2009

2009 — Korea: 9월 김대중 전 대통령 서거 / China: July 2009 Ürümqi riots / Japan: 2009 Shizuoka earthquake / United States: Pop icon Michael Jackson dies, creating the largest public mourning for an entertainer since the death of Elvis Presley

27 events. The text is the source chronology verbatim; the terms are in Sources & licenses. The grey lines above and below are the surrounding 2 years.

KoreaSouth Korea 1948–	ChinaChina 1949–	JapanHeisei era 1989–2019	United StatesUnited States 1776–
9월 김대중 전 대통령 서거KO 5월 노무현 전 대통령 서거KO UAE 원전 수주 60조원KO 2007The second summit between DPRK and ROK leaders is held, with Roh Moo-hyun representing the south and Kim Jong Il the north. The DPRK fires short-range missile into the Sea of Japan. 20071월 23일 인민혁명당 사건에 대해 대한민국의 대법원이 무죄를 선고 200710월 2일~10월 4일 제2차 남북정상회담 개최. "남북관계 발전과 평화번영을 위한 선언" 발표 20082월 25일 이명박 대통령 취임, 이명박 정부 출범 20088 April. A Korean woman, Yi So-yeon, becomes the first Korean to fly to outer space. 2008논현동 고시원 살인 사건 2010South Korean island Yeonpyeongdo is bombarded by North Korea. 2011Kim Jong Il dies, Kim Jong Un takes over as the Supreme Leader of North Korea. The National Intelligence Service accuses pro-unification lawmakers of being spies. One of the members was a former Democratic Party representative. In a move indicative of the heavy-handedness of the Park regime, the party is outlawed and key party members are imprisoned. 201112월 17일 김정일 사망, 김정은 국방위원회 제1위원장 집권(조선민주주의인민공화국) 2011무역 1조 달러 돌파	July 2009 Ürümqi riots 2009 Bhutan earthquake 2009 Hualien earthquake 2009 Xinjiang earthquake October — 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China: A military parade on Chang'an Avenue in Beijing commemorated the establishment of the PRC. 月，黑龙江“鹤岗新兴煤矿爆炸事故”造成108人死亡。ZH 月，第24屆冬季大學生運動會在哈爾濱舉辦。ZH 哈爾濱舉行第二十四屆冬季大學生運動會。乌鲁木齐七五事件。八八水災。ZH 月，香港中文大学教授、前校长高锟获得诺贝尔物理学奖。ZH 月，力拓集团驻上海办事处员工被中国国家安全机关依法刑事拘留（参见：力拓案）。ZH 月，时任美国总统贝拉克·奥巴马首次访华，与时任中国国家主席胡锦涛会面。ZH 月5日，新疆乌鲁木齐爆发大规模骚乱，史称“乌鲁木齐七五事件”，造成至少197人死亡，另有1721人受伤。ZH 2007月3日，陕西省安康市发生华南虎照片事件。 2007月24日，“嫦娥一号”月球探测器发射升空。 20072007 Chinese slave scandal 2007月15日-21日，中国共产党第十七次全国代表大会在北京召开，胡锦涛在10月22日召开的中共十七届一中全会上连任中共中央总书记，其他当选的中共中央政治局常委包括吴邦国、温家宝、贾庆林、李长春、习近平、李克强、贺国强、周永康（参见：中国共产党第十七届中央委员会）。 2007August — The State Administration for Religious Affairs issued State Religious Affairs Bureau Order No. 5, which required tulkus who planned to be reincarnated to submit an application to the government. 2007July — Zheng Xiaoyu, the former head of the State Food and Drug Administration, was executed for corruption. 2007月6日，《中华人民共和国物权法》通过。 2007台灣高速鐵路1月5日通車。曾荫权当选香港第三届行政长官。 2007月，河南卢氏县特大洪灾，造成78人死亡、18人失踪。 2007月，山西新窑矿难造成104人死亡。 20072007 Shandong coal mine flood 2008Universal Declaration of Human Rights 20082008 Sichuan earthquake 20082008 Chinese milk scandal 20082008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony 2008September — 2008 Summer Paralympics: The thirteenth Paralympic Games began in Beijing. 2008May — The Hangzhou Bay Bridge opened to the public. 2008月20日，曾短暂担任中华人民共和国最高领导人的华国锋逝世。 2008馬英九當選中華民國總統。汶川大地震。北京夏季奥运会。9月27日翟志刚步出神舟七号成为首个太空行走的中国宇航员。 20082008 Kashgar attack 20082008 Panzhihua earthquake 2008September — The astronaut Zhai Zhigang completed China's first spacewalk on Shenzhou 7. 2008Yingjiang earthquakes 2008Wild Strawberries Movement 2008연합호 사건 2008January — 2008 Chinese winter storms: A series of severe winter storms began which would claim over a hundred lives. 2008月8日，山西省襄汾尾矿库溃坝事故，死亡277人、失踪4人，另有受伤33人，直接经济损失9619万元。 2008月5日，为应对全球金融危机，时任中国国务院总理温家宝推出四万亿投资计划。 2008月5日-18日，在第十一届全国人民代表大会第一次会议上，胡锦涛连任中华人民共和国主席，温家宝连任中华人民共和国国务院总理。 2008月，“西藏骚乱”爆发，造成至少数十人伤亡。 2008月25日，“神舟七号 ”载人飞船搭载翟志刚、刘伯明、景海鹏三位航天员成功发射，中国宇航员首次实现太空漫步，并于9月28日返回地球。 2008月起，中国南方水灾特大水灾，至少57人死亡、数百人失踪，受灾人口超2100万。 2008月-9月，北京奥运会以及残奥会。 2008月20日，廣東深圳舞王俱樂部火災，43人死亡，88人受傷。 2008月，中国奶制品污染事件爆发。 2008月，中国大陆爆发大规模雪災，因灾死亡129人。 2008月，时任美国总统小布什第四次访华，与时任中国国家主席胡锦涛会面，观赏奥运会。 2008月28日，山东胶济列车相撞，造成72人丧生、416人受伤。 2010月，中国、俄罗斯、印度、巴西、南非成立“金砖五国”。 