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2011 facts for kids

Kids Encyclopedia Facts
Millennium: 3rd millennium
Centuries: 20th century21st century22nd century
Decades: 1970s  1980s  1990s  – 2000s –  2010s  2020s  2030s
Years: 2005 2006 200720082009 2010 2011

2008 (MMVIII) was a leap year starting on Tuesday of the Christian or Common Era, in the Gregorian calendar. It was the 2008th year of the Common Era, or of Anno Domini; the 8th year of the 3rd millennium and of the 21st century; and the 9th of the 2000s.

Events

January

MESSENGER first photo of unseen side of mercury
First-ever photograph of the "unseen side" of Mercury, taken by the MESSENGER spacecraft on January 14
  • January 1Cyprus and Malta adopt the euro.
  • January 2 – The price of petroleum hits $100 per barrel for the first time.
  • January 3 – A car bomb detonates, killing at least 4 and injuring 68, in Diyarbakır, Turkey. Police blame Kurdish rebels.
  • January 8 – An attempted assassination of Maldivian president Maumoon Abdul Gayoom is thwarted after a Boy Scout grabs the attacker's knife. The Boy Scout is injured, but after a scuffle police arrest the attacker.
  • January 12 – A Macedonian Army Mil Mi-17 helicopter crashes in thick fog southeast of Skopje, killing all 11 military personnel on board.
  • January 14 – At 19:04:39 UTC, the MESSENGER space probe is at its closest approach during its first flyby of the planet Mercury.
  • January 15 – The Federal Court of Australia orders a Japanese whaling company to stop research whaling within their Exclusive Economic Zone.
  • January 21 – Stock markets around the world plunge amid growing fears of a U.S. recession, fueled by the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis.
  • January 22Russia stages the largest naval exercise since the fall of the Soviet Union in the Bay of Biscay. The Russian aircraft carrier Admiral Kuznetsov, along with 11 support vessels and 47 long-range bomber aircraft, practises strike tactics off the coast of France and Spain, and test-launches nuclear-capable missiles in foreign waters.
  • January 23 – Polish Air Force EADS CASA C-295 crashes on approach to the 12th Air Base near Mirosławiec. All 20 personnel on board die.
  • January 23 – Thousands of Palestinians cross into Egypt, as the border wall with Gaza in Rafah is blown up by militants.
  • January 24 – A peace deal ends the Kivu war in the Democratic Republic of the Congo.
  • January 25China's worst snowstorm since 1954 kills 133, delays traffic, and causes massive power outages in central and southern parts of the country.
  • January 29Iran's judiciary sentences to prison 54 Bahá'í Faith followers for 'anti-regime propaganda'.

February

February 2008
Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su
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11 12 13 14 15 16 17
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25 26 27 28 29    

March

March 2008
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3 4 5 6 7 8 9
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31  
Crew in ATV with Jules Verne manuscript
European Jules Verne ATV docked the to International Space Station

April

April 2008
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14 15 16 17 18 19 20
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May

May 2008
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2008 Sichuan earthquake map no labels
An earthquake in Sichuan, China killed nearly 80,000 people

June

June 2008
Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su
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2 3 4 5 6 7 8
9 10 11 12 13 14 15
16 17 18 19 20 21 22 
23 24 25 26 27 28 29 
30  

July

July 2008
Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su
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7 8 9 10 11 12 13
14 15 16 17 18 19 20
21 22 23 24 25 26 27 
28 29 30 31      
34th G8 summit member 20080708
34th G8 summit heads of delegations in Tōyako, Japan

August

August 2008
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4 5 6 7 8 9 10
11 12 13 14 15 16 17
18 19 20 21 22 23 24 
25 26 27 28 29 30 31

September

September 2008
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1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28 
29 30          

October

October 2008
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6 7 8 9 10 11 12
13 14 15 16 17 18 19
20 21 22 23 24 25 26 
27 28 29 30 31    

November

November 2008
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3 4 5 6 7 8 9
10 11 12 13 14 15 16
17 18 19 20 21 22 23 
24 25 26 27 28 29 30

December

December 2008
Mo Tu We Th Fr Sa Su
1 2 3 4 5 6 7
8 9 10 11 12 13 14
15 16 17 18 19 20 21
22 23 24 25 26 27 28 
29 30 31        

