To try to maintain focus and keep thing organized in my mind, I've created catagories of events. Notice that the catagories are not orthogonal, which is why the top level outline document is a single document rather than a set.

• Universe/planet level events
  This includes events like the big bang and extinctions and climate changes.

• Events of importance to humanity as a whole [Civilization]
  This catagory includes things that matter to people, but don't really have much importance to the planet or universe as a whole. Examples include domesticating plants and animals, the introduction of writing, and planetwide events that affect lots of people like the bubonic plague epidemics in the middle ages that affected both Europe and Asia.

• Events of importance to Europe [Europe]
  This is similar to "humanity", but more restricted to Europe. Signing the Magna Carta in 1215 is a good example of this. So it "World War I" because, contrary to the name, it was basically a European war.

• Events of importance to the United States [USA]
  This is similar to "humanity" and "Europe", but focused on the U.S. The United States civil war from 1861 to 1865 is an example.

• Events of importance to Asia [Asia]
  You can probably guess this ... focus is on Asia. The battle of Sekigahara in 1600 is a good example of this. It changed the course of Japanese history for the next 250 years, but didn't have much affect outside Japan.

• Climate and changes to climate [Climate]
  It appears that climate has had a huge influence on history and yet climatic events and changes rarely seem to appear in history books. As an example, the Medieval Warming from 1,000-1,300 AD allowed for the colonization of Greenland and may have contributed to the surge of cathedral building in Europe.

• Epidemics
  Disease has, historically, killed many more humans than war and, like climate, gets little mention in most history books other than the bubonic plague. The unitentional introduction of smallpox to the American continent by European explorers in the 1500s killed off more native peoples than any of the subsequent wars. It also made the wars much more favorable to the Europeans as the native peoples had experienced large dieoffs. Failing to consider these sort of events seems to miss a lot of important events.

• Science and technology advances (and retreats) [Technology]
  The discovery (and loss) of scientific knowledge and technology has influenced history. As an example, better crop rotation and a horse-specific collar combined probably doubled or tripled food production in Europe during the middle ages. This allowed for a much larger population ...

  Within science and technology, I find a few themes dominate:

  • Advances in communication technology (writing to telegraph to telephone ...)
  • Advances in transportation technology (horses, trains, automobiles, ...)
  • Advances in power technology (waterwheel, steam power, ...)
  • Advances in military technology
    I find three axes useful when considering advances in military technology:
    • Does the change favor offense or defense?
    • Does the change favor skilled or unskilled soldiers?
    • Does the change favor wealthy or poor combatants?
    Some examples:
    • Castles favor defense.
    • Longbows favor poor combatants (longbows are cheap relative to plate armor) and skilled combatants (it takes time to get good with a longbow).
    • Guns favor unskilled combatants (consider the time it takes to get good with a rifle compared to the time it takes to get good with a sword or bow and arrow).

• Military events (usually wars. Sigh.)
  Wars frequently affect the course of history. Enough said.

• Political events
  Things like the signing of the Magna Carta are important. So, too, is the pope dividing the non-European world between Spain and Portugal. So, too, the 17th amendment to the United States' constitution.

• Important individuals [People]
  Most important individuals are also covered by some other accomplishment, but thinking about the list of critical individuals is another way to aim for completeness of the events that matter.

  For a number of countries, focusing on the "key" rulers can provide a pretty reasonable outline/overview.

• Religion
• Economics
• Art
• Migrations, forced and voluntary
• Construction of interesting architectural entities
  A history that fails to include things like the building of the Egyptian pyramids (or the Incan pyramids) or Stonehenge or the Taj Mahal seems less than complete.

~13,700,000,000 BC: Big Bang

The big bang occurs, kicking off history!

~13,500,000,000 BC: Stars begin to ignite

The matter in the universe condensed by gravity until the first stars ignited. WMAP has detected this event at about 200 million years after the Big Bang.

~12,700,000,000 BC: First Galaxies Form

The first galaxies form.

~10,000,000,000 BC: Milky Way Galaxy Forms

Detailed studies of the ages and chemical compositions of these stars suggest that the Milky Way has led a relatively quiet existence, forming stars at a rate of a few suns per year for about the last 10 billion years.

~3,800,000,000 BC: Late Heavy Bombardment period Ends

I think this is concluded because this is the age of the earliest known rocks. But I don't know. There is corroborating evidence from the Moon for the bombardment and its end.

~3,850,000,000 BC or ~3,650,000,000 BC: Life Begins on Earth

Prokaryotes, organisms whose cells lack nuclei, appear on earth.
Note that if the earlier date is correct, the first life began while Earth was still under heavy bombardment from meteorites.

~3,500,000,000: Cyanobacteria Appear

Cyanobacteria are Gram-negative-like bacteria (whatever those are) that live particularly in water (they are a constituent of pond scum). Cyanobacteria are unique among gram-negative bacteria in terms of their ability to photosynthesize using a mechanism that is very similar to that employed by green plants.

~2,500,000,000 BC: Stable Continents Form

~2,200,000,000 BC: Quantity of Oxygen in Earth's Atmosphere increases

As a result of oxygen generated by cyanobacteria, the amount of oxygen in Earth's atmosphere begins to increase. Over a period of 400 million years, the percentage of oxygen in the atmosphere increases from 1% to 15%. The 'problem' with lots of oxygen is that many bacteria are killed by oxygen. Existing organisms evolved biochemical methods to render the oxygen harmless. One of these approachs, oxidative respiration, produces lots of energy for cells. Most eukaryotes today do this.

Additionally, the oxygen may have absorbed the methane in the pre-oxygen atmosphere. Since methane is a greenhouse gas, one result could have been a 'Snowball Earth' ice age scenario (as Huronian Glaciation).

~1,800,000,000 BC: Eukaryotes Form

Eulariotes have cells with nuclei.

~543,000,000 BC: Cambrian Explosion

This includes the introduction of multi-cellular organisms (the sponge may have been first). This also includes the first animals.

~440,000,000 BC: Ordovician Extinction [Planet]

The second largest mass extinction in Earth's history occurs. Approximately two-thirds of all species perish. Unlike the other four large extinctions, this one may have been caused by a gamma ray burst from an exploding supernova within 10,000 light years of Earth. In this explanation, the gamma ray burst destroyed Earth's ozone layer, which allowed intense (50x normal) ultraviolet radiation from our Sun to reach the surface.

Another explanation (which seems to be more mainstream) is that glaciation caused by Gondwanaland moving over the North Pole (or South Pole, depending on who is telling the story).

~250,000,000 BC: Permian Triassic "event" [Planet]

A meteorite slams into the Earth. The resulting changes to the planet and the environment kill 90% of all life at the time, the largest mass extinction in Earth history.

~230,000,000 BC: Dinosaurs Appear [Planet]

The first dinosaurs appear.

~210,000,000: Mammals Appear [Planet]

The first mammels appear.

~200,000,000: Pangaea [Planet]

Earth's landmass is mostly concentrated into one supercontinent called Pangaea. It will break up during the Jurassic period (around 130,000,000 BC) to form the continents Gondwanaland and Laurasia, which are separated from each other by the Tethys Sea.

~65,000,000 BC: K-T Extinction [Planet]

A meteorite slams into the Yucatan peninsula in Mexico causing massive climactic changes. The dinosaurs all die out.

~5,000,000 BC: Mediterranean Sea formed from previous desert lowland

• Bournemouth Aquarium page on the Mediterranean

~640,000 BC: Yellowstone volcano erupts [Planet]

A volcano in Yellowstone National Park erupts obliterating a mountain range, felling herds of prehistoric camels hundreds of miles away and leaving a smoking hole in the ground the size of the Los Angeles Basin.

~400,000 BC: Earliest known spears [Planet]

Gamble cites wooden spears found preserved in a bog at Schöningen, Germany, and are associated with horse bones. Dated to 400,000 years ago, the spears provide the first hard evidence of human hunting and are weighted at the ends to be thrown like a javelin.

~200,000 BC: Neandertals appear [Planet]

About 200,000 BC Neandertals (or Neaderthals) appear. These hominids are related to modern humans, but are not ancestors. By around 30,000 BC, Neandertals are extinct, totally replaced by Cro-Mangnons.

~170,000 BC: "Eve" is born and dies in Africa [Planet]

By tracing mitocondreal drift, scientists conclude that every living human has one common female ancestor. She lived in Africa around 170,000 BC.

~73,000 BC: Indonesian Volcano Tuba erupts [Planet]

The Indonesian Volcano Tuba erupts over a period of several weeks and spews about 2,000 cubic kilometers of ash into the atmosphere (and 800 cubic Km of lava/etc. onto the ground). For a comparison, the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980 released 1-2 cubic Km of stuff total.

This eruption resulted in a six year long "volcanic" winter and an "instant ice age".

Some scientists believe that this eruptions caused the human population to drop to between 15,000 and 40,000 individuals planetwide. If so, then all of humanity is descended from these few individuals. This theory is known as the "Volcanic Winter/Weak Garden of Eden" hypothosis.

~52,000 BC ± 27,500: Migration of humans out of Africa [Planet]

A wave of migration out of Africa around 50,000 BC spreads humans across the planet.

~11,000 BC: End of Last Ice Age [Planet]

The most recent ice age ends. Prior to the end of this ice age, there is no evidence for:

• cities or towns
• domesicated animals or plants
• writing

After this ice age ends, we rapidly get cities and domesticated plants and animals. Writing comes later.

~11,000 BC: Megafauna extinction in North America [Planet]

As the most recent ice age ends, megafauna in North America go extinct. There are two competing theories on why this is so. One popular theory argues that human migration led to the extinction as the humans hunted the animals to extinction. Another theory holds that climate changes were responsible.

• Landmark Book 11: Prehistoric America ?[Need to read]

~11,000 BC: Domestication of plants and animals begins [Civilization]

Humans begin domesticating plants and animals.

~10,800 BC - ~9,600 BC: "Younger Dryas" cooling [Planet/Climate]

Beginning around 10,800 BC, Earth enters into a period of rapid cooling. This period ends around 9,600 BC. Note that this cooling period occured as the last ice age was ending.

~9,000 BC: First towns - Jericho and Catal Huyuk [Civilization]

Jericho (in Israel) and Catal Huyuk (in Turkey) are the first towns. One big difference between them is that Jericho was walled very early (although not necessarily for defense. It is possible that Jericho was walled to prevent flooding) and Catal Huyuk was not.

• ~9,000 BC: Jericho
  Population: about 1,500
  Size: 3-4 hectares
• ~6,500 BC: Catal Huyuk
  Population: about 5,000
  Size: 12 hectares

~9,000 BC: Cattle are used as the first form of "money"

Source: http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/moolah/history.html

~5600 BC: Mediterranean Sea bursts through the Bosphorus Straits
~5600 BC: into the Black Sea

Prior to about 5600 BC, the Black Sea was isolated from the Mediterranean Sea. Around 5600, the Mediterranean Sea rises enough (possibly due to melting glaciers) and bursts through to the Black Sea. Settlements around the edges of the Black Sea are abandoned because they are flooded as the Black Sea rises and does not return to its original depth.

~4000 BC: Holocene Maximum [Planet/Climate]

Earth reaches its warmest temperature in the current interglacial period, about 3 degrees Farenheit warmer than in 2000 AD.

~3500 BC: Wheel invented

http://www.uh.edu/engines/epi24.htm

~3200 BC: Sudden Sharp Brief Drop in Temperature and Drought [Climate]

http://researchnews.osu.edu/archive/5200event.htm

~2100 BC: Xia dynasty begins Chinese dynastic period

The dating is a bit vague, partially because of the book buring by Ch'in Shih Huang in 213 BC.

