2008 in the United States

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article may need to be updated. Please update this article to reflect recent events or newly available information, and remove this template when finished. Please see the talk page for more information.

Years in the United States:	2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011
Centuries:	20th Century · 21st century · 22nd century
Decades:	1970s 1980s 1990s 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s
Years:	2005 2006 2007 2008 2009 2010 2011

Contents 1 Political incumbents 2 Events 2.1 January 2.2 February 2.3 March 2.4 April 2.5 May 2.6 June 2.7 July 2.8 August 2.9 September 2.10 October 2.11 November 2.12 December 3 Deaths 3.1 January 3.2 February 3.3 March 3.4 April 3.5 May 3.6 June 3.7 July 3.8 August 3.9 September 3.10 October 3.11 November 3.12 December 4 References

[edit] Political incumbents

• President - George W. Bush
• Vice President - Dick Cheney
• Senate Majority Leader - Harry Reid
• Secretary of State - Condoleezza Rice
• Secretary of Defense - Robert Gates
• Speaker of the House - Nancy Pelosi

[edit] Events

[edit] January

• January 3 - Joe Biden drops out of the 2008 U.S. presidential election
• January 5 - A levee bursts in Fernley, Nevada, flooding a large portion of the town and forcing the evacuations of 3,500 residents.
• January 7 to January 10 - A January 2008 tornado outbreak storm passes through eastern North America, producing 64 tornadoes across the mideastern United States and record-breaking temperatures in eastern Canada.
• January 7 - NBC announces the 2008 Golden Globe Awards Ceremony will be canceled due to the Writers Guild of America strike. The network says it will announce the winners in a 1 hour news conference.
• January 9 - President George W. Bush begins a tour of the Middle East with a stop in Israel. Other destinations include Kuwait, Bahrain, the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, the Palestinian Authority, and Egypt.
• January 10 - Bill Richardson drops out of the U.S. presidential election due to shortage of money.
• January 15 - The Food and Drug Administration declares that food from cloned cattle, swine, goats, and their progeny is safe to eat.^[1]
• January 18 - President George W. Bush announces an economic stimulus package, proposing $800 per individual and $1600 per couple in tax refunds.
• January 25 - Las Vegas Casino Monte Carlo catches fire.
• January 26 - The All American Football League (AAFL) holds its inaugural draft. ^[2]
• January 27 - The 2008 NHL All-Star Game occurs in Atlanta.
• January 28 - President George W. Bush delivers his final State of the Union Address.^[3]
• January 30 - U.S. presidential candidates Rudy Giuliani and John Edwards drop out of the race.

[edit] February

• February 1 - The Food and Drug Administration issued Public Health Advisory on Chantix, an anti-smoking medication, due to a possible "association between Chantix and serious neuropsychiatric symptoms."^[4]
• February 2 - The military accidentally kills nine civilians in a raid in Iraq.^[5]
• February 3 - The New York Giants defeat the heavily favored New England Patriots 17-14 in Super Bowl XLII, played at the University of Phoenix in Glendale, Arizona.^[6]
• February 5 - A series of deadly tornadoes sweeps across Tennessee, Arkansas, Kentucky, Alabama, Mississippi, and Illinois, reportedly killing at least 59 people and injuring more than 100.
• February 7 - The Senate passes a $170 billion economic stimulus package by a margin of 81-16.
• February 7 - Charles Lee "Cookie" Thornton kills five and wounds two people at city hall before being shot and killed by police in Kirkwood, Missouri.^[7]
• February 7 - Mitt Romney suspended his campaign for the Republican Party nomination for the U.S. presidency.^[8]
• February 10 - The 50th Annual Grammy Awards took place at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California.
• February 10 - Maine Democratic primary in U.S. presidential election.
• February 11 - A marine was arrested on suspicion of raping a fourteen-year-old Japanese girl in Okinawa, Okinawa, Japan. Japanese Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda called this "grave case" "unforgivable". ^[9] Ambassador Tom Schieffer later offered a personal apology.^[10]
• February 11 - A former Boeing engineer and Defense Department analyst are arrested and charged with espionage for allegedly passing information to the Chinese government.^[11]
• February 12 - The 2007–2008 Writers Guild of America strike ends effectively at 6:51pm PST (02:51 UTC, February 13) as members vote to stop picket lines in response to a tentative deal reached by the WGA and the AMPTP three days earlier.^[12]
• February 12 - Lawrence "Larry" King, a 15-year-old 8th grade student at E.O. Green Junior High School, was shot to death by fellow 14-year-old student, Brandon McInerney, for being gay.
• February 14 - Steven Kazmierczak opens fire, killing 5 and wounding 18 before fatally shooting himself at Northern Illinois University in DeKalb, Illinois.^[13]
• February 17 - USDA recalled 143 million pounds of frozen beef from a California slaughterhouse^[14]
• February 20 - The navy destroys American spy satellite USA 193 with a missile, prompting international speculation that it was testing its "anti-missile defence system's capability to destroy other countries' satellites."^[15]
• February 24 - The 80th Academy Awards, hosted by Jon Stewart, takes place at the Kodak Theatre in Hollywood, Los Angeles, California^[16], with No Country for Old Men winning Best Picture.^[17]

