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Mass production of Vehicles
American car manufacturer, Henry Ford invented an improved assembly line and installed the first conveyer belt-based assembly line in his car factory in the Michigan plant around 1913-14. Ford’s famous model T was assembled in just 93 minutes. He then became the world’s biggest car manufacturer. By 1927, he had produced 15 million cars. This event is significant because Henry Ford was the inventor of the first moving assembly line; if it wasn’t for him we would have as many cars as we do today. -
End of WWl
The First World War came to end at 11 o'clock in the morning of the 11th day of the 11th month of 1918. The war came to an end because Germany ran out of supplies including, food but mostly manpower which forced them to surrender. The shortage of manpower came from two main reasons. They had been losing men rapidly from 1914. The other reason being, the Americans joined the war and they knew they could not defeat them. This event is important because it marked peace in the world until WWll. -
Treaty of Versailles
The Treaty of Versailles was the peace settlement signed after World War One had ended in 1918. The treaty was signed at the vast Versailles Palace near Paris between Germany and the Allies. The Versailles Palace was considered the most appropriate venue simply because of its size, hundreds of people were involved in the process. This event is important because it basically ended WW1. -
The Jazz Age
The Jazz Age was a feature of the 1920s when jazz music and dance became popular. It occurred particularly in the United States, but also in Britain, France and elsewhere. Jazz played a significant part in cultural changes during the period, and its influence on pop culture continued long afterwards. The Jazz Age is often referred to as the Roaring Twenties. This event is significant because black musicians were able to record and get recognised. -
Invention of the Television
Philo Farnsworth successfully demonstrated electronic television in San Francisco, in 1927. Farnsworth, at the age of fifteen, began imagining ways that electronic television could work. One day while working in the fields, he was inspired. He realized that a picture could be separated by a simple television camera into a series of lines of electricity. This event is significant because it was the first technology that allowed people to see and experience events that were thousands of miles away -
The Great Depression
The Great Depression (1929 to the early 1940s) was a severe economic downturn which is believed to be caused by The Stock Market Crash. It is known as the worst economic crisis in U.S. history. From 1931 to 1940 unemployment was always in double digits. In April 1939, more than one in five Americans still could not find work. World War II seems to mark the end of the Great Depression. This event is important because it made the US obtain a better economic system. -
Market Crash of 1929
The Market Crash was the greatest stock market crash in the history of the United States. The cause of the stock market crash was people had gotten into the habit of buying things they couldn’t afford. By the end of December 1929, investors in the stock market had lost more than $30 billion which was more than it had cost the U.S. government to contribute money, weapons, and troops to WW1. The significance of this event was that is that it was a key factor in beginning the Great Depression. -
1938 Day of Mourning
January 26th 1938 marked the 150th anniversary of the landing of the First Fleet in Australia. For some this was a day to celebrate, for others it was a day to mourn. The people who celebrated there was a parade which was a re-enactment of the First Fleet. Those who mourned marched in silent along Elizabeth Street, Sydney. This was a significant event because it was an opportunity for people to be proud of how Australia had succeeded since the early days of settlement. -
Start of World War 2
World War II began in 1939 and was the deadliest and most destructive war in history. Before the war, Germany, America, and the rest of the world were going through the Great Depression. The economy was very bad and unemployment was at an all-time high. Countries like America and Britain were part of the Allied powers. Japan and Germany were part of the Axis powers. This event is important because it brought the allies closer. -
Japanese Attack of Pearl Harbour
The attack on Pearl Harbor occurred on December 7th, 1941. Japanese airplanes made a surprise attack on the US Navy in Pearl Harbor. They destroyed many ships and killed many soldiers. It was this attack that forced the United States to enter WWII. The bombers dropped bombs on the war ships and the fighter planes attacked the US fighter planes on the ground so they could not take off and fight back. The significance of this event is it essentially ended WWll by bringing the US into the war. -
Bombing of Dariwn
At 9.58am Japanese bombers began to arrive over Darwin in the first of the two attacks. The first attack lasted about 40 minutes and bombs were dropped on the Allied warships and vessels in the Darwin Harbour. The second attack took place around midday, also aimed at the Darwin Harbour. Approximately 683 bombs were dropped on Darwin over the two attacks and between 250-320 people were killed .This was an important event because it caused quite a scare in Australia and distracted the Allies. -
