2005 (MMV) was .

Events

January 
 January 3 – Assassination of the Governor of Baghdad, Ali Al-Haidri.
 January 9 -
 The same storm which pounded the United States earlier in the month hits 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 election.
 January 12 – Deep Impact (space mission) is launched from Cape Canaveral by a Delta 2 rocket.
 January 14 – The Huygens probe lands on Titan, largest moon of planet Saturn.
 January 16 – Adriana Iliescu gives birth at 66, the oldest woman in the world to do so.

 January 20 – George W. Bush is inaugurated in Washington D.C. for his second term as the 43rd President of the United States.
 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.
 January 26 – A helicopter crash in eastern Iraq kills 31 United States soldiers.
 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 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.

March 
 March 28 – A strong Earthquake strikes off the coast of Sumatra.

April 
 April 2 – Pope John Paul II dies.
 April 6 – Prince Rainier III of Monaco dies aged 81. He is succeeded by his son, Albert II of Monaco.
 April 8 – Prince Charles marries Camilla Parker Bowles.
 April 19 – Cardinal Joseph Alois Ratzinger becomes Pope Benedict XVI.

May 
 May 8 – The 60th anniversary of VE Day is marked.
 May 29 – French voters reject the proposed European Constitution.

June 
 June 1 – Dutch voters reject the proposed European Constitution.

July 
 July 1 – German chancellor Gerhard Schroeder loses a vote of confidence.
 July 6 – July 9 – The G8 Summit takes place in Gleneagles, Scotland.
 July 6 – London is awarded the 2012 Olympic Games.
 July 7 – Four suicide bombers kill 56 people (including the bombers) on London's public transport system – three Tube trains and one bus. The attacks were carried out by Al Qaeda.
 July 21 – Four attempted suicide bombers fail to detonate their bombs on London's public transport system. All four bombers escape, but are later captured.
 July 22 – An innocent Brazilian, Jean Charles de Menezes is shot dead by officers of the London Metropolitan Police.
 July 23 – Terrorist attacks occur at Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt.

August 
 August 1 – King Fahd of Saudi Arabia dies. He is succeeded by his half-brother, Abdullah.
 August 29 – Hurricane Katrina devastates the southeastern United States.

September 
 September 30 – The controversial drawings of the Prophet Muhammad first appear in the Danish newspaper, Jyllands Posten.

October 
 October 1 – Terrorist bombings occur on the island of Bali.
 October 8 – A devastating earthquake hits Kashmir.
 October 27 – Widespread rioting erupts across France.
 October 30 - Having been destroyed in the Firebombing of Dresden in World War II, the Frauenkirche (Church of Our Lady), is reconsecrated.

November 
 November 8 – Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf is elected as Liberia's, and Africa's first female President.
 November 22 – Angela Merkel becomes Germany's first female chancellor.

December 
 December 11 – An explosion occurs at the Buncefield Oil Depot in Hertfordshire, England.
 December 31 – An extra Leap Second is added onto the year.

 January 23 – Johnny Carson, American actor, comedian and writer (b. 1925)
 February 2 – Max Schmeling, German boxer (b. 1905)
 February 10 – Arthur Miller, American playwright (b. 1915)
 February 18 - Bonar Bain, Canadian actor (b. 1923)
 February 20 – Hunter S. Thompson, American writer (b. 1937)
 March 3 – Rinus Michels, Dutch footballer (b. 1928)
 March 26 – James Callaghan, Prime Minister of the UK (b. 1912)
 March 29 – Mitch Hedberg, American comedian (b. 1968)
 March 31 – Terri Schiavio, American patient in right-to-die case (b. 1963)
 April 2 – Pope John Paul II (b. 1920)
 April 6 – Rainier III of Monaco (b. 1923)
 April 11 – Lucien Laurent, French footballer (b. 1907)
 April 22 – Eduardo Paolozzi, Scottish artist (b. 1924)
 April 24 – Ezer Weizmann, Israeli President (b. 1924)
 April 26 – Maria Schell, Austrian actress (b. 1926)
 June 6 – Anne Bancroft, American actress (b. 1931)
 July 1 – Luther Vandross, American singer (b. 1951)
 July 6 – Evan Hunter, American writer (b. 1926)
 July 17 – Edward Heath, former Prime Minister of the UK (b. 1916)
 July 22 – Jean Charles de Menezes, Brazilian shooting victim (b. 1978).
 July 31 – Wim Duisenberg, Dutch economist (b. 1935)
 August 1 – King Fahd of Saudi Arabia (b. 1924).
 August 6 – Robin Cook, British politician (b. 1946)
 August 13 – David Lange, New Zealand Prime Minister (b. 1942)
 September 3 – William Rehnquist, Chief Justice of the United States (b. 1924)
 October 10 – Milton Obote, Ugandan President (b. 1924)
 October 24 – Rosa Parks, American civil rights activist (b. 1913)
 November 13 – Eddie Guerrero, Mexican-American professional wrestler (b. 1967)
 November 25 – George Best, Northern Irish footballer (b. 1946)
 December 10 – Richard Pryor, American actor (b. 1940)
 December 25 – Birgit Nilsson, Swedish soprano (b. 1918)
 December 26 – Vincent Schiavelli, American actor (b. 1948)

Nobel prize winners 

 Chemistry – Yves Chauvin
 Chemistry – Robert H. Grubbs
 Chemistry – Richard R. Schrock
 Economics – Robert J. Aumann
 Economics – Thomas C. Schelling
 Literature – Harold Pinter
 Medicine – Barry J. Marshall
 Medicine – J. Robin Warren
 Peace – International Atomic Energy Agency
 Peace – Mohamed ElBaradei
 Physics – Roy J. Glauber
 Physics – John L. Hall
 Physics – Theodor W. Hänsch