(20th century - 21st century - 22nd century - other centuries)

Definition

In calendars based on the Christian Era or Common Era, such as the Gregorian calendar, the 21st century is the current century, as of this writing, lasting from 2000-2099. The 21st century is the first century of the 3rd millennium (2000 - 2999).

Important developments, events, achievements

• Politics
  • 2001 First Inauguration of George W. Bush to the USA presidency
  • 2004 EU Enlargement: 10 countries join
  • Final draft of the European Constitution is accepted, 2004
  • 2005 Second Inauguration of George W. Bush to the USA presidency

• Science and technology
  • 2002 Mars Odyssey arrives in orbit around Mars.
  • 2003 Space Shuttle Columbia disaster February 1
  • 2003 Dolly the sheep dies prematurely February 14
  • 2003 Chinese space program launches its first manned space flight, Shenzhou 5 October 15.
  • 2003 Severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS) spreads around the globe.
  • 2004 Mars rovers discover evidence of likely flowing water on Mars.
  • 2004 Cassini-Huygens probe arrives at Saturn.
  • 2004 SpaceShipOne makes first privately-funded human spaceflight, June 21
  • 2005 Huygens probe lands on Titan, the largest of Saturn's moons.

• Wars, battles, and terrorism
  • September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks
  • 2001 U.S. invasion of Afghanistan
  • 12 October 2002 Bali bombing
  • 2003 Invasion of Iraq
  • 11 March 2004 Madrid attacks
  • September 2004, Beslan hostage crisis

Five overall largest mass killings of the 21st century as of 2005

• Second Congo War, approx. 1.8 million deaths (3.8 million since 1998)
• 2004 Indian Ocean Earthquake, approx. 230,000 deaths. A number that may increase overtime.
• Darfur conflict, 70,000 deaths.
• U.S. Invasion in Iraq, most estimates claim 15,000 - 30,000 Iraqi and 1,600 coalition deaths. The Lancet recently estimated 100,000 Iraqis have died as a result of the invasion.
• Civil War in Ivory Coast, 3,000 deaths.
• September 11, 2001 attacks, 2,749 - 2,752 deaths.

The regime of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea is believed to have caused many deaths, but the exact number is unknown.

Furthermore, there are several wars and dictatorships continuing from the 20th century. Mostly the number of deaths they caused during the 21st century is unknown.

See also [1] (http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/wars21c.htm).

Influential people in politics as of 2005

(in alphabetical order)

• Luis Inacio Lula da Silva, President of Brazil
• Mahmoud Abbas, Palestinian President
• Crown Prince Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, de facto government leader
• Kofi Annan, Secretary General of the United Nations
• Silvio Berlusconi, Italian Prime Minister
• Osama bin Laden, Al-Qaeda leader
• Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom
• George W. Bush, President of the United States of America
• Jacques Chirac, President of France
• John Howard, Prime Minister of Australia
• Mohammad Khatami, President of Iran
• Junichiro Koizumi, Prime Minister of Japan
• Hu Jintao, President of the People's Republic of China
• Saddam Hussein, deposed President of Iraq, currently held by US forces
• Hamid Karzai, President of Afghanistan
• Colin Powell, United States Secretary of State
• Pervez Musharraf Pakistani President.
• Dr. Manmohan Singh Indian Prime Minister
• Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin, President of the Russian Federation
• Gerhard Schröder, German Bundeskanzler (chancellor)
• Ariel Sharon, Prime Minister of Israel
• Viktor Yushchenko, President of Ukraine
• Beatrix, Queen of the Netherlands
• Jan-Peter Balkenende, Prime Minister of the Netherlands

Influential people in technology as of 2005

• Bill Gates, chairman of Microsoft Corporation
• Steve Ballmer, CEO of Microsoft Corporation
• Linus Torvalds, creator of the Linux kernel
• Steve Jobs, founder of Apple Computer

Influential people in science as of 2005

• Stephen Hawking
• Brian Greene

Influential people in mathematics as of 2005

• Laurent Lafforgue
• Grigori Perelman

Influential people in popular entertainment as of 2005

• J.K. Rowling, author of the Harry Potter series
• Michael Jackson, singer
• Eminem, rapper
• Charlize Theron, actress
• Catherine Zeta-Jones, actress
• Tom Cruise, actor
• Brad Pitt, actor
• Peter Jackson, director of The Lord of the Rings movie trilogy
• Coldplay, alternative band

See also: Timeline of the future in forecasts

Astronomical events

• Tuesday, June 8, 2004 - Transit of Venus occurs after 122 years
• full eclipse of moon during World Series, 2004

Natural Disasters

• 2004 Indian Ocean earthquake, whose resulting tsunami-caused floods killed thousands (approximately 238,000 as of January 24, 2005, however this number is expected to rise) in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, Thailand and other countries ringing the ocean.
• Earthquake in Bam, Iran on December 27, 2003 killed more than 26,000 people.

Astronomical predictions

• Wednesday, June 6, 2012 - Transit of Venus to occur 2nd time this century
• August 21, 2017 - First total solar eclipse of the 21st century for the United States, and the first visible in the continental US since February 26, 1979.
• 2024 (plus or minus 5 years): next predicted return of Comet 12P/Pons-Brooks.
• 2061: next return of Comet Halley.
• Friday, November 10, 2084 - Transit of Earth as seen from Mars

Decades and years

External links

• Long Bets (http://www.longbets.org/) Foundation to improve long-term thinking
• Long Now (http://www.longnow.org/) Long-term cultural institution