2005 CE

YouTube was launched, with "Me at the zoo" being the first video on the platform; Hurricane Katrina devastated New Orleans, killed 1,392, and displaced millions; it is tied as the costliest hurricane of all time as of today; Eris, the largest known dwarf planet at the time, was discovered; Pope John Paul II dies; An earthquake in Kashmir kills between 75,000 and 90,000; A truck bombing assassinates Rafic Hariri, the former prime minister of Lebanon; The Amagasaki derailment occurred when a seven-car commuter train came off the tracks on West Japan Railway Company's (JR West) Fukuchiyama Line just before Amagasaki. 107 people were killed in the derailment; Tickets to a Live 8 concert at Hyde Park in London; 4 Islamic suicide bombings on the London Underground kill 56 and become one of the deadliest terrorist attacks in London.

In the 2000s, the 21st century.

Geopolitics & Diplomacy

  • January 9 – The Comprehensive Peace Agreement is signed, ending the Second Sudanese Civil War in Sudan.source
  • February 7 – A presidential decree on redenomination of the Azerbaijani manat is issued, equating 1 new manat to 5000 old manats.source
  • February 16 – The Kyoto Protocol officially goes into effect.source
  • March 10 - Mohamed Daoud Chehem, the only opposition candidate in the forthcoming presidential elections, withdraws from the race. The incumbent President Ismail Omar Guelleh remains the only candidate in the elections of April 8.Djiboutisource
  • March 13 – 2005 Liechtenstein general election: The Progressive Citizens' Party remains the largest party and wins a plurality of 12 seats in the Landtag.source
  • March 14 – China ratifies an anti-secession law, aimed at preventing Taiwan from declaring independence.source
  • 14 March – United Nations Security Council resolution 1586 was adopted unanimously and extended the mandate of the United Nations Mission in Ethiopia and Eritrea (UNMEE) until 15 September 2005.Eritreasource
  • March 24 – The President of Kyrgyzstan, Askar Akayev, is deposed following mass anti-government demonstrations and flees the country.source
  • April 29 - Chad joins the Arab League as an observer state.Chadsource
  • May 5 – The 2005 United Kingdom general election is won by Prime Minister Tony Blair and the Labour Party for a third consecutive majority government.source
  • 6 May – Burkinabe presidential election, 2005Burkina Fasosource
  • 15 May – A general election held for seats in the House of Peoples' Representatives and four regional government councils.Ethiopiasource
  • May 18 - The border town of Qorasuv is claimed to be under control of a new Islamic administration led by Baxtiyor Rahimov.Uzbekistansource
  • July 6 – The European Parliament rejects the proposed directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions in its second reading.source
  • August 26 – The Constitution of Chile is heavily amended, eliminating senators for life, reducing the presidential terms from six to four years, giving the president exclusive rights to summon the National Security Council, and removes legal obstacles for the creation of new regions.source
  • September 7 – Egypt holds its first ever multi-party presidential election, which is marred with allegations of fraud.source
  • September 19 – North Korea agrees to stop building nuclear weapons in exchange for aid and cooperation.source
  • October 3 – Croatia and Turkey's accession negotiations to the European Union officially starts.source
  • November 11 - Saudi Arabia becomes a member of the World Trade Organization after twelve years of talks.Saudi Arabiasource
  • November 22 – Angela Merkel assumes office as the first female Chancellor of Germany.source
  • November 23 – Ellen Johnson Sirleaf wins the Liberian general election, making her the first democratically elected female head of state in Africa.source
  • Algeria refuses entry to four Moroccan journalists working for the Moroccan Sahara Foundation NGO, expelling them to Rome. The move follows increased Morocco-Algeria tensions over the Western Sahara.Algeriasource

Conflict & Security

  • February 10 – North Korea announces that it possesses nuclear weapons as a protection against the hostility it says it perceives from the United States.source
  • March 7 - Three members of the former military government, Armed Forces Revolutionary Council, go on trial accused of crimes against humanity during the civil war.Sierra Leonesource
  • April 26 – Cedar Revolution: Syria withdraws the last of its military garrison from Lebanon, ending its 29-year military occupation of the country.source
  • May 13 – Uzbek Interior Ministry and National Security Service troops massacre at least 200 protesters in the city of Andijan.source
  • 16 May – Prime Minister Zenawi bans demonstrations in the capital of Addis Ababa after allegations by the opposition that the ruling Ethiopian People's Revolutionary Democratic Front has been involved in harassment of opposition members and electoral fraud.Ethiopiasource
  • June 7 - Human Rights Watch demands an investigation into the unrest and accuses the government of covering up a massacre.Uzbekistansource
  • July 7 – Four coordinated suicide bombings hit central London, killing 52 people and injuring over 700.source
  • July 20 - Saudi Arabian long-time ambassador to USA, prince Bandar bin Sultan, resigns for "personal reasons".Saudi Arabiasource
  • July 28 – As a result of the Good Friday Agreement signed in 1998, the Provisional Irish Republican Army ends its armed campaign and decommissions their weapons, by ordering all its units to drop their arms under the supervision of the Independent International Commission on Decommissioning.source
  • August 18 – Peace Mission 2005, the first joint China–Russia military exercise, begins its eight-day training on the Shandong Peninsula.source
  • August 19 - 4,000 refugees from the Central African Republic enter chad, fleeing from violence.Chadsource
  • September 12 – Israel demolishes multiple settlements and withdraws its army from the Gaza Strip.source
  • September 30 – Controversial drawings of Muhammad are printed in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, sparking outrage and violent riots by Muslims around the world.source
  • December 18 – Chad descends into civil war after various rebel forces, with support from Sudan, attack the capital, N'Djamena.source
  • December – Bulgaria's contingent of 400 light infantry troops leaves Iraq. In February 2006 parliament agrees to dispatch a non-combat guard unit.Bulgariasource
  • Joint US-Algerian naval exercises, codenamed "Barbary Thunder", involving such vessels as the USS Nashville.Algeriasource
  • 2005 Belize unrest January and AprilBelizesource

Exploration & Expansion

  • February 24 - Thousands greet Abdullahi Yusuf Ahmed and Mohammed Ghedi, leaders of the exiled Somali government, when they begin a week-long tour in the country. They led a delegation that studies a possibility to finally relocate the government from Kenya to Somalia.Somaliasource
  • 17 May – The relocation of Pingtung Airport to the southern field upon the completion of the new airport building.Taiwansource
  • 24 July – The 55th Vuelta a Colombia begins in Pitalito, Huila.Colombiasource
  • England complete their tour of Pakistan with a victory against the Pakistan cricket team at Rawalpindi.Pakistansource
  • Documentary: "Accordion Tribe" by Stefan SchwietertSwitzerlandsource
  • The Zimbabwe cricket team toured Bangladesh in January 2005 to play two Test matches and five One Day International matches. Bangladesh won the test series 1–0 with one match drawn. This was the first time Bangladesh had won both a Test match and a Test series. They also won the ODI series by 3–2 margin.Bangladeshsource
  • Belize Coast Guard November 28 formedBelizesource
  • Tarrafal de São Nicolau and Ribeira Brava from the former municipality of São NicolauCape Verdesource

Religion & Belief

  • 3 February: Avowed feminist and militant atheist Carmen Argibay is sworn into the Supreme Court.Argentinasource
  • March 4 – Nicola Calipari, Italian secret agentIraqsource
  • April 12 – Shahrokh Meskoob, 81, Iranian Man of letters, writer, translator, scholar and university professor.Iransource
  • April 12 - Grand Mufti Sheikh Abdul Aziz al-Sheikh rules that forcing women to marry against their will is against Islam.Saudi Arabiasource
  • June 29: St. Peter and Paul¹ in TicinoSwitzerlandsource
  • 12 October – Jean-Claude Juncker delivers a declaration on the political state of the country in place of his eleventh State of the Nation address, on account of Luxembourg's presidency of the Council of the European Union earlier in the year.Luxembourgsource
  • Matiur Rahman, the Editor of Daily Prothom Alo, was awarded Ramon Magsaysay Award.Bangladeshsource
  • ALUPEC was recognized by the Cape Verdean government as the writing system for Cape Verdean CreoleCape Verdesource

Economy & Finance

  • January 26–30: World Economic Forum in DavosSwitzerlandsource
  • February 25: Halcyonair airline establishedCape Verdesource
  • May 18 – English whisky is re-established in England.source
  • 28 June - Air Nigeria is established.Nigeriasource
  • 28: The stockholders of Koninklijke Olie and Shell agree to a complete merger. The new enterprise is called Royal Dutch Shell, is designed after English law and has her headquarters in The Hague.Netherlandssource
  • 30 July – First microfinance agency is launched within the countryBurkina Fasosource
  • November 28 – The United Nations Climate Change Conference is held in Montreal.source
  • November 28 – Iraqi President Jalal Talabani called the former prime minister Iyad Allawi's comments "nonsense". Allawi claimed that the human rights abuses in Iraq were as bad now as they were under Saddam Hussein. Talabani stated that the government was against any form of torture or harming of prisoners.Iraqsource
  • Finance Minister Mourad Medelci announces plans to cut foreign debt by $1 billion this year "if the positive financial position of the country continues". The debt currently stands at $21.4 billion, having fallen 7.7% over 2004.Algeriasource
  • Later, the Bangladeshi cricket team toured Sri Lanka for three One Day International cricket matches and two Test cricket matches in August and September. They lost all these matches against the host.Bangladeshsource

Technology & Infrastructure

  • January 27 – Iraq's expatriates start voting for the Iraqi National Assembly election, 2005Iraqsource
  • 13 March - The Namibian Air Force was commissioned at Grootfontein Air Force Base.Namibiasource
  • April 23 – The first ever YouTube video is uploaded, titled Me at the zoo.source
  • May 21 – Kingda Ka is opened for the first time to the public at Six Flags Great Adventure, becoming the world's tallest and fastest roller coaster at the time.source
  • 12 September – Hong Kong Disneyland opened to visitors at 13:00 (HKT).Hong Kongsource
  • November 27: 2005 Mnet Asian Music AwardsSouth Koreasource
  • 90% of the 35,000 election sites were open on December 18.Democratic Republic of the Congosource
  • 5: Start of the trail against the members of the Hofstad Network.Netherlandssource
  • General Electric announces plans to build Africa's largest water desalination plant to supply Algiers.Algeriasource
  • Tartu Department Store was built.Estoniasource

Science & Discovery

  • 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.source
  • January 12 – Deep Impact is launched from Cape Canaveral with the purpose of studying the comet Tempel 1.source
  • January 14 – The Huygens spacecraft lands on Titan, the largest moon of Saturn.source
  • January 20 – The most intense solar particle event in recorded history is observed.source
  • March 31 – The dwarf planet Makemake is discovered by a team led by Michael E. Brown at the Palomar Observatory.source
  • 1 April – The renaming of National Space Program Office to National Space Organization.Taiwansource
  • 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.source
  • 8 April – Solar eclipse of April 8, 2005: An annular version of a total solar eclipse is visible in areas of Colombia.Colombiasource
  • 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.source
  • April 27 – The Superjumbo jet aircraft Airbus A380 makes its first flight from Toulouse.source
  • 27 July – Cargolux announces its intention to buy ten Boeing 747-8s, with options on ten more.Luxembourgsource
  • August 12 – The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is launched from Cape Canaveral, designed to explore Mars.source
  • 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.source
  • October 12 – The second crewed Chinese spacecraft, Shenzhou 6, is launched.source
  • 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.source
  • November 9 – Venus Express lifts off from the Baikonur Cosmodrome.Kazakhstansource
  • November 22 – Microsoft releases the Xbox 360.source
  • December 12 – Scientists announce that they have created mice with small numbers of human neurons in an effort to make realistic models of neurological disorders.source
  • December 31 – Another second is added, 23:59:60, to end the year 2005, the first time since 1998.source
  • Wakker Prize 2005: SBB-CFF-FFSSwitzerlandsource
  • Noh Matta Wat! November 28 original releaseBelizesource
  • Serra Malagueta Natural Park on Santiago establishedCape Verdesource
  • South Korea at the 2005 East Asian GamesSouth Koreasource

