20th Century

All 20th Century Events

Marconi Receives Transatlantic Radio Signal

December 12, 1901 · 20th Century

TechnologyEntertainment & Media

Mount Pelée Eruption

1902 · 20th Century

Geology

First Electrical AC System Invented

1902 AD · 20th Century

Technology

Marie Curie Isolates Radium

April 1902 · 20th Century

ChemistryMedicine

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Publishes Rocket Theory

1903 · 20th Century

Technology

Wright Brothers' First Flight

December 17, 1903 · 20th Century

TechnologyEconomics

Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity

June 30, 1905 · 20th Century

Physics/CosmologyMathematics

Markov Chains

1906 · 20th Century

Mathematics

Tunguska Event Flattens Siberian Forest

June 30, 1908 · 20th Century

AstronomyGeology

Haber and Bosch Develop Synthetic Nitrogen Fixation

1909 · 20th Century

ChemistryAgricultureEngineering

NAACP Founded

February 12, 1909 · 20th Century

PoliticsLawCulture

Burgess Shale Fossils Discovered by Walcott

August 30, 1909 · 20th Century

BiologyEvolution

The Great Migration Begins

c. 1910–1970 · 20th Century

CulturePoliticsEconomics

Mexican Revolution

November 20, 1910 · 20th Century

PoliticsWar

1911 Revolution (China)

1911 · 20th Century

Politics

Amundsen's Expedition Reaches the South Pole

December 14, 1911 · 20th Century

Exploration

Tarzan of the Apes Published

1912 · 20th Century

ArtCulture

Arizona Statehood

1912 AD · 20th Century

Politics

Abdication of the Qing Dynasty

1912 · 20th Century

CulturePolitics

Republic of China established

January 1, 1912 · 20th Century

Politics

Alan Turing's Birth

June 23, 1912 · 20th Century

TechnologyMathematics

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

June 28, 1914 · 20th Century

PoliticsWar

Germany Issues Blank Check to Austria-Hungary

July 5th, 1914 · 20th Century

War

France declares support for Russia

July 20th, 1914 · 20th Century

Politics

Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia

July 28, 1914 · 20th Century

War

Start of World War I

July 28, 1914 · 20th Century

PoliticsWar

Germany declares war on Russia

August 1, 1914 · 20th Century

WarPolitics

Austria-Hungary presents ultimatum to Serbia

July 23rd, 1914 · 20th Century

War

Panama Canal Opens to Commercial Traffic

August 15, 1914 · 20th Century

EngineeringExplorationEconomics

Yelagin Palace Ministerial Council

July 24th, 1914 · 20th Century

PoliticsWar

First shots of World War 1

July 29, 1914 · 20th Century

War

Tsar Nicholas II's General Mobilization Order

July 30, 1914 · 20th Century

Politics

Britain declares war on Germany

August 4, 1914 · 20th Century

WarPolitics

Fritz Haber Deploys Chlorine Gas at Ypres

April 22, 1915 · 20th Century

ChemistryWar

Einstein Publishes General Theory of Relativity

November 25, 1915 · 20th Century

Physics/CosmologyMathematicsAstronomy

Completion of the Trans-Siberian Railway

October 1916 · 20th Century

EngineeringEconomicsExploration

February Revolution

Mar 8, 1917 · 20th Century

CulturePoliticsEconomics

The Bolshevik Revolution

October 25 (November 7), 1917 · 20th Century

Politics

Balfour Declaration Pledges Jewish National Home in Palestine

November 2, 1917 · 20th Century

PoliticsCultureWar

Shapley Locates the Milky Way's Center

1918 CE · 20th Century

AstronomyPhysics/CosmologyMathematics

First Transatlantic Flight

1919 AD · 20th Century

Technology

Korean Independence Declaration Read Publicly; Mass Protests Spread Across Peninsula

