2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. As of this writing, it is the current year. It has been designated:

• The World Year Of Physics 2005 by the International Union of Pure and Applied Physics
• The International Year of Microcredit by the United Nations
• The International Year for Sport and Physical Education by the United Nations
• The Year of the Volunteer (http://www.yearofthevolunteer.org/) by UK Chancellor of the Exchequer Gordon Brown
• The Year of the Eucharist by Pope John Paul II
• The Year of Foreign Language Study by the United States Congress
• The Year of the Veteran in Canada

Events

January

• Worldwide aid effort continues to develop in response to the 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake.
• January 1:
  • The Freedom of Information Act 2000 comes into force in the United Kingdom.
  • Turkey introduces a new currency, the New Turkish Lira, valued at 1,000,000 times the old lira.
  • In Germany, stage IV of the Hartz concept brings together unemployment benefits and social security benefits, despite protests.
• January 2–6: A major storm system sweeps across the United States, and winter weather such as snow, ice storms and avalanches kill at least 16.
• January 3:
  • Violence in Iraq, assassination of the Governor of Baghdad, Ali al-Haidri.
  • Mars Exploration Rover-A Spirit marks its first year roaming Mars Gusev crater.
• January 6: In Graniteville, South Carolina, a train carrying a cargo of chlorine gas collides with a parked train, releasing a toxic cloud which kills 9 and injures 200. The town of 5,400 is evacuated.
• January 7: A train crash near Bologna, Italy kills 18 people.
• January 8: The United States Navy submarine USS San Francisco runs aground near Guam, killing one sailor and injuring several others.
• January 9:
  • The same storm which pounded the US earlier in the month slams into England and Scandinavia. At least 13 are dead among hurricane force winds and the worst flooding in northwest England in 40 years.
  • Mahmoud Abbas is elected to succeed Yasser Arafat as Palestinian Authority president in the Palestinian general election.
• January 10: Record rainfall causes a mudslide in La Conchita, California, killing 10.
• January 11: Apple Computer CEO Steve Jobs unveils Mac Mini, a $500 Macintosh Computer, and iPod Shuffle, a flash memory-based version of the popular iPod MP3 player.
• January 13: Photos of Prince Harry of Wales dressed as a Nazi at a fancy dress party cause worldwide condemnation.
• January 14: The Huygens probe lands on Titan, largest moon of planet Saturn.
• January 15: Deem Bristow, Voice of Doctor Eggman from the popular Sonic the Hedgehog series, collapses at a singles' dance and dies shortly after.
• January 16: Adriana Iliescu gives birth at age 66 and becomes the oldest woman in the world to do so.
• January 17:
  • New Zealand's controversial Foreshore and Seabed legislation comes into force. Some indigenous Maori citizens consider it a day of mourning and will stage a march ("hikoi") in Christchurch.
  • A 38-year-old was arrested by the Customs and Excise Department of Hong Kong for sharing files through BitTorrent. It is the world's first filesharing arrest case. Wikinews (http://en.wikinews.org/pac/Hong_Kong_Makes_First_File-Sharing_Arrest)
• January 18: Mark Latham resigns as leader of the Australian Labor Party and as a Member of the Australian House of Representatives.
• January 20:
  • U.S. Presidential inauguration day for the second term of George W. Bush.
  • Speed limits in the Republic of Ireland switch from mph to km/h. All speed limit signs are replaced, as well as old road signs with non-metric distances (from before the 1970s).
• January 20–23: Paralyzing snowstorms afflict the United States. The Midwest region receives 12-20 inches (30 to 50 cm) while New England is hammered with up to 36 inches (90 cm) of snow. At least 20 casualties are reported to be related to this storm, one of the worst snowstorms to hit the US in the past century.
• January 21: In Belize's capital city Belmopan, the unrest over the government's new taxes erupts into riots.
• January 23: Viktor Yushchenko is sworn in as the third President of Ukraine in Kiev, Ukraine.
• January 25:
  • A stampede during a religious pilgrimage in India kills at least 215, mostly women and small children.
  • Red Imported Fire Ants are found in Guangdong, China and Hong Kong.
• January 26:
  • A train crash involving three trains kills 11 and injures 200 in Glendale, California near Los Angeles early in the morning peak hours.
  • A helicopter crash in eastern Iraq kills 31 United States soldiers.
  • Condoleezza Rice, President Bush's nominee for U.S. Secretary of State, is confirmed by a vote of 85-13 in the U.S. Senate and is sworn in later in the day.
• January 28:
  • The Procter & Gamble Co. acquires Gillette Co. in a deal valued at $57 billion US, creating the world's largest consumer-products company.
  • Sikorsky, a Connecticut based helicopter company, lost the presidential helicopter contract to Lockheed Martin. Connecticut's governor, Jodi Rell, and senator Rosa DeLora spoke out against this decision because the Lockheed design was a European design and that 35% of the helicopter would be made in Italy and the U.K.
• January 30:
  • The first Parliamentary elections in Iraq since the overthrow of the Ba'ath Party government led by Saddam Hussein take place.
  • A Royal Air Force 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.

