A woman weeps outside the Oxfordshire home of British pop singer George Michael in Goring, England, Dec. 26, 2016.Getty
By now, it's common knowledge: 2016 was the most hated year in quite some time. Log on to the internet on any given day and there are pleas for the year to end and for 2017 to take over before yet another horrible event takes place. Aside from the most divisive U.S. election in recent memory, the year was full of news that many considered unfortunate, including, but not limited to the 14 below.
Celebrity deaths: 2016 took away a multitude of celebrities both young and old. Some were easier to accept, like Zsa Zsa Gabor, who died in December at the age of 99. Others were a shock, like Anton Yelchin, who died at only 27 when his car rolled over him. Other celebrity deaths included Alan Thicke, Carrie Fisher, George Michael, Prince, Muhammad Ali, David Bowie, Alan Rickman and Florence Henderson.
Britain's division: A tumultuous campaign to leave the European Union ended in a shocking vote for Britain to exit, but not before a politician on the "remain" side was murdered. Jo Cox, a Labor Party politician, was shot and stabbed by a man heard shouting ‘Put Britain first’ in June.
Syria: The crisis in Aleppo escalated as pro-government forces clashed with rebel fighters. Humanitarian organizations reported civilians being killed in their homes, and the United Nations estimated that more than 80 civilians had been killed in a single day in December. Talks of a cease-fire repeatedly broke down and evacuations were continuously delayed.
Terrorism: The overall Global Terrorism Index Score deteriorated by six percent in 2016 due to the record levels of terrorism many countries experienced. In March, bombings at an airport and train station in Brussels killed at least 62 people. In August, a man plowed a truck into a crowd celebrating Bastille Day in Nice, France and killed scores of people.
People gather to remember the 84 people killed in a terrorist attack in Nice, France, Jul. 16, 2016.Getty
The refugee crisis: Syrians were forced to flee their homes with nowhere to go in 2016. By October, the UN Refugee Agency reported that 2016 was the deadliest year for migrants. By late December, the UN announced that the refugee death toll surpassed 5,000.
Pulse nightclub: A gunman who pledged allegiance to the Islamic State group killed 49 people and injured 53 more when he opened fire at a gay nightclub in Orlando, Florida, in June.
Lane Graves: Two-year-old Lane Graves was killed in front of his parents while playing at a beach at Disney World’s Grand Floridian Resort when an alligator pulled him into the water and drowned him in June. Graves’ body was found 16 hours later.
Zika: The mosquito-borne virus caused a massive panic as the 2016 Summer Olympics in Rio de Janeiro approached. It spread across the United States and the first locally acquired cases were confirmed in Florida. Babies continued to be born with microcephaly, an incurable condition in which their brains are abnormally small because of Zika.
Harambe:. A 17-year-old silverback gorilla at the Cincinnati Zoo was shot by authorities after a child fell into his enclosure. Americans continued to mourn Harambe almost a year later. The gorilla’s name even appeared as a write-in on some ballots for the presidential election.
Loki the Corgi: Instagram famous celebrity pooch Loki battled chronic kidney disease in 2016. Fans across the world tried to save Loki by raising more than $34,000 for his treatment, but he died in September at 6 years old.
A photo posted by Loki the Corgi _ (@lokistagram) on
Wildfires: Wildfires raged throughout Tennessee all year. The latest, in Gatlinburg in November, destroyed 2,400 buildings and killed 14 people before two juveniles were arrested for arson. The blazes were estimated to cost the state $500 million in damage.
Clowns: The creepy clown phenomenon spread from the U.S. to Europe. Sightings proliferated across the globe with more than one report of knife wielding, mask-clad clown attackers before the hysteria died down.
The opioid epidemic: The drug crisis hit an all-time high in 2016. Virginia declared a public health emergency as heroin overdose deaths increased by 334 percent and six people died in Philadelphia in one night from a single batch of heroin.
Fake news: Stephen Colbert famously dubbed 2016 “the post-truth era” after a proliferation of false news articles flooded the internet during the election. In December, a North Carolina man opened fire in a Washington pizzeria after a viral fake news article alleged that Hillary Clinton was running a child sex ring out of the restaurant.