1 March 1919 · 20th Century

PoliticsCulture

Intl. Labour Organization Founded

March 4, 1919 · 20th Century

PoliticsLaw

Eddington's Eclipse Expedition Confirms Relativity

May 29, 1919 · 20th Century

AstronomyPhysics/Cosmology

Treaty of Versailles

June 28, 1919 · 20th Century

PoliticsWarEconomics

The Roaring 20s

1920 AD · 20th Century

Economics

Nineteenth Amendment Ratified

1920 AD · 20th Century

CultureLawPolitics

British Mandate for Palestine Established

1920 · 20th Century

PoliticsCultureLaw

Shapley–Curtis Debate on the Scale of the Universe

April 26, 1920 · 20th Century

AstronomyPhysics/Cosmology

KDKA Begins Regular Radio Broadcasting

November 2, 1920 · 20th Century

Entertainment & MediaTechnology

Chinese Communist Party founded

July, 1921 · 20th Century

Politics

Great Kanto Earthquake

September 1, 1923 · 20th Century

Geology

Establishment of Japan's Seismic Building Codes

1924 · 20th Century

Engineering

Immigration Act of 1924 Signed into Law

May 26, 1924 · 20th Century

PoliticsLaw

Hubble Proves Andromeda is an External Galaxy

December 30, 1924 · 20th Century

AstronomyPhysics/Cosmology

The Great Gatsby Published

1925 · 20th Century

ArtCultureEconomics

Vavilov Maps the Centers of Crop Plant Origin

1926 · 20th Century

AgricultureBiology

First Liquid-Fueled Rocket

March 16, 1926 · 20th Century

TechnologyEngineeringPhysics/Cosmology

Folsom Site Excavation Confirms Ice Age Human Presence in the Americas

1926-1927 · 20th Century

CultureHuman Evolution

Lemaître Proposes Cosmic Expansion Theory

1927 · 20th Century

Physics/CosmologyAstronomyMathematics

Philo Farnsworth Transmits Electronic Television Image

September 7, 1927 · 20th Century

Entertainment & MediaTechnology

Alexander Fleming Discovers Penicillin

September 1928 · 20th Century

MedicineBiology

Clovis Site Discovered

1929-1932 · 20th Century

Human EvolutionExploration

Hubble Announces the Expanding Universe

March 15, 1929 · 20th Century

AstronomyPhysics/Cosmology

The Great Depression Begins

October 24, 1929 · 20th Century

Economics

Gandhi Leads the Salt March to Dandi

March 12, 1930 · 20th Century

PoliticsCulture

Empire State Building Completed

1931 AD · 20th Century

TechnologyArtEngineering

Gödel's Incompleteness Theorems

1931 · 20th Century

MathematicsPhilosophy

Japan invades Manchuria

September 18, 1931 · 20th Century

War

Adolf Hitler Becomes Chancellor of Germany

January 30, 1933 · 20th Century

Politics

First Nazi Concentration Camp

March 22, 1933 · 20th Century

PoliticsWar

Indian Reorganization Act

1934 · 20th Century

CulturePoliticsEconomics

The Long March: CCP Escapes Nationalist Encirclement

October 1934 – October 1935 · 20th Century

WarPoliticsCulture

The Nuremberg Race Laws are Passed

1935 · 20th Century

Law

Italy invades and conquers Ethiopia

October 2, 1935 · 20th Century

War

Anti-Comintern Pact Signed

November 25, 1936 · 20th Century

PoliticsWar

Formation of the Rome-Berlin Axis

November 1, 1936 · 20th Century

PoliticsWar

BBC Television Service Launches from Alexandra Palace

November 2, 1936 · 20th Century

Entertainment & MediaTechnology

Alan Turing Publishes On Computable Numbers

November 1936 · 20th Century

MathematicsTechnology

Marco Polo Bridge Incident

July 7, 1937 · 20th Century

War

Second Sino-Japanese War Begins; Nanjing Massacre

July 7 – December 13, 1937 · 20th Century

WarPoliticsCulture

Kristallnacht

November 9, 1938 · 20th Century

War

Germany Invades Poland

September 1, 1939 · 20th Century

War

Florey and Chain Develop Penicillin for Clinical Use

1940-1941 · 20th Century

MedicineChemistry

Milankovitch Publishes Orbital Climate Theory

1941 · 20th Century

ClimateMathematics

Operation Barbarossa Begins

June 22, 1941 · 20th Century

War

End of the Great Depression

1941-1942 · 20th Century

Economics

Pearl Harbor Attack

December 7, 1941 AD · 20th Century

War

The Wannsee Conference

January 20, 1942 · 20th Century

War

Executive Order 9066 — Japanese American Internment

February 19, 1942 · 20th Century

PoliticsLawWar

Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony Premiered in Besieged City

