9. Throughout history, there are moments that have
the power to make humankind stop and watch; to
talk and listen.
Shocking and historic events that remain etched in
our memories forever.
10. World War I (1914-1918)
Once referred to as The Great War, this global fight centred in Europe lasted for four years, beginning on July 28 1914 and ending on November 11 1918. It resulted in the death of over 16
million combatants and civilians. The war can be attributed to a number of causes such as mutual defense alliances, imperialism, militarism and nationalism. The catalyst that spurred the
outbreak of fighting was the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary in June 1914. Debate still abounds today as to the root causes of the war. The closure of WWI is
often described as the silence before the storm as the causes of WWII can be traced right back to it.
11. Titanic sinks on April 12, 1912.
At the time of its launching in 1912, the Titanic was the largest passenger steamship in the world. It was the pinnacle of shipbuilding technology and was largely believed to be unsinkable.
Boy, were they wrong. On the night of April 12, the ship struck an iceberg and sank, claiming the lives of 1,517 people.
12. The Spanish Flu Outbreak (1918)
The Spanish Flu of 1918 killed approximately 100 million people worldwide. Influenza victims crowd into an emergency hospital near Fort Riley, Kans., in this 1918 file photo. AP Photo—
National Museum of Health
13. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 lasted a month and started the Great Depression. Daily News
The Wall Street Crash of 1929, which precipitated the Great Depression, did not happen on one day, but rather extended over a month. At its catastrophic peak, the stock market lost nearly
a quarter of its value over two days now known as Black Monday (Oct. 28, 1929) and Black Tuesday (Oct. 29, 1929). Widespread economic panic ensued.
14. Charles Lindbergh's son kidnapped on March 1, 1932. New York Daily News
Known as "The Crime of the Century," famed aviator Charles Lindbergh's 20-month-old son was kidnapped on the evening of March 1, 1932. The child was held for ransom, of which
$50,000 worth was paid. But that didn't keep Bruno Richard Hauptmann, a German emigrant carpenter, from murdering the baby. He was later caught and sentenced to death.
15. Hindenburg Disaster (1937)
On May 6, 1937, the German passenger airship LZ 129 Hindenburg exploded while attempting to dock at Lakehurst, New Jersey, killing 36 people. The explosion, that marked the end of
passenger airships, was intensively covered by the media. Sam Shere/Getty Images
16. The Shanghai Baby (1937)
The Second Sino-Japanese War from 1937 eventually meshed with World War II. During one bombing raid, the Japanese bombed a Chinese train station that housed women and children.
This baby somehow survived, although injured.
17. World War II (1939-1945)
A global war without any one singular objective or enemy, this six year fight, lasting from 1939 to 1945, has been hailed the deadliest war in history resulting in the deaths of between 50 to
85 million. It was fuelled by Hitler’s invasion of Poland in 1939 and involved more than 30 countries. There was no main front. Rather, it was comprised of European, African, and Asian
subdivisions of the war. Countries continuously fell under different leadership throughout the duration of the war, resulting in mass displacement, whereby millions of individuals were left
to seek new homelands due to the devastation left in its wake.
18. Attack on Pearl Harbor (1941
The Empire of Japan launched a surprise attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor in Hawaii on December 7, 1941, killing 2,350 people. In this photo, sailors stand amid wreckage
watching as the USS Shaw explodes in the background. The attack effectively drew the United States into World War II. Getty
19. D-Day (1944)
D-Day is the reference used for an operation by American, British and Canadian forces to liberate German-occupied Western Europe during World War II. On June 6, 1944 (D-Day), around
156,000 soldiers invaded the Normandy region of France, ultimately leading to the defeat of Nazi Germany and the end of the war. CSU Archives/Everett Collection/REX
20. Bergen-belsen: Liberated Prisoners, 1945
What happened to the people who entered the Nazi concentration camps is beyond imagination, beyond shock, beyond belief. Once again, our idea of how we conduct wars - which are
often in the name of justice or some such spurious reason - changed. Here we had a war where the main casualties were civilians. This picture was taken by the acclaimed British
photojournalist George Rodger and published in Life and Time magazines. It's a more palatable image than most of those that recorded the horrors of the Holocaust, but it still shows the
true enormity of what had gone on in the camps. At the time it was inconceivable that someone could come up with the idea of a concentration camp and the gas chambers.
