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Nelson Mandela freed from prison
Mandela was arrested in August 1962 and sentenced to five years in prison. In 1963, he was convicted a second time for sabotage. He received a life sentence on June 12, 1964, and was sent to prison on Robben Island. On Feb. 12, 1990, Mandela was released after 27 years in prison. -
Lech Walesa becomes the first president of Poland
Lech Wałęsa is a Polish statesman, dissident, and Nobel Peace Prize laureate, who served as the first democratically elected president of Poland from 1990 to 1995. -
The Rwandan genocide begins
The genocide was set into motion by the death of Rwandan President Juvénal Habyarimana. On April 6th, 1994, Habyarimana's plane was shot down by a missile of unknown origin. Government-aligned forces used (Hutu) Habyarimana's death as an excuse to begin a campaign of slaughter they had been planning for some time, and the genocide began on April 7th. It went on for about 100 days -
Nelson Mandela is elected as president of South Africa
The African National Congress won a 63% share of the vote at the election, and Mandela, as leader of the ANC, was inaugurated on 10 May 1994 as the country's first Black President. -
The Oklahoma City bombing
Oklahoma City was partially destroyed by a terrorist bomb on April 19, 1995. Injuries were sustained by 759 people, 168 of whom died. Fatalities occurred primarily among victims in the collapse zone of the federal building. Only 83 survivors required hospitalization. Twenty-two surviving victims sustained multiple fractures. -
O.J. Simpson is arrested for double murder
One of the professional sports' most recognizable athletes was accused of their brutal murders. On Oct. 3, 1995, O.J. Simpson was acquitted of double murder charges in the death of his ex-wife, Nicole Brown Simpson, and Ronald Goldman. Brown and Goldman were stabbed to death on June 12, 1994, outside her condo in Los Angeles' Brentwood area. Simpson was named a person of interest and led police on a low-speed pursuit on June 17 after he failed to meet with police -
Princess Diana dies in a car crash in France
Diana—still alive—was rushed to the Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital. Early reports said Diana was suffering from a concussion, broken arm, and cut thigh. However, the princess had also suffered massive chest injuries. Operating for two hours, doctors tried and failed, to get Diana's heart beating properly again. She never regained consciousness. Diana passed away from internal bleeding at 4:53 on the morning of August 31, 1997 -
James Cameron directs Titanic, the most successful film in history
The 1997 film "Titanic" is one of the most successful and iconic movies ever produced. It won 11 Oscars, including best picture, and is still one of the highest-grossing films of all time. -
Google goes online
Google was officially launched in 1998 by Larry Page and Sergey Brin to market Google Search, which has become the most used web-based search engine. Larry Page and Sergey Brin, students at Stanford University in California, developed a search algorithm at first known as "BackRub" in 1996, with the help of Scott Hassan and Alan Steremberg. The search engine soon proved successful and the expanding company moved several times, finally settling at Mountain View in 2003. -
President Bill Clinton is impeached for Scandal but remains in office..
The Clinton impeachment turned on a salacious scandal that featured the President caught in a lie about his extramarital affair with an intern at the White House. -
Columbine High School shooting
The Columbine shooting on April 20, 1999, at Columbine High School in Littleton, Colorado, occurred when two teens went on a shooting spree, killing 13 people and wounding more than 20 others, before turning their guns on themselves and committing suicide. The Columbine shooting was, at the time, the worst high school shooting in U.S. history and prompted a national debate on gun control and school safety. -
Vicente Fox is elected president of Mexico
Fox was elected President of Mexico in the 2000 presidential election, a historically significant election since it made him the first president elected from an opposition party since the election of Francisco I. Madero in 1910. Fox finished in first place with 42 percent of the vote. -
the U.S. supreme court ends the election of 2000.
