World History Timeline

Timeline

47 events

17th century

  1. May 1607★★★★★

    Founding of Jamestown

    English colonists establish Jamestown in Virginia, the first permanent English settlement in North America.

    ExplorationPolitics· United States, United Kingdom
  2. 1692 – 1693★★★★★

    Salem witch trials

    In colonial Massachusetts, more than 200 people are accused of witchcraft and 19 are hanged.

    ReligionPolitics· United States

18th century

  1. March 5, 1770★★★★★

    Boston Massacre

    British soldiers fire into a crowd in Boston, killing five people and heightening tensions between the colonies and Britain.

    Politics· United States, United Kingdom
  2. December 16, 1773★★★★★

    Boston Tea Party

    Colonists protesting British taxation dump an entire shipment of East India Company tea into Boston Harbor.

    PoliticsRevolution· United States, United Kingdom
  3. July 4, 1776★★★★★

    United States Declaration of Independence

    The Continental Congress adopts the Declaration of Independence, proclaiming the 13 colonies free from Britain.

    PoliticsRevolution· United States, United Kingdom
  4. September 17, 1787★★★★★

    Signing of the United States Constitution

    The Constitutional Convention in Philadelphia adopts and signs the US Constitution, creating a federal government with separation of powers.

    Politics· United States

19th century

  1. April 30, 1803★★★★★

    Louisiana Purchase

    The United States buys the vast Louisiana territory from France, roughly doubling the size of the country.

    TreatyPolitics· United States, France
  2. December 2, 1823★★★★★

    Monroe Doctrine

    President James Monroe declares that the United States will oppose any further European colonization or intervention in the Americas.

    Politics· United States
  3. May 28, 1830★★★★★

    Indian Removal Act

    President Andrew Jackson signs a law enabling the forced relocation of Native American nations west of the Mississippi, leading to the Trail of Tears.

    Politics· United States
  4. July 19, 1848 – July 20, 1848★★★★★

    Seneca Falls Convention

    The first women's rights convention in the United States adopts the Declaration of Sentiments, including a demand for women's suffrage.

    Politics· United States
  5. July 8, 1853★★★★★

    Perry Expedition arrives in Japan

    U.S. Commodore Matthew Perry's 'Black Ships' enter Edo Bay, pressing Japan to end its isolation policy.

    PoliticsExploration· Japan, United States
  6. January 1, 1863★★★★★

    Emancipation Proclamation

    President Lincoln proclaims freedom for enslaved people in the Confederate states in rebellion.

    Politics· United States
  7. November 19, 1863★★★★★

    Gettysburg Address

    Abraham Lincoln delivers a brief speech dedicating the military cemetery at Gettysburg, affirming the ideals of liberty and equality.

    Politics· United States
  8. April 14, 1865★★★★★

    Assassination of Abraham Lincoln

    John Wilkes Booth shoots President Lincoln at Ford's Theatre days after the Civil War effectively ends; Lincoln dies the next morning.

    PoliticsDeath· United States

20th century

  3. February 4, 1945 – February 11, 1945★★★★★

    Yalta Conference

    Roosevelt, Churchill and Stalin meet at Yalta to discuss the post-war reorganisation of Europe and the world.

    PoliticsTreaty· Ukraine, United States, United Kingdom, Russia
  4. October 24, 1945★★★★★

    United Nations founded

    The UN Charter enters into force after ratification by a majority of signatories.

    PoliticsTreaty· United States
  5. November 20, 1945 – October 1, 1946★★★★★

    Nuremberg trials

    An international military tribunal tries leading Nazi figures for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

    Politics· Germany, United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia
  6. March 5, 1946★★★★★

    Churchill's "Iron Curtain" speech

    At Fulton, Missouri, Winston Churchill declares that an "iron curtain" has descended across Europe, a symbolic marker of the early Cold War.

    Politics· United Kingdom, United States
  8. April 3, 1948★★★★★

    Marshall Plan

    The United States enacts a large-scale economic aid programme to rebuild Western European economies after the Second World War.

    EconomyPolitics· United States, United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Netherlands
  9. June 24, 1948 – May 12, 1949★★★★★

    Berlin Blockade and Airlift

    The Soviet Union blocks road and rail access to West Berlin; the Western Allies respond by supplying the city through an airlift for almost a year.

