On this day
Revisit the music, news, notable people, and historical moments connected to this date.
In 2005, the world population was approximately 6,586,970,132 people[†]
Music on My Birthday
The Top 50 albums for the chart week of December 29, 2004, covering January 4, 2005.
2Pac
Various Artists
Eminem
Shania Twain
U2
Destiny's Child
Ashanti
Toby Keith
Usher
Jay-Z/Linkin Park
2005Dafne Keen, British-Spanish actress[†]
Dafne Keen Fernández is a Spanish and British actress. Keen made her debut as a child actor on the series The Refugees (2015). Her breakthrough role was as Laura, in the X-Men superhero film Logan (2017) which she reprised for the Marvel Cinematic Universe (MCU) film Deadpool & Wolverine (2024). She also starred as Lyra Belacqua in the television series His Dark Materials (2019–2022) and Jecki Lon in the Star Wars series The Acolyte (2024).
2005Rob Dillingham, American basketball player[†]
Robert Deon Potasi Dillingham is an American professional basketball player for the Minnesota Timberwolves of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He played college basketball for the Kentucky Wildcats. He was a five-star recruit who previously played professionally for the Cold Hearts and Blue Checks with Karter Knox in Overtime Elite during what would have been his senior year in high school. Dillingham became a guard for Kentucky during the 2023–24 season.
2005Bud Poile, Canadian ice hockey player, coach, and manager (born 1924)[†]
Norman Robert "Bud" Poile was a professional ice hockey player, coach, general manager, and league executive. Bud was the brother of Don Poile, and the father of David Poile.
2005Frank Harary, American mathematician and academic (born 1921)[†]
Frank Harary was an American mathematician, who specialized in graph theory. He was widely recognized as one of the "fathers" of modern graph theory. Harary was a master of clear exposition and, together with his many doctoral students, he standardized the terminology of graphs. He broadened the reach of this field to include physics, psychology, sociology, and even anthropology. Gifted with a keen sense of humor, Harary challenged and entertained audiences at all levels of mathematical sophistication. A particular trick he employed was to turn theorems into games—for instance, students would try to add red edges to a graph on six vertices in order to create a red triangle, while another group of students tried to add edges to create a blue triangle. Because of the theorem on friends and strangers, one team or the other would have to win.
2005Humphrey Carpenter, English radio host and author (born 1946)[†]
Humphrey William Bouverie Carpenter was an English biographer, writer, and radio broadcaster. He is known especially for his biographies of J. R. R. Tolkien and other members of the literary society the Inklings. He won a Mythopoeic Award for his book The Inklings in 1982.
2005Robert Heilbroner, American economist and historian (born 1919)[†]
Robert L. Heilbroner was an American economist and historian of economic thought. The author of some two dozen books, Heilbroner was best known for The Worldly Philosophers: The Lives, Times and Ideas of the Great Economic Thinkers (1953), a survey of the lives and contributions of famous economists, notably Adam Smith, Karl Marx, and John Maynard Keynes.
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World Business section of New York Times and daily stock market tables will be combined into main Business Day section beginning Jan 4 (S)
Iraqi Leader Calls Bush After a Day of Bomb Attacks Bombing attacks killed at least 20 people, including 4 in a suicideblast, right, near Prime Minister Ayad Allawi's headquarters in Baghdad. After the attacks, Dr. Allawi called President Bush and discussed the many impediments still facing the country as it heads toward elections in 27 days, according to senior American officials familiar with the call.