1674 BC: Hyksos Take Control of Egyptian captial city of Memphis

The Hyksos dynasty runs from 1674 BC to 1567 BC. They are important because this was a non-Egyptian dynasty of Semitic people. The Exodus of Jews in the Bible may be a story of semitic migration out of Egypt after the fall of the Hyksos dynasty (foreign people of the same ethnic group as the expelled conquorers may not have been very popular with the Egyptians...)

~1628 BC: Volcano on Mediterranean island of Thera erupts [Planet]

Around 1628 BC, the Mediterranean island of Thera erupts, leading to:

• The collapse of Minoan civilization
• An attempted migration/invasion of Egypt in 1231 BC by sea-peoples which is repulsed by pharoh Merneptah and again in 1191 BC by Ramses III ... the causal link is obviously weak here ... (http://www.phoenixdatasystems.com/goliath/c3/c3a.htm)
• The eventual insertion into Palestine of the people who became known as the Philestines

~1504BC - ~1450 BC: Thutmose III Rules Egypt:
~1504BC - ~1450 BC: Egyptian Empire Reaches its largest extent

Don't forget to talk about Hatshepsut!

~1500 BC: Aryan invasion of India

http://www.dalitstan.org/holocaust/invasion/histgene.html (San Francisco Chronicle, 26 May, 1999)
Talk about the caste system.

~1400 BC: Polynesian Migration out of New Guinea Begins

--Hunters and gatherers inhabited Australia and New Guinea by 50,000 years ago.

1352 BC: Akhenaten Ascends the throne of Egypt [Civilization]

First recorded example of monotheism.

~1184 BC: City of Troy destroyed

This isn't actually all that important, but this destruction date ties in nicely with the Iliad, Achilles, Trojan Horse, etc. :-)

• Odysseus and the Cyclops (Tales from the Odyssey) [ISBN: 0816700087]
• The Trojan Horse: How the Greeks Won the War (Step into Reading level 5) [ISBN: 0394896742]
• DK Readers: Trojan Horse (Level 4: Proficient Readers)
• DK Classics: The Odyssey (Kids version)
• Black Ships Before Troy: The Story of the Iliad, by Rosemary Sutcliff
• The Wanderings of Odysseus, by Rosemary Sutcliff
• Landmark Book W40: The Adventures of Ulysses ?

~1100 BC - ~800 BC: Greek Dark Ages

Part of the dark ages is the loss of literacy!

~1000 BC: Bantu Migrations Begin

Eventually, Bantu peoples will dominate the southern half of Africa. The Bantu migrations bring agriculture to mostly hunter-gatherer regions and also bring iron.

~814 BC: Traditional Founding of Carthage

Famous Cathagenians to know:

• Queen Dido (founder)
• Hanno the Navigator
• Hamilcar Barca (1st Punic War, Hannibal's father)
• Hannibal (2nd Punic War, Elephants over the Alps, Battle of Cannae)

• The periplus of Hannon (translations exist)

~753 BC: Traditional Founding of Rome

~750 BC: Homer composes the Illiad

Good place to talk about what makes ancient Greece special... the first polis was also in the 800-700 range. *must* discuss why the Greek polis was special (citizenry of peasant yeomen instead of king and subjects, etc).

• Literature Crosslink: The Illiad, by Homer (Fagles translation)

~560 BC: Peisistratos opens the first public library in Athens

http://www.libraries.gr/nonmembers/en/history_ellinikos_prosokratiki.htm http://www.sikyon.com/Athens/ahist_eg01.html

539 BC: Babylon falls to Persians under Cyrus the Great

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p2-3: "Babylon Bows to Cyrus the Persian"

528 BC: Buddha (563BC-483BC) Lives [People/Religious]

• Amar Chitra Katha: Buddha
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p4: "Buddha's 'Middle Way' Found Under Bo Tree"

508 BC: Traditional Date of foundation of Athenian Democracy by Cleisthenes

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p5-6: "Athens First with Democratic Government"

500 BC: Confucius (551BC-479BC) Lives [People/Religious]

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p7: "Confucius Exiled From Lu"

~500 BC: Zero is invented in India

And independently by the Maya in the 3rd century AD.

492 BC - 449 BC: Greek-Persian Wars

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p8-9: "Greek Stand At Marathon Checks Persian Invasion"

~450 BC: Torah (first five books of old testament) codified (by Ezra?)

Source: Who Wrote the Bible, by Richard Eliot Freedman

387 BC: Plato founds his Philisophical Academy

It continues until 529 AD when Emperor Justinian shuts it down, claiming it is a pagan establishment.

336 BC: Alexander the Great (356 BC - 323 BC) assumes throne of Macedon

• Amar Chitra Katha: Paurava and Alexander
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p10-11: "Alexander Stampeded Persians at Arabela, Starts World Conquest"
• Landmark Book W2: Alexander the Great

335 BC : Aristotle (384BC-322BC) founds his Lykeion [People]

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p17: "Aristotle's Writings Found in Basement"

~300 BC: Euclid's "Elements" written [Science]

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p12: "Euclid Establishes Systematic Geometry"

273 BC: Ashoka ascends the throne of the Mauryan (Indian) empire

• Amar Chitra Katha: Ashoka

218 BC - 202 BC: Second Punic War
218 BC - 202 BC: (Hannibal marches his army with elephants over the Swiss Alps!)

Key events: Battle of Cannae (Roman legions massacred).

213 BC: Ch'in Shih Huang orders a massive book burning [Asia]

The Chinese Emperor Ch'in Shih Huang orders the burning of all but practical books (medicine, law, agriculture). The I Ching is explicitly spared from this burning. This book burning is largely successful and many texts are lost for good. Chinese history before this point is much more poorly documented than it should be because of this book burning. Many Confucian texts survive (hidden by Confucian scholars), which help to establish Confucianism as a major Chinese philosophy.

149 BC -146 BC: Third Punic War: Rome destroys Carthage

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p13-14: "Carthage Leveled; Rome Becomes Supreme"

~35 BC: Gaius Asinius Pollio construct first public Roman library

Libraries get more and more popular until Rome falls. Insert discussion of libraries rise/fall/rise here. Any data on Chinese libraries (see big book burning in 213 BC).

30 BC: Augustus Caesar Ends intermittent Roman civil war and Roman Republic ...
30 BC: Begins Roman Empire [Europe]

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p19: "Caesar Assassinated"
• Landmark Book W43: Julius Caesar
• Landmark Book W50: Cleopatra of Egypt

1: Snapshot World population is about 170 million, according to Kremer.

1: Legendary Jesus (~6BC-~30) Lives [People/Religious/Legend]

Sometime around the year zero, Jesus is born. He grows up, preaches in Galilee and Judea, and is eventually put to death by the Romans. Unfortunately, we have no contemporary historical records of this. Jesus left no written records, the Romans have no records of this, and the Christian New Testament is written entirely (or almost entirely depending on the authorship of the letter of James) by people who never actually met Jesus.

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p20-21: "Jesus Crucified"
• Landmark Book W42: Jesus of Nazareth

9: Teutoburg Massacre: Germanic Tribes Slaughter Three Roman Legions

This essentially ends Roman expansion into Germania. The historical implications for this might be huge: France, Spain and Italy are Latinate countries. Germany, and Scandanavia are Germanic.

60/61: Boudicca leads failed English Revolt against Romans

Final battle is interesting because a massively outnumbered Roman army slaughters the Britons. Training beats sheer numbers. Compare this to Teutoburg where the Romans lose.

• Battlefield Britain: Episode 1 - Boudicca's Revolt (61 AD)

40: St. Paul (~4-~64) Lives [People/Religious]

• Landmark Book W53: The Life of Saint Paul

79: Vesuvius Erupts: Pompeii Destroyed

This isn't really important by itself, but not knowing it seems like a bit of a hole ...

There are a few interesting factoids:

• Pliny the Younger was a surviving eyewitness to this and wrote about it.
• Pliny the Younger put the date of the eruption at Aug 24 in a letter to Tacitus.
• Argon-Argon dating of the pumice thrown out by the volcano put the eruption at 72 A.D. ± 94 years. It is nice to see physics matching the historical record.

