July 7: The draft assembly of Human Genome Project is announced at the White House by US President Bill Clinton, Francis Collins, and Craig Venter.

Tags: Genetics, Biology, Human Genome Project, Bill Clinton, Biotechnology, Healthcare

The Tau neutrino is discovered by the DONUT collaboration

Tags: Physics, Particle Physics, Standard Model, Experimental Physics, High Energy Physics, Fundamental Particles

February 17 - Microsoft released Windows 2000.

Tags: Operating Systems, Microsoft, Software, Computing, Digital Revolution, Business

March 4: The Sony PlayStation 2 releases in Japan. The system became the highest-selling video game console in history.

Tags: Video Games, Consumer Electronics, Sony, Entertainment

September 13: Steve Jobs introduces the public beta of Mac OS X.

Tags: Operating Systems, Apple, Steve Jobs, Software, Computer Science, Digital Revolution

November 2: International Space Station begins operations; its first crew, composed of three men, arrives.

Tags: Space Exploration, Space Station, International Cooperation, Scientific Advancement, NASA, Astronauts, Orbital Mechanics

Short description is different from Wikidata

Tags: Genetics, Human Genome Project, Biotechnology, Medicine, DNA, Research

Sony develops the first prototypes for the Blu-ray optical disc format. The first prototype player was released in 2004.

Tags: Electronics, Sony, Digital Media, Home Entertainment, Consumer Electronics

March 26: Vladimir Putin is elected President of Russia.

Tags: Elections, Presidency, Leadership, Governance, International Relations

June 13–15: First inter-Korean summit.

Tags: Summit, Kim Jong-il, Inter-Korean Relations, Cold War, Peace Process, Diplomacy

July 11–25: The 2000 Camp David Summit, aimed at reaching a "final status" agreement between the Palestinians and the Israelis, was held between Unite...

Tags: Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Peace Process, Diplomacy, Summit, Yasser Arafat, Bill Clinton

October 5: Yugoslav President Slobodan Milošević resigns following a revolution in Belgrade.

Tags: Yugoslavia, Revolution, President, Authoritarianism

December 12: In Bush v. Gore, the United States Supreme Court declares George W. Bush President of the United States.

Tags: Supreme Court, Presidential Election, George W. Bush, Legal System, Constitutional Law

The first draft of the Human Genome Project is published.

Tags: Genetics, Biology, Medicine, Research, Human Genome Project, DNA, Biotechnology, International Collaboration

October 23: Steve Jobs introduces the first iPod.

Tags: Consumer Electronics, Apple, Steve Jobs, Globalization

Media magnate Silvio Berlusconi was elected Prime Minister of Italy.

Tags: Prime Minister, European Politics, Political Leadership, Elections

March 14: SpaceX is founded by Elon Musk.

Tags: Space Exploration, Aerospace, Commercial Space, Entrepreneurship

Steve Fossett becomes the first person to fly solo nonstop around the world.

Tags: Aviation, Exploration

April 11 - 13: 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt fails to overthrow president Hugo Chavez.

Tags: Coup d'état, Political Instability, Venezuela, Democracy, Failed Coup

May 20: East Timor gains independence.

Tags: Independence, Decolonization, Self-determination, Sovereignty, United Nations, Post-Colonialism

July 1: The International Criminal Court is established.

Tags: International Law, Human Rights, Justice, War Crimes, Genocide, Crimes Against Humanity, International Relations, Multilateralism

July 9: The African Union is founded.

Tags: African Union, Pan-Africanism, Political Organization, Regional Cooperation, International Relations

Hu Jintao is elected as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party.

Tags: Chinese Communist Party, Leadership, Political Transition, Governance

The Human Genome Project is completed.

Tags: Genetics, Biology, Scientific Research, Biotechnology, Medical Advancements, International Collaboration, DNA, Molecular Biology

Grigori Perelman presents proof of the Poincaré Conjecture.

Tags: Mathematics, Proof, Scientific Advancement

August 27 – 29: The first six-party talks, involving South and North Korea, the United States, China, Japan and Russia.

Tags: Nuclear Proliferation, Diplomacy, International Relations, Denuclearization, Security

November 3 – 23: The Rose Revolution occurs in Georgia.

Tags: Revolution, Democracy, Elections, Political Protest, Nonviolent Resistance

Spirit and Opportunity land on Mars.

Tags: Space Exploration, Mars, Robotics, NASA, Planetary Science, Exploration

First surface images of Saturn's moon Titan.

Tags: Space Exploration, Astronomy, Planetary Science, Exploration

Andre Geim and Konstantin Novoselov isolated graphene, a monolayer of carbon atoms, and studied its quantum electrical properties.

Tags: Physics, Materials Science, Nanotechnology, Nobel Prize

February 4: Facebook is formed by Mark Zuckerberg, Andrew McCollum, Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes.

Tags: Social Media, Internet, Communication, Social Networking, Web 2.0, Global Impact

First podcast, invented by Adam Curry and Dave Winer, is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet and it usually feat...

Tags: Digital Media, Internet, Audio, Communication

NATO and the European Union incorporates most of the former Eastern Bloc.

Tags: NATO, European Union, Cold War, Geopolitics, Integration, International Relations

Orange Revolution in Ukraine.

Tags: Democracy, Elections, Protests, Political Corruption, Geopolitics

July 29: Michael E. Brown confirms the discovery of the dwarf planet Eris.

Tags: Astronomy, Planetary Science, Solar System, Space Exploration, Kuiper Belt

Grid cells in the brain are discovered by Edvard Moser and May-Britt Moser.

Tags: Cognitive Science, Nobel Prize, Cell Biology, Research

February 14: YouTube is founded by Jawed Karim, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen.

Tags: Internet, Social Media, Digital Media, Web 2.0

November 30: Surgeons in France carry out the first human face transplant with Isabelle Dinoire becoming the first person to undergo it.

Tags: Medicine, Surgery, Medical Ethics

February 14 – April 27: Cedar Revolution in Lebanon triggered by the assassination of Rafic Hariri.

Tags: Political Protest, Assassination, Civil Unrest, Democracy Movement

February 16: The Kyoto Protocol comes into effect.

Tags: Environmentalism, Climate Change, International Relations, Treaty, Sustainability, Global Warming, United Nations

August 3: Mahmoud Ahmadinejad becomes President of Iran.

Tags: Presidency, Elections, Islamic Republic, Political Leadership, Foreign Policy, Diplomacy

November 22: Angela Merkel becomes Germany's first female Chancellor.

Tags: Chancellor, European Union, Female Leadership

Israel withdraws from Gaza.

Tags: Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Territorial Disputes, Withdrawal, Settlements, Security

March 21: Twitter is launched.

Tags: Social Media, Internet, Communication, Social Networking, Global Impact

October 9 – November 13: Google acquires YouTube for US$1.65 billion.

Tags: Internet, Social Media, Digital Media, Google, Web 2.0

Nintendo launches the Wii.

Tags: Video Games, Entertainment, Gaming Industry

January 16: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf becomes President of Liberia, and thus Africa's first elected female head of state.

Tags: Liberia, Presidential Elections, Democracy, African Politics, Women's Rights

January 25: Hamas wins the 2006 Palestinian legislative election.

Tags: Hamas, Elections, Political Islam, Governance

September 19: A coup d'état in Thailand overthrows the government of Prime Minister Thaksin Shinawatra.

Tags: Coup d'état, Thailand, Military, Government, Political Instability

November 1: Former Russian security agent Alexander Litvinenko dies from poisoning in the UK.

Tags: Assassination, Espionage, Cold War, Political Intrigue, Human Rights, Intelligence Agencies, Poisoning, International Relations

December 30: Execution of Saddam Hussein by hanging.

Tags: Iraq War, Saddam Hussein, Execution, War on Terror, International Law, Human Rights, Regime Change

January 9: Introduction of the iPhone.

Tags: Mobile Phones, Smartphones, Apple, Steve Jobs, Consumer Electronics, Digital Revolution, Internet

Netflix debuted the first popular video-on-demand service

Tags: Internet, Streaming, Entertainment, Digital Media, Global Impact

The Bank of Scotland develops the world's first banking app

Tags: Banking, Mobile Technology, Digital Revolution, Internet, Communication

SoundCloud, the first on-demand service to focus on music is debuted

Tags: Music, Internet, Digital Media, Streaming, Social Media

In 2007, Amazon launched the first Kindle e-reader, a device developed under the direction of CEO Jeff Bezos to beat competitors to market; it was fol...

Tags: Amazon, Jeff Bezos, Consumer Electronics, Internet

January 4: Nancy Pelosi becomes the first female Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

Tags: House of Representatives

December 13: 27 EU member states sign the Treaty of Lisbon, with the treaty coming into effect on December 1, 2009.

Tags: European Union, Treaty, Political Integration, International Relations, Law, EU Enlargement, Governance

December 27: Assassination of Benazir Bhutto, opposition leader and former prime minister of Pakistan.

Tags: Assassination, Political Violence, Democracy, Islamism, Terrorism, Political Instability

Crisis follows the Kenyan presidential election of 2007, leading to the formation of a coalition government.

Tags: Election, Political Crisis, Violence, Coalition Government, Ethnic Conflict, Human Rights, Post-Colonialism

The Large Hadron Collider is completed as the world's largest and most powerful particle collider.

Tags: Particle Physics, High-Energy Physics, CERN, Experimental Physics

October 7: Spotify is launched.

Tags: Internet, Music, Digital Media, Streaming, Entertainment, Business, Copyright

Google Chrome is released.

Tags: Internet, Software, Google, World Wide Web, Information Technology

Tesla Roadster launched, the first mass production lithium-ion battery electric car.

Tags: Electric Vehicles, Automotive Industry, Environmentalism, Sustainability, Transportation

Satoshi Nakamoto develops the first blockchain.

Tags: Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, Decentralization, Cryptography, Information Technology, Digital Currency, Internet

May 28: The 1st Nepalese Constituent Assembly declares Nepal a republic, ending its monarchy.

Tags: Republic, Monarchy, Political Transition, Democracy

November 4: Barack Obama is elected the first African-American President of the United States.

Tags: Presidential Election, Civil Rights, Equality, Democracy

Kosovo declares independence, though it is not recognised by the United Nations.

Tags: Independence, Self-determination, Ethnic Conflict, Sovereignty, Nation-building, International Relations

January 3: The cryptocurrency Bitcoin is launched.

Tags: Cryptocurrency, Bitcoin, Digital Currency, Decentralization, Finance, Internet, Cryptography

January 20: First inauguration of Barack Obama.

Tags: Presidency, Civil Rights, Elections, Inauguration, Global Impact

Election protests begin in Iran.

Tags: Election, Protest, Political Unrest, Human Rights, Islamic Republic, Democracy

The first synthetic organism, Mycoplasma laboratorium is created by the J. Craig Venter Institute

Tags: Genetic Engineering, Biotechnology, Research and Development, Scientific Breakthrough

The first self-replicating, synthetic bacterial cells are constructed.

Tags: Genetics, Molecular Biology, Biotechnology, Cell Biology, Research, Bioethics

The Neanderthal Genome Project presented preliminary genetic evidence that interbreeding likely occurred and that a small but significant portion of N...

Tags: Genetics, Human Evolution, DNA, Anthropology

The iPad is introduced.

Tags: Computing, Apple, Mobile Technology, Consumer Electronics

Instagram is launched.

Tags: Social Media, Internet, Social Networking, Digital Culture, Communication

Burmese political prisoner Aung San Suu Kyi is released from house arrest.

Tags: Human Rights, Democracy, Activism, Authoritarianism, Political Reform

Arab Spring starts.

Tags: Political Protest, Revolution, Democracy, Authoritarianism, Human Rights, Social Media, Civil Unrest, Geopolitics, Political Islam

Julia Gillard is elected first woman Prime Minister of Australia.

Tags: Prime Minister, Leadership, Gender Equality

NASA launches spacecraft to visit Jupiter and Mars.

Tags: Space Exploration, NASA, Astronomy, Planetary Science, Jupiter, Spacecraft

HIV treatment as prevention (HPTN 052)

Tags: HIV, Public Health, Medical Research, Epidemiology, Global Health

Space Shuttle program is officially ended.

Tags: Space Exploration, NASA, Space Race, Aerospace Engineering, Cold War Legacy, Human Spaceflight, International Collaboration

July 9: Independence of South Sudan.

Tags: Independence, Self-determination, Post-Colonialism, Civil War, African Politics, Nation-building, Diplomacy

Arab Spring: revolutions in Tunisia, Egypt and Libya follow, as well as uprisings in Yemen and Bahrain, and protests in several other Arab countries.

Tags: Political Revolution, Democracy, Authoritarianism, Protests, Civil Unrest, Geopolitics, Arab World, Dictatorship, Social Media, Human Rights

Occupy movement inspires worldwide protests.

Tags: Protest, Social Justice, Globalization, Financial Crisis, Activism, Democracy

Death and state funeral of Kim Jong-il.

Tags: Kim Jong-il, State Funeral, Dictatorship, Succession

The US rover, Curiosity, takes a selfie on Mars and finds evidence of an ancient streambed of water on the Red Planet.

Tags: Space Exploration, Mars, Planetary Science, Astronomy, Robotics, NASA, Geology

Higgs boson is discovered at CERN (confirmed to 99.999% certainty)

Tags: Particle Physics, CERN, Standard Model, Fundamental Physics, Experimental Physics, High-Energy Physics, Theoretical Physics

May 7: Vladimir Putin is elected president of Russia for the third time.

Tags: Presidency, Vladimir Putin, Elections, Political Leadership, Authoritarianism

November 6: Barack Obama wins second term as President of the United States, defeating former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

Tags: Presidential Election, Democracy

November 15: Xi Jinping is elected as General Secretary of the Chinese Communist Party.

Tags: Chinese Communist Party, Xi Jinping, Leadership, Communist Party, Authoritarianism, Global Power

November 26 – December 8: UN Climate Change Conference agrees to extend the Kyoto Protocol until 2020.

Tags: Climate Change, United Nations, Environmental Policy, Sustainable Development, Global Governance, Environmentalism

Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh steps down.

Tags: Presidential Resignation, Arab Spring, Civil Unrest, Political Transition, Authoritarianism, Middle East Politics

Cancer immunotherapy

Tags: Medicine, Research, Biotechnology, Healthcare

March 5: Death and state funeral of Hugo Chavez.

Tags: Venezuela, Presidency, Socialism, Hugo Chávez, Political Leadership, State Funeral, Populism

July 1: Croatia becomes a member of the European Union.

Tags: European Integration, European Union, International Relations

July 3: President of Egypt Mohamed Morsi is deposed by the military in a coup d'état.

Tags: Coup d'état, Military, Political Instability, Arab Spring, Democracy, Authoritarianism

November 21: The Euromaidan uprising begins in Ukraine.

Tags: Revolution, Political Protest, Geopolitics, Democracy, Government Overthrow

Edward Snowden releases classified documents concerning mass surveillance by the NSA.

Tags: Surveillance, Privacy, National Security, Transparency, Global Impact

Uruguay becomes the first country to fully legalize cannabis.

Tags: Cannabis, Drug Policy, Legalization, Public Health, Social Reform

Exotic hadrons are discovered at the LHCb

Tags: Particle Physics, Experimental Physics, Fundamental Physics, CERN, High Energy Physics

November 12: The Rosetta spacecraft's Philae probe becomes the first to successfully land on a comet.

