Authors coined term ‘Millennials’ then made chilling 2026 prediction | US | News
A 1997 book by the authors who coined the term “Millennials” has resurfaced online following renewed claims pointing to a dramatic turning point in 2026.
Fourth TurningWritten by William Strauss and Neil Howe, he argues that American history progresses in repeated cycles lasting approximately 80 years, each ending with a period of intense turmoil described as the “Crisis.”
The book has gained renewed attention as online discussions highlight its proposed timeline for the current cycle, which supporters say marks a key milestone in the mid-2020s.
Strauss and Howe’s work on generation theory became known, with the coining of the term “Millennials” and the term now widely used to describe those born from the early 1980s onwards.
Central to their theory is the idea that history goes through four recurring phases: Rise, Awakening, Dissolution, and Crisis.
The authors argued that previous cycles in American history culminated in major national turning points such as the American Revolution, the Civil War and World War II, the Daily Mail reported.
Their work also suggested that a crisis phase that began in the mid-2000s would peak around 2020, followed by a resolution phase that would occur approximately six years later.
Strauss and Howe wrote: “If the Crisis catalyst occurs as planned around 2005, then the peak will occur around 2020 and the resolution will occur around 2026.
“What will America be like when it emerges from the Fourth Turning? History offers no guarantees.”
They also warned that such periods of upheaval could have serious consequences for nations, adding: “It could mean a permanent defeat from which our national innocence, and perhaps even our nation, may never recover.”
Although the book does not specifically predict events such as September 11, the financial crisis of 2008, or the Covid-19 pandemic, supporters argue that these events seem consistent with the book’s broader framework.
But critics say the theory is too flexible and argue that major historical events can be adapted to fit the cycle model after the event has occurred.
The authors also warned that periods of crisis in history often involved war, disease, political instability or economic collapse.
Strauss and Howe wrote: “History, as many Americans know from their own ancestors, offers countless examples of societies wiped off the map, subjugated, or beaten so badly that they descended into barbarism.”
Following Strauss’s death in 2007, Howe revisited and expanded the theory in his 2023 book. The Fourth Turn is Heresuggests that the current period of instability could extend into the 2030s.
Despite negative warnings, Howe argued that the theory ultimately suggested a cycle of renewal, with periods of crisis followed by reconstruction and renewed social cohesion.
