Life Timeline

For those born April 12, 1995.

Not your birthday? Find your timeline here.

1994
Before you were born

You're one of the first people who's never lived in a world without Amazon.

In March 2016, Ian Bogost wrote about the next stage in Amazon's commercial revolution.

1995
Beginnings

Around the time you were born, a car bomb exploded outside a federal building in Oklahoma City, killing 168 people.

In June 2012, Andrew Cohen wrote about closure for victims after the execution of bomber Timothy McVeigh.

1995
Year 28

You were born in April of 1995. This year, The Atlantic celebrates its 160th birthday, making it 6 times as old as you.

The year you were born, Gina Maranto wrote about women who put off trying to have children until their mid-thirties, and the reasons society should enable them to delay their careers instead of their childbearing.

2001

Jason Redmond / AP

The 9/11 Attacks

At 6 years old, you were part of the generation most shaped by 9/11.

The conflicts and displacements touched off around the world by the attacks have been reverberating for the majority of your life. “This ‘war’ [on terrorism] will never be over,” wrote James Fallows, a few years after the towers fell.

2005
Half a life ago

Your life can be divided into two halves: before and after YouTube.

In June 2013, Michael Anthony Adams wrote about how the video-sharing service has helped fill a void in his life—and the lives of many other young viewers.

2008

ABC

The teenage years

This is what Hollywood thought teenagers looked like the year you became one.

Modern Family premiered in 2008.

2010

Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

The Arab Spring

When you turned 15, you witnessed the revolutionary fervor that transformed the Arab world in 2010, a movement led by your generation.

When 26-year-old Mohamed Bouazizi set himself on fire, he ignited a tinderbox of protests that continue to roil the Middle East, and kindled the beginnings of democracy in Tunisia.

2013
Coming of age

Around your 18th birthday, the Boston Marathon bombings killed three and injured hundreds.

In April 2013, Bruce Schneier wrote about how readers should respond to the bombings.

2016

Bob Donnan / USA TODAY Sports / Reuters

Contemporaries

In 2016, Zach LaVine, who was born the same year as you, won the NBA Slam Dunk Contest for the second consecutive year.

In October 2016, Robert O'Connell offered fans advice about how to enjoy the ongoing NBA season, despite its predictable conclusion.

2035
Forecasts

By the time you turn 39, NASA says it will send humans to explore Mars.

In August 2015, Alakananda Mookerjee wrote about what new Mars colonists would be able to eat—and how they'd grow it.

Today
History in the making

History is happening all around you, every day.

The Atlantic is here to help you process it, in stories like these: