45 Moments That Made 2014 Unforgettable

Protests rocked Ukraine after President Viktor Yanukovych's decision to reject a trade deal with the European Union. [January]

Kiev Square before and during the revolution.
Sean Azzariti, a veteran of the Iraq war, makes the first legal recreational marijuana purchase in Colorado. [January]
Christopher Schaeffer became the first Pastafarian politician sworn into office, while wearing a colander on is head. The atheist Church of the Flying Spaghetti Monster opposes the teaching of intelligent design and creationism in public schools. [January]
Protesters take to the streets against Government corruption in Thailand. The unrest eventually led to the downfall of the Prime Minister and a coup d'état by the military. [February]
With former President Yanukovych fleeing the country and the installation of a transitional Government, the Ukrainian public seize the former President's multi-million dollar mansion. [February]

The Winter Olympics hosted in Sochi, Russia, wow the world despite a few early issues. [February]

After Guinea reported the first case of Ebola, the disease quickly spread to Liberia and Sierra Leone. Though these three countries are the worst affected, Ebola has also entered the United States, Spain, Mali, Senegal and Nigeria. So far, nearly 8,000 people have died. [March]
A Ukrainian soldier, trapped in his base during the Russian annexation of Crimea is visited by his daughter. [March]

A distraught relative waits by a wall of condolences for news on missing flight MH370, after Malaysia's prime minister announced there was no hope of finding the passengers alive. The search continues. [March]
Following the abduction of 276 girls from a school in Nigeria by militant group Boko Haram, the 'Bring Back Our Girls' campaign went global. [April]


The Sewol ferry sinks in South Korea, with hundreds of school children on board. In all, 304 passengers died amid claims that the captain and crew abandoned the ship. [April]

Michael Sam learns that he will become the first publicly gay player to be drafted in the NFL on live television. [May]
Pope Francis blesses a disabled man as he kisses and rubs the head of the 77-year-old. Francis has continued to lead one of the most progressive papacies in history, taking action against child abuse and climate change, defending homosexuality as well as encouraging diplomatic talks between the USA and Cuba. [May]
ISIS captures Mosul, Iraq's second largest city, sending thousands fleeing amid fear of religious prosecution. [June]
The 'ALS Ice Bucket' challenge went viral, leaving millions wet and raising $100 million to help combat Lou Gehrig's disease. [June]

The World Cup took place in Brazil despite the belief by many that a country where so many live in poverty couldn't afford the games. It is believed that 250,000 people were evicted from their homes to build the stadiums. [June]

Explosions rock the Gaza Strip as Israel launched a military operation in the area to destroy 'terror tunnels', killing 2,200 people. [July]

The US embassy in Berlin is illuminated by protesters amid claims that the NSA tapped the phone of German Chancellor Angela Merkel. [July]
A convoy of hearses in the Netherlands carries the unidentified bodies of some of the 298 people who died when flight MH17 was shot down over Ukraine. The civilians on board were flying over an area where Ukrainian troops were fighting pro-Russian rebels. Both blamed each other. [July]

Protests in Ferguson spread to other areas in the US following the police shooting of teenager Michael Brown. [August]

Uganda holds its first Gay Pride parades after courts abolished anti-gay laws. [August]

Robin William's star on the walk of fame is adorned with flowers and candles following his death. [August]
ISIS murder their first Western hostage, American journalist James Foley. In the months that followed, four more were killed. [August]
Among them was Alan Henning, a British aid worker who had gone to Syria to deliver food and supplies to refugees. He had refused to sleep in a hotel during his journey so that more money could be spent buying supplies. [October]
888,246 ceramic poppies flow from the Tower of London to remember the British soldiers that died during the Great War, 100 years on from the beginning of World War One. [August]

California continues to suffer from the worst drought in a millennium. These images are of Lake Oroville in 2011 and 2014. [August]

Vivian Boyack and Alice Dubes from Iowa, age 91 and 90, marry after 72 years together. The two first met in 1947. Courts in Alaska, Arizona, Idaho, Indiana, Kansas, Montana, Nevada, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Utah, Virginia, West Virginia, Wisconsin, Wyoming, and Illinois all struck down gay-marriage bans this year, making it legal in 35 of the 50 states. [September]
Hundreds of thousands of protesters take to the streets of Hong Kong to demand the right to elect the city's leader without interference from Beijing. [September]

The Duke and Duchess of Cambridge announce their second pregnancy. [September]
Rescue workers climb to an ash-covered shrine near the summit of Mt. Ontake, Japan, which erupted and killed 56 people. [September]
Scotland narrowly votes to remain part of the United Kingdom in an Independence Referendum. [September]
Every year since the 9/11 attacks, Elizabeth Stringer Keefe has been trying find the owners of this photo, found in the rubble of the World Trade Center. This year she finally found them through Twitter. Fred Mahe, the groom, worked on the 77th floor of the second tower and after seeing the tweet confirmed that all six people were alive and well. [September]

Frustrated by a slow response from officials at Columbia University to her alleged sexual assault, student Emma Sulkowicz announced she would carry her mattress everywhere she went until action was taken. [September]

Tim Cook, CEO of Apple publicly announced that he was homosexual. In a letter to Business Week, he said, "I’m proud to be gay, and I consider being gay among the greatest gifts God has given me." [October]

Malala Yousafzai won the Nobel Peace Prize. Despite being shot in the head by a Taliban hit squad, the 17-year-old from Pakistan continues to campaign at the UN against violence, poverty and advocating for more access to education for women and girls. [October]

Bodyguards protect one of six remaining Northern White Rhinos after the death of one of the last two breeding males in the world. [October]

A photo of Comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko from the Rosetta spacecraft. It travelled 3 billion miles to meet the tiny 2.5 mile long comet and successfully landed the Philae probe on it's surface. We learnt that comets were most likely not the source of Earth's water. [November]



A sea of flowers occupy downtown Sydney to mourn the two hostages killed during the siege of a Sydney coffee shop. [December]


Alan Gross, an American worker imprisoned in Cuba since 2009, takes a selfie with his wife following his release. President Obama and Raúl Castro have announced plans to end cold war relationships between the two countries. [December]

Indian and Pakistani mothers and children call for peace after a Taliban attack on a Peshawar school killed 141 children and teachers. [December]