2010May — Expo 2010: A world's fair began in Shanghai. 20102010 Yushu earthquake 2010月，刘晓波获得诺贝尔和平奖，成为首位获得诺贝尔奖的中华人民共和国公民。 20102010 Kaohsiung earthquake 2010Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement 2010Li Gang incident 2010月1日，“嫦娥二号”月球探测器发射升空。 2010月，中华人民共和国第六次全国人口普查显示中国总人口超过13.39亿。 2010月24日，黑龙江“伊春空难”造成44人死亡、52人受伤。 2010月，青海玉树特大地震造成2698人死亡、270人失踪，另有12135人受伤。 2010月，广西重大泥石流事件造成至少43人死亡。 2010月-10月，上海世博会。 2010月，甘肃舟曲泥石流灾害导致1557人死亡，两条河流被截断形成堰塞湖。 2010月起，特大水灾造成至少1072人丧生、619人失踪，110万间房屋倒塌，直接经济损失达到2100亿元人民币。 2010月15日，上海靜安教師公寓發生大火，共造成58人死亡，死者多為退休教師，另有71人受傷。 2010月23日，谷歌公司宣称因为遭到中国网络攻击，决定退出中国。 2010月，第十六届亚洲运动会在中国广州举行。 20112011 Shan earthquake 20112011 Sikkim earthquake 20112011 Yunnan earthquake 2011月29日，“天宫一号”实验性空间站发射升空，后于2018年4月结束任务、落入大气层。 2011Wukan protests 2011月1日，“神舟八号”无人飞船顺利发射升空，与天宫一号对接，并于11月17日返回地球。 2011Kashgar attacks 20112011 Hotan attack 2011100th Anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution and Republic of China 20112011 Central Tibetan Administration general election 2011月，中国红十字会爆发重大丑闻“郭美美事件 ”。 2011月14日，大连市爆发上万人参加的反对PX项目游行。 2011月，内蒙古抗议示威事件。 2011月，深圳举办“2011年世界大学生夏季运动会”。 2011月，微博实行实名制。 2011月起，中国南方水灾，至少105人死亡，63人失踪。 2011月，北斗二号导航系统开始为中国及周边地区用户提供服务。 2011月23日，甬台温铁路列车追尾事故，造成40人死亡、上百人受伤。 2011月起，中国秋季洪涝灾害，共造成97人死亡、21人失踪。 20111月1日中俄原油管道投入运行。中國國內生產總值超越日本成為全球第二大經濟體。蓬莱19-3油田溢油事故。深圳举办世界大学生夏季运动会。10月10日，中華民國100年國慶。	2009 Shizuoka earthquake September — Yukio Hatoyama was elected 95th Prime Minister of Japan. (平成21年)JA August — Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda lost his election to Democratic Party leader Yukio Hatoyama. 20072007 Chūetsu offshore earthquake 2007September — Yasuo Fukuda become 93rd Prime Minister of Japan following Shinzo Abe lost the House of Councillors election and his resignation. 20072007 Noto earthquake 2007Japanese unified local elections 2007July — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resigns due to lost his power in the House of Councillors election to Ichirō Ozawa. 20082008 Iwate–Miyagi Nairiku earthquake 2008July 2008 Iwate earthquake 2008September — Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda resigned and Tarō Asō become 94th Prime Minister of Japan. 2008Osaka movie theatre fire 2008연합호 사건 2008January–December — Japan is severely affected by the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession. 2010July — According to the United Nations, Japanese population has now peaked. 2010July — Prime Minister Naoto Kan won the House of Councillors election. 2010지치지마 근해 지진 2010Habikino shooting 2010후쿠시마현 해역 지진 2010일본 구제역 확산 2010June — Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama resigned and Naoto Kan become the 96th Prime Minister of Japan. 2010(平成22年) 2011April 2011 Fukushima earthquake 20112011 Shizuoka earthquake 20112011 Nagano earthquake 2011March — Japan gets hit with the (earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster, etc.), which claimed the lives of 20,000 people. 2011March — Japan Self-Defense Force Base was established in Djibouti. 2011January and March — The Tokyo Skytree 634.0 metres (2,080 ft) became the third tallest tower in the world, which opened in 2012.	Pop icon Michael Jackson dies, creating the largest public mourning for an entertainer since the death of Elvis Presley. swine flu pandemic in the United States shooting of Pittsburgh police officers 2009 New York's 20th congressional district special election Nobel Peace Prize Tea Party protests Nidal Hasan kills 12 servicemen and injures 31 in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting. President Obama obtains Congressional approval for the $787 billion stimulus package, the largest since President Dwight D. Eisenhower. 2007A South Korean student shoots and kills 32 other students and professors in the Virginia Tech shooting before killing himself. It stands as the worst mass shooting in U.S. history until 2016 and spurs a series of debates on gun control and journalism ethics. 2007Democrat Nancy Pelosi becomes the first female speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives. 20072007 United States Air Force nuclear weapons incident 2007The I-35W Mississippi River bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota collapses, killing 13 people. The bridge collapse brings to national attention the need to rehabilitate the aging U.S. infrastructure system. 2007George W. Bush orders a troop surge which substantially increases the number of U.S. troops in Iraq and ultimately leads to reductions in casualties and major victories for coalition and Iraqi forces, against the insurgency. 20072007 Alum Rock earthquake 2007The first iPhone is released for sale in the U.S. 2007The Great Recession officially begins in December. 20082008 financial crisis 2008U.S. presidential election, 2008: Barack Obama is elected president, and Joe Biden elected vice president. 2008Hurricane Ike kills 100 people along the Texas coast, produces $31 billion in damage, and contributes to rising oil prices. 2008Covina massacre 20082008 Chino Hills earthquake 20082008 Illinois earthquake 2008Minnesota Democratic presidential caucuses 2008Idaho Democratic presidential caucuses 2008Tennessee 2008January 20, 2009 — Obama becomes the 44th president, Biden becomes the 47th vice president. Obama is the first African-American to hold the office. 2008U.S. oil prices hit a record $147 per barrel in the wake of—among other factors—international tensions and the falling U.S. dollar vs. the Euro. 2008The Super Tuesday tornado outbreak kills over 60 people and produces $1 billion in damage across Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama. 2008campaign 2008Steven Kazmierczak kills five, injures 21, and then kills himself in the Northern Illinois University shooting. After this incident, calls are made for more focus on mental health services and interest grows substantially in the group Students for Concealed Carry on Campus. 2010The Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico explodes, spilling millions of gallons of oil into the sea. The spill becomes the worst oil spill in American history. 20102010 Times Square car bombing attempt 2010California Proposition 19 20102010 Eureka earthquake 2010더 투나잇 쇼 사태 20102010 Illinois earthquake 2010In the 2010 Midterm elections, the Republicans retake the House of Representatives as the Democrats lose 63 seats. 2011Osama bin Laden, leader of al-Qaeda and mastermind of the September 11 attacks, is killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan, by U.S. Navy SEALs. 20112011 Virginia earthquake 2011Joplin tornado 2011STS-135: The Space Shuttle Atlantis touches down at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center, ending the 30-year shuttle program, which began with the launch of Space Shuttle Columbia on April 12, 1981. 2011A tornado devastates Joplin, Missouri, killing 158 and injuring over 1,000, making it the deadliest single U.S. tornado since the advent of modern weather forecasting 2011ATF gunwalking scandal 20112011 Oklahoma earthquake 20112011 Colorado earthquake 2011A series of tornadoes cause heavy damage in the South, Alabama being the hardest hit. 324 people are killed in the deadliest American natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina. 2011Representative Gabrielle Giffords is severely wounded in an assassination attempt when a gunman went on a shooting spree, killing federal judge John Roll and five other people, and wounding at least 13 others, at an event Giffords was hosting in suburban Tucson, Arizona. 2011Flooding devastates the Mississippi River valley causing $2 to $4 billion in damage. 2011Casey Marie Anthony is acquitted of all charges related to the death of her daughter, Caylee; she was convicted of four counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer. She was released a week later because of credit for time served.

