Westchester High School

What Events Happened in 2005

• Oil prices rise sharply throughout the year caused by Trouble in the Middle East, and later Hurricane Katrina.
• George W. Bush starts his second term as 43rd President of the United States.
• The Kyoto Protocol which is intended to cut global emissions of greenhouse gasses comes into effect, without the support of the United States and Australia.
• Earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale More than 500 people are killed and over 1,000 injured in southern Iran.
• Earthquake magnitude 7.6 strikes Kashmir leaving an estimated 70,000 dead and 70,000 more injured
• Earthquake struck off Sumatra, magnitude of 8.7 it is the second largest earthquake since 1965.
• Pope John Paul II dies; over 4 million people travel to the Vatican to mourn him.
• Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger has been elected as the new Pope, he has taken the name Pope Benedict XVI
• MG Rover, the UK's sole remaining volume producer goes into receivership
• Tony Blair elected for third term
• The marriage of The Prince of Wales and Camilla Parker Bowles takes place
• The IRA announces end to armed conflict and gives up its weapons to independent weapons inspectors
• Israeli settlers are forced to leave settlements in the Gaza Strip as part of peace settlement
• Syria withdraws the last of its 14,000 troop military garrison in Lebanon ending its twenty nine year military occupation
• The Disneyland Resort celebrates it 50th birthday
• Lance Armstrong wins a record seventh straight Tours de France before his scheduled retirement
• Civil unrest continues in Paris suburbs President Jacques Chirac announced a national state of emergency
• Dennis Rader, the BTK ( Bind, Torture and Kill, ) serial killer, is charged with 10 counts of murder in Wichita, Kan
• Following 8 years of legal wrangling in the courts Terri Schiavo's feeding tube is removed and she dies 13 days later.
• Hurricane Katrina strikes the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama coastal areas. Levees separating Lake Pontchartrain from New Orleans, Louisiana were breached by the surge, ultimately flooding roughly 80% of the city of New Orleans and 1600 perished
• Hurricane Stan hits Mexico and Central America killing over 1,620 people.
• Eric Rudolph (Olympic Park Bomber) sentenced to multiple life sentences.
• A tornado hits western Kentucky and southwestern Indiana, killing at least 22.
• Michael Jackson is found not guilty of Child Molestation Charges.
• New York City's Transport Workers Union goes on strike for three days, shutting down all New York City Subway and Bus services.
• London Bombings Four explosions rock the transport network in London, three on the London Underground and one on a bus. Over 50 deaths were reported, and over 200 injured
• London wins the right to stage the 2012 Olympic Games.
• Multnomah County Chair Linn, Oregon announced the county would begin granting licenses for same-sex marriages. The Oregon Supreme Court nullified nearly 3,000 marriage licenses issued to same-sex couples
• A series of explosions led to an enormous fire at one of Britain's largest oil depots Buncefield oil depot near Hemel Hempstead in Hertfordshire
• President George W Bush at the G8 summit tells other leaders he will not support legally binding reductions on carbon emissions
• Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, wins a landslide victory in Iran's presidential poll
• Terrorist Attacks in Sharm al-Sheikh, Egypt kill 90
• United States Supreme Court ruled Medicinal Use Of Marijuana users can be prosecuted for violating federal drug laws.
• President George W. Bush acknowledged he'd personally authorized a secret eavesdropping program in the U.S. following Sept. 11
• President George W. Bush signed the new act making it harder for those with large debts to wipe clean their financial slates by declaring bankruptcy under Chapter 7 "New Bankruptcy Law"
  

Popular Culture 2005

• Janet Jackson's breast is briefly exposed by Justin Timberlake during the Super Bowl halftime show
  
• The highly controversial Fahrenheit 9/11 film opens in US Movie Theaters

Popular Films

• Harry Potter and the Goblet of Fire
  
• Star Wars Episode III Revenge of the Sith
  
• The Chronicles of Narnia: The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe
  
• War of the Worlds
  
• King Kong
  
• Madagascar
  
• Mr. & Mrs. Smith
  
• Charlie and the Chocolate Factory
  
• Batman Begins
  
• Hitch
  
• Crash
  
• Brokeback Mountain
  
• Capote
  
• Walk the Line
  

Popular Musicians

• Mariah Carey
  
• Green Day
  
• 50 Cent
  
• Kelly Clarkson
  
• The Black Eyed Peas
  
• Coldplay
  
• Rascal Flatts
  
• Gwen Stefani
  
• The Killers
  
• Kenny Chesney
  
• Keith Urban
  
• Carrie Underwood
  
• Faith Hill
  
• Sugarland
  
• Toby Keith
  
• Eminem
  
• Dave Matthews Band
  
• Gretchen Wilson
  
• Usher
  
• Foo Fighters
  
• Hilary Duff
  
• Madonna
  
• Shania Twain
  
• Weezer
  
• Destiny's Child
  
• Guns N' Roses
  
• Franz Ferdinand
  

Technology 2005

• Steve Fossett breaks world record by completing the first non-stop, non-refueled, solo flight around the world in the Virgin Atlantic GlobalFlyer.
• The Superjumbo jet aircraft Airbus A380 makes its first flight from Toulouse.
• Microsoft releases the Xbox 360 gaming console in North America.
• The Spanish flu virus is reconstructed and shown to be closely related to the Avian flu virus.
• Research by the Women's Health Initiative (WHI) suggests that women who take Hormone Replacement Therapy are more at risk from breast cancer, heart disease and stroke.