Defining events in the life of the Generation X¶
Events grouped by the life stage the Generation X cohort (born 1965–1980) was in when they happened.
Childhood (ages 6–12)¶
- 1979 — The shah leaves Iran and the Revolutionary Guard takes
- 1979 — the Movie "Apocalyse Now" is released
- 1979 — The Buggles release "Video Killed The Radio Star"
- 1980 — CNN is launched
- 1980 — John Lennon is killed on the streets of NYC
- 1981 — First news story on AIDS
- 1981 — MTV is launched
- 1982 — Michael Jackson releases the album "Thriller"
- 1983 — Nena releases "99 Luftballons"
- 1984 — The first Terminator movie is released
- 1984 — The Bhopal disaster exposes 500000 people to highly toxic gas
Teenage years (ages 13–20)¶
- 1986 — Chernobyl nuclear disaster
- 1988 — The movie Die Hard is a surprise hit and becomes an even bigger surprise Christmas classic
- 1989 — The tanker Exxon Valdez spills its oil in the ocean
- 1989 — Fall of the Berlin Wall
- 1990 — The movie Home Alone hits the screens
Adulthood (ages 21–60)¶
- 1994 — Genocide in Rwanda kills more than 500000 people
- 1994 — Pulp Fiction wins Palme D'Or at Canne Film festival
- 1994 — The TV series "Friends" launches
- 1995 — Microsoft launches the Windows95 OS
- 1996 — Los Del Rio & Bayside Boys release "Macarena" - english version
- 1997 — The book "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" is published, the first of a very successful series
- 1997 — "Titanic" launches and will grow to the biggest boxoffice ever
- 1998 — Bill Clinton denies affair with Monica Lewinsky
- 2001 — Daft Punk releases the album Discovery
- 2001 — September 11 attacks
- 2001 — The movie "Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone" is released
- 2002 — Europeans starts using the EURO currency
- 2004 — Nipplegate: Janet Jackson's indecent exposure
- 2004 — Google files for IPO
- 2005 — Google buys Android mobile OS
- 2006 — Amazon launches Prime Video streaming
- 2006 — Youtube is sold to Google
- 2007 — Apple launches the first iPhone
- 2009 — The first Avatar movie hits the screens
- 2011 — Fukushima nuclear disaster
- 2012 — Facebook files for IPO
- 2012 — Instagram is sold to Facebook
- 2012 — Psy releases "Gangnam Style"
- 2013 — Waze is sold to Google
- 2013 — Orange is the New Black launches on Netflix
- 2014 — Whatsapp is sold to Facebook
- 2014 — 2014 celebrity nude photo leak
- 2016 — The movie Deadpool proves R-rated movies can be succesful
- 2016 — Donald Trump wins the US elections
- 2019 — Apple launches Apple TV+ streaming service
- 2020 — Brexit: UK leaves the EU
- 2020 — WHO declares COVID-19 a global pandemic. Start of a wave of lockdowns.
- 2022 — Will Smith hits Chris Rock @ 2022 Oscars
- 2022 — US Supreme Court overturns abortion rights
Last updated: 2026-06-04