Nov. 9, 1989: Berlin Wall fell
April, 1989: Tiananmen Square
Dec. 31, 2007: European Union drops all borders (EU countries have essentially become like U.S. states)
Jan. 20, 2009: Barack Obama sworn in as US President
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I have thought about all of those, but they don't rise to the same level as the moon landing.
EDIT: The Berlin Wall would eventually come down at some point even if the Soviet Union was not on the verge of collapse. Tiananmen Square was a tragic event, but these types of events happen periodically. The European Union is the closest that comes to what I was looking for. Obama's election was just another day for me.
What I am looking for are things that people thought were truely impossible, something so remarkable that it took your breath away, either for the good or the bad.
The Berlin Wall falling was much more important than the moon landing. The latter inspired us, but the former changed everything for a huge portion of the world.
You could say the honour perhaps should perhaps lie with either:
Sputnik I, Sputnik II, Vostok I (or Wright Brothers/Kitty Hawk I guess)
- but I would contend that in a few thousand years time (and the fall of a few more empires) - the Berlin Wall will lose it's significance
I'd say the EU was the least like it...
The Moon Landing / Space Race was all about the pomp and drama - it was a race. I'd say the Berlin Wall had that level of impact.
The EU? No one really noticed that - and their still arguing over it.
I suppose it depends on how we define a "defining moment".
I will give you that, but think about what it took to get man to the moon. You can say without a doubt that nothing like that had ever been done before. That's why I say the EU was almost there, but it doesn't meet the "never been done before" level.
EDIT: Before man on the moon, I think the event that previously rose to that same level was the first atomic bomb. Before that, Kitty Hawk. That's the level of significance that I am talking about, the moments that make you go "holy crap!" Now that I think about it, the EU is not even close. Sputnik doesn't even rise to the level of significance I am looking for, though it certainly comes close.
A lot of the things that amaze me - 500$ 2.5Ghz PCs for one - took decades to happen.