February 2
February 2
Actor Philip Seymour Hoffman dies at age 46
On February 2, 2014, Philip Seymour Hoffman, considered one of the most talented and versatile actors of his generation, dies of an accidental drug overdose at age 46 in New…
A Year In History: 2014
This Year in History:
2014
Discover what happened in this year with HISTORY’s summaries of major events, anniversaries, famous births and notable deaths.
February 10
February 10
Iconic child star Shirley Temple dies at 85
On February 10, 2014, Shirley Temple Black, who as a child in the 1930s became one of Hollywood’s most successful stars, dies at her Woodside, California, home at age 85.…
February 22
February 22
‘El Chapo,’ the world’s most‑wanted drug kingpin, is captured in Mexico
On February 22, 2014, one of the world’s most‑wanted criminals, Joaquin “El Chapo” (“Shorty”) Guzmán Loera, head of the Sinaloa cartel, the world’s biggest drug trafficking organization, is arrested in…
February 23
February 23
Jason Collins, first openly gay athlete to play in NBA, makes U.S. sports history
On February 23, 2014, Brooklyn Nets center Jason Collins becomes the first openly gay athlete to play in a game in the United States’ four major professional leagues. The 35‑year‑old…
March 8
March 8
Malaysia Airlines flight vanishes with more than 200 people aboard
On March 8, 2014, Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, carrying 227 passengers and 12 crew members, loses contact with air traffic control less than an hour after taking off from Kuala…
March 22
March 22
Mudslide in Washington state kills more than 40 people
On March 22, 2014, 43 people die when a portion of a hill suddenly collapses and buries a neighborhood in the small community of Oso, Washington, some 55 miles northeast…
April 18
April 18
Mt. Everest sees its single deadliest day
On April 18, 2014, 16 Nepali mountaineering guides, most of them ethnic Sherpas, are killed by an avalanche on Mt. Everest. It was the single deadliest accident in the history…
April 25
April 25
The Flint water crisis begins
On April 25, 2014 officials from Flint, Michigan switched the city’s water supply to the Flint River as a cost‑cutting measure for the struggling city. In doing so, they unwittingly…
May 16
May 16
Pioneering TV journalist Barbara Walters signs off
On May 16, 2014, broadcast journalist and TV personality Barbara Walters retires from ABC News and as co‑host of the daytime program “The View.” In a landmark career that spanned…
May 29
May 29
Laverne Cox becomes first transgender person to appear on the cover of TIME magazine
On May 29, 2014, Laverne Cox, the transgender actor and advocate best known for her Emmy‑winning performance on Orange Is the New Black, appears on the cover of TIME magazine’s June…
June 19
June 19
Felipe VI becomes king of Spain after Juan Carlos I abdicates
When the clock struck midnight on June 19, 2014, King Juan Carlos I of Spain’s nearly 40‑year reign came to an end. Two weeks after abdicating the Spanish throne amidst…
July 17
July 17
Eric Garner dies in NYPD chokehold
On July 17, 2014, two New York Police Department officers confront Eric Garner, a 43‑year‑old African American father of six, for illegally selling cigarettes. Garner dies after losing consciousness as…
July 17
July 17
Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 shot down over the Ukraine‑Russia border
On July 17, halfway through a flight from Amsterdam to Malaysia, a passenger plane was shot down over the war‑torn Ukraine‑Russia Border. All 298 people on board, most of whom…
August 9
August 9
Michael Brown is killed by a police officer in Ferguson, Missouri
On August 9, 2014, police officer Darren Wilson shoots and kills Michael Brown, an unarmed Black teenager, in Ferguson, Missouri, a suburb of St. Louis. Protests and riots ensue in…
August 11
August 11
Oscar‑winning actor Robin Williams dies at 63
Robin Williams, the prolific Oscar‑winning actor and comedian, died by suicide on August 11, 2014. He was 63. On the big screen, Williams, who was born in Chicago in 1951,…
August 12
August 12
Hollywood icon Lauren Bacall dies
On August 12, 2014, actress Lauren Bacall, who shot to fame in her debut film, 1944’s “To Have and Have Not,” in which she appeared opposite Humphrey Bogart, with whom…
September 4
September 4
Comedy legend Joan Rivers dies
On September 4, 2014, Joan Rivers, one of the best‑known comedians of her era, dies at age 81 in a New York City hospital, a week after she went into…
October 3
October 3
“Serial” debuts, inaugurating the podcast boom
The podcast Serial, a spinoff of the long‑running radio program This American Life, debuts on October 3, 2014, and quickly becomes a smash hit. Producer Sarah Koenig conceived of the show…
October 8
October 8
First person in U.S. diagnosed with Ebola dies
On October 8, 2014, Thomas Eric Duncan, the first person diagnosed with a case of the Ebola Virus Disease in the U.S., dies at age 42 at Texas Health Presbyterian…
November 3
November 3
One World Trade Center officially opens in New York City, on the site of the Twin Towers
One World Trade Center officially opens in Manhattan on November 3, 2014. The new tower, along with the rest of the World Trade Center complex, replaced the Twin Towers and surrounding…
