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Period: to
20th Century
This timeline lists major world events that occured during the 20th century. -
First Powered Airplane
After four attempts, Wilbur and Orville Wright fly the first powered airplane in Dayton, Ohio. The Flyer had a wingspan of a little more than 40 feet, a surface area of 510 square feet, and a weight of 625 pounds. -
Albert Eintein's Theory of Relativity
Albert Einstein published a paper called "On the Electrodynamics of Moving Bodies" in the journal Annalen der Physik, presenting the theory of relativity. -
The Titanic Sinks
On her maiden voyage to New York City, the "unsinkable" ship collides into an iceberg and sinks killing over 1500 people. -
First Major U.S. Assembly Line
Henry Ford with Ford Motor Company installs its first moving assembly line at Highland Park for the manufacture of flywheel magnetos. -
World War I Begins
Austria-Hungary declares war on Serbia. Soon after, Germany, Russia, Great Britain, and France are all involved in the war, because they were involved in treaties that obligated them to defend other nations. -
World War I Ends
Due to an effective British blockade, resistance from the British and French Armies, the entrance of the United States Army, political unrest, starvation, foiled economy, rebellion, and countless defeats on the battlefield, German generals surrender, ending World War I. -
Women Win the Right to Vote
On August 26, 1920, women finally won their right to vote. They won their right to vote after the Nineteenth Amendment was passed. The Nineteenth Amendment states, "The rights of citizens of the United States to vote shall not be denied or abridged by the United States or by any state on account of sex." -
First Antibiotic
The first true antibiotic, Penicillin, is discovered by Alexander Fleming, Professor of Bacteriology at St. Mary's Hospital in London. The discovery was due to an experiment noting changes in petri dishes containing colonies of Staphylococcus. -
The Great Depression
The U.S. economy was at its peak when the stock market crashed on "Black Thursday".The Federal Reserve had raised interest rates too much, and caused the recession that they had hoped to avoid. On this day, American common stocks lost a tenth of their value. The exact reason for its crash is unknown -
Adolf Hitler: Chancellor of Germany
President Paul von Hindenburg names Adolf Hitler, leader of the National Socialist German Workers Party (Nazi Party), as chancellor of Germany. -
Television Introduced
RCA introduces television to the American public at the New York World's Fair. Before the fair, a brochure was published to explain television. The opening ceremony and events at the fair were televised, and NBC began regularly scheduled broadcasts. -
First Jet Flight
The German Heinkel He 178, designed by Hans Joachim Pabst von Ohain, makes the first jet flight in history. -
World War II Begins
Germany's invasion on Poland begins World War II. Shortly after, other countries feel the need to be involoved, which is the beginning of six long years of war. -
Pearl Harbor
Japan bombs Pearl Harbor to prevent the United States from interfering in Japanese plans to conquer the Dutch East Indies, Malaysia, Singapore, Burma, and the rest of South Asia. Because of this, the United States enters World War II. -
D-Day: World War II Ends
D-Day invasion marks the end of World War II in Europe. During this invasion, 156,000 American, British and Canadian forces landed on five beaches in Normandy, France. The invasion was one of the largest military assaults in history resulting in over 550,000 casualties. -
Concentration Camps Liberated
In the early 1940's, Majdanek, Belzec, Sobibor, Treblinka, Auschwitz, Stutthof, Sachsenhausen, Ravensbrueck, Buchenwald, Dora-Mittelbau, Flossenbürg, Dachau, Mauthausen, Neuengamme and Bergen-Belsen are liberated in Germany. During these liberations, officials discover very frightening images such as mounds of dead bodies, starving Jews, and pounds of human hair and clothes. -
Hiroshima
United States drops atomic bombs on Hiroshima, Nagasaki. Japan, already in a fragile state, surrenders to end World War II. The death toll was estimated near 140,000 of the 350,000 that were living in Nagasaki. -
DNA Structure Discovered
James Watson and Francis Crick presented the structure of the DNA-helix, the molecule that carries genetic information from one generation to the other. In 1962, they won the Nobel Prize for ther discovery. -
Brown v. Board of Education
The Brown v. Board of Education is issued in Topeka, Kansas to reduce the amount of racial segregation in public schools. This was one of the many Civil Rights actions taken to achieve this goal. -
The Space Race Begins
The world's first artificial satellite, Sputnik, is launched. It was about the size of a beach ball, weighing only 183.9 pounds. It took about 98 minutes to orbit the Earth. The launch started new political, military, technological, and scientific developments, and it marked the start of the space age and the U.S.-U.S.S.R space race. -
The Birth of Birth Control
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration announces the pending approval of the first oral contraceptive: birth control. -
Berlin Wall Goes Up
Communists build a wall dividing East and West Berlin. The wall made of concrete walls (fifteen feet high) were also topped with barbed wire and guarded with watch towers, guns and mines. -
I Have a Dream
Martin Luther King Jr., deliveres a speech to a massive group of civil rights marchers gathered around the Lincoln memorial in Washington DC. -
President Kennedy Assassination
President John F. Kennedy is assassinated in Dallas, Texas. The former president was shot and killed by Lee Harvey Oswald during a parade while driving in a convertible. -
Civil Rights Act
The Civil Rights Act is passed outlawing discrimination against African Americans and women, including racial segregation. It ended unequal voting requirements and racial segregation in schools and at work. -
Martin Luther King Jr. Assassinated
Civil rights leader Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. is shot standing on the balcony in front of his room at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. The shooting was done by James Earl Ray with a sniper that spring evening. -
First Human Walks on the Moon
American astronaut Neil Armstrong becomes the first human to walk on the moon. -
AIDS Identified
The first cases of AIDS (Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome) are identified in California and New York by Michael S. Gottlieb among gay men in the United States. -
The World Wide Web
Tim Berners-Lee invents the Internet, allowing information to be shared among international teams of researchers at the European Laboratory for Particle Physics. -
Berlin Wall Falls
Communism begins to falter in Poland, Hungary, and Czechoslovakia until an announcement made by East German government official Günter Schabowski allowing East Germans to pass over to West Germany. Gradually. the wall was chipped down until it was completely demolished.
