easter and related holidays, cannot be used again until the year 5280. Events Below, the events of World War II have the "WWII" prefix. January * Januar ...
) **
Ken Ober Ken Ober (July 3, 1957 – November 15, 2009) was an American game show host, comedian, and actor. Early life and career Born Kenneth Oberding in Brookline, Massachusetts, he was raised in a suburb of Hartford, Connecticut, where his fir ...
, comedian, television producer, screenwriter, actor, and game show host (b.
1957 1957 ( MCMLVII) was a common year starting on Tuesday of the Gregorian calendar, the 1957th year of the Common Era (CE) and ''Anno Domini'' (AD) designations, the 957th year of the 2nd millennium, the 57th year of the 20th century, and the 8th year ...
) * November 21 – Snell Putney, sociologist, environmentalist, and author


December

* December 2 –
Foge Fazio Serafino Dante "Foge" Fazio (February 28, 1938 – December 2, 2009) was an American football player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Pittsburgh from 1982 to 1985. Fazio was an assistant coach with five teams ...
, American football player and coach (b. 1938) * December 4 **
Eddie Fatu Edward Smith Fatu (March 28, 1973 – December 4, 2009) was an American professional wrestler, best known for his time with World Wrestling Entertainment (WWE) under the ring name Umaga. Prior to Umaga, Fatu was also notable for his time with Al ...
, wrestler (b.
1973 Events January * January 1 - The United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland and Denmark 1973 enlargement of the European Communities, enter the European Economic Community, which later becomes the European Union. * January 15 – Vietnam War: ...
) ** Paula Hawkins (politician), Paula Hawkins, American politician (b. 1927) * December 5 – Jack Rose (guitarist), Jack Rose, American guitarist (b. 1971) * December 9 – Gene Barry, American actor (b.
1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the ...
) * December 12 – Val Avery, American actor and husband of Margot Stevenson (b.
1924 Events January * January 12 – Gopinath Saha shoots Ernest Day, whom he has mistaken for Sir Charles Tegart, the police commissioner of Calcutta, and is arrested soon after. * January 20– 30 – Kuomintang in China holds ...
) * December 13 – Paul Samuelson, American Nobel Prize-winning economist (b. 1915) * December 15 – Oral Roberts, American minister and college administrator (b. 1918) * December 16 – Roy E. Disney, American business executive and nephew of Walt Disney (b.
1930 Events January * January 15 – The Moon moves into its nearest point to Earth, called perigee, at the same time as its fullest phase of the Lunar Cycle. This is the closest moon distance at in recent history, and the next one will b ...
) * December 17 ** Alaina Reed Hall, American actress (b. 1946) ** Chris Henry (wide receiver), Chris Henry, American football player (b. 1983 in the United States, 1983) ** Jennifer Jones, American actress (b.
1919 Events January * January 1 ** The Czechoslovak Legions occupy much of the self-proclaimed "free city" of Pressburg (now Bratislava), enforcing its incorporation into the new republic of Czechoslovakia. ** HMY ''Iolaire'' sinks off the ...
) ** Dan O'Bannon, American screenwriter, director, and actor (b. 1946) * December 19 – Kim Peek, American savant (b.
1951 Events January * January 4 – Korean War: Third Battle of Seoul – Chinese and North Korean forces capture Seoul for the second time (having lost the Second Battle of Seoul in September 1950). * January 9 – The Government of the United ...
) * December 20 ** Brittany Murphy, American actress (b. 1977 in the United States, 1977) ** Arnold Stang, American actor and comedian (b. 1918) * December 21 – Edwin G. Krebs, American Nobel biologist (b. 1918) * December 25 – Vic Chesnutt, American singer-songwriter (b. 1964) * December 28 – The Rev, American musician (b. 1981 in the United States, 1981) * December 29 – Dr. Death Steve Williams, wrestler and American football player (b.
1960 It is also known as the "Year of Africa" because of major events—particularly the independence of seventeen African nations—that focused global attention on the continent and intensified feelings of Pan-Africanism. Events January * Jan ...
)


See also

* 2009 in American soccer * 2009 in American television * List of American films of 2009 * Timeline of United States history (1990–2009)


References


External links

* {{Year in North America, 2009 2009 in the United States, 2000s in the United States 2009 by country, United States 2009 in North America, United States Years of the 21st century in the United States Articles containing video clips