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Crimean War
The Crimean war began in October of 1853. The war arose from the conflict of great powers in the Middle East and was more directly caused by Russian demands to exercise protection over the Orthodox subjects of the Ottoman Empire. One major factor was the dispute between Russia and France over the privileges of the Russian Orthodox and Roman Catholic churches. The Crimean war ended in February of 1856. -
Mona Lisa is Stolen
On August 11, 1911, the Mona Lisa, created by Leonardo da Vinci, was stolen out of the Louvre museum in Paris, France. There was not much evidence to work with so finding the Mona Lisa proved to be diffiult. Vincenzo Peruggia was the thief, and was caught trying to sell it. The artwork was returned to France on December 30, 1913. -
World War I
This is the official beginning of World War I. The spark that started World War I was the assassination of Austria's Archduke Franz Ferdinand and his wife Sophie. The assassination occurred on June 28, 1914 while Ferdinand was visiting the city of Sarajevo in the Austro-Hungarian province of Bosnia-Herzegovina. The Versailles Treaty was the peace treaty that ended World War I yet also set the footing for World War II. -
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World War I
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Discovery of Penicillin
Penicillin was discovered on this date. The impact that penicillin had upon medicine was profound as once devastating bacterial diseases could now be fought off with the new advent of antibiotics. Such diseases include syphilis, but many bacterias today have become resistant to the antibiotic. This medicine was discovered by Alexander Fleming. -
World War II/The Holocaust
World War II began on this date. It all started when Germany attacked Poland and the other European countries felt they needed to step in. It lasted six long years, and during those six years, six million Jews were murdered in what was called the Holocaust. World War II ended on May 8th, 1945. -
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World War II
The European part of World War II was considered to have ended May 7, 1945 with the surrender of the Germans. -
D-Day
The turning point of the century which separates two halves of Europe appears to be June 6th, 1944 when the allied forces left the shores of Britain and invaded Nazi-occupied Europe. D-Day occurred in Normandy, France.160,000 United States and Allied troops landed along a 50-mile stretch of heavily-fortified French coastline to fight Nazi Germany on the beaches of Normandy. The Allied forces attacked in two phases: and airborne assault and naval assault. -
The Great Smog
The Great Smog of 1952 was a period of cold weather, combined with an anticyclone and windless conditions, and collected airborne pollutants mostly from the use of coal to form a thick layer of smog over the city. This Smog affected London, England until December 9th, 1952. The Smog brought much needed attention to the environment and the damages caused by humans. -
Munich Massacre
During the 1972 Olympics, 11 Israeli olympians were taken hostage and eventually killed by terrorists. The Palestinian terrorists demanded that they release all Palestinian's held in prison in Isreal. The German's made plans to ambush the terrorists but each time their plans failed. It was under speculation for a long time whether or not the Germans were aware of the attack. -
Chernobyl Disaster
The Chernobyl disaster occurred in a nuclear power plant built in the wooded marshlands of northern Ukraine, approximately 80 miles north of Kiev. The explosion released radiation into the atmosphere, and citizens and workers near the explosion began feeling the effects. It traveled to neighboring countries, some including Sweden and what was once the Soviet Union. -
Fall of the Berlin Wall
The wall was located in Berlin, Germany. The Berlin Wall was both the physical division between West Berlin and East Germany from 1961 to 1989 and the symbolic boundary between democracy and Communism during the Cold War. The wall was built on August 13, 1961. As well as putting up a wal to separate East and West Berlin, the Soviet Union cut telephone lines connected between the two regions. -
Fall of the Soviet Union
The Soviet Union ceased to exist in this year. This ended the Cold War, and the United States celebrated as its opponent fell to pieces. The Cold War had been going on since the end of World War II. The fall of the Soviet Union proved that capitalism trumped socialism. -
Formation of the European Union
The European Union was officially formed on this date. It was created in the aftermath of World War II. The main goal of the European Union was to "foster economic cooperation." The main idea is that countries who trade with one another become economically interdependent and more likely to avoid conflict between each other.