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The Story of

United States

1688 – 2021

Country located primarily in North America

  1. Gulf War

    2 August 1990 – 28 February 1991

    The Gulf War was an armed conflict between Iraq and a 42-country coalition led by the United States in response to the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait on 2 August 1990. The coalition's efforts were carried out in two phases: Operation Desert Shield, which marked the military buildup in the Persian Gulf region from August 1990 to January 1991; and Operation Desert Storm, which began with the bombing campaign against Iraq on 17 January and continued until the liberation of Kuwait on 28 February.

  2. 1992 Los Angeles riots

    1992

    Los Angeles, California, experienced a series of riots and civil disturbances from April 29 to May 3, 1992. Civil unrest began in South Central Los Angeles on April 29, after a jury acquitted four officers of the Los Angeles Police Department (LAPD) charged with using excessive force in the arrest and beating of Rodney King.

  3. United Nations Operation in Somalia II

    March 1993 – 28 March 1995

    The United Nations Operation in Somalia II (UNOSOM II) was the second phase of the United Nations intervention in Somalia and took place from March 1993 until March 1995, following the outbreak of the Somali Civil War in 1991. UNOSOM II carried on from the transitory United States-controlled (UN-sanctioned) Unified Task Force (UNITAF), which had been preceded by UNOSOM I. Notably, UNOSOM II embarked on a nation-building mission, diverging from its predecessors.

  4. NATO bombing of Yugoslavia

    24 March 1999 – 10 June 1999

    The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) carried out an aerial bombing campaign against the Federal Republic of Yugoslavia (contemporary name of Serbia and Montenegro) during the Kosovo War. The air strikes lasted from 24 March 1999 to 10 June 1999.

  5. Great Recession

    2000s

    The Great Recession was a period of contraction in economies around the world (particularly in the western world and associated countries) that occurred from late 2007 to mid-2009, overlapping with the closely related 2008 financial crisis. The scale and timing of the recession varied from country to country (see map).

  6. September 11 attacks

    11 September 2001

    The September 11 attacks, colloquially known as 9/11, were a coordinated series of suicide attacks perpetrated by the Islamic terrorist organization al-Qaeda against the United States in 2001. A total of 19 hijackers commandeered four commercial passenger airliners.

  7. War in Afghanistan (2001–2021)

    7 October 2001 – 30 August 2021

    The war in Afghanistan was a prolonged armed conflict from 2001 to 2021. It began with an invasion by a United States–led coalition under the name Operation Enduring Freedom in response to the September 11 attacks (9/11) carried out by the Taliban-allied and Afghanistan-based al-Qaeda.

  8. Iraq War

    20 March 2003 – 15 December 2011

    The Iraq War (Arabic: حرب العراق, romanized: ḥarb al-ʿirāq), also referred to as the Second Gulf War (Gulf War II), was a protracted armed conflict in Iraq from 2003 to 2011. It began in March 2003 with the invasion by a United States–led coalition, which resulted in the overthrow of the Ba'athist government of Saddam Hussein.

  9. Hurricane Katrina

    2005

    Hurricane Katrina was an extremely powerful and catastrophic tropical cyclone that affected the Southeastern United States in late August 2005, particularly in and around the city of New Orleans. Katrina became the costliest tropical cyclone in the United States, with damage estimated at $125 billion ($206 billion when adjusted for inflation).

  10. United States subprime mortgage crisis

    2007

    The American subprime mortgage crisis was a multinational financial crisis that occurred between 2007 and 2010, contributing to the 2008 financial crisis. It led to a severe economic recession, with millions becoming unemployed and many businesses going bankrupt.

  11. 2007–2008 financial crisis

    2007

    The 2008 financial crisis was a major worldwide financial crisis which started in the United States. The first phase was the subprime mortgage crisis, which began in early 2007 as mortgage-backed securities (MBS) tied to U.S. real estate, and a vast web of derivatives linked to those MBS, collapsed in value.

  12. Occupy Wall Street

    17 September 2011

    Occupy Wall Street (O.W.S.) was a left-wing populist and progressive movement against economic inequality, capitalism, corporate greed, big finance, and the influence of money in politics. It began in Zuccotti Park, located in New York City's Financial District, and lasted for fifty-nine days—from September 17 to November 15, 2011.

  13. 2011 military intervention in Libya

    31 October 2011

    On 19 March 2011, a NATO-led coalition began a military intervention into the ongoing Libyan Civil War to implement United Nations Security Council Resolution 1973 (UNSCR 1973). The UN Security Council passed the resolution with ten votes in favour and five abstentions, with the stated intent to have "an immediate ceasefire in Libya, including an end to the current attacks against civilians, which it said might constitute 'crimes against humanity' ...

  14. Boston Marathon bombings

    15 April 2013

    The Boston Marathon bombing, sometimes referred to as simply the Boston bombing, was an Islamist domestic terrorist attack that took place during the 117th annual Boston Marathon on April 15, 2013. Four hours into the race, Tamerlan Tsarnaev and Dzhokhar Tsarnaev detonated two homemade pressure cooker bombs containing explosives and steel shrapnel.

  15. Western African Ebola virus epidemic

    December 2013 – June 2016

    The 2013–2016 epidemic of Ebola virus disease, centered in West Africa, was the most widespread outbreak of the disease in history. It caused major loss of life and socioeconomic disruption in the region, mainly in Guinea, Liberia and Sierra Leone.

  16. United States intervention in Syria

    22 September 2014

    The United States officially intervened in the Syrian civil war on 22 September 2014 with the stated aim of combatting the Islamic State (ISIL/ISIS) militant organization. The intervention was part of Operation Inherent Resolve and saw the US support both anti-ISIL and anti-Assad factions, including the Syrian Armed Forces under the transitional government and the YPG-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF).

  17. Orlando nightclub shooting

    12 June 2016

    On June 12, 2016, 29-year-old Omar Mateen shot and killed 49 people and wounded 58 in a mass shooting at Pulse, a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, United States. Pulse was hosting a "Latin Night", and most of the victims were of Latino descent.

  18. COVID-19 pandemic

    1 December 2019

    The global COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an outbreak in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. It spread to other parts of Asia and then worldwide in early 2020.

  19. COVID-19 pandemic in the United States

    21 January 2020

    On 31 December 2019, China announced the discovery of a cluster of pneumonia cases in Wuhan. The first American case of COVID-19 was reported on January 20, and Health and Human Services Secretary Alex Azar declared a public health emergency on January 31.

  20. January 6 United States Capitol attack

    6 January 2021

    On January 6, 2021, the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C., was attacked by a mob of supporters of President Donald Trump. Academic debate exists about whether to characterize the event as an attempted coup, an attempted self-coup, or neither.