World History Timeline

Timeline

160 events

19th century

  1. November 7, 1867★★★★★

    Birth of Marie Curie

    Marie Skłodowska-Curie, the first person to win Nobel Prizes in two different sciences, is born in Warsaw.

    BirthScience· Poland
  2. January 3, 1868★★★★★

    Meiji Restoration

    Power is restored to Emperor Meiji, ending the shogunate and launching Japan's rapid modernisation.

    PoliticsRevolution· Japan
  3. 1869★★★★★

    Mendeleev's periodic table

    Dmitri Mendeleev arranges the chemical elements by atomic weight and properties, predicting elements not yet discovered.

    Science· Russia
  4. May 10, 1869★★★★★

    First transcontinental railroad completed

    The golden spike is driven at Promontory Summit, Utah, completing the first transcontinental railroad in the United States.

    TechnologyEconomy· United States
  5. October 2, 1869★★★★★

    Birth of Mahatma Gandhi

    Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is born in Porbandar; he becomes the leader of India's nonviolent independence movement.

    Birth· India
  6. November 17, 1869★★★★★

    Suez Canal opens

    The Suez Canal linking the Mediterranean and the Red Sea opens, greatly shortening the sea route between Europe and Asia.

    TechnologyEconomy· Egypt
  7. April 22, 1870★★★★★

    Birth of Vladimir Lenin

    Vladimir Ilyich Ulyanov, later known as Lenin, leader of the October Revolution, is born in Simbirsk.

    Birth· Russia
  8. July 19, 1870 – May 10, 1871★★★★★

    Franco-Prussian War

    Prussia and its German allies defeat France, bringing down the Second French Empire and paving the way for German unification.

    War· France, Germany
  9. September 20, 1870★★★★★

    Capture of Rome

    Troops of the Kingdom of Italy enter Rome, ending the Papal States; Rome then becomes the capital of unified Italy.

    WarPolitics· Italy, Vatican City
  10. January 18, 1871★★★★★

    Proclamation of the German Empire

    King Wilhelm I of Prussia is proclaimed German Emperor in the Hall of Mirrors at Versailles, completing the unification of Germany led by Bismarck.

    Politics· Germany, France
  11. March 18, 1871 – May 28, 1871★★★★★

    Paris Commune

    A revolutionary government holds power in Paris for over two months before being bloodily suppressed by government troops during the "Bloody Week".

    Revolution· France
  12. November 30, 1874★★★★★

    Birth of Winston Churchill

    Winston Churchill, Britain's prime minister during the Second World War, is born at Blenheim Palace.

    Birth· United Kingdom
  14. March 10, 1876★★★★★

    Bell's first telephone call

    Three days after receiving his patent, Alexander Graham Bell makes the first successful telephone call to his assistant Thomas Watson.

    Technology· United States
  15. June 25, 1876 – June 26, 1876★★★★★

    Battle of the Little Bighorn

    Lakota, Northern Cheyenne and Arapaho warriors defeat the US 7th Cavalry Regiment led by George Armstrong Custer.

    War· United States
  16. June 1878 – July 1878★★★★★

    Congress of Berlin

    The European powers reorganise the Balkans after the Russo-Turkish War, recognising the independence of Serbia, Montenegro and Romania.

    TreatyPolitics· Germany, Russia, Turkey, United Kingdom, Austria, Serbia, Romania, Montenegro, Bulgaria
  17. December 18, 1878★★★★★

    Birth of Joseph Stalin

    Ioseb Jughashvili, later known as Joseph Stalin, leader of the Soviet Union, is born in Gori, Georgia.

    Birth· Georgia
  19. 1879 – 1884★★★★★

    War of the Pacific

    Chile defeats Peru and Bolivia in a war over the mineral-rich Atacama Desert; Bolivia loses its access to the sea.

    War· Chile, Peru, Bolivia
  20. January 22, 1879★★★★★

    Battle of Isandlwana

    In the Anglo-Zulu War, a Zulu army defeated a British column at Isandlwana, one of the worst defeats of the British army by an indigenous force.

    War· South Africa, United Kingdom
  21. March 14, 1879★★★★★

    Birth of Albert Einstein

    The physicist Albert Einstein, author of the theory of relativity, is born in Ulm, Germany.

    BirthScience· Germany
  22. December 16, 1880 – March 23, 1881★★★★★

    First Boer War

    Boers of the Transvaal rose against British annexation and regained self-government after their victory at Majuba Hill.

    War· South Africa, United Kingdom
  23. March 13, 1881★★★★★

    Assassination of Tsar Alexander II

    Tsar Alexander II is killed by a bomb thrown by members of the revolutionary group Narodnaya Volya in Saint Petersburg.

    PoliticsDeath· Russia
  25. March 14, 1883★★★★★

    Death of Karl Marx

    Karl Marx dies in London, where he had lived in exile and written Das Kapital.

    Death· United Kingdom, Germany
  26. August 27, 1883★★★★★

    Eruption of Krakatoa

    The cataclysmic eruption of Krakatoa in the Sunda Strait triggers tsunamis killing over 36,000 people; the explosion is heard thousands of kilometres away.

