21st century

Millennium: 3rd millennium
Centuries: 20th century · 21st century · 22nd century
Decades: 2000s 2010s 2020s 2030s 2040s
2050s 2060s 2070s 2080s 2090s
Categories: Births – Deaths
Establishments – Disestablishments

The 21st century is the current century of the Anno Domini era or the Common Era in accordance with the Gregorian calendar. The century began on January 1, 2001 and will end on December 31, 2100.[1][2][3] The years from 2001 to 2011 are historical; the years from 2012 to 2100 are subject to futurology and projections. As of now, eleven years and zero months of the 21st century have passed.

Contents

Early 21st century (2001–present)

In contemporary history, the 21st century began with the United States as the sole superpower in the absence of the Soviet Union. As the Cold War was over and terrorism on the rise, exemplified by the September 11, 2001 attacks at the World Trade Center in New York City and the Pentagon in Arlington, Virginia, the United States and its allies turned their attention to the Middle East and North Africa.

Digital technology, in its early stages of mainstream use in the 1980s and 1990s, became widely accepted by most of the world, though concerns about stress and antisociality from the overuse of mobile phones, the Internet and related technologies remains controversial.[4]

In 2011, nearly 5 billion people globally (about 67% of the world's population) used cell phones[5] and about 2 billion people (about 28% of the world's population) used the Internet.[6]

Pronunciation

Regarding pronunciation of 21st-century years, academics suggested that since former years such as 1805 and 1905 were commonly pronounced as "eighteen oh" or "nineteen oh" five, the year 2005 should naturally have been pronounced as "twenty oh-five".[7] A less common variation would have been "twenty nought-five". Generally, the early years of 21st-century were pronounced as "two-thousand and five", with a change taking place in 2010, where pronunciations often shift between the early-year standard of "two-thousand and ten" and the common approach used in the late 20th-century of "twenty-ten".

The Vancouver Olympics, which took place in 2010, was being officially referred to by Vancouver 2010 as "the twenty-ten olympics", while 2011[7] and 2013 are popular as well. The latest timeframes for change are usually placed at 2020.[7]

According to The Stanley Kubrick archives, in the press release for his film 2001: A Space Odyssey, film director Stanley Kubrick included specific instructions for journalists to refer to the movie as "two thousand and one" instead of the commonplace pronunciation of "twenty-oh-one". Kubrick said he did this in the hope that if the film became popular, it would influence the pronunciation of that year.[7]

Transitions & Change

Revolutions of the early 21st century thus far include the Environmental Revolution and the Revolutions of 2011 (also known as the Arab Spring) that began in Arab countries and are in the name of fairer government. The Digital Revolution which began around the 1980s also continues into the present. The world population begun the century at 6.1 billion and grew to about 7 billion within a decade. Generation Alpha are by far the only true current 21st century generation, since Generation Z has their roots at the tail end of the 20th century in 1991.

Politics & Wars

Genocide still remains a problem in the century with the concern of the war in Darfur and the growing concern in Sri Lanka. Low estimates on the deaths in Darfur stand around 200,000 deaths with 2.5 million in displacement, there has been much outcry against the perpetrators, the Sudanese government, and the very weak international response. Also controversies from past genocides remain commonplace in the minds of victims and average people alike.

New countries

Some territories have gained independence during the 21st century. This is a list of sovereign states that have gained independence in the 21st century and have been recognized by a majority of foreign governments.

Three countries have declared independence but they have been recognized by a minority of UN states.

Science and technology

Space Exploration

Physics

Medicine

Storage & Mediums

Social Technology

Society

AIDS which emerged in the 1980s continued to spread yet more treatment of AIDS made the disease less of a deadly threat. A cure was still not found in the noughties despite expectations. Same-sex marriage began to emerge as legal. In 2001 the Netherlands became the first nation in the world to legalize this type of marriage. The noughties saw significant change surrounding this social issue and the change continued into the tens.

