World History Timeline

Timeline

341 events

20th century

  1. 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
  2. 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
  3. March 10, 1975 – April 30, 1975★★★★★

    1975 Spring Offensive

    Beginning with the attack on Buôn Ma Thuột, North Vietnamese forces advance across the South, leading to South Vietnam's collapse on 30 April 1975.

    War· Vietnam
  4. April 13, 1975 – 1990★★★★★

    Lebanese Civil War

    A multi-sided civil war devastates Lebanon for fifteen years, with intervention by Syria, Israel and other foreign forces.

    War· Lebanon
  5. April 17, 1975 – January 7, 1979★★★★★

    Khmer Rouge take Phnom Penh; Cambodian genocide begins

    The Khmer Rouge capture Phnom Penh and forcibly empty the cities; Pol Pot's regime causes the deaths of an estimated 1.5 to 2 million people.

    RevolutionPolitics· Cambodia
  6. 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
  7. June 25, 1975 – November 11, 1975★★★★★

    Mozambique and Angola gain independence from Portugal

    Following Portugal's Carnation Revolution, Mozambique and Angola became independent, ending over four centuries of Portuguese presence; both soon fell into long civil wars.

    Politics· Mozambique, Angola, Portugal
  8. June 25, 1975 – March 21, 1977★★★★★

    The Emergency in India

    Prime Minister Indira Gandhi declares a national emergency, suspending elections and civil liberties until 1977.

    Politics· India
  9. September 16, 1975★★★★★

    Papua New Guinea gains independence

    Papua New Guinea gained independence from Australia, becoming one of the most linguistically diverse countries in the world.

    Politics· Papua New Guinea, Australia
  11. December 7, 1975★★★★★

    Indonesian invasion of East Timor

    Indonesia invades East Timor, a former Portuguese colony, beginning a 24-year occupation.

    War· Timor-Leste, Indonesia
  12. January 21, 1976★★★★★

    Concorde enters commercial service

    The Anglo-French supersonic airliner Concorde begins commercial passenger flights.

    Technology· United Kingdom, France
  13. March 24, 1976★★★★★

    1976 Argentine coup d'état

    The Argentine military overthrows President Isabel Perón and installs a junta associated with the "Dirty War".

    Politics· Argentina
  14. June 16, 1976★★★★★

    Soweto uprising

    Black schoolchildren in Soweto protested against compulsory instruction in Afrikaans; police opened fire, and the ensuing crackdown left hundreds dead.

    PoliticsRevolution· South Africa
  16. July 20, 1976★★★★★

    Viking 1 lands on Mars

    NASA's Viking 1 lander touches down on Mars and returns the first images from the planet's surface.

    ExplorationScience· United States
  17. September 9, 1976★★★★★

    Death of Mao Zedong

    Chairman Mao Zedong, founder of the People's Republic of China, dies in Beijing; the Cultural Revolution ends soon after.

    DeathPolitics· China
  18. September 5, 1977★★★★★

    Launch of Voyager 1

    NASA launches Voyager 1 to study Jupiter and Saturn; it later becomes the first human-made object to reach interstellar space.

    ExplorationScience· United States
  20. 1978 – February 11, 1979★★★★★

    Iranian Revolution

    Mass protests topple Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi; Ayatollah Khomeini returns and Iran becomes an Islamic Republic.

    RevolutionReligionPolitics· Iran
  21. September 17, 1978★★★★★

    Camp David Accords

    Egyptian President Anwar Sadat and Israeli Prime Minister Menachem Begin sign US-brokered accords, leading to the 1979 Egypt–Israel peace treaty.

    Treaty· Egypt, Israel, United States
  22. December 1978★★★★★

    China launches Reform and Opening

    The Third Plenum of the 11th Central Committee, guided by Deng Xiaoping, shifts China's focus to economic development and opening up.

    EconomyPolitics· China
  23. December 25, 1978 – 1989★★★★★

    Cambodian–Vietnamese War

    Following Khmer Rouge border attacks, Vietnam invades Cambodia, takes Phnom Penh on 7 January 1979 and overthrows the Khmer Rouge; Vietnamese troops remain until 1989.

    War· Vietnam, Cambodia
  24. February 17, 1979 – March 16, 1979★★★★★

    Sino-Vietnamese War

    China attacks Vietnam's northern border provinces and withdraws after about a month; both sides claim victory.

    War· Vietnam, China
  25. July 19, 1979★★★★★

    Sandinista revolution triumphs in Nicaragua

    The Sandinista National Liberation Front enters Managua after dictator Anastasio Somoza Debayle flees, ending the Somoza family's rule.

    Revolution· Nicaragua
  26. April 18, 1980★★★★★

    Zimbabwe gains independence

    After a guerrilla war and the Lancaster House Agreement, Rhodesia became the internationally recognised independent state of Zimbabwe, with Robert Mugabe as prime minister.

    Politics· Zimbabwe, United Kingdom
  27. May 8, 1980★★★★★

    Smallpox declared eradicated

    The World Health Assembly officially declares smallpox eradicated, the first human infectious disease to be wiped out.

    ScienceDisease· Switzerland
  28. May 18, 1980 – May 27, 1980★★★★★

    Gwangju Uprising

    Citizens of Gwangju rise against Chun Doo-hwan's military regime; the uprising is violently suppressed by the army.