The Supreme Court effectively handed the presidential election to George W. Bush, overturning the Florida Supreme Court and ruling by a vote of 5 to 4 that there could be no further counting of Florida's disputed presidential votes. -
September 11 attack
On September 11, 2001, 19 militants associated with the Islamic extremist group al Qaeda hijacked four airplanes and carried out suicide attacks against targets in the United States. Two of the planes were flown into the twin towers of the World Trade Center in New York City, a third plane hit the Pentagon just outside Washington, D.C., and the fourth plane crashed in a field in Shanksville, Pennsylvania. Almost 3,000 people were killed during the 9/11 terrorist attacks. -
Denzel Washington and Halle Berry Oscar triumph
Denzel Washington and Halle Berry made history at the Academy Awards by becoming the first black actors to be named Best Actor and Best Actress on the same night at the 74th annual Academy Awards. -
U.S. troops captures Saddam Hussein
When the US invaded Baghdad in March 2003, the ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein and his family fled the city, leading to one of the most intense manhunts in history. That manhunt ended on December 13, 2003, when US forces captured and arrested the disheveled former dictator on the outskirts of his hometown in Tikrit, Iraq — without firing a single shot. -
YouTube explodes on the Web
By the time YouTube was officially launched on December 15, 2005, it was serving more than two million video views each day. By January 2006 that number had increased to more than 25 million views. The number of videos available at the site surpassed 25 million in March 2006, with more than 20,000 new videos uploaded on a daily basis. -
Barack Obama becomes president of the United States
Barack Hussein Obama II is an American politician and attorney who served as the 44th president of the United States from 2009 to 2017. A member of the Democratic Party, Obama was the first African-American president of the United States. -
Michael Jackson dies
Michael Joseph Jackson was an American singer, songwriter, and dancer. Dubbed the "King of Pop", he is regarded as one of the most significant cultural figures of the 20th century. On June 25, 2009, American singer Michael Jackson died of acute propofol and benzodiazepine intoxication at his home on North Carolwood Drive in the Holmby Hills neighborhood of Los Angeles. -
James Cameron's avatar opens in theaters
After James Cameron‘s Avatar broke box office records a decade ago, conventional wisdom said that the key reasons for the film’s unprecedented success were its jaw-dropping visuals, excellent use of 3D, and the immersive setting of Pandora. -
Christopher Nolan's inception opens in theaters.
Inception,” a complex dramatic thriller about dream invasion, was No. 1 at North American theaters over the weekend with $60.4 million in ticket sales, according to Hollywood.com, which compiles box-office data. That total gave the star of “Inception,” Leonardo DiCaprio, the biggest opening of his career. (While “Titanic,” which starred Mr. DiCaprio, went on to become one of the highest-grossing films ever made, it took in $28 million on its first weekend. -
Muammar Gaddafi dies
Muammar Muhammad Abu Minyar al-Gaddafi, commonly known as Colonel Gaddafi, was a Libyan revolutionary, politician, and political theorist. -
Whitney Houston dies
Whitney Elizabeth Houston was an American singer and actress. She was certified as the most awarded female artist of all time by Guinness World Records and is one of the best-selling recording artists of all time. Houston was found dead in a bathtub in a Beverly Hills Hilton hotel room just before the Grammy Awards in 2012, and the coroner confirmed she died by accidental drowning, but heart disease and cocaine use were contributing factors -
Facebook has over 1 billion users
Regardless, 2012 was arguably Facebook's biggest year in terms of noteworthy accomplishments. And that's saying a lot since it was widely credited with facilitating the Arab Spring in 2011. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg announced that the network had surpassed 1 billion active users on Oct. 4. There are 7 billion people on the entire planet. -
George Lucas sells Star Wars franchise to Disney.
On October 30, 2012, Disney announced a deal to acquire Lucasfilm for $4.05 billion with approximately half in cash and a half in shares of Disney stock. Lucasfilm had previously collaborated with the company's Walt Disney Imagineering division to create theme park attractions centered on Star Wars and Indiana Jones for various Walt Disney Parks and Resorts worldwide. -
Barack Obama begins second term as president of the U.S.
Barack Hussein Obama was re-elected President of the United States on Tuesday, November 6th, 2012, serving a second term as the nation’s first African-American president. The 2012 presidential election was a race between Democratic incumbent President Obama and Republican Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney. The two other presidential candidates included Green Party nominee Jill Stein and Libertarian Party nominee, New Mexico Governor Gary Johnson. -
Boston Marathon bombings
During the annual Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013, two homemade pressure-cooker bombs detonated 14 seconds and 210 yards apart at 2:49 p.m., near the finish line of the race, killing 3 people and injuring hundreds of others, including 17 who lost limbs. -
Malaysia Airlines flight 370 with 239 people on board disappears.
Malaysia Airlines Flight 370 was a scheduled international passenger flight operated by Malaysia Airlines that disappeared on 8 March 2014 while flying from Kuala Lumpur International Airport to its planned destination, Beijing Capital International Airport. -
Actor Robin Williams dies.
