Important Dates of World History

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 Universal Emperor in China, Great Wall of China.

55

Invasion of Britain by 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 the Prophet Muhammad at Mecca.

622

Migration of Muhammad from Mecca to Medina ( Hijira), beginning of Hijira Era (Muhammadan calendar) on July 15.

800

Charlemagne was crowned Roman Emperor at St. Peter's.

871

Accession of Alfred the Great to the throne of Britain.

901

Death of King Alfred the Great (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 was invented by Roger Bacon

1338

The Hundred Years ' War broke out; it lasted up to 1453.

1431

Joan of Arc, a brave French peasant girl, obtained victory over the English at Orleans. She was burned alive at the stake.

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 Western European countries, where they spread the knowledge of Greek philosophy and literature. This was the beginning of the 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 the 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 around 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 was to blow up the English Parliament.

1616

Shakespeare passed away.

1649

Trial and execution of Charles I, beginning of Common Commonwealth,

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. The despotic rule of the Stuarts ended, and the Parliamentary rule began Establishment of parliamentary supremacy and the abolition of the Divine Rights of Kings.

1704

Battle of Blenheim: Marlborough and Eugene inflicted 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, and made England a great colonial power

1776

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

1783

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

1789

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

1798

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

1805

Battle of Trafalgar; Death of Nelson.

Battle of Austerlitzz Napoleonan 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 aimed at rearranging the map of Europe; The Vienna settlement proved unsatisfactory because it disregarded national claims.

1821

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

1827

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

1832

Reform Bill passed; the French captured Antwerp.

1833

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

1837

Accession of Queen Victoria to the throne of England.

1839

Introduction of the 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 Lincoln was elected the 16th President of the USA.

1863

Slavery was abolished in America.

1869

Suez Canal opened for traffic.

1885

General Gordon was 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 the 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 was 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 was established with the status of a Dominion like Canada (Dec. 6).

1923

Turkish Republic was proclaimed with Kemal Atatürk 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 (Sep).

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 the USA, Clement Attlee becomes Prime Minister of the UK; Cordell Hull, Secretary of State in Franklin Roosevelt's administrations, was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize for his role in founding the United Nations, the IMF and IBRD (World Bank) were created, and Radiocarbon dating 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 the USA, and India gains Independence from the British Empire.

1948

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

1949

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

1950

Korean War begins.

1951

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

1952

Egyptian Revolution under Nasser ended 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

The independence of Sudan and Tunisia, Nasser's nationalization of the Suez Canal, triggered the Suez crisis.

1957

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

1958

Lolita by Vladimir Nabokov was published, the Discovery of DNA structure launched genetic science, and NASA was founded.

1959

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

1960

The Independence of 17 African nations, the Mau Mau uprising of Kenya, and Muhammad Ali winning gold in Rome.

1961

Berlin Wall was erected.

1962

The independence of Algeria, the 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 Luther 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.

1972The 

Munich massacre occurred 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 is hosted.

1976

Death of Mao Zedong.

1978

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

1979

Soviet 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 Reagan becomes President of the USA, beginning of the Iran-Iraq war.

1981

The wedding of Prince Charles and Lady Diana.

1982

Michael Jackson's album 'Thriller' was released.

1983

Independence of Brunei.

1984

Big famine in Ethiopia.

1995

Mikhail Gorbachev became the Premier of the Soviet  Union.

1986

End of the dictatorship of Marcos in the Philippines.

1987

The new constitution of the Philippines comes into effect.

1988

At the end of the Iran-Iraq War, George W. Bush became President of the United States

1989

The fall of the Berlin Wall begins/the initial demolition of the Berlin Wall, the Tiananmen Square Massacre in China, and the end of the Soviet-Afghan War.

1990

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

1991

Gulf War ends, the Final demolition of Berlin the dissolutiontion of the Soviet Union, and the independence of 15 former Soviet republics. Boris Yeltsin became the first President of Russia.

1The 992

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

1993

Velvet Divorce between the 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 (World Trade Organization)

1996

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

1997

Toni Blair becomes PM of the UK, Princess Diana is 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 reached 6 billion.

2000

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