HISTORY

4.5 billion B.C.

1 CE

Planet Earth formed.

3 billion B.C.

2

First signs of primeval life (bacteria and blue-green algae) appear in oceans

208 to 145 Million years ago

3

Jurassic Period
The "Age of the Dinosaurs" (Humans did not live during this era!)

145 to 65 Million years

4

The dinosaurs disappeared

2 Million to 4 Million years ago

5

Apes such as the gorilla, gibbon and chimpanzee appeared
The apes were primarily quadrupedal, or four-footed.
The apes and man are are primates and close relatives

2 Million to 4 Million years ago

6

The hominids appeared: A hominid is any of the two-legged primates. Australopithecus is an extinct genus of hominids. The name means "Southern Ape". The Australopithecus is the earliest species of Australopithecus, and lived in eastern Africa. Its brain was about the same size as a chimpanzee.
Australopithecus afarensis: The earliest hominid
Australopithecus africanus meaning the "southern ape of Africa"
Australopithecus robustus meaning the "robust southern ape"

2 Million years ago

7

Homo habilis, an upright East African hominid having some advanced humanlike characteristics developed from the Australopithecus. Homo habilis is considered to be the oldest human-like species of Homo.

1.8 Million years ago

8

Homo erectus meaning "upright man" appeared
These are called bipedal, or two-footed, upright walkers
The term "erectus" refers to the upright posture.

350,000 years ago to present day

9

Homo Sapiens: The term "Homo sapiens" means "wise human being". The first Homo Sapiens had a heavier build and were stronger than modern humans. Homo Sapiens were the first prehistoric people to inhabit large areas of Europe, Asia and Australia. They were the 'hunter gatherers'. The first Homo Sapiens appeared in America much later.

15,000 B.C.

10

Migrations across Bering Straits into the Americas.

5500–3000 B.C.

11

Predynastic Egyptian cultures develop (5500–3100 B.C.); begin using agriculture (c. 5000 B.C.). Earliest known civilization arises in Sumer (4500–4000 B.C.). Earliest recorded date in Egyptian calendar (4241 B.C.). First year of Jewish calendar (3760 B.C.). First phonetic writing appears (c. 3500 B.C.). Sumerians develop a city-state civilization (c. 3000 B.C.). Copper used by Egyptians and Sumerians. Western Europe is neolithic, without metals or written records.

1500–1000 B.C.

12

Ikhnaton develops monotheistic religion in Egypt (c. 1375 B.C.). His successor, Tutankhamen, returns to earlier gods. Greeks destroy Troy (c. 1193 B.C.). End of Greek civilization in Mycenae with invasion of Dorians. Chinese civilization develops under Shang Dynasty. Olmec civilization in Mexico—stone monuments; picture writing.

900–800 B.C.

13

Phoenicians establish Carthage (c. 810 B.C.). The Iliad and the Odyssey, perhaps composed by Greek poet Homer.

800–700 B.C.

14

Prophets Amos, Hosea, Isaiah. First recorded Olympic games (776 B.C.). Legendary founding of Rome by Romulus (753 B.C.). Assyrian king Sargon II conquers Hittites, Chaldeans, Samaria (end of Kingdom of Israel). Earliest written music. Chariots introduced into Italy by Etruscans.

700–600 B.C.

15

End of Assyrian Empire (616 B.C.)—Nineveh destroyed by Chaldeans (Neo-Babylonians) and Medes (612 B.C.). Founding of Byzantium by Greeks (c. 660 B.C.). Building of the Acropolis in Athens. Solon, Greek lawgiver (640–560 B.C.). Sappho of Lesbos, Greek poet (fl. c. 610–580 B.C.). Lao-tse, Chinese philosopher and founder of Taoism (born c. 604 B.C.).

500–400 B.C.

16

Greeks defeat Persians: battles of Marathon (490 B.C.), Thermopylae (480 B.C.), Salamis (480 B.C.). Peloponnesian Wars between Athens and Sparta (431–404 B.C.)—Sparta victorious. Pericles comes to power in Athens (462 B.C.). The Parthenon is built in Athens as a temple of the goddess Athena (447–432 B.C.). Sophocles, Greek dramatist (496?–406 B.C.). Hippocrates, Greek “Father of Medicine” (born 460 B.C.). Xerxes I, king of Persia (rules 485–465 B.C.).

