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ISS Opens
The International Space Station becomes fully operational with the arrival of its first residential crew. It continues throughout the decades to gain upgrades and added features to become as we know it today. -
A Northern Alliance Assassination
Ahmad Shah Massoud, commander of the Northern Alliance, an anti-Taliban coalition, is assassinated by al-Qaeda operatives. Terrorism experts believe his assassination assured bin Laden protection by the Taliban after the 9/11 attacks. -
Twin Towers
Al-Qaeda operatives hijacked four commercial airliners, crashing them into the World Trade Center in New York and the Pentagon in Washington, DC. A fourth plane crashes in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Close to three thousand people die in the attacks. -
Apple iPod Drops
Apple's iPod goes on sale. The portable media device is considered one of the most groundbreaking products of the decade, changing the way people listen to music and paving the way for the iPhone. -
The Euro
The euro becomes the sole currency in 12 European countries, and such monetary units as the mark and lira cease to be legal tender. -
The Country of East Timor
Located between Australia and Indonesia, East Timor became a country after a long fight for its independence. It had previously been occupied by various military forces, the last of them being from Indonesia for about 20 years. -
Brazil Wins 5th Football World Cup
Led by the play of Ronaldo, Brazil defeated Germany to win its fifth World Cup. The last cup Brazil won was in 1994, and they haven't brought to cup home again since. -
Columbia Space Shuttle Disaster
The U.S. space shuttle Columbia breaks up catastrophically as it returns from a mission. All seven crew members, including the first Israeli astronaut (Ilan Ramon, far right), are killed. -
Darfur Conflict
Rebel forces in Darfur, Sudan, begin fighting the government's military over violence against the region's non-Arab population. The unrest creates a humanitarian crisis, and some countries accuse the Sudanese government of genocide. -
Beyoncè
American singer Beyoncé releases her solo debut, Dangerously in Love. This starts her quick ascend to becoming one of music's biggest stars known today. -
Facebook
Facebook (then known as TheFacebook) debuted and became the world's largest social media platform, reaching nearly three billion users as of 2021, and about half that number were using Facebook every day. -
Indian Ocean Tsunami
An undersea earthquake in the Indian Ocean triggered the most destructive tsunami ever recorded. At least 225,000 people are killed, and numerous countries sustain massive damage. -
Doctor Who Returns
The TV show Doctor Who, a landmark of British pop culture, resumed more than 25 years after its initial run ended. It started back up with the 9th Doctor and currently has 15 different Doctors overall within the series. -
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Hurricane Katrina
Hurricane Katrina devastated the U.S. Gulf Coast area, destroying much of New Orleans after the city's levee system failed, claiming more than 1,800 lives. It also ranks as the most costly natural disaster seen in the United States. -
Rent Broadway Film Released
Rent is a 2005 film adaptation of the Broadway musical of the same name (1996). It details the struggles of a group of young friends in the East Village area of New York City in the late-1980s, early-1990s. The film, directed by Chris Columbus, had six of the original Broadway cast members reprising their roles. -
Dwarf Planet Pluto
The International Astronomical Union approved a measure to remove Pluto from the list of planets, giving it the new classification of dwarf planet. Many scientists are not happy with this distinction, especially since less than 5% of the world's scientists had voted to make such a change. -
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The Great Recession
An eerie mirror to today's finances, this recession triggered in the United States with a housing market crash, eventually dragging many other countries with it. It was the biggest economic crisis since the Great Depression (1929-1939). -
The First iPhone Is Unveiled
After months of rumors and speculation, Apple CEO Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone. The device didn’t actually go on sale until June, starting at $499 for a 4GB model, and offered a 3.5-in. screen, a 2-megapixel camera and won high praise for the then-new multitouch features. -
Netflix
While it was founded in 1997, in 2007, Netflix began streaming movies and TV shows directly into people's homes using the Internet. They also launched a number of rival services, forever changing the entertainment industry. -
Waitress (the movie) Released
Waitress premiered on the silver screen, portraying a young woman in an abusive marriage trying to get through every day with her unborn child and an attentive (and attractive) doctor. This movie would later be translated onto the Broadway stage (2016), and even later be recorded on the stage for the same screen it started on (2023). -
Spotify Launches
Spotify officially launched and has since become the world’s most popular audio streaming subscription service, with more than 574 million users and counting. -
Sichuan Earthquake
An 8.0-magnitude earthquake strikes China’s Sichuan province just outside of the city of Dujiangyan, killing nearly 90,000 and leaving millions homeless. This massive earthquake caused multiple smaller aftershocks to take place, including a 5.0-magnitude earthquake in Chengdu in May 2010. -
President Obama
Before his presidency, Barack Obama served on the Senate representing Illinois. He then became the 44th president of the United States, as well as the first African American to hold the presidential office. In 2009 he was awarded a Nobel Peace Prize, “for his extraordinary efforts to strengthen international diplomacy and cooperation between peoples.” -
Michael Jackson Dies
Michael Jackson, known as the "King of Pop" for his surge within the music industry, died at the age of 50 from cardiac arrest due to a lethal combination of sedatives and propofol. He was in the midst of preparing a come-back concert tour after facing many years of lawful and financial troubles. -
Avatar Beats Titanic
James Cameron's Avatar had its world premiere; it would go on to dethrone his blockbuster Titanic (1997) as the world's highest-grossing film. At the Golden Globes ceremony in 2010, Cameron received the award for best director, and Avatar was named best picture.