Historical Events — Explore the Timeline

A

The Big Bang: The Cosmological Event

13.82 Billion years ago · Astronomy

A

Cosmic Inflation

10^-35 seconds after the Big Bang · Astronomy

P

Big Bang Nucleosynthesis

20 minutes to 3 minutes after Big Bang · Physics/Cosmology

A

Cosmic Background Temperature Enters the Liquid Water Range

c. 13.81 Billion years ago · Astronomy

A

First Star formed

13.72 Billion years ago · Astronomy

A

Formation of Milky Way Galaxy

13.6 Billion years ago · Astronomy

A

Cosmic Gems Arc: Proto-Globular Star Clusters Form at Extreme Density

c. 13.36 Billion years ago · Astronomy

P

Formation of First Galaxies: Birth of Stellar Structures

c. 13.5-13.2 BYA · Physics/Cosmology

A

Formation of Globular Cluster HP 1 in the Milky Way Bulge

c. 12.8 Billion years ago · Astronomy

P

First Heavy Elements: Birth of Stellar Nucleosynthesis

c. 13.0-12.5 BYA · Physics/Cosmology

P

End of Cosmic Dark Ages: Universe Becomes Transparent

c. 12.7 Billion years ago · Physics/Cosmology

A

Formation of the Kepler-444 Planetary System

c. 11.2 Billion years ago · Astronomy

P

Gaia-Enceladus Dwarf Galaxy Merges with the Milky Way

c. 10 Billion years ago · Physics/Cosmology

P

Formation of the Local Group Begins

c. 7 Billion years ago · Physics/Cosmology

A

Milky Way Star Formation Burst Recorded in Presolar Grains

c. 6.8 Billion years ago · Astronomy

P

Supernova Triggers Proto-Solar System Formation

c. 5 Billion years ago · Physics/Cosmology

P

Formation of the Sun

4.6 billion years ago · Physics/Cosmology

P

Formation of the Solar System

4.6 billion years ago · Physics/Cosmology

P

Formation of Planet Earth

4.54 Billion years ago · Physics/Cosmology

A

Moon-Forming Giant Impact

c. 4.5 Billion years ago · Astronomy

A

Formation of Jupiter: Birth of the Solar System's Giant

c. 4.5 Billion years ago · Astronomy

A

Formation of Mars: Birth of the Red Planet

c. 4.5 Billion years ago · Astronomy

G

Earth's Hadean Ocean Condenses from Volcanic Outgassing

c. 4.41 Billion years ago · Geology

G

Formation of Earth's Oldest Known Minerals

c. 4.4 Billion years ago · Geology

G

Delivery of Organic Compounds via Meteorites

c. 4.5-3.8 Billion years ago · Geology

G

Late Heavy Bombardment

c. 4.0-3.8 Billion years ago · Geology

A

Peak of the Late Heavy Bombardment

c. 3.9 Billion years ago · Astronomy

G

Synthesis of First Prebiotic RNA and DNA Building Blocks

c. 4.0-3.7 Billion years ago · Geology

A

Formation of Lunar Orientale Basin During Late Heavy Bombardment

c. 3.8 Billion years ago · Astronomy

G

Nuvvuagittuq Greenstone Belt Formation

c. 3.77 Billion years ago · Geology

G

Isua Greenstone Belt Banded Iron Formation

c. 3.8-3.7 Billion years ago · Geology

G

Earth's Core Dynamo Generates a Sustained Magnetic Field

c. 3.7 Billion years ago · Geology

G

Earliest Evidence of Life on Earth

3.5 Billion years ago · Geology

B

Microbial Mat Ecosystems Established

c. 3.5 BYA · Biology

G

Dresser Formation Stromatolites Form

c. 3.48 Billion years ago · Geology

G

Earliest Evidence of Terrestrial Life

c. 3.48 Billion years ago · Geology

G

Apex Chert Microfossil Controversy

c. 3.46 Billion years ago · Geology

G

Strelley Pool Stromatolites Form

c. 3.43 Billion years ago · Geology

B

Chemosynthetic Microfossils in Barberton Hydrothermal Veins

c. 3.42 BYA · Biology

G

Earliest Evidence of Anoxygenic Photosynthesis

c. 3.4 BYA · Geology

G

Sulfur-Based Biosignatures Preserved in Archean Sediments

c. 3.2 BYA · Geology

G

Earliest Evidence of Microbial Sulfur Metabolism

c. 3.2 BYA · Geology

G

Onset of Plate Tectonics on Earth

c. 3.18 Billion years ago · Geology

G

Emergence of Oxygenic Photosynthesis

c. 3.0-2.7 BYA · Geology

G

Great Oxidation Event

2.4 Billion Years ago · Geology

G

Great Oxidation Event Transforms Earth's Atmosphere

c. 2.3 BYA · Geology

G

Huronian Glaciation: Earth's First Global Ice Age

c. 2.4-2.1 BYA · Geology

G

Francevillian Biota: Early Evidence of Macroscopic Organisms

c. 2.1 BYA · Geology

G

Lomagundi Carbon Isotope Excursion

c. 2.2-2.0 BYA · Geology

B

Endosymbiotic Acquisition of Mitochondria

c. 2 billion years ago · Biology

B

Emergence of Eukaryotic Cells

c. 1.8-1.6 BYA · Biology

B

Bangiomorpha pubescens: Earliest Confirmed Eukaryotic Algae

c. 1.2 BYA · Biology

G

Rodinia Supercontinent Formation

c. 1.1 BYA · Geology

G

Grenvillian Orogeny

c. 1.1-1.0 BYA · Geology

G

Rodinia Supercontinent Breakup Begins

c. 750 MYA · Geology

G

Snowball Earth Episodes: Global Glaciations

c. 720-635 MYA · Geology

B

Evolution of Collagen and Structural Proteins

c. 600 MYA · Biology

E

Doushantuo Formation Microfossils: Evidence of Early Animal Embryos

c. 600-550 MYA · Evolution

B

Doushantuo Fossils Reveal Cell Differentiation and Signaling

c. 600 MYA · Biology

B

Ediacaran Biota Emerges: First Complex Multicellular Organisms

c. 575 MYA · Biology

G

Cambrian Explosion

538.8 million years ago · Geology

C

Late Ordovician Glaciation and Mass Extinction

c. 445 Million years ago · Climate

G

Caledonian Orogeny

c. 490-390 MYA · Geology

G

Closure of the Rheic Ocean

c. 340 MYA · Geology

G

Formation of Pangaea

335 million years ago · Geology

C

Carboniferous Rainforest Collapse

c. 305 Million years ago · Climate

G

Mesozoic Era

252 Million years ago · Geology

B

Permian-Triassic Extinction: The End-Permian Die-Off

c. 252 MYA · Biology

G

Early Triassic Period

251 Million years ago · Geology

B

Herrerasaurus: Triassic Theropod Predator

c. 231 million years ago · Biology

B

First Mammaliaforms Emerge

225 Million years ago · Biology

B

Late Triassic Period

225 Million years ago · Biology

B

Jurassic Period

201-145 Million years ago · Biology

B

Late Jurassic Period

163.5-145 Million years ago · Biology

B

Stegosaurus Evolution

150 Million years ago · Biology

G

Cretaceous Period

145 Million years ago · Geology

B

Late Cretaceous Period

125 Million years ago · Biology

C

Oceanic Anoxic Event 2 Triggers the Cretaceous Thermal Maximum

c. 93.9 Million years ago · Climate

G

Formation of the Caribbean Volcanic Arc

c. 80 MYA · Geology

G

Laramidia Emerges as Island Continent

c. 80 MYA · Geology

G

T-Rex lived

68 Million years ago · Geology

G

Chicxulub Impact: Mass Extinction

66 Million years ago · Geology

C

Paleocene-Eocene Thermal Maximum

c. 56 MYA · Climate

G

India-Eurasia Collision Begins Closing the Neo-Tethys Ocean

c. 50 MYA · Geology

C

Arctic Azolla Bloom Draws Down Atmospheric CO2

c. 49 MYA · Climate

G

Drake Passage Opens

c. 34 MYA · Geology

G

Oligocene Epoch begins

33.9 million to 23 million years ago · Geology

B

Miocene Grassland Ecosystems Spread Across Continents

c. 25-20 MYA · Biology

C

Mediterranean Desiccates During the Messinian Salinity Crisis

c. 5.96 MYA · Climate

H

Ardipithecus ramidus Fossils Recovered at Aramis

1992-1994 (species dated 4.4 million years ago) · Human Evolution

H

Laetoli Hominin Footprint Trails Excavated

1976-1978 (footprints dated 3.66 million years ago) · Human Evolution

B

Homo habilis Classification

2.3 million years ago · Biology

H

Australopithecus sediba Discovered at Malapa

August 15, 2008 · Human Evolution

H

Olduvai Gorge: Earliest Stone Tool Technology

c. 2.0-1.7 million BCE · Human Evolution

H

Emergence of Acheulean Hand Axe Technology

c. 1.76 million BCE · Human Evolution

B

Homo erectus: First Migration Out of Africa

c. 1.8-1.7 million BCE · Biology

H

Earliest Evidence of Hominin Fire Use at Gesher Benot Ya'aqov

780,000 years ago · Human Evolution

H

Trinil Shell Engravings by Homo erectus

c. 540,000-430,000 BCE · Human Evolution

H

Schöningen Spears: Earliest Wooden Hunting Weapons

c. 400,000-380,000 BCE · Human Evolution

H

Bilzingsleben Bone Engravings: Organized Symbolic Markings

c. 370,000 BCE · Human Evolution

H

Oldest Homo Sapiens Fossils

315,000 years ago · Human Evolution

H

Homo naledi Discovered in Rising Star Cave

2013-2015 (species dated 335,000-236,000 years ago) · Human Evolution

H

Berekhat Ram Figurine: Earliest Anthropomorphic Carving

c. 280,000-250,000 BCE · Human Evolution

H

Qafzeh Cave: Early Symbolic Ochre Use

c. 100,000-90,000 BCE · Human Evolution

B

Denny: First-Generation Neanderthal-Denisovan Hybrid

c. 90,000 BCE · Biology

H

Homo floresiensis Unearthed at Liang Bua Cave

2003 (species dated 100,000-50,000 years ago) · Human Evolution

C

Toba Supervolcano Eruption Triggers Global Volcanic Winter

c. 74,000 BCE · Climate

H

Symbolic Marking Tradition at Blombos Cave

c. 75,000 years ago · Human Evolution

H

Earliest Abstract Engravings at Blombos Cave

c. 70,000 BCE · Human Evolution

H

Neanderthal Cave Art in Spain

c. 65,000 BCE · Human Evolution

H

Madjedbebe Rock Shelter Dated to c. 65,000 BCE

c. 65,000 BCE · Human Evolution

H

Neanderthal Burial at La Chapelle-aux-Saints

60,000 years ago · Human Evolution

H

First Musical Instruments: Aurignacian Bone Flutes

c. 43,000-40,000 BCE · Human Evolution

H

Denisovan DNA Discovered in Modern Human Populations

c. 50,000-30,000 BCE · Human Evolution

H

Lion Man of Hohlenstein-Stadel: Earliest Figurative Sculpture

c. 40,000-35,000 BCE · Human Evolution

A

Chauvet Cave Art Created

35 Thousand years ago · Art

M

Lebombo Bone: Oldest Known Mathematical Artifact

c. 35,000 BCE · Mathematics

C

Sungir Burial Site, Russia

32,050 to 28,550 BC · Culture

A

Upper Paleolithic Proto-Writing System in European Cave Art

c. 20,000 BCE · Art

H

Divergence of Dogs from Wolf Populations

c. 23,000-15,000 years ago · Human Evolution

H

Solutrean Atlatl at Combe Sauniere

c. 17,500 BCE · Human Evolution

T

Ishango Bone Records Early Mathematical Notations

c. 20,000-18,000 BCE · Technology

E

Earliest Migration Across Beringia

16,500 BCE · Engineering

T

First Jōmon Pottery Emerges in Japan

14500 BC · Technology

C

Opening of the Ice-Free Corridor

c. 14000 BCE · Climate

C

Younger Dryas Period Begins

12,900 to 11,700 years ago · Climate

T

Clovis Culture

11,500 BCE · Technology

A

Tell Abu Hureyra Neolithic Settlement

c. 11,500-7,000 BCE · Agriculture

A

Earliest Known Rye Cultivation at Tell Abu Hureyra

c. 11,000 BCE · Agriculture

B

The Agricultural Revolution

10,000 BC · Biology

H

Leanderthal Lady

10,000 BCE · Human Evolution

C

Early Walled Settlement at Jericho

c. 9600-8000 BCE · Culture

C

Göbekli Tepe Megalithic Complex

c. 9600-8200 BCE · Culture

C

African Humid Period: The Green Sahara

c. 9000 BCE · Climate

C

Las Vegas Culture Emerges in Ecuador

8000 BC · Culture

T

Early Copper Metallurgy at Gre Fılla

c. 8000 BCE · Technology

A

Warren Field Mesolithic Lunar Calendar

c. 8000 BCE · Astronomy

A

Domestication of Sweet Potato in Peru

c. 8000 BCE · Agriculture

T

First Clay Token Accounting System

c. 8000-7500 BCE · Technology

C

Jericho PPNB Plastered Skulls

c. 7500 BCE · Culture

A

Çatalhöyük: Neolithic Settlement

c. 7500-5600 BCE · Agriculture

A

Rice Domestication in the Yangtze Delta

c. 7000 BCE · Agriculture

A

Mehrgarh Neolithic Settlement

c. 7000-5500 BCE · Agriculture

A

Jiahu Bone Flutes Excavated at Henan Site

c. 7000 BCE · Art

A

Domestication of Teosinte into Maize

c. 7000 BCE · Agriculture

A

'Ain Ghazal Statues: Neolithic Plaster Figurines

c. 6750-6500 BCE · Art

L

Jiahu Symbols: Early Chinese Markings on Tortoise Shells

c. 6600 BCE · Language

A

Halaf Pottery Innovation

c. 6500-5500 BCE · Art

T

First Pottery Kilns at Tell Hassuna

c. 6300-6000 BCE · Technology

T

Dufuna Dugout Canoe Creation

c. 6500-6000 BCE · Technology

A

Ubaid Irrigation Canals Transform Southern Mesopotamia

c. 5500 BCE · Agriculture

L

Dispilio Wooden Tablet: Enigmatic Neolithic Markings

c. 5260 BCE · Language

A

Sumerian Civilization Emerges

-5000 · Agriculture

C

Vinča Symbols: Proto-Writing in Neolithic Balkans

c. 5500-4500 BCE · Culture

A

Yangshao Millet Agricultural Revolution

c. 5000-3000 BCE · Agriculture

T

First Copper Smelting at Belovode

c. 5000 BCE · Technology

A

Oldest Known Winery Established

4100 BCE · Agriculture

A

Emergence of Uruk: Early Mesopotamian Metropolis

c. 4000 BCE · Agriculture

T

Potter's Wheel Invented

3600 BC · Technology

T

Ancient Plow Invented

3500 BC · Technology

A

Norte Chico Civilization Founded

3,500 BCE · Agriculture

C

Egyptian Blue Pigment Synthesized in Ancient Egypt

c. 3500 BCE · Chemistry

C

End of the Green Sahara: North African Desertification

c. 3500 BCE · Climate

T

Discovery of First Clay Tablets with Proto-Writing

3500-3300 BCE · Technology

M

Development of Clay Bullae Envelope Accounting

c. 3500-3300 BCE · Mathematics

W

Bronze Age Begins

3300 BC · War

C

Development of Proto-Cuneiform Writing in Uruk

c. 3400-3200 BCE · Culture

T

Earliest Egyptian Hieroglyphic Writing

c. 3250-3200 BCE · Technology

C

Cuneiform Writing System Developed

3200 BC · Culture

C

Norte Chico Civilization

3200 BC · Culture

E

Skara Brae Neolithic Settlement

3180 BC · Engineering

C

First Dynasty of Egypt

3150 BC · Culture

A

Maya Long Count Calendar Epoch

August 11, 3114 BCE · Astronomy

R

Beginning of Kali Yuga

3102 BCE · Religion

C

Emergence of Susa III Proto-Elamite Civilization

3100 · Culture

E

Newgrange

3100 BC · Engineering

E

Stonehenge Construction Begins

3100 BC · Engineering

P

Unification of Upper and Lower Egypt

3100 BC · Politics

M

Egyptian 365-Day Civil Calendar

c. 3100 BCE · Mathematics

C

Early Cycladic Culture

3000 BC · Culture

C

Proto-Elamite Script: Early Iranian Writing System

c. 3100-2900 BCE · Culture

T

Longshan Black Pottery Innovation

c. 3000-2600 BCE · Technology

M

Sumerian Calendar and Time Division System

c. 3000 BCE · Mathematics

C

Tin-Bronze Alloy Production in Mesopotamia

c. 3000 BCE · Chemistry

C

Indus Valley Civilization

2600 BC · Culture

T

Development of Phonetic Cuneiform Writing

c. 2600 BCE · Technology

T

Early Copper Metallurgy in Nubia

c. 2600-2300 BCE · Technology

C

Sacred City of Caral: Earliest Urban Center in the Americas

c. 2600-2000 BCE · Culture

E

Construction of Khufu's Great Pyramid

c. 2580–2560 BCE · Engineering

E

Great Pyramids of Giza Completed

c. 2510 BCE · Engineering

C

Mohenjo Daro

2500 BC · Culture

P

Kingdom of Kerma Established

c. 2400 BCE · Politics

C

Indus Valley Script: Undeciphered Writing System

c. 2600-1900 BCE · Culture

C

4.2 Kiloyear Drought Triggers Akkadian Empire Collapse

c. 2200 BCE · Climate

A

Epic of Gilgamesh

2100 BC · Art

A

Babylonian Lunisolar Calendar

c. 2100 BCE · Astronomy

C

Code of Ur-Nammu: The Oldest Known Law Code

c. 2100-2050 BCE · Culture

A

Karnak Temple Construction Begins

2050 BC · Art

A

Maya Preclassic Period Emergence

2000-250 BCE/CE · Agriculture

A

Earliest Wrestling Depicted

2000 BC · Art

P

First Dynasty of Babylon

1894 BC · Politics

L

Code of Lipit-Ishtar

c. 1870 BCE · Law

M

Babylonian Right Triangle Mathematics

c. 1800 BCE · Mathematics

T

First Bronze Ritual Vessels at Erlitou

c. 1850-1750 BCE · Technology

M

Babylonian Sexagesimal System: Positional Notation Without Zero

c. 1800 BCE · Mathematics

L

Hammurabi's Code

c. 1755-1750 BC · Law

C

Construction of Western Deffufa Temple at Kerma

c. 1750 BCE · Culture

C

Phaistos Disc

1700 BC · Culture

C

Proto-Sinaitic Script: Early Alphabetic Writing

c. 1850-1550 BCE · Culture

C

Reconstruction of the Palace at Knossos

c. 1700 BCE · Culture

M

Egyptian Mathematical Papyri

c. 1650 BCE · Mathematics

C

Linear A Script: Undeciphered Minoan Writing System

c. 1800-1450 BCE · Culture

M

Edwin Smith Papyrus: Empirical Approach to Surgery

c. 1600 BCE · Medicine

G

Eruption of Santorini (Thera)

c. 1600 BCE · Geology

M

Ebers Papyrus: Egyptian Medical Text

c. 1550 BCE · Medicine

A

Composition of the Rigveda

1500 BC · Art

A

Origins of the Nok Culture

c. 1500-1000 BCE · Art

A

Shang Dynasty Lunisolar Calendar

c. 1400 BCE · Astronomy

C

Linear B Script: Early Greek Writing System

c. 1450-1200 BCE · Culture

P

Death of King Tut

1323 BC · Politics

T

Oracle Bone Divination Script of Ancient China

c. 1400-1200 BCE · Technology

A

Sennedjem Tomb Paintings

1279-1213 BCE · Art

C

Phoenician Maritime Expansion

1100 BC · Culture

C

Kingdom of Judah founded

1020 BCE - 586 BCE · Culture

E

Lapita People Expand Across the Western Pacific

c. 1500–800 BCE · Exploration

A

Olmec Great Pyramid Built at La Venta

900 BCE · Art

P

Carthage Founded

849 BC · Politics

E

Chinese Bronze and Seal Scripts: Evolution of Writing

c. 1400-221 BCE · Evolution

A

Iliad and Odyssey Composed

8th century BC · Art

C

Ancient Greek Civilization

800BC · Culture

P

Napata Emerges as Capital of Kush

c. 800 BCE · Politics

C

Iron-Carbon Smelting Produces Steel-Grade Alloys in Anatolia

c. 800 BCE · Chemistry

L

Greek Adaptation of the Phoenician Alphabet

c. 800 BCE · Language

C

Ancient Olympic Games

776 BC · Culture

P

Ancient Rome Founded

April 21, 753 BC · Politics

T

Scythian Metallurgical and Warfare Innovations

c. 800-700 BCE · Technology

A

The Odyssey Written

725 BC · Art

C

Wrestling Added to the Ancient Olympic Games

c. 708 BCE · Culture

A

Ancient Greek Poet Homer

700 BC · Art

P

First Coins Developed in Lydia

7th century BC · Politics

E

Library of Ashurbanipal

7th century BCE · Engineering

L

Draco's Code: First Written Laws of Athens

621 BCE · Law

R

Laozi Born

-6th Century BC · Religion

P

Kingdom of Kush Relocates Capital to Meroe

c. 590 BCE · Politics

R

Nebuchadnezzar Destroys Jerusalem and the First Temple

586 BCE · Religion

C

Panathenaic Homeric Recitation Competitions Established

c. 566 BCE · Culture

C

Birth of Siddhartha Gautama

563 BC · Culture

W

Foundation of the Achaemenid Empire

550 BC · War

P

Bimbisara Establishes Magadha as a Major Power

c. 544 BCE · Politics

P

Cyrus Charter

539 BC · Politics

M

Pythagorean School and Number Theory

c. 530 BCE · Mathematics

L

Cleisthenes leads Athens

507 BC · Law

A

Pāṇini Codifies Sanskrit Grammar in Ashtadhyayi

c. 500 BCE · Art

T

Iron Production at Meroe, Kingdom of Kush

c. 500 BCE - 350 CE · Technology

P

Confucius Teaches Ethics, Governance, and Social Order

c. 551–479 BCE · Philosophy

W

Ionian Revolt begins

499 BC · War

C

Buddha Attains Parinirvana (Death of Gautama Buddha)