August 9, 1942 · 20th Century

ArtEntertainment & MediaWar

First Successful V-2 Rocket Launch

October 3, 1942 · 20th Century

TechnologyWar

Bretton Woods Conference

July 1944 · 20th Century

EconomicsPolitics

First V-2 Rocket Attack on London

September 8, 1944 · 20th Century

TechnologyWar

Nuremberg Trials

1945 · 20th Century

EconomicsLaw

Division of Korea

1945 · 20th Century

PoliticsWar

Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima

Aug 6, 1945 · 20th Century

ChemistryTechnologyWar

First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC Published

June 30, 1945 · 20th Century

TechnologyMathematics

Japan Signs Surrender Instrument Aboard USS Missouri; Allied Occupation Begins

2 September 1945 · 20th Century

PoliticsEconomicsWar

Sukarno and Hatta Proclaim Indonesian Independence from Dutch Colonial Rule

17 August 1945 · 20th Century

PoliticsWar

United Nations Founded

October 24, 1945 · 20th Century

PoliticsLaw

Gamow-Alpher-Herman Big Bang Nucleosynthesis Theory

1946-1948 · 20th Century

Physics/CosmologyMathematics

Dead Sea Scrolls Found in Qumran Caves

Early 1947 · 20th Century

ReligionLanguageCulture

Kon-Tiki Raft Crosses the Pacific Ocean

April 28 - August 7, 1947 · 20th Century

ExplorationCulture

Partition of India

August 15, 1947 · 20th Century

PoliticsWar

UN General Assembly Votes to Partition Palestine

November 29, 1947 · 20th Century

PoliticsLawCulture

Invention of the Transistor

December 16, 1947 · 20th Century

Technology

Information Theory

1948 · 20th Century

Mathematics

Barbara McClintock Discovers Transposable Elements

1948 · 20th Century

BiologyAgriculture

Israeli Independence Declared; Arab-Israeli War and Palestinian Nakba

May 14, 1948 · 20th Century

PoliticsWarCulture

Syngman Rhee Becomes President of South Korea

July 20, 1948 - August 15, 1948 · 20th Century

Politics

Berlin Blockade

June 24, 1948 - May 12, 1949 · 20th Century

PoliticsWar

Executive Order 9981 — Military Desegregation

July 26, 1948 · 20th Century

PoliticsLawWar

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

December 10, 1948 · 20th Century

CultureLawPolitics

Development of Radiocarbon Dating

1949 · 20th Century

Technology

Joseph Campbell Publishes The Hero with a Thousand Faces

1949 · 20th Century

PhilosophyCultureArt

Geneva Conventions

August 12, 1949 · 20th Century

LawPoliticsWar

Proclamation of the People's Republic of China

October 1, 1949 · 20th Century

Politics

Chiang Kai-shek and KMT Government Withdraw to Taiwan After Losing Chinese Civil War

