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2021 Events
As the year began, the nation was still firmly in the grip of COVID-19,
the novel coronavirus that first emerged in late December 2019 and
spread around the world in 2020, prompting lockdowns, a global
recession, and upheaval on an unprecedented scale.
In what became a record for the fastest vaccine development in history,
vaccines by Pfizer and Moderna were authorized for emergency use by
December 2020, and distribution of the shots increased by the start of
2021. By year's end, more than 200 million Americans would be
fully vaccinated, as the use of the vaccines was expanded to cover first
adolescents and later children aged five and over.
Amid loosening mandates for mask-wearing and social distancing measures,
the arrival of the more contagious Delta variant of the virus dampened
hopes for a return to pre-pandemic life. Vaccine hesitancy among many
Americans proved a factor in the steady growth of the COVID-19 death
toll in the
United States
, which surpassed 800,000 by mid-December, with global deaths topping 5
million. With the emergence of yet another highly contagious variant,
Omicron, toward the end of the year, the
U.S.
government authorized and endorsed boosters of the Pfizer and Moderna
vaccines for all adults.
U.S.
Election Fallout
January 6 Insurrection
On January 6, a mob of pro-Trump demonstrators stormed the U.S. Capitol to
stop lawmakers from certifying the results of the 2020 presidential
election. Five people died in the chaos either shortly before, during,
or following the event, including a Capitol police officer. Lawmakers
from both political parties, including Vice President Mike Pence, were
forced to flee the congressional chamber for safety. Accused of inciting
his supporters to riot, Trump became the first president to be impeached (and
acquitted) twice. More than 600 people were later charged for their role
in the insurrection, and the House established an independent committee
to investigate this attempt to disrupt the peaceful transfer of power.
Biden and Harris Inaugurated
Biden was inaugurated on January 20 as the 46th president of
the
United States
. Kamala
Harris became the nation's first female, Black and
South Asian vice president. Shortly after taking office, Biden spoke at
a candle-lighting ceremony to mark 500,000
U.S.
deaths from COVID-19. In March, he signed into law a $1.9 trillion
economic relief package designed to support workers, families, small
businesses, and schools struggling to recover from the pandemic's
impact.
Battle Over Voting Rights
Amid Trump's false claims of voter fraud in the 2020 election,
numerous states with Republican-led legislatures passed laws in 2021
that introduced new voting limits. Critics accused such efforts as
unfairly targeting people of color, and Democrats in Congress fought for
passage of comprehensive voting rights legislation named for the late
Georgia congressman John
Lewis which would restore key portions of the Voting
Rights Act of 1965 and protect voting rights in states
with a history of racial discrimination.
Global Events
U.S. Rejoins Paris Climate Accord and WHO
In
his first hours as president, Biden signed a letter signaling the return
of the United States to the global agreement to limit greenhouse gas
emissions that contribute to climate change, adopted by nearly 200
nations in Paris in 2015. The nation had officially withdrawn from the
Paris
accord in late 2020, after Trump began the process soon after taking
office. Biden also renewed
U.S.
support for the World Health Organization (WHO), a leader in efforts to
combat COVID-19 worldwide.
U.S.
Military Withdrawal from
Afghanistan
A U.S. Chinook military helicopter flies above the
U.S.
embassy in
Kabul
on August 15, 2021.
Wakil
Kohsar/AFP via Getty Images
In
April, President Biden announced a plan for the full withdrawal of
U.S.
troops from
Afghanistan
by September 11, the 20th anniversary of the 9/11
terrorist attacks. As the withdrawal proceeded, the Muslim
fundamentalist group the Taliban took advantage of a crumbling Afghan
government to seize control of much of the country. After a chaotic
final stretch in which some 120,000 people were evacuated to safety, the
last
U.S.
military forces left
Afghanistan
on August 30, ending the
nearly 20-year-long conflict that resulted in the deaths
of 2,500
U.S.
service members and more than 100,000 Afghans, including many civilians.
