- Jan 1 Suicide car bomb detonates at a volleyball tournament in Lakki Marwat, Pakistan, killing 105 and injuring 100
- Jan 1 96th Rose Bowl: #8 Ohio State beats #7 Oregon, 26-17
- Jan 1 76th Sugar Bowl: #5 Florida beats #3 Cincinnati, 51-24
- Jan 4 The Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention removed HIV infection from its list of communicable diseases of public health significance.
- Jan 4 39th Fiesta Bowl: #6 Boise State beats #3 TCU, 17-10
- Jan 4 The Burj Khalifa, world's tallest building at 829.8 m (2,722 ft), officially opens in Dubai
Event of Interest
Jan 5 Mike Shanahan is formally introduced as head coach of the Washington Redskins
Mike Shanahan
- Jan 5 76th Orange Bowl: #10 Iowa beats #9 Georgia Tech, 24-14
Film and TV Awards
Jan 6 36th People's Choice Awards: Johnny Depp & Sandra Bullock win (Movie Star) and Hugh Laurie & Katherine Heigl win (TV Drama)
Event of Interest
Jan 11 Simon Cowell leaves "American Idol"
Simon Cowell
- Jan 12 Earthquake occurs in Haiti killing approximately 160,000 and destroying the majority of the capital Port-au-Prince
- Jan 12 Colombia officially leaves the recession after achieving 2% economic growth in the last quarter of 2009
- Jan 14 Yemen declares war on al-Qaeda
- Jan 15 15th Critics' Choice Movie Awards: The Hurt Locker wins Best Film
- Jan 17 A dragon boat from Chung Ling High School capsizes and collides with a tugboat amid strong currents in Penang, Malaysia, killing 6 people and injuring 12
Film and TV Awards
Jan 17 67th Golden Globes: Avatar, Jeff Bridges, Sandra Bullock win
Jeff Bridges
Sandra Bullock
Event of Interest
Jan 22 Conan O'Brien's last Tonight Show episode after a big controversy over the Tonight Show timeslot
Conan O'Brien
- Jan 24 AFC Championship Game: Indianapolis Colts beat New York Jets 30-17
- Jan 24 NFC Championship Game: New Orleans Saints beat Minnesota Vikings 31-28 (OT)
- Jan 25 Ethiopian Airlines Flight 409 crashes into the Mediterranean Sea shortly after take-off from Beirut Rafic Hariri International Airport, killing all 90 people on-board.
- Jan 26 After 6 consecutive quarters of negative GDP growth, the UK economy officially finally comes out of recession with a GDP growth of 0.1%
Execution
Jan 28 Five murderers of Bangladeshi President Sheikh Mujibur Rahman hanged: Lieutenant Colonel Syed Faruq Rahman, Lieutenant Colonel Sultan Shahriar Rashid Khan, Major AKM Mohiuddin Ahmed, Major Bazlul Huda and Lieutenant Colonel Mohiuddin Ahmed
Sheikh Mujibur Rahman
Tennis Open
Jan 31 98th Men's Australian Open: Roger Federer beats Andy Murray (6-3, 6-4, 7-6)
Roger Federer
Andy Murray
- Jan 31 98th Women's Australian Open: Serena Williams beats Justine Henin (6-4, 3-6, 6-2)
- Jan 31 26th Sundance Film Festival: "Winter's Bone", directed by Debra Granik, wins Grand Jury Prize Dramatic
- Feb 7 Super Bowl XLIV; New Orleans Saints defeated the Indianapolis Colts 31-17 to win their first super bowl.
- Feb 11 60th Berlin International Film Festival: "Honey" wins the Golden Bear
- Feb 12 21st Winter Olympic Games open at Vancouver, Canada
- Feb 13 A bombing at the German Bakery in Pune, India, kills 10 and injures 60 more.
