History can be confusing when referring to decades (10 years), centuries (100 years), and millenniums (1,000 years).
The 20th Century deals with the 1900s. The 21st Century, the one we're in now, deals with the 2000s.
Remember... BC numbers count down toward AD numbers. This can get tricky when determining the order in which the centuries occurred. For example:
The 11th Century AD took place after the 5th Century AD and is considered "newer" in the eyes of history… but … the 11th Century BC took place before the 5th Century BC and is considered "older".
A millennium is a period of 1,000 years. We are living in the 3rd Millennium:
* The 1st Millennium ran from January 1, 1 AD until December 31, 1000 AD.
* The 2nd Millennium ran from January 1, 1001 AD until December 31, 2000 AD.
* The 3rd Millennium began on January 1, 2001 AD and will end on December 31, 3000 AD.
Many people think the 20th Century lasted from 1900-1999 and celebrated January 1, 2000 as the start of a new century. This was WRONG because there was no Year 0 in the 1st Century AD, which meant that century went from 1-100, not 0-99. We get this confused because decades start with the "0" year and are named as such (the "1980s").
Also, the first decade of a new century technically overlaps back into the preceding one. That means the 20th Century was really from 1901-2000.
Again, popular belief holds that the 3rd Millennium began on January 1, 2000. This is because most New Years' celebrations for the start of the 3rd Millennium were held at midnight on December 31, 1999... and because the first decade of the new millennium includes the year 2000. Follow that?
Use Dr. Hartnell's "Century Converter" to determine the years a century covers!
Here's how it works:
Subtract "1" from the century’s number and add the word "hundreds" to your answer.