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Year '2005' ('MMV') was a common year starting on Saturday (link displays full calendar) of the Gregorian calendar.
The year 2005 was designated:

★ The Year of the Volunteer by the UK government

★ The World Year of Physics

★ The International Year of the Eucharist in Catholicism.

★ The Year of Cork City as European Capital of Culture.

★ The Year of the Veteran in Canada.

★ The Year of the Rooster (by the Chinese calendar).

★ The Hottest Year on Record

★ The Year of the Gun in Toronto, Ontario, Canada because of its crime rate during the year.
''Also see: Wikipedia's almanac of events for this year.''

Contents

Events of 2005

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

World population

Births

Deaths

January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

December

Unknown dates

Climate

Nobel Prizes

Ship events

Geography

See also

Notes

External links

Table of Contents

Events of 2005

January

★ January 4 - Gunmen assassinate the Governor of Baghdad, Ali Al-Haidri.

★ January 9 - The same storm which pounded the U.S. earlier in the month hits England, Scandinavia and the Baltic States, leaving 13 dead with widespread flooding and power cuts.

★ January 9 - Palestinian election: Mahmoud Abbas is elected to succeed Yasser Arafat as Palestinian Authority President.


★ January 12 - Deep Impact is launched from Cape Canaveral by a Delta 2 rocket.

★ January 13 - Armed militants enter Israel from Gaza and open fire near the border, killing six people and wounding five others. Hamas and Al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades claim joint responsibility for the attack.[1]

★ January 14 - The Huygens probe lands on Titan, the largest moon of Saturn.

★ January 16 - Adriana Iliescu gives birth at 66, the oldest woman in the world to do so.

★ January 16 - Armed militants kill one person and wound eight people in the Gush Katif settlement, Gaza Strip. Hamas claims responsibility.

★ January 20 - George W. Bush is inaugurated in Washington, D.C. for his second term as the 43rd President of the United States.

★ January 20 - Ireland completes metrication.

★ January 21 - In Belmopan, Belize, unrest over the government's new taxes erupts into riots.

★ January 25 - A stampede at the Mandher Devi temple in Mandhradevi during a religious pilgrimage in India kills at least 215, mostly women and small children.

★ January 26 - Glendale train crash: Two trains derail, killing 11 and injuring 200, in Glendale, California near Los Angeles.

★ January 30 - The first free Parliamentary elections in Iraq since 1958 take place.

★ January 30 - A Royal Air Force C-130 Hercules transport plane crashes in Iraq, killing 10 British servicemen. Iraqi insurgents release a video claiming to have shot the aircraft down using a missile.

★ January 31 - The Michael Jackson trial commences in Santa Barbara, California, 14 months after Jackson was arrested with much publicity.

February

★ February 1 - Sir Ian Blair is appointed Metropolitan Police Commissioner of London.

★ February 6 - Super Bowl XXXIX: The New England Patriots win their second consecutive Super Bowl title, defeating the Philadelphia Eagles 24-21.

★ February 8 - Danish parliamentary election, 2005: The center-right coalition led by Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and his Liberal Party wins another term.

★ February 9 - An ETA car bomb injures 31 people at a conference centre in Madrid.

★ February 10 - North Korea announces that it possesses nuclear weapons as a protection against the hostility it feels from the United States.

★ February 10 - Saudi Arabia holds its first ever municipal elections, in which only male citizens are allowed to vote.

★ February 12 - Fire devastates the Windsor Building, a 32 story office block, in Madrid.

★ February 14 - A massive suicide bomb blast in central Beirut kills the former Prime Minister of Lebanon Rafik Hariri and at least 15 other people. At least 135 other people are also hurt.

★ February 14 - Around 59 people are killed and 200 injured in a fire at a mosque in Tehran, Iran.

★ February 16 - The Kyoto Protocol goes into effect, without the support of the United States and Australia.

★ February 16 - The National Hockey League cancels its 2004-2005 season, becoming the first North American professional league to cancel a season due to a labour dispute.

★ February 19 - Suicide bombers kill more than 30 people in Iraq as Shia Muslims mark Ashura, their holiest day.

★ February 20 - Spain holds a referendum on the Constitution for Europe, passing it by a substantial margin, but on a low turnout.

★ February 20 - Early legislative elections in Portugal result in a landslide victory for José Sócrates and the Socialist Party.

★ February 22 - More than 500 people are killed and over 1,000 injured after entire villages are flattened in an earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale in the Zarand region of Kerman province in southern Iran.

★ February 23 - A controversial French law on colonialism, requiring teachers to paint it in a positive light, is passed by the national legislature.

★ February 24 - David Hernandez Arroyo goes on a shooting rampage at the Smith County Courthouse in Tyler, Texas. He kills two, including his ex-wife, and wounds four others before being killed in a police chase.

★ February 25 - Wichita, Kansas police apprehend the so-called BTK serial killer Dennis Rader, 31 years after his first murder.

★ February 25 - Terrorists kill 5 and wound 50 in Tel Aviv, Israel; Islamic Jihad claims responsibility for the attack.

★ February 26 - Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak asks Parliament to amend the constitution to allow multi-candidate presidential elections before September 2005.

March

★ March 1 - The prosecution begins its testimony in the Michael Jackson trial.

★ March 1 - ''Roper v. Simmons'': The Supreme Court of the United States rules the death penalty unconstitutional for juveniles who committed their crimes before age 18.

★ March 3 - The freighter ''M/V Karen Danielsen'' crashes into the Great Belt Bridge of Denmark. All traffic across the bridge is closed, effectively separating Denmark in two.

★ March 3 - Millionaire Steve Fossett breaks a world record by completing the first non-stop, non-refueled, solo flight around the world in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer.

★ March 4 - The car of released Italian hostage Giuliana Sgrena is fired on by U.S. soldiers in Iraq, causing the death of one passenger and injuring two more.

★ March 4 - The United Nations warns that about 90 million Africans could be infected with HIV in the future, without further action against the spread of the disease.

★ March 8 - The Pakistan Army opens fire on insurgents in Baluchistan, in the first armed uprising since General Rahimuddin Khan's stabilization of the province in 1978.

