2007 was, in many ways, a turning point for the world, with major milestones occurring in science and technology.
This year, Netflix began streaming content, NASA landed a spacecraft on Mars, Steve Jobs introduced the first iPhone, and Tesla unveiled the efficient electric car, the Tesla Roadster.
Social media also took off like crazy in 2007, but Myspace was ahead of the game, valuing 65 times more than Facebook. It was also the year Tumblr entered the scene.
Notable events outside of tech included J.K. Rowling revealing Dumbledore’s sexuality and Britney Spears’s headline-making haircut.
Continue reading to learn about the major events, memorable music releases, thought-provoking quotes, and notable deaths that defined 2007.
Events
Here we’ll rewind to 2007 and relive the exhilarating moments that made it a year to remember.
Jan 9
Steve Jobs announced Apple’s very first smartphone, the iPhone 1.
Steve Jobs said he aimed to “reinvent the phone.” And that he did.
Jan 11
Harry Potter author J.K. Rowling officially finished writing The Deathly Hallows.
It was finished in room 552 at the Balmoral Hotel in Edinburgh, UK.
Jan 13
Instruments used to observe Venus found two-thirds of the planet’s southern hemisphere brightened after aerosols were triggered on an “astronomical” scale.
Jan 17
The Doomsday Clock’s minute hand was moved two minutes closer to midnight, making the new Doomsday just five minutes to midnight.
The change was made after North Korea performed its first nuclear test.
Mar 23
The PlayStation 3 was released in Europe, Austrailia, New Zealand, Africa, and the Middle East.
In November 2006, the PS3 was first released in North America and Japan. Due to delays, it took four months to be released around the rest of the world.
Mar 29
Rihanna’s single “Umbrella” was released.
It featured Jay-Z and spent seven weeks as #1 on Billboard’s Top 100.
Apr 3
Guitarist Keith Richards from the Rolling Stones denied he said he snorted his late father’s ashes.
Apr 17
Jazz composer and musician John Coltrane received the Special Citation Pulitzer Prize after his death.
May 3
Three-year-old English girl Madeleine McCann went missing while on vacation with her parents, family, and friends in Praia da Luz, Portugal.
Her disappearance received worldwide media coverage, with searches still ongoing today. Her parents, Gerry, and Kate McCann, continue to appeal for information on her whereabouts.
May 19
The Coen brothers film, “No Country for Old Men,” premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
It won the Best Picture award. The movie was based on the Cormac McCarthy novel.
May 19
Pirates of the Caribbean: At World’s End premiered in Anaheim, California.
At the time, it was the most expensive film ever made, with a $300 million budget.
May 19
Sicko, a documentary on the US healthcare system, premiered at the Cannes Film Festival.
Michael Moore directed the film.
Jun 13
The first large-scale exhibition of Frida Kahlo’s works was displayed in Mexico.
354 of Kahlo’s original drawings and paintings went on display at the Palace of Fine Arts in Mexico City in honor of the Mexican artist’s 100th birthday.
Jul 10
Erden Eruç began the world’s first successful solo human-powered circumnavigation of the world.
Jul 21
J.K. Rowling’s final book in the series “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows” book was published worldwide.
A record 12 million copies were sold within just 24 hours of its release.
Aug 1
The Mississippi River Bridge collapsed during rush hour.
This disaster took thirteen lives and left 145 people injured.
Aug 8
The EF2 tornado ripped through Brooklyn, New York, for 18 minutes, causing nine injuries and $20 million in damages.
Aug 21
Bioshock, the first-person dystopian horror shooter game, was released for Xbox 360 and PC.
The last few months of Bioshock’s development were rough. The playtesters had no idea of the setting or what was happening. To give players more clarity, the development team added cutscenes at the beginning of the game that showed the player’s aircraft crashing into the sea. This tactic was inspired by the first episode of Lost.
Aug 22
Storm Botnet sent a staggering 57 million emails.
Storm Botnet was a remotely controlled network of “zombie computers” spread through email spam. Essentially the emails carry viruses, and in September 2007, Storm Botnet accounted for around 8% of malware found on Microsoft devices.
Aug 23
Chris Messina Tweeted #barcamp, which became the first use of a hashtag on Twitter.
Messina co-founded BarCamp, a technology and web event that’s been held in more than 350 cities.
Sep 10
The CERN Large Hadron Collider was powered up for the first time.
The Large Hadron Collider, built by the European Organization for Nuclear Research (CERN), is the world’s largest and most sophisticated high-energy particle collider. It wasn’t tested for another fourteen months due to damage it sustained while powering up.
Sep 21
The survival movie “Into the Wild,” starring Emile Hirsch, premiered at the Rome Film Festival.
Sep 21
Actor George Clooney crashed on a motorcycle.
The accident happened at 3:00 am, and he suffered a broken rib and a few scratches.
Sep 23
After three years in development, Bungie finally released Halo 3 for the Xbox 360.
Microsoft marketed Halo 3 like crazy and even had Bill Gates at the launch event at a Best Buy in Bellevue, Washington, to hand out the first official copy. All that hard work paid off, as Halo 3 broke the record for the highest gross sales of a video game within 24 hours of release with $170 million.
Sep 24
The American Sitcom, “The Big Bang Theory”, premiered on CBS.