Notable Foreign Leaders Out of Power
The year saw a number of important transfers of power around
the globe, beginning with the military coup in Myanmar that toppled the
popularly elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi and imprisoned the
former Nobel Prize winner on corruption and other charges. In April,
Raul Castro stepped down as head of
Cuba
's Communist Party, ending an era of leadership that began with his
brother Fidel
Castro's victory in the Cuban Revolution in 1959. Rivals of Benjamin
Netanyahu,
Israel
's longest-serving prime minister, formed a loose coalition to oust
him from power in June. Finally,
Germany
's Angela
Merkel left office after 16 years at the helm, becoming
the first chancellor in the nation's history to leave power on her own
terms.
Repression of Political Opposition in
Russia
Alexey Navalny, an outspoken opponent of Vladimir
Putin who had been recovering in
Germany
after being poisoned with the nerve agent Novichok, returned to
Russia
in January and was immediately detained by police. A
Moscow
court handed down a hefty prison sentence in February for violating
probation in an earlier case, sparking mass protests in
Russia
and widespread condemnation from the
United States
and other foreign governments. By year's end, further tensions were
mounting over threats by Putin's Kremlin to mount a major offensive
against neighboring
Ukraine
.
Upheaval in
Haiti
In
July, gunmen masquerading as U.S. Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA)
agents burst into the home of President Jovenel Moïse of
Haiti
, killing him and seriously wounding his wife. Barely a month later, a
7.2 magnitude earthquake hit southwestern
Haiti
, followed by flash floods, leaving more than 2,200 people dead and
injuring or displacing thousands more in a nation already suffering from
widespread poverty and hunger. In September, after tens of thousands of
Haitian refugees gathered at the U.S.-Mexico border, the
U.S.
government drew criticism for its response, including border agents
rounding migrants up on horseback and mass deportations back to
Haiti
.
Cultural Moments
Juneteenth Becomes a Federal Holiday
In
June, President Biden signed legislation officially establishing June 19
as Juneteenth National
Independence Day, a federal holiday commemorating the end of slavery in
the United States. The new holiday marks the anniversary of the date in
1865 when Union General Gordon Granger announced the end of slavery in
Galveston
,
Texas
, under the Emancipation
Proclamation of 1863.
Olympics in
Tokyo
After being postponed in 2020, the Summer Olympics were
held in
Tokyo
,
Japan
, though no spectators were allowed after
Japan
declared a new state of emergency due to COVID-19. Multiple gold
medal-winning
U.S.
gymnast Simone
Biles emerged as the biggest story of the games when she
withdrew from the individual all-around competition, fueling a growing
conversation about the importance of athletes' mental health.
Meghan and Harry Sit Down with Oprah
In March, TV audiences tuned in for Oprah Winfrey's highly anticipated
interview with Meghan,
Duchess of Sussex, and Prince Harry near their new home in
Southern California. The royal couple discussed their decision to leave
royal life, as well as their tensions with Harry's family and racism
against Meghan in the British press. In June, Meghan gave birth to the
couple's second child, whose name—Lilibet 'Lili' Diana Mountbatten-Windsor—honored
both Harry's mother, Princess
Diana, and his grandmother, Queen
Elizabeth II (whose family nickname is Lilibet).
Pop Culture Highlights
In September, audiences returned to Broadway theaters in
New York City
for the first time in 18 months, with pandemic precautions including
mask-wearing and proof of vaccination. The year also saw the release of
the three-part documentary series The Beatles: Get Back,
featuring never-before-seen footage of the iconic band working to create their
final album, released in 1970. When it debuted in November,
pop singer Adele's fifth album, 30, quickly became the
fastest-selling album of the year in both the
United States
and the
United Kingdom
.
Professional Sports Highlights
In
the Super Bowl in
Tampa
Bay
on February 7, the Buccaneers beat the Chiefs, 31-9—the first time a
team has won the game in its home stadium.
