2005

January 1

• Death of Shirley Chisholm, U.S. Congresswoman (born 1924). [26]
• Death of Eugene J. Martin, U.S. artist (born 1938). [26]
• Death of Bob Matsui, U.S. Congressman from California (born 1941). [26]

January 4

• Death of Alton Tobey, American artist (born 1914). [26]
• Death of Guy Davenport, American author, artist, and scholar (born 1927). [26]
• Gunmen assassinate the Governor of Baghdad, Ali Al-Haidri. [26]

January 7

• Death of Pierre Daninos, French writer and humorist (born 1913). [26]

January 8

• Over night, violent storm Gudrun sweeps across the southern half of Sweden, the worst storm in the country since 1969, and one of the worst natural catastrophes in recorded Swedish history. Storm gusts reached 150 km/hour, knocking down 250 million trees, the equivalent of a year's normal harvest of 80 million cubic metres throughout the country. Seven die in the storm, another nine die in clean-up work. 500,000 households are left with no electricity, and the Öresund bridge is closed to road traffic. [7]

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. [26]
• A peace agreement is signed between north and south Sudan ending about 50 years of war, killing about 2 million Sudanese. [190.63]
• Mahmoud Abbas is elected to succeed Yasser Arafat as Palestinian Authority President. [26]

January 10

• Death of Joséphine-Charlotte, Grand Duchess of Luxembourg (born 1927). [26]
• Death of Gene Baylos, comedian (born 1906). [26]

January 11

• Apple Computer releases the Mac mini computer, for $500. [4]
• Apple Computer releases the iPod shuffle music player. It features 512 MB RAM and USB 2.0 port. Weight is under one ounce. Battery life is about 12 hours. Price is US$99. [4]

January 12

• Death of Alessia di Matteo, first survivor of eight transplants in one operation (born 2003). [26]
• Death of Amrish Puri, Indian actor (born 1932). [26]
• Deep Impact is launched from Cape Canaveral by a Delta 2 rocket. [26]

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. [26]

January 14

• The Huygens probe lands on Titan, the largest moon of Saturn. [26]

January 15

• ESA's SMART-1 lunar orbiter discovers elements such as calcium, aluminum, silicon, iron and other surface elements on the moon. [5]
• Death of Victoria de los Ángeles, Catalan soprano (born 1923). [26]
• Death of Deem Bristow, voice actor best known as the voice of Doctor Eggman (born 1947). [26]
• In Detroit, Michigan, the North American International Auto Show is held, over nine days. Chevrolet unveils the 2006 Corvette Z06, with 7-litre LS7 engine, 500 hp, 475 pound-feet torque. [8]

January 16

• Adriana Iliescu gives birth at age 66, the oldest woman in the world to do so. [26]
• Armed militants kill one person and wound eight people in the Gush Katif settlement, Gaza Strip. needed [26]

January 17

• Death of Zhao Ziyang, Premier of the People's Republic of China (born 1919). [26]

January 20

• Death of Per Borten, Prime Minister of Norway (born 1913). [26]
• George W. Bush is inaugurated in Washington, D.C. for his second term as the 43rd President of the United States. [26]
• Ireland completes conversion to the metric system. [26]

January 21

• In Belmopan, Belize, unrest over the government's new taxes erupts into riots. [26]
• Death of Theun de Vries, Dutch writer (born 1907). [26]

January 23

• Viktor Yuschenko is sworn in as president of Ukraine. [255.65]
• Death of Johnny Carson, American television host (born 1925). [5] [26]

January 25

• Death of Philip Johnson, American architect (born 1906). [26]
• A stampede at the Mandher Devi temple in Mandhradevi during a religious pilgrimage in India kills at least 215, mostly women and small children. [26]
• In Scottsdale, Arizona, the Barrett-Jackson Classic Car Auction is held, over six days. A 1958 Corvette with retractable hardtop, only one known to exist, concept car designed created by Francis Scott sells for US$315,000. [8]

January 26

• Two trains derail, killing 11 and injuring 200, in Glendale, California near Los Angeles. [26]

January 30

• The first free Parliamentary elections in Iraq since 1958 take place. [26]
• A Royal Air Force C-130 Hercules transport plane crashes in Iraq, killing ten British servicemen. [26]

January 31

• The Michael Jackson trial commences in Santa Barbara, California, 14 months after Jackson was arrested with much publicity. [26]

February 1

• Sir Ian Blair is appointed Metropolitan Police Commissioner of London. [26]

February 3

• Alberto Gonzales wins Senate confirmation (60-36) as the USA's first Hispanic attorney general. [129]
• Death of Zurab Zhvania, Prime Minister of Georgia (born 1963). [26]