c. 483 BCE · Culture

P

Carthaginian Republic Established

480 BC · Politics

P

Socrates Develops Socratic Method

470 BC - 399 BC · Philosophy

L

Law of the Twelve Tables

449 BC · Law

A

Philolaus Proposes Central Fire Cosmology

c. 440 BCE · Astronomy

A

Metonic Cycle Discovery

June 27, 432 BCE · Astronomy

A

Parthenon Completed

432 BC · Art

C

Democritus and Leucippus Propose Atomic Theory

c. 430 BCE · Chemistry

W

Battle of Cunaxa

401 BCE · War

W

Tissaphernes Murders the Greek Generals at Parley

401 BCE · War

M

Hippocrates Establishes Medicine as a Rational Discipline

c. 400 BCE · Medicine

P

Trial of Socrates

399 BC · Philosophy

P

Tissaphernes Executed at Colossae

395 BCE · Politics

A

Plato's Republic Completed

375 BC · Art

A

Heraclides Ponticus Suggests Earth's Axial Rotation

c. 350 BCE · Astronomy

A

Aristotle's On the Heavens Defines Geocentric Universe

c. 350 BCE · Astronomy

P

Death of Plato

348/347 BCE · Philosophy

P

Alexander the Great becomes King

336 BC · Politics

W

Battle of Issus

November 5, 333 BCE · War

W

Battle of Gaugamela

October 1, 331 BCE · War

P

Death of Aristotle

322 BC · Philosophy

M

Euclid's Elements

c. 300 BCE · Mathematics

P

Lex Hortensia Enacted

287 BCE · Politics

E

Library of Alexandria Established

285 BCE · Engineering

A

Aristarchus Proposes Heliocentric Model

c. 270 BCE · Astronomy

W

First Punic War Began

264 BC · War

C

First Gladiatorial Games in Rome

264 BC · Culture

W

The Battle of Agrigentum

261 BC · War

C

Edicts of Ashoka

250 BC · Culture

W

The Battle of the Aegates Islands

241 BC · War

M

Eratosthenes Measures Earth's Circumference

c. 240 BCE · Mathematics

P

Qin Shi Huang Unifying China

221 BC · Politics

A

Great Wall of China Started

220 BC · Art

C

Qin Shi Huang Mount Tai Ceremony

219 BC · Culture

W

Battle of the Trebia

218 BC · War

W

The Battle of Cannae

216 BC · War

T

Invention of the Sinan (Chinese Lodestone Compass)

206 BC · Technology

W

The Battle of Utica

203 BC · War

W

The Battle of Zama

202 BC · War

P

Liu Bang Founds the Han Dynasty

202 BCE · Politics

A

Invention of the Astrolabe

2nd century BCE · Astronomy

W

The Siege of Carthage Begins

149 BC · War

W

Destruction of Carthage

146 BC · War

A

Hipparchus Catalogs Stars and Discovers Precession

129 BCE · Astronomy

C

Yarlung Dynasty - Tibetan Empire

618 CE · Culture

W

Parthian Army Destroys Roman Legions at the Battle of Carrhae

June 53 BCE · War

P

Cleopatra takes the throne

51 BC · Politics

M

Julian Calendar Reform

January 1, 45 BCE · Mathematics

P

Julius Caesar Assassinated

44 BC · Politics

M

Earliest Maya Long Count Inscription

36 BCE · Mathematics

M

Maya Independently Develop Zero as a Positional Placeholder

c. 36 BCE · Mathematics

C

Edict of Augustus on Jewish Rights

1 CE · Culture

P

Wang Mang's Usurpation and Xin Dynasty

9 CE · Politics

W

Battle of the Teutoburg Forest

September 9-11, 9 CE · War

W

Germanicus Leads Punitive Campaigns Across the Rhine

14-16 CE · War

P

Caligula's Assassination

January 24, 41 AD · Politics

W

Claudius Orders the Roman Invasion of Britain

43 CE · War

P

Kujula Kadphises Unifies Yuezhi into the Kushan Empire

c. 30-80 CE · Politics

P

Great Fire of Rome

July 64 CE · Politics

A

Destruction of the Second Temple in Jerusalem

August 70 CE · Art

E

Construction of the Colosseum

72-80 CE · Engineering

E

Ban Chao's Silk Road Missions

73-102 CE · Exploration

G

Eruption of Vesuvius Buries Pompeii and Herculaneum

August 24, 79 CE · Geology

T

Cai Lun's Invention of Paper

105 CE · Technology

E

Construction of the Pantheon

c. 118-126 CE · Engineering

T

Zhang Heng's Seismoscope Invention

132 CE · Technology

P

Bar Kokhba Revolt Crushed; Judaea Renamed Syria Palaestina

135 CE · Politics

A

Ptolemy Publishes the Almagest

c. 150 CE · Astronomy

P

Marcus Aurelius Becomes Emperor

161 · Politics

M

Antonine Plague Spreads Across the Roman Empire

165-180 CE · Medicine

M

Galen's Contributions to Medicine and Anatomy

c. 160-200 CE · Medicine

P

Yellow Turban Rebellion

184-205 CE · Politics

C

Ancient Greek Wrestling Manual Written

200 · Culture

C

Three Kingdoms period begins

220 · Culture

W

Zhuge Liang's Northern Expeditions

228-234 CE · War

P

Mayans - Classic Period

250 AD · Politics

E

Aksumite Kingdom Introduces Indigenous Coinage

c. 270 CE · Economics

P

Diocletian's Reforms

284-305 CE · Politics

M

Bakhshali Manuscript Records Zero as a Written Symbol

c. 3rd–4th century CE · Mathematics

P

Nydam Boat Constructed

310-320 AD · Politics

R

Edict of Milan

February 313 CE · Religion

R

First Council of Nicaea

325 CE · Religion

P

Founding of Constantinople

May 11, 330 CE · Politics

R

Ezana's Conversion and Christianization of Aksum

c. 325-350 CE · Religion

W

Hun Invasion and Gothic Refugee Crisis

376 CE · War

P

The Fall of the Roman Empire

January 17, 395 AD · Politics

A

Martianus Capella's Partial Heliocentric Model

c. 410 CE · Astronomy

L

Theodosian Code Published

438 CE · Law

R

Council of Chalcedon

October 8 - November 1, 451 CE · Religion

P

Death of Attila the Hun

453 AD · Politics

P

Fall of the Western Roman Empire

476 AD · Politics

M

Aryabhata's Early Place-Value System

499 CE · Mathematics

M

Aryabhata's Invention of the Sine Function

499 CE · Mathematics

A

Aryabhata Describes Earth's Rotation

499 CE · Astronomy

L

Salic Law (Lex Salica)

c. 500 CE · Law

A

Construction of Bamiyan Buddha Statues

c. 500-570 CE · Art

A

Banana Cultivation Introduced to East Africa

c. 500 CE · Agriculture

C

Bantu Migration Reaches Southern Africa

c. 500 CE · Culture

L

Code of Justinian

529-534 CE · Law

P

Hagia Sophia Completed

532-537 AD · Politics

C

The Late Antique Dust Veil Event

536-540 CE · Climate

M

Justinian Plague: First Major Recorded Pandemic

541-549 CE · Medicine

R

Christianization of the Nubian Kingdoms

543-580 CE · Religion

P

Fall of Funan and Rise of Chenla

c. 550-600 CE · Politics

R

Introduction of Buddhism to Japan

552 CE · Religion

W

Caracol Defeats Tikal in 'Star War'

April 29, 562 CE · War

C

The Birth of Muhammad

570 CE · Culture

C

Origin of Chess (Chaturanga)

c. 550-600 CE · Culture

P

Wari Empire Emerges in the Andes

c. 550-600 CE · Politics

P

Sui Dynasty Reunifies China

Spring 589 CE · Politics

C

Chess Reaches Sassanid Persia as Chatrang

c. 600 CE · Culture

P

Harsha's Unification of Northern India

April 606 CE · Politics

A

Reign of K'inich Janaab' Pakal in Palenque

615-683 CE · Art

P

Tang Dynasty Established

June 18, 618 CE · Politics

C

Constitution of Medina

622 AD · Culture

R

Muhammad's Hijra: Migration from Mecca to Medina

622 CE · Religion

M

Zero and Decimal System

628 CE · Mathematics

A

Brahmagupta Rejects Earth's Rotation

628 CE · Astronomy

E

Xuanzang Departs China on Pilgrimage to India

629 CE · Exploration

R

Muhammad's Conquest of Mecca and Cleansing of the Kaaba

January 630 CE · Religion

R

Death of Muhammad and the Rashidun Succession Crisis

June 8, 632 CE · Religion

A

Cheomseongdae Observatory Construction

633 CE · Astronomy

C

Establishment of the Islamic Hijri Calendar

638-639 CE · Culture

R

Songtsen Gampo Embraces Buddhism

641 CE · Religion

P

Taika Reforms

645-646 CE · Politics

C

Thonmi Sambhota Devises Tibetan Script

c. 650 CE · Culture

W

Sassanid Empire Falls to Arab Conquest

642-651 CE · War

R

Battle of Karbala: Martyrdom of Husayn ibn Ali

October 10, 680 CE · Religion

P

Wu Zetian Assumes the Imperial Throne

September 9, 690 CE · Politics

C

Austronesian Settlers Arrive in Madagascar

c. 650-800 CE · Culture

P

Umayyad Conquest of Hispania

711 AD · Politics

C

Umayyad Mosque Completed

715 · Culture

W

Battle of Toulouse (Invasion of Gaul)

June 9, 721 AD · War

T

Yi Xing's Water-Driven Escapement Mechanism

725 CE · Technology

P

Charlemagne Crowned as Emperor

800 AD · Politics

A

Indian Astronomical Texts Translated into Arabic (Zij al-Sindhind)