• Pompeii...Buried Alive! (Step into Reading level 4)
• MTH: Vacation Under The Volcano [ISBN: 0679890505]

100: Snapshot The Roman empire is close to its height of power. The population of the city of Rome is over 1,000,000. Alexandria has a population of between 500,000 and 750,000. Paris? London? China? Americas? http://www.tulane.edu/~august/H303/handouts/Population.htm (sourcing from J. C. Russell, Late Ancient and Medieval Population (Philadelphia, 1958))

135: End of the last Jewish-Roman wars, beginning of the Jewish Diaspora

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p22: "Jerusalem Razed; Jews Condemned to Wander"
• http://www.livius.org/ja-jn/jewish_wars/jwar04.html

166: Roman Envoy from Emperor Marcus Aurelius arrives in China

Prior to this, the two huge empires had never directly interacted.

200: Snapshot World population is about 190 million, according to Kremer.

300: Snapshot

314: Persecution of Pagans in Roman Empire Begins

314:	The Council of Ancyra denounces the worship of Goddess Artemis.
324:	Christianity declared the only official Religion of the Roman Empire. In Dydima, Minor Asia, Constantine sacks the Oracle of the God Apollo and tortures the pagan priests to death. Constatine destroys the Temple of the God Asclepius in Aigeai of Cilicia.
341:	Constans, Constantine's son, orders all pagan worship and sacrifices to stop.
350:	Constantinus, Constantine's other son, orders all pagan temples closed. Worshipping at these temples was punishable by death, although the law was only sporadically enforced at first.
416:	Law passed barring pagans from public employment.

325: Council of Nicea held

The Catholic church begins to formally and systematically define orthodoxy and heresy. It is interesting that this occured only 12 years after Emperor Constantine issued the Edict of Milan, which declared Christianity an acceptable religon.

328: Roman Capital moves from Rome to Constantinople

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p23-24: "Constantine Founds New Rome in East"

393: Synod of Hippo Standardizes Contents of the New Testament [Religious]

Which writings to include in the New Testament was something that had not been standardized before this Synod. Obviously, the early Christian church could not include works yet to be written, so churches prior to about 100 AD could not include the Gospel of John in their New Testaments. Different churches included different writings and there was no standardized canon. The Synod of Hippo provided a clear definition of which books were to be included in the New Testament and which books were excluded.

~400: Kalidasa Lives and writes plays [Person/Art]

Kalidasa is considered the greatest poet of classical Sanskrit.

• Amar Chitra Katha: Kalidasa

415: Hypatia murdered by Christian mob
415: encouraged by St. Cyril, Patriarch of Alexandria

This, by itself isn't critical, but the persecution of Christians tends to get lots of attention in history texts, while the behavior of Christians once they were on top does not. Notice also that instigating a murder didn't disqualify St. Cyril from sainthood.

476: Last Western Roman Emperor Deposed. Traditional end of Roman Empire.

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p25: "Old Rome Falls to Barbarians"

497: Original Shaolin Temple Founded at Songshan in Henan Province

Comparing this to the Knights of Malta and the Templar Knights in Europe should be interesting.

500: Snapshot The western Roman empire has ended. The population of the city of Rome is down to between 75,000 and 100,000. The population of Constantinople is between 500,000 and 750,000. http://www.tulane.edu/~august/H303/handouts/Population.htm (sourcing from J. C. Russell, Late Ancient and Medieval Population (Philadelphia, 1958))

542: Justinian plague hits Constantinople and spreads to Europe [Europe]

In 542, bubonic plague arrives in Constantinope (from one of several possible sources -- Etheopia and Central Asia being two popular choices). One year earlier, in 541, it arrived in Egypt and in 543 spread to Italy, Syria and Palestine. Then it spread to Persia (modern Iran) and Gaul.

600: Snapshot World population is about 200 million, according to Kremer.

614: Muhammad (~570-632) Lives [People/Religious]

In about 570, Muhammad, founder of the religion of Islam is born. He lives until 632. The Muslim Calendar begins in 614 and scores dates before this year as BH for before hijra and dates after this year as AH for after hijra. This is similar to using the traditional year of Christ's birth for BC and AD dating.