February

• February 1 - Bill C-38 is introduced in the Canadian Parliament with a speech by Prime Minister Paul Martin to legalize full access to civil marriage for gays and lesbians.
• February 8 -
  • Danish parliamentary elections continue the center-right coalition led by Prime Minister Anders Fogh Rasmussen and his Liberal Party.
  • the Palestinian authorities and the Prime Minister of Israel, Ariel Sharon agree to a truce at talks in Egypt.
• February 9 - An ETA car bomb injures 31 people at a conference centre in Madrid.
• February 10 -
  • Charles, Prince of Wales, announces his engagment to Camilla Parker Bowles.
  • North Korea announces that it possesses nuclear weapons as a protection against the hostility it feels from the United States.
  • Saudi Arabia holds it first ever elections for municipal authorities, only men 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 killed Lebanon's former prime minister Rafik Hariri and at least 15 other people. At least 135 other people were also hurt.
  • Around 59 people have been killed and 200 injured in a fire at mosque in Tehran, Iran.
• February 15 -
  • More than 200 people have been killed by a blast at a mine in in Fuxin north-east China.
  • Football for Hope all star charity match was play at Barcelona, Nou Camp. The two team Europe and the Rest of the World was played to raised donations to victims of the Boxing Day tsunami disaster.
• February 16 - The Kyoto Protocol comes into effect, without the support of the United States and Australia.
• February 17 - Airlines in Europe will have to pay heavy compensation to passengers for flight delays and cancellations under a European regulation coming into force from this date.
• February 19 - Suicide bombers have killed more than 30 people in Iraq as Shia Muslims marked Ashura, their holiest day.
• February 20 -
  • Spain becomes the first country to vote in a referendum on ratification of the proposed Constitution of the European Union, passing it by a substantial margin, but on a low turnout.
  • Early Legislative elections in Portugal result in a landslide victory for José Sócrates and the Socialist Party.
• February 22 - More than 500 people have been killed and over 1,000 injured after entire villages were flatted in an earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale, hit the Zarand region of Kerman province in southern Iran.
  • Pop-punk band blink-182 officially anounce that they are going on an indefinite hiatus.
• February 23 - The galaxy VIRGOHI21, which is made up of mostly dark matter within the Virgo cluster, have been discovered by radio telescopes, shedding new light on the theory of how the universe is held together by the gravitational pull of these dark matters and dark energy.
• February 21–February 25: Canada Reads 2005 broadcast in Canada on CBC Radio One and CBC Newsworld. Rockbound by Frank Parker Day wins the competition.
• February 26 -
  • Hosni Mubarak the president of Egypt ordered the constitution changed to allow multi-candidate presidential elections before September 2005 by asking parliament to amend Article 76 of the Egyptian constitution.
  • Jef Raskin, chief designer of the original Apple Macintosh and the Canon Cat, dies of pancreatic cancer

March

• March 1 -

• The US Supreme Court abolishes the death penalty for juveniles who committed their crimes under age 18.
• Dennis Rader is charged in connection with the BTK killings in Kansas, dating back to 1974.

• March 3 -
  • At 19.17 the 3500-ton freighter, M/V Karen Danielsen, crashes into the Western bridge of the Great Belt Bridge of Denmark, 800m from Funen. All traffic across the bridge is closed, effectively separating Denmark in two.
  • 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 10 -
  • Resignation of Tung Chee-hwa, the chief executive of Hong Kong, China.
  • Paul Schäfer, leader of Colonia Dignidad, is captured in Argentina after an eight-year disappearance. Two days later, he would be deported to Chile.
• March 11 - In the UK, the controversial Prevention of Terrorism Act 2005 was finally given Royal Assent after one of the longest ever sittings by the House of Lords.
• March 13: Central African Republic to have its first elections since 1999.
• March 14 -
  • The People's Republic of China ratifies an anti-secession law aimed at preventing Taiwan from declaring independence.
  • Nearly one million people gathered for an opposition rally in Beirut, a month after the death of former Prime Minister Rafik Hariri. The largest rally in Lebanon history.
• March 16 -
  • Robert Blake is found not guilty on killing his wife, Bonnie Lee Bakley, at Vitello's, a restaurant in the Van Nuys district of Los Angeles, in 2001. The ruling took place at the Van Nuys Superior Court.
  • Scott Peterson is sentenced to the death penalty for killing his wife, Laci Peterson, and unborn baby around Christmas 2002, then dumping her body in the harbor near their home of Redwood City, California.
  • Suspects Ripudaman Singh Malik and Ajaib Singh Bagri in the bombing of the Air India Flight 182 in 1985 are found to be not guilty on all accounts.
• March 19 -
  • A suspected suicide bomber killed one Briton and injured about 12 other people. The blast happen at the Doha Players theatre opposite the Doha English Speaking school in the Khalifa district outside the capital Doha, in Qatar.
  • A time bomb exploded in a Muslim shrine in Quetta, southwestern Pakistan, killing at least 29 people and wounding 40.
  • A mine blast occurred at the Xishui coal mine in Shuozhou and rocked nearby Kangjiayao coal mine. The death toll is up to 59.
• March 20 - At least 250 people in Japan have been injured and at least one killed by when a powerful earthquake struck west of Kyushu Island, just 9km (5.5 miles) below the ocean floor. The quake - which had a magnitude of seven - damaged buildings and cut utility supplies.
• March 23 - The United States' 11th Circuit Court of Appeals' 2-1 decision refuses to order the reinsertion of Terri Schiavo's feeding tube. They affirmed the decision of a federal district court judge in Tampa, Florida.
• March 24: The PlayStation Portable to be released in North America.
• March 25: Japan's Expo 2005 beginning east of Nagoya.
• March 25: Tom Sizemore jailed for 17 months for violating probation.
• March 26: After being cancelled in 1989, Doctor Who returns for a twenty-seventh season.
• March 28: The 2005 Sumatran Earthquake struck off Sumatra. At magnitude 8.7 it is the second largest earthquake since 1965.

