Academy Award-winning actor and comedian Robin Williams committed suicide in August 2014 at age 63 after struggling with "severe depression" as well as dementia. Williams starred in a number of well-known films such as "Mrs. Doubtfire," "Dead Poets Society," "Good Will Hunting," and Disney's "Aladdin."
Also that year: mobile game Flappy Bird went viral, earning its creator, Dong Nguyen, $50,000 per day before Nguyen abruptly pulled the plug. Protests erupted in Ferguson, Missouri, over law enforcement's treatment of African-American residents after police officer Darren Wilson, who is white, fatally shot Michael Brown, an unarmed teenager. Russia controversially invaded and annexed the Crimean peninsula, a region of Ukraine, prompting criticism from the international community.
Top 10 trending searches in 2014:
- Robin Williams
- World Cup
- Ebola
- Malaysia Airlines
- Flappy Bird
- ALS ice bucket challenge
- ISIS
- Ferguson
- Frozen
- Ukraine