2005



2005 was designated as:
 * The Year of the Volunteer by the UK government
 * The World Year of Physics by the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics
 * The Year of Cork City, Ireland, as European Capital of Culture
 * The Year of the Veteran in Canada
 * The Year of Discovery
 * International Year for Sport and Physical Education
 * International Year of Microcredit

The year 2005 was the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People (1995–2005).

January

 * January 5 – Eris, the dwarf planet with the greatest density in the Solar System, is discovered by a team led by Michael E. Brown using images originally taken on October 21, 2003, at the Palomar Observatory.
 * January 12 – Deep Impact is launched from Cape Canaveral by a Delta II rocket.
 * January 14 – The Huygens probe lands on Titan, the largest moon of Saturn.
 * January 25 – A stampede occurs at the Mandhradevi temple near Wai, India during a religious pilgrimage, killing 291 people.
 * January 30 – Iraq holds its first parliamentary election since 1958.

February

 * February 10
 * North Korea announces that it possesses nuclear weapons as a protection against the hostility it feels from the United States.
 * Saudi Arabia holds its first municipal election in over 40 years, in which only male citizens are allowed to vote.
 * February 14
 * Former Prime Minister of Lebanon Rafic Hariri is assassinated and 21 others are killed by a suicide bomber in Beirut.
 * YouTube, the most popular video sharing website, is founded.
 * February 16 – The Kyoto Protocol goes into effect, without the support of the United States and Australia.
 * February 19 – Multiple suicide bombings kill more than 30 people across Iraq as Shia Muslims mark Ashura, their holiest day.
 * February 22 – The 6.4 Mw Zarand earthquake shakes the Kerman Province of Iran with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), leaving 612 people dead and 1,411 injured.
 * February 28 – In Iraq, the Al Hillah bombing kills 127 people at the Iraqi police forces recruiting centre in Al Hillah.

March

 * March 3
 * Millionaire Steve Fossett breaks a world record by completing the fastest non-stop, non-refueled, solo flight around the world in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer.
 * Four Royal Canadian Mounted Police officers are gunned down in Mayerthorpe, Alberta, Canada. It is deadliest day in Canadian law enforcement in over 120 years.
 * March 4 – The car of released Italian hostage Giuliana Sgrena is fired on by U.S. soldiers in Iraq, causing the death of 1 passenger and injuring 2 more.
 * March 8 – Balochistan conflict: The Pakistan Army opens fire on insurgents in Balochistan, in the first armed uprising since General Rahimuddin Khan's stabilization of the province in 1978.


 * March 14
 * In the capital of Beirut, Lebanon, around one million protesters gather for an opposition rally, a month after the death of former Prime Minister Rafic Hariri, making It the largest rally in Lebanon's history.
 * The People's Republic of China ratifies an anti-secession law, aimed at preventing Taiwan from declaring independence.
 * March 24 – The President of Kyrgyzstan Askar Akayev is overthrown in a revolution and flees the country.
 * March 26 – Between 200,000 and 300,000 attend a march in Taiwan to protest China's ant-secession law.
 * March 28 – A 8.7 magnitude Nias–Simeulue earthquake shakes northern Sumatra, Indonesia, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong), leaving at least 532 people dead and 35,235 more displaced.

April

 * April 2 – Pope John Paul II dies; over 4 million people travel to the Vatican to mourn him.
 * April 8 – A referendum is held in Curaçao on whether the island should become an autonomous country within the Kingdom of the Netherlands or integrate with it, with 68% of voters choosing autonomy.
 * April 9 – Charles, Prince of Wales marries Camilla Parker Bowles in a civil ceremony at Windsor's Guildhall. Camilla acquires the title Duchess of Cornwall.
 * April 15 – MG Rover, the last remaining British-owned volume car maker, goes out of business with the loss of more than 6,500 jobs.
 * April 19 – Pope Benedict XVI succeeds Pope John Paul II, becoming the 265th pope.
 * April 25 – A passenger train derails in Amagasaki, Japan, killing 107 people and injuring another 562.
 * April 26 – Syria withdraws the last of its military garrison from Lebanon, ending its 29-year military occupation of the country.
 * April 27 – The Superjumbo jet aircraft Airbus A380 makes its first flight from Toulouse.

May

 * May 13 – Uzbek Interior Ministry and National Security Service troops massacre at least 200 protesters in the city of Andijan.
 * May 15 – A passenger ferry capsizes and sinks in strong winds in the Bura Gauranga River in Bangladesh, leaving 200 people missing.
 * May 17 – Kuwaiti women are re-granted the right to vote after being barred in 1999.
 * May 31 – Watergate scandal: Deep Throat's identity is revealed by Vanity Fair to be former FBI Associate Director Mark Felt after retiring on June 22, 1973.

June

 * June 21 – A Volna booster rocket carrying the first light sail spacecraft fails 83 seconds after its launch, destroying the spacecraft.
 * June 28 – War in Afghanistan: Three U.S. Navy SEALs and 16 American Special Operations Forces soldiers are killed during Operation Red Wings when the Taliban shoots down their helicopter.
 * June 30 – The Spanish Parliament votes to legalize Same-sex marriage, becoming the fourth country to do so.

July

 * July 2 – Live 8, a set of 10 simultaneous concerts, takes place throughout the world, raising interest in the Make Poverty History campaign.
 * July 4 – NASA's "Copper bullet" from the Deep Impact spacecraft hits Comet Tempel 1, creating a crater for scientific studies.
 * July 6 – The European Parliament rejects the Proposed directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions in its second reading.
 * July 7 – Four coordinated suicide bombings rock central London, killing 52 people and injuring over 700.
 * July 23 – A series of bombings hit the resort city of Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, killing over 80 people.
 * July 26 – Mumbai, India receives extremely heavy rainfall within 24 hours, killing over a thousand people and brings the city to a halt for over 2 days.
 * July 28 – The Provisional Irish Republican Army announces an end to the armed campaign it has pursued since 1969, and orders all its units to drop their arms.

August

 * August 2 – Air France Flight 358 overruns a runway at the Toronto Pearson International Airport and lands into a creek but all the passengers survive.
 * August 12 – The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is launched from Cape Canaveral.
 * August 16 – West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 crashes into a mountain in Venezuela, killing 160 passengers.
 * August 17 – About 500 bombs are blasted by a local terrorist group in Bangladesh in 62 districts.
 * August 18 – Peace Mission 2005, the first joint China–Russia military exercise, begins its 8-day training on the Shandong Peninsula.
 * August 29 – Hurricane Katrina makes landfall along the U.S. Gulf Coast, causing severe damage and killing over a thousand people and dealing an estimated $108 billion in damage.
 * August 31 – A stampede at the Al-Aaimmah bridge in Baghdad, Iraq kills 953 Shia Muslim pilgrims who were celebrating a religious festival.

September

 * September 5 – Mandala Airlines Flight 091 crashes into a crowded residential area in Medan, Indonesia shortly after take-off from Polonia International Airport, killing 149 people including 49 people on the ground.
 * September 7 – Egypt holds its first ever multi-party presidential election, which is marred with allegations of fraud.
 * September 12 – Israel demolishes multiple settlements and withdraws its army from the Gaza Strip.
 * September 18 – Afghanistan holds its first parliamentary election since 1988 with former Northern Alliance warlords winning the most seats.
 * September 19 – North Korea agrees to stop building nuclear weapons in exchange for aid and cooperation.
 * September 29 – The 2005 Balad bombings kill more than 95 people and injures 100 in Balad, Iraq.
 * September 30 – Controversial drawings of Muhammad are printed in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, sparking outrage and violent riots by Muslims around the world.

October

 * October 1
 * A series of suicide bombings occur in Bali, Indonesia, killing 25 people and injuring 100 more.
 * The world's largest bank at the time, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, is formed by the merger of two Japanese banking conglomerates.
 * October 8 – A 7.6 magnitude Kashmir earthquake shakes Azad Kashmir, Pakistan and nearby areas with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), killing at least 75,000 people.
 * October 12 – The second manned Chinese spacecraft, Shenzhou 6, is launched.
 * October 15 – A referendum is held in Iraq on whether or not to adopt a new constitution, with 78% of voters approving the adoption.
 * October 19 – The trial of Saddam Hussein begins.
 * October 27 – Violent riots break out in various cities of France after two young immigrants die in Clichy-sous-Bois while hiding from the police.

November

 * November 2 – The Spanish Congress of Deputies approves the admission to formality of the new Statute of Autonomy of Catalonia with the support of all the groups except the People's Party.
 * November 9 – At least 56 people are killed and 100 more are wounded in a series of coordinated suicide bombings in Amman, Jordan.
 * November 13 – Andrew Stimpson, a 25-year-old British man, is reported as the first person proven to have been 'cured' of HIV.
 * November 22 – Angela Merkel assumes office as the first female Chancellor of Germany.
 * November 23 – Ellen Johnson Sirleaf wins the Liberian general election, making her the first democratically elected female head of state in Africa.
 * November 28 – The United Nations Climate Change conference is held in Montreal.
 * November 30 – Surgeons in France carry out the first human face transplant with Isabelle Dinoire becoming the first person to undergo it.

