Life Timeline

For those born May 5, 1982.

Not your birthday? Find your timeline here.

1981
Before you were born

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

In August 2011, Leah Carroll talked with MTV News anchor Kurt Loder on the network's 30th birthday.

1982
Year 40

You were born in May of 1982. This year, The Atlantic celebrates its 160th birthday, making it 4 times as old as you.

The year you were born, George L. Kelling and James Q. Wilson wrote about the theory behind "broken windows" policing, and how the practice could make communities safer.

1982
Beginnings

Around the time you were born, Argentina invaded the Falkland Islands, a British territory.

In March 2012, Alan Taylor wrote about the 30th anniversary of the start of the Falklands War.

1995

Paramount

The teenage years

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

Clueless was released in 1995.

1999
Half a life ago

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

In December 2011, Jim Tankersley wrote about how the euro's failure could cause another American recession.

2000
Coming of age

Around your 18th birthday, federal agents seized 6-year-old Elián González from his relatives' home in Miami, Florida.

In May 2001, William Schneider discussed the impact the Elián González case had on the outcome of the 2000 presidential election.

2001

Jason Redmond / AP

The 9/11 Attacks

At 19 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.

2010

Goran Tomasevic / Reuters

The Arab Spring

When you turned 28, 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.

2015

Jordan Strauss / Invision / AP

Contemporaries

In 2015, Eddie Redmayne, who was born the same year as you, won Golden Globe and Academy Awards for his role in the Stephen Hawking biopic The Theory of Everything.

In November 2015, Katie Kilenny wrote about The Theory of Everything and Felicity Jones's less-talked-about performance as Jane Wilde.

2050
Forecasts

By the time you turn 67, China is predicted to be the world's largest economy.

In February 2012, Charles A. Kupchan wrote about the world's emerging economies, and how the world will look by 2050.

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: