Timeline

20th century

1. August 25, 1911★★★★★

   Birth of Võ Nguyên Giáp

   Võ Nguyên Giáp, later commander-in-chief of the Vietnam People's Army, is born in Quảng Bình.

   Birth· Vietnam
2. October 10, 1911★★★★★

   Wuchang Uprising

   A mutiny in Wuchang triggers the Xinhai Revolution, which spreads across the provinces and brings down the Qing dynasty.

   Revolution· China
3. December 1911★★★★★

   Mongolia declares independence from the Qing

   Amid the Xinhai Revolution, Outer Mongolia declares independence and enthrones the Bogd Khan as its ruler.

   PoliticsRevolution· Mongolia
4. December 14, 1911★★★★★

   Amundsen reaches the South Pole

   The Norwegian expedition led by Roald Amundsen becomes the first to reach the geographic South Pole.

   Exploration· Norway
5. January 1, 1912★★★★★

   Republic of China founded

   Sun Yat-sen is inaugurated as provisional president in Nanjing, founding Asia's first republic.

   PoliticsRevolution· China, Taiwan
6. January 8, 1912★★★★★

   African National Congress founded

   The South African Native National Congress, forerunner of the ANC, was founded in Bloemfontein to defend the rights of Black Africans.

   Politics· South Africa
7. February 12, 1912★★★★★

   Abdication of Puyi

   The last Qing emperor abdicates, ending more than two thousand years of imperial rule in China.

   PoliticsDynasty· China
8. April 15, 1912★★★★★

   Sinking of the Titanic

   RMS Titanic sinks in the North Atlantic on her maiden voyage after striking an iceberg; more than 1,500 people die.

   DisasterTechnology· United Kingdom
9. 1913★★★★★

   Rabindranath Tagore wins the Nobel Prize in Literature

   Bengali poet Rabindranath Tagore becomes the first Asian Nobel laureate, honoured chiefly for Gitanjali.

   Culture· India
10. May 29, 1913★★★★★

    Premiere of The Rite of Spring

    Igor Stravinsky's ballet The Rite of Spring premieres in Paris amid uproar in the audience, becoming a landmark of modernist music.

    Art· France
11. June 28, 1914★★★★★

    Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

    Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria-Hungary and his wife are shot dead by Gavrilo Princip in Sarajevo, triggering the crisis that leads to the First World War.

    PoliticsDeath· Bosnia and Herzegovina, Austria, Serbia
12. July 28, 1914 – November 11, 1918★★★★★

    World War I

    Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia, drawing Europe's powers into a global war that lasts until the armistice of 11 November 1918.

    War· Austria, Serbia, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Russia
13. August 15, 1914★★★★★

    Panama Canal opens

    The US-built Panama Canal officially opens, linking the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

    TechnologyEconomy· Panama, United States
14. April 24, 1915 – 1917★★★★★

    Armenian genocide

    During the First World War, Ottoman authorities carry out mass deportations and killings of Armenians, causing roughly a million or more deaths.

    WarPolitics· Turkey, Armenia, Syria
15. April 25, 1915★★★★★

    ANZAC landing at Gallipoli

    The Australian and New Zealand Army Corps landed on the Gallipoli peninsula in the Allies' unsuccessful campaign against the Ottoman Empire; 25 April is now commemorated as Anzac Day.

    War· Australia, New Zealand, Turkey, United Kingdom
16. November 25, 1915★★★★★

    Einstein presents general relativity

    Albert Einstein presents the field equations of general relativity to the Prussian Academy of Sciences, describing gravity as the curvature of spacetime.

    Science· Germany
17. April 24, 1916 – April 29, 1916★★★★★

    Easter Rising in Ireland

    Irish republicans rise in Dublin and proclaim an Irish Republic; the rebellion is put down by British forces after six days.

    Revolution· Ireland, United Kingdom
18. May 16, 1916★★★★★

    Sykes–Picot Agreement

    Britain and France secretly agree to divide the Ottoman Empire's Arab lands into post-war spheres of influence.

    TreatyPolitics· Syria, Iraq, Lebanon, Jordan, Israel, Palestine
19. June 1916 – 1918★★★★★

    The Arab Revolt

    With British backing, Sharif Hussein of Mecca launches an uprising against the Ottoman Empire seeking Arab independence.

    WarRevolution· Saudi Arabia, Jordan, Syria
20. 1917 – 1922★★★★★

    Russian Civil War

    The Bolshevik Red Army fights the White movement and other forces after the October Revolution; the Bolsheviks emerge victorious.

    WarRevolution· Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Armenia, Kazakhstan
21. March 15, 1917★★★★★

    February Revolution: abdication of Nicholas II

    Protests and mutinies in Petrograd force Tsar Nicholas II to abdicate, ending more than three centuries of Romanov rule.

    RevolutionDynasty· Russia
22. April 6, 1917★★★★★

    United States enters World War I

    The US Congress declares war on the German Empire, bringing the United States into World War I on the Allied side.

    War· United States, Germany
23. November 2, 1917★★★★★

    Balfour Declaration

    The British government declares support for a 'national home for the Jewish people' in Palestine, while stating that the civil and religious rights of non-Jewish communities should not be prejudiced.

    Politics· Israel, Palestine, United Kingdom
24. November 7, 1917★★★★★

    October Revolution

    The Bolsheviks led by Lenin overthrow the Provisional Government in Petrograd (25 October in the Julian calendar then used in Russia).

    Revolution· Russia
25. 1918 – 1920★★★★★

    1918 influenza pandemic

    An H1N1 influenza pandemic spreads worldwide, killing tens of millions of people, one of the deadliest pandemics in history.

    DiseaseDisaster
26. July 17, 1918★★★★★

    Execution of the Romanov family

    Former Tsar Nicholas II, his wife, their children and their retainers are shot by the Bolsheviks in Yekaterinburg.

    DeathRevolution· Russia
27. July 18, 1918★★★★★

    Birth of Nelson Mandela

    Nelson Mandela, anti-apartheid leader and South Africa's first Black president, was born in the village of Mvezo.

    Birth· South Africa
28. March 1, 1919★★★★★

    March 1st Movement

    Koreans proclaim independence and stage nationwide peaceful protests against Japanese rule; the movement is suppressed.

    RevolutionPolitics· South Korea, North Korea
29. April 13, 1919★★★★★

    Jallianwala Bagh massacre

    Troops under General Reginald Dyer fire on an unarmed crowd in Amritsar, killing hundreds and fuelling anti-colonial sentiment.

    Politics· India, United Kingdom
30. May 4, 1919★★★★★

    May Fourth Movement

    Beijing students protest the Paris Peace Conference's Shandong decision, sparking a wave of nationalism and cultural renewal.

    PoliticsCulture· China
31. June 28, 1919★★★★★

    Treaty of Versailles

    The peace treaty ending the war between Germany and the Allies is signed in the Hall of Mirrors, imposing war guilt, territorial losses and heavy reparations on Germany.

    Treaty· France, Germany, United Kingdom, United States, Italy
32. August 18, 1920★★★★★

    Nineteenth Amendment grants US women the vote

    The Nineteenth Amendment is ratified, prohibiting denial of the right to vote on the basis of sex in the United States.

    Politics· United States
33. 1921★★★★★

    Mongolian Revolution of 1921

    With Soviet Red Army support, Mongolian revolutionaries led by Sükhbaatar take power, paving the way for a socialist state.

    Revolution· Mongolia, Russia
34. July 1921★★★★★

    Chinese Communist Party founded

    The First National Congress meets in Shanghai, formally founding the Chinese Communist Party.

    Politics· China
35. January 1922★★★★★

    Insulin first used to treat diabetes

    In Toronto, insulin isolated by Frederick Banting's team is first injected into a diabetic patient, turning a fatal disease into a manageable one.

    ScienceDisease· Canada
36. October 28, 1922★★★★★

    March on Rome

    Benito Mussolini's Fascists march on Rome; King Victor Emmanuel III appoints Mussolini prime minister, beginning Fascist rule in Italy.

    Politics· Italy
37. November 4, 1922★★★★★

    Discovery of Tutankhamun's tomb

    Archaeologist Howard Carter discovers the nearly intact tomb of Pharaoh Tutankhamun in the Valley of the Kings, causing a worldwide sensation.

    CultureExploration· Egypt
38. December 6, 1922★★★★★

    Irish Free State established

    Under the Anglo-Irish Treaty, the Irish Free State is established as a self-governing dominion of the British Commonwealth.

    Politics· Ireland, United Kingdom
39. December 30, 1922★★★★★

    Founding of the Soviet Union

    The Treaty on the Creation of the USSR unites Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and the Transcaucasian Federation into the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics.

    Politics· Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Georgia, Armenia, Azerbaijan
40. September 1, 1923★★★★★

    Great Kantō earthquake

    A powerful earthquake and ensuing fires devastate Tokyo and Yokohama, killing more than 100,000 people.

    Disaster· Japan
41. October 29, 1923★★★★★

    Republic of Turkey proclaimed

    The Grand National Assembly proclaims the Republic of Turkey, with Mustafa Kemal (Atatürk) as its first president.

    PoliticsRevolution· Turkey
42. January 21, 1924★★★★★

    Death of Lenin

    Vladimir Lenin, founder of the Soviet state, dies after a series of strokes, opening a power struggle won by Stalin.

    DeathPolitics· Russia
43. March 3, 1924★★★★★

    Abolition of the Ottoman Caliphate

    The Turkish parliament abolishes the caliphate, ending an institution dating back to the first caliphs of Islam.

    PoliticsReligion· Turkey
44. March 12, 1925★★★★★

    Death of Sun Yat-sen

    The revolutionary revered as the 'Father of the Nation' of the Republic of China dies in Beijing.

    Death· China, Taiwan
45. 1926★★★★★

    Founding of Caodaism

    Caodaism, a syncretic religion, is formally founded in Cochinchina, with its Holy See at Tây Ninh.

    Religion· Vietnam
46. 1926★★★★★

    Death of Phan Châu Trinh

    Reformist Phan Châu Trinh dies in Saigon; his funeral becomes a nationwide patriotic demonstration.

    Death· Vietnam
47. 1926 – 1928★★★★★

    Northern Expedition

    The National Revolutionary Army under Chiang Kai-shek marches north, defeats the warlords and nominally reunifies China.

    War· China
48. January 26, 1926★★★★★

    Baird demonstrates television

    John Logie Baird demonstrates a mechanical television system transmitting live moving images in London.

    Technology· United Kingdom
49. 1927★★★★★

    Founding of the Vietnamese Nationalist Party

    Nguyễn Thái Học and others found the Vietnamese Nationalist Party (VNQDĐ) in Hanoi, seeking independence through armed struggle.

    Politics· Vietnam
50. May 20, 1927 – May 21, 1927★★★★★

    Lindbergh's solo transatlantic flight

    Charles Lindbergh flies solo and nonstop from New York to Paris in the Spirit of St. Louis.

    TechnologyExploration· United States, France