The third millennium actually started at about 21h00 on 31 December 2000, or even more correctly, on 31 December 1995. See the history of the calendar
2000 Final Peanut comic strip published. Largest ever corporate merger as AOL buys Time-Warner for $162 billion. Vladimir Putin elected President of Russia. George W Bush defeats Al Gore to become US President. The Tate Modern opens in London. Summer Olympics is held in Sydney, Australia. Reality TV introduced in the form of Survivor, based on Swedish game show Operation Robinson.
2001 NEAR Shoemaker spacecraft lands on asteroid 433 Eros, a first. Dale Earnhardt killed during Daytona 500 race. 32-year old Erik Weihenmayer of Boulder, Colorado, becomes first blind person to reach summit of Mount Everest. Wikipedia started. On September 11, Al Qaida terrorists fly jet aircraft into the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, killing around 3,000 people. The US launch against the Taliban in Afghanistan. The Act of the War on Terrorism is signed by President Bush. Harry Potter and the Philosopher’s Stone, the movie, debuts.
2002 Euro banknotes and coins released. Winter Olympics held in Salt Lake City, Utah. New order of insects, Mantophasmatodea, announced. East Timor becomes independent state. Brazil wins Football World Cup. The planetoid Quaoar discovered. Jimmy Carter awarded Nobel Peace prize.
2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disintegrates over Texas upon reentry, killing all seven astronauts aboard. Coalition forces launch against Iraq, ending Sadam Hussein’s rule. Last old-style Volkswagen Beetle produced in Puebla, Mexico. Arnold Schwarzenegger voted Governor of California. Concorde makes its last commercial flight. Dan Hanebrink invents the Ice Bike. England wins the Rugby Union World Cup defeating Australia 20-17. Earthquake in Bam, Iran on December 27, kills more than 26,000 people.
2004 NASA’s Mer-A (Spirit) lands on Mars. Britney Spears’s marriage to Jason Allen Alexander annulled after 55 hours. Cruise liner Queen Mary 2 launched. Facebook founded. Kyushu Shinkansen high-speed rail line opens in Japan. Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban released. Summer Olympics held in Athens, Greece. Largest Tsunami disaster ever recorded, killing 225,000 people in 14 countries.
2005 Pope John Paul II dies April, 2. German cardinal Joseph Ratzinger elected as 265th pontiff, Benedict XVI. First successful partial face transplant, France. July 7 London terrorist bombings. Hurricane Katrina strikes the Louisiana, Mississippi and Alabama coasts. Earthquake kills about 80,000 people in Kashmir. YouTube launched.
2006 Montenegro gains independence and becomes the 192nd member of the UN. Australian Dr Ian Frazer develops vaccine for cervical cancer. Winter Olympics held in Torino, Italy. Football World Cup won by Italy. Microsoft launches Vista operating system. 80% of world land surface has coverage by cellular networks for mobile phone use. Mandarin passes English as the most prevalent language on the Internet. Twitter launches.
2007 Romania and Bulgaria join the EU. Australia win Cricket World Cup. The New Seven Wonders of the World announced. Apple launches the iPhone. July 1, nationwide public smoking ban introduced in England. BBC launches iPlayer. Homer Simpson movie released. Abel Gonzales Jr. introduces Deep-Fried Coca-Cola. State of celebriphilians (persons who desire romantic relationship with celebrity) more evident than ever on online video channel YouTube.
2008 Beijing Olympics. Dmitri Medvedev elected President of Russia as Vladimir Putin reaches end of his term. Kosovo declares independence. NASA WMAP progam declares the universe is flat. Recession hits West worst; world power starts shifting from West to East.
2009 Barack Hussein Obama becomes first black US President. Obama receives Noble Peace Prize. Barbie dolls turns 50. Microsoft launches Windows 7. World leaders meet (unsuccessfully) in Copenhagen to discuss global warming.
2010 Google launches Nexus One cell phone. Record cold weather in many countries. One of the deadliest earthquakes on record hits Haiti on January 12. Apple launches the iPad. Massive deep sea oil leak in Gulf of Mexico – British Petroleum held responsible (see list of largest oil spills). Spain wins Football World Cup.
2012 Mayan and other calendars end.
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