21. Doping of the atomic bombs (1945)
On August 6, 1945, the U.S.A. dropped two atomic bombs on the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki in the final stages of World War II. The bombings, still the only instances of atomic
bombs being used, destroyed almost 90 per cent of Hiroshima while the fall-out in Nagasaki was contained in 6.7 km². Getty Images
22. Launch of Sputnik 1 (1957)
Sputnik 1 was the first man-made satellite launched into space. The satellite, which triggered the US-USSR space race, took 98 minutes to orbit the Earth on its elliptical path. Novosti/AP
23. Cuban Missile Crisis (1962)
The Cuban Missile Crisis was a 13-day standoff between the U.S. and the Soviet Union due to the installation of Soviet’s nuclear missiles in Cuba, just 90 miles from Florida. After tense
discussions, which almost led to nuclear war, the countries reached an agreement and the Soviet withdrew its missiles from Cuba.
(Pictured) President John F. Kennedy, back to camera, is seen at the White House with four Air Force officers who have had a part in the aerial surveillance of Cuba. AP
24. Screen siren Marilyn Monroe
was discovered dead of a drug overdose on August 5th, 1962. The circumstances of her death are debated to this day. Suicide or accident? It was a frightfully fitting - yet untimely - end to
the enigmatic star. AP
25. Martin Luther King’s March (1963)
On August 28, 1963, civil rights activist Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a speech entitled “I have a Dream” calling for an end to racism in the U.S. during his March on Washington.
More than 250,000 supporters lined up on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial to hear the speech. AP
26. A protesting Buddhist monk burns himself to death (1963)
Thich Quang Duc, the Buddhist priest in Southern Vietnam , burns himself to death protesting the government's torture policy against priests. Thich Quang Dug never made a sound or
moved while he was burning.
27. President John F. Kennedy assassinated (Nov. 22, 1963)
Few can forget where they were when they heard the news on Nov. 22, 1963, that President John F. Kennedy had been shot and killed improbably while riding in a motocade with his wife in
Dallas. Three separate government investigations would finger Lee Harvey Oswald, a former Marine, as the murderer. But he never stood trial. Just days after the assassination, as he was
being taken to Dallas County Jail, Oswald would be shot by Jack Ruby, a vigilante nightclub owner. AP
28. Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated
On April 4, 1968, Reverend Martin Luther King Jr. was standing on the balcony of the Lorraine Motel in Memphis Tennessee when he was shot dead. As news spread, rioting broke out
across the country. AP
29. Man walks on the moon (1969)
American astronaut Neil Armstrong was the first man to step on the surface of the moon on July 21, 1969. He was part of a three-man crew aboard the Apollo 11, which landed on the moon
on July 20. Armstrong was quickly followed by Buzz Aldrin while Michael Connelly stayed on board.
(Pictured) Edwin Aldrin's bootprint from the Apollo 11 mission. REX Features
30. Munich Massacre (1972)
The Munich massacre refers to the kidnap and eventual murder of 11 Israeli Olympic team members (and a German police officer) by the Palestinian group Black September during the 1972
Summer Olympic Games held in Munich, West Germany. All the athletes died during the failed rescue attempt by the German police. AP Images
31. Napalm Attack, Trang Bang, Vietnam, 1972
This was one of those unforgettable pictures that really hit home with the public. Taken by Nick Ut, who won a Pulitzer prize for the photograph, it changed people's impressions of the
Vietnam War, and brought home the brutal reality of the conflict. Chemical weapons have always been banned but in Vietnam Americans were dropping napalm, chemical defoliants
and white phosphorous, which ignites on impact and burns while it's on you. Here, the naked girl, Kim Phúc, is running down the road towards photographers, screaming. What you
can't see is that her back is on fire, completely burnt to shreds by napalm.
32. Richard Nixon resigns ( Aug. 9, 1974)
Over two years after the infamous break-in of DNC headquarters at the Watergate Office complex in Washington D.C., President Richard Nixon resigned - the only president ever to do so -
during a nationally televised address on the evening of Aug. 9, 1974. For most of that time, he denied having any involvement - "I am not a crook!" - in the illegal activities of his aides and
loyalists, and would continue to proclaim his innocence until his death in 1994.
33. Fall of Saigon (1975)
Saigon, the capital city of South Vietnam, was taken by North Vietnamese forces on April 30, 1975, marking the end of Vietnam War and capitulation of South Vietnamese government.
Before the invasion, the Americans rescued all their countrymen in the city, along with thousands of South Vietnamese civilians in what was the largest helicopter evacuation in history.
