The 20th century started on 1 January 1901 and ended on 31st of December 2000, according to the Gregorian calendar. Many individuals confuse the 20th century and the so-called nineteen-hundreds (1900s).

However, a number of arguments have been put forward to justify the common usage. One advanced by Stephen Jay Gould is that the first decade consisted of only nine years, thus contradicting the definition of a decade (ten years). Another argument is that the astronomical year numbering system for years does have a year zero, the year generally referred to as 1 BC. In 2000 the International Organization for Standardization clarified ISO 8601 to use the astronomical year numbering system, which could be interpreted as retroactively endorsing all those who had celebrated the new century a few months earlier. Also, decades are almost always considered as starting with the "0" year and named accordingly ("1960s", etc.).

The term is also used to describe various historical periods that overlap with the calendar definition, most notably the Short twentieth century, which describes the 20th Century as spanning from 1914 to 1989 (or sometimes up to and including 1990 or 1991), relegating the pre-World War I 1900s into the 19th Century and putting the post-Soviet 1990s at the beginning of the 21st Century.

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RT @alliezog: RT @elliotschimel: 20th Century Fox sending an army of Lloyd Dobler lookalikes to Times Sq at 4 PM 2day http://ow.ly/zeK9
ajgreenb (Allison Greenberg) Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:33:37 -0000
RT @alliezog: RT @elliotschimel: 20th Century Fox sending an army of Lloyd Dobler lookalikes to Times Sq at 4 PM 2day http://ow.ly/zeK9
I really enjoy things like this: "The Golden Age of Video" http://bit.ly/2zE7Aa a celebration of 20th century TV and film
corygodbey (Cory Godbey) Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:30:48 -0000
I really enjoy things like this: "The Golden Age of Video" http://bit.ly/2zE7Aa a celebration of 20th century TV and film
Qk123: 20世妃少年-最終章-我們的旗幟 (20th Century Boys Chapter 3) -- 11月26日 上映 http://www.qk123.com/archives/12528
qk123 (qk123) Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:29:51 -0000
Qk123: 20世妃少年-最終章-我們的旗幟 (20th Century Boys Chapter 3) -- 11月26日 上映 http://www.qk123.com/archives/12528
RT @elliotschimel: 20th Century Fox will B sending an army of Lloyd Dobler lookalikes 2 descend upon Times Sq at 4 PM 2day http://ow.ly/zeK9
alliezog (Allie Herzog) Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:26:30 -0000
RT @elliotschimel: 20th Century Fox will B sending an army of Lloyd Dobler lookalikes 2 descend upon Times Sq at 4 PM 2day http://ow.ly/zeK9
@Ashleyxo21 Greek & Roman? 20th Century?
chandlerific (Mike Chandler) Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:25:50 -0000
@Ashleyxo21 Greek & Roman? 20th Century?
#educause09 listening to Warren Washington 20th & 21st-Century Climate Change: Computer Modeling, Societal Impacts, & Environmental Justice
jmhunt (jmhunt) Wed, 04 Nov 2009 18:23:01 -0000
#educause09 listening to Warren Washington 20th & 21st-Century Climate Change: Computer Modeling, Societal Impacts, & Environmental Justice

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