Robin McLaurin Williams was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and a wide variety of voices, he is often regarded as one of the best comedians of all time. On August 11, 2014, Williams was found dead in his California home. A release from the County Sheriff's office following an autopsy revealed he had hanged himself. No alcohol or illegal drugs were found in his system. -
#OscarsSoWhite
OscarsSoWhite was the catalyst for an enduring social justice campaign. In 2016 the Academy announced its slate of acting nominations for the upcoming awards, and it was once again exclusively composed of white actors. -
Muhammad Ali dies.
Muhammad Ali was an American professional boxer, activist, entertainer and philanthropist. Nicknamed The Greatest, he is widely regarded as one of the most significant and celebrated figures of the 20th century and as one of the greatest boxers of all time. Death. Ali died on June 3, 2016, in Phoenix, Arizona, after being hospitalized for what was reportedly a respiratory issue. He was 74 years old. The boxing legend had been suffering from Parkinson's disease and spinal stenosis. -
Wonder Woman Is the highest-grossing female-directed film in the world.
Patty Jenkins’ Wonder Woman, starring Gal Gadot as the eponymous Amazon warrior, is now the highest-grossing live-action film directed by a woman in the world, ever. As of this weekend, the film has earned $635 million worldwide, beating out the $609.8 million of 2008’s Meryl Streep-starring Mamma Mia!, directed by Phyllida Lloyd. -
Donald Trump and Kim Jong Un summit.
US president Donald Trump and North Korean leader Kim Jong Un after a signing ceremony during their historic summit in Singapore. They agreed to negotiate to end a decades-old nuclear stand-off. -
Brett Kavanaugh testifies.
US Supreme Court nominee Brett Kavanaugh testifies during his confirmation hearing before a Senate committee. During the confirmation process, Kavanaugh was accused of sexually assaulting Christine Blasey Ford while they were both in high school. On September 23, a second woman, Deborah Ramirez, accused Kavanaugh of sexual assault in 1983. Kavanaugh categorically denied the allegations made by Ford and Ramirez. -
California wildfires.
The 2018 wildfire season was the deadliest and most destructive wildfire season in California history. It was also the largest on record at the time, now second to the 2020 California wildfire season. In 2018, there were a total of 103 confirmed fatalities, 24,226 structures damaged or destroyed, and 8,527 fires burning 1,975,086 acres (799,289 ha), about 2% of the state's 100 million acres of land. -
Fire at Notre-Dame.
On 15 April 2019, just before 18:20 CEST, a structure fire broke out beneath the roof of Notre-Dame de Paris cathedral in Paris. By the time it was extinguished, the building's spire collapsed and most of its roof had been destroyed and its upper walls severely damaged. -
The COVID-19 Pandemic.
Things that start small can reshape the world. Few people noticed when news emerged last December that China had begun monitoring the outbreak of a new pneumonia-like virus, or even on January 11 after China reported its first death from the disease. Nearly a year later, COVID-19 had changed life as we knew it. The World Health Organization estimated in October that as much as 10 percent of the world’s population had already contracted COVID-19. -
Joe Biden Wins the Presidency.
Americans felt passionately about the 2020 presidential election. The proof is in the turnout: More than 159 million people voted. That equates to 66.7 percent voter turnout, the highest since 1900. More than 100 million Americans voted early, either in-person or by mail, the first time in history that more people voted before Election Day than on it. -
The U.S. Senate Acquits Donald Trump of Impeachment Charges.
In most years, a presidential impeachment trial would top the year-end list of biggest news stories. But in 2020, it only just makes the top ten. Donald Trump began the year as the third president in U.S. history to be impeached, joining Andrew Johnson and Bill Clinton. The U.S. House had impeached Trump on two charges: abuse of power and obstruction of Congress. -
The killing of George Floyd.
Racism has been called America’s original sin. But it is a sin that extends beyond the United States. On May 25, George Floyd, a forty-six-year-old Black man, was arrested in Minneapolis for allegedly passing a counterfeit $20 bill. One of the arresting officers kept his knee on Floyd’s neck for eight minutes and fifteen seconds, killing him. Floyd’s death at the hands of officers followed on the heels of literally hundreds of similar police killings of Black Americans.