★ March 10 - Tung Chee Hwa, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, resigns.

★ March 11 - In the UK, the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 is finally given Royal Assent after one of the longest ever sittings by the House of Lords.

★ March 11 - Three people, including a judge, are murdered in the Fulton County Courthouse in Atlanta, Georgia; the main suspect, Brian Nichols, surrenders to police the next day.

★ March 11 - Central African Republic elections, 2005: The first round leads to a runoff between top candidates Francois Bozize and Martin Ziguele.

★ March 14 - The People's Republic of China ratifies an anti-secession law, aimed at preventing Taiwan from declaring independence.

★ March 14 - Approximately one million people gather for an opposition rally in Beirut, a month after the death of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. It is the largest rally in Lebanon's history.

★ March 16 - Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri, accused of the bombing of Air India Flight 182 in 1985, are found not guilty on all counts.

★ March 19 - A suspected suicide bomber in Doha, Qatar kills one person and injures about 12 others.

★ March 19 - A time bomb explodes in a Muslim shrine in Quetta, southwestern Pakistan, killing at least 29 people and wounding 40.

★ March 19 - A blast occurs at the Xishui coal mine in Shuozhou, China, and rocks nearby Kangjiayao coal mine, killing up to 59.

★ March 19 - Wales beat Ireland 32 - 20 to win their first Grand Slam since 1978 in Rugby Union's Six Nations tournament.

★ March 20 - At least 250 people in Japan are injured and at least one killed, when a magnitude 7 earthquake strikes west of Kyushu Island, just 9km (5.5 miles) below the ocean floor.

★ March 21 - Ten are killed in the Red Lake High School massacre in Minnesota, the worst school shooting since the Columbine High School massacre.

★ March 23 - The United States' 11th Circuit Court of Appeals refuses 2-1 to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube.

★ March 24 - The Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan reaches its climax with the overthrow of president Askar Akayev.

★ March 26 - The Taiwanese government calls on 1 million Taiwanese to demonstrate in Taipei, in opposition to the Anti-Secession Law of the People's Republic of China. Around 200,000 to 300,000 attend the walk.

★ March 28 - The 2005 Sumatran earthquake strikes off Sumatra, three months after the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. At a magnitude of 8.7 it is the second largest earthquake since 1965.

April

★ April 2 - Pope John Paul II dies; over 4 million people travel to the Vatican to mourn him.

★ April 4 - North Carolina defeats Illinois 75-70 to win the 2005 NCAA Men's Basketball Championship at the Edward Jones Dome in Saint Louis, Missouri.

★ April 6 - The first 13th root calculation of a 200-digit number is computed by Frenchman Alexis Lemaire.

★ April 6 - Rainier III, Prince of Monaco dies, succeeded by his son Albert II.

★ April 7 - MG Rover, the UK's sole remaining automotive mass-production facility, goes into receivership after a planned alliance with Chinese manufacturer, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, collapses.

★ April 7 - A suicide bomber blows himself up in Cairo's Khan al Khalili market, killing 2 foreign tourists and wounding 17 others. A group called "Islamic Pride Brigades" claims responsibility.

★ April 8 - A referendum is held in Curaçao on independence vs. integration with the Netherlands.

★ April 9 - Tens of thousands of demonstrators, many of them supporters of Shia cleric Moqtada Sadr, march through Baghdad denouncing the U.S. occupation of Iraq, 2 years after the fall of Saddam Hussein, and rally in the square where his statue was toppled in 2003.

★ April 9 - The marriage of Prince Charles and Camilla Parker Bowles takes place, after being briefly postponed after the Pope's death. Camilla assumes the titles Her Royal Highness and The Duchess of Cornwall.

★ April 15 - At least 21 people die and around 50 are injured in a devastating fire at a hotel in central Paris.

★ April 15 - Shanghai Automotive rules out any possibility of going back on its decision to pull out of a venture with MG Rover. This results in the largest independent British carmaker finishing production with the loss of more than 6,000 jobs at its huge Longbridge plant in Birmingham.

★ April 16 - President Lucio Gutierrez of Ecuador declares a state of emergency in the capital city and dissolves the Supreme Court.

★ April 17 - Twelve holidaymakers are killed in southern Switzerland when a bus carrying 27 people plunges 656 feet into a ravine.

★ April 18 - Five people die in ethnic clashes in Iran's south-west Khuzestan province.

★ April 19 - Papal conclave, 2005: Pope Benedict XVI (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) succeeds Pope John Paul II, becoming the 265th pope.

★ April 20 - Fifty six are hurt as earthquake hits Fukuoka and Kasuga, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan. The earthquake measured a magnitude of 5.8 on the Richter scale.

★ April 20 - President Lucio Gutiérrez of Ecuador is said to have fled after Congress voted to sack him amid growing protests.

★ April 21 - A bus crash in Vietnam's Central Highlands kills 30 Vietnamese war veterans.

★ April 21 - A gunfight on the edge of the Saudi city of Mecca kills 2 militants and 2 members of the security forces.

★ April 23 - Silvio Berlusconi, prime minister of Italy, re-forms the government after its dissolution 3 days earlier.

★ April 25 - Amagasaki rail crash): A passenger train derails in Amagasaki Hyōgo Prefecture, Japan, killing 107 people and injuring another 456.

★ April 26 - Facing international pressure, Syria withdraws the last of its 14,000 troop military garrison in Lebanon, ending its 29 year military domination of that country.

★ April 26 - 2005 Pan-Blue visits to mainland China

★ April 27 - The Superjumbo jet aircraft Airbus A380 makes its first flight from Toulouse.

★ April 30 - Attacks on tourists in the Egyptian capital Cairo leave 3 militants dead and at least 10 people injured.

May

★ May 1 - A suicide attack targets a Kurdish funeral in the northern Iraqi town of Talafar, near Mosul, killing at least 25 people and injuring more than 30 others. Earlier, at least 5 policemen and 4 civilians were killed in two separate attacks in Baghdad.

★ May 2 - A blast at an illegal munitions store in northern Afghanistan kills 28 people and injures at least 13 others.

★ May 3 - At least 32 people are killed and 9 others injured when 3 two-story buildings in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore collapse after gas cylinders stored in one of them explode.

