Some events mark history forever. They remain etched in the collective unconscious and become textbook cases. These events also serve as a mirror for the times.
Here is a list of the 5 dates that really marked the 21st century.
1— Election of Barack Obama on November 4, 2008
The election of the first black president at the head of United States was one of the most significant events of the 21st century. The enthusiasm was very present until the day of his inauguration (January 20, 2009).
After a turbulent campaign and a close vote, the representative of the Democratic Party defeats the Republican John McCain to become the 44th President of the USA. barack obama won 52.93% of the vote against 45.65% for his opponent.
At the level of the great voters, he largely won with 365 votes against 173 for John McCain. The election of Barack Obama was seen as a historic moment because of the United States’ segregationist past. He reached a position of world power at 47 years old and without much political experience.
2— Attacks of September 11, 2001
the September 11, 2011 is a sad date for the United States. Symbolic buildings of the country were attacked in Islamist suicide attacks. These attacks perpetrated by members of the jihadist organization Al-Qaeda left a total of 2,977 dead and 6,291 injured.
This unprecedented official record is the heaviest in the country’s history in terms of attacks. The jihadists hijacked 4 airliners to implement their plan. Two planes will be directed against the twin towers of the World Trade Center whose height is 415 m.
In Manhattan, buildings collapse after the attack causing the destruction of two other surrounding buildings. The third plane was directed at the Pentagon in Washington. The fourth hijacked plane crashes before reaching its target, which was probably in the federal capital.
3— Launch of Facebook on February 4, 2004
the February 4, 2004, Mark Zuckerberg launched Facebook along with his comrades Eduardo Saverin, Chris Hughes, Andrew McCollum and Dustin Moskovitz. The social network which was at first limited to Harvard University students eventually expanded to other universities and then to the public in September 2006.
The network immediately won over Internet users with its ease of use and user-friendliness. This launch was the start of an unprecedented digital revolution. Facebook has become an essential social network even if serious competitors have lined up over the years. The network which is now part of the Meta group had 2.91 billion registrations in 2021.
4— Fukushima nuclear accident on March 11, 2011
The Fukushima nuclear accident is the second worst disaster of this type in history after Chernobyl in 1986. Following an earthquake, a tsunami occurs on March 11, 2011 causing the cooling system to fail at the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear power plant in Japan.
This first accident led to the melting of the cores of reactors 1, 2 and 3. It also caused the overheating of the spent fuel pool of reactor 4. This nuclear disaster classified level 7 caused radioactive releases in a wide radius and damaged the global nuclear industry.
5— Beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian war on February 20, 2014
The 2014 Ukrainian revolution caused a political crisis in the separatist territories of Dombass. Then the February 20, 2014Russia annexes Crimea after recognizing its independence.
This date officially marks the beginning of the Russian-Ukrainian conflict. Significant events followed one another until the invasion of Ukraine on February 24, 2022 by Russia. The military phase of the conflict had a negative impact on the global economy.
Supply difficulties have caused record inflation in commodity markets such as gas, oil and wheat. This war also caused loss of human life and massive displacement of Ukrainians.