Health & Medicine

  • January 1 – Jeanna Giese from Wisconsin, United States, comes home from the hospital and officially becomes the first person to ever survive rabies without a vaccination.source
  • 2 January – Over 50,000 people demonstrate in the capital of Addis Ababa against government plans to renew talks on the border with Eritrea.Ethiopiasource
  • January 28 - An outbreak of meningitis occurs in a community of refugees from Darfur.Chadsource
  • March 23 - Muammar al-Gaddafi states that he is not going to pardon five Bulgarian nurses that face a death penalty accused of injecting children with the HIV.Libyasource
  • April 22 – Rumors abound that a nuclear test by North Korea may be imminent, and that the United States is urging the People's Republic of China to pressure North Korea not to do so.North Koreasource
  • May 15 - Andijan is sealed shut by the government with British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw telling the BBC that there has been a "clear abuse of human rights" in Uzbekistan.Uzbekistansource
  • May 27 - The King Fahd of Saudi Arabia, has been taken to hospital, overtly for tests; however, the BBC quotes an unofficial source who claims the King has water in his lungs.Saudi Arabiasource
  • November 7 - Sierra Leone Health and Sanitation, Abator Thomas says that polio has been eradicated in the country, following a successful immunization program.Sierra Leonesource
  • November 13 – Andrew Stimpson, a 25-year-old Scottish man, is reported as the first person proven to have been 'cured' of HIV.source
  • November 21 – Ministry of Public Security abolished the regulation that each person could only register one motorbike.Vietnamsource
  • November 30 – Surgeons in France carry out the first human face transplant with Isabelle Dinoire becoming the first person to undergo it.source
  • December 16 – Find-a-drug medical distributed computing project is concluded.source

Crime & Justice

  • January 20 - Italian police have arrested number of people connected to smuggling of illegal immigrants from Libya.Libyasource
  • January 23 - Yusuf Ahmed Sarinle, the police chief in the capital, Mogadishu, is shot dead. The new Somali government is slated to begin relocating from Kenya on February 1.Somaliasource
  • 19 April – The first part of the Obelisk of Axum is returned to Ethiopia after being taken by Mussolini to Rome in 1937.Ethiopiasource
  • 15 May - Murder of Alabi Hassan OlajokuNigeriasource
  • A man with mental illness is shot fatally outside the Israeli embassy in the capital of Tashkent, with government sources alleging him to be a suicide bomber.Uzbekistansource
  • October 19 – The trial of Saddam Hussein begins.source
  • October 27 - The police arrests 4 persons suspected to be part of an Islamic extremist terrorist cell planning suicide attacks. The arrests are reported to be connected to other arrests made in Bosnia; weapons and explosives have been found in Sarajevo . The following day two more Danes were arrested in Denmark .Denmarksource
  • 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.source
  • November 11 – oppositionist Zamanbek Nurkadilov is found dead in his apartment in Almaty.Kazakhstansource
  • 31 December – 2005 Palu market bombing.Indonesiasource
  • Amari Saifi ("Abderrezak el-Para), a leading member of the GSPC captured in Chad in October 2004, is sentenced to life imprisonment by a court in Algiers. He failed to turn up to his trial, sparking speculation. (Reuters).Algeriasource