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p26: "Mohammed Fugitive From Mecca: Flight Marks Start of Islam"

618: Emperor Gauzu founds Tang Dynasty

The Tang Dynasty is considered a golden age for China. The capital city of Changan had a population of about 1,000,000

~660: Uthmanic Recension of Koran assembled

Contrary to popular Western belief, the Koran was not written down by Mohammed. Instead, between 610 and 632, Mohammed preached the revealed word of God, which his followers "recorded on palm leaves, flat stones and " memorized. When Mohammed died in 632, the revealed word of God was complete. Eventually, complete copies were written down, but the copies were not all in agreement. In about 660, the third Muslim caliph, Uthman, ordered that a standard copy of the book be made and scholars assembled a "standard" version from the already circulating versions.

http://www.guardian.co.uk/Archive/Article/0,4273,4048586,00.html
http://debate.org.uk/topics/books/origins-koran.html

690: Empress Wu ascends the throne of China

The only woman to ever rule China in her own name.

700: Snapshot

732: Charles Martel turns back Islamic army at the battle of Tours

Europe stays Christian instead of Muslim. The Muslims hold onto Spain for a while, but are eventually expelled.

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p27: "Saracens Stymied At Tours"

751: Battle of Talas

Ends Tang dynasty's westward expansion into India. Muslim influence into central asia (instead of chinese). Idea of paper from chinese, to muslims (and then to western europe).

755-763: An Lushan Rebellion in China

Rebellion against the Tang dynasty results in the death of 2/3 of China's population in ten years.

793: First Viking invasion of England [Europe]

• Landmark book 12: The Vikings

800: Snapshot World population is about 220 million according to Kremer. Tang dynasty is in decline, but is still advanced for the time. Chang'an is the capital of Tang dynasty China and boasts a population of about 1,000,000. Islam is still dynamic and much more advanced in science than Europe. Islam has 13 cities with populations greater then 50,000. Baghdad has a population of about 300,000. Islam's advances into the west have been halted. Charlemagne is crowned King of the Holy Roman Empire. Europe's largest city is Rome, with a population of about 50,000. Mayan civilization still exists and the city of Coba has a population of about 30,000, but Mayan civilization is on the verge of collapse. The Teotihuacan civilization in Mexico is also collapsing and the capital city was sacked in 750. http://www.nus.edu.sg/corporate/research/gallery/research22.htm http://magma.nationalgeographic.com/ngm/0406/feature1/online_extra.html http://www.globalpolicy.org/wtc/analysis/1029islamgeo.htm

900: Snapshot

988: Al Azhar University Founded in Cairo, Egypt

Oldest currently operating university in the world. Notice how Arabia is still a bit ahead of Europe at this point?

1000: Snapshot World population is about 265 million, according to Kremer.

~1000: Beginning of "Medieval Warm Period" [Europe]

The beginning of a 300 year warm period for Europe (Asia did not experience this). One of the side affects of this period is that Iceland and Greenland were much more habitable than they are today. Both were colonized. As temperatures cooled again, the Greenland colonies were abandoned. By 1400, temperatures were similar to those of 2000 AD. Then they dropped some more in the "little ice age".

1066: William the Conquorer becomes king of England [Europe]

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p29: "English Succumb to Norman French after Hastings Battle"
• Battlefield Britain: Episode 2 - Hastings (1066 AD)
• Landmark Book W41: William the Conqueror

1095: "Deus Vult!" - Pope Urban II Calls for the First Crusade

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p30-31: "First Crudade Takes Jerusalem"
• Landmark Book W11: The Crusades

~1096: Oxford University Founded

http://www.ox.ac.uk/aboutoxford/history.shtml

~1100: Timbuktu founded

Originally as a seasonal camp by Tuaregs. Eventually became ...

1185: Beginning of Shogun period in Japan

Minamoto family finally defeats Taira family for supremacy of Japan (in Gempei War?). End of Heian period? Rise of Samuarai as a class?

