World History Timeline

Timeline

331 events

20th century

  1. 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
  2. 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
  4. January 21, 1976★★★★★

    Concorde enters commercial service

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

    Technology· United Kingdom, France
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. 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
  9. 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
  10. 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
  11. November 9, 1989★★★★★

    Fall of the Berlin Wall

    East Germany opens its border and crowds cross the Berlin Wall, a symbol of the Cold War's end.

    Politics· Germany
  12. November 17, 1989 – December 29, 1989★★★★★

    Velvet Revolution

    Peaceful protests in Czechoslovakia bring an end to Communist rule; Václav Havel is elected president.

    Revolution· Czechia, Slovakia
  13. October 3, 1990★★★★★

    German reunification

    The German Democratic Republic joins the Federal Republic of Germany, ending more than four decades of division.

    Politics· Germany
  14. 1991 – 2001★★★★★

    Yugoslav Wars

    A series of ethnic conflicts and wars of independence accompany the break-up of Yugoslavia, killing an estimated 130,000–140,000 people and involving numerous war crimes.

    War· Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Slovenia, Kosovo, North Macedonia, Montenegro
  15. December 26, 1991★★★★★

    Dissolution of the Soviet Union

    The Supreme Soviet formally dissolves the USSR, a day after Gorbachev's resignation.

    Politics· Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Kazakhstan
  16. April 5, 1992 – February 29, 1996★★★★★

    Siege of Sarajevo

    Bosnian Serb forces besiege Sarajevo, capital of Bosnia and Herzegovina, for nearly four years, the longest siege of a capital city in modern warfare.

    War· Bosnia and Herzegovina
  17. November 1, 1993★★★★★

    European Union established by the Maastricht Treaty

    The Maastricht Treaty enters into force, formally establishing the European Union and laying the groundwork for a single currency.

    TreatyPolitics· Belgium, France, Germany, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, United Kingdom, Ireland, Denmark, Greece, Spain, Portugal
  18. July 11, 1995★★★★★

    Srebrenica massacre

    After capturing Srebrenica, Bosnian Serb forces kill more than 8,000 Bosniak men and boys; international courts have ruled it a genocide.

    WarDeath· Bosnia and Herzegovina
  19. December 14, 1995★★★★★

    Dayton Agreement

    A peace agreement negotiated in Dayton, United States, is formally signed in Paris, ending the Bosnian War.

    Treaty· Bosnia and Herzegovina, Croatia, Serbia, United States
  20. July 5, 1996★★★★★

    Birth of Dolly the sheep

    Dolly the sheep, the first mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell, is born at the Roslin Institute in Scotland.

    Science· United Kingdom
  21. April 10, 1998★★★★★

    Good Friday Agreement

    The British and Irish governments and Northern Ireland's parties sign a peace agreement, ending most of the violence of the Troubles.

    Treaty· United Kingdom, Ireland

21st century

  1. January 1, 2002★★★★★

    Euro banknotes and coins enter circulation

    Euro cash enters circulation in twelve European Union countries, replacing national currencies such as the franc, the Deutsche Mark and the lira.

    Economy· Austria, Belgium, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Portugal, Spain
  2. May 1, 2004★★★★★

    European Union admits ten new members

    In its largest enlargement, the EU admits ten countries, mostly from Central and Eastern Europe, including Poland, the Czech Republic and the Baltic states.

    Politics· Cyprus, Czechia, Estonia, Hungary, Latvia, Lithuania, Malta, Poland, Slovakia, Slovenia
  3. August 2008★★★★★

    Russo-Georgian War

    A brief war between Russia and Georgia over South Ossetia and Abkhazia; Russia afterwards recognises both regions as independent states.

    War· Georgia, Russia
  4. July 4, 2012★★★★★

    Discovery of the Higgs boson announced

    CERN announces that the ATLAS and CMS experiments at the Large Hadron Collider have observed a particle consistent with the Higgs boson.

    Science· Switzerland, France
  5. March 18, 2014★★★★★

    Russia annexes Crimea

    After seizing the peninsula and holding an internationally unrecognised referendum, Russia annexes Ukraine's Crimea.

    PoliticsWar· Ukraine, Russia
  6. June 23, 2016★★★★★

    Brexit referendum

    Voters in the United Kingdom choose, by about 52 per cent, to leave the European Union.

    Politics· United Kingdom
  8. December 8, 2020★★★★★

    First approved COVID-19 vaccination

    The United Kingdom gives the first doses of the fully authorised Pfizer–BioNTech COVID-19 vaccine, beginning a global vaccination campaign.

    ScienceDisease· United Kingdom
  9. February 24, 2022★★★★★

    Russia launches full-scale invasion of Ukraine

    Russia launches a full-scale military invasion of Ukraine, starting the largest war in Europe since the Second World War and displacing millions of people.

    War· Ukraine, Russia
  10. September 8, 2022★★★★★

    Death of Queen Elizabeth II

    Queen Elizabeth II, the longest-reigning monarch in British history at over 70 years, dies at Balmoral Castle and is succeeded by Charles III.

    DeathDynasty· United Kingdom
Timeline · World History Timeline