Atomic Bombing of Hiroshima
On August 6 1945, the United States used an enormous atomic weapon against Hiroshima, Japan which flattened the city. This atomic bomb contained 20 000 tons of TNT (Trinitrotoluene) which killed tens of thousands citizens. While Japan was still trying to understand this devastation three days later, the United States struck again only this time, on Nagasaki. This was an important event as it marked the ending of World War 2. -
Decleration of Human RIghts
The Universal Declaration of Human Rights is an international document that states basic rights and important freedoms to which all human beings are entitled. This declaration was motivated by the experiences of the previous world wars. It includes civil and political rights, like the right to life, liberty, free speech and privacy, cultural rights, health and education. The significance of this event was it was the first time that countries agreed on a complete statement of human rights. -
Melbourne Olympics
On 22nd November 1956 the Melbourne Olympics took place. This was the first Olympics held outside of Europe and United States and was also the first Games in which all athletes walked together as on in the Closing Ceremony. This change to the Olympics had been suggested to organisers by an Australian schoolboy, John Ian Wing, who remains a much-loved tradition of togetherness and friendship. The significance of this event is these Games were the first time Australia hosted the Olympics. -
Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream…” Speech
On the 28th of August 1963 more than a quarter of a million people contributed in one of the world’s largest human rallies for human rights. Martin Luther King Jr. delivered a speech on the steps of the Lincoln Memorial throughout the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. The speech is remembered for an iconic speech that has come to be known as “I Have a Dream.” This event is important because it played a key part in the fight for freedom during the American Civil Rights Movement. -
Cuban Missile Crisis
The Cuban Missile Crisis is the closest the world has ever come to nuclear war. It was mainly started by two countries in 1962, one of them the USSR. A Soviet leader, Nikita Khrushchev, was worried about the fact that the US had nuclear missiles only 150 miles away in Turkey. The other main cause was the Cuban fear of a US invasion. This event was important because it forced nations and super powers to reconsider a nuclear war. -
Australian Freedom Rides
A group of 29 students from the University of Sydney who named themselves ‘Student Action For Aborigines’, undertook a bus trip to a number of towns in New South Wales . The purpose of this trip was to examine race relations in country towns and living conditions for Aboriginal people. This was significant because two years later, the Australian public voted overpoweringly in favour of removing individual state control over the way the indigenous people were treated. -
Invention of the Internet
In 1969, the US Defence Department first set the stage for Internet with a network called ARPANET. It was a research program used to discover and link different networks together for government and scientific use. What they hoped to develop was a method of communicating information packets between many computers at the same time. Now, there are over 2 million internet users worldwide. This event is significant because now the internet provides an enormous range of information and communication. -
Invention of the Mobile Phone
In 1973, Martin Cooper and his team at Motorola built the first cell phone. It was the size of a brick and wasn't sold for another decade. But as Cooper demonstrated on a New York sidewalk to see if worked and it did. Cooper says that first phone cost $3,900, plus 50 cents a minute to talk. Martin Cooper says, "We knew that someday everybody would have a cell phone.” The significance of this invention was that this invention changed the world as it changed the way people communicated. -
Release of Crocodile Dundee
Crocodile Dundee is a 1986 Australian comedy film set in the Australian Outback and in New York City. It stars Paul Hogan as Mick Dundee. It is also one of the most remarkable films to be released out of Australia. It is basically about an American reporter that goes to the Australian outback to meet a crocodile poacher and then she invites him back to New York City. This event is important because after the movie was released it attracted many tourists to Australia. -
United Nations Conventions on the Rights of the Child
In November 1989, the UN General Assembly adopted the Convention on the Rights of the Child. It is the most widely approved human rights agreement in the world. There are only 2 countries which have not signed it, the United States of America and Somalia. The Convention sets out the basic rights of children and the responsibilities of governments to fulfil those rights. This event is significant because it protects and promotes a person’s individual rights. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
For 28 years, the 28 mile Berlin Wall had split a city in two and divided a nation. November 9 1989 marks the infamous fall of the Berlin Wall. On midnight of that day, East Germany's Communist rulers gave permission for gates along the Wall to be opened as a result of days of mass protest. The significance of this event is that it ended the Cold War.