KoreaSouth Korea 1948–

ChinaChina 1949–

JapanHeisei era 1989–2019

United StatesUnited States 1776–

9월 김대중 전 대통령 서거KO
5월 노무현 전 대통령 서거KO
UAE 원전 수주 60조원KO

2007The second summit between DPRK and ROK leaders is held, with Roh Moo-hyun representing the south and Kim Jong Il the north. The DPRK fires short-range missile into the Sea of Japan.
20071월 23일 인민혁명당 사건에 대해 대한민국의 대법원이 무죄를 선고
200710월 2일~10월 4일 제2차 남북정상회담 개최. "남북관계 발전과 평화번영을 위한 선언" 발표
20082월 25일 이명박 대통령 취임, 이명박 정부 출범
20088 April. A Korean woman, Yi So-yeon, becomes the first Korean to fly to outer space.
2008논현동 고시원 살인 사건
2010South Korean island Yeonpyeongdo is bombarded by North Korea.
2011Kim Jong Il dies, Kim Jong Un takes over as the Supreme Leader of North Korea. The National Intelligence Service accuses pro-unification lawmakers of being spies. One of the members was a former Democratic Party representative. In a move indicative of the heavy-handedness of the Park regime, the party is outlawed and key party members are imprisoned.
201112월 17일 김정일 사망, 김정은 국방위원회 제1위원장 집권(조선민주주의인민공화국)
2011무역 1조 달러 돌파

July 2009 Ürümqi riots
2009 Bhutan earthquake
2009 Hualien earthquake
2009 Xinjiang earthquake
October — 60th anniversary of the People's Republic of China: A military parade on Chang'an Avenue in Beijing commemorated the establishment of the PRC.
月，黑龙江“鹤岗新兴煤矿爆炸事故”造成108人死亡。ZH
月，第24屆冬季大學生運動會在哈爾濱舉辦。ZH
哈爾濱舉行第二十四屆冬季大學生運動會。乌鲁木齐七五事件。八八水災。ZH
月，香港中文大学教授、前校长高锟获得诺贝尔物理学奖。ZH
月，力拓集团驻上海办事处员工被中国国家安全机关依法刑事拘留（参见：力拓案）。ZH
月，时任美国总统贝拉克·奥巴马首次访华，与时任中国国家主席胡锦涛会面。ZH
月5日，新疆乌鲁木齐爆发大规模骚乱，史称“乌鲁木齐七五事件”，造成至少197人死亡，另有1721人受伤。ZH