400–300 B.C.

17

Pentateuch—first five books of the Old Testament evolve in final form. Philip of Macedon, who believed himself to be a descendant of the Greek people, assassinated (336 B.C.) after subduing the Greek city-states; succeeded by son, Alexander the Great (356–323 B.C.), who destroys Thebes (335 B.C.), conquers Tyre and Jerusalem (332 B.C.), occupies Babylon (330 B.C.), invades India, and dies in Babylon

300–251 B.C

18

irst Punic War (264–241 B.C.): Rome defeats the Carthaginians and begins its domination of the Mediterranean. Temple of the Sun at Teotihuacán, Mexico (c. 300 B.C.). Invention of Mayan calendar in Yucatán—more exact than older calendars. First Roman gladiatorial games (264 B.C.). Archimedes, Greek mathematician (287–212 B.C.).

250–201 B.C.

19

Second Punic War (219–201 B.C.): Hannibal, Carthaginian general (246–142 B.C.), crosses the Alps (218 B.C.), reaches gates of Rome (211 B.C.), retreats, and is defeated by Scipio Africanus at Zama (202 B.C.). Great Wall of China built (c. 215 B.C.).

100–51 B.C

20

Julius Caesar (100–44 B.C.) invades Britain (55 B.C.) and conquers Gaul (France) (c. 50 B.C.). Spartacus leads slave revolt against Rome (71 B.C.). Romans conquer Seleucid empire. Roman general Pompey conquers Jerusalem (63 B.C.). Cleopatra on Egyptian throne (51–31 B.C.). Chinese develop use of paper (c. 100 B.C.). Virgil, Roman poet (70–19 B.C.). Horace, Roman poet (65–8 B.C.)

1–49 AC

21

Birth of Jesus Christ (variously given from 4 B.C. to A.D. 7). After Augustus, Tiberius becomes emperor (dies, A.D. 37), succeeded by Caligula (assassinated, A.D. 41), who is followed by Claudius. Crucifixion of Jesus (probably A.D. 30). Han dynasty in China founded by Emperor Kuang Wu Ti. Buddhism introduced to China.

250–299 AC

22

Increasing invasions of the Roman empire by Franks and Goths. Buddhism spreads in China. Classic period of Mayan civilization (A.D. 250–900); develop hieroglyphic writing, advances in art, architecture, science.

500–549 AC

23

Eastern and western churches reconciled (519). Justinian I, the Great (483–565), becomes Byzantine emperor (527), issues his first code of civil laws (529), conquers North Africa, Italy, and part of Spain. Plague spreads through Europe (542 et seq.). Arthur, semi-legendary king of the Britons (killed, c. 537). Boëthius, Roman scholar (executed, 524).

550–599 AC

24

Beginnings of European silk industry after Justinian's missionaries smuggle silkworms out of China (553). Mohammed, founder of Islam (570–632). Buddhism in Japan (c. 560). St. Augustine of Canterbury brings Christianity to Britain (597). After killing about half the population, plague in Europe subsides (594).

1068 AC

25

Construction on the cathedral in Pisa, Italy, begins.

1206 AC

26

Genghis Khan begins creation of largest land empire in history
Genghis Khan invades China, captures Peking (1214), conquers Persia (1218), invades Russia (1223), dies (1227).

1271 AC

27

1271—Marco Polo begins travels to Asia
Marco Polo of Venice travels to China, in court of Kublai Khan (1275–1292), returns to Genoa (1295) and writes Travels.

1300 AC

28

1300s—Renaissance begins in Italy
The beginning of the Renaissance in Italy: writers Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio; painter Giotto. Development of Noh drama in Japan. Aztecs establish Tenochtitlán on site of modern Mexico City. Peak of Muslim culture in Spain. Small cannon in use.

1347–1351

29

At least 25 million people die in Europe's “Black Death” (bubonic plague).

1368 AC

30

Ming Dynasty begins in China.

1438 AC

31

Incan Empire formed in Peru

1453 AC

32

Turks conquer Constantinople, end of the Byzantine empire, beginning of the Ottoman empire.

