2005 is a common year starting on Saturday of the Gregorian calendar. It has been designated:

• The World Year Of Physics 2005
• The International Year of Microcredit
• The International Year for Sport and Physical Education
• The Year of the Eucharist

• 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 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 satellite 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. (NewstalkZB)
• 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 govenor, Jodi Reil, and senator Rosa DeLora spoke out againist this desicion 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 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 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 match was play at Barcelona, Nou Camp. The all stars charity match is between two teams, Europe and the Rest of the World. Money raised were donated 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: The first Twenty20 international men's cricket match is held, between Australia and New Zealand. Australia win by 44 runs.
  • Chubu International Airport in Nagoya opens. All of Nagoya Airport's domestic and international flights move to the new airport.
  • Several airlines 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.
  • Legislative elections in Portugal
  • The 2005 Daytona 500 is won by legendary driver Jeff Gordon
• February 21–February 25: Canada Reads 2005
• February 23:
  • Rotary International, the world's first service club celebrates the 100th anniversary of the formation of the first Rotary club in Chicago, Illinois, USA.
  • Nintendo DS is released in Australia.
• February 26–March 5: Special Olympics World Winter Games scheduled for Nagano, Japan.
• February 27: The 77th Annual Academy Awards will be presented at the Kodak Theater in Hollywood, California. Comedian Chris Rock is expected to host.

• March 4: Martha Stewart is scheduled to be released from Alderson Federal Prison Camp.
• March 7: St. Eubulus Day.
• March 11: Nintendo DS to be released in Europe.
• March 13: Central African Republic to have its first elections since 1999.
• March 18: The Playstation Portable to be released in North America.
• March 25: Japan's Expo 2005 beginning east of Nagoya.
• March 26: After being cancelled in 1989, Doctor Who returns for a twenty-seventh season.
• 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 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.
• 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 airs in US Theaters.

• May 1:
  • After being cancelled in 2002, Family Guy returns for a fourth season.
  • 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 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.
• May 25: UEFA Champions League final to be held at Atatürk Olimpiyat Stadyumu, Istanbul, Turkey.
• May 29
  • Coca Cola 600
  • Indianapolis 500

• June 17:
  • Iranian Presidential election.
  • Batman Begins's theatrical release in the USA.
• June 18: First Autistic Pride Day.
• 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 of the International Society for Individual Liberty celebrates Ayn Rand in her home town of St. Petersburg, Russia.
• 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 worldwide.

• August: Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority scheduled to complete the Orange Line, a busway in the San Fernando Valley.
• August 1: NASA's MESSENGER probe to Mercury makes an Earth flyby.
• September 12: Hong Kong Disneyland park opens.
• September 13: The rest of the Hong Kong Disneyland Resort opens.
• September 24: The New Zealand general election must be held on, or before, this date.
• September 25: The new Suvarnabhumi Airport opens in Bangkok, Thailand. All international flights will transfer from Don Muang to Suvarnabhumi.
• October: The second Chinese manned space mission Shenzhou 6 is scheduled to carry two astronauts for five days in orbit.
• October 3: Annular solar eclipse (North Portugal, Spain, east Africa).
• October 8: The second DARPA Grand Challenge is scheduled to be held.
• October 15: A new Asterix comic will be released.
• November 26: The third Junior Eurovision Song Contest will be in Hasselt, Belgium.
• November 27: The 93rd Grey Cup game to be played in Vancouver, Canada.

• Charlotte Bobcats scheduled to begin play in the Charlotte Arena.
• Greenland will hold a referendum on independence.
• Sony is scheduled to unveil its PlayStation 3 game console sometime in late April, or before the Electronic Entertainment Expo in May.
• Sony is to launch the PlayStation Portable in Europe in the second half of the year.

• The events of Transformers: The Movie take place.
• February: The events of Metal Gear Solid take place.
• December 24: Christmas Eve. Pluto's Kiss strikes the world's internet system. From the .hack anime.

• January 1 - Shirley Chisholm, 80, first black woman elected to the U.S. Congress
• January 4 - Ali al-Haidri, Governor of Baghdad
• January 9 - Koji Hashimoto, 66, Japanese film director
• January 10 - Tommy Fine, 90, Major League Baseball player
• January 15 - Ruth Warrick, 88, American actress
• January 17:
  • Zhao Ziyang, 86, reformist Premier of the People's Republic of China and General Secretary of the Communist Party of China
  • Virginia Mayo, 84, American actress
• January 18 - Lamont Bentley, 31, American actor
• January 20 - Per Borten, 92, Norwegian prime minister
• January 23 - Johnny Carson, 79, American television host, The Tonight Show
• January 25 - Philip Johnson, 98, American architect

• February 2 - Max Schmeling, 99, German former heavyweight champion
• February 3:
  • Ernst Mayr, 100, evolutionary biologist
  • Zurab Zhvania, 41, Prime Minister of Georgia
  • Corrado Cardinal Bafile, 101, Oldest Cardinal ever
• February 4 - Ossie Davis, 87, African-American actor and civil rights activist
• February 5 - Gnassingbe Eyadema, 69, President of Togo
• February 6 - Elbert N. Carvel, 94, former governor of Delaware, civil rights advocate
• February 8 - George Herman, 85, CBS journalist
• February 8 - Jimmy Smith, 76, jazz organist
• February 10 - Arthur Miller, 89, American playwright
• February 11 - Jack L. Chalker, 60, American science fiction writer
• February 12 - Rafael Vidal, 41, Venezuelan Olympic medalist
• February 13:
  • Nelson Briles, 61, Major League Baseball player
  • Sister Lucia, 97, Portuguese woman to whom the Virgin Mary appeared in 1917
• February 14 - Rafik Hariri, former Prime Minister of Lebanon
• February 17 - Nariman Sadeq, former Queen of Egypt
• February 20:
  • Sandra Dee, American actress
  • John Raitt, 88, American musical performer
  • Hunter S Thompson,67 , American writer