Robert Acuna of Baytown, Tex, convicted of killing two elderly neighbors, may be last person to enter death row for crime committed before age 18; he and 71 other juvenile offenders on death row will be spared if Supreme Court prohibits execution of 16- and 17-year-olds, in case it accepted year ago; it is expected to rule in next few months; central issue before court is whether plummeting number of such death sentences--just two last year--lends weight to argument that putting youths on death row amounts to cruel and unusual punishment; supporters of juvenile death penalty argue that small number proves that system works and that juries are making discerning choices on whom to sentence to death; but questions have been raised about how reliable and consistent juries have been in making those decisions; in Acuna's case, evidence against him was largely circumstantial, but his behavior at trial may have alienated jury; other cases reviewed; photos; maps; chart (L)
American military is considering adding hundreds of military advisers to work directly with Iraqi units, whose disappointing performance could jeopardize long-term American exit strategy from Iraq; new advisers would bolster Iraqi will to fight, help train officers who would lead troops, curb desertion and provide Iraqi forces with confidence that American units would back them up, in some cases fighting alongside them if needed; new advisers would join several hundred American troops already embedded with Iraqi units; embedding more Americans with Iraqis would mean diverting troops away from combat operations, possibly risky move at time when commanders say they need troops to press offensive against insurgents; but plan addresses widely acknowledged need; Pres Bush himself voiced concern about poor performance of Iraqi troops in Dec 20 news conference (M)
Sri Lankan government representatives and Tamil Tiger rebels--mortal enemies in brutal civil war--are sitting together in bullet-riddled building in Puthkady Junction, planning distribution of relief aid to tsunami victims; elsewhere in country, ordinary government and Tamil Tiger soldiers are working together to repair tsunami-damaged roads; checkpoint commanders on both sides have loosened rules to ease flow of aid; government hospital has even accepted injured rebel official for treatment; such open signs of cooperation are extraordinary in region where rebels have maintained what is effectively separate country for two decades; increased grass-roots cooperation between two sides seen as one facet of deeply felt, deeply emotional response that has swept across nation of 19.5 million since merciless sea swept away 30,000 of its people; photo (M)
Grasso's Lawyers Request Internal Report on Pay Lawyers for Richard A. Grasso, the former chairman of the New York Stock Exchange, have filed a court motion asking for an internal report that chronicles how he came to receive his $139.5 million pay package. The request increases the possibility that the report, which has been seen only by the new stock exchange board and regulators, could be made public. [Page C2.] Former F.B.I. Agent Testifies Jeffrey A. Royer, left, the former F.B.I. agent accused of providing confidential information to a controversial stock adviser, took the stand in his own defense. Mr. Royer said he had simply been cultivating a valuable source, and did not expect anything but information from the adviser in return. [C2.] India's Boom Reaches Small Cities A younger population in India is enjoying fancier products and services. [C5.] Walgreen's Drug Sales Stay Strong Walgreen, the drugstore chain, reported its largest quarterly earnings increase in four years, a 31 percent jump. [C7.] List of Medicare Drugs Released A federal panel announced a list of 146 types of prescription drugs that should be covered under Medicare's new drug benefit. [A12.] The Crazed Pursuit of Elite Status A desire for first-class upgrades in the new year inspires some strange itineraries in December. On the Road: Joe Sharkey. [C8.]
Oklahoma University and quarterback Jason White prepare to face Southern California University and quarterback Matt Leinart in Bowl Championship Series title game at Orange Bowl (M)
New York City, which is home to large number of immigrants speaking dozens of languages, also exhibits quirky and curious displays of so-called immigrant street poetry in storefront signs that often misspell English words and combine them in confusing ways; photos (M)
Former New Jersey Governor James E McGreevey, who resigned after admitting he is gay, is separating from wife Dina Matos McGreevey and enjoying some privacy, but contemplates another role in civil life; photo (M)
Article on Greg Gutfeld, an American who is editor of Maxim, monthly British men's magazine; Maxim has been hurt by introduction of two new weekly 'lad' magazines, Nuts and Zoo; photo (M)
Crew of about 100 workers begins lowering thousands of steel bases onto walkways in Central Park in preparation for installation of The Gates; $20 million project, quarter-century in the making and financed by the artists Christo and Jeanne-Claude, will be made up of bases supporting 7,500 gates festooned with saffron-colored fabric panels along 23 miles of parks' pedestrian walkways--from 59th Street to 110th Street; photos (M)
Recent catastrophic tsunami in Indian Ocean has prompted scientists to look at improving warning system in region; they acknowledge, however, that predicting when another earthquake and subsequent tsunami would occur is impossible with current technology; anatomy of tsunami and detection devices described; computer model of impact of 1700 earthquake off United States Pacific Northwest coast discussed; tsunamis, which can also be triggered by volcanoes, landslides and asteroids, cover large expanses of ocean in short periods of time without altering surface appearance of water until landfall; maps; photos (L)