Event of Interest
Feb 14 Alexandre Bilodeau wins the Gold Medal in the freestyle skiing men's moguls event, becoming the first Canadian to win a Gold Medal during a Canadian-hosted Olympics
Alexandre Bilodeau
Event of Interest
Feb 18 Bibliothèque nationale de France purchases the memoirs of Giacomo Casanova a for €7 million
Giacomo Casanova
- Feb 20 On the Portuguese Atlantic island of Madeira heavy rain causes floods and mudslides, leaving at least 32 deaths in the worst disaster on the history of the archipelago.
Film Awards
Feb 21 63rd British Film and Television Awards (BAFTAS): "The Hurt Locker" Best Film, Kathryn Bigelow Best Director
Kathryn Bigelow
- Feb 22 Taiwan's economy exits from the recession with 9.22% growth in the last quarter of 2009 after increased demand from China and other key markets in the region
- Feb 23 Unknown criminals pour more than 2.5 million litres of diesel oil and other hydrocarbons into the river Lambro, in Northern Italy, causing an environmental disaster.
Historic Publication
Feb 23 Danielle Steel’s novel “Big Girl” is published
Danielle Steel
Event of Interest
Feb 24 Sachin Tendulkar scores the first double century in One Day International cricket
Sachin Tendulkar
- Feb 24 Europe risks a double-dip recession after bad results emerge from France, Germany and Italy, it is reported today; the Eurozone only grew by 0.1% in the last quarter of 2009
- Feb 26 41st NAACP Image Awards: "Precious" wins Outstanding Motion Picture
- Feb 27 Central Chile is hit with an 8.8 magnitude earthquake.
- Feb 28 21st Winter Olympic Games close at Vancouver, Canada
Film Release
Mar 3 "Alice in Wonderland", inspired by Lewis Carroll directed by Tim Burton and starring Johnny Depp and Mia Wasikowska is released
- Mar 6 30th Golden Raspberry Awards: "Transformers: Revenge of the Fallen" wins
Film Awards
Mar 7 82nd Academy Awards: "The Hurt Locker", Jeff Bridges & Sandra Bullock win
Sandra Bullock
Jeff Bridges
Event of Interest
Mar 10 Carlos Slim becomes the first Mexican and person from an emerging economy to top Forbes Richest Person list, with net worth of US$53.5 billion
Carlos Slim
- Mar 11 Sebastián Piñera becomes Chilean president
- Mar 13 31st Big East Men's Basketball Tournament: #7 West Virginia beats #22 Georgetown, 60-58
- Mar 14 57th ACC Men's Basketball Tournament: #4 Duke beats Georgia Tech, 65-61
- Mar 14 51st SEC Men's Basketball Tournament: Kentucky beats Mississippi State, 75-74 (OT)
- Mar 20 56th National Film Awards (India): "Antaheen" wins the Golden Lotus
- Mar 24 Lee Kun-hee returns to Samsung Electronics chief executive officer (CEO) position after his resignation in April 21, 2008
Event of Interest
Mar 24 The World Health Organization appoints Craig David as a Goodwill Ambassador against tuberculosis on World Tuberculosis Day
Craig David
- Mar 29 Two female suicide bombers hit the Moscow Metro system at the peak of the morning rush hour, killing 40
Contract of Interest
Apr 2 Kobe Bryant signs a three-year contract extension with the Los Angeles Lakers worth $87 million
Kobe Bryant
- Apr 3 Matt Smith's first appearance as the 11th Doctor in BBC program "Doctor Who" during "The Eleventh Hour" episode
- Apr 5 72nd NCAA Men's Basketball Championship: Duke beats Butler 61-59
- Apr 6 29th NCAA Women's Basketball Championship: Connecticut beats Stanford 53-47
- Apr 10 Polish Air Force Tu-154M crashes near Smolensk, Russia, killing all 96 people on board including President Lech Kaczyński
- Apr 10 163rd Grand National: Tony McCoy aboard Don't Push It wins
Golf Major
Apr 11 74th Masters Golf Tournament: Phil Mickelson wins, shooting a 272
Phil Mickelson
- Apr 11 "The night of Sora Aoi", Japanese porn actress Sora Aoi joins twitter prompting many Chinese fans to try and circumnavigate Chinese censorship
- Apr 12 A train derailed near Merano, Italy, after running into a landslide, causing nine deaths and injuring 28 people.
