What happened in 2009

World7

• Jan 26An annular solar eclipse takes place over the Indian Ocean, the 50th solar eclipse of Saros cycle 131.
• JanBitcoin is bornIn October 2008 a person calling themselves Satoshi Nakamoto published a paper, and the first block was created on January 3, 2009. It was the first decentralized cryptocurrency, letting people send money without banks or governments. Who Nakamoto is remains unknown.
• Apr 8Maersk Alabama Hijacking occurs, the ship being taken over by Somali pirates off the coast of Somalia.
• Jun 11The outbreak of the H1N1 influenza strain, commonly referred to as "swine flu", is deemed a global pandemic.
• Jul 22The longest total solar eclipse of the 21st century, lasting up to 6 minutes and 38.86 seconds (0.14 seconds shorter than 6 minutes and 39 seconds), occurs over parts of Asia and the Pacific Ocean.
• Sep 21China becomes the first country to succeed a completed clinical trial by a company for the 2009/H1N1 vaccine in the world during the swine flu pandemic.
• Sep 29A 8.1 earthquake strikes Samoa, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VII (Very strong), leaving at least 192 people dead.

Japan1

• Jan 1Japan, Mexico, Turkey and Uganda assume their seats on the United Nations Security Council.

North America18

• Jan 15US Airways Flight 1549 ditches in the Hudson River in an accident that becomes known as the "Miracle on the Hudson", as all 155 people on board are rescued.
• Feb 12Colgan Air Flight 3407 crashes in Clarence Center, New York while on final approach to Buffalo Niagara International Airport, killing all 49 people on board the aircraft as well as one person on the ground.
• Mar 5Michael Jackson announces his This Is It concert residency in London, England. However, a fortnight before the concerts were supposed to begin, Jackson died at the age of 50 from acute propofol intoxication.
• Mar 7NASA's Kepler Mission, a space photometer that will search for extrasolar planets in the Milky Way galaxy, is launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, Florida, USA.
• Mar 23A McDonnell Douglas MD-11 operated by FedEx suffers a bounced landing at Narita international airport resulting in the loss of 2 lives.
• May 15The album 21st Century Breakdown is released by American rock band Green Day, which sold over 5 million copies.
• May 27AT&T Stadium, home of the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, opens to the public
• Jun 18NASA launches the Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter / LCROSS probes to the Moon, the first American lunar mission since Lunar Prospector in 1998.
• Jun 25The death of American pop star Michael Jackson triggers an outpouring of worldwide grief. Online, reactions to the event cripple several major websites and services, as the abundance of people accessing the web addresses pushes internet traffic to unprecedented and historic levels.
• Jul 7A public memorial service for Michael Jackson is held at Staples Center. It is watched by over 2.5 billion people worldwide.
• Oct 22Microsoft releases Windows 7 to all computers and laptops, including an edition for ATMs.
• Nov 5Fourteen people are killed during the 2009 Fort Hood shooting.
• Nov 10Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was released.
• Nov 13Having analyzed the data from the LCROSS lunar impact, NASA announces that it has found a "significant" quantity of water in the Moon's Cabeus crater.
• Dec 15First flight of the Boeing 787 Dreamliner.

3 more in the app

Europe7

• Jan 26The Icelandic government and banking system collapse. Prime Minister Geir Haarde immediately resigns.
• Apr 6A 6.3 magnitude earthquake strikes near L'Aquila, Italy, killing 308 and injuring more than 1,500.
• Apr 7April 2009 Moldovan parliamentary election protests: four people died and 270 were injured.
• Jun 29Viareggio train derailment occurred when a freight train carrying liquified petroleum gas derailed at Viareggio railway station in Lucca, Italy. The accident killed 32 people and injured 26 people.
• Oct 2Ireland holds a second referendum on the EU's Lisbon Treaty. The amendment is approved by the Irish electorate, having been rejected in the Lisbon I referendum held last year.
• Oct 18British racing driver Jenson Button won his first Formula One World Championship, driving for Brawn GP at the Brazilian Grand Prix.
• Nov 3The Prime Minister of Belgium, Herman Van Rompuy, is designated the first permanent President of the European Council, a position he takes up on December 1, 2009.

USSR / Russia2

• May 12The Eurovision Song Contest 2009 takes place in Moscow, Russia, and is won by Norwegian entrant Alexander Rybak with the song "Fairytale".
• Dec 5Fire at the Lame Horse nightclub in Perm, Russia kills 156 people. The nightclub owner was sentenced to nearly ten years in prison.

