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Napoleon Bonaparte Marries Josephine
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Bonaparte Crossing the Grand Saint- Bernard Pass Painted
Although it was initially commissioned by a Spanish King, the painting paints Napoleon in a very favorable light. All great rulers are represented by art and Napoleon was definitely one of them. It was painted by Jacques-Louis David. -
Haitian Revolution Ends The French Control
The Haitian Revolution was a defining moment in world history. The once wealthy French territory now became the most successful slave revolt in the world and its own independent state. It helped inspire many colonies to rise up, causing a power shift away from Europe. -
Great Exhibition
The Great Exhibition was to show that developing technologies would be the way of the future. It was to show the technological superiority of Great Britain and inspired more industrialization. -
The 100 Days
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Mary Shelley's Frankenstein is Published
Many students have to go through their schooling and read this book. But why would something from so long ago still matter? Not only does the book confront the subject of the relationship between creation and creator but also their morals and ethics, topics that are still relevant today. -
Charles XIV of Sweden-Norway is crowned King of Sweden
An original supporter of Napoleon, he switched allegiances, assisting the defeat of Napoleon in the Battle of Leipzig and defeating the French ally Denmark, gaining Sweden the control of Norway. First the crown prince, Charles became king in 1818 which led to a period of stability for Sweden. -
The Assassination of August von Kotzebue
His death, by a student, gave Clemens Prince von Metternich the fuel he needed to convince the German Confederation to take action against the revolting students. They enacted the Carlsbad Decree, which banned nationalist fraternities, removed liberal university professors, and increased censorship. Becoming known for pushing them back, many people began to hate Metternich and to this day he remains a controversial figure; he built a system that had either saved Europe or led it to ruin. -
Revolution of 1830
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Irish Potato Famine Begins
Due to the Irish’s dependence on a few species of potato, when disease came, it decimated many of those crops. The reliant people did not have enough crops to feed themselves and many people were hungry. Over a million people died in direct relation to the famine and more than two million left Ireland. It changed the demographics of Ireland for many years to come. -
10 Hours Act
It is formally called the Factory Act of 1847. It restricted the working hours of men and women in factories to 10 hours. -
The Start of Unification of Italy
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Communist Manifesto is Published
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Start of the Crimean War
A war when Russia lost to an alliance of France, the Ottoman Empire, the United Kingdom, and Piedmont-Sardinia. It confirmed the separation between the Western and Eastern Orthodox Churches. -
Darwin Publishes Origin of the Species
Darwin’s findings and theories that populations evolve over the generations through a process known as natural selection. This was revolutionary for scientists and philosophers. There were people, Social Darwinists, who used his theories with the idea of humans battling each other to survive. -
The Emancipation of The Serfs
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Periodic Table Is Created
While he was not the first to try to arrange the elements, Dmitri Mendeleev created the basis for our modern system. He found that he could arrange them in an order that they could have similar properties. He even left spaces for elements that hadn’t been discovered yet. -
End of the British East India Company
The most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It was signed on June 28, 1919 in the Palace of Versailles. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. -
Einstein is Born
Einstein was the most influential physicist of the 20th century. He was the most influential person in the making of the atomic bomb. Finally, his theory of relativity E=MC^2 was the most influential in the discoveries made about energy and its forms. -
The Eiffel Tower Opens to the Public
First built to display at the Parisian World Fair, it soon became a symbol of France itself. In the beginning, it was quite controversial, with the people believing a tower of iron would be horrendous, but it is now a loved monument for the Parisian people. -
Interpretations of Dreams by Freud
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Bloody Sunday
It was the beginning of the Revolution of 1905 in Russia. It is also one of the key events that led to the Revolution of 1917 which changed Russia as everyone knew it. -
Josephine Baker Is Born
Although American-born, Josephine Baker was a French icon. A singer and dancer, she expanded the industry for colored entertainers and women. She also was a part of the French Resistance against Germany. She was so loved and appreciated, she was entered into the French Pantheon. -
Hitler Gets Rejected From Art School
Adolf Hitler was rejected from art school for the second time in the fall of 1908. After feeling like a failure, he got into politics living in Vienna. Perhaps if he had been deemed to have the sufficient skill, things would have turned out much differently. -
Emily Davison Dies
She was one of the forgotten key figures of the feminist movements. This woman jumped in front of the king’s horses in an effort to secure voting rights to women. She may have unwittingly gave her life to aid the movement. -
The Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand
The impact of this was significant. The militarism, alliances, imperialism, and nationalism all lead to the countries declaring war on each other, leading to World War I. -
Bolshevik Revolution
It established the Communist Soviet Union, which claimed power for the people. They were the first Marxist government in the world. Lenin became the dictator of this state. -
Treaty of Versailles
The most important of the peace treaties of World War I. It was signed on June 28, 1919 in the Palace of Versailles. It ended the state of war between Germany and the Allied Powers. -
Locarno Pact
An agreement between Germany, France, Belgium, Italy, and Great Britain. They agreed that there would be peace in western Europe. It meant that Germany could expand into eastern Europe but not the West. Of course Germany did not listen. -
Stock Market Crash
This event was the cause of the Great Depression in both America and Europe. The intensified poverty of the people led to the perfect circumstances for another world war. -
Nuremberg Laws
These antisemitic and racist laws forbade marriage or intercourse between a German and Jew and also made it so that only people with German blood could become Reich citizens. This was definitely a stepping stone for the Nazi party and their persecution of the Jewish people. -
Spanish Civil War Begins
The Spanish Civil War was a bloody war for Western Europe. Over 200,000 people died due to human right violations. It decided the fate of Spain’s political side. -
End of Great Depression
It was the recovery of the people. Things were getting back to normal and just in time for a war. If the countries would not have been able to recover, the war would have been even more devastating. -
D-Day
It was the Allied invasion fo Western Europe. With the landing of forces of separate Normandy beaches, it was a risky move. But it succeeded and it was the beginning of the end for WWII. -
Potsdam Conference
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India's Independence From Britain
The Indian Independence bill became real at the stroke of midnight on August 15, making India and Pakistan. This demonstrates the general motion away from imperialism for European countries. -
Berlin Airlift
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The Death of Stalin
Stalin, with his many human rights abuses, left his successor with some pretty big shoes to fill. As one historian called it, his death was the beginning of the end for the Soviet Union. It also relieved tensions during the Cold War for a little while. -
Sputnik Launches
The Soviet Union begins the “Space Age” by launching Sputnik, the world’s first artificial satellite. The metal sphere, that was roughly the size of a basketball, orbited the Earth for three months. However small, its impact was huge as it drew America into the Space Race which was part of the Cold War. -
Bay of Pigs
Castro’s victory helped establish his power and weakened the American influence in this part of the Cold War. It was a failed attempt from the U.S to disarm the missiles put by Russia during the Cuban Missile Crisis. -
John Paul II Becomes Pope
Pope John Paul II was a very influential Pope. He was the first globally oriented pope, helped expand and establish the Church’s beliefs, and built bridges with people of other religions. He also issued the first apology from the Catholic Church as to its actions during WWII. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
On November 9th 1989, the Berlin Wall, built to separate East and West Berlin, finally came down after 28 years. It symbolized the fall of Communism. When it fell, it took the iron curtain with it and the power of the Soviet Union.