2019: Facts & Events That Happened in This Year

Jan 3

China’s Chang’e-4 became the first spacecraft to successfully land on the far side of the Moon.

Jan 15

The World Economic Forum announced that there will be more plastic than fish in our oceans by as early as 2050.

Jan 21

Li Na became the first Asian-born tennis player to be entered into the International Tennis Hall of Fame.

Feb 7

Kangaroo fossil research showed that they may have learned to hop over 20 million years ago.

Feb 19

US Democrat Senator Bernie Sanders announced his second attempt to run for President.

His previous bid for the Democrats in 2016 lost to Hilary Clinton primarily due to fears he was too much of a socialist.

Feb 27

The world’s smallest baby was finally released from the hospital months after being born.

The baby boy was born in Tokyo, Japan, at 24 weeks and weighed just 9.45 oz.

Mar 20

Disney purchased 21st Century Fox for $71 billion.

The purchase was made to grow Disney's empire and take on Netflix in the world of online TV streaming.

Mar 21

A woman in Bangladesh gave birth to twins one month after giving birth previously.

It turned out that the mother had two uteruses.

Mar 28

The European Union Parliament declared single-use plastics were to be banned by 2021.

Apr 15

The Notre Dame Cathedral in Paris caught fire, which destroyed the roof.

Before the fire was fully extinguished, the spire had collapsed.

Apr 21

Climate change activist Greta Thunberg gave a speech in London, leading to protests across the city for four days.

Almost a thousand people were arrested, with 42 charged.

Apr 28

HBO’s Game of Thrones aired the longest battle ever to be shown on screen.

The episode was called "The Long Night," and the battle lasted for almost 80 minutes.

May 19

Lauv released his single “I Like Me Better,” which earned platinum recognition in seven countries, including the USA.

May 24

Theresa May announced her resignation as British Prime Minister.

With this, Theresa May also resigned from her position as the leader of the Conservative Party. May's resignation largely came down to her boundless incompetence in handling the Brexit negotiations.

May 29

Boris Johnson was ordered to appear in court after claims that he lied to the public throughout Britain’s Brexit campaign.

Jun 11

Toy Story 4 premiered at the El Capitan Theatre in LA, California.

Jun 15

Babe Ruth’s baseball jersey became the most expensive sports memorabilia when it sold for $5.6 million.

Jun 30

Donald Trump became the first US president to visit North Korea while meeting Kim Jong Un.

Jul 23

The 9/11 victim compensation fund was extended indefinitely by the US Senate.

Jul 28

Meghan Markle became the first-ever guest editor for UK Vogue.

Working on the September 2019 issue, Markle created a cover for Vogue that included the faces of fifteen women she admired. Some of the people included Jane Fonda and Greta Thunberg.

Jul 29

Lil Nas X’s “Old Town Road” single reached a new record for the longest time on the Billboard charts after spending 17 weeks at number one.

Aug 18

Ignoring the Chinese government, 1.7 million protesters set out on Hong Kong streets during heavy showers to fight for freedom.

Aug 24

President Jair Bolsonaro ordered the Brazilian Army to help battle the Amazon forest fires.

Aug 26

The pharmaceutical company Johnson & Johnson was told to pay Oklahoma $572 million in damages for adding to an opioid crisis in the state.

The trial was the first successful one of its kind, and it is expected to set a precedent for further similar cases against big pharma companies.

Sep 11

NASA revealed that water vapor was discovered in the atmosphere of an Earth-size planet, the exoplanet K2-18b.

K2-18b is a super-Earth about 111 light-years away from our solar system. It was discovered in 2015 by NASA's Kepler spacecraft. Astronomers say it's "the best candidate for habitability that we know right now."

Sep 15

The UK’s prime minister Boris Johnson compared himself to The Hulk in his efforts to steer the country out of the European Union.

Sep 20

The climate change rally led by activist Greta Thunberg saw millions of protesters worldwide standing up for urgent action.

Oct 16

A camera in London Zoo became the first camera to take selfies powered by plants.

Pete the Fern provided the energy utilizing microbial energy production.

Oct 17

Lana Del Rey’s song “Video Games” was named song of the decade at the Q Awards in London.

Upon accepting the award, she said: "I'm so honored. This is unreal."

Oct 18

The first all-female spacewalk took place.

On this day, astronauts Christina Koch and Jessica Meir stepped foot in space to fix a device on the International Space station.

Nov 21

Elon Musk revealed Tesla’s first electric cyber truck with shatterproof windows.

However, at the grand reveal, when the shatterproof windows were tested by being repeatedly hit by the design chief Franz von Holzhausen, the windows shattered. After a reassuring speech by Musk, the cyber truck did not live up to expectations, so Tesla's share price plummeted by 6%.

Nov 24

Taylor Swift won six awards at the American Music Awards, including Artist of the Year and Artist of the Decade.

Nov 29

Two people were stabbed to death by a terrorist by London Bridge.

Dec 16

Mariah Carey’s single “All I Want for Christmas Is You” reached number one, 25 years after its release.

Dec 17

Australia recorded its hottest day ever with an average temperature of 105°F across the country.

Dec 18

The US House of Representatives voted to impeach President Donald Trump for abuse of power (230 votes to 197) and obstruction of Congress (229 votes to 198).