2008 was designated as: *International Year of Languages *International Year of Planet Earth *International Year of the Potato *International Year of Sanitation The Great Recession, a worldwide recession which began in 2007, continued through the entirety of 2008.

Events

January

* January 1 – Cyprus and Malta adopt the euro currency. * January 14 – At 19:04:39 Coordinated Universal Time, UTC, the uncrewed MESSENGER space probe is at its closest approach during its first flyby of the planet Mercury (planet), Mercury. * January 21 **Stock markets around the world plunge amid growing fears of a Great Recession in the United States, U.S. Great Recession, fueled by the 2007 subprime mortgage crisis. **Online activist group Anonymous (hacker group), Anonymous initiates Project Chanology, after a News leak, leaked interview of Tom Cruise by the Church of Scientology is published on YouTube, and the Church of Scientology issued a DMCA takedown, "copyright infringement" claim. In response, Anonymous sympathizers took to the streets to protest outside the church (after February 10), while the church's websites and centres were getting Denial-of-service attack, DoS attacks, Prank call, phone line nukes, and black faxes. * January 24 – A peace deal is signed in Goma, Democratic Republic of the Congo, ending the Kivu conflict.

February

* February 4 – Civic mobilizations in Colombia against Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC, under the name ''One million voices against FARC''. * February 14 – A Belavia CRJ-100 Belavia Flight 1834, crash lands at Zvartnots International Airport in Yerevan, Armenia. 7 people are injured. * February 17 – Kosovo formally 2008 Kosovo declaration of independence, declares independence from Serbia, to a mixed response from the international community. *February 18 – WikiLeaks releases allegations of Tax evasion, illegal activities carried out by the Cayman Islands branch of Swiss banking corporation Julius Baer Group, Julius Baer; a subsequent Bank Julius Baer v. WikiLeaks, lawsuit against WikiLeaks prompts a Web domain, temporary suspension of the website, but uproar about violations of First Amendment to the United States Constitution, freedom of speech causes WikiLeaks to be brought back online.

March

* March 2 – Venezuela and Ecuador 2008 Andean diplomatic crisis, move troops to the Colombian border, following a Colombian raid against FARC guerrillas inside Ecuadorian territory, in which senior commander Raúl Reyes is killed. * March 8 – Barisan Nasional loses Supermajority, two-thirds majority, for the first time since 1969 Malaysian general election, 1969, to opposition during the 2008 Malaysian general election but still retains control of government. The coalition also loses State legislative assemblies of Malaysia, majority control of five states to the opposition. * March 9 – The first European Space Agency Automated Transfer Vehicle, a cargo spacecraft for the International Space Station, launches from Guiana Space Centre in French Guiana. *19 March, March 19 – An Energy release of a Gamma-ray burst called the GRB 080319B is the Brightness, brightest event ever recorded in the Universe. * March 24 – Bhutan holds its 2008 Bhutanese National Assembly election, first-ever general elections following the adoption of a new Constitution of Bhutan, Constitution which changed the country from an absolute monarchy to a multiparty democracy. * March 25 – African Union and Comoros forces 2008 invasion of Anjouan, invade the rebel-held island of Anjouan, returning the island to Comorian control.

April

* April 29 – ''Grand Theft Auto IV'' is released worldwide, selling over 3.6 million units and earning $310 million during the first day, becoming not only the highest grossing video game release of all-time, but also the highest grossing entertainment product release ever.

May

* May 2 – ''Iron Man (2008 film), Iron Man'' is released in theaters, starting the Marvel Cinematic Universe. * May 3 – Cyclone Nargis passes through Myanmar, killing more than 138,000 people. * May 12 – An earthquake measuring 7.9 on the moment magnitude scale 2008 Sichuan earthquake, strikes Sichuan, China, killing an estimated 87,000 people. * May 20–May 24, 24 – The Eurovision Song Contest 2008 takes place in Belgrade, Serbia, and is won by Russia in the Eurovision Song Contest 2008, Russian entrant Dima Bilan with the song "Believe (Dima Bilan song), Believe". * May 21 ** Manchester United F.C., Manchester United wins their third UEFA European Cup, European Cup and second UEFA Champions League, Champions League after they beat Chelsea F.C., Chelsea in the first all-English final in the history of the competition. Manchester United won the match 6–5 on penalties, following a 1–1 draw after extra time. ** The Union of South American Nations, an intergovernmental organization between states in South America, is founded. ** The International Court of Justice awards Middle Rocks to Malaysia and Pedra Branca, Singapore, Pedra Branca to Singapore, ending a 29-year Pedra Branca dispute, territorial dispute between the two countries. * May 25 – NASA's uncrewed Phoenix (spacecraft), ''Phoenix'' spacecraft becomes the first to land on the northern polar region of Mars. * May 28 – The 2008 Nepalese Constituent Assembly election, Legislature Parliament of Nepal votes overwhelmingly in favor of abolishing the country's King of Nepal, 240-year-old monarchy, turning the country into a republic. * May 30 – International Convention on Cluster Munitions is adopted in Dublin.