Scheduled and expected events

March-April

• March 26–April 10: The National Cherry Blossom Festival is held in Washington, D.C.
• March 27: The Western churches (Protestant and Roman Catholic) celebrate Easter.
• April 3 World Wrestling Entertainment Wrestlemania 21 to be held at the STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California
• April 2-4: NCAA Men's Basketball Final Four to be held at the Edward Jones Dome in Saint Louis, Missouri.
• April 8:
  • Hybrid solar eclipse (south Pacific ocean).
  • Prince Charles to marry Camilla Parker Bowles.
  • Launch of RFA Cardigan Bay (L3009) in Glasgow.
  • Referendum in Curacao on independence vs. integration with the Netherlands.
• April 14: Washington Nationals (formerly the Montreal Expos) play their first game in their new home city, Washington, D.C., at RFK Stadium.
• April 29: The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy movie opens in the UK and the USA.
• 2005 IIHF World Championship in ice hockey starts in Austria.

May

• May 1 - East Orthodox Churches using Julian Calendar celebrate Easter.
• May 5:
  • Expected date for UK General Election (though it could take place as late as June 30, 2006) and due date of UK District Council elections, particularly those who have elections for the whole Council every four years.
  • The Walt Disney Company commence the Happiest Homecoming on Earth celebration, celebrating fifty years of Disneyland in Anaheim, California.
• May 7: Kentucky Derby
• May 8: 60th anniversary of VE Day.
• May 12–June 3: Launch window for Space Shuttle Discovery return to flight mission STS-114. This is the first flight in more than two years since the breakup of Columbia on its return from mission STS-107.
• May 14: Start of the seventh annual Gumball 3000 rally.
• May 17–May 20: The Electronic Entertainment Expo (or E3) 2005 to take place in Los Angeles, California.
• May 19: Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith released, effectively ending the Star Wars saga begun by George Lucas in 1977
• May 21:
  • Eurovision Song Contest to be held in Kiev, Ukraine.
  • Preakness Stakes
• May 23–May 25: Finals for the Jeopardy! Ultimate Tournament of Champions. The tournament started February 9 to see if any past Jeopardy! champions can beat Ken Jennings in a final 3-day showdown for a prize of US $2 Million.
• May 25: UEFA Champions League final to be held at Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadyumu, Istanbul, Turkey.
• May 29
  • Coca Cola 600
  • Indianapolis 500

June-July

• June 11: Belmont Stakes
• June 17:
  • Iranian Presidential election.
  • Batman Begins's theatrical release in the USA.
• June 18: First Autistic Pride Day.
• June 20–July 3: Wimbledon Championships
• June 30:
  • MTV Networks scheduled to launch LGBT-themed LOGO channel in the United States.
  • Rail service scheduled to begin on the MBTA Greenbush Line in Massachusetts.
• July 1: Revaluation of the Romanian leu.
• July 4: NASA's Deep Impact spacecraft fires a "copper bullet" into Comet Tempel 1, creating a crater for scientific studies.
• July 6–8: G8 summit in Perthshire, Scotland, UK.
• July 6: Host of the 2012 Summer Olympics to be announced by the IOC in Singapore during its 117th Session.
• July 10–15: 2005 World Conference (http://www.isil.org/conference/) of the International Society for Individual Liberty celebrates Ayn Rand in her home town of St. Petersburg, Russia.
• July 10: If no litigation, Hong Kong Chief Executive Election will be held.
• July 12–August 1: Launch window for the Space Shuttle Atlantis second return to flight mission STS-121.
• July 16: Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince released in all english speaking countries.
• July 25–July 31: AirVenture, the world's greatest aviation celebration, is held in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

August-December