★ May 4 - In one of the largest insurgent attacks in Iraq, at least 60 people are killed and dozens wounded in a suicide bombing at a Kurdish police recruitment center in Irbil, northern Iraq.

★ May 5 - United Kingdom general election, 2005: The Labour Party is re-elected with a substantially reduced majority.

★ May 7 - A plane crash in Lockhart River, Australia kills 15 people.

★ May 10 - A hand grenade ostensibly thrown by Vladimir Arutinian lands about 100 feet (30 m) from United States President George W. Bush while he is giving a speech to a crowd in Tbilisi, Georgia, but malfunctions and does not detonate.

★ May 11 - Serial killer Michael Ross becomes the first person executed in New England in 45 years.

★ May 12 - An election is held in the Cayman Islands 7 months later than originally scheduled due to Hurricane Ivan. It results in a change of government, with the United Democratic Party giving 4 seats to the then-opposition People's Progressive Movement in the 15 member Legislative Assembly.

★ May 13 - Uzbek troops kill up to 700 during protests in eastern Uzbekistan over the trials of 23 accused Islamic extremists. President Islom Karimov defends the act.

★ May 13 - The United States Department of Defense issues a list of bases to be closed as part of the Base Realignment and Closure process (BRAC 2005).

★ May 15 - A passenger ferry capsizes and sinks in strong winds in the Bura Gauranga River in Bangladesh, leaving over 100 people missing.

★ May 16 - George Galloway appears before a U.S. Senate committee, to answer allegations of making money from the Iraqi Oil-for-Food Programme.

★ May 17 - Kuwaiti women are granted the right to vote.

★ May 19 - The Canadian House of Commons members narrowly pass two budget bills at a second reading, allowing the minority Liberal government of Prime Minister Paul Martin to stay in power.

★ May 21 - Elena Paparizou wins the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 for Greece with the song My Number One, in Kiev, Ukraine.

★ May 25 - Liverpool F.C. wins the UEFA Champions League by defeating AC Milan 3-2 in a penalty shootout in Istanbul.

★ May 25 - The Acting Chief Executive of Hong Kong, Donald Tsang, resigns for participating in the Chief Executive Election last July. As a result, Henry Tang and Michael Suen become the Acting Chief Executive and Acting Chief Secretary for Administration respectively.

★ May 27 - Mark Hobson is sentenced to life imprisonment for four murders committed in Yorkshire the previous summer. The trial judge recommends that Hobson, a 35-year-old former binman, should never be released from prison.

★ May 29 - A French referendum on the European Constitution votes resoundingly to reject it.

★ May 31 - W. Mark Felt is confirmed to be "Deep Throat."

June

★ June 1 - A Dutch referendum on the European Constitution votes to reject it, the second country to do so.

★ June 2 - The construction of Northrop Grumman X-47B, the world's first unmanned surveillance attack aircraft that can operate from both land bases and aircraft carriers, begins.

★ June 5 - Switzerland votes to join the Schengen area and to allow same-sex partnerships.

★ June 6 - Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam resigns.

★ June 9 - 2005 Logan Airport runway incursion: Almost 400 people narrowly avoid death when 2 jet airliners nearly collide on the runway.

★ June 13 - 2005 trial of Michael Jackson: Singer Michael Jackson is acquitted of all charges in his child molestation trial.

★ June 17 - (California earthquakes of June 2005): A 6.7 aftershock, which followed a 5.3 earthquake the previous day, hits California, making it the 4th earthquake since June 12 in California.

★ June 17 - Because of "quadruple-witching" options and futures expiration, the New York Stock Exchange sees the heaviest first-hour trading on record. 704 million shares are traded between 9:30-10:30 A.M. (1.92 billion shares for the day).

★ June 19 - Preliminarty election results in the Autonomous Community of Galicia, Spain show that Manuel Fraga and the Partido Popular have lost control of the autonomous parliament.

★ June 21 - A Volna booster rocket carrying the first light sail spacecraft (a joint Russian-United States project) fails 83 seconds after its launch, destroying the spacecraft.

★ June 23 - The San Antonio Spurs defeat the Detroit Pistons in Game 7 of the 2005 NBA Finals. The series is the first NBA Finals in 11 years to go to a seventh game.

★ June 28 - Queen Elizabeth II conducts the International Fleet Review of 167 international warships in the Solent, as part of the Trafalgar 200 celebrations.

★ June 30 - Spain joins Belgium and the Netherlands in permitting same-sex marriage.

★ June 30 - The Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) is passed by the United States.

July

★ July 2 - Live 8, a series of 10 simultaneous concerts take place throughout the world, raising interest in the Make Poverty History campaign.

★ July 4 - NASA's "Copper bullet" from Deep Impact spacecraft hits Comet Tempel 1, creating a crater for scientific studies.

★ July 4 - Violent anti-G8 demonstrations occur in Gleneagles, Scotland.

★ July 4 - Italy-USA Foundation was established in Rome, Italy.

★ July 6 - The European Parliament rejects the Directive on the patentability of computer-implemented inventions in its second reading in the codecision procedure.

★ July 6 - The International Olympic Committee awards the 2012 Summer Olympics to London.

★ July 7 - Four explosions rock the transport network in London, 3 on the London Underground and 1 on a bus; 56 people die and over 700 are injured (See 7 July 2005 London bombings).

★ July 7 - Al-Qaeda admits to killing Egypt's Ambassador, Ihab al-Sherif.

★ July 10 - A Luxembourgish referendum on the European Constitution votes to accept it.

★ July 10 - Hurricane Dennis strikes near Navarre Beach, Florida as a Category 3 storm, killing 10 people after killing over 50 people in the Caribbean.

★ July 12 - Terrorists kill 5 people and wound 90 in a crowded mall in Netanya, Israel. Islamic Jihad claims responsibility for attack.

★ July 13 - Ghotki rail crash: Three trains collide in Ghotki, Pakistan, killing over 150 people.

★ July 19 - President Bush nominates Appeals Court Judge John G. Roberts, Jr. to the United States Supreme Court, following the retirement of Sandra Day O'Connor.

★ July 20 - Canada's Civil Marriage Act, legalizing same-sex marriage, receives Royal Assent.