Tags: Space Exploration, Comets, Astronomy, Spacecraft

February: Euromaidan protest in Ukraine sparks a revolution and the overthrow of Viktor Yanukovych, leading to Russia's annexation of Crimea and the w...

Tags: Revolution, Geopolitics, Annexation, Warfare, Cold War Legacy, Nationalism, Vladimir Putin

Narendra Modi is elected as the Prime Minister of India.

Tags: Prime Minister, Elections, Indian Politics, Government, Democracy

Joko Widodo is elected President of Indonesia.

Tags: Elections, Presidency, Democracy, Political Leadership, Government

Liquid water is found on Mars.

Tags: Space Exploration, Astronomy, Planetary Science, Mars, Astrobiology, NASA

First close-up images of Ceres and Pluto.

Tags: Space Exploration, Astronomy, Planetary Science, Solar System, NASA, Dwarf Planets

Homo naledi, a species of early human, is discovered in Africa.

Tags: Paleontology, Anthropology, Human Evolution, Fossil Discovery

CRISPR genome-editing method

Tags: Genetics, Biotechnology, Molecular Biology, Scientific Innovation, Bioethics, Medical Advancements, Global Impact

July 14: Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action agreement reached, setting limits to Iran's nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.

Tags: Nuclear Proliferation, Diplomacy, Sanctions, International Relations

November 30 – December 12: 195 nations agree to lower carbon emissions by negotiating the Paris agreement.

Tags: Climate Change, Environmentalism, International Relations, United Nations, Global Warming, Sustainability, Diplomacy, Environmental Policy

The heads of China and Taiwan meet for the first time, while the United States and Cuba reestablish full diplomatic relations.

Tags: Diplomacy, International Relations, Cold War Legacy, Cross-Strait Relations, US Foreign Policy

Assassination of Boris Nemtsov.

Tags: Assassination, Political Violence, Opposition, Human Rights, Vladimir Putin

February 11: Detection of gravitational waves by LIGO confirmed.

Tags: Physics, Astronomy, Gravitational Waves, General Relativity, LIGO, Black Holes, Cosmology

July 4: Juno enters orbit around Jupiter

Tags: Space Exploration, Astronomy, Planetary Science, NASA, Jupiter, Spacecraft

March 9-15: Artificial intelligence program AlphaGo defeats top Go player Lee Sedol in a series of 5 games, winning 4 out of 5 games.

Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Computer Science, Games, Algorithm

June 1: The Gotthard Base Tunnel, the world's longest and deepest railway tunnel, is completed.

Tags: Transportation, Railways, Infrastructure, Modernization, Construction

Augmented-reality game, Pokémon Go, is released, breaking records in revenue, and becoming the best-selling mobile game.

Tags: Video Games, Entertainment, Digital Culture

March 20: Barack Obama becomes the first U.S. president to visit Cuba since Calvin Coolidge in 1928.

Tags: Diplomacy, Foreign Relations, Cold War Legacy

May 9: Rodrigo Duterte becomes President of the Philippines, and initiates a controversial drug war.

Tags: Presidency, Human Rights, Law Enforcement, Controversy, Governance

June 23 – July 13: The people of the United Kingdom vote to leave the European Union; David Cameron resigns as a result, and Theresa May succeeds him ...

Tags: Brexit, European Union, Referendum, Political Transition, Populism, Globalization, Political Divisions

November 4: The Paris Agreement, signed by 195 nations to fight global warming, formally goes into effect.

Tags: Climate Change, International Relations, Environmentalism, Global Governance, United Nations, Treaty, Sustainability, Environmental Policy, Diplomacy

November 8: Donald Trump wins the 2016 presidential election, in an upset against Hillary Clinton, the first woman to be nominated by a major party.

Tags: Presidential Election, Populism, Political Polarization, Democracy, Donald Trump, Global Politics

The United Nations lifts sanctions from Iran in recognition of the dismantling of its nuclear program.

Tags: Nuclear Proliferation, Sanctions, United Nations, International Relations, Diplomacy, Middle East Politics

The Colombian government signs a peace deal with FARC to end the Colombian conflict, despite narrowly losing a referendum.

Tags: Peace Treaty, Civil War, Insurgency, FARC, Guerrilla Warfare, Political Conflict, Referendum

The government of Turkey begins a series of purges in reaction to a failed coup d'état attempt.

Tags: Coup d'état, Purges, Authoritarianism, Human Rights, Political Repression

The President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, is impeached.

Tags: Impeachment, Presidency, Political Crisis, Corruption, Democracy, Political Instability

King Bhumibol Adulyadej of Thailand dies after 70 years on the throne and is succeeded by his son Vajiralongkorn.

Tags: Monarchy, Succession, Thailand

Andrei Karlov, the Russian Ambassador to Turkey, is assassinated at an art exhibition in Ankara.

Tags: Assassination, Diplomacy, International Relations, Political Violence, Terrorism

Tsai Ing-wen is elected as the first female President of Taiwan.

Tags: Elections, Democracy, President, Female Leadership

2016 attack on the Saudi diplomatic missions in Iran.

Tags: Diplomacy, International Relations, Political Violence, Protests, Regional Conflict, Shia Islam, Sunni Islam

Death and state funeral of Fidel Castro.

