2nd millennium

The second millennium is a period of time that began on January 1, 1001 and ended on December 31, 2000 of the Gregorian calendar. It was the second period of one thousand years in the Anno Domini or Common Era.

It encompassed the High and Late Middle Ages, the Mongol Empire, the Renaissance, the Baroque era, the early Modern Age, the age of Enlightenment, the age of colonialism, industrialization, the rise of nation states, and the 20th century with the impact of science, widespread education, and universal health care and vaccinations in many nations. The centuries of expanding large-scale warfare with high-tech weaponry (of the World Wars and nuclear bombs) were offset by growing peace movements, the United Nations, plus doctors and health workers crossing borders to treat injuries and disease, and the return of the Olympics as contest without combat.

Scientists prevailed in explaining intellectual freedom; humans took their first steps on the Moon during the 20th century; and new technology was developed by governments, industry, and academia across the world, with education shared by many international conferences and journals. The development of movable type, radio, television, and the internet spread information worldwide, within minutes, in audio, video, and print-image format to inform, educate and entertain billions of people by the end of the 20th century.