The world in
What happened in 2015?
14 events across 6 world regions, each with its sources.
North America
- First landing of an orbital rocket first stage (Falcon 9 Flight 20)
On 22 December 2015, the Falcon 9 rocket's 20th flight successfully delivered 11 Orbcomm-OG2 satellites into orbit and achieved the first successful return and vertical landing of an orbital rocket first stage.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- First Detection of Gravitational Wave GW150914
On 14 September 2015, the Laser Interferometer Gravitational-Wave Observatory (LIGO) detected the gravitational wave signal GW150914 from a binary black hole merger, marking the first direct observation of gravitational waves. The signal matched predictions of general relativity. The detection was announced on 11 February 2016 by the LIGO and Virgo collaborations.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- War on Terror begins
The United States launched the global War on Terror in 2001, following the September 11 attacks, a military campaign spanning multiple theaters.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- New Horizons flyby of Pluto
In 2015, NASA's New Horizons probe flew by the Pluto system, becoming the first spacecraft to perform a close flyby and capture high-resolution images. Launched in 2006, it was designed by the Johns Hopkins University Applied Physics Laboratory and the Southwest Research Institute. This encounter, the primary goal of the New Frontiers program, aimed to study the dwarf planet and its moons, providing crucial data on the Solar System's formation.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Obergefell v. Hodges ruling
In 2015, the U.S. Supreme Court ruled 5–4 in Obergefell v. Hodges that same-sex marriage is a fundamental right under the Fourteenth Amendment. The decision required all states to license and recognize same-sex marriages, which were previously legal in only 36 states and some territories.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Founding of OpenAI
In 2015, OpenAI was founded in San Francisco, United States, as a nonprofit AI research organization. Its founders included Sam Altman and Elon Musk, who collectively pledged $1 billion. The organization later developed the GPT series of large language models; its 2022 release of ChatGPT sparked widespread global interest in generative AI.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Europe
- Adoption of the Paris Agreement
On 12 December 2015, the Paris Agreement was adopted at the UN Climate Change Conference in Paris, aiming to limit global warming to well below 2°C, and preferably to 1.5°C, compared to pre-industrial levels. The treaty was negotiated by nearly 200 parties to address climate change.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Colectiv nightclub fire
On 30 October 2015, a fire broke out at the Colectiv nightclub in Bucharest, Romania, during a free concert by the metalcore band Goodbye to Gravity. The fire was caused by pyrotechnics igniting flammable acoustic foam. 64 people died and about 150 were injured, making it the deadliest such incident in the country. Most victims died from toxic fumes released by the burning foam. The injured were transferred to hospitals in several European countries. Mass protests over corruption linked to the fire led to the resignation of Prime Minister Victor Ponta.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- November 2015 Paris attacks
On the evening of 13 November 2015, a series of coordinated terrorist attacks struck Paris and its northern suburb Saint-Denis. Suicide bombers targeted the Stade de France, gunmen fired on cafés and restaurants, and a mass hostage-taking occurred at the Bataclan theatre. Claimed by the Islamic State, the attacks killed about 130 people and injured hundreds, marking the deadliest terror incident in France under the Fifth Republic.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
- Outbreak of the War in Donbas
In April 2014, Russian-backed paramilitaries launched an uprising in the Donbas region of eastern Ukraine, seizing territory and declaring independent states, prompting a military response from the Ukrainian government. This phase of the Russo-Ukrainian war, fought as a hybrid conflict, lasted until it was subsumed by the full-scale invasion in 2022.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Central & South America
Opening of the ESMA Museum and Site of Memory as a Former Clandestine Detention CenterThe former Officers' Quarters of the Navy School of Mechanics in Buenos Aires served as the Argentine Navy's principal secret detention center during the 1976–1983 dictatorship, where abducted opponents were held, interrogated, tortured, and killed. The site was later converted into a memorial museum.
SourcesUNESCO World Heritage listing ↗Image: Camilo Del Cerro / CC BY-SA 4.0 ↗
East Asia
Establishment of Bikin National ParkBikin National Park was officially established in Russia in 2015. Located in Primorsky Krai in the Far East, it aims to protect the largest remaining old-growth mixed forest in the Northern Hemisphere and the habitat of the Amur tiger, while safeguarding the forest culture of the indigenous Udeghe and Nanai people.
West Asia
- Outbreak of the Syrian Civil War
In March 2011, large-scale anti-government protests demanding democratic reforms broke out in Syria as part of the Arab Spring. The Assad regime's lethal crackdown led to the formation of armed opposition groups, turning the uprising into a civil war. The conflict lasted nearly 14 years until the regime's fall in December 2024.
SourcesWikipedia ↗
Central Asian steppe
- Launch of the Belt and Road Initiative
In 2013, the Chinese government launched the Belt and Road Initiative, an infrastructure and economic development strategy to connect Asia, Europe, Africa, and beyond. The initiative comprises the Silk Road Economic Belt and the 21st Century Maritime Silk Road, evoking the historic trade routes. It has since involved agreements with numerous countries and organizations for global connectivity projects.
SourcesWikipedia ↗