Timeline

20th century

1. October 6, 1927★★★★★

   The Jazz Singer premieres

   The Jazz Singer, the first feature-length film with synchronised dialogue, premieres in New York, launching the era of talking pictures.

   CultureArtTechnology· United States
2. September 28, 1928★★★★★

   Fleming discovers penicillin

   Alexander Fleming notices Penicillium mould killing bacteria, paving the way for the antibiotic era.

   Science· United Kingdom
3. 1929★★★★★

   Hubble shows the universe is expanding

   Edwin Hubble publishes the relation between galaxies' distances and recession velocities, evidence that the universe is expanding.

   Science· United States
4. January 15, 1929★★★★★

   Birth of Martin Luther King Jr.

   Martin Luther King Jr., leader of the American civil rights movement, is born in Atlanta, Georgia.

   Birth· United States
5. October 24, 1929 – October 29, 1929★★★★★

   Wall Street Crash of 1929

   The New York stock market collapses in late October, heralding the Great Depression that spreads around the world.

   Economy· United States
6. February 3, 1930★★★★★

   Founding of the Communist Party of Vietnam

   A conference chaired by Nguyễn Ái Quốc (Hồ Chí Minh) in Hong Kong merges Vietnamese communist groups into the Communist Party of Vietnam.

   Politics· Vietnam, Hong Kong
7. February 10, 1930★★★★★

   Yên Bái mutiny

   Vietnamese colonial soldiers organised by the VNQDĐ mutiny at Yên Bái; the revolt fails and Nguyễn Thái Học is executed.

   WarRevolution· Vietnam, France
8. February 18, 1930★★★★★

   Discovery of Pluto

   Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto at Lowell Observatory; in 2006 it is reclassified as a dwarf planet.

   Science· United States
9. March 12, 1930 – April 6, 1930★★★★★

   Gandhi's Salt March

   Gandhi leads a nonviolent march to Dandi to make salt in defiance of the British salt tax, launching the civil disobedience movement.

   PoliticsRevolution· India
10. July 13, 1930 – July 30, 1930★★★★★

    First FIFA World Cup

    The first World Cup is held in Uruguay; the hosts win the title, beating Argentina 4–2 in the final.

    Culture· Uruguay
11. November 2, 1930★★★★★

    Coronation of Haile Selassie

    Ras Tafari Makonnen was crowned Emperor of Ethiopia as Haile Selassie I; he reigned until 1974 and became a symbol of African independence.

    DynastyPolitics· Ethiopia
12. September 18, 1931★★★★★

    Mukden Incident

    Japan's Kwantung Army stages a railway explosion near Mukden as a pretext for invading Manchuria.

    War· China, Japan
13. June 24, 1932★★★★★

    Siamese revolution of 1932

    The People's Party (Khana Ratsadon) stages a bloodless coup, transforming Siam from an absolute to a constitutional monarchy.

    RevolutionPolitics· Thailand
14. September 23, 1932★★★★★

    Kingdom of Saudi Arabia proclaimed

    Ibn Saud unites the realms of Hejaz and Nejd as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia.

    Politics· Saudi Arabia
15. January 30, 1933★★★★★

    Hitler appointed Chancellor of Germany

    President Paul von Hindenburg appoints Adolf Hitler Chancellor; the Nazis rapidly dismantle Weimar democracy and establish a dictatorship.

    Politics· Germany
16. March 4, 1933★★★★★

    Franklin D. Roosevelt takes office and launches the New Deal

    Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes president and launches the New Deal programs in response to the Great Depression.

    PoliticsEconomy· United States
17. 1934 – 1935★★★★★

    Long March

    The Chinese Red Army retreats thousands of kilometres from Nationalist forces; Mao Zedong emerges as leader during the march.

    WarPolitics· China
18. July 17, 1936 – April 1, 1939★★★★★

    Spanish Civil War

    Nationalists led by Francisco Franco fight the Republicans; Franco's victory leads to a dictatorship lasting until 1975.

    War· Spain
19. 1937★★★★★

    Picasso paints Guernica

    Pablo Picasso completes Guernica in response to the bombing of the Basque town during the Spanish Civil War; it becomes an enduring anti-war icon.

    Art· France, Spain
20. April 26, 1937★★★★★

    Bombing of Guernica

    German and Italian aircraft supporting the Nationalists bomb the Basque town of Guernica, an event depicted in Picasso's famous painting.

    WarDisaster· Spain, Germany, Italy
21. July 7, 1937★★★★★

    Marco Polo Bridge Incident

    A clash between Japanese and Chinese troops near Beijing begins the full-scale Second Sino-Japanese War (1937–1945).

    War· China, Japan
22. December 13, 1937 – 1938★★★★★

    Nanjing Massacre

    After capturing Nanjing, the Imperial Japanese Army kills large numbers of Chinese prisoners and civilians over several weeks.

    War· China, Japan
23. September 30, 1938★★★★★

    Munich Agreement

    Britain, France, Italy and Germany agree to Germany's annexation of Czechoslovakia's Sudetenland, the high point of the appeasement of Hitler.

    TreatyPolitics· Germany, United Kingdom, France, Italy, Czechia
24. November 9, 1938 – November 10, 1938★★★★★

    Kristallnacht

    An organised pogrom against Jews across Germany and Austria destroys thousands of shops and synagogues, with about 30,000 people arrested.

    PoliticsReligion· Germany, Austria
25. December 1938★★★★★

    Discovery of nuclear fission

    Otto Hahn and Fritz Strassmann discover the fission of uranium nuclei; Lise Meitner and Otto Frisch explain the process shortly after.