By the beginning of the 21st century the social issue of racism was slowly concluding as rights of other nationalities in other nations increased; as can be seen by the election of Barack Obama as the 44th President of the United States of America. This event takes place only 2 centuries after African-Americans were considered to be second class citizens or even slaves.

Population

Civil Unrest

Disasters

Natural disasters

2000s

2010s

Man-made disasters

Popular Expectations

Sports

At the turn of the 21st century sports were the most popular form of entertainment worldwide. The IOC's Modern Olympic Games was the most popular of all sporting events. The Beijing Olympics of 2008 remains the most costly Games of the 21st century so far. Association football was the most popular sport in the early 21st century and of all the football competitions the FIFA World Cup was the most watched overall. Other sports such as Rugby, American football, Basketball, Tennis and Golf were popular globally. The passion for sport throughout the second and third world saw the rise of extraordinary athletes whom grew up in poverty such as Lionel Messi of Argentina and Usain Bolt of Jamaica, who became the worlds fastest man. American swimmer Michael Phelps won [which?] record setting 8 Gold medals at the 2008 Summer Olympics

International Tournaments

Modern Olympic Games

Association Football

Athletics

Aquatics

Cricket

Cycling

Rugby Union

Tennis

Motorsport

Golf

Wheelchair DanceSport

Domestic

Association Football

AFL (Australian Rules Football)

Basketball

Major League Baseball

NRL

American Football

National Hockey League

Economics & Industry

Entertainment

Entertainment during the 21st century had evolved from the same types of entertainment which emerged around the middle of the 20th century. Sports, films, music, TV series' and books remained popular into the early 21st century but new forms of entertainment including social networking & internet accessed videos became popular. The most popular mediums of entertainment in the first decade at least were via televisions, the internet, CDs, DVDs and paper. Digital information begins to complete its succession over analog information and storage techniques.

Film

Music

Sports

Social Networking

Issues and concerns

There are several points-of-view pertaining to the following items, all of which should be considered accordingly.

Issues that have been frequently discussed and debated so far in this century include:

The United Nations lists global issues on its agenda and lists a set of Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) to attempt to address some of these issues.

Astronomical events (passed or to come) in the 21st century

List of the long total solar eclipses

Other phenomena

Fiction, Theology & Philosophy

Doomsday Scenarios

Television and film

Computer and video games

Internet

Novels

CD Albums

Comics

Decades and years

2000s

Main Article: 2000s (decade)

2010s

Main Article: 2010s (decade)