Tags: Cold War, Cuban Revolution, Socialism, Communism, Dictatorship, Political Transition, Fidel Castro, State Funeral

Paris Agreement on Climate Change

Tags: Climate Change, Environmentalism, International Relations, United Nations, Sustainability, Global Governance

Gravitational wave signal GW170817 is observed by the LIGO/Virgo collaboration. This is the first instance of a gravitational wave event observed to h...

Tags: Astronomy, Astrophysics, Gravitational Waves, LIGO, Scientific Breakthrough, Cosmology, Space Exploration

Google publishes a research paper "Attention Is All You Need" leading to the development into a new deep learning architecture known as the transforme...

Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Computer Science, Google, Algorithm

January 20: Donald Trump is inaugurated as President of the United States.

Tags: Presidential Inauguration, Donald Trump, Political Transition, Executive Branch, Global Impact, Democracy, Governance

February 13: Kim Jong-nam, the half-brother of Kim Jong-Un, is assassinated in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia.

Tags: Assassination, Diplomacy, Cold War Legacy, Intelligence Agencies

Robert Mugabe is ousted in a coup d'état.

Tags: Coup d'état, Zimbabwe, Robert Mugabe, Dictatorship, Post-Colonialism, Political Transition, Military Intervention

The President of South Korea, Park Geun-hye, is impeached, while Moon Jae-in is elected president.

Tags: Presidency, Impeachment, Elections, Democracy, Political Transition

Emmanuel Macron becomes President of France after defeating far-right candidate Marine Le Pen.

Tags: Presidency, Elections, European Union, Populism

The first monkeys are cloned, and first genetically modified humans reported, in China.

Tags: Biotechnology, Cloning, Genetic Engineering, Ethics, Scientific Advancement

The northern white rhinoceros becomes functionally extinct.

Tags: Extinction, Conservation, Wildlife, Endangered Species, Zoology, Ecology, Global Impact

Single-cell sequencing

Tags: Genetics, Biology, Biotechnology, Molecular Biology, Cell Biology, Research, Medical Advancements

June 12: The first summit between the US and North Korea and the first ever crossing of the Korean Demilitarized Zone by a North Korean leader occur.

Tags: Diplomacy, Nuclear Proliferation, Cold War, Summit, Kim Jong-un, Donald Trump, Denuclearization

October 2: Exiled Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi is assassinated inside the Saudi consulate in Istanbul, triggering a diplomatic crisis fo...

Tags: Assassination, Human Rights, Journalism, International Relations, Freedom of Speech, Political Repression

Pakatan Harapan becomes the first opposition party to assume power in Malaysia since independence.

Tags: Elections, Political Transition, Democracy, Opposition, Coalition Government

Macedonia and Greece reach a historic agreement in the Macedonia naming dispute, in which the former is renamed in 2019 to the 'Republic of North Mace...

Tags: Diplomacy, Nationalism, Identity, European Union, International Relations, Political Agreement

China's National People's Congress votes to abolish presidential term limits, allowing Xi Jinping to rule for life. Xi is also the General Secretary o...

Tags: Xi Jinping, Chinese Communist Party, Political Power, Authoritarianism, Leadership, Political Reform, Global Politics

2018 Armenian revolution occurs.

Tags: Revolution, Political Transition, Protest, Democracy, Corruption, Civil Disobedience, Post-Soviet States

First post-ISIL election in Iraq.

Tags: Post-Conflict, Elections, ISIL, Political Transition, Democracy

The Trump administration reimposes sanctions against Iran.

Tags: Sanctions, Donald Trump, Foreign Policy, Middle East Politics, International Relations

Four people are poisoned with a nerve agent, one fatally, in Salisbury and Amesbury, England in a suspected Russian assassination attempt.

Tags: Assassination, Espionage, Cold War, International Relations

April 10: The Event Horizon Telescope takes the first ever image of a black hole, at the core of galaxy Messier 87. Fossil fragments found in the Call...

Tags: Astronomy, Black Holes, Event Horizon Telescope, Paleontology, Human Evolution

October 18: NASA astronauts Jessica Meir and Christina Koch conduct the first all-female spacewalk outside of the ISS.

Tags: Space Exploration, NASA, Astronauts, Gender Equality

New Horizons takes the first close up image of a classical kuiper belt object.

Tags: Space Exploration, Astronomy, Kuiper Belt, Planetary Science, Solar System, Spacecraft, NASA

Isabelle Holdaway is the first patient to receive a genetically modified phage therapy to treat a drug-resistant infection.

Tags: Medicine, Biotechnology, Infectious Diseases, Genetic Engineering

January 3: Chang'e 4 becomes the first object to land on the far side of the Moon.

Tags: Space Exploration, Lunar Exploration, Astronautics, Scientific Achievement, Space Race, Aerospace

IBM launches IBM Q System One, its first integrated quantum computing system for commercial use.

Tags: Quantum Computing, IBM, Computer Science, Commercialization, Information Technology

January 25: Establishment of the Bangsamoro Autonomous Region in Muslim Mindanao.

Tags: Autonomy, Insurgency, Peace Process, Self-determination, Governance

April 30: Emperor Akihito of Japan abdicates from his throne, the first abdication by a Japanese monarch in almost two centuries. The abdication ends ...

Tags: Monarchy, Emperor, Abdication, Succession, Japanese History

August 5: India revokes the special status of Jammu and Kashmir.