February 5

• Death of Gnassingbe Eyadema, President of Togo (born 1937). [26]

February 6

• Death of Merle Kilgore, American singer and songwriter (born 1934). [26]

February 8

• Danish parliamentary election: The center-right coalition led by Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and his Liberal Party wins another term. [26]

February 9

• An ETA car bomb injures 31 people at a conference centre in Madrid, Spain. [26]

February 10

• North Korea announces that it possesses nuclear weapons as a protection against the hostility it feels from the United States. [26]
• Saudi Arabia holds its first ever municipal elections, in which only male citizens are allowed to vote. [26]
• Death of Arthur Miller, American playwright (born 1915). [26]

February 11

• Death of Stan Richards, former Emmerdale actor (born 1930). [26]

February 12

• Fire devastates the Windsor Building, a 32 story office block, in Madrid, Spain. [26]

February 13

• Death of Lucia dos Santos (born 1907). [26]

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. [26]
• Around 59 people are killed and 200 injured in a fire at a mosque in Tehran, Iran. [26]

February 15

• Internet website YouTube is launched. [5]

February 16

• The Kyoto Protocol goes into effect, without the support of the United States and Australia. [26]
• Death of Nicole DeHuff, American actress (born 1974). [26]

February 17

• Death of Nariman Sadeq, Queen of Egypt (born 1934). [26]

February 19

• Suicide bombers kill more than 30 people in Iraq as Shia Muslims mark Ashura, their holiest day. [26]

February 20

• Spain holds a referendum on the Constitution for Europe, passing it by a substantial margin, but on a low turnout. [26]
• Early legislative elections in Portugal result in a landslide victory for José Sócrates and the Socialist Party. [26]
• Death of Sandra Dee, American actress (born 1944). [26]
• Death of Hunter S. Thompson, American journalist (born 1937). [26]

February 22

• Death of Lee Eun Joo, Korean Actress (born 1980). [26]
• 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. [26]
• Sony releases the Gran Turismo 4 video game for the PlayStation 2 in the USA. [9]

February 23

• A controversial French law on colonialism, requiring teachers to paint it in a positive light, is passed by the national legislature. [26]

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. [26]

February 25

• Wichita, Kansas police apprehend the so-called BTK serial killer Dennis Rader, 31 years after his first murder. [26]
• Terrorists kill five and wound 50 in Tel Aviv, Israel; Islamic Jihad claims responsibility for the attack. [26]

February 26

• Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak asks Parliament to amend the constitution to allow multi-candidate presidential elections before September 2005. [26]
• Jef Raskin dies. [5]

March 1

• The Supreme Court of the United States rules the death penalty unconstitutional for juveniles who committed their crimes before age 18. [26]

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. [26]
• 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. [26]

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. [26]
• 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. [26]

March 6

• Death of Teresa Wright, American actress (born 1918). [26]
• Death of Tommy Vance, British radio disc jockey (born 1941). [26]

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. [26]

March 9

• Death of Jeanette Schmid, German-born professional whistler (born 1924). [26]
• Death of Chris LeDoux, American rodeo performer and singer (born 1949). [26]

March 10

• Death of Dave Allen, Irish comedian (born 1936). [26]
• Tung Chee Hwa, the Chief Executive of Hong Kong, resigns. [26]

March 11

• In the United Kingdom, the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 is finally given Royal Assent after one of the longest ever sittings by the House of Lords. [26]
• 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. [26]
• Central African Republic elections: The first round leads to a runoff between top candidates Francois Bozize and Martin Ziguele. [26]

March 14

• The People's Republic of China ratifies an anti-secession law, aimed at preventing Taiwan from declaring independence. [26]
• 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. [26]

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. [26]

March 19

• A suspected suicide bomber in Doha, Qatar kills one person and injures about 12 others. [26]
• A time bomb explodes in a Muslim shrine in Quetta, southwestern Pakistan, killing at least 29 people and wounding 40. [26]
• A blast occurs at the Xishui coal mine in Shuozhou, China, and rocks nearby Kangjiayao coal mine, killing up to 59. [26]

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. [26]

March 21

• Ten are killed in the Red Lake High School massacre in Minnesota, the worst school shooting since the Columbine High School massacre. [26]

March 22

• Death of Clemente Domínguez y Gómez, Antipope Gregory XVII (born 1946). [26]

March 24

• The Tulip Revolution in Kyrgyzstan reaches its climax with the overthrow of president Askar Akayev. [26]
• Sony releases the PlayStation Portable handheld video game system in North America. It includes a 32 MB Memory Stick Duo card, battery pack, and the film Spider-Man 2 on UMD. Price is US$249.99 in the US. 500,000 units are sold in the first two days. [9]

