The decade of the 2000s has been a tumultuous turn of events that will be remembered far into the future. We have had many accomplishments, including the mapping of the human genome, the discovery of water on the moon, and movements towards peace on the planet. Unfortunately, negative events accompany us on our march of progress, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, one of the worst natural disasters in recorded history. We’ve also suffered through terrorist attacks such as 9/11, 7/7, and tragically, countless many others which have led to the greater tragedy of a population living in constant fear. So, we have a long way to go for humanity to become as great as it can be, but I believe this decade was a definitive step in the right direction. As such, I have collected one event from each of the last 120 months so that we don’t forget where we came from. Enjoy this month-by-month history of the first decade of the third millennium.

2008

January: The price of oil hits $100 per barrel for the first time in history.
February: Prime Minister Kevin Rudd of Australia delivers a formal apology to the Stolen Generations. From 1869 to the 1970s, the Australian government would remove Aboriginal children from their families in an effort to “civilize” them.
March: A 160 square mile chunk of Antarctica’s Wilkins Ice Shelf disintegrates, leaving the entire shelf at risk.
April: Surgeons at London’s Moorfields Eye Hospital perform the first operations using bionic eyes, implanting them into two blind patients.
May: An earthquake in China and a tropical cylcone in Burma (Myanmar) kill over 200,000 people within 10 days of each other.
June: Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper apologizes to Canada’s First Nations for the Canadian residential school system, which was intended to force the assimilation of Canada’s native peoples.
July: Radovan Karadžić, the first president of the Republika Srpska, is arrested in Belgrade, Serbia on allegations of war crimes, following a 12-year long manhunt.
August: Michael Phelps wins eight gold medals at the Beijing Olympics, passing Mark Spitz for most gold medals won in a single Olympics.
September: The proton beam is circulated for the first time in the Large Hadron Collider, the world’s largest and highest-energy particle accelerator.
October: Following a major banking and financial crisis in Iceland, the Icelandic Financial Supervisory Authority takes control of the three largest banks in the country: Kaupthing Bank, Landsbanki, and Glitnir. Relative to its size, Iceland suffered the worst banking collapse in economic history.
November: Barack Obama is elected the 44th President of the United States, becoming the country’s first African-American president.
December: The Channel Island of Sark, a British crown dependency, holds its first fully democratic elections under a new constitutional arrangement, becoming the last European territory to abolish feudalism.

2009

January: For the third time in four years, Russia is involved in a natural gas dispute that shuts down supplies to Europe.
February: An American satellite and a Russian satellite collide over Siberia, becoming the first in orbit collision of two man-made objects.
March: The International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant for Sudanese President Omar Hassan al-Bashir for crimes against humanity in Darfur becoming the first sitting head of state to be indicted by the ICC.
April: The World Health Organization first acknowledges the potential for a swine flu epidemic in North America.
May: The Sri Lankan Civil War finally ended after 25 years of conflict. The surrender of the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam was precipitated by the death of their leader, Velupillai Prabhakaran.
June: Thousands of people took to the streets in the aftermath of Iran’s presidential election, in which Mahmoud Ahmadenijad won a second term amid charges of election fraud.
July: The longest solar eclipse of the 21st century was visible in much of Southeast Asia. The eclipse lasted six minutes and 39 seconds, a duration not expected to be matched until 2132. In addition, the eclipse was broadcast live over the Internet, leading some experts to claim that it was the most viewed solar eclipse in history.
August: American journalists Laura Ling and Euna Lee are released from North Korean custody after former President Bill Clinton visits Kim Jong-Il to negotiate their release.
September: Filmmaker Roman Polanski was finally arrested on charges of rape after 32 years on the run.
October: The U.S. Federal Trade Commission announced new regulations for bloggers, requiring the disclosure of any material relationships. It is the FTC’s first major attempt to curb false advertising and false testimonials on the Internet.
November: NASA announces the discovery of water on the Cabeus crater of the moon.
December: Five women were awarded Nobel prizes this year, the most in any given year since the Nobels were first awarded in 1901. In addition, Elinor Ostrom became the first woman to be awarded the Nobel Prize in Economics.

