A Year in Review: 2021

It's safe to say that 2021 was a whirlwind for most! There were many times to celebrate and others that were challenging. As we head into the New Year, let's reflect on some of 2021's biggest events throughout the globe:

January 2021:

January 20th: Joe Biden becomes the 46th President of the United States.

January 28th: Bernie Sanders mittens worn to the inauguration raise $1.8 million for Vermont charities after images go viral

January 28th: The world of finance is rocked when share trading app Robinhood suspends trading of Gamestop amid huge surge in share price of the previously short listed stock by Wall Street

February 2021:

February 2nd: Jeff Bezos announces he is stepping down as CEO of Amazon after 30 years, becoming executive chairman

February 4th: First successful face and double hand transplant announced performed on 22 year-old Joe DiMeo in New York

February 7th: Tampa Bay Buccaneers dominate defending champion Kansas City Chiefs, 31-9; MVP: Tom Brady with record 7th superbowl win

February 22nd: Wife of drug cartel boss "El Chapo" Emma Coronel Aispuro arrested in the US on drug trafficking charges and conspiring to free her husband from prison

March 2021:

March 2nd: Dolly Parton receives the Moderna COVID-19 vaccine she gave $1 million to help develop

March 14th: 63rd Grammy Awards: Beyoncé breaks record for most Grammys won by a singer, Taylor Swift wins Album of the Year and Billie Eilish wins Record of the Year

March 23rd: First ever tweet by Twitter founder Jack Dorsey "just setting up my twttr" sells for $2.9 million in digitally autographed version

March 23rd: Cargo ship Ever Given gets stuck in the Suez Canal, Egypt, a 400m megaship it completely blocks the shipping canal

March 31st: New York state legalizes recreational use of marijuana in legislation signed by Governor Andrew Cuomo (sales not legal for 18 months)

March 29th: The Suez Canal is finally reopened for ships to pass through after ship blocking canal since March 23rd is unlodged

April 2021:

April 6th: Jeff Bezos, worth $177 billion, tops Forbes Billionaires list of 2,755 people, including new entry Kim Kardashian

April 14th: Coinbase becomes the first major cryptocurrency company to trade shares on the New York stock exchange

April 17th: Funeral of Prince Philip, consort to Queen Elizabeth II, held under COVID-19 restrictions at Windsor Palace, England

April 20th: Former police officer Derek Chauvin convicted of the murder of George Floyd in Minneapolis, in a case that prompted huge nationwide racial justice protests

April 28th: NASA's Parker Solar Probe becomes the first spacecraft to cross the Alfvén critical boundary, the outer atmosphere of the Sun 

May 2021:

May 1st: 147th Kentucky Derby: Medina Spirit gives jockey John Velazquez his fourth Derby win and trainer Bob Baffert a record seventh victory in the race

May 3rd: Bill Gates and his wife Melinda Gates announce their divorce after 27 years

May 7th: Philadelphia Museum of Art unveils major interior renovation and expansion designed by American architect Frank Gehry

May 8th: Tesla chief executive Tesla Elon Musk hosts "Saturday Night Live" in the US

May 23rd: PGA Championship Men's Golf, Ocean Course Kiawah Island: Phil Mickelson becomes oldest major winner in history; wins his 6th major by 2 strokes over Brooks Koepka and Louis Oosthuizen

June 2021:

June 1st: US President Joe Biden's administration suspends oil and gas leases in Alaska's Arctic National Wildlife Refuge, reversing Donald Trump's decision

June 9th: 55th CMT Music Awards: Carrie Underwood with John Legend, Kane Brown, and Gabby Barrett win

June 10th: Emma Coronel Aispuro, wife of drug lord El Chapo, pleads guilty to helping run his criminal operations and aiding his 2015 prison escape

June 11th: US lobsterman survives being swallowed by a humpback whale off the coast of Provincetown, Massachusetts

June 13th: French Open Men's Tennis: Novak Đoković wins his 19th Grand Slam singles title; beats Stefanos Tsitsipas of Greece

June 23rd: Britney Spears requests a judge end her court-ordered conservatorship, states "I think this conservatorship is abusive. I don't think I can live a full life"

June 30th: Pennsylvania Supreme overturns comedian Bill Cosby's sexual assault conviction, ruling that the prosecutor who brought the case was bound by his predecessor’s agreement not to charge Cosby in return for Cosby's testimony in a related civil suit; Cosby immediately released from prison

July 2021:

July 4th: Researchers reveal there are 14 living descendants of Italian artist Leonardo da Vinci 

July 11th: Copa América Final, Estádio do Maracanã, Rio de Janeiro: Argentina beats Brazil, 1-0; Lionel Messi named player of the tournament in his first major international title victory

July 18th: British Open Men's Golf, Royal St George's GC: American Collin Morikawa becomes first male in history to win his debut at 2 separate major events; beats Jordan Spieth by 2 strokes