December

 * December 6 – An Iranian C-130 Hercules airplane crashes into a ten-story building in a civilian area of Tehran, Iran, killing all 94 people aboard and 34 residents of the building.
 * December 11 – A series of riots break out in Sydney, Australia against the local Lebanese population.
 * December 12 – Scientists announce that they have created mice with small amounts of human brain cells in an effort to make realistic models of neurological disorders.
 * December 18 – Chad descends into civil war after various rebel forces, with support from Sudan, attack the capital, N'Djamena.
 * December 31 – Another second is added, 23:59:60, to end the year 2005, the first time since 1998.

Births

 * June 26 – Princess Alexia of the Netherlands, daughter of Willem-Alexander, Prince of Orange
 * July 25 – Pierce Gagnon, American child actor
 * October 15 – Prince Christian of Denmark, son of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark and his wife Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark
 * October 31 – Infanta Leonor of Spain, daughter of Felipe, Prince of Asturias and his wife Letizia
 * December 3 – Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway, grandson of King Harald V of Norway

January

 * January 1
 * Shirley Chisholm, American politician (b. 1924)
 * Eugene J. Martin, American artist (b. 1938)
 * January 7 – Pierre Daninos, French writer and humorist (b. 1913)
 * January 10 – Princess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (b. 1927)
 * January 12 – Amrish Puri, Indian actor (b. 1932)
 * January 15 – Victoria de los Ángeles, Spanish Catalan soprano (b. 1923)
 * January 17
 * Virginia Mayo, American actress (b. 1920)
 * Zhao Ziyang, 3rd Premier of China (b. 1919)
 * January 19 – Anita Kulcsár, Hungarian handball player (b. 1976)
 * January 20 – Per Borten, 14th Prime Minister of Norway (b. 1913)
 * January 23 – Johnny Carson, American television host (b. 1925)
 * January 25 – Philip Johnson, American architect (b. 1906)

February

 * February 1 – John Vernon, Canadian actor (b.1932)
 * February 2 – Max Schmeling, German boxer (b.1905)
 * February 3 – Zurab Zhvania, 4th Prime Minister of Georgia (b. 1963)
 * February 5 – Gnassingbé Eyadéma, 3rd President of Togo (b. 1935)
 * February 10 – Arthur Miller, American playwright (b. 1915)
 * February 13 – Lúcia Santos, Portuguese nun (b. 1907)
 * February 14 – Rafic Hariri, 60th Prime Minister of Lebanon (b. 1944)
 * February 17
 * Narriman Sadek, Queen of Egypt (b. 1934)
 * Omar Sívori, Argentinian footballer (b. 1935)
 * February 20
 * Sandra Dee, American actress (b. 1942)
 * Hunter S. Thompson, American journalist (b. 1937)
 * February 22 – Simone Simon, French actress (b. 1910)
 * February 25 – Peter Benenson, British lawyer and founder of Amnesty International (b. 1921)

March

 * March 3 – Rinus Michels, Dutch soccer player and coach (b. 1928)
 * March 6
 * Hans Bethe, German-American physicist (b. 1906)
 * Teresa Wright, American actress (b. 1918)
 * March 10 – Dave Allen, Irish comedian (b. 1936)
 * March 17 – George F. Kennan, American diplomat and political advisor (b. 1904)
 * March 19 – John Z. DeLorean, American car maker (b.1925)
 * March 22
 * Clemente Domínguez y Gómez, Spanish spiritual leader (b. 1946)
 * Kenzō Tange, Japanese architect (b. 1913)
 * March 26 – James Callaghan, 70th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1912)
 * March 28 – Pál Losonczi, 4th leader of the Hungarian People's Republic (b. 1919)
 * March 31 – Terri Schiavo, American Euthanasia cause activist (b. 1963)

April

 * April 2 – Pope John Paul II (b. 1920)
 * April 5 – Saul Bellow, American writer (b. 1915)
 * April 6 – Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (b. 1923)
 * April 19 – Ruth Hussey, American actress (b. 1911)
 * April 23 – John Mills, English actor (b. 1908)
 * April 24 – Ezer Weizman, 7th President of Israel (b. 1924)
 * April 26
 * Mason Adams, American actor (b. 1919)
 * Maria Schell, Austrian actress (b. 1926)

May

 * May 2 – Wee Kim Wee, 4th President of Singapore (b. 1915)
 * May 13 – George Dantzig, American mathematician (b. 1914)
 * May 17 – Frank Gorshin, American actor (b. 1933)
 * May 25
 * Ismail Merchant, Indian film producer (b. 1936)
 * Zoran Mušič, Slovene painter (b. 1909)
 * May 26 – Eddie Albert, American actor (b. 1906)

