Dashed left edge = started before January 2011 ·
Dashed right edge = ongoing beyond January 2011
Events in January 2011 9
1915 – 2011Sargent Shriver (1915-2011)Died 18 January 2011, aged 95The American statesman founded the Peace Corps under President Kennedy and later led the War on Poverty programs of the Johnson administration. He was the Democratic vice-presidential nominee in 1972. He died in Maryland after a long struggle with Alzheimer's disease.
2011Australian Open 2011Men: Novak Djokovic · Women: Kim Clijsters
2011Sandy Bridge — Intels manufacturing peakIntel introduces Sandy Bridge processors in January 2011 — the first Intel processors built on a 32nm process with an integrated graphics unit on the same die as the CPU. Sandy Bridge is widely considered the best Intel processor generation of the decade: excellent performance, reasonable power consumption and strong integrated graphics. The 22nm Ivy Bridge (2012) and 22nm Haswell (2013) follow with refinements. During this period Intel's manufacturing process is definitively ahead of TSMC and Samsung — a lead it is about to squander.
20112011: Sebastian VettelRed BullVettel dominated the season with 11 victories from 19 races, winning his second consecutive title in the Adrian Newey-designed Red Bull.
2011Arab SpringWave of pro-democracy uprisings across Middle EastThe Arab Spring began in December 2010 in Tunisia and spread across the Arab world in 2011, toppling governments in Tunisia, Egypt, Libya and Yemen and sparking civil war in Syria.
2011DriveNicolas Winding Refn used Nightcall for the opening credits of his film Drive, starring Ryan Gosling. The song and the film became inseparable in popular culture. Kavinsky later said watching the opening credits was 'one of the best moments of my life. I was a kid in Disneyland.'
2011 – 2012Royal Society and AAAS PresidentElected a Foreign Member of the Royal Society in 2011 and president of the American Association for the Advancement of Science in 2012, reflecting his stature as one of the leading figures in world science.
2011Tucson shootingAttempted assassination of Congresswoman Gabrielle GiffordsA gunman opened fire at a constituent event in Tucson, Arizona, critically wounding U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords and killing six people, including a federal judge and a nine-year-old girl. Giffords survived a gunshot wound to the head after extensive rehabilitation. The attack prompted national debate over political rhetoric and gun control.
2011Chengdu J-20 first flightChina's first stealth fighterChina's J-20 makes its first flight in Chengdu, making China the third country to fly a fifth-generation fighter.