2000s facts for kids

The 2000s was a ten-year period from January 1, 2000, to December 31, 2009. It was a time of big changes and important events around the world.

Major Events of the 2000s

The September 11th attacks on the World Trade Center

• November 7, 2000 – George W. Bush became President of the United States. The election results were very close and took a while to confirm.
• January 13, 2001 – A strong earthquake hit El Salvador. It sadly killed at least 400 people.
• February 20, 2001 – An outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease happened in the United Kingdom. Over 10 million sheep and cattle had to be killed to stop it from spreading.
• July 2, 2001 – The first artificial heart was put into a human being. This was a huge step in medicine.
• September 11, 2001 – Terrible attacks happened in the United States. Members of an extremist group called Al-Qaeda hijacked four planes. Two planes crashed into the World Trade Center towers in New York City, causing them to fall. One plane hit The Pentagon in Washington, D.C.. Another plane crashed in Pennsylvania after passengers fought back. Almost 3,000 people died in these attacks.
• September 18, 2001 – Letters with anthrax spores were sent to American offices. Twenty-two people got sick, and 5 people died.
• September 21, 2001 – A chemical factory exploded in Toulouse, France. This accident killed 29 people and seriously hurt over 2,500.
• 2001 – The War in Afghanistan began. The United States and other countries invaded Afghanistan.
• 2002 – May 20: East Timor became an independent country, separating from Indonesia.
• 2002–2003 – A serious illness called SARS spread around the world.
• 2003 – The invasion of Iraq took place.
• 2003 – December 26: A big earthquake hit Bam, Iran.
• 2004 – March 11: Bomb attacks happened on trains in Madrid, Spain.
• 2004 – June 5: Former President Ronald Reagan passed away at 93 years old.
• 2004 – September 1: The Beslan School hostage crisis happened in Russia.
• 2004 – The Orange Revolution took place in Ukraine. People protested for fair elections.
• 2004 – December 26: A massive tsunami hit countries around the Indian Ocean. It was caused by a huge earthquake and caused a lot of damage.
• 2005 – April 2: Pope John Paul II passed away.
• 2005 – July 7: Bomb attacks happened on the London Underground train system.
• 2005 – October 8: A strong earthquake hit Kashmir.
• 2005 – November 22: Angela Merkel became the first female Chancellor of Germany.
• 2005 – The 2005 Atlantic hurricane season was the worst on record, with many strong hurricanes.
• 2006 – January 16: Ellen Johnson Sirleaf became the first female president in Africa, in Liberia.
• 2006 – July – August: A war took place between Israel and Lebanon.
• 2006 – December 30: Saddam Hussein was executed in Iraq.
• 2007 – May 16: Nicolas Sarkozy became President of France.
• 2007 – June 27: Gordon Brown became Prime Minister of the United Kingdom.
• 2008 – February 24: Cuban President Fidel Castro retired. His brother Raul Castro took over.
• 2008 – May 3: Myanmar (also known as Burma) was hit by Cyclone Nargis.
• 2008 – May 12: China's Sichuan province was hit by a major earthquake.
• 2008 – November: Terrorist attacks happened in Mumbai, India.
• 2008–2009 – A conflict took place in the Gaza Strip.
• 2009 – January 20: Barack Obama became the 44th President of the United States. He was the first African-American President.
• 2009 – June 25: The famous American singer Michael Jackson passed away.

Important People of the 2000s

Many important people were active during the 2000s, including world leaders, artists, and athletes.

• Pope John Paul II, Pope until 2005
• Pope Benedict XVI, Pope from 2005
• Elizabeth II, Monarch of the United Kingdom
• Vladimir Putin, President of Russia (2000-2008)
• George W. Bush, President of the United States (2001-2009)
• Barack Obama, President of the United States from 2009
• Angela Merkel, Chancellor of Germany from 2005
• Tony Blair, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom (1997-2007)
• Gordon Brown, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom from 2007
• Nicolas Sarkozy, President of France from 2007
• Ellen Johnson Sirleaf, President of Liberia from 2006 (first female African president)
• Michael Jackson, American singer and entertainer
• Beyoncé Knowles, American singer
• Eminem, American rapper
• Britney Spears, American singer
• Madonna, singer
• Justin Timberlake, singer
• Jennifer Lopez, singer
• Christina Aguilera, American singer
• Will Smith, American actor
• Angelina Jolie, American actress
• Brad Pitt, American actor
• David Beckham, British footballer
• Cristiano Ronaldo, Portuguese footballer
• Lionel Messi, Argentine footballer
• Roger Federer, Swiss tennis player
• Serena Williams, American tennis player
• Kobe Bryant, basketball player
• Michelle Kwan, American figure skater
• Michael Phelps, American swimmer

