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| Historical Chronology |
1790: The United States issues its first patent to William Pollard of Philadelphia: his machine roves and spins cotton
1791: 1st 10 amendments to the United States constitution: Declaration of Rights; Canada is reorganized into Lower Canada (Quebec) and Upper Canada (Ontario): British provinces; King Louis XVI attempts to flee France with his family and is arrested
1792: France becomes a republic; Following France's declaration of war on Austria and Prussia, the mayor of Strasbourg, Baron de Dietrich, asked army engineer Claude-Joseph Rouget de Lisle to write a marching song. On the night of April 25th 1792, Rouget de Lisle penned the 'Chant de guerre pour l'armée du Rhine' - War song for the Rhine Army, named in honour of the garrison to which he belonged. The song was published under the name of 'Chant de guerre aux armées des frontičres' - Border armies' war song by an Egyptian Army general, François Mireur, who was in Marseille to organise a march of revolutionary volunteers on King Louis XVI's Tuileries palace. Ironically, since Rouget de Lisle supported the monarchy, the revolutionaries adopted the song and sang it with such fervour as they entered the capital, on July 30th 1792, that the Parisians named it 'La Marseillaise'.
1793: United States' capital is founded at Washington; King Louis XVI of France, and then his widow Marie Antoinette are guillotined while the Reign of Terror is sweeping through France, claiming Robespierre as one of its victims.
1794: Cotton Gin is invented by Eli Whitney in order to comb and deseed bolls of cotton; The Qajars in Persia seize power after Karim Khan's death: Agha Mohammad Qajar becomes leader (until 1797)
1795-1799: The Directory rules in France
1795: Fort Edmonton "Edmonton House" (in Alberta, Canada) was established by the Hudson's Bay Company: Trading began with the Cree and Blackfoot Indians for luxurious animal pelts and, by 1826, Fort Edmonton was developing into a mercantile centre. It was also the chief stopping point to Canada's north and the Pacific Ocean.
India circa 1795 AD
1797: Eli Whitney invents the concept of 'interchangeable parts' which divide the labor into several discrete steps and standardized parts to make them interchangeable
1798: France occupies Egypt and Rome under the command of Napoleon Bonaparte
1798-1834: Fath-'Ali Shah is ruler of Persia
1799-1804: Napoleon Bonaparte returning from Egypt, via Fréjus, seizes power in a coup d'état and forms the Cosulat in France. The Cosulat was an authoritarian regime established in France to support Napoléon Bonaparte. Napoléon was the first consul and had full power. The second and third consuls, Cambacérés and Lebrun, deferred to the legislative power of four assemblies.
Europe at the end of the 18th Century
1800: France reacquires the Louisiana Territory from Spain in North America; the Bank of France was created; Sikh kingdoms begin to gain power in the Punjab; Electric battery invented
1800-1823: Pope Pius VII
1801: Ireland joins Great Britain with the "Act of Union"; Steam-powered Pumping Station is invented
1803: United States purchases the Louisiana Territory from France; Dr. Alan de Vilbiss of Toledo, Ohio invents the 'Spray Gun' to replace swabs as the method of applying medication to oral and nasal passages
1804: Haiti becomes independent; in France the Civil Code was completed
1804-1815: Napoleon I (Bonaparte) rules as Emperor in France. He creates a new army, using able-bodied Frenchmen rather than the upper-class and nobility. He begins his bid for power, eventually controlling most of western Europe (except Britain and Portugal). By 1812 he was bogged down in snows of the Russian winter. In 1814, April, he is defeated by an overwhelming force of Austrian, English, Prussian and Swedish troops, Napoleon was exiled to Elba, embarking at Fréjus. In 1815 he escaped from Elba and set out on the 'Route Napoléon' to recover the world he had lost. On the 18th of June, 1815 he fought his final battle at Waterloo, against Arthur Wellesley, the first Duke of Wellington, and was exiled to Saint Helena off the coast of Africa. He died in 1821 in exile.
1805: Mohammed Ali becomes ruler of Egypt; the first 'amphibious vehicle' is invented
1806: Napoleon I (Bonaparte) pressures Francis II to give up German imperial crown thereby ending the 'Holy Roman Empire': Confederation of the Rhine is created; the coffee pot is invented
1807: The steamship is invented by Robert Fulton; Hegel (1770-1831), German philosopher, writes "Phenomenology of Mind". His writings include theories of ethics, aesthetics, history, politics, and religion. At the center of the universe Hegel posited an enveloping absolute spirit that guides all reality, including human reason. His absolute idealism envisages a world-soul, evident throughout history, that develops from, and is known through, a process of change and progress now known universally as the Hegelian dialectic. According to its laws, one concept (thesis) inevitably generates its opposite (antithesis); their interaction leads to a new concept (synthesis), which in turn becomes the thesis of a new triad. Thus philosophy enables human beings to comprehend the historical unfolding of the absolute. Hegel's application of the dialectic to the concept of conflict of cultures stimulated historical analysis and, in the political arena, made him a hero to those working for a unified Germany. He was a major influence on subsequent idealist thinkers and on such philosophers as Kierkegaard and Sartre; perhaps his most far-reaching effect was his influence on Karl Marx, who substituted materialism for idealism in his formulation of dialectical materialism.
1810: Chile becomes independent
1811: Paraguay becomes independent; The 1st anti-industrial riots take place by the machine-breaking 'Luddites'
1812-1814: War of 1812 between Britain and the United States
1812: Hegel writes "Science of Logic"; Treaty of Gulistan in which Persia loses some its territories in the Caucasus north of the Aras River to Russia
1813: First armored warship is invented by Robert Fulton: the Demolos (At 140 ft. in length, it carries a thirty 32-pound cannon)
1814: The locomotive (train) is invented; the cast-iron tip plough is invented by John Jethro Woods of Poplar Ridge, New York
1815-1866: Germanic Confederation is formed
1815-1824: Napoleon I is defeated and Louis XVIII, restoring Bourbon dynasty, rules France
1816: Argentina becomes independent
1817: Hegel writes "Encyclopedia of the Philosophical Sciences"; the Erie Canal project is first proposed by engineers: they plan to supplement the natural water systems by digging a 363 mile canal to connect the Hudson River with Lake Erie
1818: The first 'Profile Lathe' is invented by Thomas Blanchard: he builds a woodworking lathe that does the work of 13 men thereby helping to lower wood prices
1821: Columbia (New Granada) becomes independent
1821-1829: Greek War of Independence: Greek Independence proclaimed in 1822. Britain, France, and Russia support Greece against its Ottoman rulers in 1827.
1821: Peru, Mexico, and the United Provinces of Central America (until 1838) become independent
1822: Brazil and Ecuador become independent
1823: Monroe Doctrine proclaimed warning against European intervention in the Americas
1823-1829: Pope Leo XII
1824-1830: Charles X rules France
1825: Bolivia becomes independent
1827: The match is invented
1828: Uruguay becomes independent; Treaty of Turkmanchay in which Persia loses the remainder of its territories in the Caucasus north of the Aras River to Russia
1829-1830: Pope Pius VIII
1830: 1st railway in use from Liverpool to Manchester; July Revolution in France creates unrest across Europe; Belgium and Venezuela become independent; The French invade Algeria; the Electro-magnetic Motor is invented by Joseph Henry, Professor of Mathematics and Natural Science at the Albany Academy
1830-1848: Louis-Phillipe in a 'July Revolution' establishes the House of Orleans and rules France as the last King
1831-1846: Pope Gregory XVI
1831: The 'Reaping Machine' is invented which cut grain much faster than a man with a scythe
1833: The first lock-stitch sewing machine is invented by Walter Hunt. He loses interest and does not patent his invention. Later, Elias Howe secures patent on an original lock-stitch machine, but fails to manufacture and sell it. Still later, Isaac Singer infringes on Howe's patent to make his own machine, which makes Singer rich. Hunt also invents the safety pin, which he sells outright for $400.
1834: The Threshing Machine is invented by John A. and Hiram Abial Pitts: the machine automatically threshes and separates grain from chaff, freeing farmers from a slow and laborious process
1835-1848: Persia is ruled by Mohammad Shah
1836: The 'Revolver' is invented by Colt: To finance the development of his "six shooter" Samuel Colt traveled the lecture circuit, giving demonstrations of laughing gas. Colt's new weapon failed to catch on and he went bankrupt in 1842 at age 28. He reorganized and sold his first major order to the War Department during the Mexican War in 1846, and went on to become fabulously rich; Texas revolts from Mexican rule and becomes an independent republic (until 1845)
1837-1838: Rebellions in Lower Canada (Quebec) and Upper Canada (Ontario) lead to parliamentary reform
1837: Thomas Davenport of Brandon, Vemont is one of the first to find practical application for the electric motor. He uses a motor he built to power shop machinery, and also builds the first electric model railroad car.
1838: Costa Rica, Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua become independent after the United Provinces of Central America fails
1840: The collapsible metal squeeze 'paint tube' is invented by John Rand
1841: Upper Canada (Ontario) and Lower Canada (Quebec) are united into one British colony known as the Province of Canada
1842: Crawford Williamson Long, of Jefferson, Georgia performs the first operation using an ether-based anesthesia, when he removes a tumor from the neck of Mr. James Venable
1843: Vulcanized Rubber is invented by Charles Goodyear
1844: 'Edict of Toleration' is given by Sultan of Turkey allowing Jews to return to their 'homeland': end of 1,260 'days' prophecy, 2,300 'days' prophecy, 3 and 1/2 times (3 and 1/2 years) prophecy,and 2,520 'days' of the Abomination of Desolation prophecy, and the "seven-times" prophecy of 2,520 lunar 'days'; Mírzá `Alí Muhammad, who afterwards assumed the title of Báb (i.e. 'Gate'), (born in 1819) declares he is the promised one (Mahdi) of Islam in Shiraz, Persia (1260 AH) thereby creating the Babi religion; YMCA (Young Men's Christian Association) formed; Dominican Republic becomes independent; the Telegraph is invented by Samuel F.B. Morse: he demonstrates his telegraph by sending a message to Baltimore from the chambers of the Supreme Court in Washington, DC saying "What hath God wrought?"
1845: False Teeth is invented by Cladius Ash: he creates a new type of artificial dental wear featuring individual porcelain teeth mounted with steel springs
1846-1848: US-Mexican war results in Mexican loss of land north of the Rio Grande river
1846-1878: Pope Pius IX
1846: The Cylinder Printing Press is invented by Richard M. Hoe eliminating the need for making impressions directly from the type plates themselves, which were heavy and difficult to maneuver
1847: Communist Manifesto is written by Karl Marx; Liberia becomes independent
1848-1849: Revolutions rage across Europe
1848: In France the February Revolution installs a republican government (2nd Republic) in place of the monarchy with Louis Napoleon as President; Croatia supports the Habsbourgs against the Hungarian rebels during a revolution; the Province of Canada is granted 'responsible government': representation by population (ie. "rep by pop"); Nasiri'd-Din Shah becomes ruler of Persia (until 1896): The last years of Nasiri'd-Din Shah's reign were characterized by growing royal and bureaucratic corruption, oppression of the rural population, and indifference on the shah's part. The tax machinery broke down, and disorder became endemic in the provinces. New ideas and a demand for reform were also becoming more widespread. In 1896, reputedly encouraged by Jamal ad Din al Afghani (called Asadabadi because he came from Asadabad), the well-known Islamic preacher and political activist, a young Iranian assassinated the shah.
1848-1916: Francis Joseph I rules Austria
1850: Mírzá `Alí Muhammad, also known as the Bab (ie. 'Gate'), is martyred in Tabriz, Persia by order of the Prime Minister Mirza Taqi Khan Amir Kabir (The power he concentrated in his hands, however, aroused jealousy within the bureaucracy and fear in the king. He was dismissed and put to death in 1851.)
