Timeline of events

 


1974:

  1. Richard Nixon's resignation due to the Watergate scandal (August 8)

  2. Impeachment process against Nixon begins (July 27)

  3. Patty Hearst is kidnapped by the Symbionese Liberation Army (February 4)

  4. Turkey invades Cyprus (July 20)

  5. India successfully tests its first nuclear device (May 18)

  6. The Universal Product Code (UPC) is first used (June 26)

  7. Ethiopian Emperor Haile Selassie is overthrown (September 12)

  8. The Rumble in the Jungle: Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman (October 30)

  9. The World Health Organization (WHO) declares smallpox eradicated (December 9)

  10. The first extraterrestrial message sent by humans, Arecibo Message (November 16)

1975:

  1. Fall of Saigon, marking the end of the Vietnam War (April 30)

  2. Margaret Thatcher becomes leader of the UK Conservative Party (February 11)

  3. The Helsinki Accords are signed (August 1)

  4. The first personal computer, the Altair 8800, is released (December)

  5. Microsoft is founded by Bill Gates and Paul Allen (April 4)

  6. The Khmer Rouge takes power in Cambodia (April 17)

  7. The Suez Canal reopens after being closed for eight years (June 5)

  8. King Faisal of Saudi Arabia is assassinated (March 25)

  9. Arthur Ashe becomes the first black man to win Wimbledon (July 5)

  10. The movie "Jaws" is released, becoming the first summer blockbuster (June 20)

1976:

  1. The United States celebrates its Bicentennial (July 4)

  2. The Soweto Uprising in South Africa (June 16)

  3. The Concorde supersonic jet begins commercial service (January 21)

  4. Apple Inc. is founded by Steve Jobs, Steve Wozniak, and Ronald Wayne (April 1)

  5. The Viking 1 lander touches down on Mars (July 20)

  6. The Winter Olympic Games are held in Innsbruck, Austria (February 4-15)

  7. The first Ebola virus outbreak occurs in Sudan and Zaire (June 27)

  8. The Tangshan earthquake in China kills over 240,000 people (July 28)

  9. Chairman Mao Zedong of China dies (September 9)

  10. Jimmy Carter is elected President of the United States (November 2)

1977:

  1. The inauguration of Jimmy Carter as the 39th President of the United States (January 20)

  2. Star Wars is released, becoming a cultural phenomenon (May 25)

  3. Djibouti gains independence from France (June 27)

  4. The New York City blackout (July 13-14)

  5. The launch of the Voyager 1 and Voyager 2 space probes (September 5 & August 20)

  6. The first personal computer with a graphical user interface, the Xerox Alto, is released (March)

  7. The Torrijos-Carter Treaties are signed, leading to the Panama Canal's eventual transfer to Panama (September 7)

  8. The Tenerife airport disaster, the deadliest aviation accident in history (March 27)

  1. The first Apple II computers go on sale (June 10)

  2. The first high-speed train, the TGV, is tested in France (March 31)

1978:

  1. The Camp David Accords between Israel and Egypt (September 17)

  2. The Jonestown massacre in Guyana (November 18)

  3. The first test-tube baby, Louise Brown, is born through IVF (July 25)

  4. The assassination of Italian Prime Minister Aldo Moro by the Red Brigades (May 9)

  5. The World Health Organization (WHO) declares smallpox eradicated (May 8)

  6. The discovery of the wreckage of the Titanic (September 1)

  7. The mass suicide at the Peoples Temple in Jonestown, Guyana (November 18)

  8. Pope John Paul II becomes the first non-Italian Pope in 455 years (October 16)

  9. The Susan B. Anthony dollar coin is released in the United States (July 2)

  10. Spain adopts a new democratic constitution (December 6)

1979:

  1. The Iranian Revolution and the fall of the Shah (February 11)

  2. The Three Mile Island nuclear accident in Pennsylvania, USA (March 28)

  3. The Soviet Union invades Afghanistan (December 24)

  4. Mother Teresa is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize (October 17)

  5. The overthrow of the Somoza regime in Nicaragua (July 19)

  6. The first recorded outbreak of HIV/AIDS (June)

  7. The start of the Iran hostage crisis (November 4)

  8. The Visegrad Group is formed (May 15)

  9. Margaret Thatcher becomes the first female Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (May 4)

  10. The Egypt-Israel Peace Treaty is signed (March 26)

1980:


  1. The Mount St. Helens eruption in Washington State, causing widespread destruction (May 18)
  2. The election of Ronald Reagan as the 40th President of the United States (November 4)
  3. The outbreak of the eight-year-long Iran-Iraq War (September 22)
  4. The World Health Organization declares smallpox eradicated (December 9)
  5. The assassination of former Beatle John Lennon in New York City (December 8)
  6. The founding of Solidarity, the first independent labor union in the Soviet Bloc, in Poland (August 31)
  7. The United States leads a boycott of the Summer Olympics in Moscow, protesting the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan (July 19 - August 3)
  8. The tragic assassination of Archbishop Óscar Romero in El Salvador (March 24)
  9. The launch of CNN, the first 24-hour news channel (June 1)
  10. The tragic eruption of a series of earthquakes in southern Italy, killing over 3,000 people (November 23)

1981:

  1. The inauguration of Ronald Reagan as the 40th President of the United States (January 20)

  2. The assassination attempt on President Ronald Reagan (March 30)

  3. The first Space Shuttle launch, Columbia STS-1 (April 12)

  4. The assassination of Egyptian President Anwar Sadat (October 6)

  5. The launch of IBM's first personal computer, the IBM PC (August 12)

  6. The wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana Spencer (July 29)

  7. The beginning of the HIV/AIDS epidemic identified by the CDC (June 5)

  8. The imposition of martial law in Poland in response to the Solidarity movement (December 13)

  9. The first London Marathon (March 29)

  10. The release of the first DeLorean DMC-12 sports car (January 21)

1982:

  1. The Falklands War between Argentina and the United Kingdom (April 2 - June 14)

  2. The Israeli invasion of Lebanon (June 6)

  3. The first artificial heart transplant performed on Barney Clark (December 2)

  4. The dedication of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial in Washington, D.C. (November 13)

  5. The death of Soviet leader Leonid Brezhnev (November 10)

  6. Michael Jackson releases the album "Thriller" (November 30)

  7. The E.T. movie is released, becoming a major success (June 11)

  8. The construction of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial is completed (November 1)

  9. The Weather Channel is launched in the United States (May 2)

  10. The opening of the World's Fair in Knoxville, Tennessee (May 1)

1983:

  1. The deployment of U.S. cruise missiles and Pershing II missiles in Europe (November)

  2. The bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut, Lebanon (April 18)

  3. Korean Air Flight 007 is shot down by the Soviet Union (September 1)

  4. The U.S. invades Grenada (October 25)

  5. The introduction of the Internet's Domain Name System (DNS) (June)

  6. The first mobile phones are released by Motorola (September 21)

  7. The release of the movie "Star Wars: Episode VI - Return of the Jedi" (May 25)

  8. The bombing of the U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon (October 23)

  9. The Sri Lankan Civil War begins (July 23)

  10. The Brink's-MAT robbery at Heathrow Airport, London (November 26)

1984:

  1. Indira Gandhi, Prime Minister of India, is assassinated (October 31)

  2. The Bhopal gas leak, one of the world's worst industrial disasters (December 3)

  3. The Apple Macintosh computer is introduced (January 24)

  4. The Summer Olympics are held in Los Angeles (July 28 - August 12)

  5. The discovery of the HIV virus as the cause of AIDS (April)

  6. The UK miners' strike begins, lasting over a year (March 6)

  7. The murder of British police officer Yvonne Fletcher outside the Libyan embassy in London (April 17)

  8. The launch of the space shuttle Discovery (August 30)

  9. The first TED conference is held (February 25-27)

  10. The release of the movie "Ghostbusters" (June 8)

1985:

  1. Mikhail Gorbachev becomes the General Secretary of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (March 11)

  2. The sinking of the Rainbow Warrior, a Greenpeace ship, by French agents (July 10)

  3. The Live Aid concerts are held in London and Philadelphia (July 13)

  4. The discovery of the Titanic wreckage by Dr. Robert Ballard (September 1)

  5. The Mexico City earthquake, causing the death of thousands (September 19)

  6. The signing of the Plaza Accord to devalue the U.S. dollar (September 22)

  7. The release of the Nintendo Entertainment System in the United States (October 18)

  8. The hijacking of the Achille Lauro cruise ship by Palestinian terrorists (October 7)

  9. The founding of Windows by Microsoft (November 20)

  10. The first British mobile phone call is made (January 1)

1986:

  1. The Space Shuttle Challenger disaster (January 28)

  2. The Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine (April 26)

  3. The United States launches air strikes against Libya (April 15)

  4. The Iran-Contra affair becomes public (November 25)

  5. The explosion of the space shuttle Challenger (January 28)

  6. The Philippines' People Power Revolution overthrows President Ferdinand Marcos (February 25)

  7. The Oprah Winfrey Show is nationally syndicated (September 8)

  8. The release of the movie "Top Gun" (May 16)

  9. The Reykjavik Summit between Reagan and Gorbachev (October 11-12)

  10. The M25 motorway is completed around London (October 29)

1987:

  1. The signing of the Intermediate-Range Nuclear Forces (INF) Treaty between the United States and the Soviet Union (December 8)

  2. The Black Monday stock market crash (October 19)

  3. The release of the report on the causes of the Challenger disaster (June 9)

  4. The first World AIDS Day is held (December 1)

  5. The release of the movie "Dirty Dancing" (August 21)

  6. The Zeebrugge ferry disaster in Belgium (March 6)

  7. Construction begins on the Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France (December 15)

  8. The introduction of Prozac, an antidepressant drug (February)

  9. DNA is first used to convict a criminal (September)

  10. The United States Senate rejects Robert Bork's nomination to the Supreme Court (October 23)

1988:

  1. The Lockerbie bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 over Scotland (December 21)

  2. The 1988 Summer Olympics are held in Seoul, South Korea (September 17 - October 2)

  3. The first World AIDS Day (December 1)

  4. The election of George H. W. Bush as the 41st President of the United States (November 8)

  5. The Piper Alpha oil rig explosion in the North Sea (July 6)

  6. The Soviet Union begins its withdrawal from Afghanistan (May 15)

  7. The first Internet worm, the Morris Worm, is released (November 2)

  8. The release of the movie "Rain Man" (December 16)

  9. The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict begins between Armenia and Azerbaijan (February)

  10. The discovery of the "Supernova 1987A" in the Large Magellanic Cloud (February 24)

1989:

  1. The fall of the Berlin Wall (November 9)

  2. The Tiananmen Square protests in China (April 15 - June 4)

  3. The Exxon Valdez oil spill in Alaska (March 24)

  4. The Velvet Revolution in Czechoslovakia (November 17 - December 10)

  5. The Romanian Revolution and execution of Nicolae Ceaușescu (December 22)

  6. The first GPS satellite is launched (February 14)

  7. The release of the first Game Boy by Nintendo (April 21)

  8. The San Francisco earthquake, also known as the Loma Prieta earthquake (October 17)

  9. The Malta Summit between George H. W. Bush and Mikhail Gorbachev (December 2-3)

  10. The inauguration of George H. W. Bush as the 41st President of the United States (January 20)

1990:

  1. The reunification of Germany (October 3)

  2. The launch of the Hubble Space Telescope (April 24)

  3. Nelson Mandela is released from prison after 27 years (February 11)

  4. Iraq invades Kuwait, leading to the Gulf War (August 2)

  5. The World Health Organization (WHO) removes homosexuality from the list of mental illnesses (May 17)

  6. The dissolution of the Soviet Union begins (January)

  7. The election of Lech Walesa as President of Poland (December 9)

  8. The release of the movie "Home Alone" (November 16)

  9. The Channel Tunnel between the United Kingdom and France is completed (May 4)

  10. The signing of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (July 26)

1991:

  1. The collapse of the Soviet Union (December 26)

  2. The Gulf War between Iraq and a coalition of 35 countries led by the United States (January 17 - February 28)

  3. The dissolution of Yugoslavia, leading to the Yugoslav Wars (June 25)

  4. The World Wide Web is introduced by Tim Berners-Lee (August 6)

  5. The eruption of Mount Pinatubo in the Philippines (June 15)

  6. The release of the movie "The Silence of the Lambs" (February 14)

  7. The establishment of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD) (April 15)

  8. The United States Senate confirms Clarence Thomas to the Supreme Court (October 15)

  9. The Indian economic crisis leads to the implementation of liberalization policies (July)

  10. The release of the Super Nintendo Entertainment System (SNES) in North America (August 23)

1992:

  1. The signing of the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) (December 17)

  2. The Maastricht Treaty is signed, leading to the creation of the European Union (February 7)

  3. The Los Angeles riots following the acquittal of police officers in the Rodney King beating trial (April 29 - May 4)

  4. The release of the movie "Reservoir Dogs" (January 21)

  5. The official opening of the Euro Disney theme park (now Disneyland Paris) (April 12)

  6. Hurricane Andrew devastates Florida and the Gulf Coast of the United States (August 24)

  7. The Earth Summit takes place in Rio de Janeiro (June 3-14)

  8. The first SMS text message is sent (December 3)

  9. The Bosnian War begins (April 6)

  10. The separation of Prince Charles and Princess Diana (December 9)

1993:

  1. The signing of the Oslo Accords between Israel and the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO) (September 13)

