{{other uses, Centennial (disambiguation), Centenary (disambiguation) A centennial, or centenary in

British English British English (BrE, en-GB, or BE) is, according to Lexico, Oxford Dictionaries, "English language, English as used in Great Britain, as distinct from that used elsewhere". More narrowly, it can refer specifically to the English language in ...

, is a 100th

anniversary An anniversary is the date on which an event took place or an institution was founded in a previous year, and may also refer to the commemoration or celebration of that event. The word was first used for Catholic feasts to commemorate saints ...

or otherwise relates to a

century A century is a period of 100 years. Centuries are numbered ordinally in English and many other languages. The word ''century'' comes from the Latin ''centum'', meaning ''one hundred''. ''Century'' is sometimes abbreviated as c. A centennial or ...

, a period of 100 years.

Notable events

Notable centennial events at a national or world-level include: *

Centennial Exhibition The Centennial International Exhibition of 1876, the first official World's Fair to be held in the United States, was held in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, from May 10 to November 10, 1876, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the signing of the ...

, 1876,

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the sixth-largest city in the U.S., the second-largest city in both the Northeast megalopolis and Mid-Atlantic regions after New York City. Sinc ...

, Pennsylvania. First official

World's Fair A world's fair, also known as a universal exhibition or an expo, is a large international exhibition designed to showcase the achievements of nations. These exhibitions vary in character and are held in different parts of the world at a specif ...

in the United States, celebrating the 100th anniversary of the signing of the

Declaration of Independence A declaration of independence or declaration of statehood or proclamation of independence is an assertion by a polity in a defined territory that it is independent and constitutes a state. Such places are usually declared from part or all of the ...

in Philadelphia. About 10 million visitors attended, equivalent to about 20% of the population of the United States at the time. The exhibition ran from May 10, 1876, to November 10, 1876. (It included a

monorail A monorail (from "mono", meaning "one", and "rail") is a railway in which the track consists of a single rail or a beam. Colloquially, the term "monorail" is often used to describe any form of elevated rail or people mover. More accurately, ...

.) *

New Zealand Centennial Exhibition The New Zealand Centennial Exhibition took place over six months from Wednesday 8 November 1939 until 4 May 1940. It celebrated one hundred years since the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi in 1840 and the subsequent mass European settlement of ...

, 1939–1940, celebrated one hundred years since the signing of the

Treaty of Waitangi The Treaty of Waitangi ( mi, Te Tiriti o Waitangi) is a document of central importance to the history, to the political constitution of the state, and to the national mythos of New Zealand. It has played a major role in the treatment of the M ...

in 1840 and the subsequent mass European settlement of New Zealand. 2,641,043 (2.6 million) visitors attended the exhibition, which ran from 8 November 1939 until 4 May 1940. * 1967 International and Universal Exposition, better known as ''Expo 67'', celebrating Canada's centennial year. This "Category One"

held in

Montreal, Quebec Montreal ( ; officially Montréal, ) is the second-most populous city in Canada and most populous city in the Canadian province of Quebec. Founded in 1642 as '' Ville-Marie'', or "City of Mary", it is named after Mount Royal, the triple-pea ...

, Canada, from April 27 to October 29, 1967. Sixty-two nations participated, and it set the single-day attendance record for a world's fair, with 569,500 visitors on its third day. Official attendance was 50,306,648. Was endpoint of the

Centennial Voyageur Canoe Pageant The Centennial Voyageur Canoe Pageant was a canoe race started on May 24, 1967 in the Rocky Mountains by ten teams representing eight provinces and the Yukon Territory and Northwest Territories. Prince Edward Island and Newfoundland, the two re ...

, the longest canoe race in history. (Its monorail was a major attraction.) *

1996 Summer Olympics The 1996 Summer Olympics (officially the Games of the XXVI Olympiad, also known as Atlanta 1996 and commonly referred to as the Centennial Olympic Games) were an international multi-sport event held from July 19 to August 4, 1996, in Atlanta, ...

, 100th anniversary of the 1st Summer Olympics in 1896. *

Philippine Centennial The Philippine Centennial was a series of celebrations by the Philippine government to primarily commemorate the 100th anniversary of the proclamation of Philippine Independence on June 12, 1898. Background The Philippine Centennial primarily co ...

, 100th anniversary of the proclamation of Philippine Independence. * 100th Anniversary of the Xinhai Revolution and Republic of China *

100th Anniversary of the Independence of Albania The 100th Anniversary of the Independence of Albania was a yearlong celebration in 2012 when Albanians celebrated the 100th anniversary of establishing independent Albania, the first Albanian state in modern history. Celebration In Albania ...

First World War centenary The First World War centenary was the centenary of the First World War, which began on 28 July 2014 with a series of Centenary of the outbreak of World War I, commemorations of the outbreak of the war organised across the continent of Europe, and ...

, started in 2014 with commemorations of the outbreak of the war and concluded in 2018 with Armistice centennial commemorations. * 100th Anniversary of the Independence of Finland * 100th Anniversary of the Chinese Communist Party (CPC)

Other events

Selected regional or other centennial events include:

Argentina

Argentina Centennial The Argentina Centennial was celebrated on May 25, 1910. It was the 100th anniversary of the May Revolution, when viceroy Baltasar Hidalgo de Cisneros was ousted from office and replaced with the Primera Junta, the first national government. Co ...

(1910)

Australia

Centenary of Western Australia In 1929, Western Australia (WA) celebrated the centenary of the founding of Perth and the establishment of the Swan River Colony, the first permanent European settlement in WA. A variety of events were run in Perth, regional areas throughout the ...

, in 1929, which included the

Western Australian Centenary Air Race __NOTOC__ The Western Australian Centenary Air Race (also known as the East-West Air Race) was a air race held in 1929 from Sydney to Perth to commemorate the centenary of Western Australia. The £1000 handicap winner was Horrie Miller and th ...

across Australia. *

1934 Centenary of Melbourne The Melbourne Centenary was a 1934 centennial celebration of the founding of the city of Melbourne, Australia. As Victoria reeled from the severe economic and social fracturing of the Great Depression, its Centenary celebrated progress and co ...

Canada

Canadian Centennial The Canadian Centennial was a yearlong celebration held in 1967 to celebrate the 100th anniversary of Canadian Confederation. Celebrations in Canada occurred throughout the year but culminated on Dominion Day, July 1, 1967. Commemorative coins w ...

(1967) *

Centennial of the City of Toronto The Centennial of the City of Toronto was celebrated in 1934, commemorating the incorporation of York into the City of Toronto. The celebrations included numerous events, exhibitions, and commemorations. Of the most modern relevance is the "Toront ...

United States

American Civil War Centennial The American Civil War Centennial was the official United States commemoration of the American Civil War, also known as the ''War Between the States''. Commemoration activities began in 1957, four years prior to the 100th anniversary of the comm ...

Oregon Centennial The Oregon Centennial was the 100th anniversary of the statehood of the U.S. state of Oregon. The day of the anniversary was February 14, 1959, but centennial events took place throughout the year. Festivities were held all over the state, with the ...

Texas Centennial Exposition The Texas Centennial Exposition was a world's fair presented from June 6 to November 29, 1936, at Fair Park, Dallas, Texas. A celebration of the 100th anniversary of Texas's independence from Mexico in 1836, it also celebrated Texas and Western Am ...

Ireland

Decade of Centenaries The revolutionary period in Irish history was the period in the 1910s and early 1920s when Irish nationalism, Irish nationalist opinion shifted from the Irish Home Rule movement, Home Rule-supporting Irish Parliamentary Party to the Irish rep ...