Tags: Indian Politics, Nationalism, Sovereignty, Political Reform, Regional Tensions

December 18: US President Donald Trump is impeached by the House of Representatives for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Tags: Impeachment, Presidential Politics, House of Representatives, Donald Trump, Political Scandals

Protests begin in Hong Kong over an extradition bill.

Tags: Protests, Democracy, Civil Liberties, Political Reform, Hong Kong, Human Rights, Autonomy

The EU Directive on Copyright in the Digital Single Market is passed over intense opposition.

Tags: European Union, Copyright, Digital Rights, Legislation, Internet, Intellectual Property, Regulation

More than a hundred people are killed after police and Janjaweed attack protesters in Sudan.

Tags: Protests, Political Violence, Human Rights, Authoritarianism, Police Brutality, Civil Unrest

A trilateral gathering is held at the Panmunjom Truce Village between South Korean President Moon Jae-in, North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un and US Presi...

Tags: Denuclearization, Diplomacy, Summit, Inter-Korean Relations, United States Foreign Policy, Kim Jong-un, Donald Trump, Cold War Legacy

Twelve Catalan independence movement leaders found guilty of sedition and misuse of public funds and they were sentenced to 9 to 13 years in prison.

Tags: Independence Movement, Separatism, Regionalism, European Union

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu is indicted on charges of bribery, fraud and breach of trust.

Tags: Corruption, Political Scandals, Israeli Politics, Prime Minister, Criminal Justice, Bribery, Fraud

July 30: NASA successfully launches its Mars 2020 rover mission to search for signs of ancient life and collect samples for return to Earth.

Tags: Space Exploration, Mars, NASA, Astronomy, Planetary Science

August 25: Africa is declared free of wild polio, the second virus to be eradicated from the continent since smallpox 40 years previously.

Tags: Public Health, Disease Eradication, Vaccination, World Health Organization, Medical History, Epidemiology, Smallpox

October 20: NASA's OSIRIS-REx spacecraft briefly touches down on 101955 Bennu, becoming the agency's first probe to retrieve samples from an asteroid,...

Tags: Space Exploration, NASA, Cosmology, Planetary Science, Exploration

November 30: Protein folding, one of the biggest mysteries in biology, is solved by AlphaFold, an artificial intelligence algorithm developed by DeepM...

Tags: Biology, Artificial Intelligence, Scientific Breakthrough, Biotechnology, Genetics

China launches Chang'e 5 and becomes the third country after the US and the Soviet Union to return samples of the moon.

Tags: Space Exploration, Lunar Exploration, Astronomy, Space Race

The first MRNA vaccine to be approved by public health medicines regulators is co-developed by Pfizer and BioNTech for COVID-19.

Tags: COVID-19, Pandemic, Public Health, Medical Innovation

May 30: Crewed spaceflight resumes in the United States for the first time since 2011.

Tags: Space Exploration, NASA, Space Race, Commercial Spaceflight, Space Shuttle Program, Space Station, SpaceX, Human Spaceflight

OpenAI demonstrated an Artificial Intelligence model called GPT-3. The program was created to generate human-like responses when given prompts.

Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Software, Computer Science, OpenAI

January 16 – February 5: Donald Trump is acquitted by the United States Senate in his first impeachment trial.

Tags: Impeachment, Ancient rome, Donald Trump, President, Political Scandal, Constitutional Law

January 31: The United Kingdom formally withdraws from the European Union.

Tags: Brexit, European Union, Sovereignty, International Relations, Nationalism, Populism, Referendum

June 30: China's National People's Congress grants itself sweeping powers to curtail civil liberties in Hong Kong.

Tags: Authoritarianism, Civil Liberties, Human Rights, Hong Kong, National Security, Legislative Action, Sovereignty, Political Repression

July 28: Former Prime Minister of Malaysia Najib Razak is found guilty of all seven charges in the first of five trials on the 1MDB scandal, being jai...

Tags: Corruption, Malaysia, Criminal Justice, Government

August 19: The Special Tribunal for Lebanon convicts in absentia Salim Ayyash, a senior member of Hezbollah, for the 2005 assassination of former prim...

Tags: Assassination, Hezbollah, Terrorism, Political Violence

September 16: A United Nations Human Rights Council fact-finding mission formally accuses the Venezuelan government of crimes against humanity, includ...

Tags: Human Rights, United Nations, International Law, Crimes Against Humanity, Political Opposition, Authoritarianism, Venezuela

The 2020 U.S. presidential election saw record voter turnout, and although Joe Biden was declared the winner, Donald Trump contested the results, culm...

Tags: Presidential Election, Democracy, Political Polarization, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Political Crisis

December 2: The United Nations Commission on Narcotic Drugs votes to remove cannabis from a list of dangerous drugs in recognition of its medical valu...

Tags: United Nations, Drug Policy, Cannabis, International Law, Health

February 18: NASA's Mars 2020 mission (containing the Perseverance rover and Ingenuity helicopter drone) lands on Mars at Jezero Crater, after seven m...

Tags: Space Exploration, Mars, NASA, Aerospace

April 15: Scientists announce they successfully injected human stem cells into the embryos of monkeys, creating chimera-embryos.

Tags: Bioethics, Genetic Engineering, Medical Research

July 28: The first direct observation of light from behind a black hole is reported, confirming Einstein's theory of general relativity.