Collage of the 2009 Iran Election Protest

A big thanks to Wikipedia, without whom this timeline would have taken months. Also, I realize that according to the Gregorian calendar the decade doesn’t actually end until December 31, 2010, but I didn’t want to wait a year to do this. Besides, I will never consider the year 2000 to be a part of the 1990s, so there’s my logic. If you enjoyed this post, you should follow EiH on Twitter or subscribe to the RSS feed.

The decade of the 2000s has been a tumultuous turn of events that will be remembered far into the future. We have had many accomplishments, including the mapping of the human genome, the discovery of water on the moon, and movements towards peace on the planet. Unfortunately, negative events accompany us on our march of progress, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, one of the worst natural disasters in recorded history. We’ve also suffered through terrorist attacks such as 9/11, 7/7, and tragically, countless many others which have led to the greater tragedy of a population living in constant fear. So, we have a long way to go for humanity to become as great as it can be, but I believe this decade was a definitive step in the right direction. As such, I have collected one event from each of the last 120 months so that we don’t forget where we came from. Enjoy this month-by-month history of the first decade of the third millennium.

2006

January: Hamas wins the majority of seats in the Palestinian Legislative Council elections, further straining the relations between Palestine and the West.
February: Over £53.1 million is stolen during the Securitas depot robbery, the largest ever cash robbery in the United Kingdom.
March: The last two Iowa class battleships are removed from the U.S. Naval Vessel Register, effectively ending the age of the battleship.
April: President of Iran Mahmoud Ahmadinejad confirms that Iran has successfully produced a few grams of low-grade enriched uranium.
May: Bolivian President Evo Morales nationalizes his nation’s natural gas fields effectively placing him in the company of Fidel Castro and Hugo Chavez. Despite criticism, Morales at least kept his campaign promise, which was to exercise more state control over natural resources which were being exploited by foreign companies (Bolivia received a royalty of only 16% for its gas reserves).
June: Warren Buffett donates over US$30 billion to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. It is the largest individual charitable donation in American history.
July: Israeli troops invade Lebanon in response to Hezbollah kidnapping two Israeli soldiers and killing 3. Hezbollah declares open war against Israel in what became known as the 2006 Lebanon War.
August: The International Astronomical Union defines ‘planet’ at its 26th General Assembly, demoting Pluto to the status of ‘dwarf planet’ more than 70 years after its discovery.
September: A Transrapid Maglev train crashes into a maintenance vehicle on a test track in Germany, killing 23 and injuring 10; it is the first recorded fatal accident involving a Maglev.
October: North Korea claims to have conducted its first-ever nuclear test, resulting in UN sanctions against the country.
November: During what I call The Golden Age of Video Games, Sony releases the Playstation 3 and Nintendo releases the Wii, in anticipation of the impending holiday season.
December: Saddam Hussein, former President of Iraq, is executed for crimes against humanity.

2003 demonstrations against president Gonzalo Sánchez de Lozada. "The gas is ours by right, to recover it is our duty"

2007

January: The International Red Cross and Red Crescent Movement adopts the Red Crystal as a non-religious emblem for use in its overseas operations.
February: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change publishes its fourth assessment report, having concluded that global climate change is “very likely” to have a predominantly human cause.
March: The International Polar Year, a $1.5 billion research program to study both the North Pole and South Pole, is launched in Paris.
April: Gliese 581 c, a potentially habitable Earth-like extrasolar planet, is discovered in the constellation Libra.
May: French Minister of the Interior Nicolas Sarkozy wins the French presidential election, succeeding incumbent President Jacques Chirac.
June: A 2,100-year-old melon is discovered by archaeologists in western Japan.
July: The final book of the Harry Potter series, Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, is released and sells over 11 million copies in the first 24 hours, becoming the fastest selling book in history.
August: Multiple, coordinated suicide bombings kill over 700 people in Qahtaniya, northern Iraq, making it the deadliest bomb attack of the Iraq War.
September: The Selenological and Engineering Explorer spacecraft, known by the nickname Kayuga, launches. The Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency has called the mission, “the largest lunar mission since the Apollo program.”
October: In an unfortunate era of sports tainted by performance-enhancing drugs, track and field star Marion Jones surrenders her 5 Olympic medals she won in the 2000 Sydney Games, after admitting to doping.
November: The Writers Guild of America goes on a strike that lasts until February 12, 2008, resulting in American viewers having to suffer through reruns and terrible reality TV.
December: Former Pakistani prime minister Benazir Bhutto is assassinated, and at least 20 others are killed by a bomb blast at an election rally in Rawalpindi.