1455 AC

33

1455—Gutenberg's movable-type printing press produces the Bible

1492 AC

34

Moors conquered in Spain by troops of Ferdinand and Isabella. Columbus becomes first European to encounter Caribbean islands, returns to Spain (1493). Second voyage to Dominica, Jamaica, Puerto Rico (1493–1496). Third voyage to Orinoco (1498). Fourth voyage to Honduras and Panama (1502–1504).

1547 AC

34

Ivan IV (“the Terrible”) crowned as czar of Russia, begins conquest of Astrakhan and Kazan (1552), battles nobles (boyars) for power (1564), kills his son (1580), dies, and is succeeded by his weak and feeble-minded son, Fyodor I.

1503 AC

35

c. 1503
Leonardo da Vinci paints the Mona Lisa. Michelangelo sculpts the David (1504).

1527 AC

36

Troops of the Holy Roman Empire attack Rome, imprison Pope Clement VII—the end of the Italian Renaissance. Castiglione writes The Courtier. The Medici family expelled from Florence.

1543 AC

37

Publication of On the Revolution of Heavenly Bodies by Polish scholar Nicolaus Copernicus—giving his theory that the earth revolves around the sun.

1558 AC

39

Queen Elizabeth I ascends the throne (rules to 1603). Restores Protestantism, establishes state Church of England (Anglicanism). Renaissance will reach height in England—Shakespeare, Marlowe, Spenser.

1570 AC

40

Japan permits visits of foreign ships. Queen Elizabeth I excommunicated by Pope. Turks attack Cyprus and war on Venice. Turkish fleet defeated at Battle of Lepanto by Spanish and Italian fleets (1571). Peace of Constantinople (1572) ends Turkish attacks on Europe.

1605 AC

41

Cervantes's Don Quixote de la Mancha, the first modern novel.

1610 AC

42

Galileo sees the moons of Jupiter through his telescope.

1789 AC

42

French Revolution begins with the storming of the Bastille. (For detailed chronology, see French Revolution (1789–1799).) In U.S., Washington elected president with all 69 votes of the Electoral College, takes oath of office in New York City. Vice President: John Adams. Secretary of State: Thomas Jefferson. Secretary of Treasury: Alexander Hamilton.

1664 AC

43

British take New Amsterdam from the Dutch. English limit “Nonconformity” with reestablished Anglican Church. Isaac Newton's experiments with gravity.

1760 AC

44

Industrial Revolution, term usually applied to the social and economic changes that mark the transition from a stable agricultural and commercial society to a modern industrial society relying on complex machinery rather than tools. It is used historically to refer primarily to the period in British history from the middle of the 18th cent. to the middle of the 19th cent.

1776 AC

46

Declaration of Independence. Gen. George Washington crosses the Delaware Christmas night. Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations. Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire. Thomas Paine's Common Sense. Fragonard's Washerwoman. Mozart's Haffner Serenade.

1796 AC

47

Napoléon Bonaparte, French general, defeats Austrians. In the U.S., Washington's Farewell Address (Sept. 17); John Adams elected president; Thomas Jefferson, vice president. Edward Jenner introduces smallpox vaccination.

1800 AC

48

In the U.S., federal government moves to Washington, D.C. Robert Owen's social reforms in England. William Herschel discovers infrared rays. Alessandro Volta produces electricity.

1819 AC

49

Simón Bolívar liberates New Granada (now Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador) as Spain loses hold on South American countries; named president of Colombia.

1844 AC

50

Five Chinese ports opened to U.S. ships. Samuel F. B. Morse patents telegraph.

1861 AC

51

U.S. Civil War begins as attempts at compromise fail. Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia, Louisiana, and Texas secede; with South Carolina, they form the Confederate States of America, with Jefferson Davis as president. Virginia, Arkansas, Tennessee, North Carolina secede and join Confederacy. First Battle of Bull Run (Manassas).(For detailed chronology, see The Civil War.)

1866 AC

52

Alfred Nobel invents dynamite (patented in Britain, 1867). Seven Weeks' War: Austria defeated by Prussia and Italy.