Tags: Black Holes, General Relativity, Albert Einstein, Astrophysics, Cosmology, Space Exploration, Relativity

August 9: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change releases the first part of its Sixth Assessment Report, which concludes that the effects of hu...

Tags: Climate Change, Environmental Science, Global Warming, Environmentalism, Sustainability

August 30: The UN Environment Programme announces that leaded petrol in road vehicles has been phased out globally, a hundred years after its introduc...

Tags: Environment, Pollution, Public Health, United Nations, Automotive Industry, Fossil Fuels, Regulation

October 6: The World Health Organization endorses the first malaria vaccine.

Tags: World Health Organization, Vaccination, Public Health, Malaria, Disease, Global Health, Medical Advancement

Pfizer develops the world's first pill for COVID.

Tags: COVID-19, Pandemic, Pharmaceuticals, Medical Innovation, Healthcare, Public Health

April 19: Ingenuity becomes the first vehicle to fly in the atmosphere of another planet. Miguel Díaz-Canel becomes First Secretary of the Communist P...

Tags: Space Exploration, Mars, Aviation, Cuban Revolution, Communist Party

July 19: Blue Origin successfully conducts its first human test flight, with a reusable New Shepard rocket delivering four crew members into space inc...

Tags: Space Exploration, Commercial Spaceflight, Jeff Bezos

September 16: Inspiration4, launched by SpaceX, becomes the first all-civilian spaceflight, carrying a four-person crew on a three-day orbit of the Ea...

Tags: Space Exploration, SpaceX, Commercial Spaceflight

January 6: Supporters of President Donald Trump, gathered after a rally led by him, attack the United States Capitol, leading to five deaths.

Tags: Political Violence, Protest, Democracy, Donald Trump, Elections, Insurgency, Political Polarization

January 10: Kim Jong-un is elected as the General Secretary of the ruling Workers' Party of Korea, inheriting the title from his father Kim Jong-il, w...

Tags: Kim Jong-un, Succession, Dictatorship, Political Leadership, Authoritarianism, Political Transition

January 13 – February 13: Donald Trump is impeached for a second time following the events of January 6, but is acquitted again after his trial from F...

Tags: Impeachment, Political Scandals

January 20: Joe Biden is inaugurated as President of the United States. Kamala Harris, sworn in as vice president, becomes the first woman, first Afri...

Tags: Presidency, Inauguration, Democracy, Joe Biden, Equality

May 23: Ryanair Flight 4978 is forced to land by Belarusian authorities to detain dissident journalist Roman Protasevich.

Tags: Journalism, Human Rights, Political Repression, Aviation, International Relations, Authoritarianism

June 13: Benjamin Netanyahu, the longest-serving prime minister of Israel, is voted out of office; Naftali Bennett and Yair Lapid are sworn in as Prim...

Tags: Government, Prime Minister, Coalition Government

June 19: Joe Biden signs Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law, making Juneteenth a federal holiday. It is the first new federal holiday s...

Tags: Joe Biden, Civil Rights, African American History, Equality, Legislation

July 7: Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, is assassinated in a midnight attack by unknown mercenaries.

Tags: Assassination, Political Instability, Haiti, Presidential Assassination, Mercenaries, Political Violence

July 18: An international investigation reveals that spyware sold by Israel's NSO Group to different governments is being used to target heads of stat...

Tags: Surveillance, Cybersecurity, Human Rights, Espionage, Privacy, Digital Rights, Political Activism, International Relations

197 nations sign the Glasgow Climate Pact, agreeing to limit the use of coal, and the Netherlands legally mandates Royal Dutch Shell to comply with th...

Tags: Climate Change, Environmentalism, Fossil Fuels, United Nations, Global Cooperation

March 20: WHL0137-LS "Earendel" imaged by Hubble Space Telescope, the earliest and most distant known star.

Tags: Astronomy, Space Exploration, Stars, Cosmology, Astrophysics, Discovery

May 12: Sagittarius A*, supermassive black hole at Galactic Center, imaged by Event Horizon Telescope.

Tags: Astronomy, Astrophysics, Event Horizon Telescope, Cosmology, Observation

July 11: James Webb Space Telescope takes Webb's First Deep Field, oldest and highest resolution image of the universe to date.

Tags: Space Exploration, Astronomy, Cosmology, Astrophysics, Telescopes

September 26: Double Asteroid Redirection Test demonstrates capabilities on asteroid (65803) Didymos I Dimorphos.

Tags: Space Exploration, Astronomy, Aerospace Engineering, NASA

National Ignition Facility achieves first fusion ignition.

Tags: Nuclear Physics, Energy, Scientific Breakthrough, Research and Development, Climate Change, Renewable Energy

The standard reference gene, GRCh38.p14, of the human genome, is fully sequenced and contains 3.1 billion base pairs.

Tags: Genetics, Biology, Human Genome Project, Molecular Biology, DNA, Medicine

April 14: Elon Musk purchases Twitter.

Tags: Social Media, Internet, Business, Communication

November 16: NASA launches Artemis 1, the first uncrewed mission of its Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket ever to reach orbit.

Tags: Space Exploration, NASA, Space Race, Exploration

November 30: OpenAI launches ChatGPT, an AI chatbot.

Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Software, Internet, OpenAI

ChatGPT is launched to the public, making its first mainstream generative AI to be released.

Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, OpenAI, Computer Science, Software, Digital Revolution

March 15 – November 14: Sri Lankan protests.

Tags: Protests, Economic Crisis, Government Corruption, Political Instability, Presidential Resignation, Inflation, Social Unrest, Democracy

June 30: Ketanji Brown Jackson becomes the first black woman on the Supreme Court.

Tags: Supreme Court, Civil Rights, Equality, Gender Equality, Race Relations

July – October: United Kingdom government crises

Tags: Political Crisis, Government Instability, Conservative Party, Prime Minister, Brexit

July 8: Assassination of Shinzo Abe.

Tags: Assassination, Political Violence, Prime Minister

August 31: UN Human Rights Office report on Xinjiang is released.

Tags: Human Rights, United Nations, Xinjiang, International Relations, Humanitarian Crisis

August 31: Mikhail Gorbachev, the last leader of the Soviet Union, dies at age 91.

Tags: Soviet Union, Cold War, Glasnost, Perestroika, Democratization, Political Leadership, Geopolitics

September 8: Elizabeth II dies at the age of 96, and is succeeded by Charles III.

Tags: Monarchy, Commonwealth, Succession, Elizabeth II, Head of State

September 16: Mahsa Amini protests.

Tags: Protests, Human Rights, Women's Rights, Civil Unrest, Political Repression, Theocracy, Activism

November 26: COVID-19 protests in China.

Tags: Protests, COVID-19, Civil Unrest, Human Rights, Political Dissent, Authoritarianism, Social Movements

December 7: Self-coup attempt, impeachment and arrest of President Pedro Castillo sparks protests in Peru.

Tags: Political Crisis, Impeachment, Protests, Coup Attempt, President, Democracy, Peru, Government

December 9: Qatar corruption scandal at the European Parliament.

Tags: Corruption, European Union, Political Scandal, Bribery, Diplomacy, Transparency, Political Ethics

April 13: R21/Matrix-M malaria vaccine approved for use.

Tags: Vaccination, Malaria, Disease Eradication, Public Health, Medical Advancement, Pharmaceuticals, Global Health

May 5: World Health Organization ends the designation of COVID-19 as a public health emergency of international concern.

Tags: COVID-19, Pandemic, World Health Organization, Public Health, Epidemiology, Global Health, International Relations

August 23: ISRO's Chandrayaan 3 lands on the lunar south pole making India the 4th nation to successfully soft land on the Moon.

Tags: Space Exploration, Moon Landing, Space Race, Scientific Achievement

2023 is the hottest year on record.

Tags: Climate Change, Global Warming, Environment, Extreme Weather, Temperature, Meteorology, Earth Science

April 20: SpaceX conducts the first full stack test launch of the world's most powerful rocket, Starship.

Tags: Space Exploration, SpaceX, Commercial Space

January – October: 2023 Israeli judicial reform protests.

Tags: Protests, Israeli Politics, Democracy, Political Polarization, Human Rights, Civil Society

January 8: 2023 Brazilian Congress attack.

Tags: Political Violence, Democracy, Protests, Political Instability

March 10: Iran and Saudi Arabia restore diplomatic relations.

Tags: Diplomacy, International Relations, Geopolitics, Regional Power

May 6: Charles III is crowned king of the United Kingdom and Commonwealth realms.

Tags: Monarchy, Commonwealth, Succession, Ceremony, Political Transition

October 3: Kevin McCarthy's expulsion via a motion introduced by Matt Gaetz is the first ousting of a Speaker of the United States House of Representa...

Tags: House of Representatives, Political Crisis, Legislative Branch

December 12: COP28 ends with world leaders pledging transition away from fossil fuels.

Tags: Climate Change, Environmentalism, United Nations, Fossil Fuels, International Cooperation, Sustainable Development, Global Warming

The International Criminal Court issues an arrest warrant for Vladimir Putin.

Tags: War Crimes, International Law, International Criminal Court, Vladimir Putin, Justice, Accountability

May 15: Attempted assassination of Robert Fico

Tags: Political Violence, Assassination, Prime Minister, Populism, Political Polarization, European Politics

May 29: African National Congress loses parliamentary majority for first time since end of Apartheid in South African general election

Tags: Apartheid, Elections, Democracy, Political Transition, Post-Apartheid, Political Parties, Government

June 24: Julian Assange released from prison in UK after accepting US plea bargain, returns to Australia

Tags: Espionage, Freedom of the Press, International Law, Transparency

July 4: Labour wins United Kingdom general election

Tags: Elections, Labour Party, Political Parties, Government

July 19: ICJ finds Israeli occupation of Palestinian territories a violation of international law

Tags: International Law, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Occupation, Human Rights, Territorial Disputes, Diplomacy, Self-determination, International Relations

October 27: Shigeru Ishiba becomes Prime Minister of Japan as general election results in historic hung parliament

Tags: Prime Minister, Elections, Political Crisis, Government

November 5: Donald Trump wins US presidential election

Tags: Presidential Election, Donald Trump, Democracy, Elections, Political Campaigns, American Politics

November 21: International Criminal Court arrest warrants for Israeli leaders

Tags: International Law, International Criminal Court, Israeli-Palestinian conflict, War Crimes, Human Rights, Accountability, Global Politics