Flag of the Red Crystal

A big thanks to Wikipedia, without whom this timeline would have taken months. Also, I realize that according to the Gregorian calendar the decade doesn’t actually end until December 31, 2010, but I didn’t want to wait a year to do this. Besides, I will never consider the year 2000 to be a part of the 1990s, so there’s my logic. If you enjoyed this post, you should follow EiH on Twitter or subscribe to the RSS feed.

The decade of the 2000s has been a tumultuous turn of events that will be remembered far into the future. We have had many accomplishments, including the mapping of the human genome, the discovery of water on the moon, and movements towards peace on the planet. Unfortunately, negative events accompany us on our march of progress, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, one of the worst natural disasters in recorded history. We’ve also suffered through terrorist attacks such as 9/11, 7/7, and tragically, countless many others which have led to the greater tragedy of a population living in constant fear. So, we have a long way to go for humanity to become as great as it can be, but I believe this decade was a definitive step in the right direction. As such, I have collected one event from each of the last 120 months so that we don’t forget where we came from. Enjoy this month-by-month history of the first decade of the third millennium.

2004

January: A whale explodes in Tainan City, Taiwan, while being transported through the town to a university for a necropsy.
February: The CIA admits that there was no imminent threat from weapons of mass destruction before the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
March: The 2004 Madrid Train Bombings, a series of coordinated bombings against the commuter train system of Madrid, Spain, kills 191 and wounds 1,800. Despite the initial allegations, investigators determine that the perpetrators had no ties to al Qaeda.
April: The last coal mine in France closes, ending a 300 year old industry in the country.
May: The largest expansion to date of the European Union takes place, extending the Union by 10 member-states: Poland, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, Hungary, Malta and Cyprus.
June: Marvin Heemeyer destroys many local buildings with a home-made tank in Granby, Colorado.
July: Lance Armstrong wins a record sixth consecutive Tour de France title. He would extend his record the following year by winning the 2005 Tour de France.
August: The United Nations releases a report in which it blames the Sudanese government for crimes against humanity in Darfur.
September: Over a period of three weeks, 3 separate hurricanes, Frances, Ivan, and Jeanne; strike the state of Florida, killing over 100 and causing $29 billion in damage. As a matter of fact, Hurricane Jeanne made landfall in almost the same exact location as Hurricane Frances. Additionally, the citrus crop for the year was destroyed.
October: European heads of state sign in Rome the Treaty and Final Act, establishing the first European Constitution.
November: U.S. military forces in Iraq begin the Siege of Fallujah in an effort to eliminate the insurgent stronghold before the January elections.
December: The 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami occurs after a magnitude 9.3 earthquake strikes off the coast of Indonesia. The earthquake itself was the second most intense earthquake ever recorded, but it was the resultant tsunami which caused the devastation. The tsunami devastated nearly the entire Indian Ocean, with deaths reported as far away as Somalia. However, because it occurred during the holiday season, many foreigners were on vacation in the region. Thus, while the tsunami/earthquake caused destruction in 15 countries, it’s affect was even more widespread, killing over 230,000 from 40 countries.

Animated gif of 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami

2005

January: The first free parliamentary elections in Iraq since 1958 take place.
February: The Kyoto Protocol, a part of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, goes into effect minus the support of the United States and Australia. However, Australian Prime Minister Kevin Rudd signed the ratification bill in 2007, making the U.S. the only holdout along with Afghanistan, Somalia, and Western Sahara.
March: The People’s Republic of China ratifies an anti-secession law, aimed at preventing Taiwan from declaring independence. Nearly 300,000 Taiwanese protested against the law in Taipei.
April: Pope John Paul II, the second-longest pontificate and the first non-Italian pope since the 16th century, dies at the age of 84. Pope Benedict XVI (Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger) succeeded him 17 days later, becoming the 265th pope.
May: Kuwaiti women are granted the right to vote, leaving the United Arab Emirates and Saudi Arabia as the only Middle Eastern countries to deny women the right to vote. The UAE would grant universal suffrage in 2006, though.
June: Queen Elizabeth II conducts the International Fleet Review of 167 international warships in the Solent, as part of the Trafalgar 200 celebrations; a celebration of the 200th anniversary of the Battle of Trafalgar.
July: The 7 July 2005 London bombings, a series of bomb attacks against London’s public transportation network, kill 56 and injure over 700. The attack became known as 7/7 and was found to be perpetrated by three Pakistanis and a Jamaican who were disgruntled about British involvement in the Iraq War.
August: Hurricane Katrina strikes the Gulf Coast, killing over 1,800 people, decimating New Orleans, and causing nearly $81.2 billion in damage, making it the costliest hurricane in U.S. history. In the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, various weaknesses with the government’s role in recovering from a natural disaster, were exposed. Over four years later, New Orleans still hasn’t fully recovered.
September: Controversial drawings of Muhammad are printed in the Danish newspaper Jyllands-Posten, leading to protests, violence, and threats of violence throughout much of the Muslim world.
October: Two Japanese banking conglomerates merge to form Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, the world’s largest bank.
November: Andrew Stimpson, a 25-year old British man, is reported as the first person proven to have been ‘cured’ of HIV. After complaining of illness, Stimpson tested positive for HIV. When he returned for testing again, the tests returned negative, as did subsequent tests. Stimpson’s case is unique because he wasn’t taking medication to combat the disease, and his was the first case that was fully documented.
December: Scientists announce that they have created mice with small amounts of human brain cells in an effort to make realistic models of neurological disorders.

Pope John Paul II with Cardinal Ratzinger

A big thanks to Wikipedia, without whom this timeline would have taken months. Also, I realize that according to the Gregorian calendar the decade doesn’t actually end until December 31, 2010, but I didn’t want to wait a year to do this. Besides, I will never consider the year 2000 to be a part of the 1990s, so there’s my logic. If you enjoyed this post, you should follow EiH on Twitter or subscribe to the RSS feed.

The decade of the 2000s has been a tumultuous turn of events that will be remembered far into the future. We have had many accomplishments, including the mapping of the human genome, the discovery of water on the moon, and movements towards peace on the planet. Unfortunately, negative events accompany us on our march of progress, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, one of the worst natural disasters in recorded history. We’ve also suffered through terrorist attacks such as 9/11, 7/7, and tragically, countless many others which have led to the greater tragedy of a population living in constant fear. So, we have a long way to go for humanity to become as great as it can be, but I believe this decade was a definitive step in the right direction. As such, I have collected one event from each of the last 120 months so that we don’t forget where we came from. Enjoy this month-by-month history of the first decade of the third millennium.