  2. The establishment of the European Single Market (January 1)

  3. The inauguration of Bill Clinton as the 42nd President of the United States (January 20)

  4. The World Trade Center bombing in New York City (February 26)

  5. The release of the movie "Jurassic Park" (June 11)

  6. The siege of the Branch Davidian compound in Waco, Texas (February 28 - April 19)

  7. The European Union is formally established with the entry into force of the Maastricht Treaty (November 1)

  8. The Great Flood of 1993 in the United States (June - August)

  9. The Battle of Mogadishu in Somalia (October 3-4)

  10. The release of the Mosaic web browser, the first popular web browser (April)

1994:

  1. The Rwandan Genocide (April 7 - July 15)

  2. South Africa holds its first multiracial elections, and Nelson Mandela is elected president (April 27)

  3. The Channel Tunnel connecting the United Kingdom and France officially opens (May 6)

  4. The North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) goes into effect (January 1)

  5. The O.J. Simpson murder case and subsequent trial (June 12)

  6. The signing of the Israel-Jordan peace treaty (October 26)

  7. The first genetically modified tomatoes, called Flavr Savr, are approved for sale in the United States (May 18)

  8. The release of the movie "Forrest Gump" (July 6)

  9. The 1994 Winter Olympics are held in Lillehammer, Norway (February 12-27)

  10. The death of Kurt Cobain, lead singer of the band Nirvana (April 5)

1995:

  1. The Oklahoma City bombing (April 19)

  2. The Dayton Agreement, which ends the Bosnian War (November 21)

  3. The O.J. Simpson trial ends with a not guilty verdict (October 3)

  4. The launch of the online auction site eBay (September 3)

  5. The Srebrenica massacre during the Bosnian War (July 11)

  6. The Great Hanshin Earthquake in Kobe, Japan (January 17)

  7. The release of the movie "Toy Story," the first feature-length film created entirely using computer-generated imagery (November 22)

  8. The assassination of Israeli Prime Minister Yitzhak Rabin (November 4)

  9. The Quebec independence referendum, narrowly rejecting sovereignty (October 30)

  10. The World Trade Organization (WTO) is established (January 1)

1996:

  1. The signing of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty (September 24)

  2. The Dunblane school massacre in Scotland (March 13)

  3. The Centennial Olympic Park bombing in Atlanta, Georgia (July 27)

  4. The first cloned mammal, Dolly the Sheep, is born (July 5)

  5. The Unabomber, Theodore Kaczynski, is arrested (April 3)

  6. The Khobar Towers bombing in Saudi Arabia (June 25)

  7. The election of Benjamin Netanyahu as Prime Minister of Israel (May 29)

  8. The release of the movie "Fargo" (March 8)

  9. The divorce of Prince Charles and Princess Diana is finalized (August 28)

  10. The introduction of the Nintendo 64 gaming console (June 23)

1997:

  1. The death of Princess Diana (August 31)

  2. The transfer of Hong Kong's sovereignty from the United Kingdom to China (July 1)

  3. The first successful landing on Mars by NASA's Mars Pathfinder (July 4)

  4. The Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty on climate change, is adopted (December 11)

  5. The election of Tony Blair as Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (May 2)

  6. The cloning of Dolly the Sheep is announced (February 22)

  7. The release of the first Harry Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" (June 26)

  8. The Heaven's Gate cult mass suicide (March 26)

  9. The release of the movie "Titanic" (December 19)

  10. The Asian financial crisis begins (July)

1998:

  1. The Good Friday Agreement is signed in Northern Ireland (April 10)

  2. The United States President Bill Clinton is impeached by the House of Representatives (December 19)

  3. The launch of Google, the search engine company (September 4)

  4. The bombing of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania by al-Qaeda (August 7)

  5. The European Central Bank is established (June 1)

  6. The Ice Storm of 1998 in North America (January 4-10)

  7. The release of the movie "Saving Private Ryan" (July 24)

  8. The 1998 Winter Olympics are held in Nagano, Japan (February 7-22)

  9. The first successful use of the International Space Station (ISS) (November 20)

  10. The introduction of Viagra, the first oral treatment for erectile dysfunction (March 27)

1999:

  1. The introduction of the Euro currency in 11 European Union countries (January 1)

  2. The Columbine High School massacre in Littleton, Colorado (April 20)

  3. The Kosovo War and NATO intervention (March 24 - June 10)

  4. The Y2K computer bug raises concerns about potential widespread system failures (throughout the year)

  5. The World Trade Organization (WTO) protests in Seattle, also known as the "Battle of Seattle" (November 30 - December 3)