The show lasted for 12 seasons, and because of its success, stars such as Jim Parsons and Kunal Nayyar became some of the most well-paid actors in the world.
Oct 18
Former Pakistani politician Benazir Bhutto returned to Pakistan as suicide bombers attacked her convoy in Karachi.
Returning from eight years of exile in London and Dubai, she escaped unscathed from the attack that killed 180 people and injured 500.
Nov 5
Spacecraft Change 1 entered lunar orbit at 02:15 UT and became the first Chinese spacecraft to orbit the moon successfully.
Change 1 was launched on October 24, 2007, to collect data from mapping the moon’s surface. After having orbited the moon over 589 times, it landed on the moon’s surface on March 1, 2009. It became the first Chinese space mission to make contact with the moon.
Nov 5
Call of Duty 4: Modern Warfare was released in North America for PC, PS3, and Xbox 360.
This award-winning game was set in the modern era instead of World War II. This new direction for Call of Duty was clearly the right choice, as Call of Duty 4 was the highest-selling Xbox game in 2007.
Nov 12
Super Mario Galaxy, Nintendo’s third 3D Mario game, was released for the Nintendo Wii in North America.
Many of the game’s design elements were thought of before the Wii was first created. For example, the concept of spherical “platforms” was envisioned for a GameCube game but wasn’t possible due to technical limitations.
Nov 20
MTV and Harmonix released Rock Band for PS3 and Xbox 360 in North America.
Harmonix created the first two Guitar Hero games and already had the idea in mind for Rock Band when MTV Music bought them out. Unable to continue the Guitar Hero series, they created Rock Band.
Nov 29
Martinique earthquake shook the majority of the Eastern Caribbean.
The 7.4 magnitude quake struck at 15:00 local time and killed six people while injuring more than 400.
Dec 20
Pablo Picasso’s “Portrait of Suzanne Bloch” was stolen from the São Paulo Museum of Art, along with O Lavrador de Café by Candido Portinari.
Dec 27
Benazir Bhutto was assassinated.
The former Pakistani Prime Minister, Benazir Bhutto, was killed as she was leaving a rally of the Pakistan People’s Party. She was killed as she was driving away from the rally as a result of both gunshot wounds and suicide bomber detonation next to her car.
Famous Births
Check out these awesome individuals who were born in 2007!
Famous Deaths
Here’s a glimpse at a few famous people who bid us farewell in 2007.
1922
2007
Kurt Vonnegut
American
Writer
1922
2007
Kurt Vonnegut
Kurt Vonnegut was an American writer born on November 11, 1922. He died on April 11, 2007, at age 84 in Manhattan, New York, USA.
Died On:
Apr 11, 2007 (Age 84)
Died In:
New York, USA
Quotes
Here’s a roundup of the most memorable quotes people said in 2007.
2007 In Music
In 2007, the music world was brimming with unforgettable melodies that had us humming and dancing all year long!
From the energetic rock anthem “Umbrella” by Rihanna ft. Jay-Z to the catchy pop vibes of “Hey There Delilah” by Plain White T’s, these songs became the soundtracks of our lives and had us singing along wherever we went.
Expand your music knowledge with these highlights from 2007 that you should know.
Album of the Year
Dixie Chicks’ heartfelt and introspective country album “Taking the Long Way” triumphed at the 2007 Grammy Awards, capturing the hearts of fans and critics alike.
Song of the Year
The Dixie Chicks fearlessly expressed their views through their captivating track “Not Ready to Make Nice,” which won them the Grammy Award for Song of the Year in 2007.
Best New Artist
Carrie Underwood’s powerful vocals and country charm won her the Grammy Award for Best New Artist in 2007, making her a beloved figure in the world of country music.
Eurovision Song Contest Winner
Helsinki, Finland, hosted the 52nd Eurovision Song Contest in 2007, with a series of memorable performances.
Marija Šerifović, a powerful vocalist from Serbia, stole the show with her captivating ballad “Molitva,” claiming Serbia’s first victory in Eurovision.
2007 in Numbers
Here we’ll explore the fascinating world of numbers! In Roman numerals, 2007 is 2007, and when converted to binary, it becomes 11111010111.
Harshad Number
2007 is a Harshad number, which is a number that can be evenly divided by the sum of its digits. It’s like a special math rule for some numbers.
To explain in more detail, we add up the digits (2 + 0 + 0 + 7), which equals 9. And now we see if 2007 can be divided evenly by 9, which it can! 2007 ÷ 9 = 223. So this makes 2007 a Harshad number.
Chinese Zodiac 2007
According to the Chinese zodiac calendar, 2007 was the Year of the Fire Pig. The Year of the Pig occurs every twelve years, while the Year of the Fire Pig pops up every 60 years.
Did you know that the Chinese zodiac operates on a lunar calendar? That means the Year of the Fire Pig actually kicked off on February 18th, and lasted until February 6, 2008.
People born in the Year of the Pig are often kind-hearted, generous, and sincere. They are known for their strong work ethic, are loyal companions, and have a love for life’s pleasures.
Dua Lipa and Ross Lynch are notable figures who were born in the Years of the Pig!
2007 Trivia
Did you know that in 2007, the US state of New Mexico declared that Pluto is still a planet?
Despite being struck from the list of planets the previous year, New Mexico wrote into state law that whenever Pluto flies over New Mexico, it is a planet.
