2012: A 5,125-year cycle known as the Long Count in the Mayan calendar comes to an end on December 21; some believe this will result in the end of the world.
2003 -- Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo, which is also known as Aum and Aleph, predicted the world would be destroyed by a nuclear war in 2003.
2000 -- A millennium apocalypse caused by the Y2K computer bug was believed to occur.
1999 -- A prediction by Nostradamus stating the "King of Terror" will come from the sky in "1999 and seven months" led to fears of the end.
1997 -- Heaven’s Gate, a cult founded by Marshall Applewhite, believed that the Earth was going to be "wiped clean" by aliens. Thirty-nine members of the Heaven's Gate cult committed mass suicide, believing their souls would be transported to a spaceship trailing the Hale-Bopp comet.
1914 -- Jehovah's Witnesses, a Christian denomination, prophesied that the world would end in 1914. Since then, Jehovah's Witnesses have predicted the end of the world several times.
1910 -- The impending arrival of Halley's Comet in 1910 -- the comet appears in the sky every 75-76 years -- stirred an apocalyptic scare. Some believed that the comet's tail contained a poisonous gas that would exterminate all life on Earth.
1843-44 -- Millerites, followers of the teachings of American religious enthusiast William Miller, believed that the second coming of Jesus Christ would occur in 1843-44 and that Earth would be engulfed in fire.
1666 -- Some feared that the world would end in the year 1666, due to its connection with the number of the beast of the biblical Book of Revelations.
500 -- Hippolytus of Rome, Sextus Julius Africanus, and Irenaeus believed Jesus would return in the year 500.
-- RFE/RL
2003 -- Japanese cult Aum Shinrikyo, which is also known as Aum and Aleph, predicted the world would be destroyed by a nuclear war in 2003.
2000 -- A millennium apocalypse caused by the Y2K computer bug was believed to occur.
1999 -- A prediction by Nostradamus stating the "King of Terror" will come from the sky in "1999 and seven months" led to fears of the end.
1997 -- Heaven’s Gate, a cult founded by Marshall Applewhite, believed that the Earth was going to be "wiped clean" by aliens. Thirty-nine members of the Heaven's Gate cult committed mass suicide, believing their souls would be transported to a spaceship trailing the Hale-Bopp comet.
1914 -- Jehovah's Witnesses, a Christian denomination, prophesied that the world would end in 1914. Since then, Jehovah's Witnesses have predicted the end of the world several times.
1910 -- The impending arrival of Halley's Comet in 1910 -- the comet appears in the sky every 75-76 years -- stirred an apocalyptic scare. Some believed that the comet's tail contained a poisonous gas that would exterminate all life on Earth.
1843-44 -- Millerites, followers of the teachings of American religious enthusiast William Miller, believed that the second coming of Jesus Christ would occur in 1843-44 and that Earth would be engulfed in fire.
1666 -- Some feared that the world would end in the year 1666, due to its connection with the number of the beast of the biblical Book of Revelations.
500 -- Hippolytus of Rome, Sextus Julius Africanus, and Irenaeus believed Jesus would return in the year 500.
-- RFE/RL
