Top 24 Biggest Historic Events of Each Year (2000 - 2023)
2000: Y2K Bug
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Younger millennials and Zoomers may not remember, but 1999 and 2000 were years defined by fear over Y2K. Computerized calendar data on 90’s era machines only used two digits to represent years. National, international, and local news featured Y2K doomsayers, predicting that the glitch could cripple computer systems across the world. Experts claimed that the fix would take around half a trillion dollars to implement. President Bill Clinton rallied the U.S. federal government to the fight, organizing programmers to avoid disaster. When the ball dropped and the world’s calendars turned over, any glitches were barely a blip on the radar.
2001: September 11th
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The September 11th attacks on the Twin Towers and the Pentagon shook the world. When hijacked passenger jets crashed into and destroyed the World Trade Center, we all knew the world had irrevocably changed. Air travel and commerce came to a standstill. Thousands died when the towers fell. In the intervening years, thousands more would succumb to cancers born of toxic material from Ground Zero. The entire country came to a standstill that day, in a spirit of unity that seems impossible in today's hyper-partisan world. Islamophobia rose throughout the country. And, for the first time in history, Article 5 of the NATO charter was invoked. It was an event with so many ripples that it changed history forever.
2002: Creation of the Euro
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Many members of the European Union spent decades envisioning a future with a common currency. It would ease trade, stabilize the European economy, and bolster smaller countries. In the early years of the 1990s, a plan was enacted to phase in the Euro. The currency had something of a soft launch in 1999, applying to digital commerce and accounting. On January 1, 2002, member nations of the EU said goodbye to their own currencies. The Franc, Deutschmark, and Lira essentially went the way of the dodo bird, and member nations adopted the Euro as their own. It was a major step in forging permanent bonds between European neighbors.
2003: U.S. Invasion of Iraq
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In the immediate aftermath of 9/11, the U.S. and its allies launched an invasion of Afghanistan. In 2003, the War on Terror opened a second front: Iraq. A number of high-ranking members of President Bush’s inner circle were in the White House a decade earlier. At that time, Bush’s father refused to depose Saddam Hussein. The successful invasion of Afghanistan gave them the confidence to finally finish the job. Secretary of State Colin Powell was enlisted to mislead the world about Iraqi weapons of mass destruction. With that casus belli established, the U.S. launched a "Shock and Awe" military campaign. While Saddam was deposed quickly, the war turned into a decade-long quagmire reminiscent of Vietnam.
2004: Founding of Facebook
In 2004, Mark Zuckerberg was a young college student. Along with several partners, the Harvard University programmer created a new website, “The Facebook.” It was not the first social networking site, but it swiftly became the most famous. College students around the country waited for months until their schools joined. Eventually, a rebranded Facebook opened to everyone and ushered in a new era in global communications. In the two decades since its creation, Facebook has dominated Silicon Valley. They’ve bought and crushed competitors and, in 2016, were at the center of an international election interference scandal. Their platform both created an online revolutionary meeting place and spread misinformation around the world. It shaped a social media landscape that has redefined life in the 21st century.
2005: Angela Merkel Elected Germany's First Female Chancellor
Angela Merkel was an East German scientist who rose to prominence in Germany’s Christian Democratic Union. In 2005, her party won the parliamentary elections. Merkel became the first female chancellor in the nation’s history. She retained that post until she retired 15 years later in 2021. In her time, Merkel’s forceful personality and her country’s economic might made her a central figure in world affairs. She was widely considered to be the unofficial leader of the EU during her tenure. After Donald Trump’s election in 2016, many media figures also called Merkel the new leader of the free world. In any case, Merkel’s steady leadership during tumultuous times made her one of the most powerful and respected women in human history.
2006: Execution of Saddam Hussein
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Whether one agrees with the U.S. invasion of Iraq or not, there are few defenders out there for Saddam Hussein’s legacy. Hussein, with his mercurial nature and large army, had terrorized the region for years. His brutal dictatorship held the country’s majority Shia population under violent control for decades. In 2003, during the invasion, U.S. troops found Hussein hiding in a spider hole. Hussein was imprisoned in Iraq until 2005 when he was held for trial. Among his innumerable crimes against humanity, the dictator was tried for the Dujail massacre of 148 Shi'ite Iraqis in 1982. On November 5, 2006, Hussein was found guilty. On December 30, he was executed.
2007: Invention of the iPhone
The year 2007 saw the advent of game-changing technology that has completely changed the way we communicate. On January 9 at Macworld 2007, CEO Steve Jobs revealed the first-ever iPhone to the world. The world has never been the same. Since that day, smartphones have proliferated in every corner of the globe. Their computing power and third-party apps have spread the internet, news, and social media to some of the most remote areas on Earth. The success of the iPhone has made Apple one of the most successful companies ever. Still, smartphones are a young technology. The global society is still trying to reconcile with unforeseen consequences like smartphone addiction, disconnection, and loneliness.
2008: The Great Recession
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Two decades of American deregulation turned global finance into a virtually unrestricted Wild West. Emerging technologies increased the speed and spread of trading with every passing year. Finance and banking took larger and larger risks until the world economy exploded. For the first time in modern history, housing prices in the U.S. began to fall. Mortgage-backed securities dropped in value, and the truth behind them was revealed. Many were packaged subprime mortgages that were all going bust. Factor in unregulated shadow banking and you have a recipe for economic disaster. Banks failed. Investment firms collapsed. Investors lost everything, and economic contagion spread around the world. It was an era-defining event for young millennials who saw their promised bright future go up in smoke.
2009: Barack Obama Becomes President of the United States
The Great Recession was the last nail in the coffin for Republican hopes of keeping the White House after Bush. Republican Senator John McCain’s campaign floundered in the midst of a growing economic calamity. Voters of all stripes gravitated to Democratic candidate Barack Obama. His message of hope and change was a lifeline for people tired of war and fearful for their wallets. In November of 2008, Obama won an overwhelming 365 electoral votes. In January, Obama was inaugurated as the 44th President of the United States. He was the first non-white president in the country’s history. His ascension provided hope to under-represented minorities. For many, the first Black president redefined what was possible in America.
2010: A Year of Caribbean & Gulf Disasters
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2010 was a year of disasters. In January, a massive 7.0 magnitude earthquake struck Haiti. The Caribbean island had already suffered from decades of corruption, crime, and foreign interference. As a result, Haiti was ill-prepared for disaster. The quake virtually destroyed the entire country’s infrastructure. Hospitals, airports, telecommunications, and the grid were all wiped out. Upwards of 300,000 Haitians died in the aftermath, and many fled to the U.S. The entire world mobilized. Aid workers flooded in and saved many. Unfortunately, Haiti has never really recovered. Piling on, in April a BP oil rig suffered cataclysmic failure. Deepwater Horizon spilled over 210 million gallons of oil into the Gulf of Mexico. It was one of the worst environmental disasters in human history.
2011: Fukushima Earthquake & Nuclear Disaster
Unfortunately, 2011 was no better than 2010 when it came to calamity. In mid-March, a mind-boggling 9.0 earthquake struck 45 miles off the Tōhoku region of Japan. The ensuing tsunami caused unbelievable devastation to Japan’s coast. If that were not bad enough, the earthquake and tsunami led to a worse man-made disaster. The event caused massive damage to the power grid and to the Fukushima nuclear power plant. The plant suffered a meltdown. Hundreds of thousands were displaced and 51 died while the government struggled to contain the disaster. While they were ultimately successful, it was a close call. Negative effects are still felt in the region more than a decade later.
2012: Discovery of the Higgs Boson
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The European Organization for Nuclear Research, or CERN, spent ten years building the large hadron collider. Thousands of scientists from hundreds of universities around the world have been involved with research there. Four years after the facility went online, they announced a huge discovery. Almost six hundred feet below the surface, the particle accelerator led to a breakthrough in physics. Scientists announced the discovery of the Higgs boson, until then only a theory. This “God Particle,” according to theoretical physicists, plays a central role in particle physics. However, it was only a theory until 2012. The discovery was a major step on humanity’s path to understanding the universe.
2013: Belt & Road Initiative Ushers in Era of Chinese Economic Colonialism
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In September 2013, President Xi Jinping announced the largest infrastructure project in human history. This Belt and Road Initiative, or BRI, was an investment plan. China approached 130 smaller countries and offered them loans to build railways, roads, and bridges. In return, China gained footholds in countries with valuable untapped resources. Belt and Road has spread hundreds of billions of dollars around the developing world. This has made China the greatest creditor on the planet. Countries around the world owe China quite a bit thanks to BRI. Projects have garnered criticism for human rights abuses and corruption. As a result of BRI, China has gained economic, cultural, and diplomatic footholds all over the planet.
2014: War & Terror
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2014 saw a global rise in war, terror, and violence. In Europe, Ukraine deposed its corrupt, Russian-backed president. Fearing a pivot westward, Russia invaded eastern Ukraine and annexed Crimea. In Iraq and Syria, remnants of Iraqi Ba'athists joined with religious extremists to form a new terrorist organization. ISIS conquered parts of both countries, creating a ‘caliphate’ fueled by oppression and murder. Worst of all, the Yemeni Civil War began. Backed by Iran, Houthis rebelled against the government backed by the Saudis and UAE. In nine years of war, Russia and the U.S. have also been involved. Hundreds of thousands have died in a nation on the verge of collapse. COVID and famine have also spread, resulting in the starvation of tens of thousands.
2015: Obergefell v. Hodges
Despite global suffering and instability, there were bright spots in the middle of the 2010s. In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a ruling in Obergefell v. Hodges. In the case, a gay man named Jim Obergefell sued the State of Ohio for recognition of his marriage. The case combined with similar cases in Kentucky, Michigan, and Tennessee. A few years later, the 5-4 ruling required all states to recognize and perform same-sex marriages. It was a revolutionary moment in LGBTIQA+ rights. While more than half of U.S. states had already passed state laws, gay marriages weren’t always eligible for federal benefits. This case changed everything.
2016: Brexit, Trump, & the Rise of Right-Wing Populism
2016 was the year of the right-wing populist. In response to economic stagnation and trends in global migration, an anti-immigrant wave spread around the world. In Austria, a far-right Nazi-connected politician barely lost an election in April. In May, the Philippines elected Rodrigo Duterte. His anti-drug death squads were a feature, not a bug. In June, shocking the world, Britain voted to leave the EU. Fears of losing sovereignty mixed with white nationalism to propel Brexit to victory. Finally, in November, the U.S. elected Donald Trump. The First Black President was succeeded by a man who promised a wall on the southern border and a suspension of Muslim migration to the U.S.
2017: Harvey Weinstein & #MeToo
Donald Trump’s misogynistic language and history led to a feminist backlash the day after he became president. Women around the country marched in defiance. By October, that feminist wave hit the shore. Powerful movie mogul Harvey Weinstein was accused by multiple women of sexual harassment and assault. The story gave survivors all over the world the courage to come forward with their own stories. Accusations came out against other celebrities as well as powerful men in virtually every industry. The #MeToo movement was a reckoning. Businesses and institutions were confronted by their cultures of silence and coverup. Famous men lost their jobs, and a new gender-based front in the culture wars had been opened.
2018: Xi Jinping Becomes President for Life
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President Xi Jinping of China has had an impressive rise to power. He grew up in rural China after his father was purged from the Communist Party. From those humble beginnings, he rose to the highest echelons of Chinese power. He ramped up the use of mass surveillance and censorship. He alienated and divided his enemies. Then, in 2018, Xi cemented that power for life. He forced the party to abolish presidential term limits. So long as he is able to hold power in an iron grip, Xi is effectively a modern-day Emperor.
2019: Greta Thunberg
Climate activist Greta Thunberg is often criticized by right-wing politicians. But her rise to prominence is an example of how anyone can make a difference. At 15, Thunberg led school strikes for climate action in Sweden. A year later, in 2019, Thunberg was delivering a major address to the UN Climate Action Summit. Her "How dare you" speech reflected the anger of an entire generation of young people. She demanded that the world’s governments act to preserve a livable world for their children. In 2019, her clarion call for action couldn’t have come any sooner. That same year, the Amazon - the world’s lungs - lost 3,500 square miles of forest to wildfires.
2020: COVID-19
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2020 was the year the Earth stood still. By March, the entire world had to contend with the spread of a deadly respiratory virus from China. COVID-19 quickly grew to pandemic-level spread, ignoring borders. The virus changed the way we all live. Entire cities were quiet for weeks and months as those who could quarantined at home. Medical experts scrambled to provide the terrified public with what information they could. Debates over masks and various medical treatments spread like wildfire on social media. Tens of thousands filled the world’s hospitals, many dying on ventilators. Medical professionals were pushed beyond their limits, and millions died. It would take an entire year to develop vaccines.
2021: January 6 Insurrection
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In the weeks leading up to the 2020 presidential election, it became increasingly clear that Joe Biden would probably win. President Trump railed against the polls and embarked on a months-long disinformation campaign. Any loss, he said, would be a result of a massive conspiracy and fraud. The most vehement of his supporters heeded his calls to action. On January 6, thousands of Trump supporters flocked to Washington. After a rally on the ellipse, they invaded the U.S. Capitol building. The insurrection’s goal was to stop the counting of electoral votes and give Trump a chance to declare martial law. The brutal attack traumatized law enforcement officials. It resulted in several deaths, hundreds of prosecutions, an impeachment, and criminal charges for Donald Trump.
2022: Russian Invasion of Ukraine
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In 2022, Russian President Putin decided that he wanted to finish the job he began in Ukraine in 2014. In February, Russian forces launched a full-scale invasion of their neighbor. The war is the worst fighting on European soil since World War II. Ukraine, led by comedian-turned-President Zelensky, defied the world’s expectations. Instead of falling in a matter of hours or days, the invasion was stymied. Thanks to financial and military aid from the U.S. and Europe, Ukraine has maintained the status quo. One of the surprising results of the invasion was the strengthening of NATO. Thanks to the leadership of U.S. President Joe Biden, NATO has expanded: both Sweden and Finland are on the verge of joining the Western alliance.
2023: Hamas 10/7 Attack & the Israel-Hamas War
On October 7, thousands of Hamas militants broke the Gaza border to invade Israel. They savagely massacred around 1,400 Israelis and brought several hundred hostages back to Gaza. Led by a politically embattled far-right government, Israel responded with brutal overwhelming force. Israel bombarded and invaded the small Gaza Strip, killing thousands of civilians. A brief Thanksgiving truce allowed for hostage and prisoner exchange, but as of now, there is no end in sight for the conflict. It has also resulted in bitter political and cultural divides in the West, often cleaving generationally. Young leftists have lambasted Western governments for their support of Israel. We have also seen major spikes in both anti-semitism in the wake of the 10/7 attack and Israel's deadly response.
Filtering an entire year into a single world-defining event is an impossible task. Were there major historical events that didn’t make our list? Let us know in the comments below!
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