World History Timeline

Timeline

1026 events

20th century

  1. July 6, 1967 – January 15, 1970★★★★★

    Nigerian Civil War (Biafran War)

    War followed the secession of south-eastern Nigeria as the Republic of Biafra; the fighting and blockade-induced famine killed an estimated one to two million people.

    War· Nigeria
  2. August 8, 1967★★★★★

    Founding of ASEAN

    Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore and Thailand sign the Bangkok Declaration, founding the Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

    PoliticsTreaty· Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand
  3. October 9, 1967★★★★★

    Death of Che Guevara

    Revolutionary Ernesto "Che" Guevara is captured and executed by the Bolivian army in La Higuera.

    Death· Bolivia, Argentina, Cuba
  4. December 3, 1967★★★★★

    First human heart transplant

    Christiaan Barnard performs the first human-to-human heart transplant at Groote Schuur Hospital in Cape Town.

    Science· South Africa
  5. January 5, 1968 – August 21, 1968★★★★★

    Prague Spring

    A period of political liberalisation in Czechoslovakia under Alexander Dubček ends when Warsaw Pact armies invade the country.

    PoliticsRevolution· Czechia, Slovakia, Russia
  6. January 21, 1968 – July 9, 1968★★★★★

    Battle of Khe Sanh

    North Vietnamese forces besiege the US Marine base at Khe Sanh in Quảng Trị; US forces abandon the base in July.

    War· Vietnam, United States
  7. January 30, 1968 – September 1968★★★★★

    Tet Offensive

    North Vietnamese and Viet Cong forces attack more than 100 cities and towns in the South; despite heavy losses, the offensive erodes US public support for the war.

    War· Vietnam, United States
  8. March 16, 1968★★★★★

    Mỹ Lai massacre

    US soldiers of Charlie Company kill hundreds of unarmed civilians at Sơn Mỹ, Quảng Ngãi; the killings become public in 1969.

    War· Vietnam, United States
  9. 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
  10. May 1968 – June 1968★★★★★

    May 1968 events in France

    Student protests and a nationwide general strike shake France, leaving a lasting mark on its culture and society.

    PoliticsCulture· France
  11. July 20, 1969★★★★★

    Apollo 11 Moon landing

    Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin become the first humans to walk on the Moon.

    ExplorationTechnology· United States
  12. September 2, 1969★★★★★

    Death of Hồ Chí Minh

    Hồ Chí Minh, President of North Vietnam, dies in Hanoi.

    Death· Vietnam
  13. October 29, 1969★★★★★

    First message sent over ARPANET

    The first message is sent between UCLA and the Stanford Research Institute over ARPANET, the precursor of the Internet.

    Technology· United States
  14. November 12, 1970★★★★★

    1970 Bhola cyclone

    A tropical cyclone strikes East Pakistan (now Bangladesh), killing an estimated 300,000 to 500,000 people, one of the deadliest natural disasters of the 20th century.

    Disaster· Bangladesh, India
  15. 1971★★★★★

    First networked email

    Ray Tomlinson sends the first email between computers on ARPANET, choosing the @ sign to separate user and host names.

    Technology· United States
  16. March 26, 1971 – December 16, 1971★★★★★

    Bangladesh Liberation War

    East Pakistan declares independence as Bangladesh; after nine months of war and Indian intervention, Pakistani forces surrender in Dhaka.

    WarRevolution· Bangladesh, Pakistan, India
  18. 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
  19. March 30, 1972 – October 1972★★★★★

    Easter Offensive

    North Vietnam launches a large conventional offensive on three fronts in the South, including prolonged fighting at Quảng Trị.

    War· Vietnam, United States
  20. December 18, 1972 – December 29, 1972★★★★★

    Operation Linebacker II

    The United States carries out intensive B-52 bombing of Hanoi and Haiphong for twelve days, known in Vietnam as the "Điện Biên Phủ in the air".

    War· Vietnam, United States
  21. January 27, 1973★★★★★

    Paris Peace Accords

    The United States, North and South Vietnam and the Provisional Revolutionary Government sign an agreement ending direct US involvement in the war.

    Treaty· Vietnam, United States, France
  22. 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
  23. September 11, 1973★★★★★

    1973 Chilean coup d'état

    The Chilean military under General Augusto Pinochet overthrows President Salvador Allende, beginning a 17-year military dictatorship.

    PoliticsRevolution· Chile
  24. October 1973 – March 1974★★★★★

    1973 oil crisis

    Arab oil producers impose an embargo on countries supporting Israel, causing world oil prices to soar.

    Economy· Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Iraq, United States
  25. October 6, 1973 – October 25, 1973★★★★★

    Yom Kippur War

    Egypt and Syria launch a surprise attack on Israel to regain Sinai and the Golan; the war ends in a ceasefire and paves the way for later negotiations.

    War· Israel, Egypt, Syria
  26. 1974★★★★★

    Terracotta Army discovered

    Farmers digging a well near Xi'an uncover thousands of terracotta warriors buried with Qin Shi Huang's mausoleum.

    CultureArt· China
  27. January 19, 1974★★★★★

    Battle of the Paracel Islands

    Chinese naval forces clash with the South Vietnamese navy and take control of all of the Paracel Islands.

    War· Vietnam, China
  28. April 25, 1974★★★★★

    Carnation Revolution

    A largely bloodless military coup in Lisbon overthrows the Estado Novo dictatorship, leading to democracy in Portugal and the independence of its African colonies.

    Revolution· Portugal
  29. 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
  30. 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
  31. 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
  32. 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
  33. 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
  34. 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
  35. 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
  36. 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
  37. 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
  39. 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
  40. January 21, 1976★★★★★

    Concorde enters commercial service

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

    Technology· United Kingdom, France
  41. 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
  42. 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
  44. 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
  45. 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
  46. 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
  48. 1978 – February 11, 1979★★★★★

    Iranian Revolution

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

    RevolutionReligionPolitics· Iran
  49. 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
  50. 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
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