Asia11

• Feb 25Soldiers of Bangladeshi border security force Bangladesh Rifles (BDR) mutiny and take the commanding army officers and their families hostages at the force's headquarters in Pilkhana, Dhaka. 57 army officers are killed along with 17 civilians by the mutineers.
• Apr 5North Korea launches a rocket from its Tonghae Satellite Launching Ground, which it says is carrying the Kwangmyŏngsŏng-2 satellite, prompting an emergency meeting of the United Nations Security Council.
• May 25North Korea announces that it has conducted a second successful nuclear test in North Hamgyong Province. The United Nations Security Council condemns the reported test.
• Jul 5Violent riots broke out in Ürümqi, Xinjiang. PRC officials said that a total of 197 people died. Two monorails of the Walt Disney World Monorail System collided at the Transportation & Ticket Center in Bay Lake, Florida, United States, killing one pilot and injuring seven others.
• Jul 17Two bombs exploded separately at the JW Marriott and Ritz-Carlton Hotels in Jakarta, Indonesia, killing 9 people (including 2 suicide bombers) and injuring 53.
• Aug 1Former President of the Philippines Corazon Aquino dies at the age of 76 of cardiopulmonary arrest after complications of colon cancer. A memorial service and funeral is scheduled for August 5. (Philippine Daily Inquirer)
• Aug 7Typhoon Morakot hits Taiwan, killing 673 and stranding more than 1,000 via the worst flooding on the island in half a century.
• Sep 23Korba chimney collapse: At least 45 workers are killed when lightning strikes a chimney under construction in Korba, Chhattisgarh, India, causing it to collapse.
• Sep 26Typhoon Ketsana, PAGASA Name: Ondoy, makes landfall in The Philippines, killing hundreds in Metro Manila and flooding in Huế, Vietnam.
• Sep 30A 7.6 earthquake strikes Sumatra, Indonesia, with a maximum Mercalli intensity of VIII (Severe), leaving at least 1,115 people dead.
• Nov 23In the Philippines, at least 58 people are abducted and killed in the province of Maguindanao, in what the Committee to Protect Journalists called the single deadliest attack on journalists in history.

Middle East8

• Jan 18Gaza War: Hamas announces that they will accept the Israel Defense Forces offer of a ceasefire, ending the conflict.
• Jan 21Israel withdraws from the Gaza Strip, officially ending its three-week war with Hamas. However, intermittent air strikes by both sides continue in the following weeks.
• Jun 13Mass protests erupt across Iran following a disputed presidential election in which Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was reelected president, the largest demonstrations in the country since the Iranian Revolution.
• Jun 19War in Afghanistan: British forces began Operation Panther's Claw, in which more than 350 troops made an aerial assault on Taliban positions in southern Afghanistan.
• Jul 15Caspian Airlines Flight 7908, en route from Tehran, Iran, to Yerevan, Armenia crashes into the Jannatabad village in Qazvin Province; killing all 168 on board.
• Sep 9The Dubai Metro, the first urban train network in the Arabian Peninsula, officials opens.
• Oct 25Two suicide attacks in Baghdad, Iraq, kill 155 people and injure at least 721 people.
• Dec 8A series of attacks in Baghdad, Iraq kill at least 127 people and injure at least 448 more.

Latin America2

• Jun 1Air France Flight 447, en route from Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, to Paris, crashes into the Atlantic Ocean, killing all 228 on board.
• Jun 28The Military of Honduras ousts Honduran President Manuel Zelaya in a coup d'état, condemned by OAS.

Africa6

• Mar 2The President of Guinea-Bissau, João Bernardo Vieira, is assassinated during an armed attack on his residence in Bissau.
• Mar 17The President of Madagascar, Marc Ravalomanana, is overthrown in a coup d'état, following a month of unrest in Antananarivo.
• Jun 30Yemenia Flight 626 crashes off the coast of Moroni, Comoros, killing all but one of the 153 passengers and crew.
• Jul 26The Islamic extremist group Boko Haram initiates an uprising in Bauchi State, Nigeria and quickly spreads throughout the northern part of the country.
• Sep 28At least 157 demonstrators are massacred by the Guinean military at the Stade du 28 Septembre during a protest against the government that came to power in a coup d'état the previous year.
• Dec 25A terrorist attempts to bomb Northwest Airlines Flight 253 en route from Amsterdam to Detroit.

Oceania3

• Feb 7Bushfires in Victoria leave 173 dead in the worst natural disaster in Australia's history.
• Jul 19Amateur astronomer Anthony Wesley is the first to report that a new dark spot has developed on the planet Jupiter. This event would come to be known as the 2009 Jupiter impact event.
• Sep 22WikiLeaks exposes the contents of Kaupthing Bank's internal documents prior to the Icelandic Financial Crisis. These documents showed suspicious amounts of money were loaned to bank owners, and debts being written off.