Disasters & Accidents

  • January 20 - The Italian government condemns the destruction of an Italian cemetery in Mogadishu. Local militia wanted to clear the area for a base.Somaliasource
  • March 12 – A train derailment in Hải Vân Pass.Vietnamsource
  • March 23 – The Texas City refinery explosion leaves 15 people dead and 180 injured with a property loss of about $200 million.source
  • July 6 - Maoists bomb a civilian bus in Bandarmude, Chitwan killing 38 and injuring around 75.Nepalsource
  • July 23 – A series of bombings hit the resort city of Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, killing over 80 people.source
  • 10 August – A Sikorsky S-76 helicopter of the Finnish company Copterline has crashed into the Gulf of Finland near Estonia's capital Tallinn with 14 on board; eight Finns, four Estonians and two Americans. There are no survivors.Finlandsource
  • 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.source
  • 14 August – Helios Airways Flight 522 en route from Larnaca via Athens to Prague crashes near Athens, killing at least 121 who were on board. Observations from Greek fighter aircraft indicate a decompression problem.Cyprussource
  • 14 August – Helios Airways Flight 522, a Boeing 737-300 en route from Larnaca to Athens crashed into a mountain near Grammatiko after suffering a loss of cabin pressure, killing all 121 passengers and crew on board.Greecesource
  • August 16 – West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 crashes into a mountain in Venezuela, killing 160 passengers and crew.source
  • 5 September – Mandala Airlines Flight 091.Indonesiasource
  • October 1 – A series of suicide bombs exploded at Kuta and Jimbaran, Bali, Indonesia. The attack killed 20 and injured over 100 others.source
  • 10 December - Sosoliso Airlines Flight 1145 crashes at Port Harcourt International Airport.Nigeriasource
  • December 19 – Chalk's Ocean Airways Flight 101 crashes into the ocean off of Miami Beach in Florida. There were 20 fatalities.source
  • December 25 – An express train bound for the city of Niigata, Niigata Prefecture, Japan, is derailed by strong winds in Shonai, Yamagata Prefecture. Five people are killed and at least 33 injured.source

Climate & Environment

  • 1 January - New Year's celebrations all over the Netherlands fall silent for two minutes as mark of respect for Dutch memorial service for those affected by the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami.Netherlandssource
  • March 28 – The 8.6 Mw Nias–Simeulue earthquake shakes northern Sumatra with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong), leaving 915–1,314 people dead and 340–1,146 injured.source
  • 28 March – The 8.6 Mw Nias–Simeulue earthquake shakes northern Sumatra with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VI (Strong), leaving 915–1,314 people dead and 340–1,146 injured.Indonesiasource
  • 10 May – Human Rights Watch accuses Ethiopia of harassment and detention of opposition politicians in the Oromia region.Ethiopiasource
  • May 16 – The United Nations World Food Program states that North Korea is in dire need of food aid.North Koreasource
  • Violence erupts in Andijan with demands from the rally for the government to resign.Uzbekistansource
  • 14 August – 5 senior officials arrested for stealing foreign aid meant to combat hunger in rural areasBurkina Fasosource
  • August 29 – Hurricane Katrina makes landfall along the U.S. Gulf Coast, causing severe damage, killing over a thousand people and causing an estimated $108 billion in damage.source
  • October 2 — The Supreme Court of Liberia rules that the National Elections Commission (NEC) had erred by rejecting three candidates on grounds that their registration documents were incomplete. The court says that NEC must provide the disqualified contenders with sufficient time to correct the deficiencies that barred them from being on the ballot.Liberiasource
  • October 8 – The 7.6 Mw Kashmir earthquake strikes Azad Kashmir, Pakistan and nearby areas with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), killing more than 86,000 people and displacing several million more.source
  • October 24 – Hurricane Wilma, the most intense Atlantic hurricane on record, makes landfall near Cape Romano, causing an estimated $29.1 billion in damage.source
  • December 4 – Exit polls indicated that incumbent leader Nursultan Nazarbayev won the presidential election by a landslide.Kazakhstansource