Associated Press
34. Elvis Presley dies (Aug. 16, 1977)
Don't be cruel: He's still alive! Depending on your level of fandom, you either believe or don't believe pop legend Elvis Presley died on Aug. 16, 1977, at the age of 42, of a massive heart
attack, likely brought on by heavy drug dependency.AP
35. "
Jonestown" (November 18, 1978)
On November 18, 1978, 909 people committed "revolutionary suicide" at Jonestown, the Guyana home to the Peoples Temple, a cult from California led by Jim Jones. The incident was the
greatest single loss of American civilian life in a non-natural disaster until the events of Sep. 11. AP
36. Iranian Embassy siege (1980)
Six gunmen stormed the Iranian embassy building in London, England, on April 30, 1980, and took 26 people hostage. They demanded the release of 91 political prisoners in Iran as well as
safe passage for them back to the Middle East. On the sixth day of the siege, UK special forces attacked the building and killed five of the six terrorists. The remaining gunman was later
sentenced to 27 years in prison. ASSOCIATED PRESS
37. John Lennon murdered
On December 8, 1980, the unimaginable happened, music legend John Lennon was murdered outside of the Dakota in New York City by Mark David Chapman.AP
38. Challenger Disaster (1986)
On January 28, 1986, just 73 seconds into its flight, the Challenger shuttle broke apart killing all seven people on board. The subsequent investigation highlighted extensive flaws in NASA's
decision-making processes and caused a 32-month hiatus in the Shuttle programme. Sipa Press/Rex Features
39. Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant explodes (April 26, 1986)
Chernobyl, a city in northern Ukraine, has been mostly uninhabited since a reactor in the Chernobyl Nuclear Power Plant exploded on April 26, 1986, leaking unsafe levels of radioactive
material into what is now known as the Zone of Alienation. It took 3 days to evacuate all of its roughly 15,000 residents.AP
40. Blast on Pan Am Flight 103 (1988)
More than 270 people were killed in the bombing of Pan Am Flight 103 from Frankfurt Airport to Detroit via London Heathrow on December 21, 1998. Apart from the 259 passengers and
crew members on board, 11 more people were killed on the ground in Lockerbie, Scotland, when the plane’s debris fell on them. ASSOCIATED PRESS
41. Tiananmen Square protest (1989)
The Tiananmen Square protests were a student-led pro-democracy movement that took place in Beijing, China, in the spring of 1989. On June 4, 1989, the Chinese military clamped down
violently on the students who were protesting in the square. The massacre left an unknown number of dead and throttled the democratic movement. Jeff Widener/AP
42. Fall of the Berlin Wall (1989)
The Berlin Wall, a powerful and enduring symbol of the Cold War, was built to keep Western “fascists” away from East Germany. However, with radical political changes and civil unrest, it
was decided on November 9, 1989, that the citizens from East Germany could visit West Germany whenever they pleased. Happy with the announcement, the crowd swarmed the wall and
some even started breaking it apart it. However, the official demolition of the wall began on 13 June 1990 and was completed two years later. AS/TS/Keystone USA/Rex Features
43. Nelson Mandela’s release (1990)
Probably the most important day in modern South African history, February 11, 1990 marked the day of release of the nation’s anti-apartheid activist Nelson Mandela from prison after a
term of 27 years. Mandela was arrested in August 1962 and was handed a life sentence in June 1964. Udo Weitz/AP
44. Can't we all just get along?
Apparently not. On April 29, 1992, when a jury acquitted four white officers accused in the videotaped beating of the African-American Rodney King, thousands of angry LA residents took to
the streets, resulting in roughly $1 billion of damage. 53 people died during the 6 days of mayhem. AP
45. Rwandan Genocide (1994)
The Rwandan genocide took place in 1994. It saw the mass slaughter of the Tutsis by the Hutus, resulting from longstanding internal conflict between the two ethnic groups. J.E. Burnett
states that the civil war broke out as a result of a coup by the Rwandan Patriotic Front in an attempt to defeat the Hutu led government. The Hutu retaliated and the ensuing civil war that
took place meant that a staggering percentage of the country was killed during the genocide in the East African State. The number affected is estimated to be somewhere in the region of
five hundred thousand to over one million. As is the case in all wars, both sides were complicit in the mass murdering of Rwandan citizens and as such, both the Hutu’s and the Tutsi’s
must be held accountable.