2007月3日，陕西省安康市发生华南虎照片事件。
2007月24日，“嫦娥一号”月球探测器发射升空。
20072007 Chinese slave scandal
2007月15日-21日，中国共产党第十七次全国代表大会在北京召开，胡锦涛在10月22日召开的中共十七届一中全会上连任中共中央总书记，其他当选的中共中央政治局常委包括吴邦国、温家宝、贾庆林、李长春、习近平、李克强、贺国强、周永康（参见：中国共产党第十七届中央委员会）。
2007August — The State Administration for Religious Affairs issued State Religious Affairs Bureau Order No. 5, which required tulkus who planned to be reincarnated to submit an application to the government.
2007July — Zheng Xiaoyu, the former head of the State Food and Drug Administration, was executed for corruption.
2007月6日，《中华人民共和国物权法》通过。
2007台灣高速鐵路1月5日通車。曾荫权当选香港第三届行政长官。
2007月，河南卢氏县特大洪灾，造成78人死亡、18人失踪。
2007月，山西新窑矿难造成104人死亡。
20072007 Shandong coal mine flood
2008Universal Declaration of Human Rights
20082008 Sichuan earthquake
20082008 Chinese milk scandal
20082008 Summer Olympics opening ceremony
2008September — 2008 Summer Paralympics: The thirteenth Paralympic Games began in Beijing.
2008May — The Hangzhou Bay Bridge opened to the public.
2008月20日，曾短暂担任中华人民共和国最高领导人的华国锋逝世。
2008馬英九當選中華民國總統。汶川大地震。北京夏季奥运会。9月27日翟志刚步出神舟七号成为首个太空行走的中国宇航员。
20082008 Kashgar attack
20082008 Panzhihua earthquake
2008September — The astronaut Zhai Zhigang completed China's first spacewalk on Shenzhou 7.
2008Yingjiang earthquakes
2008Wild Strawberries Movement
2008연합호 사건
2008January — 2008 Chinese winter storms: A series of severe winter storms began which would claim over a hundred lives.
2008月8日，山西省襄汾尾矿库溃坝事故，死亡277人、失踪4人，另有受伤33人，直接经济损失9619万元。
2008月5日，为应对全球金融危机，时任中国国务院总理温家宝推出四万亿投资计划。
2008月5日-18日，在第十一届全国人民代表大会第一次会议上，胡锦涛连任中华人民共和国主席，温家宝连任中华人民共和国国务院总理。
2008月，“西藏骚乱”爆发，造成至少数十人伤亡。
2008月25日，“神舟七号 ”载人飞船搭载翟志刚、刘伯明、景海鹏三位航天员成功发射，中国宇航员首次实现太空漫步，并于9月28日返回地球。
2008月起，中国南方水灾特大水灾，至少57人死亡、数百人失踪，受灾人口超2100万。
2008月-9月，北京奥运会以及残奥会。
2008月20日，廣東深圳舞王俱樂部火災，43人死亡，88人受傷。
2008月，中国奶制品污染事件爆发。
2008月，中国大陆爆发大规模雪災，因灾死亡129人。
2008月，时任美国总统小布什第四次访华，与时任中国国家主席胡锦涛会面，观赏奥运会。
2008月28日，山东胶济列车相撞，造成72人丧生、416人受伤。
2010月，中国、俄罗斯、印度、巴西、南非成立“金砖五国”。
2010May — Expo 2010: A world's fair began in Shanghai.
20102010 Yushu earthquake
2010月，刘晓波获得诺贝尔和平奖，成为首位获得诺贝尔奖的中华人民共和国公民。
20102010 Kaohsiung earthquake
2010Economic Cooperation Framework Agreement
2010Li Gang incident
2010月1日，“嫦娥二号”月球探测器发射升空。
2010月，中华人民共和国第六次全国人口普查显示中国总人口超过13.39亿。
2010月24日，黑龙江“伊春空难”造成44人死亡、52人受伤。
2010月，青海玉树特大地震造成2698人死亡、270人失踪，另有12135人受伤。
2010月，广西重大泥石流事件造成至少43人死亡。
2010月-10月，上海世博会。
2010月，甘肃舟曲泥石流灾害导致1557人死亡，两条河流被截断形成堰塞湖。
2010月起，特大水灾造成至少1072人丧生、619人失踪，110万间房屋倒塌，直接经济损失达到2100亿元人民币。
2010月15日，上海靜安教師公寓發生大火，共造成58人死亡，死者多為退休教師，另有71人受傷。
2010月23日，谷歌公司宣称因为遭到中国网络攻击，决定退出中国。
2010月，第十六届亚洲运动会在中国广州举行。
20112011 Shan earthquake
20112011 Sikkim earthquake
20112011 Yunnan earthquake
2011月29日，“天宫一号”实验性空间站发射升空，后于2018年4月结束任务、落入大气层。
2011Wukan protests
2011月1日，“神舟八号”无人飞船顺利发射升空，与天宫一号对接，并于11月17日返回地球。
2011Kashgar attacks
20112011 Hotan attack
2011100th Anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution and Republic of China
20112011 Central Tibetan Administration general election
2011月，中国红十字会爆发重大丑闻“郭美美事件 ”。
2011月14日，大连市爆发上万人参加的反对PX项目游行。
2011月，内蒙古抗议示威事件。
2011月，深圳举办“2011年世界大学生夏季运动会”。
2011月，微博实行实名制。
2011月起，中国南方水灾，至少105人死亡，63人失踪。
2011月，北斗二号导航系统开始为中国及周边地区用户提供服务。
2011月23日，甬台温铁路列车追尾事故，造成40人死亡、上百人受伤。
2011月起，中国秋季洪涝灾害，共造成97人死亡、21人失踪。
20111月1日中俄原油管道投入运行。中國國內生產總值超越日本成為全球第二大經濟體。蓬莱19-3油田溢油事故。深圳举办世界大学生夏季运动会。10月10日，中華民國100年國慶。