★ July 21 - A terrorist attack on London, similar to the July 7 attacks, includes 4 attempted bomb attacks on 3 underground trains and a London bus. The bombs fail to explode properly, and only 1 injury is reported, later found to be unconnected.

★ July 22 - A Brazilian electrician, Jean Charles de Menezes, is shot dead at a London underground station by police who mistake him for a suicide bomber.

★ July 23 - A series of blasts hit a resort town in Egypt. See July 23, 2005 Sharm el-Sheikh attacks.

★ July 24 - Lance Armstrong wins a record 7th straight Tours de France before his scheduled retirement.

★ July 25 - The 2004-2005 NHL lockout ends.

★ July 26 - ''STS-114'': The Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' is launched on its "Return To Flight" mission. This is the first space shuttle flight in nearly 2 1/2 years since the breakup of Space Shuttle ''Columbia'' on its return from mission ''STS-107''.

★ July 26 - Mumbai and the Mumbai Conurbation area is submerged in 5-7 ft. of water due to heavy rains, making nearby dams release water causing a massive flood, which virtually stops the financial capital of India for 4-5 days.

★ July 26 - Paramore released their first album AllWeKnowIsFalling and the singles Pressure and Emergency

★ July 28 - The Provisional IRA issues a statement formally ordering an end to the armed campaign it has pursued since 1969 and ordering all its units to dump their arms.

August

★ August 1 - King Fahd of Saudi Arabia dies, succeeded by his half-brother Abdullah of Saudi Arabia.

★ August 2 - Air France Flight 358 bursts into flames after overshooting the runway at Toronto Pearson International Airport; all aboard survive.

★ August 2 - The Dominican Republic–Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) is signed into law in the United States.

★ August 6 - An ATR-72 heading from Italy to Tunisia crashes into the Mediterranean Sea, killing 16 of 39 on board.

★ August 9 - Space Shuttle ''Discovery'' returns to Edwards Air Force Base at 0814 EDT, completing ''STS-114'', "Return to Flight."

★ August 12 - The Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter is launched.

★ August 14 - Helios Airways Flight 522 crashes into a mountain in Greece, killing 121.

★ August 16 - West Caribbean Airways Flight 708 crashes into a mountain in Venezuela, killing 152 passengers.

★ August 16 - The XX World Youth Day begins in Cologne, Germany.

★ August 17 - The first forced evacuation of settlers, as part of the Israel unilateral disengagement plan, starts.

★ August 17 - Bangladesh is hit by bomb explosions. [2]

★ August 17 - Sellapan Ramanathan gains victory in the Singapore Presidential elections, 2005.

★ August 18 - BTK killer Dennis Rader receives 10 consecutive life sentences.

★ August 18 - Peace Mission 2005, the first joint China-Russia military exercise, begins its 8-day training on the Shandong peninsula.

★ August 22 - A 4.1-kg (9-pound) meteorite crashes into the Dotito area of Zambezi Escarpment in Zimbabwe, leaving a 15-cm (6-inch) crater.

★ August 23 - Israel's unilateral disengagement from 25 Jewish settlements in the Gaza Strip and West Bank ends.

★ August 24 - Hong Kong High Court Judge Michael Hartmann rules that sodomy laws are unconstitutional.

★ August 26 - Jean Michel Jarre's "Space of Freedom" concert is held in Gdańsk, Poland, commemorating the 25th anniversary of the creation of Solidarność ("Solidarity" trade union).

★ 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 feet/10 m), affecting most of eastern North America.

★ August 31 - A crowd crush on the Al-Aaimmah bridge in Baghdad kills several hundred civilians (see Baghdad bridge stampede).

September

★ September 1 - Oil prices rise sharply following the economic effects of Hurricane Katrina.

★ September 2 - Protesters and Israeli forces clash in Bil'in.

★ September 5 - Mandala Airlines Flight 091 737 crashes in Indonesia, killing at least 117. (See airplane accidents in 2005).

★ September 5 - John G. Roberts is nominated by President George W. Bush for Chief Justice of the United States, replacing William Rehnquist, who had died two days previously.

★ September 7 - Incumbent Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak wins the first multi-party presidential 'election'.

★ September 11 - Japan general election, 2005: Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi and the Liberal Democratic Party are returned to power.

★ September 12 - The Norwegian parliamentary election results in a victory for the red-green-coalition. The new prime-minister is Jens Stoltenberg from the Labour Party.

★ September 12 - The Hong Kong Disneyland Resort officially opens publicly.

★ September 12 - The English cricket team draw the final match to win The 2005 Ashes.

★ September 14-September 16 - The largest UN World Summit in history is held in New York City.

★ September 17 - Helen Clark, leader of the Labour Party, is re-elected for a third term in the New Zealand general election.

★ September 18 - Angela Merkel of the Christian Democratic Union and Gerhard Schröder of the Social Democratic Party both claim victory in the German federal election.

★ September 18 - Afghan parliamentary election: Former Northern Alliance warlords and their followers claim victory.

★ September 19 - North Korea agrees to stop building nuclear weapons in exchange for aid and cooperation.

★ September 20 - The NFL sees the groundbreaking ceremony for two new stadiums, the Indianapolis Colts' Lucas Oil Stadium and the Dallas Cowboys' temporarily named Dallas Cowboys New Stadium

★ September 23 - Convicted bank thief and Boricua Popular Army leader, Filiberto Ojeda Ríos, is killed in his home in Hormigueros, Puerto Rico when members of the FBI attempt to serve an arrest warrant.

★ September 24 - Hurricane Rita hits the U.S. Gulf Coast, devastating areas near Beaumont, TX and Lake Charles, LA. The New Orleans's 9th Ward re-floods since Katrina, and Mississippi and Alabama are also affected.

★ September 24 - Worldwide protests occur against the Iraq War, with over 150,000 protestors in Washington DC. See Opposition to the Iraq War.

★ September 24 - Polish parliamentary election: Two center-right parties win the required majority of seats.

★ September 24 - Australian Rules Football team the Sydney Swans win the 2005 Grand Final, to become the AFL Premiers, defeating the West Coast Eagles at the MCG to end a 72 year Premiership drought.

