2005
2005 was designated as the International Year for Sport and Physical Education and the International Year of Microcredit. 2005 was also the end of the International Decade of the World's Indigenous People.
Events
January
- January 5 – Eris, the most massive known dwarf planet 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 7 – Crevalcore train crash in Italy: 17 dead and dozens injured.
- January 12 – Deep Impact is launched from Cape Canaveral with the purpose of studying the comet Tempel 1.
- January 14 – The Huygens spacecraft lands on Titan, the largest moon of Saturn.
- January 20 – George W. Bush is inaugurated for a second term as President of the United States.
February
- February 10 – North Korea announces that it possesses nuclear weapons as a protection against the hostility it says it perceives from the United States.
- February 14 – Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri is assassinated, along with 21 others, by a suicide bomber in Beirut.
- February 14 - YouTube is launched
- February 16 – The Kyoto Protocol officially goes into effect.
March
- March 14 – China ratifies an anti-secession law, aimed at preventing Taiwan from declaring independence.
- March 24 – The President of Kyrgyzstan, Askar Akayev, is deposed following mass anti-government demonstrations and flees the country.
- March 26 - The first episode of the revived series of Doctor Who airs on BBC One.
- March 28 – The 8.6 Nias–Simeulue earthquake shakes northern Sumatra with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI, leaving 915–1,314 people dead and 340–1,146 injured.
April
- April 2 – Pope John Paul II dies; over four million people travel to the Vatican to mourn him. Pope Benedict XVI succeeds him on April 19, becoming the 265th pope.
- April 8 – The first solar eclipse of the year was a rare hybrid event, occurring at ascending node in Aries. This was 4.4 days after the Moon reached perigee. Gamma had a value of -0.34733. A hybrid solar eclipse was visible from south Pacific, Panama, Colombia and Venezuela, and was the 51st solar eclipse of Solar Saros 129.
- April 9 – Charles, Prince of Wales marries Camilla Parker Bowles in a civil ceremony at Windsor's Guildhall. Camilla receives the title Duchess of Cornwall.
- April 23 – The first ever YouTube video is uploaded, titled Me at the zoo.
- April 24 – The first lunar eclipse of the year was a penumbral event, occurring at descending node in Virgo. This was 5 days before the Moon reached perigee. Gamma had a value of -1.08851. A penumbral lunar eclipse was visible in eastern Asia, Australia, Pacific and Americas, and was the 23rd lunar eclipse of Lunar Saros 141.
- 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 19–21 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 takes place in Kiev, Ukraine, and is won by Greek entrant Helena Paparizou with the song "My Number One".
June
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 6
- *The European Parliament rejects the Proposed directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions in its second reading.
- * The International Olympic Committee awards London the right to host the 2012 Summer Olympics.
- July 7 – Four coordinated suicide bombings hit 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 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 12 – The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is launched from Cape Canaveral, designed to explore Mars.
- August 14 – Helios Airways Flight 522, en route from Larnaca, Cyprus to Prague, Czech Republic via Athens, crashes in the hills near Grammatiko, Greece, killing 121 passengers and crew.
- August 16 – West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 crashes into a mountain in Venezuela, killing 160 passengers and crew.
- August 18 – Peace Mission 2005, the first joint China–Russia military exercise, begins its eight-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 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 19 – North Korea agrees to stop building nuclear weapons in exchange for aid and cooperation.
- 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 3 – The second solar eclipse of 2005 was an annular event, occurring at descending node in Virgo. This was 4.8 days after the Moon reached apogee. Gamma had a value of 0.33058. An annular solar eclipse was visible in Portugal, Spain, Libya, Sudan and Kenya, and was the 43rd solar eclipse of Solar Saros 134.
- October 8 – The 7.6 Kashmir earthquake strikes Azad Kashmir, Pakistan and nearby areas with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII, killing more than 86,000 people and displacing several million more.
- October 12 – The second manned Chinese spacecraft, Shenzhou 6, is launched.
- October 15 – The 2005 Constitution of Iraq is approved by Iraqi voters, which among other things, changes the official name of the country from "Iraqi Republic" to "Republic of Iraq".
- October 17 – The final eclipse of 2005 was a partial lunar eclipse event, occurring at ascending node in Aries. This was 2.9 days after the Moon reached perigee. Gamma had a value of 0.97960. A partial lunar eclipse was visible in Asia, Australia, Pacific and North America, and was the 10th lunar eclipse of Lunar Saros 146.
- October 19 – The trial of Saddam Hussein begins.
- October 24 – Hurricane Wilma makes landfall near Cape Romano.
November
- November 9 – At least 60 people are killed and 115 more are wounded in a series of coordinated suicide bombings in Amman, Jordan.
- November 11 – In Kazakhstan, Zamanbek Nurkadilov, former mayor of Almaty, government minister and a political opponent of Nursultan Nazarbayev is found dead at his family compound.
- November 13 – Andrew Stimpson, a 25-year-old Scottish man, is reported as the first person proven to have been 'cured' of HIV.
- November 14 – The game named Mario Kart DS for Nintendo DS was released on Monday, November 14, 2005, two weeks before Mario & Luigi: Partners in Time.
- 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 24 – Thanksgiving in USA. Thanksgiving in USA is celebrated on fourth Thursday of November.
- November 28
- * The game named for Nintendo DS was released on Monday, November 28, 2005, making the first appearance of character Baby Peach, which she is a minor character of Mario franchise.
- * 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 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
- January 4 – Dafne Keen, British and Spanish actress
- January 11 – Roksana Węgiel, Polish singer, winner of Junior Eurovision Song Contest 2018
- February – Alma Deutscher, English composer, violinist, pianist and child prodigy
- February 10 – Rio Suzuki, Japanese actress and tarento
- February 21 – Hong Hwa-ri, South Korean actress
- February 25 – Noah Jupe, English actor
- March 26 – Ella Anderson, American actress
- April 5 – Bleu Landau, English actor
- April 29 – Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti of Thailand, son of King Maha Vajiralongkorn, Rama X of Thailand and his wife Srirasmi Suwadee
- April 29 – Jeong Dahyun, member of South Korean girl group, Rocket Punch
- June 26 – Princess Alexia of the Netherlands, daughter of Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands and his wife Queen Maxima of the Netherlands
- July 25 – Pierce Gagnon, American actor
- August 10 – Praggnanandhaa Rameshbabu, Indian chess player
- August 10 – Sunny Suljic, American actor
- September 27 – Cristina Fernandez Lee, Spanish-Korean child model
- October 4 – Rina Endō, Japanese actress
- October 15 – Prince Christian of Denmark, son of Frederik, Crown Prince of Denmark and his wife Mary, Crown Princess of Denmark
- October 31 – Leonor, Princess of Asturias, daughter of Felipe VI of Spain and his wife Queen Letizia of Spain
- December 3 – Prince Sverre Magnus of Norway, son of Haakon, Crown Prince of Norway and his wife Mette-Marit, Crown Princess of Norway, grandson of King Harald V of Norway
Deaths
January
- January 1
- * Shirley Chisholm, American politician, educator, and author
- * Eugene J. Martin, American artist
- January 2
- * Arnold Denker, American chess player
- * Maclyn McCarty, American geneticist
- January 3 – Will Eisner, American cartoonist, writer, and entrepreneur
- January 4 – Humphrey Carpenter, English biographer, writer, and radio broadcaster
- January 7 – Rosemary Kennedy, American socialite
- January 10 – Princess Joséphine Charlotte of Belgium, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg
- January 11
- * Spencer Dryden, American drummer
- * Fabrizio Meoni, Italian motorcyclist
- * Jerzy Pawłowski, Polish fencer
- January 12 – Amrish Puri, Indian actor
- January 15
- * Victoria de los Ángeles, Spanish Catalan soprano
- * Ruth Warrick, American singer, actress and political activist
- January 17
- * Virginia Mayo, American actress
- * Zhao Ziyang, 3rd Premier of China
- January 19 – Anita Kulcsár, Hungarian handball player
- January 20
- * Parveen Babi, Indian actress and model
- * Per Borten, 14th Prime Minister of Norway
- January 23 – Johnny Carson, American television host
- January 25 – Philip Johnson, American architect
- January 28
- * Lucien Carr, a key member of the original New York City circle of the Beat Generation in the 1940s
- * Jim Capaldi, English rock musician and songwriter
- * Karen Lancaume, French pornographic actress
- * Jacques Villeret, French actor
- January 29 – Ephraim Kishon, Israeli author, dramatist, screenwriter, and film director
February
- February 1 – John Vernon, Canadian actor
- February 2 – Max Schmeling, German boxer
- February 3
- * Ernst Mayr, German-American biologist
- * Zurab Zhvania, 4th Prime Minister of Georgia
- February 4 – Ossie Davis, American actor, poet, playwright, author and civil rights activist
- February 5 – Gnassingbé Eyadéma, 3rd President of Togo
- February 7 – Atli Dam, 3-Time Prime Minister of Faroe Islands
- February 10
- * Ben Jones, 7th Prime Minister of Grenada
- * Arthur Miller, American playwright
- February 11 – Mary Jackson, American mathematician and engineer