  6. The release of the movie "The Matrix" (March 31)

  7. The Indian Airlines Flight 814 hijacking (December 24)

  8. The death of King Hussein of Jordan and the ascension of King Abdullah II (February 7)

  9. The Mont Blanc Tunnel fire in France and Italy (March 24)

  10. The 7.6 magnitude Ä°zmit earthquake in Turkey, killing more than 17,000 people (August 17)

2000:

  1. The controversial United States presidential election between George W. Bush and Al Gore (November 7)

  2. The opening of the Millennium Dome in London (January 1)

  3. The 2000 Summer Olympics are held in Sydney, Australia (September 15 - October 1)

  4. The first crew arrives at the International Space Station (ISS) (November 2)

  5. The release of the movie "Gladiator" (May 5)

  6. The 2000 Concorde crash in France (July 25)

  7. The USS Cole bombing in Yemen (October 12)

  8. The completion of a rough draft of the human genome by the Human Genome Project (June 26)

  9. The United Nations Millennium Summit, the largest gathering of world leaders in history (September 6-8)

  10. The dot-com bubble peaks, preceding the eventual burst and crash of the technology sector (March)

2001:

  1. The September 11 terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon (September 11)

  2. The United States and its allies invade Afghanistan in response to the September 11 attacks (October 7)

  3. The inauguration of George W. Bush as the 43rd President of the United States (January 20)

  4. The release of the first Apple iPod (October 23)

  5. The 2001 Gujarat earthquake in India, killing more than 20,000 people (January 26)

  6. The launch of the online encyclopedia, Wikipedia (January 15)

  7. The arrest of Slobodan Milosevic, former President of Yugoslavia, for war crimes (March 31)

  8. The United Kingdom foot-and-mouth disease outbreak (February - September)

  9. The release of the movie "The Lord of the Rings: The Fellowship of the Ring" (December 19)

  10. The Enron scandal, one of the largest corporate fraud cases in history (October)

2002:

  1. The Euro currency is introduced in physical form in 12 European Union countries (January 1)

  2. The Beltway sniper attacks in Washington, D.C., Maryland, and Virginia (October 2-24)

  3. The Bali bombings in Indonesia, killing 202 people (October 12)

  4. The International Criminal Court (ICC) is established (July 1)

  5. The release of the movie "Spider-Man" (May 3)

  6. The 2002 Winter Olympics are held in Salt Lake City, Utah (February 8-24)

  7. The abduction and murder of Wall Street Journal reporter Daniel Pearl (January 23 - February 1)

  8. The Mars Odyssey spacecraft discovers water ice on Mars (May 28)

  9. The UN Security Council unanimously approves Resolution 1441, demanding Iraq disarm and allow weapons inspections (November 8)

  10. The African Union (AU) is established (July 9)

2003:

  1. The United States and its allies invade Iraq, starting the Iraq War (March 20)

  2. The space shuttle Columbia disaster (February 1)

  3. The largest-ever coordinated global protest, with millions of people demonstrating against the Iraq War (February 15)

  4. The completion of the Human Genome Project, with 99% of the human genome sequenced to 99.99% accuracy (April 14)

  5. The Concorde makes its last commercial flight (October 24)

  6. The capture of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein by U.S. forces (December 13)

  7. The SARS (Severe Acute Respiratory Syndrome) outbreak (November 2002 - July 2003)

  8. The release of the movie "The Lord of the Rings: The Return of the King" (December 17)

  9. The largest-ever recorded power outage in North America, affecting around 50 million people (August 14-15)

  10. The assassination of Serbian Prime Minister Zoran Djindjic (March 12)

2004:

  1. The Indian Ocean earthquake and tsunami, killing more than 230,000 people (December 26)

  2. The European Union expands to include ten new member states (May 1)

  3. The Beslan school hostage crisis in Russia (September 1-3)

  4. The launch of Facebook by Mark Zuckerberg (February 4)

  5. The 2004 Summer Olympics are held in Athens, Greece (August 13-29)

  6. The release of the movie "Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind" (March 19)

  7. The first privately-funded human spaceflight, SpaceShipOne, reaches space (June 21)

  8. The re-election of George W. Bush as President of the United States (November 2)

  9. The Madrid train bombings, killing 193 people (March 11)

  10. The Mars rovers Spirit and Opportunity land on Mars (January 3 and January 24)

2005:

  1. Hurricane Katrina devastates the Gulf Coast of the United States, particularly New Orleans (August 29)

  2. The London bombings, killing 52 people (July 7)

  3. The death of Pope John Paul II and the election of Pope Benedict XVI (April 2 and April 19)

  4. The Kyoto Protocol, an international treaty on climate change, comes into effect (February 16)

  5. The release of the movie "Brokeback Mountain" (December 9)

  6. The G8 Summit in Gleneagles, Scotland, with a focus on poverty reduction and climate change (July 6-8)

  7. The first human face transplant is performed in France (November 27)

  8. The opening of the Disneyland Resort in Hong Kong (September 12)

  9. The Kashmir earthquake, killing over 87,000 people (October 8)

  10. The establishment of YouTube, a video-sharing platform (February 14)

2006:

  1. The execution of former Iraqi President Saddam Hussein (December 30)

  2. The Israel-Hezbollah War in Lebanon (July 12 - August 14)

  3. North Korea conducts its first nuclear test (October 9)

  4. The release of the movie "The Departed" (October 6)

  5. The Sago Mine disaster in West Virginia, United States (January 2)

  6. The 2006 Winter Olympics are held in Turin, Italy (February 10-26)

  7. The launch of Twitter, a social media platform (March 21)

  8. The United Nations Human Rights Council is established (March 15)

  9. The death of Abu Musab al-Zarqawi, leader of al-Qaeda in Iraq (June 7)

  10. NASA's New Horizons spacecraft is launched, with the goal of exploring Pluto (January 19)

2007:

  1. The iPhone is introduced by Apple Inc. (January 9)

  2. The Virginia Tech shooting in Blacksburg, Virginia, killing 32 people (April 16)

  3. The release of the final Harry Potter book, "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows" (July 21)

  4. The start of the global financial crisis, with the collapse of the U.S. subprime mortgage market (ongoing)

  5. The Nobel Peace Prize is awarded to Al Gore and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) (October 12)

  6. The assassination of former Pakistani Prime Minister Benazir Bhutto (December 27)

  7. The release of the movie "No Country for Old Men" (November 9)

  8. The pet food recall, affecting more than 100 brands in North America (March 16)

  9. The Dow Jones Industrial Average reaches its highest level in history at 14,164.53 (October 9)

  10. The Kosovo declaration of independence from Serbia (February 17, 2008)

2008:

  1. The election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States (November 4)

  2. The global financial crisis deepens, leading to government bailouts and stimulus packages (ongoing)

  3. The 2008 Summer Olympics are held in Beijing, China (August 8-24)

  4. The Large Hadron Collider, the world's largest and most powerful particle collider, is inaugurated (September 10)

  5. Russia invades Georgia, leading to a brief war (August 7-12)

  6. The terrorist attacks in Mumbai, India, killing 166 people (November 26-29)

  7. The release of the movie "Slumdog Millionaire" (November 12)

  8. Cyclone Nargis hits Myanmar, killing more than 138,000 people (May 2)

  9. The discovery of water ice on Mars by the Phoenix Mars Lander (June 19)

  10. The Sichuan earthquake in China, killing more than 87,000 people (May 12)

2009:

  1. The H1N1 influenza pandemic, also known as swine flu (April 2009 - August 2010)

  2. The inauguration of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States (January 20)

  3. The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (December 7-18)

  4. The "Miracle on the Hudson," when US Airways Flight 1549 safely lands in the Hudson River (January 15)

  5. The release of the movie "Avatar" (December 18)

  6. The Iranian presidential election and subsequent protests, also known as the Green Movement (June 12-ongoing)

  7. The death of pop star Michael Jackson (June 25)

  8. The outbreak of the Somali Civil War (ongoing)

  9. The Pirate Bay trial, resulting in the conviction of the website's founders (April 17)

  10. North Korea conducts its second nuclear test (May 25)

2010:

  1. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico (April 20)

  2. The earthquake in Haiti, killing more than 230,000 people (January 12)

  3. The rescue of 33 miners trapped underground for 69 days in Chile (August 5 - October 13)

  4. The eruption of the Eyjafjallajökull volcano in Iceland, causing massive disruption to air travel (April 14)

  5. The adoption of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), also known as Obamacare, in the United States (March 23)

  6. The release of the movie "Inception" (July 16)

  7. The Arab Spring begins with the Tunisian Revolution (December 17)

  8. WikiLeaks publishes thousands of classified documents related to the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq (July 25 and October 22)

  9. The 2010 Winter Olympics are held in Vancouver, Canada (February 12-28)

  10. The formation of the European Financial Stability Facility (EFSF) to combat the Eurozone debt crisis (June 7)

2011:

  1. The Arab Spring spreads across the Middle East and North Africa, with major protests and uprisings in countries such as Egypt, Libya, and Syria (ongoing)