★ September 26 - U.S. Army Reservist Lynndie England is convicted by a military jury on 6 of 7 counts in connection with the Abu Ghraib prisoner abuse scandal.

★ September 27 - Michaëlle Jean, born in Haiti, becomes the 27th Governor General of Canada, and the first black person to hold that position.

★ September 28 - American politician Tom DeLay is indicted on charges of criminal conspiracy by a Texas grand jury.

★ September 29 - John G. Roberts, Jr. is confirmed and sworn in as Chief Justice of the United States.

★ September 29 - A High Court judge rules that Soham murderer Ian Huntley must spend at least 40 years in prison before being considered for parole; a ruling which effectively rules out his release until at least 2042 and the age of 68.

★ September 30 - The Parliament of Catalonia passes, with 120 plus votes and 15 against, the Project of New Catalan Statute of Autonomy, proclaiming in Article 1, "Catalonia is a nation".

★ September 30 - Controversial drawings of Muhammad are printed in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten.

October

★ October 1 - The 2005 Bali bombings kill 26 people and injure more than 100.

★ October 1 - The world's largest bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, is formed by the merger of 2 Japanese banking conglomerates.

★ October 1 - An Australian photojournalist in Afghanistan, Stephen Dupont, films U.S. soldiers burning 2 dead Taliban militias' bodies with mixed reviews.

★ October 2 - A shipwreck in Lake George, NY kills 20 people.

★ October 3 - St. Tammany Parish Schools reopen in Louisiana, just over a month after Hurricane Katrina closed them.

★ October 3 - U.S. President George W. Bush nominates Harriet Miers for the Supreme Court of the United States.

★ October 4 - Hurricane Stan hits Mexico and Central America, killing over 1,620 people.

★ October 5 - Flight Lieutenant Malcolm Kendall-Smith is charged with refusing to serve in the Iraq war.

★ October 7 - UN nuclear agency director Mohamed ElBaradei is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize.

★ October 8 - The 2005 Kashmir earthquake kills about 80,000 people.

★ October 9 - Polish presidential election: the 1st round results in a runoff between top candidates Donald Tusk and Lech Kaczyński.

★ October 12 - The second Chinese spacecraft, ''Shenzhou 6'', is launched, carrying Fei Junlong and Nie Haisheng for 5 days in orbit.

★ October 13 - Veselin Topalov wins the FIDE World Chess Championship 2005.

★ October 15 - The referendum on the new Proposed Iraqi constitution is held.

★ October 15 - A riot occurs in Toledo, Ohio during a Neo-Nazi rally on racial issues; 114 are arrested.

★ October 15 - The Qinghai-Tibet Railway is completed.

★ October 16 - U.S. helicopters and warplanes bomb 2 villages near Ramadi in western Iraq, killing about 70 people.

★ October 17 - Jens Stoltenberg becomes Prime Minister of Norway for the second time.

★ October 18 - The UN tightens the rules for its staff, following several claims of financial impropriety and sexual abuse.

★ October 19 - The Trials of Saddam Hussein begin.

★ October 19 - Hurricane Wilma swells into a Category 5 storm.

★ October 19 - The Houston Astros win their first National League Championship to advance to their first-ever World Series in franchise history.

★ October 20 - Hurricane Wilma enters the Mexican Caribbean, passing through Cozumel and then the Yucatán Peninsula, staying over Cancún for over 60 hours.

★ October 21 - The 200th Anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar is observed, with celebrations held around the United Kingdom.

★ October 22 - Tropical Storm Alpha forms, making the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season the most active on record.

★ October 22 - Bellview Airlines Flight 210, a Boeing 737 airliner, crashes in Nigeria.

★ October 23 - Polish presidential election, 2nd round: Lech Kaczyński is elected.

★ October 23 - A referendum is held on the merger of Kamchatka Oblast and Koryak Autonomous Okrug.

★ October 23 - Brazil holds a referendum about a ban on the sale of firearms and ammunition.

★ October 24 - Hurricane Wilma makes landfall in southwestern Florida as a category 3 hurricane.

★ October 26 - Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad calls for Israel to be "wiped off the map" at "World Without Zionism" conference in Tehran, Iran, and condemns the peace process.

★ October 26 - The U.S. death toll in Iraq reaches 2,000.

★ October 26 - The Chicago White Sox beat the Houston Astros in 4 games to win their first World Series since 1917.

★ October 27 - Harriet Miers withdraws her name from consideration for the Supreme Court of the United States.

★ October 27 - Two teenagers accidentally electrocute themselves in Seine-Saint-Denis, Paris, France, leading to widespread rioting.

★ October 28 - Vice presidential adviser Lewis "Scooter" Libby resigns after being charged with obstruction of justice, perjury and making a false statement in the CIA leak investigation.

★ October 29 - A train in Andhra Pradesh, India derails, killing at least 77 people.

★ October 29 - At least 61 people are dead and many others wounded in three powerful blasts in the Indian capital, Delhi (See 29 October 2005 Delhi bombings for full details).

★ October 30 - Hurricane Beta hits the coast of Nicaragua. It is the 13th hurricane of 2005, breaking the 1969 record of 12 hurricanes.

★ October 31 - U.S. President George W. Bush nominates Federal Appeals Court Judge Samuel Alito to be an Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States.

November

★ November 1 - The Prince of Wales and The Duchess of Cornwall arrive in the United States for a state visit, their first overseas tour since their marriage.

★ November 1 - Justice John Gomery releases the first part of the Gomery Commission report on corruption in the Liberal Party of Canada and the sponsorship scandal.

★ November 1 - United States Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid and his fellow Democrats force a closed session of the Senate over the Lewis Libby indictment.

★ November 2 - Madrid: the Spanish Congress of Deputies approves the admission to formality of the new Catalan Statute of Autonomy with the support of all the groups except the People's Party (PP), which the same day files an objection of unconstitutionality.

★ November 3-November 4 - Another severe aftershock measuring 6.3 on the Richter scale hits affected areas of Northern Pakistan.

★ November 4 - The U.S. and Uruguay governments sign a Bilateral Investment Treaty.