46. Oklahoma City bombing (1995)
Terrorists Timothy McVeigh and Terry Nichols carried out one of the deadliest terror attacks in history when they blew up the Alfred P. Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma on April 19,
1995. The bombings took the lives of 168 people and caused damage worth US$ 652 million. Bill Waugh/AP
47. Princess Diana’s death (1997)
The Princess of Wales was killed in a car crash, along with her boyfriend Dodi Fayed and their driver Henri Paul, in the Pont de l'Alma road tunnel in Paris, France, on August 31, 1997. The
investigation later found that the crash was caused by Paul, who was driving under the influence of alcohol. Jerome Delay/AP
48. Columbine High School massacre in Jefferson County, Colorado, April 20th, 1999.
Few events over the last century have had the core-rattling effect on the American psyche as the Columbine High School massacre in Jefferson County, Colorado, which happened on April
20th, 1999. At 11:10 a.m., Eric Harris and Dylan Klebold, two students, arrived at the school armed to the teeth with bombs and guns. While several explosives they had planted failed to
detonate, the two still managed to kill 12 students and a teacher, as well as wounding 23 others, before turning the guns on themselves. The incident sparked a heated debate about gun
violence and safety of American schools which continues to this day. Getty
49. Turn of the Millennium (2000)
The arrival of the year 2000 was marked by huge celebrations around the world as mankind embraced its entrance into the 3rd millennium of the Common Era (CE). The actual moment of
transition was marked by speculation about the potential dangers of the "Millennium Bug", with computers supposedly unable to distinguish between the years 2000 and 1900, although
minimal disruption was reported. Getty Images
50. 9/11 (2001)
On September 11, 2001, three airplanes, hijacked by Al-Qaeda terrorists, flew into the twin towers of New York’s World Trade Center and the Pentagon, the headquarters of the United
States Department of Defense, killing more than 3,000 people. Getty Images
51. Invasion of Iraq (2003)
The 2003 invasion of Iraq, led by US forces with support from the UK, Australia and Poland, preceded the Iraq War and was aimed at deposing the government of Saddam Hussein. Saddam
himself was eventually captured, and was sentenced to death by an Iraqi court in 2006. PATRICK BAZ/AFP/Getty Images
52. Beslan School massacre (2004)
A group of militants stormed School Number One (SNO) in Beslan, North Ossetia, Russia on September 1, 2004, and held over 1000 people as hostages. The militants demanded the
independence of Chechnya. The standoff lasted three days before Russian forces attacked the militants with heavy weapons, resulting in the deaths of 385 people including 186 children.
Ivan Sekretarev/AP
53. Boxing Day tsunami (2004)
A devastating tsunami, triggered by a 9.1-magnitude earthquake in the Indian Ocean, hit the shores of 14 countries on December 26, 2004, taking the lives of more than 285,000 people. The
worst effects of the tsunami were felt in the Indonesian province of Aceh, where 221,000 were killed or went missing. Dita Alangkara/AP
54. When Hurricane Katrina made landfall on Aug. 29, 2005,
over New Orleans, it initially looked as if the city had dodged the bullet. But early reports did not take into account the enormous strain put upon the levees by the storn surge. Ultimately,
the levees would break, flooding most of the city and stranding thousands of citizens. Getty
55. Michael Jackson's death (2009)
The King of Pop passed away at his residence in California, USA, on June 25, 2009, due to a massive cardiac arrest caused by an overdose of an intravenous sedative. It was later
concluded that his death was a homicide and, after a trial, his physicist Dr. Conrad Murray was sentenced to four years in prison for involuntary manslaughter. Jonathan Alcorn/Bloomberg
News
56. Haiti Earthquake (2010)
The magnitude 7.0 earthquake which struck Haiti on 12 January 2010 displaced or affected up to 3 million people, with death tolls ranging from 100,000 to more than 300,000
people. ASSOCIATED PRESS
57. Deepwater Horizon disaster (2010)
An explosion and subsequent fire in a drilling rig led to the largest accidental marine oil spill, in the Gulf of Mexico on April 20, 2010. The drilling rig was a part of the Deepwater Horizon
semi-submersible Mobile Offshore Drilling Unit owned by BP. The massive explosion took the lives of 11 people. KPA/Zuma/Rex Features
58. Japanese tsunami (2011)
A 9.1-magnitude earthquake unleashed a deadly tsunami that swept the coast of Japan on March 11, 2001, killing more than 18,000 people. The tsunami also led to a catastrophic nuclear
accident at the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Plant complex, which affected thousands of people. Mainichi Shimbun, Tomohiko Kano/AP
59. Osama bin Laden's death (2011)
After the largest and most notorious manhunt in modern history, the USA finally tracked down Osama bin Laden, the man allegedly responsible for conceiving the 9/11 attacks on New York
and the Pentagon. On May 2 2011 US Navy Seals attacked bin Laden's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan, killing the al-Qaeda founder and four others. Ray Tang/REX
60. Norway attacks (2011)
A bomb blast in front of Prime Minister Jens Stoltenberg’s office in Oslo, followed by a deadly gun attack at a summer camp on the island of Utoya, which killed 92 people and injured
hundreds, on July 22, 2011. The attacks were carried out by extremist Anders Behring Breivik, who is now serving a 21-year prison sentence. Jeff J Mitchell/Getty Images
61. Nelson Mandela's death (2013)
Following his 27-year imprisonment by the apartheid regime of South Africa, Nelson Mandela served as both President of South Africa and President of the African National Congress. He
remains one of the most prominent and famous figures in 20th and 21st century politics, synonymous with the struggle for equality and a recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize. He died of a
respiratory infection, aged 95, on December 5 2013. Foto24/Nelius Rademan/REX
62. The Ukraine Crisis (January 2014- Present)
2014 didn’t start easy for Ukranians as disagreements between protesters and separatists factions spiraled into an almost civil war. It all began when a number of Ukranians protestes
against the government when they dropped the plans to forge a closer trade with the European union. In February 2014 alone, hundreds of protesters have been killed. Up until now, the
crisis in Ukraine remains unresolved.