773 CE · Astronomy

C

Jabir ibn Hayyan Systematizes Chemical Experimentation

c. 776 CE · Chemistry

L

Formation of the Four Schools of Islamic Law

c. 750-850 CE · Law

E

Senegal River Gold Trade Route Established

c. 800 CE · Economics

R

Borobudur Temple Constructed

c. 800 CE · Religion

E

Sandstone Quarrying at Phnom Kulen

c. 802 CE · Engineering

P

Jayavarman II Establishes the Khmer Empire

802 CE · Politics

L

Al-Shafi'i's Risala: Foundation of Islamic Legal Theory

c. 810-814 CE · Law

M

Al-Khwarizmi's Foundational Algebra Text

c. 820 CE · Mathematics

A

House of Wisdom Founded in Baghdad

c. 832 CE · Astronomy

T

Printing of the Diamond Sutra

May 11, 868 CE · Technology

C

First Viking Settlement in Iceland

874 AD · Culture

P

Danelaw Established

886 AD · Politics

A

Al-Battani's Astronomical Tables

c. 900 CE · Astronomy

T

Military Use of Gunpowder Begins

904 AD · Technology

P

Establishment of the Duchy of Normandy

911 AD · Politics

P

Althing Founded

930 AD · Politics

P

Coronation of Louis IV as King of West Francia

936 · Politics

P

Maya Postclassic Period Begins

950 AD · Politics

W

Battle of Lechfeld

August 10, 955 · War

P

Zhao Kuangyin Founds the Song Dynasty

960 CE · Politics

C

Leif Erikson Explores North America

c. 1000 AD · Culture

C

First Viking Settlement in Greenland by Erik the Red

985 AD · Culture

P

Hugh Capet Elected King of France, Founding the Capetian Dynasty

987 CE · Politics

M

Introduction of Arabic Numerals in Europe

10th-13th century · Mathematics

C

Norse Settlement at L'Anse aux Meadows

1000 CE · Culture

P

Collapse and Abandonment of the Wari Empire

c. 1000-1100 CE · Politics

W

Allied Scandinavian Kings Defeat Olaf Tryggvason at Svolder

September 1000 · War

W

The Battle of Clontarf

April 23, 1014 · War

P

Ibn al-Haytham Writes Book of Optics

c. 1011-1021 · Physics/Cosmology

C

Death of Leif Erikson

c. 1020 CE · Culture

E

Paper Money Introduced in Song Dynasty China

c. 1024 · Economics

A

Beowulf, an Old English Epic Poem, is Written

975-1025 · Art

M

Ibn Sina Completes the Canon of Medicine

1025 CE · Medicine

W

Rajendra Chola Launches Naval Expedition Against Srivijaya

1025 CE · War

A

Ibn al-Haytham's Doubts on Ptolemy

1028 CE · Astronomy

A

Al-Biruni Considers Earth's Rotation

1030 CE · Astronomy

T

Invention of Movable Type Printing Press

1040 · Technology

A

Chinese Astronomers Observe Supernova SN 1054

July 4, 1054 CE · Astronomy

P

Westminster Abbey Founded

December 28, 1065 · Politics

W

The Battle of Hastings

1066 AD · War

W

Battle of Stamford Bridge

September 25, 1066 · War

E

Al-Bakri Documents the Ghana Empire in the Book of Routes and Realms

1068 CE · Economics

W

Battle of Manzikert

August 26, 1071 · War

A

Bayeux Tapestry Commissioned

c. 1070 · Art

C

Cahokia Reaches Peak Population

c. 1050-1100 CE · Culture

A

Su Song's Astronomical Clock Tower

1088 CE · Astronomy

R

First Crusade

1096 · Religion

E

Polynesian Navigators Settle the Hawaiian Islands

c. 1000–1200 CE · Exploration

M

Adelard of Bath Translates Euclid's Elements from Arabic

c. 1120 · Mathematics

E

Angkor Wat Built

1113-1150 CE · Engineering

E

Polynesian Navigators Settle Rapa Nui (Easter Island)

c. 1100–1200 CE · Exploration

E

Al-Idrisi Completes the Tabula Rogeriana World Map

1154 · Exploration

P

Jayavarman VII Restores and Expands the Khmer Empire

c. 1181 CE · Politics

E

Kilwa Sultanate Seizes Sofala, Controlling the Zimbabwe Gold Trade

c. 1185 CE · Economics

R

Saladin Recaptures Jerusalem from the Crusaders

October 2, 1187 CE · Religion

A

Ibn Rushd Critiques Ptolemaic Epicycles

c. 1190 CE · Astronomy

W

Battle of Arsuf

September 7, 1191 · War

E

Polynesians Make Contact with South America

c. 1150–1200 CE · Exploration

M

Fibonacci Publishes Liber Abaci, Introducing Hindu-Arabic Numerals to Europe

1202 CE · Mathematics

T

Elephant Clock Invented

1206 · Technology

L

Magna Carta Drafted

June 15, 1215 · Law

E

Rock-Hewn Churches of Lalibela Completed in Ethiopia

c. 1220 CE · Engineering

L

Sachsenspiegel (Saxon Mirror)

c. 1225 CE · Law

P

Death of Genghis Khan

1227 AD · Politics

L

Constitutions of Melfi

September 1, 1231 · Law

W

Sundiata Keita Defeats Sosso at Kirina, Founding the Mali Empire

c. 1235 CE · War

R

Construction of The Alhambra Begins

1238 AD · Religion

C

Rumi Encounters Shams of Tabriz and Begins Composing in Konya

c. 1244 CE · Culture

A

Nasir al-Din al-Tusi Invents the Tusi-couple Mechanism

1247 CE · Astronomy

E

Construction of Great Zimbabwe

c. 1100-1450 CE · Engineering

W

Siege of Baghdad

1258 AD · War

A

Maragha Observatory Established

1259 CE · Astronomy

T

Verge-and-Foliot Escapement

c. 1273 CE · Technology

E

Polynesian Ancestors of the Māori Settle Aotearoa New Zealand

c. 1250–1300 CE · Exploration

W

Tran Hung Dao Defeats Mongol Fleet at the Battle of Bach Dang

April 9, 1288 · War

L

Edict of Expulsion

1290 · Law

R

Fall of Acre

1291 AD · Religion

M

Florence Bans Arabic Numerals and Zero from Official Documents

1299 CE · Mathematics

C

The Travels of Marco Polo Published

1298-1299 · Culture

C

Proto-Renaissance in Florence

1300 AD · Culture

C

Little Ice Age Intensifies Across the Northern Hemisphere

c. 1300 CE · Climate

A

Easter Island Moai Statues Erected

c. 1250-1500 CE · Art

P

Mansa Musa's Pilgrimage to Mecca

1324–1325 CE · Politics

E

Construction of Tenochtitlan

1325 CE · Engineering

E

Ibn Battuta Departs Tangier

June 14, 1325 · Exploration

P

The Founding of Mewar

1326 · Politics

R

Timbuktu Becomes a Center of Islamic Learning

c. 1327 · Religion

E

Ibn Battuta Visits Kilwa and Documents the Swahili Coast

1331 CE · Exploration

W

Start of the Hundred Years' War

1337 - 1453 · War

M

The Black Death in Europe

1347-1352 AD · Medicine

A

Ibn al-Shatir's Improved Planetary Models

c. 1350 CE · Astronomy

C

Ming Dynasty Founded

1368 · Culture

W

Timur Captures Samarkand and Establishes the Timurid Empire

1370 CE · War

E

Zheng He Launches the Ming Treasure Fleet Voyages

July 11, 1405 – 1433 CE · Exploration

W

Battle of Agincourt

1415 · War

E

Zheng He's Fleet Reaches East Africa

1418-1419 · Exploration

A

Construction of the Dome of Florence Cathedral

1420 · Art

P

Founding of the Aztec Empire

1428 AD · Politics

R

Council of Basel-Ferrara-Florence

1431 · Religion

E

Ming China Ends the Treasure Voyages and Destroys the Records

1433–1435 CE · Exploration

A

Ulugh Beg Compiles Zij-i Sultani Star Catalog

1437 CE · Astronomy

P

The Inca Empire Established

1438 - 1533 · Politics

T

Gutenberg Printing Press

1439 AD · Technology

P

Plethon Lectures on Platonic Philosophy in Florence

1439 · Philosophy

A

Nicholas of Cusa Postulates an Infinite, Centerless Universe

February 12, 1440 · Astronomy

A

Kingdom of Benin: Art, Power, and the Bronzes

c. 1440–1897 · Art

L

King Sejong Promulgates the Hangul Alphabet

1443 · Language

W

Battle of Varna

November 10, 1444 · War

P

Construction of Machu Picchu begins

c. 1450 CE · Politics

P

The Iroquois League

1450 AD · Politics

W

Battle of Formigny

April 15, 1450 · War

P

Fall of Constantinople

May 29, 1453 · Politics

W

First Battle of St Albans

1455 - 1487 · War

P

Songhai Empire: West Africa's Largest State

c. 1464–1591 · Politics

P

Spanish Inquisition Established

1478 · Politics

P

Kingdom of Kongo Receives Portuguese Embassy and Converts to Christianity

1491 CE · Politics

P

Alhambra Decree

March 31, 1492 · Politics

E

Columbus Departs Spain with the Niña, Pinta, and Santa María

August 3, 1492 · Exploration

A

Columbus Makes First Landfall in the Americas

October 12, 1492 · Agriculture

P

Founding of La Navidad Settlement

December 25, 1492 · Politics

P

Treaty of Tordesillas Divides the New World

June 7, 1494 · Politics

A

Publication of Regiomontanus's Epitome of the Almagest

August 31, 1496 · Astronomy

E

John Cabot Voyage to North America

June 24, 1497 · Exploration

E

Vasco da Gama's Voyage to India

1497 · Exploration

A

Leonardo da Vinci Completes The Last Supper

February 9, 1498 · Art

L

Christopher Columbus Imprisoned

August, 1500 · Law

A

Nilakantha Somayaji Proposes Partially Heliocentric System

c. 1500 CE · Astronomy

A

Leonardo Da Vinci Paints Mona Lisa

1503 · Art

W

Portuguese Forces Sack Kilwa, Breaking Swahili Coast Independence

July 24, 1505 · War

P

Henry VIII's Reign begins

April 22, 1509 · Politics

A

Aztec Calendar Stone Carved

c. 1502-1520 · Art

A

Sistine Chapel Ceiling Completed

1512 · Art

P

Vasco Núñez de Balboa's Pacific Expedition

September 25, 1513 · Politics

A

Copernicus Circulates Heliocentric Commentariolus

1514 CE · Astronomy

C

The Reformation begins

1517 AD · Culture

P

Spanish Conquest of the Aztec Empire

1519 · Politics

E

Magellan-Elcano Expedition Circumnavigates the Globe

1519-1522 · Exploration

P

Suleiman the Magnificent Ascends to the Ottoman Throne

September 30, 1520 CE · Politics

E

The Transatlantic Slave Trade Begins

c. 1526–1867 · Economics

W

Babur Defeats the Delhi Sultanate at the Battle of Panipat

April 21, 1526 · War

P

Battle of Mohács

August 29, 1526 · Politics

W

Inca Civil War Begins

1527-1532 · War

P

Death of Huayna Capac During Epidemic

c. 1527 · Politics

M

Paracelsus Burns Avicenna's Canon at Basel

June 24, 1527 · Medicine

P

Battle of Cajamarca

1532 · Politics

R

Dissolution of the Monasteries by Henry VIII

1536-1541 · Religion

T

Invention of the Violin

1542 · Technology

A

Copernicus Publishes De Revolutionibus

1543 CE · Astronomy

M

Vesalius Publishes De Humani Corporis Fabrica

1543 CE · Medicine

R

Council of Trent Convened

1545 - 1563 · Religion

P

Death of Henry the VIII

1547 AD · Politics

A

William Shakespeare Born

1564 AD · Art

W

Holy League Fleet Defeats Ottoman Navy at Lepanto

October 7, 1571 · War

A

Tycho Brahe Observes Supernova

November 11, 1572 · Astronomy

A

Thomas Digges Proposes Infinite Copernican Universe

1576 CE · Astronomy

A

Tycho Brahe Disproves Solid Celestial Spheres

November 13, 1577 · Astronomy

L

North's Translation of Plutarch's Lives Published

1579 · Language

M

Gregorian Calendar Reform

February 24 - October 15, 1582 · Mathematics

P

Bruno Publishes 'On the Infinite Universe and Worlds'

1584 CE · Physics/Cosmology

W

Spanish Armada Defeated

1588 · War

A

Tycho Brahe Proposes Geo-Heliocentric System

1588 CE · Astronomy

A

Richard III Performed

1593 AD · Art

A

Romeo and Juliet First Performed

1595 AD · Art

A

The Merchant of Venice Published

1596 AD · Art

P

Shah Abbas I Establishes Isfahan as the Safavid Capital

1598 CE · Politics

A

Shakespeare's Julius Caesar First Performed

1599 AD · Art

A

Hamlet First Performed

1600 AD · Art

R

Giordano Bruno Executed for Heresy

February 17, 1600 · Religion

C

Tokugawa Ieyasu Establishes the Edo Shogunate; Sakoku Isolation Edicts Follow

1603 CE · Culture

P

Death of Elizabeth I

March 24, 1603 · Politics

A

Don Quixote Published

January 1605 · Art

A

Antony and Cleopatra Published

1607 AD · Art

P

Jamestown is Founded

May 14, 1607 · Politics

A

Invention of the Telescope

1608 · Astronomy

A

Kepler's Laws of Planetary Motion

1609 CE · Astronomy

A

Publication of Astronomia Nova

August 1609 · Astronomy

A

Galileo Discovers Jupiter's Moons and Venus's Phases

January-September 1610 · Astronomy

A

Henry VIII Performed and Globe Theatre Fire

1613 AD · Art

P

Mughal Conquest of Mewar

1615 · Politics

R

Roman Inquisition Declares Copernican Theory Heretical

February 24, 1616 · Religion

W

First Africans Arrive in Virginia

1619 · War

A

Kepler Publishes Harmonices Mundi

Summer 1619 · Astronomy

A

Shakespeare's First Folio Published

1623 AD · Art

E

Papal Basilica of Saint Peter Constructed

November 18, 1626 · Engineering

M

William Harvey Describes the Circulation of Blood

1628 CE · Medicine

A

Galileo Publishes Dialogue on the Two Chief World Systems

February 22, 1632 · Astronomy

A

Galileo's Trial and Recantation

June 22, 1633 · Astronomy

P

Swedish Instrument of Government

July 29, 1634 · Politics

W

Pequot War

1636-1638 · War

M

Descartes and the Birth of Analytic Geometry

1637 · Mathematics

P

Peace of Westphalia

1648 CE · Politics

A

Taj Mahal Completed

1653 AD · Art

M

Birth of Probability Theory

1654 · Mathematics

A

Huygens Discovers Saturn's Moon Titan

March 25, 1655 · Astronomy

C

Boyle Publishes The Sceptical Chymist

1661 · Chemistry

T

Invention of Calculus

1665-1675 · Technology

A

Cassini Measures Mars's Parallax to Determine Solar Distance

September 1672 · Astronomy

B

Leeuwenhoek Begins Correspondence with Royal Society

1673 · Biology

B

Discovery of Microorganisms

1674 · Biology

B

Leeuwenhoek Measures Red Blood Cell Diameter

1674 · Biology

W

Ottoman Siege of Vienna Repelled by Allied Relief Force

July-September 1683 · War

A

Age of Enlightenment Begins

1685 AD · Art

P

Newton's Principia Published

July 5, 1687 · Physics/Cosmology

C

English Bill of Rights Passed

1689 · Culture

C

English Bill of Rights

1689 · Culture

P

Publication of Locke's Essay Concerning Human Understanding

1690 · Philosophy

A

Jethro Tull Develops the Seed Drill

1701 · Agriculture

P

Osei Tutu Unifies the Akan States and Founds the Asante Empire

c. 1701 CE · Politics

C

Great Storm of 1703

November 26, 1703 · Climate

A

Galland Publishes First European Translation of One Thousand and One Nights

1704-1717 · Art

P

Acts of Union 1707

1707 · Politics

E

Newcomen Atmospheric Engine Installed at Dudley

1712 · Engineering

M

Commercium Epistolicum Published

January 1713 · Mathematics

A

Halley Discovers Proper Motion of Stars

1718 CE · Astronomy

A

Robinson Crusoe Published

April 25, 1719 · Art

A

First English Translation of One Thousand and One Nights Published

1721 · Art

P

Death of Peter the Great

1725 AD · Politics

A

Bradley Discovers Aberration of Starlight

January 1729 · Astronomy

A

Crop Rotation Introduced in Norfolk

c. 1730 · Agriculture

A

John Bevis Discovers the Crab Nebula

1731 · Astronomy

P

Stono Rebellion

1739 · Politics

W

Nader Shah of Persia Sacks Delhi and Seizes the Peacock Throne

March 1739 · War

P

Negro Act of 1740

May 10, 1740 · Politics

W

Battle of Fontenoy

May 11, 1745 · War

P

Battle of Prestonpans

September 21, 1745 · Politics

P

Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle

1748 · Politics

W

Jumonville Glen Incident

May 28, 1754 · War

A

Kant's Island Universes Theory

1755 CE · Astronomy

G

Great Lisbon Earthquake

November 1, 1755 · Geology

W

Seven Years' War Begins

1756 · War

A

Catholic Church Lifts Ban on Heliocentric Works

1758 · Astronomy

W

Battle of Kunersdorf

August 12, 1759 · War

T

Harrison's H4 Marine Chronometer Sea Trial

November 18, 1761 · Technology

M

Bayes' Theorem

1763 · Mathematics

A

Horace Walpole Publishes The Castle of Otranto

December 24, 1764 · Art

T

Eli Whitney Born

1765 · Technology

W

Burmese Forces Sack and Destroy Ayutthaya

April 7, 1767 · War

E

James Cook's First Voyage

1768-1771 · Exploration

T

Watt Patents the Improved Steam Engine

January 5, 1769 · Technology

P

Boston Massacre

March 5, 1770 · Politics

E

Boston Tea Party

December 16, 1773 · Economics

C

Lavoisier Demonstrates Conservation of Mass

1774 · Chemistry

C

Priestley Isolates Oxygen

August 1, 1774 · Chemistry

P

American Revolution Begins

April 19, 1775 · Politics

L

Declaration of Independence Adopted

July 4, 1776 · Law

W

Battle of Saratoga

September-October 1777 · War

C

Lavoisier Names Oxygen and Overturns Phlogiston Theory

1777-1778 · Chemistry

C

Gordon Riots in London

1780 · Culture

A

Beethoven Meets Neefe

1781 · Art

A

William Herschel Discovers Uranus

March 13, 1781 · Astronomy

T

First Hot Air Balloon Flight

1783 · Technology

A

Herschel Determines the Sun's Motion Through Space

1783 · Astronomy

P

Treaty of Paris

September 3, 1783 · Politics

T

Edmund Cartwright Invents the Power Loom

1784 · Technology

A

William Herschel Maps the Milky Way Galaxy

1785 CE · Astronomy

L

William Jones Proposes Indo-European Language Family

February 2, 1786 · Language

P

Northwest Ordinance Establishes Northwest Territory

1787 · Politics

C

U.S. Constitution Ratified

June 21, 1788 · Culture

P

Storming of the Bastille

1789 AD · Politics

C

Marie-Anne Paulze Lavoisier Illustrates Traite Elementaire de Chimie

1789 · Chemistry

C

Declaration of the Rights of Man

1789 · Culture

P

Haitian Revolution

August 22, 1791 · Politics

P

French Constitution of 1791

September 3, 1791 · Politics

C

U.S. Bill of Rights Ratified

December 15, 1791 · Culture

T

Cotton Gin Invented by Eli Whitney

1793 · Technology

P

Godwin Publishes An Enquiry Concerning Political Justice

February 1793 · Philosophy

M

Edward Jenner Demonstrates the Smallpox Vaccine

May 14, 1796 · Medicine

B

Principle of Population Published

February, 1798 · Biology

P

Irish Rebellion

May 23, 1798 · Politics

P

Death of George Washington

1799 AD · Politics

E

George Cayley Engraves Fixed-Wing Aircraft Design on Silver Disc

1799 · Engineering

E

Alexander von Humboldt's South American Expedition

1799-1804 · Exploration

L

Rosetta Stone Discovered at Fort Julien

July 19, 1799 · Language

P

Coup of 18 Brumaire

November 9, 1799 · Politics

P

Volta Invents the Electric Battery

March 20, 1800 · Physics/Cosmology

T

Jacquard Loom Invented

1801 · Technology

P

Louisiana Purchase

1803 · Politics

L

Marbury v. Madison Supreme Court Case

February 24, 1803 · Law

P

Haiti Declares Independence

1804 · Politics

T

Steam Powered Locomotive

1804 AD · Technology

L

Napoleonic Code

1804 · Law

P

Lewis and Clark Expedition Begins

May 14, 1804 · Politics

P

Napoleon Bonaparte Crowned Emperor of France

December 2, 1804 · Politics

M

Morphine First Isolated

1805 · Medicine

P

Battle of Trafalgar

October 21, 1805 · Politics

P

Congress bans import of slaves

1808 · Politics

C

University of Berlin Founded

1810 · Culture

P

Venezuelan War of Independence

April 19, 1810 · Politics

P

Mexican War of Independence

Sep 16, 1810 · Politics

G

Cuvier Publishes Theory of Catastrophism

1812 · Geology

M

Laplace Publishes Theorie Analytique des Probabilites

1812 · Mathematics

W

War of 1812 Begins

June 18, 1812 · War

P

Treaty of Ghent is Signed

December 24, 1814 · Politics

P

Congress of Vienna

1815 · Politics

W

Battle of Waterloo

1815 · War

G

William Smith Publishes Geological Map of England

1815 · Geology

C

Mount Tambora Eruption Causes the Year Without a Summer

April 10, 1815 · Climate

W

Shaka Founds the Zulu Kingdom; The Mfecane Reshapes Southern Africa

c. 1816–1828 · War

E

Construction of the Erie Canal

1817-1825 · Engineering

A

Mary Shelley Publishes Frankenstein

January 1, 1818 · Art

P

Rush-Bagot Treaty

April 16, 1818 · Politics

P

Congress of Angostura Establishes Gran Colombia with Bolívar as President

1819 · Politics

P

Greek War of Independence

1821 · Politics

L

Sequoyah Completes the Cherokee Syllabary

1821 · Language

E

Johnson v. M'Intosh

February 24, 1823 · Economics

A

Beethoven's 9th Symphony

1824 · Art

A

The Last of the Mohicans Published

1826 · Art

M

Second Cholera Pandemic Begins

1826-1837 · Medicine

C

Wohler Synthesizes Urea from Inorganic Materials

February 1828 · Chemistry

E

Discovery of Gold in Cherokee Territory

1828-1829 · Economics

G

Charles Lyell Publishes Principles of Geology (First Volume)