June

* June 7–June 29, 29 – Austria and Switzerland jointly host the UEFA Euro 2008 football tournament, which is won by Spain national football team, Spain. * June 11 ** The Fermi Gamma-ray Space Telescope is launched. ** Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper formally apologizes, on behalf of the Canadian government, to the country's First Nations in Canada, First Nations for the Canadian Indian residential school system. * June 14 – Expo 2008 opens in Zaragoza, Spain, lasting to September 14, with the topic "Water and sustainable development". * June 14 – A 2008 Iwate–Miyagi Nairiku earthquake, 6.9 magnitude earthquake in Iwate Prefecture, Japan, kills 12 and injures more than 400.

July

* July 1 – 2008 riot in Mongolia, Riots erupt in Mongolia in response to allegations of fraud surrounding the 2008 legislative elections. * July 2 – Íngrid Betancourt and 14 other hostages are Operation Jaque, rescued from Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia, FARC rebels by Colombian security forces. * July 10 – Apple Inc. launches the App Store (Apple), App Store with 500 apps available at launch. * July 11 – South Korea suspends all trips to North Korea's Mount Kumgang after a 53-year-old South Korean tourist is shot and killed by a North Korean sentry. * July 21 – Radovan Karadžić, the first president of the Republika Srpska, is arrested in Belgrade, Serbia, on allegations of war crimes, following a 12-year-long Manhunt (law enforcement), manhunt.

August

*August 1 ** India and United States sign the historic India–United States Civil Nuclear Agreement, Civil Nuclear deal. ** Eleven mountaineers from international expeditions die on K2, the second-highest mountain on Earth, in the 2008 K2 disaster, worst single accident in the history of K2 mountaineering. * August 6 – President Sidi Ould Cheikh Abdallahi of Mauritania is deposed in a 2008 Mauritanian coup d'état, military coup d'état. * August 7 – Georgia (country), Georgia intervenes against Russian-backed separatists in its South Ossetia, South-Ossetia and Abkhazia regions, causing Russia to invade Georgia and spark the Russo-Georgian War, Russo-Georgian war, the first major European land war of the 21st century. * August 8–August 24, 24 – The 2008 Summer Olympics take place in Beijing, China. * August 20 – Spanair Flight 5022 crashes at Madrid–Barajas Airport, killing 154 people on board.

September

* September 5 – Quentin Bryce becomes the first female Governor-General of Australia. * September 10 – The proton beam is circulated for the first time in the Large Hadron Collider, the List of accelerators in particle physics#Hadron colliders, world's largest and highest-energy particle accelerator, located at CERN, near Geneva, under the Franco-Swiss border. * September 13 – Hurricane Ike makes landfall as a category 2 hurricane in Texas, killing 113 and causing over $30 billion in damages. * September 15 – Stocks fall sharply Monday on a triptych of Wall Street woe: Lehman Brothers' bankruptcy filing, Merrill Lynch's acquisition by Bank of America, and American International Group, AIG's unprecedented request for short-term financing from the Federal Reserve. * September 20 – A Islamabad Marriott Hotel bombing, suicide truck bomb explosion destroys the Marriott International, Marriott Hotel in Islamabad, Pakistan, killing at least 54 and injuring 266. * September 23 – HTC Dream, the first smartphone powered by Android (operating system), Android, was launched. * September 28 – SpaceX Falcon 1 becomes the world's first privately developed Launch vehicle, space launch vehicle to successfully Falcon 1 Flight 4, make orbit.