July 20th: Amazon founder Jeff Bezos goes into space in first unpiloted suborbital flight with all-civilian crew, aboard rocket developed by his company Blue Origin

July 20th: NBA Finals: Milwaukee Bucks beat Phoenix Suns, 105-98 in Game 6 to win first title in 50 years (1971); MVP: Giannis Antetokounmpo, 50 points in Game 6

July 23rd: XXXII Summer Olympic Games officially open at the Olympic Stadium, Tokyo, Japan

July 27th: American gymnast and four-time Olympic gold medallist Simone Biles withdraws from the women's team final at the Tokyo Games citing need to focus on her mental health; also misses individual finals

July 31st: American swimming superstar Katie Ledecky wins the women's 800m gold for an unprecedented third consecutive Olympics in Tokyo; claims distance 800/1500m double

August 2021:

August 3rd: Singer Tony Bennett celebrates his 95th birthday with Lady Gaga in the first of 2 "farewell" performances at Radio City Music Hall, NYC

August 4th: Rihanna named the world's wealthiest female musician worth $1.7 billion by Forbes 

August 10th: Governor of New York Andrew Cuomo resigns amid a sexual harassment scandal

September 2021:

September 1st: Cristiano Ronaldo breaks world record for goals scored in men's international football; hits his 110th and 111th goals for Portugal in 2-1 World Cup qualifying win over Republic of Ireland in Faro

September 8th: US Biden administration releases blueprint calling for 44% of American electricity to come from the sun by 2050 (currently 3%) 

September 9th: Tom Brady becomes first player in NFL history to start 300 regular season games as he guides Tampa Bay Buccaneers to an opening day 31-29 win at home to Dallas Cowboys

September 12th: 40th MTV Video Music Awards: Lil Nas X, Justin Bieber, and Olivia Rodrigo win

September 15th: US gymnasts, including Simone Biles, testify against former team doctor Larry Nassar at a Senate Committee hearing, criticizing a system that allowed it to happen

September 15th: SpaceX launches the first all-civilian spaceflight from Cape Canaveral, Florida, for three-day orbit around Earth [1]

September 27th: R&B artist R. Kelly is convicted on nine counts of racketeering and sex trafficking after a six-week trial in New York 

September 19th: Britney Spears' father Jamie Spears suspended as her conservator by a judge in Los Angeles after claims of abuse

October 2021:

October 8th: Nobel Peace Prize awarded to journalists Maria Ressa of the Philippines and Dmitry Muratov of Russia "for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression" 

Octboer 13th: William Shatner becomes the oldest person to reach space, travelling aboard Blue Origin's New Shepard rocket on a 10 minute flight

October 24th: Michael Jordan's 1984 Nike Air Ships sell for $1.472 million at Sotheby's, a new record for sneakers at auction

October 25th: Elon Musk makes a record $25 billion in one day pushing his estimated worth to $255.2 billion, likely making him the richest person ever according to Forbes

October 28th: Mark Zuckerberg announces Facebook will change its corporate name to Meta amid increased public scrutiny over leaked internal documents

October 30th: Rock and Roll Hall of Fame inductees: Foo Fighters; The Go-Go's; Jay-Z; Carole King; Todd Rundgren; Tina Turner; Kraftwerk; Gil Scott-Heron; Charley Patton; LL Cool J; Billy Preston; Randy Rhodes; and Clarence Avant

November 2021:

November 9th: Actor Paul Rudd is named People Magazine's Sexiest Man Alive

November 10th: Bitcoin, the world's first and most-popular cryptocurrency, reached a new all-time high over $68,000

November 12th: LA judge rules to end Britney Spears' conservatorship, which had controlled almost all aspects of her life for 14 years

November 12th: Taylor Swift releases her directorial debut the short film "All Too Well" alongside her re-recorded album "Red (Taylor's Version)"

November 19th: Adele releases her fourth studio album "30"

November 30th: El Chapo's wife Emma Coronel Aispuro sentenced to three years in the US for helping run her husband's drug cartel and aid his escape from prison

December 2021:

December 4th: Mt Semeru erupts on Java island, Indonesia, killing at least 14 and injuring 56

December 7th: Chile becomes the 31st nation to legalize same-sex marriage

December 10th: Rare December tornadoes strike four American states, with a 'Quad-State Tornado' across Arkansas, Missouri, Tennessee and Kentucky, completely destroying some towns and leaving at least 70 dead

December 13th: Elon Musk, CEO of SpaceX and Tesla, named Time's Person of the Year

December 20th: Bidens add to their family with new first puppy

For some, 2021 flew by in the blink of an eye. For others, it may have dragged on too long. Regardless, it was certainly an eventful year throughout the world! Now, we're ready to start the New Year off right with new goals and motivated mindsets. Together, we can make 2022 the best year yet!