  2. The earthquake and tsunami in Japan, leading to the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster (March 11)

  3. The death of al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden in a U.S. military operation (May 2)

  4. The United Nations declares a famine in Somalia, affecting millions of people (July 20)

  5. The release of the movie "The Artist" (November 25)

  6. The Occupy Wall Street movement begins in New York City (September 17)

  7. The launch of the Mars Science Laboratory (MSL) mission, carrying the Curiosity rover (November 26)

  8. The wedding of Prince William and Catherine Middleton in the United Kingdom (April 29)

  9. The end of the Space Shuttle program, with the final flight of Atlantis (July 8)

  10. Apple Inc. co-founder Steve Jobs passes away (October 5)

2012:

  1. The re-election of Barack Obama as President of the United States (November 6)

  2. The Curiosity rover successfully lands on Mars (August 6)

  3. The shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Connecticut, killing 26 people (December 14)

  4. The Costa Concordia cruise ship disaster off the coast of Italy (January 13)

  5. The 2012 Summer Olympics are held in London, United Kingdom (July 27 - August 12)

  6. The release of the movie "The Avengers" (May 4)

  7. The Higgs boson particle is discovered at CERN's Large Hadron Collider (July 4)

  8. The Gangnam Style music video by Psy becomes the first video to reach 1 billion views on YouTube (December 21)

  9. The United Nations General Assembly upgrades Palestine to a non-member observer state (November 29)

  10. Hurricane Sandy, causing widespread destruction in the Caribbean and the United States (October 22-29)

2013:

  1. The Boston Marathon bombing, killing three people and injuring hundreds (April 15)

  2. The election of Pope Francis, following the resignation of Pope Benedict XVI (March 13)

  3. Edward Snowden releases classified information about the NSA's global surveillance programs (June 5)

  4. The death of Nelson Mandela, former South African president and anti-apartheid leader (December 5)

  5. The release of the movie "12 Years a Slave" (October 18)

  6. Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) hits the Philippines, killing over 6,300 people (November 8)

  7. The Westgate shopping mall attack in Nairobi, Kenya, killing 71 people (September 21-24)

  8. The Syrian civil war escalates, with a chemical weapons attack in Ghouta (August 21)

  9. The European Space Agency's (ESA) Gaia satellite is launched to map the Milky Way (December 19)

  10. The 2013 Winter Olympics are held in Sochi, Russia (February 7-23, 2014)

2014:

  1. The outbreak of the Ebola virus epidemic in West Africa (December 2013 - March 2016)

  2. The annexation of Crimea by Russia and the beginning of the Ukraine crisis (February - March)

  3. The disappearance of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH370 (March 8)

  4. The shooting down of Malaysia Airlines Flight MH17 over eastern Ukraine (July 17)

  5. The release of the movie "Birdman" (October 17)

  6. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) captures large parts of Iraq and Syria (ongoing)

  7. The kidnapping of over 200 schoolgirls by Boko Haram in Nigeria (April 14)

  8. The United States and Cuba announce the restoration of diplomatic relations (December 17)

  9. The European Space Agency's (ESA) Philae lander becomes the first spacecraft to land on a comet (November 12)

  10. The Hong Kong pro-democracy protests, also known as the Umbrella Movement (September 26 - December 15)

2015:

  1. The Paris terrorist attacks, killing 130 people (November 13)

  2. The Syrian refugee crisis, with millions of people fleeing the ongoing conflict (ongoing)

  3. The signing of the Iran Nuclear Deal, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) (July 14)

  4. The United States Supreme Court legalizes same-sex marriage nationwide (June 26)

  5. The release of the movie "Mad Max: Fury Road" (May 15)

  6. The Nepal earthquake, killing nearly 9,000 people (April 25)

  7. The FIFA corruption scandal, leading to the arrest of several high-ranking officials (May 27)

  8. The COP21 Paris Agreement, a global treaty to combat climate change (December 12)

  9. The discovery of water flowing on the surface of Mars (September 28)

  10. The launch of the New Horizons spacecraft's flyby of Pluto (July 14)

2016:

  1. The United Kingdom votes to leave the European Union in the Brexit referendum (June 23)

  2. The election of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States (November 8)

  3. The Zika virus outbreak across the Americas (ongoing)

  4. The Orlando nightclub shooting, killing 49 people (June 12)

  5. The release of the movie "La La Land" (December 9)

  6. The Colombian government and the FARC rebel group sign a peace agreement (November 24)

  7. The Panama Papers leak, revealing offshore financial dealings of politicians and public figures (April 3)

  8. The death of Cuban revolutionary leader Fidel Castro (November 25)

  9. The 2016 Summer Olympics are held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (August 5-21)

  10. The signing of the Paris Agreement on climate change (April 22)

2017:

  1. The inauguration of Donald Trump as the 45th President of the United States (January 20)

  2. The #MeToo movement gains widespread attention, highlighting sexual harassment and assault (October)

  3. The Las Vegas shooting, killing 58 people and injuring over 800 (October 1)

  4. The release of the movie "Get Out" (February 24)

  5. The solar eclipse visible across the United States (August 21)

  6. Hurricane Harvey, Irma, and Maria cause widespread destruction in the Caribbean and the United States (August-September)

  7. North Korea conducts its sixth nuclear test and launches several ballistic missiles (ongoing)

  8. The Rohingya refugee crisis, with hundreds of thousands fleeing violence in Myanmar (ongoing)

  9. The declaration of victory over the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) in Iraq (December 9)

  10. The Catalan independence referendum and the subsequent political crisis in Spain (October 1)

2018:

  1. The Parkland school shooting at Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Florida, killing 17 people (February 14)

  2. The rescue of 12 boys and their soccer coach from a flooded cave in Thailand (June 23 - July 10)

  3. The murder of Saudi Arabian journalist Jamal Khashoggi (October 2)

  4. The release of the movie "Black Panther" (February 16)

  5. The United States-North Korea summit between Donald Trump and Kim Jong-un (June 12)

  6. The European Union's General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR) goes into effect (May 25)

  7. The Camp Fire in California becomes the deadliest and most destructive wildfire in the state's history (November 8-25)

  8. The wedding of Prince Harry and Meghan Markle in the United Kingdom (May 19)

  9. The launch of the SpaceX Falcon Heavy rocket, carrying Elon Musk's Tesla Roadster (February 6)

  10. The 2018 Winter Olympics are held in Pyeongchang, South Korea (February 9-25)

2019:

  1. The Notre-Dame de Paris fire, causing extensive damage to the iconic cathedral (April 15)

  2. The first image of a black hole is captured by the Event Horizon Telescope (April 10)

  3. The United States House of Representatives impeaches President Donald Trump (December 18)

  4. The release of the movie "Parasite" (October 11)

  5. The Hong Kong pro-democracy protests (ongoing)

  6. The Amazon rainforest wildfires, leading to global concern over deforestation (August)

  7. The United Kingdom has multiple Brexit extensions and finally leaves the European Union (January 31, 2020)

  8. The Christchurch mosque shootings in New Zealand, killing 51 people (March 15)

  9. The global youth climate strike movement, inspired by Swedish activist Greta Thunberg (ongoing)

  10. The 2019-2020 Australian bushfires, causing widespread devastation (June 2019 - May 2020)

2020:

  1. The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 (ongoing)

  2. The Black Lives Matter protests and calls for racial justice following the killing of George Floyd (May 25)

  3. The United States presidential election, with Joe Biden elected as the 46th President (November 3)

  4. The United Kingdom formally leaves the European Union, completing the Brexit process (January 31)

  5. The explosion in Beirut, Lebanon, killing more than 200 people and causing widespread damage (August 4)

  6. The wildfires in the Western United States, particularly in California, Oregon, and Washington (August-September)

  7. The conflict between Armenia and Azerbaijan over the disputed region of Nagorno-Karabakh (September 27 - November 10)

  8. The signing of the Abraham Accords, normalizing relations between Israel and several Arab states (August 13)

  9. The United States Senate acquits President Donald Trump in his impeachment trial (February 5)

  10. The WHO declares COVID-19 a pandemic (March 11)

2021:

  1. The inauguration of Joe Biden as the 46th President of the United States (January 20)

  2. The COVID-19 vaccination campaigns begin globally (ongoing)

  3. The military coup in Myanmar, leading to ongoing protests and violence (February 1)

  4. The Ever Given container ship blocks the Suez Canal for six days, causing global shipping disruptions (March 23-29)

  5. The Israel-Hamas conflict, resulting in the deaths of more than 250 people (May 10-21)

  6. The 2021 Summer Olympics are held in Tokyo, Japan, after being postponed due to COVID-19 (July 23 - August 8)

  7. The United States fully withdraws from Afghanistan, ending the 20-year-long conflict (August 31)

  8. Hurricane Ida causes widespread destruction in the United States, particularly in Louisiana and the Northeast (August 26 - September 1)

  9. The European Union proposes the "Fit for 55" package to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 55% by 2030 (July 14)

  10. The COP26 climate summit is held in Glasgow, Scotland (October 31 - November 12)



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