- February 12 – Sammi Smith, American country music singer-songwriter
- February 13 – Lúcia Santos, Portuguese nun
- February 14 – Rafic Hariri, 2-Time Prime Minister of Lebanon
- February 16 – Narriman Sadek, Queen of Egypt
- February 17
- * Dan O'Herlihy, Irish actor
- * Omar Sívori, Argentinian footballer
- February 20
- * Sandra Dee, American actress
- * Josef Holeček, Czechoslovakian canoeist
- * Hunter S. Thompson, American journalist
- February 21
- * Zdzisław Beksiński, Polish painter, photographer and sculptor
- * Guillermo Cabrera Infante, Cuban novelist, essayist, translator, and screenwriter
- February 22 – Simone Simon, French actress
- February 25
- * Peter Benenson, British lawyer and founder of Amnesty International
- * Atef Sedky, 45th Prime Minister of Egypt
- February 26 – Jef Raskin, American computer scientist
March
- March 3 – Rinus Michels, Dutch soccer player and coach
- March 6
- * Hans Bethe, German-American physicist
- * Teresa Wright, American actress
- March 8 – Aslan Maskhadov, Chechen separatist leader, 3rd President of Ichkeria
- March 9
- * Chris LeDoux, American country music and rodeo star
- * István Nyers, Hungarian footballer
- March 10 – David Allen, Irish comedian
- March 14 – Akira Yoshizawa, Japanese artist
- March 15
- * Audrey Callaghan, Spouse of the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- * Otar Korkia, Georgian professional basketball player and coach
- March 16 – Ralph Erskine, British architect
- March 17
- * George F. Kennan, American diplomat and political advisor
- * Andre Norton, American writer
- March 19 – John DeLorean, American engineer, inventor, and executive
- March 21 – Gemini Ganesan, Indian actor
- March 22
- * Clemente Domínguez y Gómez, Spanish spiritual leader
- * Kenzō Tange, Japanese architect
- March 26 – James Callaghan, 70th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- March 29
- * Johnnie Cochran, American lawyer
- * Mitch Hedberg, American stand-up comedian
- March 30
- * Robert Creeley, American poet
- * Fred Korematsu, Japanese-American civil rights activist
April
- April 2 – Pope John Paul II
- April 5 – Saul Bellow, Canadian-American writer
- April 6 – Rainier III, Prince of Monaco
- April 9 – Andrea Dworkin, American writer
- April 11 – Lucien Laurent, French footballer
- April 13 – Nikola Ljubičić, Serbian general and politician, 10th President of Serbia
- April 14 – Saunders Mac Lane, American mathematician
- April 19
- * George P. Cosmatos, Greco-Italian film director and screenwriter
- * Ruth Hussey, American actress
- * Niels-Henning Ørsted Pedersen, Danish jazz musician
- April 21 – Zhang Chunqiao, Chinese political theorist, writer, and politician
- April 22
- * Philip Morrison, American physicist
- * Eduardo Paolozzi, Scottish sculptor and artist
- April 23 – John Mills, English actor
- April 24 – Ezer Weizman, 7th President of Israel
- April 25 – Andre Gunder Frank, German-American sociologist and historian
- April 26
- * Mason Adams, American actor
- * Augusto Roa Bastos, Paraguayan novelist
- * Maria Schell, Austrian actress
- April 28 – Chris Candido, American professional wrestler
May
- May 2 – Wee Kim Wee, 4th President of Singapore
- May 12 – Monica Zetterlund, Swedish singer and actress
- May 13 – George Dantzig, American mathematician
- May 17 – Frank Gorshin, American actor, impressionist, and comedian
- May 20 – Paul Ricœur, French philosopher
- May 21 – Howard Morris, American actor
- May 25
- * Sunil Dutt, Indian actor, producer, director and politician
- * Ismail Merchant, Indian film producer
- May 26
- * Eddie Albert, American actor
- * Sangoulé Lamizana, 2nd President and 2nd Prime Minister of Burkina Faso
June
- June 1 – George Mikan, American basketball player
- June 5 – Wee Chong Jin, Singaporean judge
- June 6
- * Anne Bancroft, American actress
- * Dana Elcar, American actor
- * Bolívar Urrutia Parrilla, 21st President of Panama
- June 11 – Vasco Gonçalves, 103rd Prime Minister of Portugal
- June 13
- * Álvaro Cunhal, Portuguese politician
- * Lane Smith, American actor
- June 20 – Jack Kilby, American engineer
- June 21 – Jaime Sin, 30th Archbishop of Manila
- June 24 – Paul Winchell, American ventriloquist, comedian, actor, voice artist, humanitarian, and inventor
- June 25 – John Fiedler, American actor
- June 27
- * Domino Harvey, British-American bounty hunter
- * Shelby Foote, American historian and novelist
- June 28 – Michael P. Murphy, American naval officer
July
- July 1 – Luther Vandross, American singer
- July 4 – June Haver, American actress and singer