    Disaster· Indonesia
  27. June 6, 1884★★★★★

    Treaty of Huế (1884)

    The treaty places Tonkin and Annam under French protectorate.

    Treaty· Vietnam, France
  28. November 15, 1884 – February 26, 1885★★★★★

    Berlin Conference on Africa

    European powers met in Berlin to set rules for colonial claims in Africa, accelerating the "Scramble for Africa" without any African representation.

    PoliticsTreaty· Germany, United Kingdom, France, Portugal, Belgium
  29. 1885 – 1908★★★★★

    Leopold II's Congo Free State

    King Leopold II of Belgium ruled the Congo as a personal possession; its forced-labour rubber regime caused mass deaths until Belgium annexed the territory in 1908.

    PoliticsEconomy· DR Congo, Belgium
  30. 1885★★★★★

    Third Anglo-Burmese War

    Britain takes Mandalay and deposes King Thibaw, ending the Konbaung dynasty and annexing all of Burma to British India.

    WarPolitics· Myanmar, United Kingdom
  31. July 1885 – 1896★★★★★

    Cần Vương movement

    After a failed attack on the French at Huế, Emperor Hàm Nghi flees the capital and issues an edict calling for resistance to French rule.

    WarRevolution· Vietnam, France
  34. January 29, 1886★★★★★

    Karl Benz patents the motor car

    Karl Benz receives a patent for the Benz Patent-Motorwagen, widely regarded as the first automobile powered by an internal combustion engine.

    Technology· Germany
  35. October 1887★★★★★

    Formation of French Indochina

    France creates the Indochinese Union of Cochinchina, Annam, Tonkin and Cambodia; Laos is added in 1893.

    Politics· Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos, France
  36. May 13, 1888★★★★★

    Brazil abolishes slavery (Golden Law)

    Princess Isabel signs the Golden Law (Lei Áurea), abolishing slavery in Brazil, the last country in the Americas to do so.

    Politics· Brazil
  37. February 11, 1889★★★★★

    Meiji Constitution promulgated

    Emperor Meiji promulgates Japan's first constitution, establishing a constitutional monarchy with a parliament.

    Politics· Japan
  38. April 20, 1889★★★★★

    Birth of Adolf Hitler

    Adolf Hitler, later dictator of Nazi Germany, is born in Braunau am Inn, Austria.

    Birth· Austria
  39. November 15, 1889★★★★★

    Proclamation of the Republic of Brazil

    A military coup deposes Emperor Pedro II, ending the Empire of Brazil and establishing a republic.

    PoliticsRevolution· Brazil
  40. May 19, 1890★★★★★

    Birth of Hồ Chí Minh

    Nguyễn Sinh Cung, later known as Hồ Chí Minh, is born in Nghệ An province.

    Birth· Vietnam
  41. July 29, 1890★★★★★

    Death of Vincent van Gogh

    The Post-Impressionist painter Vincent van Gogh dies at Auvers-sur-Oise, France, little recognised in his lifetime.

    DeathArt· France, Netherlands
  42. December 29, 1890★★★★★

    Wounded Knee Massacre

    US Army troops kill hundreds of Lakota people, many of them women and children, at Wounded Knee, South Dakota.

    War· United States
  43. September 19, 1893★★★★★

    New Zealand grants women the vote

    New Zealand became the first self-governing country in the world to give women the right to vote in parliamentary elections.

    Politics· New Zealand
  44. 1894 – 1895★★★★★

    Donghak Peasant Revolution

    Peasants inspired by the Donghak religion revolt against corruption and foreign influence; Qing and Japanese intervention leads to the Sino-Japanese War.

    RevolutionWar· South Korea
  45. 1894 – 1895★★★★★

    First Sino-Japanese War

    Japan defeats Qing China in a war over influence in Korea, establishing itself as a rising Asian power.

    War· China, Japan, South Korea
  46. 1895★★★★★

    Death of Phan Đình Phùng

    Phan Đình Phùng, leader of the Hương Khê uprising, dies, marking the end of the Cần Vương movement.

    DeathWar· Vietnam
  47. April 17, 1895★★★★★

    Treaty of Shimonoseki

    The Qing cede Taiwan and the Penghu Islands to Japan and recognise Korean independence.

    Treaty· China, Japan, Taiwan, South Korea
  48. November 8, 1895★★★★★

    Röntgen discovers X-rays

    Wilhelm Röntgen discovers X-rays at Würzburg, opening the era of medical imaging.

    Science· Germany
  49. December 28, 1895★★★★★

    Lumière brothers' first public film screening

    The Lumière brothers hold a paid public film screening at the Grand Café in Paris, often regarded as the birth of cinema.

    CultureTechnologyArt· France
  50. March 1, 1896★★★★★

    Battle of Adwa

    Ethiopian forces under Emperor Menelik II defeated an invading Italian army at Adwa, preserving Ethiopia's independence during the Scramble for Africa.

    War· Ethiopia, Italy
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