63. The Ebola Outbreak (February 2014)
One of the worst epidemic of the 21st century, The Ebola outbreak began in West Africa on February 2014. A lot of health officers died in the area while trying to stop the virus from
spreading. However, the virus spread so quickly that it even reached the United States of America. It caused massive scare on the entire world and up until now, the World Health
Organization is still diligently working to eradicate this epidemic quickly. John Moore/Getty
64. The Missing Flight: MH370 (March 2014)
On a flight from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing, Malaysian Airlines Flight 370 disappeared somewhere over the Gulf of Thailand along with its 239 passengers on board. There’s been a lot of
speculations why the plane suddenly disappeared and the most popular theory is a terrorist attack. However, none of these have been proven to be the real since the flight is still missing.
Experts believe that the plane might have crashed near the Indian Ocean. So far, no sign of the airplane has been found there since though the search continues to this day.
65. MH 17 Shot down over Ukraine (July 2014)
Following the crisis in Ukraine and the disappearance of MH 370, another Malaysian plane got involved in another tragedy. Malaysian Airlines flight 17 has been shot down by surface-to-
air missile, blowing up the plane and killing all the 298 people inside. It was believed that Russian separatists did the shooting.
66. Avalanche on Mount Everest - April 2014.
In mid-April 2014, an avalanche on Mount Everest near Everest Base Camp resulted in the death of 16 Nepalese guides, also known as Sherpas.
67. One major and most shocking events since the Second World War: Charlie Hebdo shooting ( January 7 2015)
On the morning of 7 January 2015 at about 11:30 local time Saïd and Chérif Kouachi, forced their way into the offices of the French satirical weekly newspaper Charlie Hebdo in Paris.
Armed with assault rifles and other weapons, they killed 11 people and injured 11 others in the building. After leaving, they killed a French National Police officer outside the building. The
gunmen identified themselves as belonging to the Islamist terrorist group Al-Qaeda's branch in Yemen, who took responsibility for the attack. Several related attacks followed in the Île-de-
France region, where a further five were killed and 11 wounded.
68. Earthquake devastates Nepal (april 27, 2015)
A massive earthquake in Nepal measuring 7.8 on the Richter scale has killed almost 4,000 people across four countries and triggered a deadly avalanche on Mount Everest. The quake,
which struck just before noon on 25 April, about 50 miles from Kathmandu in the valley region, is the worst to hit the poverty-stricken Himalayan nation in 81 years.
69. World Refugee Day (June 20, 2015)
According to a UN report released this week, 2014 also saw more people displaced around the world than any other year on record. One in every 122 people is either a refugee, internally
displaced or seeking asylum — and those 59.5 million people would together represent the world's 24th largest population. Today, on World Refugee Day, the global refugee crisis is worse
than at any time in living memory.
70. Charleston church shooting (June 18, 2015)
Nine people were killed Wednesday night when authorities say Dylan Storm Roof, 21, fired upon a prayer meeting inside the Emanuel AME Church in Charleston, S.C. Roof was
captured on Thursday after an intense manhunt. Photo: A rose is affixed to a fence along a sidewalk memorial in memory of the shooting victims in front of Emanuel AME Church
Saturday, June 20, 2015, in Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/David Goldman)
end
71. cast The days the earth stood still
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