1869 AC

53

First U.S. transcontinental rail route completed. James Fisk and Jay Gould's attempt to control gold market causes Black Friday panic. Suez Canal opens. Mendeleev's periodic table of elements.

1876 AC

54

Sioux kill Gen. George A. Custer and 264 troopers at Little Big Horn River. Alexander Graham Bell patents the telephone.

1879 AC

55

Thomas A. Edison invents practical electric light.

1895 AC

56

X-rays discovered by German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen. Auguste and Louis Lumière premiere motion pictures at a café in Paris.

1896 AC

57

First modern Olympic games held in Athens, Greece.

1903 AC

58

Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, fly first powered, controlled, heavier-than-air plane at Kitty Hawk, N.C. Henry Ford organizes Ford Motor Company

1914 - 1918 AC

59

World War I, also called First World War or Great War, an international conflict that in 1914–18 embroiled most of the nations of Europe along with Russia, the United States, the Middle East, and other regions. The war pitted the Central Powers—mainly Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey—against the Allies—mainly France, Great Britain, Russia, Italy, Japan, and, from 1917, the United States. It ended with the defeat of the Central Powers.

1915 AC

60

Second Battle of Ypres. U.S. banks lend $500 million to France and Britain. Genocide of estimated 600,000 to 1 million Armenians by Turkish soldiers. D. W. Griffith's film Birth of a Nation. Albert Einstein's General Theory of Relativity.

1924 AC

61

Death of Lenin; Stalin wins power struggle, rules as Soviet dictator until death in 1953. Italian Fascists murder Socialist leader Giacomo Matteotti.

1928 AC

62

Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin.

1939 - 1945 AC

63

World War II, also called Second World War, conflict that involved virtually every part of the world during the years 1939–45. The principal belligerents were the Axis powers—Germany, Italy, and Japan—and the Allies—France, Great Britain, the United States, the Soviet Union, and, to a lesser extent, China. The war was in many respects a continuation, after an uneasy 20-year hiatus, of the disputes left unsettled by World War I. The 40,000,000–50,000,000 deaths incurred.

1945 AC

64

The Bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki
U.S. drops atomic bombs on Japanese cities of Hiroshima (Aug. 6) and Nagasaki (Aug. 9). Japan signs official surrender on V-J Day (Sept. 2). United Nations established (Oct. 24). First electronic computer, ENIAC, built.End of Second War

1948 BC

65

Gandhi assassinated in New Delhi by Hindu fanatic (Jan. 30).

1949 AC

66

Start of North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) . South Africa institutionalizes apartheid.

1950 AC

67

Korean War begins when North Korean Communist forces invade South Korea (June 25). (For detailed chronology, seeKorean War.

1951 AC

68

Color television introduced in U.S. Libya gains independence (Dec. 24).

1957 AC

69

Russians launch Sputnik I, first Earth-orbiting satellite—the Space Age begins (Oct. 4).

1959 AC

70

Cuban President Batista resigns and flees—Castro takes over (Jan. 1). Tibet's Dalai Lama escapes to India (Mar. 31).

1961 AC

71

U.S. breaks diplomatic relations with Cuba (Jan. 3). Robert Frost recites “The Gift Outright” at John F. Kennedy's inauguration as president of U.S. (Jan. 20). Moscow announces putting first man in orbit around Earth, Maj. Yuri A. Gagarin (April 12).

1962 AC

72

Lt. Col. John H. Glenn, Jr., is first American to orbit Earth—three times in 4 hr 55 min (Feb. 20). France transfers sovereignty to new republic of Algeria (July 3). Cuban missile crisis > USSR to build missile bases in Cuba; Kennedy orders Cuban blockade, lifts blockade after Russians back down (Aug.–Nov.).

1963 AC

73

Martin Luther King delivers “I have a dream” speech (Aug. 28). Washington-to-Moscow “hot line” communications link opens, designed to reduce risk of accidental war (Aug. 30). President Kennedy shot and killed by sniper in Dallas, Tex.

1969 AC

74

Richard M. Nixon is inaugurated 37th president of the U.S. (Jan. 20). Stonewall riot in New York City marks beginning of gay rights movement (June 28). Apollo 11 astronauts—Neil A. Armstrong, Edwin E. Aldrin, Jr., and Michael Collins—take man's first walk on moon (July 20).