Deaths


January

February

March

April

May

June

July

August

September

October

November

MichaelCrichton 2
Michael Crichton 1942-2008

December

Awards

Nobel Prizes

Nobel Prize

Major religious holidays

2011 in various calendars
Gregorian calendar 2011
MMXI
Ab urbe condita 2764
Armenian calendar 1460
ԹՎ ՌՆԿ
Assyrian calendar 6761
Bahá'í calendar 167–168
Balinese saka calendar 1932–1933
Bengali calendar 1418
Berber calendar 2961
British Regnal year 59 Eliz. 2 – 60 Eliz. 2
Buddhist calendar 2555
Burmese calendar 1373
Byzantine calendar 7519–7520
Chinese calendar 庚寅年 (Metal Tiger)
4707 or 4647
    — to —
辛卯年 (Metal Rabbit)
4708 or 4648
Coptic calendar 1727–1728
Discordian calendar 3177
Ethiopian calendar 2003–2004
Hebrew calendar 5771–5772
Hindu calendars
 - Vikram Samvat 2067–2068
 - Shaka Samvat 1932–1933
 - Kali Yuga 5111–5112
Holocene calendar 12011
Igbo calendar 1011–1012
Iranian calendar 1389–1390
Islamic calendar 1432–1433
Japanese calendar Heisei 23
(平成23年)
Javanese calendar 1943–1945
Juche calendar 100
Julian calendar Gregorian minus 13 days
Korean calendar 4344
Minguo calendar ROC 100
民國100年
Nanakshahi calendar 543
Thai solar calendar 2554
Tibetan calendar 阳金虎年
(male Iron-Tiger)
2137 or 1756 or 984
    — to —
阴金兔年
(female Iron-Rabbit)
2138 or 1757 or 985
Unix time 1293840000 – 1325375999

2008 in fiction

Books

  • Isaac Asimov's 1955 short story Franchise takes place in 2008, the premise being that the U.S. president will be selected by a computer program looking for the "most representative citizen".
  • John Barnes, Mother of Storms (1995) begins with a 2008 UN resolution barring any nation from acquiring nuclear weapons after June 1, 2008, subject to penalty of preemptive strike.
  • Gregory Benford's books The Jupiter War and The Threads of Time are set in 2008.
  • The Galactic Milieu Series by Julian May features Earth's first contact with an alien race on June 20, 2008.
  • Ian McDonald's "Chaga Saga" (Evolution's Shore and Kirinya) begins with the March 13, 2008 impact arrival of the plant form Chaga from outer space.
  • Alan E. Nourse's 1957 book Rocket to Limbo begins with the March 3, 2008 launch of the starship Argonaut on a centuries-long trip to Alpha Centauri.
  • The Mote in God's Eye (1974) by Larry Niven and Jerry Pournelle postulates that faster-than-light travel is perfected in 2008.
  • The Next War, a controversial 1996 novel about the post-Soviet era, co-written by former U.S. Defense Secretary Caspar Weinberger, looks at a possible 2008 nuclear confrontation between the United States and Russia.

Movies

Set in 2008:

  • Silent Running (1971)
  • Deterrence (1999)
  • The Manchurian Candidate (2004)
  • The Lake House (2006): The ending takes place on Valentine's Day, 2008.
  • Southland Tales (2007)
  • Split Second (1992 movie) (1992)
  • 5 Centimeters Per Second (2007): The final act takes place in Tokyo during 2008.
  • Doomsday (2008): The start of the movie is set in 2008, when a virus has infected Scotland.
  • Wall Street 2 (2010): Will be set in June 2008.

Television

  • The events of the Macross Zero OVA take place in 2008.
  • Doraemon: According to the original manga story, a time machine will be invented in 2008.
  • The Future Boy Conan anime (1978) story begins in July 2008, when a war results in five continents sinking into the sea.
  • Dawson's Creek (2003 series finale): The characters meet once again. Dawson, now 25, is the creator of a television series, The Creek, based on his life.
  • The 2007 series of Doctor Who: Present time (such as "Smith and Jones") is primarily set in 2008.
  • Heroes: A possible future shown in Out of Time features the Shanti virus killing about 93% of the world's population by 2008.

Images for kids

See also

Kids robot.svg In Spanish: 2011 para niños

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