Human Rights Timeline

By not.katew
  • 3000 BCE

    Ancient Egypt

    Rich and powerful people were safe, whilst the poor and weak weren't.
  • 539 BCE

    Cyrus the Great conquers Babylon

    Cyrus the Great announced all slaves were free to go and gave people freedom of religion. These rules were written onto the Cyrus Cylinder, the birth of human rights.
  • 27 BCE

    Roman Empire

    Human rights spread to the Roman Empire, where they established 'Natural law', the idea that people instinctively followed certain laws without guidance.
  • 1215

    Magna Carta

    A document put into writing which agreed the king and his government weren't above the law, and couldn't take away people's rights.

  • Petition of Right

    An English constitutional document which gave people specific individual protections of their rights.

  • America Declares Independence

    America declared themselves independent from Britain, and the king agreed that all men are created equal.

  • French Revolution

    The French revolted for their own rights, taking the Roman concept of 'natural law' as 'natural rights', where every people was naturally entitled to have rights.

  • Napoleon invades Europe

    Napoleon overthrew the French democracy and declared himself Emperor.

  • War of the Sixth Coalition

    European countries joined forces and defeated Napoleon. They drew up international agreements which broadly granted people rights across Europe.

  • Mahatma Gandhi Leads India Protests

    He led protests and insisted all people on Earth had rights, not just Europeans, who were invading and conquering India.

  • Gandhi-Irwin Pact

    Gandhi succeeds in his protesting, and Irwin agrees to a pact which released those who had been imprisoned during the movement.

  • United Nations Established

    The UN was established and had the purpose of "[...] To reaffirm faith in fundamental human rights, in the dignity and worth of the human person."

  • Eleanor Roosevelt Chairs UN Commission

    Under the supervision of Eleanor Roosevelt, the UN began discussions on a set of rights applicable to everyone.

  • The Universal Declaration of Human Rights

    The UN finally agrees to and creates the declaration of human rights.