- Apr 14 Icelandic Volcano Eyjafjallajökull begins erupting from the top crater in the centre of the glacier
- Apr 15 Volcanic ash from the eruption of Eyjafjallajökull in Iceland leads to the closure of airspace over most of Europe.
Music Awards
Apr 18 45th Academy of Country Music Awards: Carrie Underwood, Brad Paisley, and Miranda Lambert win
Carrie Underwood
- Apr 19 114th Boston Marathon: Robert Kiprono Cheruiyot of Kenya 1st man in 2:05:52 and Teyba Erkesso of Ethiopia 1st woman in 2:26:11
- Apr 20 The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explodes, killing 11 and causing the rig to sink, causing a massive oil discharge into the Gulf of Mexico and an environmental diaster
Film Premier
Apr 21 "Shrek Forever After" directed by Mike Mitchell with voices by Mike Myers, Cameron Diaz and Eddie Murphy premieres at the Tribeca Film Festival
Eddie Murphy
Cameron Diaz
- Apr 22 NFL Draft: Oklahoma quarterback Sam Bradford first pick by St. Louis Rams
Event of Interest
Apr 24 Christy Turlington’s directorial debut, "No Woman, No Cry", is released in the U.S.
Christy Turlington
Film Premier
Apr 26 "Iron Man 2", directed by Jon Favreau, starring Robert Downey Jr. and Gwyneth Paltrow, premieres in Los Angeles
Robert Downey Jr
Gwyneth Paltrow
Event of Interest
May 1 Canadian singer Bryan Adams is given the Governor General's Performing Arts Award for his 30 years of contributions to the arts
Bryan Adams
Event of Interest
May 4 Julia Louis-Dreyfus receives the 2,407th star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, although on the original star her name is spelled incorrectly
Julia Louis-Dreyfus
- May 6 The second largest intraday point swing in Dow Jones Industrial Average history occurs
- May 8 Last piece of Yankee Stadium falls in the Bronx, New York, marking the end of the two year demolition process
- May 8 Barrow AFC wins English FA Trophy at Wembley, makes them only team to win it at both Old & New Wembley stadiums
- May 9 Oakland A's Dallas Braden becomes 19th pitcher to throw a perfect game (4-0 vs Tampa Bay)
Event of Interest
May 10 Flavor Flav guest hosts the wrestling show WWE Raw
Flavor Flav
Election of Interest
May 11 Imelda Marcos wins election to the House of Representatives of the Philippines, representing Ilocos Norte province
Imelda Marcos
Election of Interest
May 11 David Cameron becomes Prime Minister of the United Kingdom after forming a coalition government between the Liberal Democrats and his own Conservative Party
David Cameron
- May 12 An Afriqiyah Airways Flight crashes and kills everyone but one person on board
- May 15 Jessica Watson at age 16 becomes the youngest person to sail solo, non-stop and unassisted around the world
- May 15 135th Preakness: Martin Garcia aboard Lookin At Lucky wins in 1:55.47
- May 18 Police officer James Crooker is asked to leave the Red and Black Café in Portland, Oregon after co-owner John Langley claimed Crooker's uniformed presence made him uncomfortable
Event of Interest
May 22 Polish astronomer Nicolaus Copernicus' remains are reburied in Frombork Cathedral, Poland after a 200 year search for his tomb