★ November 4 - Afghan police officers find Nadia Anjuman's body in her home in the western city of Herat; she had been beaten to death by her husband.

★ November 6 - Evansville Tornado of November 2005: A tornado hits western Kentucky and southwestern Indiana, killing at least 22.

★ November 6 - Azerbaijan parliamentary election: Results are disputed between the New Azerbaijan Party and the Azadliq Party opposition.

★ November 8 - French President Jacques Chirac declares a state of emergency on the 12th day of the French civil unrest (see 2005 civil unrest in France).

★ November 9 - At least 50 people are killed and more than 120 injured in a series of coordinated suicide bombings in Amman, Jordan (See 2005 Amman bombings).

★ November 12 - United Nations Secretary General Kofi Annan makes his first visit to Iraq since the Iraq War began, and urges Iraqis to embrace a process aiming to reconcile all the country's ethnic and religious groups.

★ November 13 - Andrew Stimpson, a 25-year old British man, is reported as the first person proven to have been 'cured' of HIV.

★ November 15 - Australia: Workers stage a massive protest against the Coalition government's planned Industrial Reform legislation.

★ November 15 - An earthquake hits near Sanriku in Japan, prompting a tsunami warning to be issued.

★ November 19 - American Grammy Award winning singer Christina Aguilera married music executive Jordan Bratman in Napa Valley, CA.

★ November 19 - Sri Lanka's Prime Minister Mahinda Rajapaksa took office as President of Sri Lanka after the Presidential Election.

★ November 20 - ''The Washington Post'' rebukes journalist Bob Woodward over his conduct in the CIA leak probe.

★ November 21 - The Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon, announces his resignation from Likud and his intention to form a new party devoted to peace in the region, Kadima, and asks the President of Israel to call a general election.

★ November 22 - Ted Koppel steps down as host of ''Nightline'' after 25 years with the program.

★ November 24 - The Licensing Act 2003 comes into force in England and Wales, introducing flexibility in the hours during which alcoholic beverages may be sold.

★ November 26 - The Safeway (UK) brand in the United Kingdom retail disappears after 43 years of operation due to its takeover by Wm Morrison Supermarkets.

★ November 27 - The Edmonton Eskimos defeat the Montreal Alouettes 38-35 to win the 93rd Grey Cup.

★ November 27 - Manuel Zelaya is elected the new President of Honduras.

★ November 28 - The Liberal Party minority government in Canada is toppled by a non-confidence vote in the House of Commons, tabled by the Conservatives and backed by the Bloc Québécois and the New Democratic Party, paving the way for a federal election on January 23, 2006.

★ November 28-December 9 - The United Nations Climate Change Conference is held in Montreal, Quebec.

★ November 29 - Leo O'Connor and David Keogh appear in court (see O'Connor - Keogh official secrets trial).

★ November 30 - Surgeons in France carry out the first human face transplant.

December

★ December 1 - South Africa becomes the 5th country in the world where same-sex marriages are recognized.

★ December 2 - In Wentworth, North Carolina, Kenneth Boyd becomes the 1,000th person to be executed in the United States since the re-introduction of capital punishment in 1976.

★ December 2 - The £140m (US$240m) extension of the Docklands Light Railway in London, linking Canning Town to North Woolwich and London City Airport, opens.

★ December 4 - The December 2005 protest for democracy in Hong Kong draws 250,000 people.

★ December 6 - An Iranian C-130 Hercules airplane crashes into a ten-story building in a civilian area of Tehran, the capital of Iran, killing all 94 people aboard and 34 residents of the building (128 total).

★ December 7 - A U.S. Federal Air Marshal fatally shoots Rigoberto Alpizar on a jetway at Miami International Airport in Florida.

★ December 7 - European Union TLD ''.eu'' is launched, and replaces ''.eu.int''. Initially this will be only for business purposes. From 7 April 2006 onwards, EU citizens can also register .eu domains.

★ December 8 - Southwest Airlines Flight 1248 overshoots the runway at Chicago Midway Airport, killing a 6-year-old boy and injuring 11 other people.

★ December 8 - Hurricane Epsilon dies in the eastern Atlantic Ocean. It becomes the longest-lived December hurricane on record and ties for second-place, being the 2nd strongest December hurricane.

★ December 11 - The 2005 Hertfordshire Oil Storage Terminal fire north of London causes widespread damage, and is the largest explosion ever to occur in peacetime Europe.

★ December 11 - The 2005 Cronulla riots occur in Sydney, Australia, involving up to 5,000 youths..

★ December 12 - Gebran Ghassan Tueni is assassinated by a car bomb on December 12, 2005. He is buried at Saint Dimitrius Cemetery after a funeral at Saint George Church in Beirut.

★ 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 13 - A 6.7 magnitude earthquake rocks South Asia.

★ December 14 - Shakidor Dam fails in Pakistan due to heavy rain.

★ December 15 - The first parliamentary elections take place under Iraq's new federal constitution.

★ December 16 - The 43rd Mersenne prime is found, 2^30,402,457 − 1. It was discovered with the GIMPS project by Dr. Curtis Cooper and Dr. Steven Boone, professors at Central Missouri State University.

★ December 18 - Evo Morales wins the Bolivian Presidential Elections.

★ December 18 - Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon is hospitalized after suffering a minor stroke. He is released from the hospital 2 days later.

★ December 18 - The World Trade Organization 6th ministerial conference concludes in Hong Kong with a limited trade deal being ratified.

★ December 20 - 2005 New York City transit strike: New York City's Transport Workers Union Local 100 goes on strike for 3 days, shutting down all New York City Subway and Bus services.

★ December 22 - An industrial action by bus drivers in Tehran leads to the arrest of Mansour Osanlou and several other union activists.

★ December 23 - Lech Kaczyński is sworn in as the President of Poland in Warsaw.

★ December 23 - U.S. Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld announces the first in an expected series of troop drawdowns following the Iraqi elections.

★ December 23 - Azerbaijan Airlines Flight 217 from Baku, Azerbaijan to Aktau, Kazakhstan crashes shortly after takeoff, killing 23 people.

★ December 23 - Chad declares a state of war against Sudan following a December 18 attack on Adre, which left about 100 people dead.