[edit] March

• March 4 - John McCain secures the 2008 U.S. Republican Party presidential nomination after winning primary elections in Texas, Vermont, Ohio, and Rhode Island.
• March 6 - During the early hours of the morning, a small bomb explodes at an unoccupied military recruiting station in Times Square, New York City. No one is injured.
• March 12 - New York Governor Eliot Spitzer announces his resignation (effective March 17) days after being linked to a high-priced prostitution ring.
• March 15 - A construction crane falls on a residential building in Manhattan, killing four people and injuring at least 17.^[18]
• March 18 - The Federal Reserve System cuts the federal funds rate by 75 basis points to 2.25%. ^[19]
• March 24 - Relatives of victims of the Virginia Tech massacre report that the Government of Virginia will offer victims compensation of $100,000 to forestall lawsuits.
• March 26 - Former First Lady of the United States Nancy Reagan endorses John McCain for the presidency.^[20]

[edit] April

• April 11 - Newseum opens in Washington, D.C.
• April 15– April 20 - Pope Benedict XVI visits the United States. Among his destinations are the White House, The Catholic University of America, the United Nations General Assembly, and the site of the fallen World Trade Center. Benedict XVI also celebrated Mass at Nationals Park and Yankee Stadium.
• April 18 - A magnitude 5.2 earthquake occurs in Illinois. Effects are felt in many Midwestern states such as Illinois and Indiana.
• April 22 - Senator Hillary Clinton wins the Pennsylvania Democratic Primary.
• April 28 - General Motors announces that it will cut production of pickup trucks and sport utility vehicles in three plants in Michigan and one in Oshawa, Ontario and negotiate layoffs with the United Auto Workers and Canadian Auto Workers.

[edit] May

• May 6 - Senator Barack Obama wins the North Carolina Democratic Primary. Senator Hillary Clinton narrowly wins Indiana Democratic Primary.
• May 7–May 15 - Several tornadoes cause substantial damage in the Midwestern United States.
• May 15 - California becomes the second state after Massachusetts in 2004 to legalize same-sex marriage after the state's own Supreme Court rules a previous ban unconstitutional.
• May 20 - Senator Hillary Clinton wins the Kentucky Democratic primary while Senator Barack Obama wins the Oregon Democratic primary.

[edit] June

• June 1 - A large fire engulfs parts of Universal Studios in Universal City, California.
• June 1 - Landmark Broadway musical Rent ends its run after 12 years and more than 4,300 shows.
• June 3 - Barack Obama secures the 2008 U.S. Democratic Party presidential nomination becoming the first African American presumptive presidential candidate for a major political party.
• June 4 - The Detroit Red Wings win their 11th Stanley Cup, defeating the Pittsburgh Penguins.
• June 7 - Big Brown, previously undefeated, fails to become the first winner of the Triple Crown since 1978, finishing last at the 2008 Belmont Stakes.
• June 17 - The Boston Celtics earn their 17th NBA championship by defeating the Los Angeles Lakers.
• June 18 - Tiger Woods announces he will undergo ACL surgery and won't play golf again until 2009.