January 1830 · Geology

P

Dissolution of Gran Colombia

1830 · Politics

L

The Indian Removal Act is Passed

May 28, 1830 · Law

L

Indian Removal Act

May 28, 1830 · Law

L

Trail of tears begins

1831 · Law

A

The Hunchback of Notre-Dame Published

1831 · Art

P

Faraday Discovers Electromagnetic Induction

August 29, 1831 · Physics/Cosmology

A

Democracy in America

1835 · Art

A

First Stellar Parallax Measurement

1838 CE · Astronomy

B

Darwin Reads Malthus's Essay on Population

September 28, 1838 · Biology

T

Discovery of the Daguerreotype Process

1839 · Technology

W

First Opium War Begins; Start of China's Century of Humiliation

1839–1842 · War

C

Women Delegates Barred at World Anti-Slavery Convention

June 12, 1840 · Culture

A

Poe Publishes The Murders in the Rue Morgue

April 1841 · Art

A

"The Tell-Tale Heart" Published

1843 · Art

M

Ada Lovelace Writes Notes on the Analytical Engine

1843 · Mathematics

A

The Three Musketeers Published

1844 · Art

M

Great Irish Potato Famine

1845-1852 · Medicine

P

California Republic (Bear Flag Revolt)

1846 · Politics

M

Discovery of Anesthesia

1846 · Medicine

W

Mexican-American War

1846-1848 · War

A

Discovery of Neptune

September 23, 1846 · Astronomy

P

Frederick Douglass' North Star

1847 · Politics

M

Boolean Algebra

1847 · Mathematics

M

Semmelweis Demonstrates Handwashing Prevents Childbed Fever

1847 CE · Medicine

P

Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo

Feb 2, 1848 · Politics

P

Springtime of the Peoples

1848 · Politics

P

Publication of The Communist Manifesto

February 21, 1848 · Politics

L

Seneca Falls Convention

July 19-20, 1848 · Law

P

California Gold Rush

1849 AD · Politics

P

Harriet Tubman escapes slavery

1849 · Politics

P

Fugitive Slave Act

1850 · Politics

A

Moby-Dick Published

1851 · Art

P

Foucault's Pendulum Demonstrates Earth's Rotation

February 3, 1851 · Physics/Cosmology

A

Uncle Toms Cabin

1852 · Art

E

Wells Fargo & Company Founded

March 18, 1852 · Economics

E

Henry Bessemer Patents the Steel-Making Process

1856 · Engineering

L

Dred Scott v. Sanford

1857 · Law

P

Butterfield Overland Mail Route Founded

1858 · Politics

W

HMS Warrior Launched: First British Ironclad Warship

1859 · War

T

Pony Express starts

1860 AD · Technology

P

Lincoln Elected

1860 · Politics

C

Henri Mouhot Brings Angkor Wat to Western Attention

January 1860 · Culture

M

Pasteur Proves Germ Theory of Disease

1861 CE · Medicine

W

American Civil War Begins

April 12, 1861 · War

P

Homestead Act is Passed

May 20, 1862 · Politics

P

Emancipation Proclamation

January 1, 1863 · Politics

W

CSS H.L. Hunley Sinks USS Housatonic

February 17, 1864 · War

M

Lister Introduces Antiseptic Technique in Surgery

August 12, 1865 · Medicine

P

President Lincoln Assassinated

April 14, 1865 · Politics

P

Thirteenth Amendment Ratified

December 6, 1865 · Politics

P

Fenian Raids

1866 · Politics

M

Mendel Publishes His Paper on Genetics

1866 · Medicine

P

Alaska Purchase

1867 · Politics

P

Tokugawa Shogunate Overthrown; Meiji Emperor Restored to Power

3 January 1868 · Politics

P

Fourteenth Amendment Ratified

July 9, 1868 · Politics

A

War and Peace

1869 · Art

C

Mendeleev Publishes the Periodic Table of Elements

March 6, 1869 · Chemistry

T

Transcontinental Railroad is Completed

May 10, 1869 · Technology

E

Suez Canal Opens

November 17, 1869 · Engineering

A

20,000 Leagues Under the Sea Published

1870 · Art

P

Fifteenth Amendment Ratified

February 3, 1870 · Politics

P

Yellowstone National Park

1872 · Politics

W

Battle of the Little Bighorn

1876 AD · War

A

The Adventures of Tom Sawyer Published

1876 · Art

T

Incandescent Light Bulb Invented

1879 · Technology

C

Mendeleev's Predicted Elements Discovered in Sequence

1875-1886 · Chemistry

L

Cyrus Cylinder Discovered at Babylon

March 1879 · Law

P

Assassination of Alexander II

March 1, 1881 · Politics

M

Robert Koch Identifies Tuberculosis Bacillus

March 24, 1882 · Medicine

P

Chinese Exclusion Act Signed into Law

May 6, 1882 · Politics

C

Krakatoa Erupts in the Sunda Strait

August 27, 1883 · Climate

L

Civil Rights Cases of 1883

October 15, 1883 · Law

A

Treasure Island Published

November 14, 1883 · Art

E

Berlin Conference: Europe Partitions Africa

November 1884 – February 1885 · Economics

E

International Meridian Conference

October 22, 1884 · Economics

L

Santa Clara County v. Southern Pacific Railroad

May 10, 1886 · Law

A

Statue of Liberty Dedicated

October 28, 1886 · Art

L

The Dawes Act

1887 · Law

P

Michelson-Morley Experiment Finds No Aether Drift

July 1887 · Physics/Cosmology

T

Nikola Tesla Demonstrates AC Induction Motor

May 16, 1888 · Technology

E

Eiffel Tower constructed

1889 AD · Engineering

P

Meiji Constitution Promulgated

February 11, 1889 · Politics

E

Oklahoma Land Rush

April 22, 1889 · Engineering

P

Menelik II Crowned Emperor of Ethiopia

November 3, 1889 · Politics

P

The Dreyfus Affair

1894 · Politics

P

Wilhelm Röntgen Discovers X-Rays

1895 · Physics/Cosmology

T

Marconi's First Wireless Telegraphy Transmission

1895 · Technology

E

Lumiere Brothers Public Screening at Grand Cafe

December 28, 1895 · Entertainment & Media

E

Modern Olympic Games

1896 · Entertainment & Media

C

Arrhenius Calculates CO2-Driven Warming

1896 · Climate

W

Battle of Adwa: Ethiopia Defeats Italy

March 1, 1896 · War

L

Plessy v Ferguson Supreme Court Decision

May 18, 1896 · Law

P

First Zionist Congress Convened in Basel

August 29–31, 1897 · Politics

W

Spanish-American War

1898 · War

A

Maple Leaf Rag published

1899 · Art

P

Planck's Natural Units and Planck Time

May 18, 1899 · Physics/Cosmology

T

Marconi Receives Transatlantic Radio Signal

December 12, 1901 · Technology

G

Mount Pelée Eruption

1902 · Geology

T

First Electrical AC System Invented

1902 AD · Technology

C

Marie Curie Isolates Radium

April 1902 · Chemistry

T

Konstantin Tsiolkovsky Publishes Rocket Theory

1903 · Technology

T

Wright Brothers' First Flight

December 17, 1903 · Technology

P

Einstein's Special Theory of Relativity

June 30, 1905 · Physics/Cosmology

M

Markov Chains

1906 · Mathematics

A

Tunguska Event Flattens Siberian Forest

June 30, 1908 · Astronomy

C

Haber and Bosch Develop Synthetic Nitrogen Fixation

1909 · Chemistry

P

NAACP Founded

February 12, 1909 · Politics

B

Burgess Shale Fossils Discovered by Walcott

August 30, 1909 · Biology

C

The Great Migration Begins

c. 1910–1970 · Culture

P

Mexican Revolution

November 20, 1910 · Politics

P

1911 Revolution (China)

1911 · Politics

E

Amundsen's Expedition Reaches the South Pole

December 14, 1911 · Exploration

A

Tarzan of the Apes Published

1912 · Art

P

Arizona Statehood

1912 AD · Politics

C

Abdication of the Qing Dynasty

1912 · Culture

P

Republic of China established

January 1, 1912 · Politics

T

Alan Turing's Birth

June 23, 1912 · Technology

P

Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand

June 28, 1914 · Politics

W

Germany Issues Blank Check to Austria-Hungary

July 5th, 1914 · War

P

France declares support for Russia

July 20th, 1914 · Politics

W

Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia

July 28, 1914 · War

P

Start of World War I

July 28, 1914 · Politics

W

Germany declares war on Russia

August 1, 1914 · War

W

Austria-Hungary presents ultimatum to Serbia

July 23rd, 1914 · War

E

Panama Canal Opens to Commercial Traffic

August 15, 1914 · Engineering

P

Yelagin Palace Ministerial Council

July 24th, 1914 · Politics

W

First shots of World War 1

July 29, 1914 · War

P

Tsar Nicholas II's General Mobilization Order

July 30, 1914 · Politics

W

Britain declares war on Germany

August 4, 1914 · War

C

Fritz Haber Deploys Chlorine Gas at Ypres

April 22, 1915 · Chemistry

P

Einstein Publishes General Theory of Relativity

November 25, 1915 · Physics/Cosmology

E

Completion of the Trans-Siberian Railway

October 1916 · Engineering

C

February Revolution

Mar 8, 1917 · Culture

P

The Bolshevik Revolution

October 25 (November 7), 1917 · Politics

P

Balfour Declaration Pledges Jewish National Home in Palestine

November 2, 1917 · Politics

A

Shapley Locates the Milky Way's Center

1918 CE · Astronomy

T

First Transatlantic Flight

1919 AD · Technology

P

Korean Independence Declaration Read Publicly; Mass Protests Spread Across Peninsula