- July 5 – James Stockdale, American Vice Admiral and vice presidential candidate
- July 6
- * L. Patrick Gray, American FBI director
- * Ed McBain, American writer
- * Claude Simon, Malagasy-French novelist and critic, Nobel Prize laureate
- July 9 – Kevin Hagen, American actor
- July 11 – Frances Langford, American actress and singer
- July 17
- * Edward Heath, 68th Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
- * Geraldine Fitzgerald, Irish actress
- July 18 – William Westmoreland, American army general
- July 19 – John Tyndall, British politician and activist
- July 20 – James Doohan, Canadian actor
- July 21 – Long John Baldry, English-Canadian musician and voice actor
- July 25 – Ford Rainey, American actor
- July 31 – Wim Duisenberg, Dutch politician
August
- August 1 – King Fahd of Saudi Arabia
- August 6 – Robin Cook, British politician
- August 7 – Peter Jennings, Canadian-American news anchor
- August 8
- * Barbara Bel Geddes, American actress, artist, and children's author
- * Ahmed Deedat, South African preacher
- August 9 – Matthew McGrory, American actor
- August 11 - James Booth, English actor and screenwriter
- August 12 – Lakshman Kadirgamar, foreign minister of Sri Lanka
- August 13 – David Lange, 32nd Prime Minister of New Zealand
- August 16
- * Joe Ranft, American screenwriter, comedian, animator, storyboard artist, voice actor and magician
- * Brother Roger, Swiss monastic and founder of the Taizé Community
- August 19
- * Faimalaga Luka, 6th Prime Minister of Tuvalu
- * Mo Mowlam, British politician
- August 23 – Brock Peters, American actor
- August 31 – Joseph Rotblat, Polish-British physicist
September
- September 1 – R.L. Burnside, American blues singer
- September 2 – Bob Denver, American actor
- September 3 – William Rehnquist, American lawyer and 16th Chief Justice of the United States
- September 6 – Eugenia Charles, 3rd Prime Minister of Dominica
- September 13 – Julio César Turbay Ayala, 25th President of Colombia
- September 14 – Robert Wise, American film director
- September 18 – Michael Park, English Rally driver
- September 20 – Simon Wiesenthal, Austrian Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter
- September 25 – Don Adams, American actor
October
- October 10 – Milton Obote, 2nd President of Uganda
- October 17 – Ba Jin, Chinese writer
- October 21 – Tara Correa-McMullen, American actress
- October 22 – Arman, French-American artist
- October 24
- * José Azcona del Hoyo, 61st President of Honduras
- * Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist
- October 28 – Richard Smalley, American chemist and physicist
- October 29 – Lloyd Bochner, Canadian actor
November
- November 1 – Michael Piller, American screenwriter and producer
- November 2 – Ferruccio Valcareggi, Italian football player and manager
- November 4 – Sheree North, American actress, dancer and singer
- November 5 – John Fowles, English novelist
- November 9 – Kocheril R. Narayanan, 10th President of India
- November 11
- * Moustapha Akkad, Syrian-American film producer
- * Zamanbek Nurkadilov, Kazakh politician
- November 13 – Eddie Guerrero, Mexican-American professional wrestler
- November 16 – Henry Taube, Canadian-American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate
- November 18 – Harold J. Stone, American actor
- November 19 – Erik Balling, Danish television and film director
- November 24 – Pat Morita, American actor
- November 25
- * George Best, Northern Irish footballer
- * Richard Burns, English rally driver
- November 28 – Tony Meehan, English drummer
- November 29 – Wendie Jo Sperber, American actress
December
- December 2 – Mohammed Hamza Zubeidi, 59th Prime Minister of Iraq
- December 6 – Devan Nair, 3rd President of Singapore
- December 10
- * Eugene McCarthy, American politician
- * Richard Pryor, American comedian
- December 13 – Stanley Williams, American gang leader
- December 16 – John Spencer, American actor
- December 23 – Yao Wenyuan, Chinese politician
- December 25 – Birgit Nilsson, Swedish soprano
- December 26 – Vincent Schiavelli, American actor
Nobel Prizes
- Chemistry – Robert Grubbs, Richard Schrock, and Yves Chauvin
- Economics – Robert J. Aumann, and Thomas Schelling
- Literature – Harold Pinter
- Peace – Mohamed ElBaradei
- Physics – Roy J. Glauber, John L. Hall, and Theodor W. Hänsch
- Physiology or Medicine – Robin Warren, and Barry Marshall
New English words and terms
- didymo
- functional calculus
- glamping
- locavore
- microblogging
- pre-exposure prophylaxis
- ransomware
- rock snot
- sexting
- truther
- vodcast