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Y2K
Y2K was a 'computer bug' where people thought that the computers would set back to 1900 instead of 2000. Fear of machines failing due to the incorrect date. -
"Dot-Com" bubble bursts
Buisnesses started to use online websites as resources to grwo there buinsness. -
Vladimir Putin is elected President of Russia
Vladimir Putin was inaugurated president on 7 May 2000 -
George Bush is sworn in as the 43rd President of the USA
Bush was sworn in as president on 20th January 2001 -
Terriorst attack on Twin Towers in NYC 9.11.2011
On that morning, 19 al-Qaeda terrorists hijacked four commercial airliners. The hijackers intentionally crashed two of the airliners into the Twin Towers of the World Trade Center in New York, killing everyone on board, along with many others working in the buildings. -
Apple launches the iPod
The first generation of iPod's were launched on 11/10/2001 and has been a sucessful media player device since then. This helped boost Apples fortunes. -
The Euro enters circulation
The euro was introduced to world financial markets as an accounting currency on 1 January 1999, with Euro coins and banknotes entering the system on 1 January 2002. The euro became the second largest reserve currency and the second most traded currency in the world after the U.S. dollar. -
Planet Quaoar is discovered
It was discovered on 4th June 2002 by astronomers at the California Institute of Technology -
Space Shuttle Columbia disaster
At the conclusion of the STS-107 mission, the Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated during reentry over Texas, killing all 7 astronauts onboard. -
The invasion of Iraq
The invasion of Iraq was led by the United States, alongside the United Kingdom and smaller contingents from other countries. The initial invasion phase lasted from 20th March to 1st May and involved troops from the US (248,000), UK (45,000), Australia (2,000) and Poland (194). 36 other countries were involved in its aftermath. -
The Human Genome Project is completed
The project brings enormous long term benefits to the world of science and medicine. Knowledge of the effects of variation of DNA among individuals can revolutionise the ways to diagnose, treat and prevent a number of diseases that affect human beings, in addition to providing clues to the understanding of biology as a whole. -
Mars Exploration Rovers
The primary scientific objective was to search for and characterise a wide range of rocks and soils holding clues to past water activity on Mars. The mission was part of NASA's Mars Exploration Program which included three previous successful landers: the two Viking landers in 1976 and Mars Pathfinder in 1997. -
Facebook is launched
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George W. Bush is re-elected
The US presidential election of 2004 was the United States' 55th quadrennial presidential election. It was held on Tuesday, November 2, 2004. Republican Party candidate and incumbent President George W. Bush defeated Democratic Party candidate John Kerry, the then-junior U.S. Senator from Massachusetts -
Suicide bombers in London kill 56 people, injure 700 others.
The 7 July 2005 London bombings, also known as 7/7, were a series of coordinated suicide attacks on London's public transport system during the morning rush hour. The bombings were carried out by four British Muslim men, three of Pakistani and one of Jamaican descent. -
USB flash drives replace floppy disks.
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Hurricane Katrina floods New Orleans
Hurricane Katrina, of the 2005 Atlantic hurricane season, was the costliest hurricane - as well as one of the five deadliest, in the history of the United States. Among recorded Atlantic hurricanes, it was sixth strongest overall. Hurricane Katrina formed over the Bahamas on August 23, 2005 and crossed southern Florida. -
North Korea conducts its first nuclear test.
North Korea announced its intention to conduct a test on 3rd October, six days prior, and in doing so became the first nation to give warning of its first nuclear test. The blast was estimated to have an explosive force of less than one kiloton, and some radioactive output was detected. -
Saddam Hussein is executed
The execution of Saddam Hussein took place on 30th December, 2006. He was sentenced to death by hanging, after being found guilty of crimes against humanity by the Iraqi Special Tribunal for the murder of 148 Iraqi Shi'ites in the town of Dujail in 1982, in retaliation for an assassination attempt against him. -
Google Street View is launched
Google Street View is a technology featured in Google Maps and Google Earth that provides panoramic views from various positions along many streets in the world. It was originally launched only in several US cities, but gradually expanded to include many more cities and rural areas worldwide. -
Global economic downturn
During this period, the world experiences the biggest financial crisis since the Great Depression. Former chairman of the Federal Reserve, Alan Greenspan, calls it a "once-in-a-century type of event". -
Oil prices hit a record high of $147 a barrel
In July 2008, oil prices rose to a record high of $147 a barrel following concern over recent Iranian missile tests. -
Beijing hosts the Olympic Games
The 2008 Summer Olympics were held in Beijing and featured a spectacular opening ceremony. -
Scientists extract images directly from the brain.
In a major scientific breakthrough, a Japanese company developed a way of analysing electrical signals sent from the visual cortex and converting them to digital images on screen. -
Barack Obama is sworn in as 44th president of the USA.
Barack Obama was elected the forty-fourth president of the United States in January of this year, becoming the first African American to do so. His immediate actions were focused on the financial problems plaguing the country. He subsequently introduced several economic stimulus packages. Billions upon billions of dollars were spent in an effort to reinvigorate the financial system and free up credit. A country-wide cleanup of the banking system, with the aim of removing any toxic bank assets or -
Mind control headsets for video gaming
In 2009, a company called Emotiv released a headset allowing gamers to control games from brain waves alone. -
Water is discovered on the Moon
The Lunar Crater Observation and Sensing Satellite was the first American mission to the Moon in over 10 years. It was designed to relay data from the impact and debris plume resulting from the vehicle's upper stage, Centaur, hitting a large crater near the Moon's south pole. -
Haiti is struck by a devastating earthquake.
On 12th January 2010, a 7.0-magnitude quake occurred in Haiti, devastating the nation's capital, Port-au-Prince. With a death toll of more than 230,000, it was one of the deadliest on record. -
The longest solar eclipse of the 3rd millennium occurs
On 15th January 2010, a solar eclipse occurred in the Indian Ocean. It was the longest eclipse of this millennium, with a duration of 11 minutes, 8 seconds. -
Apple debuts the iPad.
The iPad is Apple's first tablet computer - a device category between a smartphone and laptop computer. Similar in functionality to a larger and more powerful iPhone or iPod touch, it runs a modified version of the same operating system (iPhone OS). -
The death of Osama bin Laden
After several months of gathering intelligence, it was decided that a mission could be carried out to either capture or kill bin Laden. Operation Neptune Spear was conducted on 2nd May 2011 by a team of 79 Navy SEAL commandos after the go ahead was given by President Obama. A complex raid on the compound was carried out, with SEALs approaching from all sides and from a helicopter hovering above the roof. The team was met with some resistance, but overcame the al-Qaeda operatives defending the bu -
The world's first synthetic organ transplant
In June 2011, surgeons in Sweden carried out the world's first synthetic organ transplant.* A 36 year old man, suffering from terminal cancer of the trachea, received a completely new replacement windpipe. -
Global population reaches 7 billion
In October 2011, the global population reaches 7 billion. Over 74 million people are now being added to the world each year. -
Mars Science Laboratory explores the Red Planet
Mars Science Laboratory - nicknamed Curiosity - is by far the largest and most powerful rover ever sent to Mars. Among its many instruments is the first video camera taken to another planet. -
London hosts the Olympic Games
London hosts the Olympics for the third time in its history, the only city to have done so on this many occasions. The event takes place amid the largest security operation ever seen in peacetime Europe.