2002

January: The Euro, utilized in accounting since 1999, begins circulation in banknotes and coins in France, Spain, Germany, Italy, Portugal, Greece, Finland, Luxembourg, Belgium, Austria, Ireland and the Netherlands.
February: The trial of former Yugoslav President Slobodan Milosevic begins at the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague.
March: A coalition led by the U.S. launches Operation Anaconda, a definitive attempt to destroy the Taliban and capture Osama bin Laden.
April: A military coup d’état against the leftist Venezuelan President Hugo Chávez fails.
May: FBI agent Robert Hanssen is sentenced to life imprisonment without the possibility of parole for selling American secrets to Moscow for $1.4 million in cash and diamonds.
June: The United Kingdom celebrates Queen Elizabeth’s Golden Jubilee, the 50th anniversary of her ascension to the throne.
July: The International Criminal Court is established to prosecute individuals for genocide, crimes against humanity, war crimes, and the crime of aggression. Crimes committed on or after this date may be prosecuted by the court.
August: A 100-year flood caused by over a week of continuous heavy rains ravaged Europe, killing dozens, dispossessing thousands, and causing damage of billions of euros in the Czech Republic, Austria, Germany, Slovakia, Poland, Hungary, Romania and Croatia.
September: Switzerland, synonymous with neutrality, finally joins the United Nations.
October: The Beltway sniper attacks take place in Maryland, Virginia, and Washington DC, resulting in the deaths of 10 people, with 3 critically injured. Two people, John Allen Muhammad and Lee Boyd Malvo, a minor, were found guilty of the attacks. Malvo was sentenced to six consecutive life sentences and Muhammad was executed this past November.
November: President George W. Bush signs the Homeland Security Act into law, establishing the Department of Homeland Security, in the largest U.S. government reorganization since the creation of the Department of Defense in 1947.
December: A suicide truck-bomb attack destroys the headquarters of Chechnya’s Moscow-backed government, killing 72.

Official Golden Jubilee portrait of Queen Elizabeth II for Canada

2003

January: The Supreme Court of the United States allows the extension of copyright terms in the U.S. in the case of Eldred v. Ashcroft.
February: Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrated over Texas, killing the seven astronauts on board. The disaster, the 2nd fatal accident in the space shuttle era, caused the suspension of the space shuttle program for 2 years.
March: Despite a lack of support from the United Nations, the U.S., U.K., and six other nations invade Iraq. The threat of war and the subsequent invasion led to 3000 worldwide protests in which 36 million people participated. This includes the February 2003 protests in Rome, which the Guinness Book of Records lists as the world’s largest ever anti-war rally.
April: The Human Genome Project is completed, with 99% of the human genome sequenced to 99.99% accuracy.
May: A major severe weather outbreak spawns more tornadoes than any week in U.S. history; 393 tornadoes are reported in 19 states.
June: In a landmark ruling, the U.S. Supreme Court declares sodomy laws unconstitutional in Lawrence v. Texas. This was the first logical step towards the legalization of gay marriage.
July: Washington Post columnist Robert Novak publishes the name of Valerie Plame, blowing her cover as a CIA operative, sparking what would be known as the Plame Affair.
August: NATO takes over command of the peacekeeping force in Afghanistan, marking its first major operation outside Europe in its 54-year-history.
September: The Hubble Space Telescope began the Hubble Ultra Deep Field, the deepest image of the universe ever taken. It goes back 13 billion years and captured over 10,000 galaxies.
October: California voters recalled Governor Gray Davis from office and elected actor Arnold Schwarzenegger to succeed him.
November: The Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court, in Goodridge v. Department of Public Health, rules anti-same-sex marriage laws unconstitutional in Massachusetts.
December: A mad cow disease outbreak in the state of Washington prompts many countries around the world to stop importing American beef.

Partial view of the Hubble Ultra Deep Field

A big thanks to Wikipedia, without whom this timeline would have taken months. Also, I realize that according to the Gregorian calendar the decade doesn’t actually end until December 31, 2010, but I didn’t want to wait a year to do this. Besides, I will never consider the year 2000 to be a part of the 1990s, so there’s my logic. If you enjoyed this post, you should follow EiH on Twitter or subscribe to the RSS feed.

The decade of the 2000s has been a tumultuous turn of events that will be remembered far into the future. We have had many accomplishments, including the mapping of the human genome, the discovery of water on the moon, and movements towards peace on the planet. Unfortunately, negative events accompany us on our march of progress, such as the 2004 Indian Ocean Tsunami, one of the worst natural disasters in recorded history. We’ve also suffered through terrorist attacks such as 9/11, 7/7, and tragically, countless many others which have led to the greater tragedy of a population living in constant fear. So, we have a long way to go for humanity to become as great as it can be, but I believe this decade was a definitive step in the right direction. As such, I have collected one event from each of the last 120 months so that we don’t forget where we came from. Enjoy, this month-by-month history of the first decade of the third millennium.