    Politics· Germany, Russia, United States, United Kingdom, France
  10. April 4, 1949★★★★★

    NATO founded

    Twelve North American and Western European countries sign the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, creating the NATO collective defence alliance.

    TreatyPolitics· United States, Canada, United Kingdom, France, Belgium, Netherlands, Luxembourg, Italy, Portugal, Norway, Denmark, Iceland
  11. 1954 – 1955★★★★★

    Operation Passage to Freedom

    During the 300-day free-movement period after the Geneva Accords, roughly 800,000 to one million people, many of them Catholics, move from North to South Vietnam.

    Politics· Vietnam, United States, France
  12. May 17, 1954★★★★★

    Brown v. Board of Education ruling

    The US Supreme Court rules that racial segregation in public schools is unconstitutional.

    Politics· United States
  13. December 1, 1955 – December 1956★★★★★

    Rosa Parks and the Montgomery bus boycott

    Rosa Parks is arrested for refusing to give up her seat to a white passenger, sparking a year-long bus boycott in Montgomery, Alabama.

    Politics· United States
  14. October 16, 1962 – October 28, 1962★★★★★

    Cuban Missile Crisis

    A 13-day standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union over nuclear missiles in Cuba brings the world closest to nuclear war.

    Politics· Cuba, United States, Russia
  15. August 28, 1963★★★★★

    "I Have a Dream" speech

    Martin Luther King Jr. delivers his famous speech at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.

    Politics· United States
  16. November 1, 1963 – November 2, 1963★★★★★

    1963 South Vietnamese coup

    Generals led by Dương Văn Minh overthrow President Ngô Đình Diệm, who is killed with his brother Ngô Đình Nhu the next day.

    Politics· Vietnam, United States
  17. November 22, 1963★★★★★

    Assassination of John F. Kennedy

    US President John F. Kennedy is shot and killed while riding in a motorcade in Dallas, Texas.

    PoliticsDeath· United States
  18. July 2, 1964★★★★★

    Civil Rights Act of 1964

    President Lyndon B. Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act, outlawing discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex or national origin.

    Politics· United States
  19. August 2, 1964 – August 7, 1964★★★★★

    Gulf of Tonkin incident

    A clash between USS Maddox and North Vietnamese torpedo boats leads Congress to pass the Gulf of Tonkin Resolution, enabling US escalation.

    WarPolitics· Vietnam, United States
  20. August 6, 1965★★★★★

    Voting Rights Act of 1965

    A federal law prohibits racial discrimination in voting, protecting the voting rights of African Americans.

    Politics· United States
  21. April 4, 1968★★★★★

    Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

    Martin Luther King Jr. is shot dead at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee, triggering riots in many American cities.

    PoliticsDeath· United States
  22. February 21, 1972 – February 28, 1972★★★★★

    Nixon visits China

    U.S. President Richard Nixon's visit opens the way to normalised relations between the United States and China.

    Politics· China, United States
  23. March 29, 1973★★★★★

    Last US combat troops leave Vietnam

    The last US combat units leave South Vietnam under the terms of the Paris Peace Accords.

    WarPolitics· Vietnam, United States
  24. August 9, 1974★★★★★

    Nixon resigns over the Watergate scandal

    Richard Nixon becomes the first US president to resign, facing likely impeachment over the Watergate scandal.

    Politics· United States
  25. c. 1975 – c. 1995★★★★★

    Vietnamese boat people

    Hundreds of thousands of people flee Vietnam by sea after 1975; many die at sea and others are resettled, mostly in Western countries.

    Politics· Vietnam, United States, Australia, Canada, France, Malaysia, Hong Kong, Thailand
  26. April 30, 1975★★★★★

    Fall of Saigon

    North Vietnamese forces enter the Independence Palace; the Republic of Vietnam surrenders, ending the Vietnam War.

    WarPolitics· Vietnam, United States
  27. February 3, 1994★★★★★

    US lifts trade embargo on Vietnam

    President Bill Clinton announces the lifting of the US trade embargo on Vietnam.

    EconomyPolitics· Vietnam, United States

21st century

  1. September 11, 2001★★★★★

    September 11 attacks

    Al-Qaeda hijackers attack New York and Washington with four airliners, killing nearly 3,000 people.

    DisasterPolitics· United States
  2. November 4, 2008★★★★★

    Barack Obama elected US President

    Barack Obama wins the presidential election, becoming the first African American elected to the office.

    Politics· United States
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