[edit] July

• July 10 - The 2008 Major League Baseball All-Star Game takes place at Yankee Stadium.^[21]
• July 25 - The Avenue of the Saints expressway project, linking St. Louis, Missouri and St. Paul, Minnesota, is finally completed with a ribbon cutting ceremony near Wayland, Missouri^[22].
• July 29 - The 2008 Chino Hills Earthquake, a 5.4 magnitude earthquake with an epicenter approximately 28 miles (45 km) southeast of downtown Los Angeles, felt as far away as Las Vegas, Nevada. No injuries reported.

[edit] August

• August 25–28 - Barack Obama and Joe Biden are declared the Democratic president and vice president candidates at the 2008 Democratic National Convention in Denver, Colorado.
• August 29 - Republican presidential candidate John McCain chooses Sarah Palin as his running mate.

[edit] September

• September 1–4 - John McCain and Sarah Palin are declared the Republican president and vice president candidates at the 2008 Republican National Convention in Saint Paul, Minnesota.
• September 7 - The US Government takes control of the two largest largest mortgage financing companies in the US, Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac.^[23]
• September 21 - The 60th Primetime Emmy Awards were handed out.^[24]

[edit] October

• October 15 - Presidential candidates John McCain and Barack Obama meet in their third and final televised debate at Hofstra University.
• October 29 - The Philadelphia Phillies beat the Tampa Bay Rays in the 2008 World Series. The series score was 4-1.

[edit] November

• November 4 Barack Obama wins the 2008 presidential election

[edit] December

• December 1 - Dow drops 680 points, its fourth worst drop in its history, after the National Bureau of Economic Research declared on the same day that the United States economy officially entered a recession in December 2007.
• NB Power crews head to Maine to help restore electricity after a major storm which knocked out power to millions of Americans.
• December 25 - A gunman dresses up as Santa Claus and kills 9 people during a Christmas party and burns down the house during the Covina, California massacre.

[edit] Deaths

[edit] January

• January 1 - Salvatore Bonanno, mobster (b. 1932)
• January 7 - Edward "Buddy" LeRoux, businessman (b. 1930)
• January 7 - Philip Agee, spy (b. 1935)
• January 10 - Christopher Bowman, figure skater (b. 1967)
• January 10 - Maila Nurmi, actress and television personality, born in Finland (b. 1921)
• January 11 - Carl Karcher, businessman (b. 1917)
• January 13 - Johnny Podres, baseball player (b. 1932)
• January 15 - Brad Renfro, actor (b. 1982)
• January 17 - Bobby Fischer, chess grandmaster, later moved to Iceland (b. 1943)
• January 17 - Ernie Holmes, football player (b. 1948)
• January 17 - Allan Melvin, actor (b. 1922)
• January 18 - Georgia Frontiere, businesswoman (b. 1927)
• January 18 - Lois Nettleton, actress (b. 1927)
• January 19 - Frances Lewine, journalist (b. 1921)
• January 19 - Suzanne Pleshette, actress (b. 1937)
• January 19 - John Stewart, Singer-Songwriter (b. 1939)
• January 22 - Roberto Gari, actor (b. unknown)
• January 22 - Miles Lerman, activist, born in Poland (b. 1920)
• January 24 - Randy Salerno, news anchor (b. 1963)
• January 27 - Gordon B. Hinckley, Mormon leader (b. 1910)
• January 29 - Margaret Truman, writer (b. 1924)

[edit] February

• February 1 - Shell Kepler, actress (b. 1958)
• February 2 - Earl Butz, government official (b. 1909)
• February 2 - Joshua Lederberg, molecular biologist and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1925)
• February 3 - Sheldon Brown, bicycle mechanic (b. 1944)
• February 4 - Harry Richard Landis, World War I veteran (b. 1899)
• February 6 - John McWethy, print and television journalist (b. 1947)
• February 8 - Phyllis A. Whitney, mystery writer (b. 1903)
• February 10 - Ron Leavitt, television producer (b. 1947)
• February 10 - Roy Scheider, actor (b. 1932)
• February 11 - Tom Lantos, politician (b. 1928)
• February 12 - Oscar Brodney, screenwriter (b. 1907)
• February 13 - Roger Voisin, classical musician, born in France (b. 1918)
• February 15 - Steve Fossett, adventurer^[25] (b. 1944)
• February 21 - Ben Chapman, actor (b. 1928)
• February 24 - Larry Norman, musician (b. 1947)
• February 26 - Buddy Miles, musician (b. 1947)
• February 27 - William F. Buckley, Jr., author and conservative commentator (b. 1925)
• February 27 - Myron Cope, sportscaster (b. 1929)
• February 27 - Boyd Coddington, car-builder (b. 1944)
• February 28 - Joseph M. Juran, engineer and philanthropist (b. 1904)