1851: The Great Exhibition opens in London's Crystal Palace which featured 14,000 exhibits
1852-1870: (Louis) Napoleon III rules as Emperor of France
1854-1856: Crimean War
1856: Henry Bessemer invents his converter to make pig iron into steel
1857: Louis Pasteur begins his study on fermentation; Indian mutiny: The Moguls defeated by the British; the Passenger Elevator is invented by Elisha Graves Otis; the Treaty of Paris in which Persia surrendered to Britain all claims to Herat and territories in present-day Afghanistan
1858: The British government assumes direct control of India; the electric burglar alarm is invented by Edwin T. Holmes of Boston
1859: Charles Darwin writes "The Origin of Species Through Natural Selection"; first American oil well is dug: Drilling at Titusville, PA, "Colonel" Edwin Drake, strikes oil at a depth of 69.5 feet. Prior to that, oil, which had been used mostly as a lubricant and lamp fuel, had been obtained only at places where it seeped from the ground. Western Pennsylvania witnesses the world's first oil boom
1860: First Jewish neighborhood since the expulsion by the Romans is built outside Jerusalem's walls (Mishkenot Sha'ananim); French explorer-naturalist Henri Mouhot stumbles onto Angkor Wat, then all-but forgotten; the first repeating rifle is invented by B. Tyler Henry, chief designer for Oliver Fisher Winchester's arms company: he adapts a breech-loading rifle invented by Walter B. Hunt and creates a new lever action repeating rifle. First known as the Henry, the rifle will soon be famous as simply the Winchester.
1861: Abolition of serfdom in Russia; Victor Emmanuel II becomes King of a united Italy; Monaco becomes independent
1861-1865: The American civil war between the north (United States of America) and the south (Confederate States of America): The American civil war ends with the north being successful and slavery being abolished
American Civil War (1861-1865)
1862: Bismarck becomes Prime Minister of Prussia; For the first time, two armored ships battle each other at sea during the American Civil War. The Union Monitor, designed from scratch by John Ericsson, features a two-cannon revolving turret and eight-inch plate armor. The Confederate Merrimac, a wooden hulled ship hastily outfitted with iron plates, holds it own against the Monitor, battling to a draw.
1863: Mírzá Husayn `Alí, a Persian exiled for religious reasons, who afterwards assumed the title of Bahá'u'lláh (i.e. Glory of God), (born in 1817) declares (19 years after the Bab's declaration) in Baghdad, Iraq (then a part of the Ottoman Empire) that he is the 'promised one' of all religions (the tenth avatar for Hindus/reincarnation of Krishna, the fifth Buddha for Buddhists, the Messiah for Jews, and the return of Christ for Christians and Muslims) thereby creating the Báha'í Faith; in 1867 he writes to various world leaders; in 1868 he arrives a prisoner in Akka, Palestine; in 1873 he writes the Kitab'i'Aqdas 'Most Holy Book'; in 1892 he passes away and his son Abbás Effendi also known as `Abdu'l-Bahá (i.e. Servant of Bahá), (1844-1921) becomes the leader of the Báha'í Faith.
1864: Siemens and Martin introduce the open-hearth process for making steel; the first oil pipeline is built in the oil fields at Pithole, Pennsylvania. Samuel van Syckel's 5 mile, pump-operated pipeline made oil transport infinitely easier. No one appreciated this more than the Teamsters, who saw a threat to their business and destroyed the pipeline. The determined van Syckel hired a crew of "pipeline protectors" and rebuilt.
1865: 'Web Offset Printing' is invented by William Bullock: he introduced a printing press that could feed paper on a continuous roll and print both sides of the paper at once. Used first by the Philadelphia Ledger, the machine would become an American standard, and would also kill its maker, who died when he accidentally fell into one of his presses.
1866: Dynamite is invented by Alfred Nobel; the first transatlantic cable is laid
1867: Austro-Hungarian Empire is established with Francis Joseph I as Emperor; Luxembourg becomes independent; The Dominion of Canada is formed from 4 British provinces (Ontario, Quebec, Nova Scotia, and New Brunswick) and becomes semi-independent; US purchases Alaska from Russia; Werner Siemens introduces his dynamo for generating electricity; barbed wire is invented by Lucien B. Smith of Kent, Ohio: he invents the product that will close down the open cattle ranges by closing in cattle onto individual plots of privately owned land. I.L. Ellwood and Company's Glidden Steel Barb Wire will dominate the market; by 1890 the open range will be only a memory.
1868: The Austrian-Hungarian compromise states that Croatia is reattached to Hungary; Meiji restoration in Japan
1869: Northwest Territories formed in Canada; The Suez Canal is opened
1870-1871: Franco-Prussian War leaves Prussia victorious and France becomes a republic again (3rd Republic)
1870: Manitoba becomes the 5th province within Canada after 1st Riel Rebellion; the 'Pneumatic Subway' is invented. Working in secret to hide his operation from Boss Tweed, who opposes it, Scientific American publisher Alfred Ely Beach builds a pneumatic subway under Broadway in New York. Beach's single subway car, which features upholstered chairs and chandeliers is driven along the 300 foot tunnel by a 100 horsepower blower.
1871: Rome becomes official capital of Italy after Papal States are absorbed; German Empire is formed with William I as Emperor; British Columbia becomes the 6th province within Canada; Charles Darwin publishes "Descent of Man"
1873: Prince Edward Island becomes the 7th province within Canada; The Three Emperor's League is formed by Austria, Russia, and Germany; The Dutch attack the Sumatran Muslim kingdom; the typewriter is invented by Christopher Latham Sholes
1874: In Canada, Fort Calgary is built and Sam Livingston (1831-1897) becomes the first settler; The first structural steel bridge is invented by Captain James Buchanan Eads: He finishes the bridge across the Mississippi at St. Louis. Using steel supplied by Andrew Carnegie, Eads has incorporated a triple arch design, with spans measuring 502, 520, and 502 feet. The construction amazes the engineering world. Eads will be the first American engineer to be awarded the Albert Medal of the Royal Society of Arts in London.
1875: The electric dental drill is invented by George F. Green; the mimeograph is invented by Thomas Edison in order to make duplicate copies of documents
1876: Alfonso XII ascends the Spanish throne; Queen Victoria named 'Empress of India'; the telephone is invented by Alexander Graham Bell and Elisha Gray, who developed a similar device at about the same time; United States Centennial celebrated
1877: Russian-Turkish war begins; the phonograph is invented by Thomas Edison: it was a system of sound recording and transmission that works by making impressions on a vertical tube of wax. The first recording replayed is a voice saying "Mary had a little lamb its fleece was white as snow."
1878: Congress of Berlin in which Romania, Serbia, and Montenegro become independent and Africa is partitioned among the European powers; The Salvation Army is founded by William Booth
1878-1903: Pope Leo XIII
1879: Germany and Austria form the Dual Alliance; the first incandescent light bulb is invented by Thomas Edison: The first commercial incandescent system will be installed at the New York printing firm of Hinds and Ketcham in January, 1881.
1879-1955 Albert Einstein, German Physicist, was one of the most creative scientists in human history. He initiated a revolution in scientific thought with his theory of relativity. Its basis was the identification of gravity with inertia. His work provided the theoretical expectation that vast amounts of energy could be released from the nucleus.
1880: The first hearing aid is invented by R.G. Rhodes
1881: French occupy Tunisia; Russian Emperor Alexander II is assassinated and Alexander III become Tsar
1882: British occupy Egypt; Italy joins Austria and Germany to form the Triple Alliance; the first electric fan is invented by Dr. Schuyler Skaats Wheeler: His two-bladed desk fan is produced by the Crocker and Curtis electric motor company.
1882-1903: First large-scale Jewish immigration to Palestine occurs, mainly from Russia
1883: Bismarck establishes social welfare in Germany
1884: Germany establishes colonies in East Africa; trade unions are legalized in France; the first Roller Coaster is invented by L.N. Thompson
1885: The Automobile is invented by Daimlar and Benz; 2nd Riel Rebellion in Western Canada; The Machine-Gun is invented by Hiram Maxim; the first Skyscraper is built by William Le Baron Jenney: The 10-story Home Insurance Company Building in Chicago was the first to use steel-girder construction
1887: The "Platter" record is invented by Emile Berliner
1888-1918: William II is Emperor of Germany
1888: The Kodak camera is first invented by George Eastman: He introduces a hand-held box camera for portable use. The camera is pre-loaded with a 100 exposure film; after shooting the photographer returns the whole camera to the manufacturer for development and a reload.
1889: Meiji Constitution in Japan; the first practical dishwashing machine is invented by Mrs. WA Cockran of Shelbyville, Indiana
1890: Bismarck is dismissed as German Prime Minister
1891: The escalator is invented by Jesse W. Reno who introduces it as a new novelty ride at Coney Island
1892: The first American gasoline-powered car is invented by Frank and Charles Duryea; Edmonton (in Alberta, Canada) was incorporated as a town with a population of 700
1893: The 'Zipper' is introduced at the World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago by Whitcomb L. Judson: The clasp locker, a hook-and-eye device opened and closed by a sliding clasp was later improved upon and workers at B.F. Goodrich coin the name "zipper" in 1923.
1896-1907: Muzaffari'd-Din is Shah of Persia
1897: Rudolf Diesel patents his 'Diesel' engine; First Zionist Congress convened by Theodor Herzl in Basel, Switzerland: Zionist Organization founded; the player piano is patent by Edwin S. Votey
1898: Spanish-American War: US acquires Puerto Rico, Cuba, The Philippines, Hawaii, and Guam; the first practical submarine is invented by the J.P. Holland torpedo boat company and commissioned by the US Navy
1899: Hague Peace Conference
1899-1902: Boer War in South Africa
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1900: Italy's King Humbert is assassinated and Victor Emmanuel becomes King; Max Planck presents his 'Quantum Theory'; World Population is about 1.5 Billion
1901: The Commonwealth of Australia is formed and granted semi-independence; Edward VII becomes Britain's new King; Marconi sends the first message over the transatlantic wireless telegraph; the double-edged safety razor is invented by Gillette; World Court is established
1902: Cuba becomes independent; the first air conditioning unit is invented by Willis H. Carrier to control temperature and humidity
1903: Orville and Wilbur Wright make the first successful powered, sustained, and controlled airplane flight; Panama becomes independent; The Mensheviks (soft-line Communists) and Bolsheviks (hard-line Communists) split over doctrine in Russia
1903-1914: Pope St. Pius X
1904: The Anglo-French Entente is formed; the Russo-Japanese war begins; With a population of 9,000 residents, Edmonton (in Alberta, Canada) was incorporated as a city.
1904-14: Second large-scale Jewish immigration to Palestine, mainly from Russia and Poland
1905: The Theory of Relativity is discovered by Albert Einstein; Alberta (with Edmonton as its capital) and Saskatchewan become the 8th and 9th provinces within Canada; Norway becomes independent
1906: Revolution in Persia leads to constitutional monarchy; the first Radio Broadcast is performed by Reginald Fessenden: He plays two songs, a poem, and a brief talk. Fessenden's broadcast is picked up by ships on the Atlantic hundreds of miles away.
1907: The Dominion of New Zealand is formed and granted semi-independence; The Triple Entente is formed when Russia joins Britain and France; Muhammad-'Ali Shah is ruler of Persia until 1909; Afghanistan gains autonomy in Anglo-Russian agreement
1908: Young Turks revolt in Ottoman Empire: parliamentary rule instituted; Bulgaria becomes independent; Car maker Henry Ford introduces his 'Model T' automobile
1909: First kibbutz, Degania, and first modern all-Jewish city, Tel Aviv, are founded in Palestine; Tofield (in Alberta, Canada) officially becomes a town; Ahmad Shah is ruler of Persia until 1925
1910: The Union of South Africa is formed and granted semi-independence; Portugal's monarchy is overthrown
Manchu China in 1912
1911: The Chinese Revolution: the Manchu Dynasty falls; Tank is invented; Ernest Rutheford creates a nuclear model of the atom; the first electric automobile starter is invented by Charles F. Kettering, who developed the electric cash register: This device increases the popularity of the gasoline-powered car, which no longer needs to be started with a hand crank.
1912: Tibet (until 1950),
Mongolia, and Albania become independent: In Tibet all the Chinese troops surrendered and were deported leaving no doubt as to whether China had nominal suzerainty over Tibet. In the following year Tibet entered into a treaty with Mongolia at Urga. By this treaty executed under the Official Seal of Dalai Lama, both governments recognized 'each other as independent states, free of Manchu rule and separate from China; The Balkan wars begin in Europe; Edmonton (in Alberta, Canada) and the neighboring Town of Strathcona (on the south side of the river) amalgamated, swelling the population to 53,611 residents.1914: World War I (WWI) starts after Serbia assassinates Austro-Hungarian Archduke Francis Ferdinand: Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey oppose Triple Entente of Britain, France, and Russia; the Panama Canal opens after 36 years' labor, the bankruptcy of thousands of investors, and the deaths of more than 25,000 men
World War I (1914-1918)
1914-1922: Pope Benedict XV
1915: A secret Turkish military directive ordered the arrest and prompt execution of Armenian community leaders. 1.5 million people perished in this first genocide of the 20th century. Another wave of massacres occurred in Baku (1918). Shushi (1920) and elsewhere.
1917: The Russian Revolution: Bolsheviks (Communists) take control and withdraw Russia from World War I; Finland becomes independent; 400 years of Ottoman rule in Palestine ended by British conquest: British Foreign Minister Balfour pledges support for establishment of a "Jewish national home in Palestine"; United States enters World War I
1918: World War I ends after Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Turkey capitulates; Czechoslovakia (until 1993), Hungary, North Yemen (until 1990), Poland, Lithuania (except from 1940-1991), Latvia (except from 1940-1991), and Estonia (except from 1940-1991) become independent; The Kingdom of Serbs, Croats, and Slovenes is created (Yugoslavia)
1919: The League of Nations is created; Afghanistan becomes independent (granted by the Treaty of Rawalpindi); the hydrofoil is invented by Alexander Grahams Bell: his Hydrodome IV sets a world record of 70 mph for water travel. The boat weighs over 10,000 pounds and uses underwater fins to raise the hull of the boat and decrease drag between the hull and the water.
1919-1921: The treaties of Neuilly-sur-Seine, Saint-Germain-en-Laye, Trianon and Rapallo establish Yugoslavia's borders (1919-1920) and give it a parliament and centralized constitution (1921)
1921: The first wirephoto (electronically-transmitted photograph) is sent by Western Union; The Treaty of Sevres anticipated an independent Kurdish state to cover large portions of the former Ottoman Kurdistan. Unimpressed by the Kurds' many bloody uprisings for independence, France and Britain divided up Ottoman Kurdistan between Turkey, Syria and Iraq.
1922: The communist Soviet Union (until 1991) is formed out of the old Russian Empire; The Republic of Turkey is established from the old Ottoman Empire; Egypt becomes independent; The Irish Free State is formed and granted semi-independence
1922-1939: Pope Pius XI
1923: The Treaty of Lausanne formalized the division of Kurdistan between Turkey, Syria, and Iraq. Kurds of Persia/Iran, meanwhile, were kept where they were by Tehran.
1924: The first execution using the gas chamber in the United States
1926: The first liquid-fueld rocket is invented by Robert H. Goddard; Emir Amanullah founds the Kingdom of Afghanistan
1927: The first television is demonstrated by Philo Farnsworth
1929: The stock market collapses in the United States triggering the Great Depression (until 1939); King Alexander I creates an authoritarian regime and the new kingdom will take the name of Yugoslavia: The Croats are opposed to the Serbian centralism. They created the Ustacha secret society, which principal leader, Ante Pavelic, will be the later ‘Povlagnik’ (leader) of Croatia in 1941; the first 'frozen food' is invented by Clarence Birdseye: Birdseye got the idea during fur-trapping expeditions to Labrador in 1912 and 1916, where he saw the natives use freezing to preserve foods.
1931: The Statute of Westminster grants full independence to Canada, Newfoundland (until 1933), Ireland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand under the British Monarchy; radio astronomy develops after Karl Guthe tries to track down a source of electrical interference on telephone transmissions: he discovers radio waves emanating from stars in outer space instead
1932: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia proclaimed; Iraq becomes independent; the defibrillator is invented by Dr. William Bennett Kouwenhoven: it is a device for jump-starting the heart with a burst of electricity
1933: Adolf Hitler and his Nazi party come to power in Germany: begins Genocide (Holocaust) of approx. 6 million Jews between 1935 and 1945
1934: Alexander I of Yugoslavia is killed in Marseille, France. His brother Paul assumes the regency in name of Peter II
1935: Persia changes its name to Iran
1937: The chair lift is invented by engineers from the Union Pacific Railroad who build a chair lift for the Dollar Mountain Ski resort
1938: Nylon is invented at the du Pont de Nemours & Company plant
Japanese Empire in 1938
1939: World War II (WWII) starts as Nazi Germany invades Poland; the protype for the digital computer is invented by John Atanasoff and Clifford Berry of Iowa State College: It can store data and perform addition and subtractions using binary code. The next generation of the machine will be abandoned before it is completed due to the onset of World War II.
1939-1958: Pope Pius XII
1940: Most of western and central Europe is occupied by Nazi Germany; the 3 Baltic states (Lithuania, Latvia, and Estonia) are absorbed by the Soviet Union; the 'jeep' is invented by Karl K. Pabst of the Bantam Car. Co.: the jeep will be used for numerous transport applications throughout World War II, and will become a popular domestic vehicle after the war
1941: Nazi Germany now occupies most of Europe after invading eastern Europe: the Soviet Union joins the Allied Powers; United States enters World War II after Pearl Harbour, Hawaii is attacked by Japan; Syria and Lebanon become independent
1942: The first controlled, self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction occurs (Manhattan Project) by a team working under Enrico Fermi at the University of Chicago
World War II during 1942
1944: June 6, Allied forces successfully invade Normandy, France in order to retake Europe from Nazi Germany; Iceland becomes independent
World War II (in Europe) map from 1942-1945
1945: The first atomic bomb is invented by J.R. Oppenheimer, Arthur H. Compton, Enrico Fermi and Léo Szilard. It is detonated at the Los Alamos Lab near Santa Fé, New Mexico; World War II ends in Europe as Germany (partitioned and occupied) and Italy capitulate. The war ends in Japan (occupied) after the dropping of the atomic bombs at Hiroshima and Nagasaki (with a total loss of 100,000 lives); the Cold War between the Soviet Union and the United States begins; The United Nations Organization (UN) is created; Chinese civil war begins (Communist party v.s. Nationalist party; France forms its 4th Republic; Indonesia, (North)Vietnam, and South Vietnam (until 1975) become independent; Kurds set up a Kurdish republic at Mahabad in the Soviet occupied zone in Iran. It lasted one year, until it was reoccupied by the Iranian army.
1945-1946: Nuremberg Trials in which war (WWII) criminals are tried by the Allied judges
1946: The first electronic computer is invented: ENIAC; The Philippines and Jordan (Transjordan) become independent; Communist Yugoslavia is created from various ethnic regions: Serbia, Slovenia, Croatia, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Montenegro, and Macedonia. Tito leads the government. He clashes with Stalin, who excludes Yugoslavia from the socialist scene.
1947: India and Pakistan become independent; UN partition plan (rejected by Arabs) for Palestine devised (Jewish and Arab controlled areas); the first 'Polaroid' camera invented by Dr. Edwin H. Land: it can produce a developed photographic image in sixty seconds. Land will follow in the 1960's with a color model, and eventually receive more than 500 patents for his innovations in light and plastics technologies; In Edmonton (Alberta, Canada), oil is discovered at nearby Leduc. Virtually overnight, the city became the "Oil Capital of Canada." - Edmonton established itself as the hub of Alberta's petrochemical industry.
1948: Israel, Myanmar (Burma), Sri Lanka (Ceylon), North Korea, and South Korea become independent; Pakistan and India fight war over control of Kashmir; the Arab League is formed; the electric guitar is invented by Leo Fender
1948-1949: 1st Arab-Israeli war
1949: China's civil war ends with the Communist party taking over mainland (People's Republic of China) and the Nationalist party fleeing to Taiwan (Republic of China); Ireland becomes a republic; Newfoundland becomes the 10th province within Canada; West Germany, East Germany (until 1990), Bhutan, and Laos become independent
1950: World population is 2.5 billion; the People's Liberation Army had penetrated Tibet as far as Chamdo the capital of Kham province and headquarters of the Tibetan Army's Eastern Command. The region was routed and the Governor, Ngawang Jigme Ngabo, taken prisoner. Chinese forces were also stealthily infiltrating Tibet's north-eastern border Province, Amdo, but avoiding military clashes which would alert international interest. That year the 15-year-old Dalai Lama, his entourage and select government officials, evacuated the capital and set up a provisional administration near the Indian border at Yatung
1950-1953: Korean Civil War
1951: In Tibet a vanguard of 3,000 Chinese "liberation forces" marched into the capital, Lhasa; Libya becomes independent; the UNIVAC 1 is the first commercial computer sold by The Eckert and Mauchly Computer Co. of Philadelphia to the US Census Bureau. The memory called up data by transmitting sonic pulses through tubes of mercury.
1953: Cambodia becomes independent; the first 'Heart-lung' machine is used by Dr. John H. Gibbon who performs the first successful open heart surgery in which the blood is artificially circulated and oxygenated by a heart-lung machine. This new technology, which allows the surgeon to operate on a dry and motionless heart, greatly increases surgical treatment options for heart defects and disease.
1955: The first nuclear submarine is launched, The Nautilus: it revolutionizes naval warfare. Conventional submarines need two engines; a diesel engine to travel on the surface, and an electric engine to travel submerged, where oxygen for a diesel engine is not available. The Nautilus, the first nuclear sub, can travel many thousands of miles below the surface with a single fuel charge.
1956: Morocco, Tunisia, and Sudan become independent; 2nd Arab-Israeli war
1957: The Soviet Union launches the first satellite, Sputnik 1, into orbit and Sputnik 2 carries the first animal (a dog) into orbit; European Economic Community (EEC) established; Malaysia and Ghana become independent; the Polio vaccine is developed by Dr. Albert Sabin
1958: France forms its 5th Republic; Guinea becomes independent; first US satellite, Explorer 1: its mission is to detect radiation, it discovers one of the Van Allen radiation belts
1958-1963: Pope John XXIII
1960: Beginning of Information Revolution; Quiet Revolution begins in Canada's province of Quebec; Benin (Dahomey), Gabon, Cameroon, Ivory Coast, Republic of the Congo (Congo Republic or Congo-Brazzaville), Central African Republic, Chad, Togo, Cyprus, Senegal, Mali, Niger, Somalia, Democratic Republic of the Congo (Zaire or Congo-Kinshasa), Nigeria, Madagascar, Mauritania, and Burkina Faso (Upper Volta) become independent; the LASER is invented by physicist Theodore H. Maiman; World Population is about 3 Billion
1961: South Africa becomes a republic; Kuwait, Tanganyika (until 1964), and Sierra Leone become independent; the Berlin Wall is erected cutting off access to and preventing escape from East Berlin within East Germany; first human in orbit (Yuri Gagarin); first American is space (Alan Shepard)
1962: Cuban Missile crisis occurs between Soviet Union and the United States: highest nuclear alert during Cold War; Algeria, Trinidad-Tobago, Samoa (Western Samoa), Uganda, Jamaica, Rwanda, and Burundi become independent; first American in orbit (John Glenn)
1963: Kenya and Zanzibar (until 1964) become independent; first woman in space (Valentina Tereshkova)
1963-1978: Pope Paul VI
1964: Tanzania is formed from the independent states of Tanganyika and Zanzibar; Malawi, Zambia (North Rhodesia), and Malta become independent; the first massed-produced Operating System (OS/360) is rolled out by IBM: Using the OS/360, all of the computers in the IBM 360 family could run any software program
1965: Singapore, Maldives, and The Gambia become independent; the United States becomes involved in Vietnamese civil war; Pakistan and India go to war for 2nd time over control of Kashmir; first space walk (Aleksei Leonov); first American space walk (Edward White II); the first minicomputer is introduced by Digital Equipment: The PDP-8 was the world's first computer to use integrated circuit technology
1966: Barbados, Guyana, Lesotho, and Botswana become independent; Gemini 8 makes first docking with another spacecraft
1967: Israel extends its territory by capturing the Sinai, the West Bank (incl. Jerusalem), the Gaza Strip, and the Golan Heights from the Arabs in 3rd Arab-Israeli war; South Yemen (until 1990) becomes independent; a fire in the Apollo 1 command module results in the death of 3 astronauts; Soyuz 1 crashes on re-entry killing Vladimir Komarov
1968: Equatorial Guinea, Swaziland, Nauru, and Mauritius become independent; Stanley Kubrick's science fiction film "2001: A Space Odyssey" is released, based on Arthur C. Clarke's story "The Sentinel"; first manned mission to orbit the moon, Apollo 8, is launched
1969: United States launches Apollo 11 and Neil Armstrong and Edwin "Buzz" Aldrin become the 1st humans to walk on the Earth's moon
1970: Fiji and Tonga become independent; 'Front de Liberation du Quebec' (FLQ) crises in which terrorism in Quebec, Canada reaches highest level; Apollo 13 moon mission is aborted after an oxygen tank ruptures: the crew returned safely after 4 days; optical fiber is developed by Corning Glass: optical fiber is glass so clear that it can communicate pulses of light. GTE and AT&T will soon begin experiments to transmit sound and image data using fiber optics, which will transform the communications industry.
c1970-1995: The Iraqi Kurds enjoy an official autonomous status in a portion of that state's Kurdistan. By the end of 1991, they had become all but independent from Iraq. By 1995, however, the Kurdish government in Arbil was at the verge of political suicide due to the outbreak of factional fighting between various Kurdish warlords.
1971: Bangladesh (East Pakistan), United Arab Emirates, and Qatar become independent; first space station is launched by the Soviet Union (Salyut 1)
1972: The first mass-produced video game, 'Pong' becomes popular: Noland Bushnell, the 28 year-old inventor of Pong, will go on to found Atari.
1973 The Bahamas, Guinea-Bissau, and Bahrain become independent; Parti Quebecois (Separatist party) becomes official opposition in Canada's province of Quebec; The United States withdraws from Vietnam; 4th Arab-Israeli war (October 6 - Yom Kippur); the first US space station is launched (Skylab 1); Military coup in Afghanistan ousts King Muhammed Zahir
1974: Grenada becomes independent; the barcode is first used in American stores
1975: Angola, Sao Tome & Principe, The Comoros, Mozambique, Suriname, Papua New Guinea, and Cape Verde become independent; Vietnam's civil war ends with the North (Communist) side victorious: unification; Lebanese Civil war starts; first international manned mission: Apollo-Soyuz space docking; Microsoft Corporation is first formed by Bill Gates and Paul Allen in order to write computer software. They sell their first software to Ed Roberts at MIT, which has produced the Altair 8800, the first microprocessor-based computer.
1976: Viking 1 probe lands on planet Mars: 1st pictures of surface of Mars; Parti Quebecois (Separatist party) wins provincial election in Canada's province of Quebec for 1st time; Seychelles becomes independent; the first Supercomputer is introduced by Cray Research, the Cray-1, which can perform operations at a rate of 240 million calculations per second. Supercomputers designed by Seymour Cray will continue to dominate the market; the Cray 2, marketed in 1985, will be capable of 1.2 billion calculations per second; United States Bicentennial celebrated
1977: Djibouti becomes independent
1978: Dominica, Tuvalu, and the Solomon Islands become independent; Pope John Paul I (August to September); Pro-Soviet leftists oust military government in Afghanistan and conclude economic and military treaties with the USSR
1978-Present: Pope John Paul II
1979: Islamic revolution in Iran leads to religious theocracy being established: religious persecution of Báha'í faith; Kiribati, Saint Vincent & the Grenadines, and Saint Lucia become independent; Soviet Union becomes involved in Afghanistan civil war; Voyager 1 and 2 make closest approach to Jupiter relaying first images of planet and its moons; Skylab falls out of orbit and crashes to Earth; Another coup in Afghanistan leads the USSR to invade Afghanistan and install a puppet government
Modern Iran
1980: 1st referendum on sovereignty (independence) in Canada's province of Quebec: independence plan is rejected by 60% of voters; Vanuatu (New Hebrides) and Zimbabwe (South Rhodesia) become independent; Iran-Iraq war begins
1980-1988: Muslim "mujahedeen" ("holy warriors") in Afghanistan wage a remarkably successful guerrilla war against the Soviet occupation
1981: IBM produces first personal computer: Microsoft launches MS-DOS (personal computer operating system); Antigua & Barbuda and Belize (British Honduras) become independent; Canada's constitution is amended by all provinces except Quebec: Charter of Human Rights becomes part of Canada's Constitution; first reusable manned space shuttle launched (USS Columbia); Voyager 2 flies by Saturn relaying first images of planet, the rings, and its moons
1982: Dr. Robert Jarvik implants the first permanent artificial heart, the Jarvik 7, into Dr. Barney Clark. The heart, powered by an external compressor, keeps Clark alive for 112 days.
1982-1985: Israel invades Lebanon in order to expel Palestinian terrorists
1983: St. Kitts & Nevis becomes independent; first American woman in orbit (Sally Ride)
1984: Brunei becomes independent; first non-tethered space walk using jet backpacks (Bruce McCandless and Robert Stewart); first in-orbit retrieval and repair mission
1985: The USDA gives the go-ahead for the sale of the first genetically-altered organism. The rapidly growing biotech industry will seek numerous patents, including one for a tomato that can be shipped when ripe.
1986: The Marshall Islands and Micronesia become independent; Voyager 2 arrives at Uranus and sends back images of the planet and its moons; Challenger space shuttle explodes, shortly after taking off, killing all 7 crew members; Soviet space station Mir is launched into Earth orbit
1987: Meech Lake Accord signed in Canada (The Meech Lake Accord was an agreement designed to satisfy Quebec's claim as a 'Distinct Society' and was designed to get Quebec to accept the 1981 constitutional amendment); Mir becomes the first continuously inhabited space station
1987-Present: Arab Palestinian uprising ('Intifada') in Israeli occupied territory (West Bank and Gaza Strip); the Kurds in Turkey, by themselves constituting a majority of all Kurds, have waged a war of national liberation against Ankara's 70 years of heavy-handed suppression of any vestige of the Kurdish identity and its rich and ancient culture. The massive uprising had by 1995 propelled Turkey into a state of civil war. The burgeoning and youthful Kurdish population in Turkey, is now demanding absolute equality with the Turkish component in that state, and failing that, full independence.
1988: Iran-Iraq war ends; US space shuttles return to service following the Challenger explosion; USSR agrees to withdraw from Afghanistan
1989: Cold War ends (the Berlin Wall is torn down); Canada-US Free Trade Pact implemented; US invades Panama and captures drug trafficker President Manuel Noriega; Soviet Union withdraws from Afghanistan; Pro-democratic demonstrations in Tiananman Square in Beijing, China results in a military crackdown by Chinese government; first launching of a space probe (Magellan) from the space shuttle; Voyager 2 arrives at Neptune and sends back images of planet and its moons
1990: Namibia becomes independent; West Germany (The Federal Republic of Germany) reunites with East Germany (German Democratic Republic); North and South Yemen reunite; Lebanese Civil war ends; Meech Lake Accord fails to ratify in Canada; Hubble Space Telescope is launched into orbit, it has a defective lens
1991: 'Gulf War' between Iraq and Western Coalition after Iraq invades Kuwait in 1990; Soviet Union ceases to exist (Commonwealth of Independent States is created); Russia, Ukraine, Belarus, Armenia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Uzbekistan, Latvia, Estonia, and Lithuania all become independent; Slovenia and Croatia become independent from Yugoslavia; European Union (EU) Treaty is signed in which member states agree to merge there currencies and eventually establish a common defense and foreign policy
1992: Bosnia & Herzegovina and Macedonia become independent from Yugoslavia (Serbia and Montenegro); Charlottetown Accord is rejected via referendum in Canada (The Charlottetown Accord was an agreement designed to satisfy Quebec's claim as a 'Distinct Society', satisfy the smaller Canadian provinces demands for a revised Senate, and was designed to get Quebec to accept the 1981 constitutional amendment); Islamic rebels in Afghanistan oust President Najibullah
1992-1995: Civil war in Afghanistan among various rebel groups
1993-1994: Israeli-Palestinian Oslo Peace Accords signed giving autonomy to Palestinians in the Israeli occupied territory (West Bank and the Gaza Strip)
1993: The Czech Republic, Slovakia, and Eritrea become independent; EEC (EU) countries unite economically in one free trade bloc; successful repair of the Hubble Space Telescope lens
1994: Palau becomes independent; North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA) is implemented (Canada, United States, and Mexico); first Russian to fly on a US spacecraft (Sergei Krikalev)
1995: 2nd referendum on sovereignty (independence) in Canada's province of Quebec: independence plan is rejected by 51% of voters; Cosmonaut Valery Polyyakov returns to Earth after spending a record 437 days, 18 hrs. in space aboard Mir space station; the 'Windows 95' operating system is launched from Microsoft; U.N. brokers truce among nine factions in Afghanistan and sets up a council to rule the country
1996: A fundamentalist Islamic militia called the Taliban in Afghanistan rejects the ruling council and begins a new civil war: Taliban Islamic militia launches a new wave of fighting that culminates in September with the capture of Kabul
1997: Hong Kong is given back to China by the United Kingdom (Great Britain); Pathfinder lander/Sojourner rover exploration mission begins on planet Mars; nuclear-powered Cassini-Huygens probe heads to Saturn; The Taliban in Afghanistan battles an alliance of opposition forces for control of Afghanistan's northern reaches
1998: Northern Ireland (United Kingdom) residents agree to comprehensive peace treaty and a new regional government in a referendum; Albanians in Kosovo revolt (Serbian controlled autonomous state within Yugoslavia); Economic depression in Eastern Asia; Ethiopia-Eritrea border war; independence plan is rejected by voters of Nevis (St. Kitts & Nevis); International Wars Crimes Tribunal is established; the 'Windows 98' operating system is launched from Microsoft; Deep Space 1 is launched using ion propulsion; 2nd Israeli-Palestinian peace treaty; John Glenn, now a 77 year-old Senator from Ohio, goes into space for the 2nd time; First piece of International Space Station is launched; World population is 6 billion
1999: Hungary, Poland, and the Czech Republic join NATO; Further attacks on Albanians in Kosovo by Serbian controlled Yugoslavia, Western-sponsored Kosovo autonomy accord is signed by Kosovo leaders but is rejected by Yugoslavia; March 24 - NATO launches air war against Yugoslav military targets; Nunavat becomes a new territory within Canada out of eastern and northern part of Northwest Territories; June 9 - Yugoslavia agrees to peace treaty and begins to pull out of Kosovo on June 10; Two Mars probes (worth $313 million in total) are lost - Mars Climate Orbiter & Mars Polar Lander; Portugal gave Macau back to China on December 19; Office 2000 (an upgrade to Office 97) officially launched by Microsoft
2000: Jan 1 00:00 hours, 2000 A.D., Year 2000 problem occurred reverting all electronic circuits and software without proper code to year 1900 (it was actually not very significant); Christian "Diamond Jubilee" (Beginning of 3rd Millennium of Christian Era); Windows 2000 (an upgrade to Windows NT 4.0) is officially launched by Microsoft on February 17, 2000; Federal US judge orders Microsoft Corporation to be divided into 2 separate companies
Future events based on treaties signed, astronomical events, manned events, or proposed space missions
2001: Mars Surveyor's two-year mapping mission is complete in March; Planned launches of Mars Surveyor 2001 orbiter and lander/rover which will study planet's climate and geology as well as search for evidence of life
2003: Planned launch of Europa Orbiter to investigate existence of water on moon of Jupiter; another Mars rover mission planned
2004: Tentatively scheduled launch of Pluto-Kuiper Express which will reach the last unexplored planet, its moon Charon, and the Kuiper asteroid belt; Cassini-Huygens probe will reach Saturn and will send probe to explore Titan (moon of Saturn)
2005: NASA is at work on a rover mission that will return a Martian soil sample to Earth.
2007: Proposed launch of of the Next Generation Space Telescope, a larger, more powerful successor to the Hubble Space Telescope
2009: NAFTA treaty will be fully implemented
2045: United Nations Centennial is celebrated
2061: Halley's Comet will arrive in the inner Solar System (cycle of 76 years)
2067: Canada's Bicentennial is celebrated
2076: United States Tricentennial is celebrated
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