June

 * June 6 – Anne Bancroft, American actress (b. 1931)
 * June 13 – Álvaro Cunhal, Portuguese politician (b. 1913)
 * June 20 – Jack Kilby, American engineer (b. 1923)
 * June 21 – Jaime Sin, 30th Archbishop of Manila (b. 1928)
 * June 25
 * John Fiedler, American actor (b. 1925)
 * Domino Harvey, British-American bounty hunter (b. 1969)

July

 * July 1 – Luther Vandross, American singer (b. 1951)
 * July 4 – June Haver, American actress (b. 1926)
 * July 5 – James Stockdale, American admiral and vice presidential candidate (b. 1923)
 * July 6 – Evan Hunter, American writer (b. 1926)
 * July 17 – Edward Heath, 68th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1916)
 * July 18 – William Westmoreland, American army general (b. 1914)
 * July 20 – James Doohan, Canadian actor (b. 1920)
 * July 21 – Long John Baldry, British musician (b. 1941)
 * July 31 – Wim Duisenberg, Dutch politician (b. 1935)

August

 * August 1 – King Fahd of Saudi Arabia (b. 1921)
 * August 3 – Joseph Rotblat, Polish-British physicist (b. 1908)
 * August 6 – Robin Cook, British politician (b. 1946)
 * August 7 – Peter Jennings, Canadian-American news anchor (b. 1938)
 * August 8
 * Ahmed Deedat, South African preacher (b. 1918)
 * Barbara Bel Geddes, American actress and author (b. 1922)
 * August 9 – Matthew McGrory, American actor (b. 1973)
 * August 12 – Lakshman Kadirgamar, foreign minister of Sri Lanka (b. 1932)
 * August 13 – David Lange, 32th Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1942)
 * August 16
 * Brother Roger, Swiss monastic and founder of the Taizé Community (b. 1915)
 * Joe Ranft, American animator, director and magician (b. 1960)
 * August 19 – Mo Mowlam, British politician (b. 1949)

September

 * September 3 – William Rehnquist, American lawyer and 16th Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1924)
 * September 13 – Julio César Turbay Ayala, 25th President of Colombia (b. 1916)
 * September 14 – Robert Wise, American film director (b. 1914)
 * September 18 – Michael Park, English Rally driver (b. 1966)
 * September 20 – Simon Wiesenthal, Austrian Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter (b. 1908)
 * September 25 – Don Adams, American actor (b. 1923)
 * September 27 – Ronald Golias, Brazilian actor and comedian (b. 1929)

October

 * October 3 – Ronnie Barker, British comic actor (b. 1929)
 * October 10 – Milton Obote, 2nd President of Uganda (b. 1925)
 * October 17 – Ba Jin, Chinese writer (b. 1904)
 * October 22 – Arman, French-American artist (b. 1928)
 * October 24
 * Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist (b. 1913)
 * José Azcona del Hoyo, 61st President of Honduras (b. 1926)
 * October 28 – Richard Smalley, American chemist and physicist (b. 1943)

November

 * November 1 – Michael Piller, American screenwriter and producer (b. 1948)
 * November 2
 * Ferruccio Valcareggi, Italian football player and manager (b. 1919)
 * November 5 – John Fowles, English novelist (b. 1926)
 * November 9 – K. R. Narayanan, 10th President of India (b. 1921)
 * November 11 – Moustapha Akkad, Syrian-American film producer (b. 1930)
 * November 13 – Eddie Guerrero, Mexican-American professional wrestler (b. 1967)
 * November 19 – Erik Balling, Danish television and film director (b. 1924)
 * November 24 – Pat Morita, American actor (b. 1932)
 * November 25
 * George Best, Northern Irish footballer (b. 1946)
 * Richard Burns, English rally driver (b. 1971)
 * November 28 – Tony Meehan, English drummer (The Shadows) (b. 1943)

December

 * December 2 – Mohammed Hamza Zubeidi, 59th Prime Minister of Iraq (b. 1938)
 * December 6 – Devan Nair, 3rd President of Singapore (b. 1923)
 * December 10 – Richard Pryor, American comedian (b. 1940)
 * December 13 – Stanley Williams, American gang leader (b. 1953)
 * December 16 – John Spencer, American actor (b. 1946)
 * December 23 – Yao Wenyuan, Chinese politician (b. 1931)
 * December 25 – Birgit Nilsson, Swedish soprano (b. 1918)
 * December 26 – Vincent Schiavelli, American actor (b. 1948)

Nobel Prizes

 * Physics – Roy J. Glauber, John L. Hall, and Theodor W. Hänsch
 * Chemistry – Robert Grubbs, Richard Schrock, and Yves Chauvin
 * Physiology or Medicine – Robin Warren, and Barry Marshall
 * Literature – Harold Pinter
 * Peace – Mohamed ElBaradei
 * Bank of Sweden Prize in Economic Sciences in Memory of Alfred Nobel – Robert J. Aumann, and Thomas Schelling