March 26

• The Taiwanese government calls on one 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. [26]
• Death of James Callaghan, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (born 1912). [26]
• Death of Paul Hester, Australian musician (born 1959). [26]

March 28

• In Northern Sumatra, Indonesia, a magnitude 8.6 earthquake occurs. At least 1,300 people killed, 350 injured and hundreds of buildings destroyed. A 3-metre tsunami damaged the port and airport on Simeulue. [26] [53]

March 29

• Death of Johnnie Cochran, American lawyer (born 1937). [26]
• Death of Mitch Hedberg, American comedian (born 1968). [26]

March 30

• Death of Fred Korematsu, American civil rights activist (born 1919). [26]

March 31

• Death of Terri Schiavo, American right-to-die cause célèbre (born 1963). [26]

April 2

• Pope John Paul II dies at his home in the Vatican, following complications from the flu. [26] [129]

April 5

• Death of John Sichel, British film and television director. [26]

April 6

• Death of Rainier III, Prince of Monaco (born 1923). [26]
• The first 13th root calculation of a 200-digit number is computed by Frenchman Alexis Lemaire. [26]
• Rainier III, Prince of Monaco dies, succeeded by his son Albert II. [26]

April 7

• MG Rover, the United Kingdom's sole remaining automotive mass-production facility, goes into receivership after a planned alliance with Chinese manufacturer, Shanghai Automotive Industry Corporation, collapses. [26]
• A suicide bomber blows himself up in Cairo's Khan al Khalili market, killing two foreign tourists and wounding 17 others. A group called "Islamic Pride Brigades" claims responsibility. [26]

April 8

• A referendum is held in Curaçao on independence versus integration with the Netherlands. [26]
• Two million people pack Vatican City for the funeral of Pope John Paul II, possibly the biggest funeral in history. [129]

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, two years after the fall of Saddam Hussein, and rally in the square where Hussein's statue was toppled in 2003. [26]
• 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. [26]

April 15

• At least 21 people die and around 50 are injured in a devastating fire at a hotel in central Paris, France. [26]
• 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. [26]

April 16

• President Lucio Gutierrez of Ecuador declares a state of emergency in the capital city and dissolves the Supreme Court. [26]

April 17

• Twelve tourists are killed in southern Switzerland when a bus carrying 27 people plunges 656 feet into a ravine. [26]

April 18

• Five people die in ethnic clashes in Iran's south-west Khuzestan province. [26]
• In New York City, New York, American Numismatic Rarities auctions a Venetian 50-zecchini coin of Doge Alvise Mocenigo IV (1763-78) for US$379,500. [304.31]

April 19

• Pope Benedict XVI (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) succeeds Pope John Paul II, becoming the 265th pope. [26]

April 20

• A magnitude 5.8 earthquake hits Fukuoka and Kasuga, Fukuoka Prefecture, Japan, injuring 56. [26]

April 21

• A bus crash in Vietnam's Central Highlands kills 30 Vietnamese war veterans. [26]
• A gunfight on the edge of the Saudi city of Mecca kills two militants and two members of the security forces. [26]
• Nintendo releases the Nintendogs video game for the Nintendo DS in Japan. [9]

April 22

• Death of Norman Bird, British actor (born 1920). [26]

April 23

• Death of John Mills, English actor (born 1908). [26]
• Silvio Berlusconi, prime minister of Italy, re-forms the government after its dissolution three days earlier. [26]

April 24

• Death of Ezer Weizman, President of Israel (born 1924). [26]

April 25

• A passenger train derails in Amagasaki Hyogo Prefecture, Japan, killing 107 people and injuring another 456. [26]

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. [26]
• Death of Mason Adams, American actor (born 1919). [26]

April 27

• The Superjumbo jet aircraft Airbus A380 makes its first flight from Toulouse, France. [26]

April 28

• The Wynn Las Vegas hotel and casino opens, the world's most expensive casino resort, at a cost of US$2.7 billion. [187.298a, 495]

April 30

• Attacks on tourists in the Egyptian capital Cairo leave three militants dead and at least ten people injured. [26]

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. [26]
• Nintendo releases the Pokémon Emerald video game for the Game Boy Advance in the USA. [9]

May 2

• A blast at an illegal munitions store in northern Afghanistan kills 28 people and injures at least 13 others. [26]
• Death of Wee Kim Wee, President of Singapore (born 1915). [26]
• The Pontiac Grand Am car ceases production at the 100 year-old Lansing Car Assembly plant. [5]

May 3

• At least 32 people are killed and nine others injured when three two-story buildings in the eastern Pakistani city of Lahore collapse after gas cylinders stored in one of them explode. [26]

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. [26]

May 5

• United Kingdom general election: The Labour Party is re-elected with a substantially-reduced majority. [26]

May 6

• Joe Grant dies at age 96. [6]

May 7

• A plane crash in Lockhart River, Australia kills 15 people. [26]
• Death of Peter Wallace Rodino, U.S. Congressman (born 1909). [26]

May 8

• Death of Lloyd Cutler, American attorney and Presidential advisor (born 1917). [26]

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. [26]
• Joschka Fischer is awarded the Leo Baeck Prize given by the Central Council of Jews in Germany for his efforts toward seeking understanding and reduction of tensions in the Middle East. [37]

May 11

• Serial killer Michael Ross becomes the first person executed in New England in 45 years. [26]

May 12

• An election is held in the Cayman Islands seven months later than originally scheduled due to Hurricane Ivan. It results in a change of government, with the United Democratic Party giving four seats to the then-opposition People's Progressive Movement in the 15 member Legislative Assembly. [26]

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. [26]
• 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). [26]
• Death of George Dantzig, American mathematician (born 1914). [26]

May 14

• Death of Jimmy Martin, American musician (born 1927). [26]

May 15

• A passenger ferry capsizes and sinks in strong winds in the Bura Gauranga River in Bangladesh, leaving over 100 people missing. [26]

May 16

• George Galloway appears before a U.S. Senate committee, to answer allegations of making money from the Iraqi Oil-for-Food Programme. [26]

May 17

• Kuwaiti women are granted the right to vote. [26]

May 18

• Death of Frank Gorshin, American actor (born 1933). [26]

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. [26]

May 21

• Elena Paparizou wins the Eurovision Song Contest 2005 for Greece in Kiev, Ukraine, with the song "My Number One". [26]

May 22

• Death of Thurl Ravenscroft, American voice actor (born 1914). [26]

May 25

• Death of Robert Jankel, British coachbuilder (born 1938). [26]
• 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. [26]

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. [26]
• Death of Eddie Albert, American actor (born 1906). [26]

May 29

• A French referendum on the draft European Union constitution votes 55 percent to reject it. [26] [148.62]

June 1

• A Dutch referendum on the draft European Union constitution votes 61 percent to 39 to reject it. [26] [148.62]

June 2

• Construction begins on Northrop Grumman X-47B, the world's first unmanned surveillance attack aircraft that can operate from both land bases and aircraft carriers. [26]
• At the Long Beach Coin, Stamp & Collectibles Expo, a US $20 gold coin, 1927-D PCGS MS-66 sells for US$1.65 million. [304.28]

June 5

• Switzerland votes to join the Schengen area and to allow same-sex partnerships. [26]

June 6

• Syrian Vice President Abdul Halim Khaddam resigns. [26]
• Death of Maurice Rabb, Jr., American ophthalmologist (born 1932). [26]
• Death of Anne Bancroft, American actress (born 1931). [5] [26]
• Apple Computer announces it is abandoning the PowerPC processor in favor of Intel processors for future Macintosh computers. [4]

June 9

• At Logan Airport, almost 400 people narrowly avoid death when two jet airliners nearly collide on the runway. [26]

June 13

• Singer Michael Jackson is acquitted of all charges in his child molestation trial. [26]
• Death of Álvaro Cunhal, Portuguese politician (born 1913). [26]

June 15

• Off the coast of Northern California, a magnitude 7.2 earthquake occurs. [53]

June 17

• A 6.7 aftershock, which followed a 5.3 earthquake the previous day, hits California, making it the fourth earthquake since June 12 in California. [26]
• 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). [26]

June 19

• Preliminary election results in the Autonomous Community of Galicia, Spain show that Manuel Fraga and the Partido Popular have lost control of the autonomous parliament. [26]

June 21

• A Volna booster rocket carrying the first light sail spacecraft (a joint Russian-American project) fails 83 seconds after its launch, destroying the spacecraft. [26]
• Jack Kilby dies at age 81. [4]

June 22

• Disney releases the live-action feature film Herbie: Fully Loaded in theaters in the USA. [6]

June 26

• Death of Richard Whiteley, British journalist and television presenter (born 1943). [26]

June 27

• AMD files a broad antitrust complaint against Intel Corporation in U.S. Federal District Court, alleging abuse of monopoly powers and antitrust violations. [5]

June 28

• Death of Brenda Howard, American activist (born 1946). [26]
• Queen Elizabeth II conducts the International Fleet Review of 167 international warships in the Solent, as part of the Trafalgar 200 celebrations. [26]

June 30

• Spain joins Belgium and the Netherlands in permitting same-sex marriage. [26]
• The Dominican Republic-Central America Free Trade Agreement (CAFTA) is passed by the United States. [26]