2009 Shizuoka earthquake
September — Yukio Hatoyama was elected 95th Prime Minister of Japan.
(平成21年)JA
August — Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda lost his election to Democratic Party leader Yukio Hatoyama.

20072007 Chūetsu offshore earthquake
2007September — Yasuo Fukuda become 93rd Prime Minister of Japan following Shinzo Abe lost the House of Councillors election and his resignation.
20072007 Noto earthquake
2007Japanese unified local elections
2007July — Prime Minister Shinzo Abe resigns due to lost his power in the House of Councillors election to Ichirō Ozawa.
20082008 Iwate–Miyagi Nairiku earthquake
2008July 2008 Iwate earthquake
2008September — Prime Minister Yasuo Fukuda resigned and Tarō Asō become 94th Prime Minister of Japan.
2008Osaka movie theatre fire
2008연합호 사건
2008January–December — Japan is severely affected by the 2008 financial crisis and the Great Recession.
2010July — According to the United Nations, Japanese population has now peaked.
2010July — Prime Minister Naoto Kan won the House of Councillors election.
2010지치지마 근해 지진
2010Habikino shooting
2010후쿠시마현 해역 지진
2010일본 구제역 확산
2010June — Prime Minister Yukio Hatoyama resigned and Naoto Kan become the 96th Prime Minister of Japan.
2010(平成22年)
2011April 2011 Fukushima earthquake
20112011 Shizuoka earthquake
20112011 Nagano earthquake
2011March — Japan gets hit with the (earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear disaster, etc.), which claimed the lives of 20,000 people.
2011March — Japan Self-Defense Force Base was established in Djibouti.
2011January and March — The Tokyo Skytree 634.0 metres (2,080 ft) became the third tallest tower in the world, which opened in 2012.