★ December 23 - In Israel, the trial of Tali Fahima ends in a plea bargain.

★ December 24 - Pope Benedict XVI leads his first Christmas Midnight Mass as Pope, praying for peace in the Middle East.

★ December 31 - Another second is added, 23:59:60, called a leap second, to end the year 2005. The last time this occurred was on June 30, 1998.

World population

World population
	2005	2000		2010
World	'6,453,628,000'	6,070,581,000
Africa	'887,964,000'	795,671,000
Asia	'3,917,508,000'	3,679,737,000
Europe	'724,722,000'	727,986,000
Latin-America	'558,281,000'	520,229,000
Northern America	'332,156,000'	315,915,000
Oceania	'32,998,000'	31,043,000

Births

★ January 30 - Prince Hashem bin Al Abdullah II

★ March 27 - Countess Luana of Orange-Nassau, Jonkvrouwe van Amsberg

★ April 8 - Leah Isadora Behn, granddaughter of King Harald V of Norway

★ April 29 - Prince Dipangkorn Rasmijoti, son of Crown Prince Maha Vajiralongkorn, grandson of King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand

★ June 5 - Irene Urdangarin, granddaughter of King Juan Carlos I of Spain

★ July 27 - Princess Alexia of the Netherlands, daughter of Prince Willem-Alexander of the Netherlands

★ October 4 - Prince Emmanuel of Belgium, son of Crown Prince Philippe of Belgium

★ 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

★ December 13 - Prince Nicolas of Belgium, grandson of King Albert II of Belgium

★ December 13 - Prince Aymeric of Belgium, grandson of King Albert II of Belgium

Deaths

Main articles: Deaths in 2005

January

★ January 1 - Shirley Chisholm, U.S. Congresswoman (b. 1924)

★ January 1 - Eugene J. Martin, U.S. artist (b. 1938)

★ January 1 - Bob Matsui, U.S. Congressman from California (b. 1941)

★ January 4 - Ali al-Haidri, Governor of Baghdad (assassinated)

★ January 4 - Alton Tobey, American artist (b. 1914)

★ January 4 - Guy Davenport, American author, artist, and scholar (b. 1927)

★ January 7 - Pierre Daninos, French writer and humorist (b. 1913)

★ January 10 - Joséphine-Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (b. 1927)

★ January 10 - Gene Baylos, Comedian (b. 1906)

★ January 12 - Alessia di Matteo, first survivor of eight transplants in one operation (b. 2003)

★ January 12 - Amrish Puri, Indian actor (b. 1932)

★ January 15 - Victoria de los Ángeles, Catalan soprano (b. 1923)

★ January 15 - Deem Bristow, voice actor best known as the voice of Doctor Eggman (b. 1947)

★ January 17 - Zhao Ziyang, Premier of the People's Republic of China (b. 1919)

★ January 19 - Anita Kulcsár, Hungarian handball player (b. 1976)

★ January 20 - Per Borten, Prime Minister of Norway (b. 1913)

★ January 21 - Don Poier, U.S. play-by-play man for the Memphis Grizzlies (b. 1951)

★ January 21 - Theun de Vries, Dutch writer (b. 1907)

★ January 23 - Johnny Carson, American television host (b. 1925)

★ January 25 - Philip Johnson, American architect (b. 1906)

February

★ February 2 - Max Schmeling, German boxer (b.1905)

★ February 3 - Zurab Zhvania, Prime Minister of Georgia (b. 1963)

★ February 5 - Gnassingbe Eyadema, President of Togo (b. 1937)

★ February 6 - Merle Kilgore, American singer and songwriter (b. 1934)

★ February 10 - Arthur Miller, American playwright (b. 1915)

★ February 11 - Stan Richards, Former Emmerdale actor (b. 1930)

★ February 13 - Lucia dos Santos. (b. 1907)

★ February 14 - Rafik Hariri, Prime Minister of Lebanon (assassinated) (b. 1944

★ February 16 - Nicole DeHuff, American actress (b. 1974)

★ February 17 - Nariman Sadeq, Queen of Egypt (b. 1934)

★ February 20 - Sandra Dee, American actress (b. 1944)

★ February 20 - Hunter S. Thompson, American journalist (b. 1937)

★ February 22 - Lee Eun Joo, Korean Actress (b. 1980)

March

★ March 3 - Rinus Michels, Dutch soccer player and coach (b. 1928)

★ March 6 - Teresa Wright, American actress (b. 1918)

★ March 6 - Tommy Vance, British radio disc jockey (b. 1941)

★ March 9 - Jeanette Schmid, German-born professional whistler (b. 1924)

★ March 9 - Chris LeDoux, American rodeo performer and singer (b. 1949)

★ March 10 - Dave Allen, Irish comedian (b. 1936)

★ March 21 - Jeff Weise, American murderer (b. 1988)

★ March 22 - Clemente Domínguez y Gómez, Antipope Gregory XVII (b. 1946)

★ March 26 - James Callaghan, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1912)

★ March 26 - Paul Hester, Australian musician (b. 1959)

★ March 29 - Johnnie Cochran, American lawyer (b. 1937)

★ March 29 - Mitch Hedberg, American comedian (b. 1968)

★ March 30 - Fred Korematsu, American civil rights activist (b. 1919)

★ March 31 - Terri Schiavo, American right-to-die cause célèbre (b. 1963)

April

★ April 2 - Pope John Paul II (b. 1920)

★ April 5 - John Sichel, British film and television director

★ April 6 - Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (b. 1923)

★ April 20 - Zygfryd Blaut, Polish footballer (b. 1943)

★ April 22 - Norman Bird, British actor (b. 1920)

★ April 23 - John Mills, English actor (b. 1908)

★ April 24 - Ezer Weizman, President of Israel (b. 1924)

★ April 26 - Mason Adams, American actor (b. 1919)

★ April 28 - Chris Candido, American professional wrestler (b. 1972)

May

★ May 2 - Wee Kim Wee, President of Singapore (b. 1915)

★ May 7 - Peter Wallace Rodino, U.S. Congressman (b. 1909)

★ May 8 - Lloyd Cutler, American attorney and Presidential advisor (b. 1917)

★ May 13 - George Dantzig, American mathematician (b. 1914)