10 December 1949 · 20th Century

PoliticsWar

Computing Machinery and Intelligence Paper Published

1950 · 20th Century

TechnologyMathematicsPhilosophy

Korean War

June 25, 1950 · 20th Century

War

Battle of Pusan Perimeter

August 4 - September 18, 1950 · 20th Century

War

Soviet Space Medicine Program Established

1951 · 20th Century

MedicineEngineering

Mickey Mantle MLB Debut with Yankees

April 17, 1951 · 20th Century

Entertainment & MediaCulture

I Love Lucy Premieres

October 15, 1951 · 20th Century

Entertainment & MediaArt

Michael Ventris Deciphers Linear B

1952 · 20th Century

CultureLanguage

Rosalind Franklin Captures X-ray Image of DNA

May 1952 · 20th Century

BiologyChemistry

Development of the R-7 Semyorka ICBM

1953 · 20th Century

War

Discovery of DNA Double Helix Structure

April 25, 1953 · 20th Century

BiologyMedicineChemistry

Korean War Armistice Signed at Panmunjom; Demilitarized Zone Established

27 July 1953 · 20th Century

WarPolitics

Coronation of Elizabeth II

June 2, 1953 · 20th Century

Politics

CIA and MI6 Overthrow Iranian Prime Minister Mossadegh

August 19, 1953 · 20th Century

PoliticsWar

Brown v Board of Education

May 17, 1954 · 20th Century

CultureLaw

Operation Deep Freeze

1955 · 20th Century

ExplorationTechnology

Salk Polio Vaccine Declared Safe and Effective

April 12, 1955 · 20th Century

Medicine

First Practical Cesium Atomic Clock

May 24, 1955 · 20th Century

Physics/CosmologyTechnologyEngineering

Murder of Emmett Till

August 28, 1955 · 20th Century

PoliticsCulture

Montgomery Bus Boycott

December 1, 1955 · 20th Century

Law

Establishment of McMurdo Station

February 16, 1956 · 20th Century

ExplorationEngineering

Federal-Aid Highway Act Signed

June 29, 1956 · 20th Century

PoliticsLaw

Dartmouth Conference — Artificial Intelligence Named as a Discipline

Summer 1956 · 20th Century

TechnologyMathematicsPhilosophy

Year of Africa: 17 Nations Gain Independence in 1960

1957–1960 · 20th Century

PoliticsCultureLaw

Formation of IAEA

July 29, 1957 · 20th Century

Politics

Little Rock Nine Integrate Central High School

September 4–25, 1957 · 20th Century

PoliticsLaw

Sputnik 1 Launched

October 4, 1957 · 20th Century

TechnologyPolitics

Explorer 1 Satellite Launched

January 31, 1958 · 20th Century

Engineering

Keeling Begins Continuous Atmospheric CO2 Measurement at Mauna Loa

March 29, 1958 · 20th Century

ClimateChemistry

Formation of NASA

July 29, 1958 · 20th Century

EngineeringPoliticsTechnology

Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress Released in Japan

December 28, 1958 · 20th Century

ArtCultureEntertainment & Media

Antarctic Treaty Signed

December 1, 1959 · 20th Century

PoliticsLaw

Greensboro Sit-Ins Begin

February 1, 1960 · 20th Century

PoliticsCulture

First Man in Space

April 12, 1961 · 20th Century

Engineering

Freedom Riders Challenge Interstate Segregation

May 4 – November 1, 1961 · 20th Century

PoliticsLawCulture

Kennedy's Moon Landing Speech to Congress

May 25, 1961 · 20th Century

PoliticsEngineering

Princess Diana Born

July 1, 1961 · 20th Century

CulturePolitics

Borlaug's Semi-Dwarf Wheat Varieties Released in Mexico

1962 · 20th Century

AgricultureBiology

Rachel Carson Publishes Silent Spring

September 27, 1962 · 20th Century

ClimateBiology

Cuban Missile Crisis

October 16-28, 1962 · 20th Century

PoliticsWar

March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

August 28, 1963 · 20th Century

CulturePoliticsLaw

Penzias and Wilson Discover Cosmic Microwave Background

May 20, 1964 · 20th Century

AstronomyPhysics/Cosmology

Civil Rights Act of 1964

July 2, 1964 · 20th Century

PoliticsLawCulture

Gulf of Tonkin Incident

August 2-4, 1964 · 20th Century

War

Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights Marches

March 7–25, 1965 · 20th Century

PoliticsLawCulture

Voting Rights Act of 1965

August 6, 1965 · 20th Century

PoliticsLaw

Suharto Seizes Power After Coup Attempt; Mass Killings of PKI Members and Suspected Sympathizers Follow

