Life Timeline

For those born May 7, 2004.

Not your birthday? Find your timeline here.

2003
Before you were born

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

In January 2013, Rebecca Greenfield wrote that the future of the iTunes Store lies not in music, but in apps.

2004
Beginnings

Around the time you were born, Google launched Gmail.

In November 2011, James Fallows wrote about email hacks and how Google fought them.

2004
Year 19

You were born in May of 2004. This year, The Atlantic celebrates its 160th birthday, making it 9 times as old as you.

The year you were born, James Fallows wrote about the opportunities President George W. Bush lost when he decided to invade Iraq.

2005

NASA / JPL-Caltech / Space Science Institute

Touchdown in Outer Space

At 0 years old, you began learning about the world just as we were reaching the outer solar system.

With NASA's Cassini-Huygens mission in 2005, humans landed a probe in the outer reaches of the solar system for the first time, a moment Ross Andersen called the most glorious mission in the history of planetary science.

2008

Jason Reed / Reuters

A More Perfect Union

When you turned 4, you witnessed the election of Barack Obama.

The legacy of the first African American couple in the White House would be a major focus of The Atlantic.

2010
The halfway point

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

In February 2016, Katharine Schwab wrote about a new Instagram-friendly trend in art exhibitions.

2050
Forecasts

By the time you turn 45, 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: