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Assassination of Archduke Ferdinand
The assassination led directly to the First World War when Austria-Hungary subsequently issued an demand against Serbia, which was partially rejected. Austria-Hungary then declared war, marking the outbreak of the war. -
Bolshevik Revolution
Overthrowing of state power instrumental in the larger Russian Revolution of 1917. It took place with a coup de tat in Petrograd. -
Civil war in Russia
A multi-party war in the former Russian Empire fought between the Bolshevik Red Army and the White Army. Many foreign armies warred against the Red Army, these in included the Allied Nations. -
Treaty of Brest-Litovsk
A peace treaty signed between the new Bolshevik government of Russia and the Central Powers (Germany, Austria-Hungary, Bulgaria, and Turkey), that ended Russia's participation in World War I. -
Ataturk proclaims Republic of Turkey
The newly founded parliament formally abolished the Sultanate,.. The Treaty of Lausanne of 24 July 1923 led to the international recognition of the sovereignty of the newly formed "Republic of Turkey" as the continuing state of the Ottoman Empire. -
US Stock Market Crash
Was the most devastating stock market crash in the history of the United States. The crash signalled the beginning of the 10-year Great Depression that affected all Western industrialized countries. -
Civil disobedience movement in India
Nonviolent rebellion against the leaders from Great Britain. Involved refusal to obey certain laws, demands, or commands of Britain. -
Sandino is murdered in Nicaragua
Not much is known his death other than he was killed by the Nicaraguan National Guard. Also, following his death, his army fell. -
Stalin's "Great Purge" in USSR
Was a campaign of political repression in the Soviet Union orchestrated by Joseph Stalin from 1934 to 1940. It involved a large-scale purge of the Communist Party and government officials of alleged capitalists. -
Cardenas nationalizes oil industry in Mexico
Was the state seizure of all oil reserves, facilities, and foreign oil companies in Mexico on March 18, 1938. It took place when President and General Lázaro Cárdenas declared that all mineral and oil reserves found within Mexico belong to the nation. -
Battle of Stalingrad
A major battle of World War II in which Nazi Germany and its allies fought the Soviet Union for control of the city of Stalingrad in the south-western Soviet Union. The Soviet Union prevailed. -
D-Day, Allied invasion at Normandy
The largest amphibious invasion in world history and was executed by land, sea and air elements under direct Anglo-American. Included 73,000 Americans, 61,715 British and 21,400 Canadians. -
Atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagaski
Bombings Japan were done by the United States during the final stages of World War II in August 1945. The two bombings were the first and remain the only use of nuclear weapons in wartime. -
Capture of Berlin by Soviet Forces
The final major offensive of the European Theatre of WWII. Before the battle was over, Adolf Hitler and a number of his followers committed suicide. -
Division of Berlin and Germany
The victorious Allied Powers reached the Potsdam Agreement on the fate of postwar Europe, calling for the division of defeated Germany into four temporary occupation zones. -
Establishment of United Nations
An intergovernmental organization established to promote international co-operation. A replacement for the ineffective League of Nations, the organization was created following the WWII to prevent another such conflict. -
Arab-Israeli War
Fought between the State of Israel and a military coalition of Arab states and Palestinian Arab forces. The conflict triggered important demographic changes in the area and through the Middle East. -
The Creation of Israel
The Arab League members Egypt, Transjordan, Syria, Lebanon and Iraq refused to accept the UN partition plan and proclaimed the right of self-determination for the Arabs across the whole of Palestine. The Arab states marched their forces into what had, until the previous day, been the British Mandate for Palestine. -
Establishment of NATO
The organization constitutes a system of collective defence whereby its member states agree to mutual defense in response to an attack by any external party. -
Establishment of People's Republic of China
Commonly known as China, it is a sovereign state located in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population of over 1.35 billion. The PRC is a single-party state governed by the Communist Party. -
Apartheid in South Africa
Racial segregation in South Africa. It was enforced through legislation by the National Party governments. -
Algerian War of Independence
A war between France and the Algerian independence movements from 1954 to 1962. It led to Algeria gaining its independence from France. -
Establishment of the Warsaw Pact
An alliance of the USSR and its sattelite nations that would help each other in war. It was the rival to NATO. -
Suez Crisis
A diplomatic and military confrontation in late 1956 between Egypt on one side, and Britain, France and Israel on the other, with the United States, the Soviet Union, and the United Nations playing major roles in forcing Britain, France and Israel to withdraw. -
Hungarisn Uprising
A nationwide revolt against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic and its Soviet-imposed policies. -
US troops in Vietnam
A Cold War-era proxy war that occurred in Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia from December 1956 to the fall of Saigon on 30 April 1975. -
Sino-Soviet Rift
The worsening of political and ideological relations between the People's Republic of China and the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics during the Cold War. In the 1960s, China and the Soviet Union were the two largest Communist states in the world. -
Fidel Castro Comes to Power in Cuba
A Cuban communist revolutionary and politician who was Prime Minister of Cuba from 1959 to 1976. He also served as the Commander in Chief of the Cuban Revolutionary Armed Forces. -
Berlin Wall Construction
It started with the border with West Berlin being closed. East German troops and workers had begun to tear up streets running alongside the border to make them impassable to vehicle -
PLO
The Palestine Liberation Organization is an organization founded in 1964 with the purpose of creating an independent State of Palestine. It is recognized as the "ole legitimate representative of the Palestinian people. -
Iranian Revolution
The events involving the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty under Mohammad Reza Shah Pahlavi, who was supported by the United States, and its eventual replacement with an Islamic republic under the Grand Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini. -
Soviet Withdrawal From Afghanistan
The withdrawal of Soviet combatant forces from the Afghanistan began on 15 May 1988 under the leadership of Colonel-General Boris Gromov. -
Reunification of Germany
The process in 1990 in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany to form the reunited nation of Germany, and when Berlin reunited into a single city. -
Collapse of USSR
The increasing political unrest led the establishment of the Soviet military and the Communist Party of the Soviet Union to attempt a coup de tat to oust Mikhail Gorbachev and re-establish a strong central regime in August 1991. -
Transfer of British Hong Kong to China
The transfer of sovereignty over Hong Kong from the United Kingdom to China and marked the end of British rule in Hong Kong.