October 1965 – March 1966 · 20th Century

WarPolitics

Star Trek Premiered on NBC

1966 AD · 20th Century

Entertainment & MediaArtCulture

J. Tuzo Wilson Proposes Plate Tectonic Cycle

1966 · 20th Century

Geology

Cultural Revolution Begins in China

May 16, 1966 · 20th Century

Politics

Intl. Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is Adopted

December 16, 1966 · 20th Century

CultureLawReligion

Outer Space Treaty Signed

January 27, 1967 · 20th Century

PoliticsLaw

Six-Day War; Israel Occupies West Bank, Gaza, Sinai, Golan Heights

June 5–10, 1967 · 20th Century

WarPoliticsLaw

1967 Detroit Uprising

July 23–28, 1967 · 20th Century

PoliticsCulture

Redefinition of the Second

October 1967 · 20th Century

Physics/CosmologyTechnologyMathematics

Kerner Commission Report Released

February 29, 1968 · 20th Century

PoliticsLaw

Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

April 4, 1968 · 20th Century

PoliticsCulture

Fair Housing Act Signed into Law

April 11, 1968 · 20th Century

PoliticsLaw

Apollo 11 Moon Landing

July 20, 1969 · 20th Century

Engineering

Apollo 13 Mission Launched

April 11, 1970 · 20th Century

TechnologyPolitics

Soyuz 11: Tragic Space Mission

June 29, 1971 · 20th Century

Engineering

M*A*S*H TV Series Premiere

1972 AD · 20th Century

Entertainment & MediaArt

Pong (Video Game)

