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First successful steam engine is built
Throughout the early 1800s boats on canals and rivers provided the best means for long-distance travel. Then, with the development of efficient steam engines, trains began to replace boats. Trains could carry heavy loads, did not require water-ways, and traveledfaster than watercraft. -
Michael Faraday's Dynamo
Michael Faraday discovered the connection between magnetism and electricity. His discovery led to the dynamo, a machine that generated electricity by moving a magnet through a coil of copper wire. -
Boxer Rebellion
The Boxer rebellion began in 1899 when the Boxers started attacking missionaries and Chinese converts to Christianity. -
Russo-Japanese War
In the early 1900s, Japan was building an empire in the east and viewed Russia as a threat to its plans. As a result, in 1904 Japanese forces attacked and eventually defeted Russia in the Russo-Japanese War. -
Franz Ferdinand is killed
On June 28, 1914, as Franz Ferdinand 's car drove through the Sarajevostreets, a young Serbian man, Gavrilo Princip, opened fire with his pistol, killing the archduke and the archduke's wife, Sophie. -
US Joins WWI
The United States entered the war on the side of Allied Powers. -
Treaty of Versailles is signed
The signing took place in the French Palace of Versailles. -
Stalin’s rule in the USSR begins
He worked to turn the Soviet Union into a totalitarian state. -
Germany Attacks Poland
German forces used a new tactic in their assault on Poland. Known as blitzkrieg, German for "lightning war," it emphasized speed and close coordination between planes in the air and fast-moving forces on the ground. -
Japans attack on Pearl Harbor
For months, Japanese military leaders under General Hideki Tojo had been developing plans for a surprise attack on the American naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii. -
D-Day
As the Soviets forced the Axis armies back toward Germany, the other allies were finalizing their plans for a massive invasion of Western Europe. -
U.S. Drops A-Bomb on Hiroshima
In 1945, more than 70,000 people were killled instantly, and thousands of buildings were destroyed. -
Apartheid in South Africa
In 1948 racial discrimination heightened when the Afrikaner-dominated National Party came to run the South African government. -
Korean War is fought
In June 1950 the North Koreans attacked South Korea. -
Vietnam War is fought
The fighting with France had ended, but the conflict in Vietnam was far from over. Ho Chi Minh's dream of a united, independent Vietnam would only be achieved after years of war.