Looking back, 2013 has proven to be a turbulent, unsettling year. Americans were rocked by the terror attack at the Boston Marathon that left three dead and more than 250 wounded. In Bangladesh, a garment factory collapsed, taking with it the lives of more than 1000 workers in one of the worst industrial disasters in history. In the Middle East, the promise of the Arab Spring seemed extinguished by the military overthrow of Egypt’s first democratically elected President and the killing of hundreds of Egyptians in the streets of Cairo.
This year also marked a difficult start to Barack Obama’s second term in office, facing numerous challenges domestically and abroad. The murder trial of George Zimmerman, meanwhile – which ended in acquittal — and the continued debates on gay marriage reminded us that, half a century after the March on Washington and JFK’s assassination, the issues of gun violence and civil rights are still very much with us.
( TIME Picks the Best Photos of 2013 )
It was a year of departures and arrivals: In England, the country bid farewell to its “Iron Lady,” Margaret Thatcher, and a “royal baby” George arrived. And at the Vatican, the troubled reign of Pope Benedict came to a close with his surprise resignation, Jorge Mario Bergoglio (now Pope Francis) was elected as the first Pontiff to reign from the Americas.
These were just some of the countless topics that touched the world’s collective conscious in 2013. We hope this edition of 365: A Year in Pictures marks the past as history and beckons a welcome step into 2014.
