Important Dates of Ancient, Medieval, Modern and Post Modern World

I. ANCIENT WORLD 

B.C.

776

First Olympiad in Greece.

753

Rome founded.

490

Battle of Marathon; the Greeks defeated the Iranians/ Persians.

327-26

Invasion of India by Alexander, Battle of Hydaspes.

221

Chin-Hung Ti Univesral Emperor' in China, Great Wall of China completed.

55

Invasion of Britainby Julius Caesar, the Great Roman General.

44

Assassination of Julius Caesar by Brutus.

4

Birth of Jesus Christ.

A. D.

29

Crucifixion of Jesus Christ.

43

Roman conquest of Britain.

II. MEDIEVAL WORLD

570

Birth of Prophet Muhammad at Mecca.

622

Migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina ( Hijira), Beginning of Hijira Era (Muhammadan calendar)onJuly 15.

800

Charlemagne crowned Roman Emperor at St. Peter's.

871

Accession of Alfred the Great to the throne of Britain.

901

Death of king Alfred the (irml.

1066

Battle of Hastings; Norman invasion of England. William the Conqueror, Duke of Normandy, defeated the English king Harold II at Hastings.

1215

Magna Carta or the Great Charter signed by king John II at Runnymede in England on June 15.

1280

Gunpowder invented by Roger Becon

1338

The Hundred Years, War broke out; it lasted upto 1453.

1431

Joan of Arc a brave Fiiench peasant girl, obtained victory over the English at Orleans. She was burnt alive at the stakes.

1443

The Black Death i.e. plague broke out in England.

1453

The capture of Constantinople (the home of classical learning) by the Ottoman Turks compelled the Greek scholars to flee to Italy and other West European countries, where they spread the knowledge of Greek philosophy and literature. This was the beginning of Renaissance in Europe.

1486

Bartholomew Diaz rounded the Cape of Good Hope.

1442

Columbus sailed on his first expedition to the West Indies which later led to the discovery of America (the New world)

1498

Vasco da Gama, a Portuguese, discovered the sea-route to India via the Cape of Good Hope.

III. MODERN WORLD

1517

Beginning of Reformation.

1529-36

Reformation in England under Henry VIII.

1564

Birth of Shakespeare.

1571

Battle of Lepanto; Turks defeated by the Christian League

1577

Drake , the famous English Admiral, started his voyage round the world for the first time and plundered Spanish ships and ports in South America.

1588

Admiral Drake defeated the Spanish Armada England became the 'Mistress of the Seas'.

1600

Establishment of the British East India Company in India (31st Dec.)

1605

Gunpowder plot in England to blow up the English Parliament.

1616

Shakespeare, passes away.

1649

Trialand execution of Charles I,beginning of Common wealth,

1649-60

The Commonwealth and the Protectorate in England.

1660

Restoration of Monarchy in England.

1665

The Great Plague in London.

1679

Habeas Corpus Act.

1688

The Glorious or Bloodless Revolution in England. Despotic rule of the Stuarts ended, and the Parliamentary rule began Establishment of parliamentary supremacy and abolition of the Divine Rights of Kings.

1704

Battle of Blenheim; Marlborough and Eugene infliccted a crushing defeat on the French army.

1707

Union of England and Scotland.

1763

Treaty of Paris; It ended the Seven Years' War (1756-63) weakened France, made England a great colonial power

1776

Declaration of American Independence and formation  of a Federal Republic of 13 states called the United State of America (July 4).

1783

Treaty of Versailles; England recognised the independence of the United States of America.

1789

George Washington elected First President of USA Beginning of French Revolution : Fall of the BastillE fort (July 14).

1798

Battle of the Nile; The English under Nelson gained victory over the French.

1805

Battle of Trafalgar; Death of Nelson.

Battle of Austerliz — Napolean Bonaparte routed a combined army of the Russians and the Austrians.

1815

Battle of Waterloo — Wipolean was defeated and exiled to St. Helena.

Congress of Vienna, it aimed at rearranging themay of Europe; The Vienna settlement proved unsatisfactory because it disregarded national claims.

1821

Death of Napolean at St. Helena (May 5).

1827

Battle of Navatino; the allied fleets of England, Russia and France destroyed the Turkish fleet; This victory practically secured the independence of Greece.

1832

Reforms Bill passed; French captured Antwerp.

1833

Emancipation Act of 1833; It abolished slavery in the British dominions.

1837

Accession of Queen Victoria to the throne of England.

1839

Introduction of Penny Postage system in England by Sir Rowland Hill; Aden annexed by England.

1854

The Crimean War began; Russia attacked Turkey; England and France came to the rescue of Turkey.

1861

American Civil War started. Abraham Lincon elected 16th President of USA.

1863

Slavery abolished in America.

1869

Suez Canal opened for traffic.

1885

General Gordon captured and slain at Khartoum.

1899

Beginning of the Boer War.

1904

Outbreak of the Russo-Japanese War.

1905

Battle of the sea of Japan; Japan inflicted a crushing naval defeat on Russia; a wave of nationalism spread in Asia.

1911

Chinese Republican Revolution; Amundsen reached South Pole (Dec. 14).

1914

Outbreak of World War I (July 28).

1916

Battle of Jutland (Naval Battle). The British Grand Fleet under Admiral Jellico defeated the German Fleet under Admiral Scheer.

1917

March/Feb. Revolution in Russia : the Czar abdicated and later assassinated; reformist Mensheviks came into power (Prince Lvov, Kerensky)

Nov. /Oct. Revolution in Russia: Revolutionary Bolsheviks came into power (Lenin).

1918

End of World War I (Nov. II).

1919

The Paris Conference; the Treaty of Versailles.

1920

Foundation of the League of Nations (Jan. 10).

1921

The Irish Free State established with the status of a Dominion like Canada (Dec. 6).

1923

Turkish Republic proclaimed with , kemal Ataturk as its First President.

1924

Lenin died, and power passed into the hands of Stalin in Russia.

1925

Treaty of Locarno (between Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Belgium).

1928

Kellogg Pact (signed in Paris by the principal powers of the world for the prevention of war; it had no effect).

1933

Hitler became the Chancellor of Germany.

1935

War between Italy and Abyssinia (Ethiopia); Italy annexed Abyssinia (Ethiopia); Plebiscite in Saar.

1939

Germany invaded Poland: Outbreak of World War II (Sepl).

1940

Fall of France after German invasion (June 5); Italy entered World War II (June 11).

1941

Hitler invades Russia (June 22); Framing of the Atlantic Charter (Aug. 14); Japan attacked Pearl Harbour (Hawaii Islands) (Dec. 7); USA entered World War II (Dec. 8); China entered World War II (Dec. 10) Air raids by Japan on Rangoon (Dec. 22).

1942

Capture of Singapore by Japanese forces (Feb. 15); Battle of Coral Sea, Japanese fleet suffered heavy losses at the hands of the American fleet (May 3); Battle of Stalingrad (Sep. 19).

1943

Defeat of Germany at Stalingrad (Feb. 8); Battle of the Bismarck Sea, America defeated Japan in a naval battle (March 4); Invasion of Italy by the Allies, Armistice between Italy & the Allies (Sep. 3).

1944

Allied forces landed in Normandy under the supreme command of General Ike (Eisenhower); (D—Day) (June 6); Liberation of Paris (Aug. 25).

1945

Execution of Mussolini (Apr. 22); Unconditional surrender of Germany to the Allies (May 7); USA dropped atom bomb on Hiroshima & Nagasaki of Japan (Aug, 6 & Aug. 9); Actual surrender of Japan (Sep. 2); World War II ended (Sep. 2); Foundation of UNO (Oct. 24).

IV. POST MODERN WORLD

1945

Harry S. Truman becomes President of USA, Clement Attlee becomes PM of UK; Cordell Hull, secretary of state in Franklin Roosevelt administrations, awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in founding the United Nation, IMF and IBRD (World Bank) created, Radiocarbon datings became available for archeological use.

1946

Italy becomes a republic.

1947

Harry S. Truman establishes the 'Truman Doctrine' of containment of communism, creation of the CIA (Central Intelligence Agency) in USA, India gains Independence from the British Empire.

1948

Mahatma Gandhi assassinated in India, Independence of Ceylon (Sri Lanka) and Burma (Myanmar), The United Nations establishes Israel independence and the formation of official state of Israel, a new Jewish homeland .

1949

Creation of NATO, Partition of Germany, Establishment of People's Repulic of China under Mao Zedong.

1950

Korean war begins.

1951

Colombo Plan comes into effect, Treaty of San Francisco between Japan and USA.

