2005

Famous deadly events

3,100,000 dead: Worldwide AIDS epidemic ref: unaids.org
87,000 dead: Earthquake in northern Pakistan
2,000 dead: Hurricane Stan hits Central America
1,800 dead: Floods in Pakistan
1,323 dead: Hurricane Katrina strikes US gulf states
1,313 dead: Earthquake in Indonesia
1,000 dead: Monsoons strike western India
950 dead: Stampede in Baghdad
844 dead: American troop losses in Iraq
653 dead: Floods in China
612 dead: Earthquake in Iran
280 dead: Marburg virus outbreak in Angola
250 dead: Stampede in Wai, India
209 dead: Mining explosion in China
200 dead: Flooding in Aghanistan
107 dead: Train crash in Osaka
105 dead: Flooding in India
88 dead: Terrorist bombings in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt.
74 dead: Terrorist bombings in Pakistan
56 dead: Terrorist bombings in London
22 dead: Terrorist bombings in Bali

Actors who Died

Richard Pryor (aged 65; The Toy)
James Doohan (aged 85; Chief Engineer of the Starship Enterprise)
Sandra Dee (aged 62; Gidget)
Bob Denver (aged 70; Gilligan)
Pat Morita (aged 73; Mr Miyagi)
Don Adams (aged 70; Maxwell Smart and the voice of Inspector Gadget)
Sir John Mills (aged 97; Mr Chips)
John Spencer (aged 58; Chief of Staff for the Bartlett presidency)
Barbara Bel Geddes (aged 82; Miss Ellie Ewing)

Writers who Died

Arthur Miller (aged 89; playwright)
Hunter S. Thompson (aged 67; writer)

TV Guys who Died

Peter Jennings (aged 67; ABC news anchor)
Johnny Carson (aged 79; Tonight Show host)

Leaders who Died

Pope John Paul II (aged 85; pontiff)
Edward Heath (aged 89; former British Prime Minister)
Lord James Callaghan (aged 92; another former British Prime Minister)
Robin Cook (aged 59; former British Foreign Minister)
Stanley 'Tookie' Williams (aged 51; former leader of the Crips)
Cardinal Jaime Sin (aged 76; religious leader in the Philippines)
David Lange (aged 63; former New Zealand Prime Minister)
Rafiq Hariri (aged 61; former Prime Minister of Lebanon)
King Fahd (aged 84; ruler of Saudi Arabia)
Rtd Gen. William Westmoreland (aged 91; led US forces in the Vietnam War)
Milton Obote (aged 80; former Ugandan President)
K.R. Narayanan (aged 85; former Indian President)
William Rehnquist (aged 80; US Chief Justice)
Kerry Packer (aged 67; media magnate)
Frank Perdue (aged 84; chicken magnate)

Athletes who Died

Max Schmeling (aged 100; boxer)
George Best (aged 59; soccer player)

Other Famous People who Died

Simon Wiesenthal (aged 97; Nazi hunter)
Rosa Parks (aged 92; US civil rights figure)
Johnnie Cochran Jr. (aged 67; lawyer)
Terri Schiavo (aged 41; person at the centre of a debate on euthanasia)

What we listened to