[edit] March

• March 4 - Gary Gygax, writer and game designer (b. 1938)
• March 5 - Joseph Weizenbaum, author and computer scientist, born in Germany (b. 1923)
• March 9 - Gus Giordano, Jazz dancer (b. 1923)
• March 12 - Howard Metzenbaum, politician (b. 1917)
• March 15 - Vicki Van Meter, former child pilot (b. 1982)
• March 16 - Ivan Dixon, actor and director (b. 1931)
• March 16 - Gary Hart, wrestler (b. 1942)
• March 22 - Cachao López, musician, born in Cuba (b. 1918)
• March 23 - Al Copeland, entreprenueur (b. 1944)
• March 24 - Richard Widmark, actor (b. 1914)
• March 30 - Dith Pran, photojournalist, born in Cambodia (b. 1942)
• March 31 - Jules Dassin, film director (b. 1911)

[edit] April

• April 5 - Charlton Heston, actor (b. 1923)
• April 8 - Stanley Kamel, actor (b. 1943)
• April 11 - Merlin German, soldier and charity founder (b. 1985)
• April 12 - Barbara McDermott, last American survivor of the sinking of the RMS Lusitania (b. 1912)
• April 13 - John Archibald Wheeler, theoretical physicist (b. 1911)
• April 14 - Ollie Johnston, animator (b. 1912)
• April 16 - Joe Feeney, tenor (b. 1931)
• April 16 - Edward Norton Lorenz, mathematician and meteorologist (b. 1917)
• April 17 - Danny Federici, musician (b. 1950)
• April 21 - Al Wilson, singer (b. 1939)
• April 22 - Paul Davis, musician (b. 1948)

[edit] May

• May 2 - Beverlee McKinsey, actress (b. 1940)
• May 4 - Fredric J. Baur, chemist and inventor (b. 1918)
• May 5 - Irv Robbins, entrepreneur, born in Canada (b. 1917)
• May 8 - Eddy Arnold, country music singer (b. 1918)
• May 11 - Dottie Rambo, singer (b. 1934)
• May 12 - Robert Rauschenberg, pop artist (b. 1925)
• May 13 - John Phillip Law, actor (b. 1937)
• May 15 - Alexander Courage, composer (b. 1919)
• May 15 - Willis Lamb, physicist and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1913)
• May 16 - Robert Mondavi, winemaker (b. 1913)
• May 18 - Joseph Pevney, director (b. 1911)
• May 20 - Hamilton Jordan, political strategist (b. 1944)
• May 22 - Robert Asprin, science fiction writer (b. 1946)
• May 24 - Dick Martin, comedian (b. 1922)
• May 26 - Earle Hagen, composer (b. 1919)
• May 26 - Sydney Pollack, actor, director, and producer (b. 1934)
• May 28 - Robert Justman, producer (b. 1926)
• May 29 - Harvey Korman, actor (b. 1927)

[edit] June

• June 2 - Bo Diddley, musician (b. 1928)
• June 3 - Mel Ferrer, actor, director, and producer (b. 1917)
• June 6 - Dwight White, football player (b. 1949)
• June 7 - Jim McKay, television sports journalist (b. 1921)
• June 9 - Algis Budrys, science fiction writer, born in Lithuania (b. 1931)
• June 10 - John Rauch, football player and coach (b. 1927)
• June 12 - Charlie Jones, sportscaster (b. 1930)
• June 13 - Tim Russert, journalist (b. 1950)
• June 15 - Johnathan Goddard, football player (b. 1981)
• June 15 - Stan Winston, special effects and make up artist (b. 1946)
• June 17 - Cyd Charisse, actress and dancer (b. 1922)
• June 21 - Scott Kalitta, drag racer (b. 1962)
• June 21 - Kermit Love, costume designer (b. 1916)
• June 22 - George Carlin, author, actor, and comedian (b. 1937)
• June 22 - Dody Goodman, actress (b. 1914)
• June 24 - Leonid Hurwicz, economist, mathematician, and Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1917)
• June 27 - Polk Robison, basketball coach (b. 1912)
• June 27 - Michael Turner, comic book artist (b. 1971)
• June 29 - Don S. Davis, actor (b. 1942)

