- January 14
- The Tunisian government falls after a month of increasingly violent protests; President Zine El Abidine Ben Ali flees to Saudi Arabia after 23 years in power. [808]
- January 24
- 37 people are killed and more than 180 others wounded in a bombing at Domodedovo International Airport in Moscow, Russia. [808]
- January 25
- 50,000+ people gather in Tahrir Square to protest government of Hosni Mubarak. [1516.52]
- January 27
- In Germany, Fritz Rudolph Künker sells at auction a China 1911 silver dollar pattern, About Uncirculated, for 529,000 euros (US$724,000). [617.151]
- In New York City, Spink Shreves Galleries auctions a Canada Victoria 12-pence stamp, mint no-hinge, Superb 98, finest existant, for $488,850. [622.20]
- February 11
- Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak resigns after widespread protests calling for his departure, leaving control of Egypt in the hands of the military until a general election can be held. [808]
- February 21
- Price of silver reaches 31-year high of $34.33 in trading in New York. [606.54]
- February 26
- (to February 28) Interasia Auction conducts a postage stamp auction in Hong Kong. Some highlights:
- People's Republic of China 1968 8-fen, unissued, corner block of four, "Mao's Insctiption to Japanese Worker Friends": HK$8.97 million (US$1.15 million);
- People's Republic of China 1968 8-fen, unissued, "Victory of the Cultural Revolution": HK$2.2 million (US$325,000);
- China 1897 $5 on 3-cent red revenue stamp, inverted surchagre, strip of three: HK$4.8 million (US$708,000);
- China 1897 $5 on 3-cent red revenue stamp, left margin pair: HK$3 million (US$443,000).
[647.32] [673.9] [674]
- February 27
- Death of Frank Buckles, last American veteran of World War I, at age 110. [816.10] [820.14]
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- March 11
- A magnitude 9.0 earthquake occurs in the Pacific Ocean, 231 miles north-east of Tokyo, Japan, the largest ever recorded for Japan. A 23-foot high tsunami hits the east coast. Tsunami warnings are issued in 50 countries and territories. Emergencies are declared at four nuclear power plants affected by the quake. Flooding at the Fukushima nuclear reactor causes meltdown and explosions. Total deaths from all causes is 19,000. [750.22] [808] [853.35]
- March 12
- An explosion damages the Fukushima Daiichi nuclear plant in Sendai, Japan. [750.22]
- March 14
- The Japanese Nikkei stock exchange opens for trading with a $297 billion loss due to the earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear reactor damage. This is the largest drop for the stock exchange since World War II. [750.22]
- March 15
- Hamad bin Isa Al Khalifa, King of Bahrain, declares a three-month state of emergency as troops from the Gulf Co-operation Council are sent to quell the civil unrest. [808]
- March 17
- The United Nations Security Council votes 10-0 to create a no-fly zone over Libya in response to allegations of government aggression against civilians. [808]
- March 19
- In light of continuing attacks on Libyan rebels by forces in support of leader Muammar Gaddafi, military intervention authorized under UNSCR 1973 begins as French fighter jets make reconnaissance flights over Libya. [808]
- April 4
- Morton & Eden in London, England conduct an auction of Islamic coins at Sotheby's in London. Some highlights:
- Umayyad A.H. 105 (723-724 C.E.) gold dinar, EF: 3,720,000 pounds (US$6,013,157), the second highest price paid for a coin at auction;
- Umayyad A.H. 92 (710-711 C.E.) gold dinar, EF: 648,000 pounds (US$1,047,453);
- Umayyad A.H. 90 (708-709 C.E.) silver dirham, Good EF cleaned: 1,080,000 pounds (US$1,745,755);
- Seljuqs of Rum A.H. 638 (1240-41 C.E.) gold dinar, EF: 240,000 pounds (US$387,946).