Tampa
Bay
quarterback Tom Brady earned his fifth Super Bowl Most Valuable Player
Award and seventh Super Bowl ring, both records. The crowd for the big
game was limited to 25,000 because of COVID-19 restrictions.
In Game 6 of the NBA Finals on July 6, Giannis Antetokounmpo scored 50
points in a 105-98 win over
Phoenix
, giving the Milwaukee Bucks their first championship since 1971.
"This is for my mom," he said, fighting off tears.
Disasters & Violence
Mass Shootings in Atlanta and Boulder
Two
mass shootings within a week of each other in March—at three spas in
the Atlanta area on March 16 and a grocery store in Boulder, Colorado on
March 22—proved a devastating reminder of the ongoing scourge of gun
violence in the United States. Of the eight people killed in
Atlanta
, six were Asian women, fueling outrage and fear over the increase in
anti-Asian violence during the pandemic.
Deadly Condominium Collapse in
Florida
Search
and Rescue personnel work after the partial collapse of the 12-story
Champlain Towers South condo building on June 24, 2021 in Surfside,
Florida.
Joe
Raedle/Getty Images
In the early morning hours of July 8, the 12-story Champlain Towers South
condominium building in Surfside,
Florida
, partially collapsed. Ninety-eight people were killed in the incident,
which was attributed to structural damage in the concrete building that
had first been reported several years earlier.
Winter Storms and Power Failures in Texas
In February, storms bringing snow, sleet and freezing rain combined with
frigid temperatures to wreak havoc in Texas, causing road closures,
widespread power outages and loss of heat, electricity and water for
millions of people. The death toll from the winter storms was later
tallied at more than 200 people, and experts predicted it could become
the costliest weather-related disaster in the state's history.
Historic Heat in the West
In late June, the U.S. Pacific Northwest experienced the most extreme heat
wave in its recorded history, with temperatures reaching highs of 116
degrees Fahrenheit in
Portland
,
Oregon
and 108 degrees in
Seattle
,
Washington
. The excruciating heat, which extended into
British Columbia
in
Canada
, was due to a heat dome, a massive high-pressure zone hovering on the
U.S.-Canada border. Historically expected to occur only once every
several thousand years on average, experts say such rare weather events
have become far more probable due to climate change.
Hurricane Ida
Making landfall as a Category 4 hurricane with 150 mph
winds on August 29, Hurricane Ida claimed the lives of more than 30
people in
Louisiana
,
Alabama
and
Mississippi
, becoming the most damaging storm to hit the region after 2005's Hurricane
Katrina.
After weakening to a tropical depression, Ida wreaked unexpected havoc
in the Northeast, killing at least 60 people in six states and causing
widespread flooding of streets, neighborhoods, houses and even the
New York City
subway system.
In the Courts
Verdicts in Three Prominent Murder Trials
In
April, former Minneapolis police officer Derek Chauvin was found guilty
of second-degree unintentional murder, third-degree murder and
second-degree manslaughter in the death
of George Floyd, which sparked protests against systemic
racism and police violence in more than 2,000 U.S. cities and 60
countries around the globe in 2020.
In another trial related to Black
Lives Matter protests, teenager Kyle Rittenhouse was
acquitted of all charges after claiming self-defense in the killing of
two people and wounding of another during the unrest following the
police shooting of Jacob Blake in
Kenosha
,
Wisconsin
.
Finally, a jury in
Georgia
convicted three white defendants of murdering Ahmaud Arbery, a young
Black man whom they confronted while he was jogging through their
neighborhood. As with Floyd and Blake, Arbery's killing—and the
slowness of local law enforcement to make arrests—had fueled anger and
outrage among protesters condemning racial injustice and demanding
change.
Two Men Exonerated of Malcolm X killing
In November, a
New York
judge granted the motion to vacate the convictions of Muhammad A. Aziz
and the late Khalil Islam for the 1965 assassination of
Black nationalist and religious leader Malcolm
X. The two men's exoneration more than 50 years after they
were convicted came after an investigation found that crucial evidence
pointing to their innocence, including FBI and New York Police
Department documents, had been withheld at the time of their trial.
Verdicts in #MeToo cases
After decades of allegations of sexual abuse of women and underage girls,
R&B singer R. Kelly was convicted by a jury in New York of federal
racketeering and sex trafficking charges in September; he faces a
possible life sentence. Meanwhile, in a blow to supporters of sexual
assault victims and the #MeToo
movement, a
Pennsylvania
court threw out the conviction of Bill Cosby and released him from
prison after ruling that his due process rights had been violated.
Britney Spears Gains Her Freedom
In November, fans and activists in the #FreeBritney movement celebrated
the decision of a
Los Angeles
judge to end the 13-year conservatorship controlling the personal and
professional life of pop star Britney Spears. Begun in 2008 when the
singer was struggling with mental health issues and a custody battle
over her children, the conservatorship had been controlled for much of
that time by her father. At a court hearing over the summer, Spears
spoke publicly about the conservatorship for the first time, and called
for it to be terminated.
Space
& Tech
NASA Rover Lands on Mars
Launched
in late July 2020, the NASA rover Perseverance spent months traveling
through space, covering some 292.5 million miles before touching down on
Mars on February 18. As the space agency's most sophisticated rover
yet, Perseverance spent the rest of the year exploring Jezero Crater,
the site of an ancient lake, collecting rock and soil samples for
possible return to Earth and probing for evidence of whether life ever
existed on the planet.
SpaceX and Jeff Bezos Make Civilian Space
Travel a Reality
After sending
U.S.
astronauts into orbit for the first time in nearly a decade in 2020,
space exploration company SpaceX, founded by the eccentric billionaire
Elon Musk, went into overdrive in 2021. In addition to launching two
more operational missions to the International Space Station (ISS), the
company's spacecraft ferried four non-astronauts on a three-day
extraterrestrial voyage in September, in the first-ever flight into
Earth's orbit by civilian space tourists.
Less than a month later, the rocket company Blue Origin, owned by ex-Amazon CEO
Jeff Bezos, launched Star Trek actor
William Shatner and three others just beyond the boundary marking outer
space, making the 90-year-old Shatner the oldest space traveler in
history.
Bumpy Year for Facebook
Amid ongoing concerns about its struggles to adequately
protect data and limit hate speech, misinformation and other
disreputable content, the world's largest social
network confronted a flood of issues this year,
beginning with the Capitol insurrection and its subsequent decision to
indefinitely suspend then-President Trump. Troves of documents later
leaked by former Facebook employee turned whistleblower Frances Haugen
revealed more damaging information about the impact of the company's
platforms on young users' mental health. Finally, Facebook announced
that it was rebranding itself as
Meta
to reflect a focus on the metaverse, a virtual reality space where users
interact with each other amid a computer-generated environment.
In Memoriam
Colin Powell as chairman of
the Joint Chiefs of Staff, 1991.
Getty
Images
Among the notable people we
lost in 2021 was Colin
Powell, the celebrated military leader who became the
nation's first Black secretary of state, who died in October of
complications from COVID-19 while suffering from multiple myeloma, a
blood cell cancer that suppresses the immune system, as well as
Parkinson's disease.
Baseball Hall of Famer Hank Aaron, who broke
Babe Ruth's home run record in 1974 and whose own
record of 755 home runs stood until 2007, died in January; so did the
trailblazing stage and screen star Cicely Tyson. Prince
Philip, who as husband to Queen
Elizabeth II became the longest-serving royal consort in
British history, died in April at the age of 99.
The year also saw the loss of the beloved
authors
Beverly
Cleary and Anne Rice, as well as former
U.S.
defense secretary Donald Rumsfeld and former senator and presidential
candidate Bob Dole. Longtime TV and radio host Larry King and the talk
radio star and conservative media hero Rush Limbaugh also passed away
this year, while the entertainment world mourned the loss of
Oscar-winning actors Christopher Plummer and Olympia Dukakis and musical
theater legend Stephen Sondheim.
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