Most Americans think that the year 2000 was the new century and millennium. They think this because all the television stations and advertisers and politicians say that it is so.
FACT: The man who created our calendar was a Roman of the old Roman Empire.
FACT: The Roman numeral system does not have an independent zero.(0)
FACT: This Roman named the 1st year of our calendar the Year ONE, not the Year Zero.
THEREFORE: Since one century is 100 years and the first year was the Year One, then 100 years later is the Year 100. This means that the 2nd Century was from the Year 101 to the Year 200. The 3rd Century was from the Year 201 to the Year 300, etc, etc.
NOW: The 20th Century was from the Year 1901 to the Year 2000. This is indisputable simple math!
Working the same way, the 1st Millennium started with the Year ONE. Since a millennium is 1000 years, then the 1st Millennium ends with the Year 1000. Therefore the 2nd Millennium started with the Year 1001 and ended with the Year 2000!
"The intelligent minority of this world will mark 1-January-2001 as the real beginning of the 21 century and the Third Millennium,"
--Arthur C. Clarke, author 2001: A Space Odyssey
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Updated links on Tuesday, November 1, 2005.