When do the 3rd Millennium and the 21st
Century start?
READ THIS FROM THE ROYAL OBSERVATORY AT
GREENWICH:
A millennium is an interval of 1000 years and
a century is an interval of 100 years. In the
Gregorian Calendar, which we use, there is no
year zero and the sequence of years near the
start runs as follows;
..., 3BC, 2BC, 1BC, 1AD, 2AD, ...
Because there is no year zero, the first year
of the calendar ends at the end of the year
named 1AD. By a similar argument 100 years
will only have elapsed at the end of the year
100AD. Since 2000AD is the 2,000th year of
the Christian calendar, it will be the last
year of the Second Millennium. So the 3rd
Millennium and the 21st Century will begin at
the same moment, namely zero hours UTC
(commonly known as GMT) on January 1st 2001.
We have received a great deal of e-mail
regarding the start of the 21st Century. It
is interesting to note that this is not the
first time that this controversy has arisen.
The Times must have received many letters
towards the end of 1799, since its editors
felt moved to make the following comments
about the beginning of the 19th Century:
"We have uniformly rejected all letters and
declined all discussion upon the question of
when the present century ends, as it is one
of the most absurd that can engage the public
attention, and we are astonished to find it
has been the subject of so much dispute,
since it appears plain. The present century
will not terminate till January 1, 1801,
unless it can be made out that 99 are 100...
It is a silly, childish discussion, and only
exposes the want of brains of those who
maintain a contrary opinion to that we have
stated"
The Times, 26 December 1799
AND THIS FROM THE US NAVAL
OBSERVATORY:
Years of the Gregorian calendar, which is
currently in use today, are counted from AD
1. Thus, the 1st century comprised the years
AD 1 through AD 100. The second century began
with AD 101 and continued through AD 200. By
extrapolation we find that the 20th century
comprises the years AD 1901-2000. Therefore,
the 21st century will begin with 1 January
2001 and continue through 31 December 2100.
Similarly, the 1st millennium comprised the
years AD 1-1000. The 2nd millennium comprises
the years AD 1001-2000. The 3rd millennium
will begin with AD 2001 and continue through
AD 3000.
AND THIS FROM THE WHITE HOUSE:
White House Millennium Council
When is the Millennium?
mil-len-ni-um (n). A span of one thousand
years.
According to the United States Naval
Observatory, the nation's official time
keeper, the end of the second millennium and
the beginning of the third will be reached on
January 1, 2001. This date is based on a
calendar created in Rome, in 526 Anno Domini
(A.D.), now recognized globally. Rather than
starting with the year zero, the calendar
begins with the date January 1, 1 A.D.
Consequently, the next millennium is not
officially reached until January 1, 2001.
Despite this fact, much of the world is
planning to celebrate on December 31, 1999,
when the calendars flips to the year 2000.
During the millennium year (January 1, 2000
to January 1, 2001), the White House will
lead a national Millennium Program that will
engage Americans in a wide variety of
activities and initiatives designed to
highlight our heritage and celebrate our
creativity.
{table of contents}
days 'til the year
2001: The Start of the New
Millennium.
The Royal
Observatory at
Greenwich | The US Naval
Observatory |
The White House