2000

January: AOL announces its intent to purchase Time Warner for $162 billion, making it the biggest corporate merger in history. The marriage wouldn’t last, though, as Time Warner spunoff AOL this past year.
February: The last original Peanuts comic strip is published following the death of creator Charles Schulz.
March: Chen Shui-bian is elected President of Taiwan; the Democratic Progressive Party ends Kuomintang rule for the first time.
April: In a predawn raid, federal agents seize 6-year old Elián González from his relatives’ home in Miami, Florida and fly him to his Cuban father in Washington, DC, ending one of the most publicized custody battles in U.S. history.
May: India’s population reaches one billion, becoming the 2nd country in the world with a population over a billion people.
June: South Korean President Kim Dae Jung visits North Korea to participate in the first North-South presidential summit.
July: The Republican National Convention in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania nominates George W. Bush for U.S. President and Dick Cheney for Vice President.
August: The Russian submarine K-141 Kursk sinks in the Barents Sea, resulting in the deaths of all 118 men on board.
September: Microsoft releases Windows ME, considered by some to be the worst operating system every created.
October: In Aden, Yemen, the USS Cole is badly damaged by two Al-Qaeda suicide bombers, who place a small boat laden with explosives alongside the United States Navy destroyer, killing 17 crew members and wounding at least 39.
November: Republican candidate Texas Governor George W. Bush defeats Democratic Vice President Al Gore in the closest election in history, but the final outcome is not known for over a month because of disputed votes in Florida.
December: After 128 years, American retailer Montgomery Ward announces it is going out of business.

USS Cole damage after bomb attack

2001

January: Wikipedia, the world’s most popular online encyclopedia, launches.
February: The NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft touches down in the “saddle” region of 433 Eros, becoming the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid.
March: The Russian space station Mir re-enters the atmosphere near Nadi, Fiji, and falls into the Pacific Ocean.
April: A Chinese fighter jet bumps into a U.S. EP-3E surveillance aircraft, which is forced to make an emergency landing in Hainan, China. The U.S. crew is detained for 10 days and the F-8 Chinese pilot, Wang Wei, goes missing and is presumed dead.
May: The third floor of the Versailles wedding hall in Jerusalem collapses, killing 23 and wounding nearly 400. The incident was notorious as it was captured on a camcorder and spread around the Internet.
June: Crown Prince Dipendra of Nepal kills his father, the king, his mother and other members of the royal family with an assault rifle and then shoots himself in the Nepalese royal massacre. Dipendra dies June 4, as King of Nepal. His uncle Gyanendra accedes to the throne. However, Gyanendra was so unpopular that mass protests would lead to the end of the monarchy in 2008.
July: The world’s first self-contained artificial heart is implanted in Robert Tools. Mr. Tools survived 151 days before dying in November 2001.
August: Alabama Supreme Court Chief Justice Roy Moore has a 2½ ton monument of the Ten Commandments installed in the Rotunda of the Judiciary Building. He is later sued to have it removed, and eventually removed from office.
September: Almost 3,000 are killed in the September 11, 2001 attacks at the World Trade Center in New York City; the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia; and in rural Shanksville, Pennsylvania after American Airlines Flight 11 and United Airlines Flight 175 crash into the World Trade Center’s Twin Towers, American Airlines Flight 77 crashes into the Pentagon, and United Airlines Flight 93 crashes into a grassland in Shanksville.
October: The 2001 anthrax attacks continue as contaminated letters are mailed from Princeton, New Jersey, to U.S. Senators Tom Daschle of South Dakota and Patrick Leahy of Vermont.
November: The People’s Republic of China is admitted to the World Trade Organization after 15 years of negotiations.
December: The Parliament of India is attacked; 12 are killed bringing India and Pakistan to the brink of war.

Plane crashing into Tower 2 on 9/11

A big thanks to Wikipedia, without whom this timeline would have taken months. Also, I realize that according to the Gregorian calendar the decade doesn’t actually end until December 31, 2010, but I didn’t want to wait a year to do this. Besides, I will never consider the year 2000 to be a part of the 1990s, so there’s my logic. If you enjoyed this post, you should follow EiH on Twitter or subscribe to the RSS feed.