1972 AD · 20th Century

Entertainment & MediaArt

Nixon Visit to China

February 21, 1972 · 20th Century

Politics

ABM Treaty Signed by US and USSR

May 26, 1972 · 20th Century

PoliticsLaw

Space Shuttle Thermal Protection Tile Development

1973 · 20th Century

TechnologyChemistry

Roe v. Wade Supreme Court Decision

January 22, 1973 · 20th Century

LawPolitics

Discovery of Sagittarius A*

February 1974 · 20th Century

Physics/CosmologyAstronomyTechnology

Terracotta Army Uncovered at Xi'an

March 29, 1974 · 20th Century

CultureArt

Arecibo Message Beamed Toward Messier 13

November 16, 1974 · 20th Century

AstronomyTechnology

Australopithecus afarensis Lucy Skeleton Discovered

November 24, 1974 · 20th Century

Human Evolution

Viking Program - Mars Landers

1975-1976 · 20th Century

Politics

Industrial Light and Magic Founded

1975 · 20th Century

TechnologyArtEntertainment & Media

Shogun Novel Published

June 1975 · 20th Century

ArtCulture

Saturday Night Live Premieres

October 11, 1975 · 20th Century

Entertainment & MediaArt

Star Wars: A New Hope Released

1977 · 20th Century

Entertainment & MediaArt

Voyager Golden Record Assembled

1977 · 20th Century

CultureTechnologyAstronomy

Monte Verde Excavation Documents Pre-Clovis Habitation in Chile

1977-1985 · 20th Century

CultureHuman Evolution

Deng Xiaoping Launches Reform and Opening Up

December 18, 1978 · 20th Century

PoliticsEconomicsCulture

Iranian Revolution Overthrows the Shah

February 11, 1979 · 20th Century

PoliticsWar

Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

1979 · 20th Century

PoliticsLaw

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Released

1980 · 20th Century

Entertainment & MediaArt

Medusa Fiber Optic Spectrograph Demonstrated

1980 · 20th Century

AstronomyTechnologyPhysics/Cosmology

WHO Declares Smallpox Eradicated

May 8, 1980 · 20th Century

Medicine

Mount St. Helens Erupts in Lateral Blast

May 18, 1980 · 20th Century

GeologyClimate

Pac-Man Released

May 22, 1980 · 20th Century

ArtEntertainment & Media

Vera Rubin Publishes Galaxy Rotation Evidence for Dark Matter

June 1980 · 20th Century

Physics/CosmologyAstronomy

Iraq Invades Iran — Iran-Iraq War Begins

September 22, 1980 · 20th Century

WarPolitics

President Reagan elected

November 4, 1980 · 20th Century

Politics

First Space Shuttle Columbia Launch

April 12, 1981 · 20th Century

Technology

STS-1: First Space Shuttle Launch

April 12, 1981 · 20th Century

Technology

Mario Bros. (Video Game) Published

1983 AD · 20th Century

Entertainment & MediaArt

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Released

May 25, 1983 · 20th Century

Entertainment & MediaArt

Tetris (Video Game)

1984 AD · 20th Century

Entertainment & MediaArt

Space Shuttle Discovery Launched

August 30, 1984 · 20th Century

Technology

Bhopal Gas Disaster

December 3, 1984 · 20th Century

ChemistryMedicine

Super Mario Bros. Released

1985 AD · 20th Century

Entertainment & MediaArt

Chernobyl Disaster

1986 AD · 20th Century

EngineeringTechnology

Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster

January 28, 1986 · 20th Century

Technology

INF Treaty Signed by US and USSR

December 8, 1987 · 20th Century

PoliticsLaw

USS Vincennes Shoots Down Iran Air Flight 655

July 3, 1988 · 20th Century

WarLaw

The Birth of the World Wide Web

March 12, 1989 · 20th Century

TechnologyLanguage

Schabowski's Mistaken Press Conference Announcement

November 9, 1989 · 20th Century

Politics

Berlin Wall Falls

November 9, 1989 AD · 20th Century

EngineeringPolitics

Tiananmen Square Protests Crackdown

June 4, 1989 · 20th Century

Politics

Seinfeld TV Show Premiere

July 5, 1989 AD · 20th Century

Entertainment & MediaArt

Convention on the Rights of the Child is Adopted

November 20, 1989 · 20th Century

CultureLawEconomics

The Simpsons TV Series Premiered

December 17, 1989 AD · 20th Century

Entertainment & MediaArt

Human Genome Project Launched

1990 · 20th Century

Medicine

Hubble Space Telescope Launched

April 24, 1990 · 20th Century

AstronomyTechnology

Rodney King Beating by LAPD Officers

March 3, 1991 · 20th Century

PoliticsLaw

Mount Pinatubo Eruption Cools Global Climate

June 15, 1991 · 20th Century

ClimateGeology

Dissolution of the Soviet Union

December 25, 1991 AD · 20th Century

Politics

1992 Los Angeles Riots and Uprising

April 29 – May 4, 1992 · 20th Century

PoliticsLawCulture

Wolfenstein 3D Released

May 5, 1992 · 20th Century

Entertainment & MediaArt

United States Presidential Election of 1992

November 3, 1992 · 20th Century

Politics

Doom (Video Game)

1993 AD · 20th Century

ArtEntertainment & Media

Oslo Accords: Israel and PLO Sign Peace Framework

September 13, 1993 · 20th Century

PoliticsLawCulture

Rwandan Genocide: 800,000 Killed in 100 Days

April 7 – July 4, 1994 · 20th Century

WarPoliticsLaw

Nelson Mandela Elected President; End of Apartheid

April 27, 1994 · 20th Century

PoliticsLawCulture

Detection of Exoplanet 51 Pegasi b

October 6, 1995 · 20th Century

AstronomyPhysics/Cosmology

Hubble Deep Field Image Released

January 15, 1996 · 20th Century

AstronomyTechnology

US Telecommunications Reform Act

February 8, 1996 · 20th Century

TechnologyPoliticsEconomics

Taiwan Holds Direct Presidential Election Under PRC Missile Intimidation

23 March 1996 · 20th Century

PoliticsWar

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Published

June 26, 1997 · 20th Century

ArtCulture

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Released

1999 · 20th Century

Entertainment & MediaArt

The Sopranos Premiered on HBO

January 10, 1999 · 20th Century

Entertainment & MediaArt

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