1975 AC

75

In our May 5, 1975, issue, Newsweek wrote about President Gerald Ford’s April 23 speech at Tulane University in New Orleans, during which he announced the end of U.S. involvement in Vietnam

1983 AC

76

Pope John Paul II signs new Roman Catholic code incorporating changes brought about by Second Vatican Council (Jan. 25)

1985 AC

77

Reagan and Gorbachev meet at summit (Nov. 19); agree to step up arms control talks and renew cultural contacts (Nov. 21). Terrorists seize Egyptian Boeing 737 airliner after takeoff from Athens (Nov. 23); 59 dead as Egyptian forces storm plane on Malta (Nov. 24). U.S. budget-balancing bill enacted (Dec. 12).

1988 AC

78

The Soviet Union withdraws their troops from Afghanistan.
George H.W. Bush is elected as the U.S. President after defeating Michael Dukakis.
The Iran-Iraq war ends.

1990 AC

79

World Wide Web debuts, popularizes Internet. Gen. Manuel Noriega surrenders in Panama (Jan. 3). Yugoslav Communists end 45-year monopoly of power (Jan. 22). Soviet Communists relinquish sole power (Feb. 7). South Africa frees Nelson Mandela, imprisoned 271/2 years (Feb. 11). Iraqi troops invade Kuwait and seize petroleum reserves, setting off Persian Gulf War (For detailed chronology, see The Persian Gulf War.)

1991 AC

80

U.S. and Allies at war with Iraq (Jan. 15). Warsaw Pact dissolves military alliance (Feb. 25). Cease-fire ends Persian Gulf War; Boris N. Yeltsin inaugurated as first freely elected president of Russian Republic (July 10). Bush-Gorbachev summit negotiates strategic arms reduction treaty (July 31). Soviet Union breaks up after President Gorbachev's resignation; constituent republics form Commonwealth of Independent States (Dec. 25).

1993 AC

81

2 December 1993 – Pablo Escobar also known as "The King of Cocaine" was killed by Members of Colonel Hugo Martínez's Search Bloc in Medellín, Colombia

2000 ac

82

The world celebrates the turn of the millennium | The Pyrenean Ibex goes extinct | The dot-com bubble bursts | Vladimir Putin is elected president of Russia | Euro 2000 is hosted by Belgium and the Netherlands | Concorde crashes in France, killing 113 | Personal home computers break the 1GHz barrier | Sydney hosts the Olympic Games

2001 AC

83

Terrorists attack United States. Hijackers ram jetliners into twin towers of New York City's World Trade Center and the Pentagon. . Toll of dead is more than 3,000. Within days, Islamic militant Osama bin Laden and the al-Qaeda terrorist network are identified as the parties behind the attacks (Sept. 11).

2004 AC

84

The first recorded hurricane in the South Atlantic | George W. Bush is re-elected | Athens hosts the Olympic Games | Train bombings in Madrid kill nearly 200 people | Hubble Ultra Deep Field | Mars Exploration Rovers | The first privately funded human spaceflight | Facebook is launched | World's first 1 gigabyte SD card | London's skyline gets a new landmark | Asia gets a new tallest building | Indian Ocean earthquake leaves a quarter of a million dead

2005 AC

85

YouTube is launched | The Deep Impact probe collides its impactor with comet 9P/Tempel | USB flash drives replace floppy disks | Suicide bombers in London kill 56 people, injure 700 others | Hurricane Katrina floods New Orleans | Angela Merkel becomes the first female Chancellor of Germany

2006 AC

86

Pluto is demoted to "dwarf planet" status | North Korea conducts its first nuclear test | The West African black rhino is declared extinct | Saddam Hussein is executed

2009 AC

87

Barack Obama is sworn in as 44th president of the USA | Major breakthrough in cancer research | | Scientists engineer new plastics without the use of fossil fuels | Water is discovered on the Moon | Kepler searches for Earth-like planets | Discovery of the first exoplanet that could hold liquid water | Mercury is 98% mapped | The tallest man-made structure in history is completed | Africa's population reaches one billion

2011 AC

88

Japan is devastated by a 9.0 magnitude earthquake and tsunami | The death of Osama bin Laden