October

* October 3 – 2008 financial crisis: President of the United States, U.S. President George W. Bush signs the revised Emergency Economic Stabilization Act of 2008, Emergency Economic Stabilization Act into law, creating a Troubled Asset Relief Program, 700 billion dollar Treasury fund to purchase failing bank assets. *October 6 – A controversial Peruvian tape regarding a Norway, Norwegian oil company causes the 2008 Peru oil scandal, sparking protests which cause Jorge del Castillo, Jorge de Castillo to Resignation, resign from office. *October 13 – Microsoft announces the name Windows 7 to the public. * October 21 – The Large Hadron Collider (LHC) is officially Inauguration, inaugurated at Geneva. * October 22 – The ISRO, Indian Space Research Organisation successfully launches the Chandrayaan-1 spacecraft on a Exploration of the Moon, lunar exploration mission. * October 30 – 2008 Vietnam floods, Floods affected in Northern Vietnam and Central Vietnam and lasted 5 days causing flooding in many Provinces of Vietnam, provinces and Municipalities of Vietnam, cities. * October ** The Easyswap on-line local exchange trading system (LETS) website is officially launched in Switzerland.

November

*November 1 – Satoshi Nakamoto publishes "Bitcoin: A Peer-to-Peer Electronic Cash System". *November 2 – In a race won by Brazilian driver Felipe Massa, United Kingdom, British driver Lewis Hamilton ends in 5th place in 2008 Brazilian Grand Prix and becomes the first Black people, black driver to win the Formula One World Championship, and the second youngest driver to achieve the feat at the age of 23. *November 4 – 2008 United States presidential election: Democratic Party (United States), Democratic U.S. Senator Barack Obama defeats Republican Party (United States), Republican candidate John McCain and is elected the 44th President of the United States, making him the first African Americans, African-American to be elected to the office. *November 19 – Claudia Castillo of Spain becomes the first person to have a successful trachea Organ transplant, transplant using a Tissue engineering, tissue-engineered Organ (anatomy), organ. * November 20 – The Buzzard Coulee meteorite falls in Saskatchewan. Reported to be 5 times brighter than the full moon and is seen in Alberta, Manitoba, and even North Dakota. * November 26–November 29, 29 – Ten terrorists of the Lashkar-e-Taiba, a Pakistan based terror group, carry out four days of coordinated bombing and shooting 2008 Mumbai attacks, attacks across Mumbai, killing 166 people. One terrorist, Ajmal Kasab, was captured alive and executed in 2012. * November 27 – XL Airways Germany Flight 888T. An Airbus A320 family, Airbus A320 due to be redelivered to Air New Zealand stalls and crashes over Mediterranean Sea resulting the deaths of 7

December

*December 10 – The Channel Islands, Channel Island of Sark, a British Crown Dependencies, Crown dependency, holds its 2008 Sark general election, first fully democratic elections under a new constitutional arrangement, becoming the last European territory to abolish feudalism. *December 11 – Bernie Madoff, Bernard Madoff is arrested for securities fraud after he was turned in by his sons for operating the largest Ponzi scheme in history, later known as the Madoff investment scandal. *December 18 – The International Criminal Tribunal for Rwanda finds Théoneste Bagosora and two other senior Rwandan army officers guilty of genocide, crimes against humanity and war crimes and sentences them to life imprisonment for their role in the Rwandan genocide. * December 22 – An ash dike Kingston Fossil Plant coal fly ash slurry spill, ruptured at a solid waste containment area for a Tennessee Valley Authority Kingston Fossil Plant, coal-fired power plant in Roane County, Tennessee, releasing of coal fly ash slurry in the largest industrial spill in U.S. history. *December 23 – A 2008 Guinean coup d'état, military coup d'état deposes the government of Guinea shortly after the death of longtime List of presidents of Guinea, President Lansana Conté. *December 27 – Israel Gaza War (2008–2009), invades the Gaza Strip, in response to rockets being fired into Israeli territory by Hamas, and due to weapons being smuggled into the area. *December 31 – An extra leap second (23:59:60) is added to end of the year. The last time this occurred was in 2005.

Date unknown

*European Certification and Qualification Association is founded. *National Disaster Recovery Fund, a disaster management fund is established by the Government of Jamaica.

Births and deaths

Nobel Prizes

* Nobel Prize in Chemistry, Chemistry – Martin Chalfie, Osamu Shimomura, and Roger Y. Tsien * Nobel Memorial Prize in Economic Sciences, Economics – Paul Krugman * Nobel Prize in Literature, Literature – J. M. G. Le Clézio * Nobel Peace Prize, Peace – Martti Ahtisaari * Nobel Prize in Physics, Physics – Makoto Kobayashi (physicist), Makoto Kobayashi, Toshihide Maskawa, and Yoichiro Nambu * Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, Physiology or Medicine – Françoise Barré-Sinoussi, Harald zur Hausen, and Luc Montagnier

New English words

References

External links

2008 Calendar
at Internet Accuracy Project {{Authority control 2008, Leap years in the Gregorian calendar