2005
YouTube is born
Three former PayPal employees registered a domain to share home videos.
John Paul II dies
The Polish pope who had helped bring down communism, who had survived a 1981 assassination attempt and visited 129 countries, died at the Vatican after a long…
Kashmir earthquake
A magnitude 7.6 quake shook the mountains of Pakistani-administered Kashmir, flattening schools at the start of the day and killing more than 86,000 people…
Beirut bomb kills Hariri
A truck bomb on the Beirut corniche killed former Lebanese prime minister Rafic Hariri and twenty-one others in a massive explosion that left a crater…
Hurricane Katrina drowns New Orleans
The levees failed before noon and most of the city went underwater.
London 7/7 bombings
Four British-born suicide bombers detonated rucksacks packed with homemade peroxide explosives on three Underground trains and a double-decker bus…
Benedict XVI elected
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, the German theologian who had been John Paul II's doctrinal enforcer for twenty-four years, became the first pope from his country…
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Frequently asked
What happened in the year 2005?
Saeculum lists 8 events from 2005. The most significant is YouTube is born: Three former PayPal employees registered a domain to share home videos. The first upload, eighteen seconds at the San Diego Zoo, was titled "Me at the zoo."
What era was 2005 part of?
2005 falls within the Contemporary (2001-2026). Networks, climate, and the new uncertainty.
Which regions saw notable events in 2005?
The events from 2005 span North America, Europe, South Asia and Middle East.