1 March 1919 · Politics

P

Intl. Labour Organization Founded

March 4, 1919 · Politics

A

Eddington's Eclipse Expedition Confirms Relativity

May 29, 1919 · Astronomy

P

Treaty of Versailles

June 28, 1919 · Politics

E

The Roaring 20s

1920 AD · Economics

C

Nineteenth Amendment Ratified

1920 AD · Culture

P

British Mandate for Palestine Established

1920 · Politics

A

Shapley–Curtis Debate on the Scale of the Universe

April 26, 1920 · Astronomy

E

KDKA Begins Regular Radio Broadcasting

November 2, 1920 · Entertainment & Media

P

Chinese Communist Party founded

July, 1921 · Politics

G

Great Kanto Earthquake

September 1, 1923 · Geology

E

Establishment of Japan's Seismic Building Codes

1924 · Engineering

P

Immigration Act of 1924 Signed into Law

May 26, 1924 · Politics

A

Hubble Proves Andromeda is an External Galaxy

December 30, 1924 · Astronomy

A

The Great Gatsby Published

1925 · Art

A

Vavilov Maps the Centers of Crop Plant Origin

1926 · Agriculture

T

First Liquid-Fueled Rocket

March 16, 1926 · Technology

C

Folsom Site Excavation Confirms Ice Age Human Presence in the Americas

1926-1927 · Culture

P

Lemaître Proposes Cosmic Expansion Theory

1927 · Physics/Cosmology

E

Philo Farnsworth Transmits Electronic Television Image

September 7, 1927 · Entertainment & Media

M

Alexander Fleming Discovers Penicillin

September 1928 · Medicine

H

Clovis Site Discovered

1929-1932 · Human Evolution

A

Hubble Announces the Expanding Universe

March 15, 1929 · Astronomy

E

The Great Depression Begins

October 24, 1929 · Economics

P

Gandhi Leads the Salt March to Dandi

March 12, 1930 · Politics

T

Empire State Building Completed

1931 AD · Technology

M

Gödel's Incompleteness Theorems

1931 · Mathematics

W

Japan invades Manchuria

September 18, 1931 · War

P

Adolf Hitler Becomes Chancellor of Germany

January 30, 1933 · Politics

P

First Nazi Concentration Camp

March 22, 1933 · Politics

C

Indian Reorganization Act

1934 · Culture

W

The Long March: CCP Escapes Nationalist Encirclement

October 1934 – October 1935 · War

L

The Nuremberg Race Laws are Passed

1935 · Law

W

Italy invades and conquers Ethiopia

October 2, 1935 · War

P

Anti-Comintern Pact Signed

November 25, 1936 · Politics

P

Formation of the Rome-Berlin Axis

November 1, 1936 · Politics

E

BBC Television Service Launches from Alexandra Palace

November 2, 1936 · Entertainment & Media

M

Alan Turing Publishes On Computable Numbers

November 1936 · Mathematics

W

Marco Polo Bridge Incident

July 7, 1937 · War

W

Second Sino-Japanese War Begins; Nanjing Massacre

July 7 – December 13, 1937 · War

W

Kristallnacht

November 9, 1938 · War

W

Germany Invades Poland

September 1, 1939 · War

M

Florey and Chain Develop Penicillin for Clinical Use

1940-1941 · Medicine

C

Milankovitch Publishes Orbital Climate Theory

1941 · Climate

W

Operation Barbarossa Begins

June 22, 1941 · War

E

End of the Great Depression

1941-1942 · Economics

W

Pearl Harbor Attack

December 7, 1941 AD · War

W

The Wannsee Conference

January 20, 1942 · War

P

Executive Order 9066 — Japanese American Internment

February 19, 1942 · Politics

A

Shostakovich's Leningrad Symphony Premiered in Besieged City

August 9, 1942 · Art

T

First Successful V-2 Rocket Launch

October 3, 1942 · Technology

E

Bretton Woods Conference

July 1944 · Economics

T

First V-2 Rocket Attack on London

September 8, 1944 · Technology

E

Nuremberg Trials

1945 · Economics

P

Division of Korea

1945 · Politics

C

Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima

Aug 6, 1945 · Chemistry

T

First Draft of a Report on the EDVAC Published

June 30, 1945 · Technology

P

Japan Signs Surrender Instrument Aboard USS Missouri; Allied Occupation Begins

2 September 1945 · Politics

P

Sukarno and Hatta Proclaim Indonesian Independence from Dutch Colonial Rule

17 August 1945 · Politics

P

United Nations Founded

October 24, 1945 · Politics

P

Gamow-Alpher-Herman Big Bang Nucleosynthesis Theory

1946-1948 · Physics/Cosmology

R

Dead Sea Scrolls Found in Qumran Caves

Early 1947 · Religion

E

Kon-Tiki Raft Crosses the Pacific Ocean

April 28 - August 7, 1947 · Exploration

P

Partition of India

August 15, 1947 · Politics

P

UN General Assembly Votes to Partition Palestine

November 29, 1947 · Politics

T

Invention of the Transistor

December 16, 1947 · Technology

M

Information Theory

1948 · Mathematics

B

Barbara McClintock Discovers Transposable Elements

1948 · Biology

P

Israeli Independence Declared; Arab-Israeli War and Palestinian Nakba

May 14, 1948 · Politics

P

Syngman Rhee Becomes President of South Korea

July 20, 1948 - August 15, 1948 · Politics

P

Berlin Blockade

June 24, 1948 - May 12, 1949 · Politics

P

Executive Order 9981 — Military Desegregation

July 26, 1948 · Politics

C

Universal Declaration of Human Rights

December 10, 1948 · Culture

T

Development of Radiocarbon Dating

1949 · Technology

P

Joseph Campbell Publishes The Hero with a Thousand Faces

1949 · Philosophy

L

Geneva Conventions

August 12, 1949 · Law

P

Proclamation of the People's Republic of China

October 1, 1949 · Politics

P

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

10 December 1949 · Politics

T

Computing Machinery and Intelligence Paper Published

1950 · Technology

W

Korean War

June 25, 1950 · War

W

Battle of Pusan Perimeter

August 4 - September 18, 1950 · War

M

Soviet Space Medicine Program Established

1951 · Medicine

E

Mickey Mantle MLB Debut with Yankees

April 17, 1951 · Entertainment & Media

E

I Love Lucy Premieres

October 15, 1951 · Entertainment & Media

C

Michael Ventris Deciphers Linear B

1952 · Culture

B

Rosalind Franklin Captures X-ray Image of DNA

May 1952 · Biology

W

Development of the R-7 Semyorka ICBM

1953 · War

B

Discovery of DNA Double Helix Structure

April 25, 1953 · Biology

W

Korean War Armistice Signed at Panmunjom; Demilitarized Zone Established

27 July 1953 · War

P

Coronation of Elizabeth II

June 2, 1953 · Politics

P

CIA and MI6 Overthrow Iranian Prime Minister Mossadegh

August 19, 1953 · Politics

C

Brown v Board of Education

May 17, 1954 · Culture

E

Operation Deep Freeze

1955 · Exploration

M

Salk Polio Vaccine Declared Safe and Effective

April 12, 1955 · Medicine

P

First Practical Cesium Atomic Clock

May 24, 1955 · Physics/Cosmology

P

Murder of Emmett Till

August 28, 1955 · Politics

L

Montgomery Bus Boycott

December 1, 1955 · Law

E

Establishment of McMurdo Station

February 16, 1956 · Exploration

P

Federal-Aid Highway Act Signed

June 29, 1956 · Politics

T

Dartmouth Conference — Artificial Intelligence Named as a Discipline

Summer 1956 · Technology

P

Year of Africa: 17 Nations Gain Independence in 1960

1957–1960 · Politics

P

Formation of IAEA

July 29, 1957 · Politics

P

Little Rock Nine Integrate Central High School

September 4–25, 1957 · Politics

T

Sputnik 1 Launched

October 4, 1957 · Technology

E

Explorer 1 Satellite Launched

January 31, 1958 · Engineering

C

Keeling Begins Continuous Atmospheric CO2 Measurement at Mauna Loa

March 29, 1958 · Climate

E

Formation of NASA

July 29, 1958 · Engineering

A

Kurosawa's The Hidden Fortress Released in Japan

December 28, 1958 · Art

P

Antarctic Treaty Signed

December 1, 1959 · Politics

P

Greensboro Sit-Ins Begin

February 1, 1960 · Politics

E

First Man in Space

April 12, 1961 · Engineering

P

Freedom Riders Challenge Interstate Segregation

May 4 – November 1, 1961 · Politics

P

Kennedy's Moon Landing Speech to Congress

May 25, 1961 · Politics

C

Princess Diana Born

July 1, 1961 · Culture

A

Borlaug's Semi-Dwarf Wheat Varieties Released in Mexico

1962 · Agriculture

C

Rachel Carson Publishes Silent Spring

September 27, 1962 · Climate

P

Cuban Missile Crisis

October 16-28, 1962 · Politics

C

March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom

August 28, 1963 · Culture

A

Penzias and Wilson Discover Cosmic Microwave Background

May 20, 1964 · Astronomy

P

Civil Rights Act of 1964

July 2, 1964 · Politics

W

Gulf of Tonkin Incident

August 2-4, 1964 · War

P

Selma to Montgomery Voting Rights Marches

March 7–25, 1965 · Politics

P

Voting Rights Act of 1965

August 6, 1965 · Politics

W

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

October 1965 – March 1966 · War

E

Star Trek Premiered on NBC

1966 AD · Entertainment & Media

G

J. Tuzo Wilson Proposes Plate Tectonic Cycle

1966 · Geology

P

Cultural Revolution Begins in China

May 16, 1966 · Politics

C

Intl. Covenant on Civil and Political Rights is Adopted

December 16, 1966 · Culture

P

Outer Space Treaty Signed

January 27, 1967 · Politics

W

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

June 5–10, 1967 · War

P

1967 Detroit Uprising

July 23–28, 1967 · Politics

P

Redefinition of the Second

October 1967 · Physics/Cosmology

P

Kerner Commission Report Released

February 29, 1968 · Politics

P

Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

April 4, 1968 · Politics

P

Fair Housing Act Signed into Law

April 11, 1968 · Politics

E

Apollo 11 Moon Landing

July 20, 1969 · Engineering

T

Apollo 13 Mission Launched

April 11, 1970 · Technology

E

Soyuz 11: Tragic Space Mission

June 29, 1971 · Engineering

E

M*A*S*H TV Series Premiere

1972 AD · Entertainment & Media

E

Pong (Video Game)