Pop icon Michael Jackson dies, creating the largest public mourning for an entertainer since the death of Elvis Presley.
swine flu pandemic in the United States
shooting of Pittsburgh police officers
2009 New York's 20th congressional district special election
Nobel Peace Prize
Tea Party protests
Nidal Hasan kills 12 servicemen and injures 31 in the 2009 Fort Hood shooting.
President Obama obtains Congressional approval for the $787 billion stimulus package, the largest since President Dwight D. Eisenhower.

2007A South Korean student shoots and kills 32 other students and professors in the Virginia Tech shooting before killing himself. It stands as the worst mass shooting in U.S. history until 2016 and spurs a series of debates on gun control and journalism ethics.
2007Democrat Nancy Pelosi becomes the first female speaker of the U.S. House of Representatives.
20072007 United States Air Force nuclear weapons incident
2007The I-35W Mississippi River bridge in Minneapolis, Minnesota collapses, killing 13 people. The bridge collapse brings to national attention the need to rehabilitate the aging U.S. infrastructure system.
2007George W. Bush orders a troop surge which substantially increases the number of U.S. troops in Iraq and ultimately leads to reductions in casualties and major victories for coalition and Iraqi forces, against the insurgency.
20072007 Alum Rock earthquake
2007The first iPhone is released for sale in the U.S.
2007The Great Recession officially begins in December.
20082008 financial crisis
2008U.S. presidential election, 2008: Barack Obama is elected president, and Joe Biden elected vice president.
2008Hurricane Ike kills 100 people along the Texas coast, produces $31 billion in damage, and contributes to rising oil prices.
2008Covina massacre
20082008 Chino Hills earthquake
20082008 Illinois earthquake
2008Minnesota Democratic presidential caucuses
2008Idaho Democratic presidential caucuses
2008Tennessee
2008January 20, 2009 — Obama becomes the 44th president, Biden becomes the 47th vice president. Obama is the first African-American to hold the office.
2008U.S. oil prices hit a record $147 per barrel in the wake of—among other factors—international tensions and the falling U.S. dollar vs. the Euro.
2008The Super Tuesday tornado outbreak kills over 60 people and produces $1 billion in damage across Arkansas, Kentucky, Tennessee, and Alabama.
2008campaign
2008Steven Kazmierczak kills five, injures 21, and then kills himself in the Northern Illinois University shooting. After this incident, calls are made for more focus on mental health services and interest grows substantially in the group Students for Concealed Carry on Campus.
2010The Deepwater Horizon oil rig in the Gulf of Mexico explodes, spilling millions of gallons of oil into the sea. The spill becomes the worst oil spill in American history.
20102010 Times Square car bombing attempt
2010California Proposition 19
20102010 Eureka earthquake
2010더 투나잇 쇼 사태
20102010 Illinois earthquake
2010In the 2010 Midterm elections, the Republicans retake the House of Representatives as the Democrats lose 63 seats.
2011Osama bin Laden, leader of al-Qaeda and mastermind of the September 11 attacks, is killed in Abbottabad, Pakistan, by U.S. Navy SEALs.
20112011 Virginia earthquake
2011Joplin tornado
2011STS-135: The Space Shuttle Atlantis touches down at the Shuttle Landing Facility at Kennedy Space Center, ending the 30-year shuttle program, which began with the launch of Space Shuttle Columbia on April 12, 1981.
2011A tornado devastates Joplin, Missouri, killing 158 and injuring over 1,000, making it the deadliest single U.S. tornado since the advent of modern weather forecasting
2011ATF gunwalking scandal
20112011 Oklahoma earthquake
20112011 Colorado earthquake
2011A series of tornadoes cause heavy damage in the South, Alabama being the hardest hit. 324 people are killed in the deadliest American natural disaster since Hurricane Katrina.
2011Representative Gabrielle Giffords is severely wounded in an assassination attempt when a gunman went on a shooting spree, killing federal judge John Roll and five other people, and wounding at least 13 others, at an event Giffords was hosting in suburban Tucson, Arizona.
2011Flooding devastates the Mississippi River valley causing $2 to $4 billion in damage.
2011Casey Marie Anthony is acquitted of all charges related to the death of her daughter, Caylee; she was convicted of four counts of providing false information to a law enforcement officer. She was released a week later because of credit for time served.