★ May 14 - Jimmy Martin, American musician (b. 1927)

★ May 18 - Frank Gorshin, American actor (b. 1933)

★ May 22 - Thurl Ravenscroft, American voice actor (b. 1914)

★ May 25 - Robert Jankel, British coachbuilder (b. 1938)

★ May 27 - Eddie Albert, American actor (b. 1906)

June

★ June 6 - Maurice Rabb, Jr., American ophthalmologist (b. 1932)

★ June 6 - Anne Bancroft, American actress (b. 1931)

★ June 13 - Álvaro Cunhal, Portuguese politician (b. 1913)

★ June 26 - Richard Whiteley, British journalist and television presenter (b. 1943)

★ June 28 - Brenda Howard, American activist (b. 1946)

July

★ July 1 - Luther Vandross, American R&B singer (b. 1951)

★ July 9 - Alex Shibicky, Canadian ice hockey player (b. 1914)

★ July 11 - Shinya Hashimoto, Japanese professional wrestler (b. 1965)

★ July 17 - Edward Heath, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (b. 1916)

★ July 18 - William Westmoreland, U.S. general (b. 1914)

★ July 19 - John Tyndall, British activist (b. 1934)

★ July 21 - Long John Baldry, British musician (b. 1941)

★ July 21 - Alfred Hayes, English wrestling announcer (b. 1928)

★ July 23 - Myron Floren, American accordianist & musician (b. 1919)

★ July 26 - Jack Hirshleifer, American economist (b. 1925)

★ July 26 - Robert C. Turner, American potter (b. 1913)

★ July 31 - Wim Duisenberg, Dutch president of the European Central Bank (b. 1935)

August

★ August 1 - King Fahd of Saudi Arabia (b. 1923)

★ August 6 - Robin Cook, British politician (b. 1946)

★ August 6 - Carlo Little, British drummer (b.1938)

★ August 7 - Peter Jennings, Canadian-born news anchor (former host of World News Tonight on ABC) (b. 1938)

★ August 12 - Lakshman Kadirgamar, foreign minister of Sri Lanka (assassinated) (b. 1932)

★ August 12 - Frère Roger, Swiss founder of the Taizé Community (b. 1915)

★ August 13 - David Lange, Prime Minister of New Zealand (b. 1942)

★ August 16 - Joe Ranft, American animator (b. 1960)

★ August 19 - Mo Mowlam, British politician (b. 1949)

★ August 20 - Thomas Herrion, American football player (b. 1981)

★ August 21 - István Cserháti, Hungarian keyboardist (P.Box) (b. 1954)

★ August 26 - Robert Denning, American interior designer (b. 1927)

September

★ September 2 - Bob Denver, American actor (b. 1935)

★ September 3 - William Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1924)

★ September 10 - Clarence Gatemouth Brown, American musician (b. 1924)

★ September 14 - Robert Wise, American film director (b. 1914)

★ September 20 - Simon Wiesenthal, Austrian Holocaust survivor and Nazi hunter (b. 1908)

★ September 23 - Roger Brierley, English actor (b. 1935)

★ September 25 - Don Adams, American actor (b. 1923)

★ September 26 - Jerry Juhl, American writer (b. 1938)

★ September 26 - Shawntinice Polk, American basketball player (b. 1983)

★ September 27 - Brett Kebble, South African mining magnate (b. 1964)

October

★ October 2 - Nipsey Russell, American actor and game show personality (b. 1918)

★ October 3 - Ronnie Barker, British comic actor (b. 1929)

★ October 7 - Charles Rocket, American actor (b. 1949)

★ October 9 - Louis Nye, American actor (b. 1913)

★ October 10 - Milton Obote, President of Uganda (b. 1925)

★ October 13 - Vivian Malone Jones, American civil rights activist (b. 1942)

★ October 15 - Jason Collier, American basketball player (b. 1977)

★ October 17 - Ba Jin, Chinese writer (b. 1904)

★ October 24 - Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist (b. 1913)

★ October 24 - José Azcona del Hoyo, President of Honduras (b. 1926)

★ October 24 - Robert Sloman, writer (b. 1926)

★ October 28 - Richard Smalley, American physicist (b. 1943)

November

★ November 4 - Nadia Anjuman, Afghani poet and journalist (b. 1980)

★ November 5 - Kristofer Duddy (b. 1986)

★ November 6 - Minako Honda, Japanese singer and actress (b. 1967)

★ November 9 - K. R. Narayanan, President of India (b. 1921)

★ November 11 - Moustapha Akkad, film producer (''Halloween'' films) (b. 1930)

★ November 11 - Patrick Anson, 5th Earl of Lichfield, British photographer (b. 1939)

★ November 13 - Eddie Guerrero, Mexican-American professional wrestler (b. 1967)

★ November 18 - Sharon Beshenivsky, West yorkshire police constable (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)

★ November 25 - Richard Burns, English race car driver (b. 1971)

December

★ December 2 - Nguyen Tuong Van executed in Singapore for drug trafficking

★ December 4 - Greg Hoffman, producer (''Saw'', ''Saw II'') (b. 1963)

★ December 6 - Devan Nair, President of Singapore (b. 1923)

★ December 10 - Richard Pryor, American comedian (b. 1940)

★ December 12 - Ramanand Sagar, Indian film director (b. 1917)

★ December 13 - Stanley Williams, American gang founder (executed) (b. 1953)

★ December 16 - John Spencer, American actor (b. 1946)

★ December 18 - Alan Voorhees, American engineer and urban planner (b. 1922)

★ December 21 - William C. Rodgers, American arsonist (b. unknown)

★ December 23 - Yao Wenyuan, Chinese politician (b. 1931)

★ December 25 - Birgit Nilsson, Swedish soprano (b. 1918)

★ December 25 - Charles Socarides, American psychiatrist (b. 1922)

★ December 26 - Kerry Packer, Australian media tycoon (b. 1937)

★ December 26 - Vincent Schiavelli, American actor (b. 1948)

★ December 29 - Gerda Boyesen, Norwegian-born body psychotherapist (b. 1922)

Unknown dates

★ (none)

Climate

Based on estimates by NASA's