[edit] July

• July 1 - John Pont, football coach (b. 1927)
• July 1 - Mark Dean Schwab, murderer (b. 1968)
• July 3 - Larry Harmon, entertainer (b. 1925)
• July 4 - Jesse Helms, politician (b. 1921)
• July 4 - Evelyn Keyes, actress (b. 1916)
• July 4 - Terrence Kiel, football player (b. 1980)
• July 11 - Michael E. DeBakey, surgeon and inventor (b. 1908)
• July 12 - Tony Snow, political commentator (b. 1955)
• July 22 - Estelle Getty, actress (b. 1923)
• July 25 - Randy Pausch, author and computer scientist (b. 1960)

[edit] August

• August 3 - Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn, author and Nobel Prize winner, born and died in Russia but spent part of life in United States (b. 1918)
• August 9 - Bernie Mac, actor and comedian (b. 1957)
• August 10 - Isaac Hayes, musician (b. 1942)
• August 15 - Jerry Wexler, music producer (b. 1917)
• August 19 - LeRoi Moore, musician (b. 1961)
• August 19 - Julius Carry, actor (b. 1952)
• August 31 - Jerry Reed, actor and musician (b. 1937)

[edit] September

• September 1 - Don LaFontaine, voiceover artist (b. 1940)
• September 6 - Anita Page, actress (b. 1910)
• September 12 - David Foster Wallace, author and columnist (b. 1962)
• September 26 - Paul Newman, actor (b. 1925)

[edit] October

• October 15 - Edie Adams, actress, singer, and comedienne (b. 1927)
• October 17 - Levi Stubbs, musician and voice actor (b. 1936)
• October 19 - Mr. Blackwell, fashion designer and critic (b. 1922)
• October 19 - Rudy Ray Moore, actor, musician, and comedian (b. 1927)
• October 31 - Studs Terkel, Pulitzer Prize-winning author, broadcaster, and historian (b. 1912)

[edit] November

• November 1 - Tiffany Sloan, model and Playboy Playmmate (b. 1973)
• November 4 - Michael Crichton, author and filmmaker (b. 1942)
• November 10 - Miriam Makeba, singer, born in South Africa (b. 1932)
• November 22 - MC Breed, hip hop artist (b. 1971)

[edit] December

• December 1 - Paul Benedict, actor (b. 1938)
• December 2 - Odetta, folk singer and civil rights activist (b. 1930)
• December 4 - Forrest J. Ackerman, writer, columnist, actor, and the "father" of science-fiction (b. 1916)
• December 5 - Nina Foch, actress (b. 1924)
• December 5 - Beverly Garland, actress (b. 1926)
• December 8 - Robert Prosky, actor (b. 1930)
• December 11 - Bettie Page, pin-up model (b. 1923)
• December 11 - Maddie Blaustein, Voice actress (b. 1960)
• December 12 - Van Johnson, actor (b. 1916)
• December 16 - Sam Bottoms, actor (b. 1955)
• December 17 - Sammy Baugh, football player (b. 1914)
• December 18 - Majel Barrett-Roddenberry, actress (b. 1932)
• December 18 - W. Mark Felt, FBI agent also known as "Deep Throat" from Watergate scandal (b. 1913)
• December 19 - James Bevel, co-leader (with Dr. King) of the 1960s Civil Rights Movement, strategist and architect of the major events of the era.
• December 20 - Robert Mulligan, film director (b. 1925)
• December 24 - Harold Pinter, British-born Nobel Laureate, playwright, screenwriter, and occasional actor (b. 1930)
• December 25 - Eartha Kitt, actress and singer (b. 1927)

[edit] References