2020s

2030s

2040s

2050s

2060s

2070s

2080s

2090s

References

  1. ^ Staff, "The 21st Century and the 3rd Millennium: When Did They Begin?", Astronomical Information Center (U.S. Naval Observatory), http://www.usno.navy.mil/USNO/astronomical-applications/astronomical-information-center/millennium, retrieved 2011-11-14 
  2. ^ Magnell, Thomas, "The Mistake of the Century and Moral Deliberation", The Journal of Value Inquiry 34 (1): 1–6, doi:10.1023/A:1004752116203 
  3. ^ Staff (2011), When and where did the new Millennium officially start, and why?, National Maritime Museum, http://www.nmm.ac.uk/explore/astronomy-and-time/time-facts/faqs/new-millennium-where-when-why, retrieved 2011-11-14 
  4. ^ "Workplace trends: Technology increases workplace stress". Office World News. 1999. http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_qa3840/is_199910/ai_n8869850. 
  5. ^ "4.6 Billion Cell Phone Users". Mobilewhack.com. http://www.itu.int/ITU-D/ict/publications/idi/2010/Material/MIS_2010_Summary_E.pdf. 
  6. ^ http://www.ritholtz.com/blog/2011/01/by-the-numbers-internet-2010/
  7. ^ a b c d Experts clash over millennium bugbearThe Times
  8. ^ Estimated casualties in Iraq
  9. ^ O'Neil, John; Onishi, Norimitsu (2006-10-15). "US confirms nuclear claim". New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2006/10/16/world/asia/17koreacnd.html?hp&ex=1161057600&en=891cb4c4775510b3&ei=5094&partner=homepage. Retrieved 2006-10-16. 
  10. ^ Grolier- the new book of knowledge, section "E"
  11. ^ http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5i_9Hvnx-6s
  12. ^ "Total mobile subscribers top 1.8 billion". MobileTracker Cell Phone News and Reviews. May 18, 2005. Archived from the original on January 19, 2008. http://web.archive.org/web/20080119070741/http://www.mobiletracker.net/archives/2005/05/18/mobile-subcribers-worldwide. Retrieved 2008-12-31. 
  13. ^ "World Population estimates by the US Census Bureau". http://www.census.gov/population/international/data/idb/region.php?N=%20Region%20Results%20&T=7&A=aggregate&RT=0&Y=2011,2012,2013,2014,2015,2016,2017,2018,2019,2020,2021,2022,2023,2024,2025,2026,2027,2028,2029,2030,2031,2032,2033,2034,2035,2036,2037,2038,2039,2040&R=1&C=. 
  14. ^ Bodeen, Christopher (August 8, 2010). "Asia flooding plunges millions into misery". The Associated Press. http://www.google.com/hostednews/ap/article/ALeqM5jLQ5AssQ1MzPfWcFQRV8ZeJhjctQD9HFBA400. Retrieved 8 August 2010. 
  15. ^ Masood, Salman and Adam B. Ellick. Floods in Pakistan Kill at Least 700. NYTimes.
  16. ^ "UN voices Pakistan flood fears as death toll soars". BBC. 31 July 2010. http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-10827712. Retrieved 31 July 2010. 
  17. ^ Khan, Ismail (July 30, 2010). "400 Killed in Flooding in Pakistan, Officials Say". The New York Times. http://www.nytimes.com/2010/07/31/world/asia/31pstan.html. Retrieved 30 July 2010. 
  18. ^ Thousands trapped by Pakistan floods; 900 dead
  19. ^ Deaths From Pakistan Floods May Reach 3,000, Rescue Service Official Says
  20. ^ "BP Will Pay For Gulf Oil Spill Disaster, CEO Says". NPR. 2010-05-03. http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=126468782. Retrieved 2010-05-03. 
  21. ^ "Choppy Seas Hinder Effort To Contain Oil Spill", National Public Radio, April 30, 2010
  22. ^ "Oil spill full of methane, adding new concerns". msnbc. 2010-06-18. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/37778190/ns/disaster_in_the_gulf/. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  23. ^ "Document Shows BP Estimates Spill up to 100,000 Bpd". ABC News. 2010-06-20. http://abcnews.go.com/US/wireStory?id=10964694. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  24. ^ . http://globalwarming.house.gov/files/WEB/flowrateBP.pdf. Retrieved 2010-06-20. 
  25. ^ Wheelchair Dancesport Retrieved 2011-12-17
  26. ^ "World population projected to reach 7 billion in 2011". CNN. August 12, 2009.
  27. ^ Sedgh, Gilda; Stanley Henshaw, Susheela Singh, Elisabeth Åhman and Iqbal H. Shah (October 2007). "Induced abortion: estimated rates and trends worldwide" (PDF). The Lancet 370 (9595): 1338–1345. doi:10.1016/S0140-6736(07)61575-X. PMID 17933648. http://media.mcclatchydc.com/smedia/2007/10/17/13/Chang-Guttmacher_Institute_abortion_report.source.prod_affiliate.91.pdf. Retrieved 2008-12-02. 
  28. ^ http://www.sciencemag.org/cgi/content/full/306/5702/1686
  29. ^ http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/5MCSEmap/2001-2100/2017-08-21.gif
  30. ^ http://sunearth.gsfc.nasa.gov/eclipse/5MCSEmap/1901-2000/1979-02-26.gif
  31. ^ G. Jeffrey MacDonald (March 27, 2007). "Does Maya calendar predict 2012 apocalypse?". USA Today. http://www.usatoday.com/tech/science/2007-03-27-maya-2012_n.htm. Retrieved 2009-10-14. 

External links