{{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in

British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...

, is a 100th

anniversary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saint ...

or otherwise relates to a

century A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial ...

, a period of 100 years.

Notable events

Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: *

Centennial Exhibition The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair to be held in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of th ...

, 1876,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania. First official

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

in the United States, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the signing of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of ...

in Philadelphia. About 10 million visitors attended, equivalent to about 20% of the population of the United States at the time. The exhibition ran from May 10, 1876, to November 10, 1876. (It included a

monorail A monorail (from " mono", meaning "one", and " rail") is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accura ...

.) * New Zealand Centennial Exhibition, 1939–1940, celebrated one hundred years since the signing of the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in the treatment of the M ...

in 1840 and the subsequent mass European settlement of New Zealand. 2,641,043 (2.6 million) visitors attended the exhibition, which ran from 8 November 1939 until 4 May 1940. *

1967 International and Universal Exposition The 1967 International and Universal Exposition, commonly known as Expo 67, was a general exhibition from April 27 to October 29, 1967. It was a category One World's Fair held in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It is considered to be one of the most su ...

, better known as ''Expo 67'', celebrating Canada's centennial year. This "Category One"

held in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-p ...

, Canada, from April 27 to October 29, 1967. Sixty-two nations participated, and it set the single-day attendance record for a world's fair, with 569,500 visitors on its third day. Official attendance was 50,306,648. Was endpoint of the Centennial Voyageur Canoe Pageant, the longest canoe race in history. (Its monorail was a major attraction.) * 1996 Summer Olympics, 100th anniversary of the 1st Summer Olympics in 1896. * Philippine Centennial, 100th anniversary of the proclamation of Philippine Independence. *

100th Anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution and Republic of China Celebrations of the 100th anniversary of the founding of the Republic of China were held on 10 October 2011, on the 100th anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution. It was celebrated in both mainland China and Taiwan, ruled by the People's Republic ...

* 100th Anniversary of the Independence of Albania * First World War centenary, started in 2014 with commemorations of the outbreak of the war and concluded in 2018 with Armistice centennial commemorations. * 100th Anniversary of the Independence of Finland * 100th Anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC)

Other events

Selected regional or other centennial events include:

Argentina

* Argentina Centennial (1910)

Australia

* Centenary of Western Australia, in 1929, which included the Western Australian Centenary Air Race across Australia. * 1934 Centenary of Melbourne

Canada

Canadian Centennial The Canadian Centennial was a yearlong celebration held in 1967 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. Celebrations in Canada occurred throughout the year but culminated on Dominion Day, July 1, 1967. Commemorative coins w ...

(1967) * Centennial of the City of Toronto

United States

* American Civil War Centennial * Oregon Centennial * Texas Centennial Exposition

Ireland

* Decade of Centenaries