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.
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.
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.
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 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.
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.
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.
Feb 10
Let’s be the generation that makes future generations proud of what we did here.
Dec 1
It’s okay to have your eggs in one basket as long as you control what happens to that basket.
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 MMVII, 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.
