World History Timeline

Timeline

56 events

16th century

  1. September 6, 1522★★★★★

    First circumnavigation completed

    The ship Victoria under Juan Sebastián Elcano returns to Spain, completing the circumnavigation begun by Magellan.

    Exploration· Spain, Portugal
  2. 1545★★★★★

    Silver discovered at Potosí

    The vast silver deposits of Cerro Rico at Potosí begin to be mined, supplying huge quantities of silver to Spain and the world economy.

    Economy· Bolivia, Spain

18th century

  1. 1756 – 1763★★★★★

    Seven Years' War

    A global conflict among the European powers fought in Europe, North America and India; Britain gains colonial supremacy and Prussia confirms its great-power status.

    War· United Kingdom, France, Germany, Austria, Russia, Spain, United States, Canada, India

19th century

  1. April 10, 1815★★★★★

    Eruption of Mount Tambora

    The most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded history occurs on Sumbawa, causing the global "Year Without a Summer" of 1816.

    Disaster· Indonesia
  2. February 1848★★★★★

    The Communist Manifesto is published

    Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels publish in London a pamphlet setting out the theory of class struggle, one of the most influential political texts ever written.

    PoliticsCulture· United Kingdom, Germany
  3. November 17, 1869★★★★★

    Suez Canal opens

    The Suez Canal linking the Mediterranean and the Red Sea opens, greatly shortening the sea route between Europe and Asia.

    TechnologyEconomy· Egypt
  4. August 27, 1883★★★★★

    Eruption of Krakatoa

    The cataclysmic eruption of Krakatoa in the Sunda Strait triggers tsunamis killing over 36,000 people; the explosion is heard thousands of kilometres away.

    Disaster· Indonesia
  5. April 6, 1896 – April 15, 1896★★★★★

    First modern Olympic Games

    The first Summer Olympics of the modern era are held in Athens, organised by the International Olympic Committee.

    Culture· Greece

20th century

  1. December 10, 1901★★★★★

    First Nobel Prizes awarded

    The first Nobel Prizes are awarded on the fifth anniversary of Alfred Nobel's death; Wilhelm Röntgen receives the first Nobel Prize in Physics.

    ScienceCulture· Sweden, Norway
  2. 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
  3. 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
  4. August 15, 1914★★★★★

    Panama Canal opens

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

    TechnologyEconomy· Panama, United States
  5. 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
  6. 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
  7. 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
  8. 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
  9. 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
  10. 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
  11. October 24, 1945★★★★★

    United Nations founded

    The UN Charter enters into force after ratification by a majority of signatories.

    PoliticsTreaty· United States
  12. November 20, 1945 – October 1, 1946★★★★★

    Nuremberg trials

    An international military tribunal tries leading Nazi figures for war crimes and crimes against humanity.

    Politics· Germany, United States, United Kingdom, France, Russia
  13. July 21, 1954★★★★★

    Geneva Accords on Indochina

    The Geneva Conference ends the First Indochina War, temporarily partitioning Vietnam at the 17th parallel pending elections planned for 1956.

    Treaty· Vietnam, France, Laos, Cambodia, Switzerland
  14. April 18, 1955 – April 24, 1955★★★★★

    Bandung Conference

    Delegates from 29 Asian and African nations meet in Bandung to promote Afro-Asian cooperation and oppose colonialism, a forerunner of the Non-Aligned Movement.

    Politics· Indonesia
  15. November 1, 1955 – April 30, 1975★★★★★

    Vietnam War

    A conflict between North Vietnam and the Viet Cong on one side and South Vietnam, backed by the United States and its allies, on the other; it ends with the fall of Saigon in 1975.

    War· Vietnam, United States, Laos, Cambodia
  16. October 4, 1957★★★★★

    Launch of Sputnik 1

    The Soviet Union launches Sputnik 1, Earth's first artificial satellite, opening the Space Age.

    TechnologyExploration· Russia, Kazakhstan
  17. September 14, 1960★★★★★

    OPEC founded

    Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia and Venezuela found the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries at the Baghdad Conference.

    Economy· Iraq, Iran, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela
  18. April 12, 1961★★★★★

    Gagarin becomes the first human in space

    Soviet cosmonaut Yuri Gagarin orbits the Earth aboard Vostok 1, becoming the first human in space.

    ExplorationTechnology· Russia, Kazakhstan
  19. October 16, 1962 – October 28, 1962★★★★★

    Cuban Missile Crisis

    A 13-day standoff between the United States and the Soviet Union over nuclear missiles in Cuba brings the world closest to nuclear war.

    Politics· Cuba, United States, Russia
  20. 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
  21. July 20, 1969★★★★★

    Apollo 11 Moon landing

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

    ExplorationTechnology· United States
  22. 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
  23. 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
  24. 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
  25. 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
  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. 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
  29. 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
  30. 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
  31. April 24, 1990★★★★★

    Launch of the Hubble Space Telescope

    Space Shuttle Discovery carries the Hubble Space Telescope into orbit, where it transforms our understanding of the universe.

    ScienceTechnology· United States
  32. September 4, 1998★★★★★

    Google is founded

    Larry Page and Sergey Brin incorporate Google, which becomes the world's most widely used search engine.

    TechnologyEconomy· United States

21st century

  1. January 15, 2001★★★★★

    Wikipedia is launched

    Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger launch Wikipedia, a free online encyclopedia written collaboratively by volunteers.

    TechnologyCulture· United States
  2. April 14, 2003★★★★★

    Human Genome Project completed

    The Human Genome Project announces it has sequenced the vast majority of the human genome.

    Science· United States, United Kingdom
  3. February 4, 2004★★★★★

    Facebook is launched

    Mark Zuckerberg and fellow students launch the social network Facebook at Harvard; it later reaches billions of users.

    TechnologyCulture· United States
  4. January 9, 2007★★★★★

    Apple unveils the iPhone

    Steve Jobs unveils the first iPhone, accelerating the era of touchscreen smartphones.

    Technology· United States
  6. October 31, 2008★★★★★

    Bitcoin white paper published

    A person or group using the name Satoshi Nakamoto publishes the white paper describing Bitcoin, the first decentralised cryptocurrency.

    TechnologyEconomy
  7. 2012★★★★★

    CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing described

    Jennifer Doudna and Emmanuelle Charpentier show how CRISPR-Cas9 can cut DNA at chosen sites, launching a revolution in gene editing.

    Science· United States
  8. 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
  9. September 14, 2015★★★★★

    First detection of gravitational waves

    The LIGO detectors record gravitational waves from two merging black holes, confirming a prediction of general relativity; the result is announced in February 2016.

    Science· United States
Timeline · World History Timeline