1952

Egyptian Revolution under Nasser ends British occupation, Mau Mau uprising in Kenya.

1953

Independence of Cambodia, End of Korean War, Death of Stalin.

1954

First Indo-China war ends.

1955

Death of Albert Einstein.

1956

Independence of Sudan and Tunisia, Nasser's nationalization of the Suez Canal triggers the Suez crisis.

1957

Soviets launch Sputnik; space race with USA begins, Independence of Ghana and Malaya.

1958

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokob Published, Discovery of DNA structure launches genetic science, NASA founded.

1959

Independence of Cyprus, uprising in Tibet against China leads to exile of the Dalai Lama, Beginning of the Vietnam war.

1960

Independence of 17 African nations, Mau Mau uprising of Kenya ends, Muhammed Ali wins gold in Rome.

1961

Berlin wall erected.

1962

Independence of Algeria, Indo-China war.

1963

Independence of Kenya, Assassination of John F. Kennedy, Martin Luther King Jr. leads Civil Rights March in Washington.

1964

Civil Rights Act abolishes segregation in the USA.

1965

Second Indo-Pakistan war, Singapore gains independence.

1966

Independence of Lesotho, Botswana and Barbados .

1967

ASEAN founded.

1968

Assassination of Martin Luthar King Jr. and senator Robert F. Kennedy during the Poor People's campaign.

1969

The first manned mission to the Moon (Neil Armstrong, an American, steps out of his lunar landing module to become the first human being to set foot on the moon).

1970

Cambodian civil war begins.

1971

Third Indo-Pakistani war, Independence of Bangladesh from Pakistan and Tajudden Ahmad becomes PM, Greenpeace founded.

1972

Munich massacre occurs at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich, Germany, Sheikh MujiburRahman returned to Bangladesh from imprisonment in Pakistan and became PM of Bangladesh.

1973

Watergate scandal break-in, first space station 'Skylab' launched.

1974

Discovery of ‘Lucy’ (Australopithecus Africanus) in Tanzania's Olduvai Gorge.

1975

Vietnam war ends, Cambodian civil war ends, first cricket world cup hosted.

1976

Death of Mao Zedong.

1978

Deng Xiaoping commences the Chinese economic reforms, war begins in Afghanistan (1978-Present)

1979

Soviet Afghan war begins, Margaret Thatcher becomes Britain's first woman PM, Implementation of China's one-child policy.

1980

Independence of Rhodesia which becomes Zimbabwe, Ronald Reagon becomes President of USA, Beginning of the Iran-Iraq war.

1981

Wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana.

1982

Michael Jackson's album 'Thriller' released.

1983

Independence of Brunei.

1984

Big famine in Ethiopia.

1995

Mikhail Gorbachev becomes Premier of the Soviet  Union.

1986

End of dictatorship of Marcos in the Philippines.

1987

The new constitution of Philippines comes into effect.

1988

End of the Iran-Iraq war, George W. Bush becomes President of USA.

1989

Fall of the Berlin Wall begins/initial demolition of Berlin wall Tiananmen Square Massacre in China, End of Soviet-Afghan war.

1990

John Major becomes PM of UK, German reunifiction, Gulf war begins, Nelson Mandela walks out of jail after 27 years in the custody of the white apartheid government.

1991

Gulf war ends, Final demolition of Berlin wass Dissolution of the Soviet Union and independence of 15 former Soviet republics, Boris Yeltsin becomes the first President of the Russia.

1992

Maostricht Treaty creates the European Union, Bill Clinton becomes President of USA.

1993

Velvet Divorce between Czech Republic and Slovakia, 1993 World Trade Center bombing.

1994

End of apartheid in South Africa and Nelson Mandela becomes President, Independence of Palau.

1995

Establishment of W.T.O. (World Trade Organization)

1996

The Taliban government takes control of Afghanistan, Beginning of Nepalese civil war that resulted in the establishment of a secular republic in 2008

1997

Toni Blair becomes PM of UK, Princess Diana killed in a car accident, Britain returns Hong Kong to China, Monica Lewinsky scandal.

1998

Foundation of 'Google' by Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

1999

Euro' introduced, world population reaches 6 billion.

2000

George W. Bush becomes President of USA, Vladimir Putin becomes President of Russia, I LOVE YOU computer virus, Millennium Summit at UN headquarters in New York.