Nicolaus Copernicus
- May 22 18th UEFA Champions League Final: Internazionale beats Bayern Munich 2-0 at Madrid
- May 23 NHL Western Conference Finals: Chicago Black Hawks beat San Jose Sharks, 4 games to 0
- May 23 63rd Cannes Film Festival: "Uncle Boonmee Who Can Recall His Past Lives" directed by Apichatpong Weerasethakul wins the Palme d'Or
- May 24 NHL Eastern Conference Final: Philadelphia Flyers beat Montreal Canadians, 4 games to 1
Music Single
May 28 "Un-Thinkable (I'm Ready)" single released by Alicia Keys (Billboard Song of the Year 2010)
Alicia Keys
- May 29 Philadelphia Phillies' Roy Halladay becomes 20th pitcher to throw a perfect game (1-0 vs Florida)
- May 29 55th Eurovision Song Contest: Lena for Germany wins singing "Satellite" in Oslo
- May 30 Indianapolis 500: Dario Franchitti wins in 3:05:37.0131 (260.107 km/h)
- May 31 Gaza Flotilla raid: Israeli Shayetet 13 soldiers board ships trying to break blockade of Gaze, during violent confrontation aboard MV Mavi Marmara 9 activists killed and several activists and soldiers injured
Event of Interest
Jun 3 Canadian sportscaster Ron MacLean saves a man from drowning in the Delaware River in Philadelphia
Ron MacLean
- Jun 5 142nd Belmont: Mike Smith riding Drosselmeyer wins in 2:31.57
- Jun 6 109th Men's French Open: Rafael Nadal beats Robin Soderling (6-4, 6-2, 6-4)
- Jun 6 109th Women's French Open: Francesca Schiavone beats Samantha Stosur (6-4, 7-6)
- Jun 6 56th British Academy Television Awards: "The Armstrong and Miller Show" Best Comedy, "Misfits" Best Drama
- Jun 9 44th CMT Music Awards: Carrie Underwood, Miranda Lambert & Keith Urban wins
- Jun 9 Hungary comes out of recession after experiencing 0.9% growth in the first quarter as a result of growing exports and effective government spending measures
- Jun 9 Finland falls back into a state of recession after GDP contracted 0.4% in Q1 2010 and 0.2% in Q4 2009
- Jun 9 Stanley Cup: Chicago Blackhawks defeat Philadelphia Flyers 4-2
- Jun 13 64th Tony Awards: Memphis & Red win
Appointment of Interest
- Jun 17 64th NBA Championship: Los Angeles Lakers beat Boston Celtics, 4 games to 3
- Jun 20 110th US Golf Open: Graeme McDowell shoots a 284 at Pebble Beach GL CA
- Jun 20 "Despicable Me" directed by Pierre Coffin and Chris Renaud with voices by Steve Carell and Jason Segel premieres at the Moscow Film Festival
- Jun 22 Danielle Steel’s novel “Family Ties” is published
- Jun 24 In the longest match in tennis history, John Isner of the U.S. defeats Nicolas Mahut of France at Wimbledon after 11 hours, 5 minutes of play over three days
Film Premier
Jun 24 "The Twilight Saga: Eclipse", based on the book by Stephenie Meyer, directed by David Slade, starring Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson, premieres in Los Angeles
- Jun 27 56th LPGA Championship won by Cristie Kerr
- Jun 27 LPGA Championship: American Christie Kerr takes her second major title with a 12 stroke win over Song-Hee Kim of South Korea
- Jul 2 Oil tanker truck explosion in South Kivu, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, kills at least 230 people