    Science· Germany
26. May 1939 – September 1939★★★★★

    Battles of Khalkhin Gol

    Soviet and Mongolian forces under Georgy Zhukov defeat the Japanese on the Mongolian–Manchurian border.

    War· Mongolia, Japan, Russia, China
27. August 23, 1939★★★★★

    Molotov–Ribbentrop Pact

    Nazi Germany and the Soviet Union sign a non-aggression pact with a secret protocol dividing Eastern Europe into spheres of influence.

    Treaty· Germany, Russia, Poland, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Finland
28. September 1, 1939 – September 2, 1945★★★★★

    World War II

    Germany invades Poland, starting the deadliest conflict in human history, which ends with Japan's formal surrender on 2 September 1945.

    War· Germany, Poland, United Kingdom, France, Russia, United States, Japan, China
29. 1940★★★★★

    Death of Phan Bội Châu

    Nationalist leader Phan Bội Châu dies in Huế after years under French house arrest.

    Death· Vietnam
30. March 23, 1940★★★★★

    Lahore Resolution

    The All-India Muslim League adopts a resolution calling for independent states in Muslim-majority areas, a step towards the creation of Pakistan.

    Politics· Pakistan, India
31. July 10, 1940 – October 31, 1940★★★★★

    Battle of Britain

    The Royal Air Force repels a large-scale air campaign by the Luftwaffe, forcing Hitler to postpone his planned invasion of Britain.

    War· United Kingdom, Germany
32. September 22, 1940 – September 26, 1940★★★★★

    Japanese invasion of French Indochina

    Japanese forces attack Lạng Sơn and land near Haiphong, compelling the French administration to accept Japanese bases in Tonkin.

    War· Vietnam, Japan, France
33. 1941 – 1945★★★★★

    The Holocaust

    Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murder some six million European Jews, along with millions of other victims.

    WarDeath· Germany, Poland, Austria, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Hungary, Czechia, Netherlands, France
34. May 19, 1941★★★★★

    Founding of the Việt Minh

    At Pác Bó, Hồ Chí Minh presides over the founding of the League for the Independence of Vietnam (Việt Minh).

    PoliticsRevolution· Vietnam
35. June 22, 1941★★★★★

    Operation Barbarossa: Germany invades the Soviet Union

    Nazi Germany and its allies launch a massive invasion of the Soviet Union, opening the Eastern Front, the largest theatre of the Second World War.

    War· Germany, Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Lithuania, Latvia, Estonia
36. September 8, 1941 – January 27, 1944★★★★★

    Siege of Leningrad

    German and Finnish forces besiege Leningrad for nearly 900 days; around a million civilians die, mostly from starvation.

    WarDisaster· Russia, Germany, Finland
37. December 7, 1941★★★★★

    Attack on Pearl Harbor

    The Imperial Japanese Navy launches a surprise attack on the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, bringing the United States into World War II.

    War· United States, Japan
38. January 20, 1942★★★★★

    Wannsee Conference

    Senior Nazi officials meet at Wannsee near Berlin to coordinate the "Final Solution" to murder Europe's Jews.

    Politics· Germany
39. February 15, 1942★★★★★

    Fall of Singapore

    British forces in Singapore surrender to Japan, the largest capitulation in British military history, beginning the Japanese occupation of Malaya.

    War· Singapore, United Kingdom, Japan
40. August 8, 1942★★★★★

    Quit India Movement

    The Congress launches a campaign demanding an immediate end to British rule in India; Gandhi and other leaders are arrested.

    PoliticsRevolution· India
41. August 23, 1942 – February 2, 1943★★★★★

    Battle of Stalingrad

    The Red Army encircles and forces the surrender of the German Sixth Army, a decisive turning point on the Eastern Front.

    War· Russia, Germany
42. 1943★★★★★

    Bengal famine of 1943

    A wartime famine in British-ruled Bengal kills an estimated two to three million people.

    Disaster· India, Bangladesh
43. July 5, 1943 – August 23, 1943★★★★★

    Battle of Kursk

    Germany's last major offensive on the Eastern Front fails against Soviet defences in one of the largest tank battles in history.

    War· Russia, Germany
44. 1944 – 1945★★★★★

    Vietnamese famine of 1945

    A famine in northern Vietnam under French and Japanese rule kills an estimated 400,000 to 2 million people.

    Disaster· Vietnam
45. June 6, 1944★★★★★

    D-Day: the Normandy landings

    Allied forces carry out the largest seaborne invasion in history on the Normandy coast, opening a Western Front to liberate Western Europe.

    War· France, United States, United Kingdom, Canada, Germany
46. January 27, 1945★★★★★

    Liberation of Auschwitz

    The Red Army liberates the Auschwitz concentration and extermination camp, where about 1.1 million people were murdered; the date is now International Holocaust Remembrance Day.

    War· Poland, Germany, Russia
47. 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
48. March 9, 1945★★★★★

    Japanese coup in French Indochina

    Japan overthrows the French administration in Indochina; Bảo Đại then proclaims the Empire of Vietnam with Trần Trọng Kim as prime minister.

    WarPolitics· Vietnam, Japan, France
49. April 1, 1945 – June 22, 1945★★★★★

    Battle of Okinawa

    One of the bloodiest battles of the Pacific War, causing heavy losses among soldiers and Okinawan civilians.

    War· Japan, United States
50. April 30, 1945★★★★★

    Death of Adolf Hitler

    As the Red Army closes in on Berlin, Adolf Hitler kills himself in his underground bunker.

    Death· Germany