Images for kids

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  Benazir Bhutto

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  2004 Indian Ocean earthquake. The tsunami caused by the December 26, 2004, earthquake strikes Ao Nang, Thailand.

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  2005 flooding in New Orleans, caused by Hurricane Katrina.

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  People in Mexico City wear masks on a train due to the swine flu outbreak, April 2009

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  Shanghai becomes a symbol of the recent economic boom of China.

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  Offshore outsourcing of jobs, such as this call centre in India, significantly increased during the decade as many multinational corporations moved their manufacturing and services from western countries to developing countries.

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  People queuing outside a Northern Rock bank branch in Birmingham, United Kingdom on September 15, 2007, to withdraw their savings because of the Subprime mortgage crisis.

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  Gas prices in late May 2008

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  The euro became the currency of members of the Eurozone.

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  Artist Concept of a NASA Mars Exploration Rover on Mars

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  These images show water in a very young lunar crater on the side of the moon that faces away from Earth.

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  The popularity of mobile phones and text messaging surged in the 2000s in the Western world.

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  Google becomes the Internet's most visited website.

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  The Da Vinci surgical robot which enables doing accurate robotic surgeries was introduced in the 2000s

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  The Segway was unveiled in December 2001

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  At the beginning of the decade the e-cigarette was invented

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  The highest-grossing film of the decade was Avatar (2009)

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  Harry Potter had the highest-grossing film series during the decade

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  Eminem was the best-selling musical artist of the decade. He sold 32 million albums and won multiple awards, including the Academy Award for Best Original Song in 2002.

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  Beyoncé, one of the most significant cultural figures and best-selling female artists of the decade.

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  Caps with Crop tops and low-rise pants were popular as women's wear throughout the early and mid 2000s.

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  Typical 2000s emo hairstyle

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  Cardigans regained popularity in the later part of the decade, worn here by Kanye West in 2007

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  The television genre Reality TV gained massive popularity over the decade with reality TV programs such as "Survivor","Jersey Shore","Idol" and "Big Brother", for which local versions were produced over the years in many countries

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  PlayStation 2 was released in 2000 and became the best-selling gaming console of the decade and of all time.

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  The Nintendo DS awakened an interest in casual play that had never really existed before.

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  The opening ceremony of the Beijing 2008 Summer Olympics

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  Michael Phelps holds his gold medal on the podium during the 2008 Olympics. Pictured with Ryan Lochte (left) and László Cseh (right)

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  Michelle Kwan performing in the 2002 U.S. Figure Skating Championships

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  GPS devices for automobiles gained massive popularity during the decade

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  Collision Warning with Brake Support on the 2009 Lincoln MKS

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  Digital audio players, especially the iPod player, gained massive popularity during the decade

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  A DSL modem from the 2000s. During the decade broadband Internet connection gained massive popularity around the world and gradually replaced internet connection via telephone lines.

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  During the decade the Blu-ray format became dominant successor of to the DVD format

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  The MacBook Air also saw popularity in the late 2000s

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  Digital cameras gained massive popularity during the decade

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  Flat panel displays begin to displace cathode-ray tubes

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  In early 2001, Wikipedia was launched, which quickly became the largest and most popular online encyclopedia, and one of the most viewed sites on the web.

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  In 2003, the first beta version of the Skype telephony software was launched. By the end of the decade, Skype will have over 600 million users.

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  In 2004, the social network Facebook was launched. By the end of the decade, the site will be ranked 7th in its popularity on the web, and will have over 350 million active users worldwide. Co-founder Mark Zuckerberg pictured above in the site's infancy.

See also

In Spanish: Años 2000 para niños