- Jul 2 FIFA World Cup: Ghana, only African team remaining in last 8, are beaten 4-2 on penalties by Uruguay; Netherlands upset Brazil 2-1
- Jul 4 117th Wimbledon Women's Tennis: Serena Williams beats Vera Zvonareva (6-3 6-2)
- Jul 4 124th Wimbledon Men's Tennis: Rafael Nadal beats Tomáš Berdych (6-3 7-5 6-4)
Album Release
Jul 6 Brandon Boyd announces the release of his debut solo album, "The Wild Trapeze"
Brandon Boyd
Film Premier
Jul 8 "Inception", directed by Christopher Nolan and starring Leonardo DiCaprio and Joseph Gordon-Levitt, premieres in London
Leonardo DiCaprio
Christopher Nolan
- Jul 11 FIFA World Cup: Spain beats the Netherlands 1-0 for football's 19th World Cup in Johannesburg (Spain's 1st title)
- Jul 13 81st All Star Baseball Game: NL wins 3-1 at Angel Stadium, Anaheim
- Jul 14 18th ESPY Awards: Drew Brees, Lindsey Vonn win
- Jul 18 139th British Golf Open: Louis Oosthuizen shoots a 272 at St Andrews
- Jul 22 43rd San Diego Comic-Con International opens at San Diego Convention Center
- Jul 25 97th Tour de France won by Andy Schleck of Luxembourg
Event of Interest
Aug 1 200m x 250m photo mosaic commemorating the life of Filipino President Corazon Aquino is unveiled near Quirino Grandstand at the Luneta Park, Manila
Corazon Aquino
Event of Interest
Aug 4 California's Proposition 8, the ballot initiative prohibiting same-sex marriage passed by the state's voters in 2008, is overturned by Judge Vaughn Walker in the case Perry v. Schwarzenegger
Arnold Schwarzenegger
Hall of Fame
Aug 7 Jerry Rice is inducted into the Pro Football Hall of Fame
Jerry Rice
- Aug 14 1st Summer Youth Olympic Games opens in Singapore
- Aug 15 92nd PGA Championship: Martin Kaymer shoots a 277 at Whistling Straits
- Aug 19 Operation Iraqi Freedom ends, with the last of the United States brigade combat teams crossing the border to Kuwait
- Aug 23 Manila hostage crisis, which occurred at the Quirino Grandstand in Manila, where a dismissed police officer took hostage a tour bus full of Chinese nationals.
Television Awards
Aug 29 62nd Emmy Awards: Mad Men, Modern Family, Bryan Cranston & Kyra Sedgwick win
Bryan Cranston
Film Premier
Sep 6 "The King's Speech" directed by Tom Hooper starring Colin Firth and Geoffrey Rush premieres at the Telluride Film Festival (Best Picture 2011)
Colin Firth
Geoffrey Rush
- Sep 6 21st College Football Crab Bowl Classic: Maryland beats Navy 17-14 in Baltimore
- Sep 8 Egypt's Minister of Finance, Dr. Youssef Butros Ghali, states that Egypt is emerging from the recession as indicated by increased total revenue from sales taxes and customs revenues
- Sep 9 A court in the Philippines orders Imelda Marcos to repay the government almost $280,000 for funds taken from the National Food Authority by Ferdinand Marcos in 1983
- Sep 13 130th Men's U.S. Open: Rafael Nadal beats Novak Đoković (6-4, 5-7, 6-4, 6-2)
- Sep 13 130th Women's U.S. Open: Kim Clijsters beats Vera Zvonareva (6-2, 6-1)
- Sep 17 The 54 year run of the soap opera As the World Turns ends as its final episode is broadcast.