Culture & Society

  • February 14 – YouTube, an American online video sharing and social media platform was founded by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim headquartered in San Bruno, California.source
  • February 14 – Chad Hurley registers the youtube.com domain name.source
  • 6 March - 48th independence anniversaryGhanasource
  • 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.source
  • May 19–21 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2005 takes place in Kyiv, Ukraine, and is won by Greek entrant Helena Paparizou with the song "My Number One".source
  • May 21 – David Foster Wallace delivers his now-famous commencement address, This Is Water at Kenyon College in Ohio.source
  • 30 May - 1st Africa Movie Academy Awards take place in Yenagoa.Nigeriasource
  • June 4 – The Civic Forum of the Romanians of Covasna, Harghita and Mureș is founded.source
  • 23 June – Thousands of workers from UPM-Kymmene and Stora Enso, two leading Finnish companies in the paper industry go on strike over pay and working hours. Finland provides two thirds of the paper supply for the European magazine market. Industry analysts believe that the strike may have serious repercussions on the magazine market of Europe.Finlandsource
  • July 2 – Live 8, a set of 10 simultaneous concerts, takes place throughout the world, raising interest in the Make Poverty History campaign.source
  • July 2 – Live 8 takes place in Park Place, Barrie, Ontario.Canadasource
  • July 6 – The International Olympic Committee awards London the right to host the 2012 Summer Olympics.source
  • August 3 - The new King Abdullah has been invested. Tony Blair and Jacques Chirac, along with many European Monarchs are present for the "bayaa" ceremony while George H. W. Bush and Dick Cheney will meet with the new King the following day.Saudi Arabiasource
  • August 29 – September 4 – 2005 Asian Amateur Boxing Championships were held in Ho Chi Minh City.Vietnamsource
  • August 31 – The Al-Aimmah bridge disaster in Baghdad, Iraq kills 953 Shia Muslim pilgrims who were celebrating a religious festival.source
  • September 17-25 - Croatia hosted the 2005 Women's European Volleyball Championship in Pula and Zagreb.Croatiasource
  • October 20 – The general conference of the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) passes the Convention on the Protection and Promotion of the Diversity of Cultural Expressions.source
  • October 31 — Campaigning in the run-off Liberian election has begun.Liberiasource
  • Revolutionary Conquerors FC establishedBelizesource

Births

Deaths

  • January 1 – Shirley Chisholm, 80, American politician, first black woman ever to serve in the U.S. Congress.source
  • January 23 – Johnny Carson, 79, United States comedian and television host, emphysema.source
  • February 14 – Former Lebanese Prime Minister Rafic Hariri is assassinated, along with 21 others, by a suicide bomber in Beirut.source
  • March 17 – George F. Kennan, 101, American diplomat and historian.source
  • March 26 – James Callaghan, 92, British politician, Prime Minister (1976–1979), MP (1945–1987), pneumonia.source
  • 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.source
  • April 2 – Pope John Paul II, 84, Polish Roman Catholic prelate, pope (since 1978), archbishop of Kraków (1964–1978), septic shock and cardio-circulatory collapse.source
  • April 23 – Sir Joh Bjelke-Petersen, 94, Australian politician, longest-serving Premier of Queensland.source
  • July 17 – Edward Heath, 89, British politician, Prime Minister (1970–1974), MP (1950–2001), pneumonia.source
  • 25 July – Five people are killed in bomb blasts at a night club in the Somali region.Ethiopiasource
  • August 18 - A man described as al-Qaeda's leader in Saudi Arabia, Saleh Mohammed al-Aoofi, is killed in a shootout with police.Saudi Arabiasource
  • 25 August - Reyhan Angelova, Bulgarian singer (n. 1986)Bulgariasource
  • August 29– At least 1,836 are killed, and severe damage is caused along the U.S. Gulf Coast, as Hurricane Katrina strikes coastal areas from Louisiana to Alabama, and travels up the entire state of Mississippi (flooding coast 31 ft), affecting most of eastern North America. Katrina becomes the costliest hurricane in U.S. history with $108 billion in damages. The New Orleans Saints football team will play their entire 2005 season on the road due to the effects of the hurricane.United Statessource
  • September 3 – William Rehnquist, 80, American lawyer and jurist, Chief Justice of the United States, thyroid cancer.source
  • September 27 - 2005 Chad attacks: 46 people are killed in clashes between Sudanese fighters and the Chadian government.Chadsource
  • October 24 – African-American civil rights activist Rosa Parks dies of natural causes.source
  • October 24 – Rosa Parks, 92, American civil rights pioneer, "founding symbol of the Civil Rights Movement".source
  • November 13 – Eddie Guerrero, 38, Mexican-American WWE professional wrestler, heart failure.source
  • November 25 – George Best, 59, Northern Irish football player (Manchester United, Northern Ireland), multiple organ failure.source