[620.1,68] [626.32] [1086.42]
- April 5
- In Switzerland, Numismatica Arts Classica sells at auction a Rome circa 308 C.E. 8-aureus gold medallion, graded Good Extremely Fine, finest of two known, for 1.3 million Swiss franc (US$1,407,550), a price record for a Roman gold coin. [628.1]
- April 8
- Price of an ounce of silver crosses US$40 for the first time in 31 years. [620.44]
- April 11
- Former Ivorian President Laurent Gbagbo is arrested in his home in Abidjan by supporters of elected President Alassane Ouattara with support from French forces. [808]
- April 12
- Japan raises the nuclear damage level of the Fukushima reactor to INES Level 7, same category as Chernobyl in the Ukraine. [750.22]
- April 20
- Spot gold reaches a record high of US$1507.10 in New York, closing at record US$1503 an ounce. [626.1]
- April 22
- Japanese officials increase the Fukushima nuclear reactor evacuation zone to a 31-mile radius. [750.22]
- April 28
- Silver closes trading in London at $48.70 an ounce. [646.78]
- April 29
- Prince William, Duke of Cambridge and Catherine Middleton wed at Westminster Abbey in London. [808] [1731.44]
- April 30
- In Tokyo, Japan, Taisei Coins auctions a Chinese 1991 Proof 10,000-yuan 5kg 0.999 fine gold coin for 127,600,000 yen (US$1.567 million). [664.64]
- May 1
- U.S. President Barack Obama announces that Osama bin Laden, the founder and leader of the militant group Al-Qaeda, has been killed during an American military operation in Pakistan. [808]
- May
- Champion purchases at auction a China 1991 10,000-yuan gold Panda coin for US$1.6 million, a world record for a Chinese coin. [712.161]
- May 16
- The European Union agree to a 78-billion euro rescue deal for Portugal. The bailout loan will be equally split between the European Financial Stabilisation Mechanism, the European Financial Stability Facility, and the International Monetary Fund. [808]
- May 26
- Former Bosnian Serb Army commander Ratko Mladic, wanted for genocide, war crimes and crimes against humanity, is arrested in Serbia. [808]
- June 4
- Chile's Puyehue volcano erupts, causing air traffic cancellations across South America, New Zealand, Australia and forcing over 3,000 people to evacuate. [808]
- June 5
- Yemeni President Ali Abdullah Saleh travels to Saudi Arabia for treatment of an injury sustained during an attack on the presidential palace. Protesters celebrate his transfer of power to his Vice-President Abd al-Rab Mansur al-Hadi. [808]
- June 7
- (to June 10) In Basel, Switzerland, Galerie Dreyfus auctions an 1859 Kingdom of the Two Sicilies 1/2-grana blue (error or proof) King Ferdinand II postage stamp on partial cover for 1.8 million euros (US$2.6 million). [715.1]
- June 12
- Thousands of Syrians flee to Turkey as Syrian troops lay siege to Jisr ash-Shugur. [808]
- July 7
- The world's first artificial organ transplant is achieved, using an artificial windpipe coated with stem cells. [808]
- July 9
- South Sudan secedes from Sudan, per the result of the independence referendum held in January. [708.36] [808] [1577.8]
- July 14
- The United Nations admits the Republic of South Sudan as its 193rd member nation. [1577.8] [1578.3]
- July 15
- Warner Bros. releases the film Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows Part 2 to theaters. (Total world gross ticket sales: $1.3 billion (1st for 2011).) [924]
- July 18
- Price of gold passes $1600 per ounce for the first time. [684.92]
- July 20
- Goran Hadžic is detained in Serbia, becoming the last of 161 people indicted by the International Criminal Tribunal for the former Yugoslavia. [808]
- The United Nations declares a famine in southern Somalia, the first in over thirty years. [808]
- July 21
- Space Shuttle Atlantis lands successfully at Kennedy Space Center after completing STS-135, concluding NASA's space shuttle program. [808]
- July 22
- 76 people are killed in twin terrorist attacks in Norway after a bombing in the Regjeringskvartalet government center in Oslo and a shooting at a political youth camp on the island of Utøya. [808]
- July 31
- In Thailand over 12.8 million people are affected by severe flooding. The World Bank estimates damages at 1,440 billion baht (US$45 billion). By the end of the yeay, some areas are still six - feet underwater, and many factory areas remained closed. 790 people are killed, with 58 of the country's 77 provinces affected. [808]
- August 5
- NASA announces that its Mars Reconnaissance Orbiter has captured photographic evidence of possible liquid water on Mars during warm seasons. [808]
- Juno, the first solar-powered spacecraft on a mission to Jupiter, is launched from Cape Canaveral Air Force Station. [808]
- August 17
- Russian space agency launches Turkey's first self-designed and built satellite, the RASAT. [730.105]
- August 19
- Hewlett-Packard stock shares crash 20 percent, $12 billion of market value, the day after announcement of plan to spin off personal computer business and buy British software maker Autonomy for $10.3 billion. [855.55]
- August 20
- (to August 28) In the Battle of Tripoli, Libyan rebels take control the nation's capital, effectively overthrowing the government of Muammar Gaddafi. [808]
- August 24
- Steve Jobs resigns as CEO of Apple. [855.53]
- August 28
- Champion Hong Kong Auctions sells at auction a China 1992 1kg 2000-yuan gold coin, one of five minted, graded Proof-69 NGC, for US$1,298,000, a world record for a Chinese certified coin. [702.5] [712.161]
- September 5
- India and Bangladesh sign a pact to end their 40-year border demarcation dispute. [808]
- September 6
- Gold hits record high of US$1923 an ounce. [704.28] [820.24]
- September 7
- (to September 12) In Long Beach, California, Heritage Auctions conducts the World and Ancient Coins Signature Auction. Some highlights:
- China Yunnan, Spring Dollar CD 1910, AU-58 NGC: US$546,250;
- China Meiji 1874 silver Pattern Trade Dollar: $299,000;
- Korea Yung Hi gold 20 Won Year 3 (1909), MS-64 NGC: $632,500;
- Korea Yung Hi gold 10 Won Year 3 (1909): $299,000;
- Korea Yung Hi gold 5 Won Year 3 (1909), MS-64 NGC: $460,000;
- Rome 42 BCE silver denarius, Ides of March: US$546,350, a world record for a Roman silver coin.
[703.14] [712.134]
- September 10
- The MV Spice Islander I, carrying at least 800 people, sinks off the coast of Zanzibar, killing 240 people. [808]
- September 12
- Approximately 100 people die after a petrol pipeline explodes in Nairobi. [808]
- September 17
- Occupy Wall Street protests begin in the United States. This develops into the Occupy movement which spreads to 82 countries by October. [808]
- September 19
- With 434 dead, the United Nations launches a $357 million appeal for victims of the 2011 Sindh floods in Pakistan. [808]
- September 24
- A six-ton NASA science satellite, the Upper Atmosphere Research Satellite, in Earth's orbit for 20 years, crashes to Earth, breaking up into a debris field with unknown landing sites. The satellite was placed in orbit in 1991, completed its mission in 2005, and had been slowly losing altitude ever since. [35]
- September 26
- In Everett, Washington, Boeing delivers the first 787 Dreamliner jet plane to customer All Nippon Airways. [35]
- September 29
- China successfully launches an experimental craft, Tiangong 1 meaning "Heavenly Palace", from a remote site in the Gobi Desert. The unmanned space lab is part of a program to build a permanent manned space station. [35]
- September 30
- The US CIA kills Islamist militant Anwar al-Awlaki in Yemen in a drone strike. [35] [808]
- October 3
- The Nobel Committee in Stockholm Sweden announces the 2011 recipients of the Nobel Prize for Medicine: Ralph Steinman (posthumous), Bruce Beutler, and Jules Hoffman, for research into the body's immune system. [35]
- October 4
- 100 people are killed in a car bombing in the Somali capital Mogadishu. [808]
- The Universal Postal Union officially welcomes the Republic of South Sudan as its 192nd member. [1578.3]
- The death toll from the flooding of Cambodia's Mekong River and attendant flash floods reaches 207. [808]
- October 18
- Israel and the Palestinian militant organization Hamas begin a major prisoner swap, in which the captured Israeli Army soldier Gilad Shalit is released by Hamas in exchange for 1,027 Palestinian and Israeli-Arab prisoners held in Israel, including 280 prisoners serving life sentences for planning and perpetrating terror attacks. [808]
- October 20
- Libyan leader Muammar Gaddafi is killed in Sirte, with National Transitional Council forces taking control of the city, and ending the war. [808]
- Basque separatist militant organisation ETA declares an end to its 43-year campaign of political violence, which has killed over 800 people since 1968. [808]
- October 23
- A magnitude 7.2Mw earthquake jolts eastern Turkey near the city of Van, killing 604 people, and damaging about 2,200 buildings. [808]
- October 26
- The Perth Mint in Australia announces the world's largest gold coin, 1000 kilograms of 0.9999 fine gold, cast rather than struck, with face value of A$1 million, containing about US$55.5 million worth of gold. Diameter is 80 cm, thicness 12 cm. [713.4]
- October 27
- After an emergency meeting in Brussels, the European Union announces an agreement to tackle the European sovereign debt crisis which includes a writedown of 50 percent of Greek bonds, a recapitalisation of European banks and an increase of the bailout fund of the European Financial Stability Facility totaling 1 trillion euros. [808]
- October 31
- Date selected by the UN as the symbolic date when global population reaches seven billion. [808]
- UNESCO admits Palestine as a member, following a vote in which 107 member states support and 14 oppose. [808]
- November 26
- The Mars Science Laboratory rover Curiosity, the most elaborate Martian exploration vehicle to date, is launched from the Kennedy Space Center. It is slated to land on Mars on August 5, 2012. [808]
- November 29
- Blanchard and Company sells the unique American 1787 Brasher doubloon pattern coin with "EB" punch on breast for US$7,395,000 to an unnamed buyer in a private transaction. [747.38] [748.38] [1083.22]
- December 15
- The United States formally declares an end to the Iraq War. [808]
- December 16
- Tropical Storm Washi causes 1,257 flash flood fatalities in the Philippines with 85 people officially listed as missing. [808]
- December 29
- Samoa and Tokelau move from east to west of the International Date Line, thereby skipping December 30, in order to align their time zones better with their main trading partners. [808]
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