1972 AD · Entertainment & Media

P

Nixon Visit to China

February 21, 1972 · Politics

P

ABM Treaty Signed by US and USSR

May 26, 1972 · Politics

T

Space Shuttle Thermal Protection Tile Development

1973 · Technology

L

Roe v. Wade Supreme Court Decision

January 22, 1973 · Law

P

Discovery of Sagittarius A*

February 1974 · Physics/Cosmology

C

Terracotta Army Uncovered at Xi'an

March 29, 1974 · Culture

A

Arecibo Message Beamed Toward Messier 13

November 16, 1974 · Astronomy

H

Australopithecus afarensis Lucy Skeleton Discovered

November 24, 1974 · Human Evolution

P

Viking Program - Mars Landers

1975-1976 · Politics

T

Industrial Light and Magic Founded

1975 · Technology

A

Shogun Novel Published

June 1975 · Art

E

Saturday Night Live Premieres

October 11, 1975 · Entertainment & Media

E

Star Wars: A New Hope Released

1977 · Entertainment & Media

C

Voyager Golden Record Assembled

1977 · Culture

C

Monte Verde Excavation Documents Pre-Clovis Habitation in Chile

1977-1985 · Culture

P

Deng Xiaoping Launches Reform and Opening Up

December 18, 1978 · Politics

P

Iranian Revolution Overthrows the Shah

February 11, 1979 · Politics

P

Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women

1979 · Politics

E

Star Wars: The Empire Strikes Back Released

1980 · Entertainment & Media

A

Medusa Fiber Optic Spectrograph Demonstrated

1980 · Astronomy

M

WHO Declares Smallpox Eradicated

May 8, 1980 · Medicine

G

Mount St. Helens Erupts in Lateral Blast

May 18, 1980 · Geology

A

Pac-Man Released

May 22, 1980 · Art

P

Vera Rubin Publishes Galaxy Rotation Evidence for Dark Matter

June 1980 · Physics/Cosmology

W

Iraq Invades Iran — Iran-Iraq War Begins

September 22, 1980 · War

P

President Reagan elected

November 4, 1980 · Politics

T

First Space Shuttle Columbia Launch

April 12, 1981 · Technology

T

STS-1: First Space Shuttle Launch

April 12, 1981 · Technology

E

Mario Bros. (Video Game) Published

1983 AD · Entertainment & Media

E

Star Wars: Return of the Jedi Released

May 25, 1983 · Entertainment & Media

E

Tetris (Video Game)

1984 AD · Entertainment & Media

T

Space Shuttle Discovery Launched

August 30, 1984 · Technology

C

Bhopal Gas Disaster

December 3, 1984 · Chemistry

E

Super Mario Bros. Released

1985 AD · Entertainment & Media

E

Chernobyl Disaster

1986 AD · Engineering

T

Space Shuttle Challenger Disaster

January 28, 1986 · Technology

P

INF Treaty Signed by US and USSR

December 8, 1987 · Politics

W

USS Vincennes Shoots Down Iran Air Flight 655

July 3, 1988 · War

T

The Birth of the World Wide Web

March 12, 1989 · Technology

P

Schabowski's Mistaken Press Conference Announcement

November 9, 1989 · Politics

E

Berlin Wall Falls

November 9, 1989 AD · Engineering

P

Tiananmen Square Protests Crackdown

June 4, 1989 · Politics

E

Seinfeld TV Show Premiere

July 5, 1989 AD · Entertainment & Media

C

Convention on the Rights of the Child is Adopted

November 20, 1989 · Culture

E

The Simpsons TV Series Premiered

December 17, 1989 AD · Entertainment & Media

M

Human Genome Project Launched

1990 · Medicine

A

Hubble Space Telescope Launched

April 24, 1990 · Astronomy

P

Rodney King Beating by LAPD Officers

March 3, 1991 · Politics

C

Mount Pinatubo Eruption Cools Global Climate

June 15, 1991 · Climate

P

Dissolution of the Soviet Union

December 25, 1991 AD · Politics

P

1992 Los Angeles Riots and Uprising

April 29 – May 4, 1992 · Politics

E

Wolfenstein 3D Released

May 5, 1992 · Entertainment & Media

P

United States Presidential Election of 1992

November 3, 1992 · Politics

A

Doom (Video Game)

1993 AD · Art

P

Oslo Accords: Israel and PLO Sign Peace Framework

September 13, 1993 · Politics

W

Rwandan Genocide: 800,000 Killed in 100 Days

April 7 – July 4, 1994 · War

P

Nelson Mandela Elected President; End of Apartheid

April 27, 1994 · Politics

A

Detection of Exoplanet 51 Pegasi b

October 6, 1995 · Astronomy

A

Hubble Deep Field Image Released

January 15, 1996 · Astronomy

T

US Telecommunications Reform Act

February 8, 1996 · Technology

P

Taiwan Holds Direct Presidential Election Under PRC Missile Intimidation

23 March 1996 · Politics

A

Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone Published

June 26, 1997 · Art

E

Star Wars: The Phantom Menace Released

1999 · Entertainment & Media

E

The Sopranos Premiered on HBO

January 10, 1999 · Entertainment & Media

A

Counter-Strike Released

November 9, 2000 · Art

P

9/11 Attacks

September 11, 2001 · Politics

E

Star Wars: Episode II - Attack of the Clones Released

May 16, 2002 · Entertainment & Media

P

United States Withdraws from ABM Treaty

June 13, 2002 · Politics

M

SARS Coronavirus Outbreak Emerges in China

November 2002 - July 2003 · Medicine

A

World of Warcraft (Video Game)

November 23, 2004 · Art

E

The Office (TV Series Premiered)

2005 AD · Entertainment & Media

A

The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo Published

2005 · Art

E

Star Wars: Episode III - Revenge of the Sith Released

2005 · Entertainment & Media

M

Kariko and Weissman Publish mRNA Nucleoside Modification Research

2005 · Medicine

E

Netflix Launches Watch Now Streaming Service

January 16, 2007 · Entertainment & Media

T

iPhone Released

June 29, 2007 · Technology

E

Breaking Bad TV Series Premiere

2008 AD · Entertainment & Media

E

Spotify Launches in Sweden

October 7, 2008 · Entertainment & Media

P

Barack Obama Elected

November 4, 2008 · Politics

T

Bitcoin Genesis Block Created

January 3, 2009 · Technology

B

Discovery of Denisovans: A New Human Species

2010 CE · Biology

A

Game of Thrones (TV)

2011 AD · Art

T

Launch of Namecoin

April 18, 2011 · Technology

A

FAO Declares Global Eradication of Rinderpest

June 28, 2011 · Agriculture

P

Shooting of Trayvon Martin

February 26, 2012 · Politics

P

Military Coup in Mali Amid Tuareg Rebellion

March 22, 2012 · Politics

B

Doudna and Charpentier Publish CRISPR-Cas9 Gene Editing Method

June 28, 2012 · Biology

A

Voyager 1 Crosses into Interstellar Space

August 25, 2012 · Astronomy

T

AlexNet Wins ImageNet Challenge

September 30, 2012 · Technology

P

Black Lives Matter Founded

July 13, 2013 · Politics

W

Russia Annexes Crimea

February 27 – March 18, 2014 · War

C

Modern Uyghur Genocide

2014 · Culture

P

Killing of Eric Garner

July 17, 2014 · Politics

P

Shooting of Michael Brown

August 9, 2014 · Politics

E

Star Wars: The Force Awakens Released

2015 · Entertainment & Media

P

JCPOA Iran Nuclear Deal Finalized

July 14, 2015 · Politics

A

GN-z11: Discovery of the Most Distant Galaxy

2016 (galaxy from 13.4 billion years ago) · Astronomy

T

AlphaGo Defeats Lee Sedol

March 9–15, 2016 · Technology

A

Beyoncé's 'Lemonade' Released

April 23 2016 AD · Art

E

Stranger Things (TV)

July 15, 2016 · Entertainment & Media

P

Donald Trump Elected President

November 8, 2016 · Politics

W

JNIM Founded — al-Qaeda Unifies Sahel Affiliates

March 2017 · War

T

Transformer Architecture Published

June 12, 2017 · Technology

A

Fortnite Battle Royale Released

September 26, 2017 · Art

E

Star Wars: The Last Jedi Release

December 15, 2017 · Entertainment & Media

P

United States Withdraws from JCPOA

May 8, 2018 · Politics

E

Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker Film Released

2019 · Entertainment & Media

P

INF Treaty Collapses — Both Parties Withdraw

August 2, 2019 · Politics

M

COVID-19 Pandemic Outbreak

2020 AD · Medicine

W

Assassination of Qasem Soleimani

January 3, 2020 · War

P

Killing of Breonna Taylor

March 13, 2020 · Politics

P

Murder of George Floyd

May 25, 2020 · Politics

E

SpaceX Crew-1

November 16, 2020 · Engineering

M

Introduction of the First COVID-19 Vaccines

2020 · Medicine

P

Israel–UAE Peace Agreement

August 13, 2020 · Politics

P

President Biden inaugurated

January 20, 2021 · Politics

E

NASA Perseverance Rover Lands on Mars

February 18, 2021 · Engineering

E

SpaceX Crew-2

April 24, 2021 · Engineering

P

Military Coup in Burkina Faso Ousts Elected President

January 24, 2022 · Politics

W

Russia Launches Full-Scale Invasion of Ukraine

February 24, 2022 · War

W

Bucha Massacre Revealed

April 1–4, 2022 · War

W

Sinking of the Moskva

April 13–14, 2022 · War

P

First Image of Sagittarius A*

May 12, 2022 · Physics/Cosmology

L

Dobbs v. Jackson Supreme Court Decision

June 24, 2022 · Law

W

Russia Illegally Annexes Four Ukrainian Oblasts

September 30, 2022 · War

P

Second Military Coup in Burkina Faso — Russia-Aligned Junta Takes Power

September 30, 2022 · Politics

T

ChatGPT Launched

November 30, 2022 · Technology

T

Claude Publicly Launched by Anthropic

March 14, 2023 · Technology

T

GPT-4 Released — Frontier AI Race Begins

March 14, 2023 · Technology

B

Scientists Release First Human Genome Map

May 10, 2023 · Biology

W

Fall of Bakhmut

May 20, 2023 · War

P

Military Coup in Niger — West's Last Sahel Partner Falls

July 26, 2023 · Politics

L

EU AI Act Passed into Law

March 13, 2024 · Law

M

Surgeons Perform Living Patient Pig Kidney Transplant

March 16, 2024 · Medicine

B

USDA Confirms Bird Flu in US Dairy Cattle

March 25, 2024 · Biology

E

Chang'e 6 Returns Far Side Lunar Samples to Earth

June 25, 2024 · Exploration

L

Supreme Court Strips Agencies' Power to Interpret Laws

June 28, 2024 · Law

W

Ukraine Launches Kursk Incursion into Russia

August 6, 2024 · War

E

SpaceX Catches Returning Rocket Booster on Tower

October 13, 2024 · Engineering

W

North Korea Deploys Troops to Fight in Russia

October–November 2024 · War

W

Operation Midnight Hammer — US Strikes Iranian Nuclear Sites

June 22, 2025 · War

W

JNIM Blockades Bamako — Jihadists Besiege a Capital City

September 3, 2025 · War

P

Burkina Faso Dissolves All Political Parties

January 29, 2026 · Politics

P

New START Treaty Expires — No Replacement in Force

February 5, 2026 · Politics

P

Pentagon Designates Anthropic a Supply Chain Risk

February 27, 2026 · Politics

W

Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei Killed in US-Israeli Strike

February 28, 2026 · War

P

Macron Orders French Nuclear Warhead Increase and Announces Forward Deterrence Doctrine

March 2, 2026 · Politics

T

You

The Present · Technology

Explore the Timeline

Prehistoric (179)

Ancient World (73)

Classical Antiquity (98)

Late Antiquity (65)

Medieval (85)

Early Modern (166)

19th Century (133)

20th Century (245)

21st Century (84)