    PoliticsRevolution· South Korea
  29. August 31, 1980★★★★★

    Gdańsk Agreement and the rise of Solidarity

    After strikes at the Gdańsk shipyard, Poland's government accepts the right to form independent trade unions, opening the way for Lech Wałęsa's Solidarity movement.

    PoliticsRevolution· Poland
  30. September 22, 1980 – August 20, 1988★★★★★

    Iran–Iraq War

    Saddam Hussein's Iraq invades Iran, beginning an eight-year war of attrition that kills hundreds of thousands.

    War· Iran, Iraq
  31. August 12, 1981★★★★★

    IBM launches the IBM Personal Computer

    IBM introduces the IBM PC, whose architecture becomes the de facto standard for personal computers for decades.

    TechnologyEconomy· United States
  32. April 2, 1982 – June 14, 1982★★★★★

    Falklands War

    Argentina seizes the Falkland Islands; Britain dispatches a task force and retakes the islands after a 74-day conflict.

    War· Argentina, United Kingdom
  33. 1983 – 1985★★★★★

    Ethiopian famine of 1983–1985

    Drought combined with civil war and government policies caused a major famine in Ethiopia that killed several hundred thousand to a million people and prompted the Live Aid relief effort.

    Disaster· Ethiopia
  34. 1983★★★★★

    Discovery of HIV

    A team at the Pasteur Institute including Françoise Barré-Sinoussi and Luc Montagnier reports the virus later named HIV, the cause of AIDS.

    ScienceDisease· France
  35. January 1, 1983★★★★★

    ARPANET switches to TCP/IP

    ARPANET officially switches to the TCP/IP protocol suite, often regarded as the birth of the modern Internet.

    Technology· United States
  36. July 23, 1983 – May 18, 2009★★★★★

    Sri Lankan Civil War

    A 26-year armed conflict between the Sri Lankan government and the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE) ends in the LTTE's defeat.

    War· Sri Lanka
  37. October 31, 1984★★★★★

    Assassination of Indira Gandhi

    Prime Minister Indira Gandhi is shot dead by two Sikh bodyguards in New Delhi after Operation Blue Star, triggering anti-Sikh riots.

    DeathPolitics· India
  38. December 1984★★★★★

    Bhopal disaster

    A methyl isocyanate gas leak from the Union Carbide pesticide plant in Bhopal kills thousands, the world's worst industrial disaster.

    Disaster· India
  39. March 11, 1985★★★★★

    Gorbachev becomes Soviet leader

    Mikhail Gorbachev is chosen as General Secretary of the Soviet Communist Party and goes on to launch the policies of perestroika and glasnost.

    Politics· Russia
  40. February 22, 1986 – February 25, 1986★★★★★

    People Power Revolution

    Mass peaceful demonstrations in Manila oust President Ferdinand Marcos and bring Corazon Aquino to power.

    RevolutionPolitics· Philippines
  41. April 26, 1986★★★★★

    Chernobyl disaster

    Reactor No. 4 of the Chernobyl nuclear power plant in Soviet Ukraine explodes, spreading radioactive material across Europe in the worst nuclear accident in history.

    DisasterTechnology· Ukraine, Belarus, Russia
  42. December 1986★★★★★

    Vietnam launches Đổi Mới

    The 6th Congress of the Communist Party of Vietnam adopts Đổi Mới, shifting to a socialist-oriented market economy.

    EconomyPolitics· Vietnam
  43. June 1987★★★★★

    June Democratic Struggle

    Nationwide protests force South Korea's government to accept direct presidential elections, ushering in democracy.

    PoliticsRevolution· South Korea
  44. July 15, 1987★★★★★

    Martial law lifted in Taiwan

    Chiang Ching-kuo lifts 38 years of martial law, opening the way to Taiwan's democratisation.

    Politics· Taiwan
  45. December 1987 – 1993★★★★★

    First Intifada

    Palestinians in the West Bank and Gaza Strip rise up against Israeli occupation, in an uprising lasting until the Oslo Accords.

    RevolutionPolitics· Palestine, Israel
  46. March 14, 1988★★★★★

    Johnson South Reef skirmish

    Chinese and Vietnamese naval forces clash at Johnson South Reef in the Spratly Islands; about 64 Vietnamese sailors are killed.

    War· Vietnam, China
  47. August 8, 1988★★★★★

    8888 Uprising in Burma

    Nationwide pro-democracy protests in Burma are violently suppressed by the military; Aung San Suu Kyi emerges as an opposition leader.

    RevolutionPolitics· Myanmar
  48. September 17, 1988 – October 2, 1988★★★★★

    1988 Seoul Olympics

    Seoul hosts the Summer Olympics, marking South Korea's economic and international emergence.

    Culture· South Korea
  49. October 5, 1988★★★★★

    1988 Chilean national plebiscite

    Chilean voters reject extending General Pinochet's rule, paving the way for a return to democracy.

    Politics· Chile
  50. March 12, 1989★★★★★

    World Wide Web proposed

    Tim Berners-Lee submits "Information Management: A Proposal" at CERN, the origin of the World Wide Web.

    Technology· Switzerland
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