The year 2024 brought a series of historical moments and milestones that changed the world and set new standards in various areas of life.
From political breakthroughs and scientific breakthroughs, to social innovations and cultural shifts, the past year will be remembered for events that happened for the first time. In this review, we look at some of them.
The former US president was convicted of a crime
The jury declared in May Donald Trump guilty on all 34 counts of the indictment for falsifying business documents, making him the first former US president to be convicted of a criminal offense.
In November, at the age of 78, Trump became the oldest person elected to the highest office in America, and when he takes office in January, he will be the first former president to return to the White House after more than 130 years. Kamala Harris, the Democratic Party candidate, also made history during the 2024 presidential race as the first woman of color to win the nomination of a major party.
Scientists discovered water on the surface of an asteroid
For the first time, researchers have found evidence of water molecules on the surface of an asteroid using data from the Stratospheric Observatory for Infrared Astronomy (SOFIA), a now-retired Boeing spacecraft equipped with telescopic instruments operated by NASA and the German Aerospace Center.
Scientists hope that this discovery could shed light on how water first arrived on Earth billions of years ago.
The leader of Sinn Fein in the highest office in Northern Ireland
A member of a political party Shin Fein - which has historically been in favor of the unification of Northern Ireland with the Republic of Ireland - for the first time in history took the highest office in the government of Northern Ireland.
Michael O'Neill, Sinn Féin's vice-president, was appointed as the Prime Minister of Northern Ireland in February. This would have been unthinkable less than three decades ago during the turmoil known as the Troubles, a bloody decades-long conflict between the majority Protestant Unionists and the majority Roman Catholic Nationalists over the unification of Northern Ireland with the rest of the island.
Until now, the office of prime minister has been held exclusively by politicians who advocated for Northern Ireland to remain part of the United Kingdom.
Samsung workers strike
Samsung Electronics workers staged a planned one-day strike in June, the first in the corporate giant's decades-long history, after negotiations over wages and other benefits broke down.
Samsung ranked first among all Korean companies on the Forbes Global 200 list for 2024, and the company accounts for about 22 percent of South Korea's gross domestic product. The company's executive chairman, Jay J. Lee, was named the richest man in Korea for 2024 according to Forbes magazine.
Parents charged and convicted for assault at school
Jennifer and James Crumbley - the parents of a Michigan teenager convicted of an attack that killed four students - have become the first parents in the United States to be charged and convicted of a mass shooting at a school.
Jennifer Crumbley was convicted of manslaughter in February, while in a separate trial James Crumbley was convicted of the same offense in March. Their successful prosecution set a national precedent, prompting Georgia officials in September to file criminal charges against the father of a 14-year-old school shooting suspect.
Pig kidney successfully transplanted into a human
In March, surgeons at Massachusetts General Hospital successfully transplanted a genetically modified pig kidney into a human for the first time. Although doctors were optimistic that the organ would function for at least two years, the pig kidney recipient died in May of medical complications unrelated to the transplant, according to the hospital.
Experts point out that the successful transplantation of tissues, cells and organs of animal origin into human treatments could bring huge benefits to the thousands of patients who need life-saving transplants each year.
A quadriplegic received a Neuralink chip
Noland Arbaug, a 30-year-old quadriplegic, has become the first human to receive a brain implant from Neuralink, Elon Musk's brain-computer networking startup.
Arbaug said in May that the dime-sized chip — made up of more than 1.000 tiny electrodes that sense and encode signals from a digital device — changed his life, giving him near-total control of his computer with his thoughts.
A Michelin star for a taco stand
A taco stand that has been a local favorite in Mexico City for nearly 60 years now has a new reason to celebrate: a Michelin star. Taquería El Califa de León, one of the thousands of taco stands in the Mexican capital, has become the first and only street food stand in the country to receive this prestigious award so far.
The stand is cash only and offers four types of tacos: three with beef and one with pork. After receiving the recognition of the Michelin guide, the waiting time for food at the stand increased to as much as three hours.
China brought samples from the dark side of the moon
In a watershed moment for China's ambitious space program, the Chang'e-6 lander collected rock samples from the dark side of the moon in June. The successful mission represents the latest step in China's growing presence in space as the country continues to develop its capabilities.
China plans to send astronauts to the moon by 2030 and hopes to build a base on the south pole of the moon by 2035.
Global IT collapse
A flaw in CrowdStrike's system update, which affected approximately 8,5 million Microsoft Windows users, caused a global IT collapse of unprecedented proportions, crippling systems at airlines, banks, hotels and hospitals and initially sparking fears of a cyberattack .
The July incident, which affected one in four Fortune 500 companies, highlighted the uncomfortable reality that many key organizations and agencies depend on just a handful of technology companies to manage critical infrastructure. Insurance companies estimate that a global IT collapse of a Fortune 500 company will cost more than five billion dollars.
The first female president of Mexico
Claudia Scheinbaum became the first woman and the first person of Jewish origin to head Mexico after she was sworn in on October 1. In the predominantly Catholic country, where women only got the right to vote in 1953, Scheinbaum won nearly 60 percent of the vote in the June election.
This was a historic election in which both of the main presidential candidates were women. Scheinbaum, the former mayor of Mexico City, now faces challenges, including fighting powerful and violent drug cartels and addressing the budget deficit.
Britain closed the last coal-fired thermal power plant
Britain closed the Ratcliffe-on-Soar coal-fired power station at the end of September, becoming the first major industrialized country to close its last coal-fired power station.
As industrialized nations work to reduce their reliance on coal to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to global warming, the move makes Britain one of the first and largest nations to replace coal with forms of renewable energy.
Nobel prize for writers from Korea
Han kang she became the first person from South Korea and the first woman from Asia to win the Nobel Prize for Literature in October.
Han is best known internationally for her surreal novel "Vegetarian Girl", which was first published in South Korea in 2007 and translated into English in 2015. The novel, about a woman who stops eating meat after disturbing dreams, also won the international Booker Prize in 2016.
Canada imposes restrictions on temporary residents
For the first time, Canada, known as one of the countries most open to immigration, announced plans to limit the entry of temporary residents, including international students, foreign workers and migrants seeking asylum.
This plan is the response of the Prime Minister's government Justin Trudeau to a labor market that has failed to keep pace with a rapidly growing population, as well as pressure on public services and the housing sector, since the government accepted a large influx of migrants as part of an ambitious 2022 workforce expansion strategy.
The crackdown on smartphones and social networks has begun
A global movement to protect childhood from smartphones and social media has gained momentum in 2024, amid mounting evidence linking these technologies to poor mental health. Australia and Florida, USA, have led the way in banning children from having social media accounts. It remains to be seen how this legislation will be enforced, but Norway has promised to follow suit.
Elsewhere in the world, France is testing a so-called "digital recess" in hundreds of schools, where children must put their phones away in locked lockers during the day. The Netherlands went a step further by banning the devices in all schools. No-phone policies have also been introduced in schools in England and Ireland.
Meanwhile, a growing number of UK nightclubs are banning phone cameras on the dance floor to encourage a return to the art of enjoying the moment. In France, bistro owners who said "no" to the phones claim the ban is "working perfectly".
A breakthrough in the fight against cancer
In July, the world's first personalized mRNA cancer vaccine entered clinical trials - a move that has been called "one of the most exciting advances in modern cancer therapy."
In other developments, a "milder" treatment for children with leukemia showed promising results, a new treatment for children with brain tumors was hailed as a "revolutionary step", while a new therapy for mesothelioma, a type of cancer that affects the lungs, extended the lives of patients in a few years. New tests promise to improve treatments for brain and prostate cancer.
"This has also been a good year for advances in cervical cancer research," said Dr Anna Kinsella of Cancer Research UK. "In May, our analysis showed that the HPV vaccine prevents cervical cancer among different social groups in England". Similar results were recorded in Scotland.
AI for good purposes
Artificial intelligence (AI) has brought some benefits to society in 2024, despite growing concerns about its potential impact on humanity. An AI tool that analyzes patients' medical records for hidden signs of cancer has helped British doctors detect more cases of the disease.
An AI-enhanced finger-prick test for Parkinson's disease has been shown to predict the disease seven years before symptoms appear, and the AI model has helped detect autism in children without the need for extensive assessments.
AI has also begun to revolutionize environmental monitoring, promising real-time analysis on everything from air and water quality to deforestation. However, the credibility of AI in the field of environmental protection remains questionable due to the large amount of energy required for its operation.
The European Union's AI law, which came into effect in August, tried to introduce some safeguards for this fast-moving technology. The pioneering legislation was welcomed by some experts, while others argued that it did not address key concerns about the development of artificial intelligence.
The first private space walk
Two private astronauts on the Polaris Dawn mission, a billionaire project Jared Ajzakman and SpaceX owner Elon Musk successfully performed the first commercial spacewalk in September.
Ajzakmen and SpaceX engineer Sarah Gillis they briefly left the SpaceX Crew Dragon spacecraft to test their spacesuits. This achievement represents the next frontier in space exploration, where private companies compete against each other in a new space race.
The birth of the earliest galaxies in the universe
Researchers from the University of Copenhagen in Denmark were able to observe the birth of the earliest galaxies using the James Webb Space Telescope, according to an article published in the journal Science in May. These three early galaxies formed between 13,3 and 13,4 billion years ago, when the universe was about 400 to 600 million years old.
Scientists believe that these new images of the universe in its early development could provide insight into the formation of the first star systems.
The orangutan was treated with medicinal herbs
In May, scientists announced that they had observed a male orangutan rubbing the leaves of a medicinal plant on a wound on his face in a forest reserve in Indonesia. Rakus, believed to be around 35 years old, lives in Sumatra's Gunung Leuser National Park and has been the subject of research observation for years.
He used the chewed leaves of the akar kuning (yellow root) plant - which people throughout Southeast Asia use to treat a variety of conditions, including malaria.
Swimwear show in Saudi Arabia
For the first time in Saudi Arabia, models in bikinis and swimwear walked the runway during Red Sea Fashion Week in May, held at the resort of St. Regis Red Sea Resort.
Plunging necklines and sarongs with thigh-high slits are still a novelty in a country that only five years ago required women to wear head coverings and loose clothing. According to the Saudi Fashion Commission, the country's fashion industry is expected to reach a value of around $2028 billion by 42.
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