- Sep 19 35th Toronto International Film Festival: "The King's Speech" directed by Tom Hooper wins the People's Choice Award
- Sep 20 The National Bureau of Economic Research state today that the US left the recession in June 2009, with managing director Lakshman Achuthan of the Economic Cycle Research Institute saying GDP recovered to 70% of the pre-recession level
Film Premier
Sep 24 "The Social Network" directed by David Fincher and starring Jesse Eisenberg, Andrew Garfield and Justin Timberlake premieres at the New York Film Festival
Andrew Garfield
Justin Timberlake
Event of Interest
Sep 29 Seth Rogen and Lauren Miller become engaged
Seth Rogen
- Oct 2 20th College Football Holy War: Notre Dame beats Boston College 31-13 in Chestnut Hill
- Oct 3 19th Commonwealth Games open in Delhi, India
- Oct 4 38th Ryder Cup: Europe wins 14.5-13.5 at Celtic Manor Resort, Wales
- Oct 6 Roy Halladay pitches the second no-hitter in MLB Postseason History during Game 1 of the NLDS versus the Cincinnati Reds
- Oct 6 Kevin Systrom and Mike Krieger launch Instagram
- Oct 10 The Netherlands Antilles are dissolved
Copiapó Mine Rescue
Oct 13 Copiapó mining accident in Chile comes to a happy end as all 33 miners arrive at the surface after surviving a record 69 days underground
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- Oct 14 19th Commonwealth Games close in Delhi, India
- Oct 22 MLB American League Championship: Texas Rangers beat New York Yankees, 4 games to 2
- Oct 22 57th National Film Awards (India): "Kutty Srank" wins the Golden Lotus
- Oct 23 MLB National League Championship: San Francisco Giants beat Philadelphia Phillies, 4 games to 2
Album Release
Oct 25 "Speak Now" 3rd studio album by Taylor Swift is released (Billboard Album of the Year 2011)
Taylor Swift
- Nov 10 44th Country Music Association Award: Brad Paisley, Miranda Lambert & Blake Shelton wins
Event of Interest
Nov 10 Alan Menken, famous Disney composer, receives the 2,442nd star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame
Alan Menken
- Nov 13 Australian rock band Powderfinger, perform their last concert at the Brisbane River Stage
Event of Interest
Nov 14 61st Formula One WDC: Sebastian Vettel wins by four points
Sebastian Vettel
Event of Interest
Nov 16 In University Park, Texas, the groundbreaking ceremony for the George W. Bush Presidential Center takes place
George W. Bush
Engagement of Interest
Nov 16 Engagement announced between Prince William and Catherine [Kate] Middleton at Clarence House, London
Catherine, Duchess of Cambridge
Prince William
Film Release
Nov 19 "Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows – Part 1" the 7th film based on the books by J. K. Rowling is released worldwide
- Nov 19 New Zealand suffers its worst mining disaster since 1914 when the first of four explosions occurs at the Pike River Mine; 29 people are killed
Music Awards
Nov 21 37th American Music Awards: Lady Gaga & Justin Bieber win
Justin Bieber
Lady Gaga
- Nov 23 The Bombardment of Yeonpyeong occurs on Yeonpyeong Island, South Korea. The North Korean artillery attack kills 2 civilians and 2 South Korean marines.
- Nov 26 75th Iron Bowl: Auburn beats Alabama 28-27 in Tuscaloosa
- Nov 28 98th CFL Grey Cup: Montreal Alouettes defeats Saskatchewan Roughriders, 21-18
- Nov 28 24th Soul Train Music Awards: Ron Isley, Anita Baker win
- Dec 4 19th SEC Championship Game: #2 Auburn beats #18 South Carolina, 56-17
- Dec 4 6th ACC Championship Game: #12 Virginia Tech beats #20 Florida State, 44-33
- Dec 4 15th Big 12 Championship Game: #10 Oklahoma beats #13 Nebraska, 23-20
- Dec 5 99th Davis Cup: Serbia beats France in Belgrade (3-2)
- Dec 7 Iceland officially leaves the recession with growth of 1.2% in the third quarter
- Dec 10 Chinese human rights activist Liu Xiaobo is awarded the Nobel Peace Prize at a ceremony in Stockholm, while imprisoned in China
- Dec 11 Two explosions occur in a busy shopping district of Stockholm, Sweden, killing one and injuring two others. Officials say the incident is being treated as a terrorist attack.
- Dec 13 76th Heisman Trophy Award: Cam Newton, Auburn (QB)
- Dec 19 "Miracle at the New Meadowlands", Philadelphia Eagles trail New York Giants by 21 points with eight minutes to play, before scoring 4 touchdowns in final 7 minutes, including dramatic walk-off punt returned for a touchdown by DeSean Jackson
Event of Interest
Dec 22 Repeal of the "Don't Ask Don't Tell policy", a 17-year-old policy banning homosexuals serving openly in the US military, signed into law by President Barack Obama
Barack Obama
- Dec 31 Post-apocalyptic zombie TV series "The Walking Dead" premieres, starring Andrew Lincoln and Jon Bernthal on AMC