1200: Snapshot Hangzhou is the capital of the Southern Song dynasty China and boasts a population of about 1,500,000. In Europe, many monastaries have small libaries, but very few are larger than 300 books. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hangzhou http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Southern_Song_Dynasty

1206: Temujin named Ghengis Khan by assembly of Mongol chieftans [Military]

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p33-32: "Genghis Khan Conquers China"
• Landmark Book W12: Genghis Kahn and the Mongol Horde

1209: Albigensian crusade begins [Europe]

The Albigensian crusade is interesting and important because it was a crusade called against a sect of heretic Christians called Cathars rather than against Moslems. The crusade was largely fought in what is today modern France and was also instrumental in the creation of the modern French boundaries.

1215: King John of England signs the Magna Carta [Europe]

Major nobles force King John to sign the Magna Carta, which essentially places the king under the rule of law.

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p32: "Magna Carta Signed: Bill of Rights For Englishmen"
• Landmark Book W26: The Magna Charta

1260-1294: Marco Polo travels to China

• Landmark Book W3: The Adventures and Discoveries of Marco Polo

1267: Roger Bacon writes his Opus Majus, Opus Minus, and Opus Tertium

Roger Bacon lays out the foundation of the scientific method. Don't get Roger Bacon confused with Francis Bacon.

1307: Philip IV of France destroys Templar Knights

The important thing to talk about is the Templars and banking. The neat thing to talk about is all the strange beliefs, practices and conspiracy theories surrounding the Templars

1325: Arabs introduce Europe to Gunpowder weapons when attacking Baza in Spain

Kicking off the gunpowder revolution in Europe.

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p35: "Europe Harnesses Gunpowder for War"

1337: Beginning of 100 years war (1337-1453) [Europe]

Things to mention: battle of Crecy field, battle of Poiters, battle of Agincourt, the seiges that seem to have been much more strategically important, the Peasants' Revolt of 1381, Joan of Arc, Henry V, end of british designs on continental territory and beginning of serious british navy.

• Joan of Arc (Step into Reading level 4)
• Landmark Book W4: Joan of Arc

1370: Tamerlane becomes leader of the Jagatals

Tamerlane was responsible for massive destruction and a huge number of deaths. Unlike many other conquerors in history, he did not appear to be trying to build an empire, but was simply looting the conquered territories (although he kept control of them). The loot went to Samarkand, his capital. He died while planning an invasion of China.

1386: End of established paganism in Europe

On February 15, 1386, Jagiello, King of Lithuania, is baptised. His conversion, a requirement of a desired alliance with Poland, signals the end of established paganism in Europe.

1402/3: Zhu Di (1360-1424) becomes Emperor of China

Among his accomplishments were sponsoring Zheng He's expeditions, the construction of Bejing (including the Forbidden City), dredging the Grand Canal, sponsoring the Yongle Encyclopedia -- 8,000 titles in 22,877 volumes for a total of 370 million characters! Unfortunately, the Yongle Encyclopedia has largely been lost.

http://www.chinatoday.com.cn/English/e2004/e200404/p56.htm

1405-1433: Admiral Zheng He leads seven expiditions
1405-1433: of a massive Chinese fleet [Civilization]

• The Great Explorer Cheng Ho: Ambassador of Peace
• Wikipedia Article
• Another link!
• http://www.basicrps.com/chine/histoire/china.htm

1424: Emperor Zhu Di dies. China begins to turn inward for next 500 years

Eunuch's versus Confucian scholars. Net cost of Zheng He fleet's. Canal makes ocean less necessary. Mongol threats require more forces to north ...

1434: Thailand captures Angkor, ending Khmer empire

Talk about Angkor Wat here ...

~1450: Beginning of the "little ice age" [Planet]

Beginning around 1450, Earth begins to cool (there is a fair amount of dispute about the actual date ... which is not surprising as the cooling was gradual and not a sudden drop in temperature). Things stay cool until about 1850 or 1900.

1453: Constantinople conquered by Sultan Mehmed II

Islam is really on a march here and the Ottoman Empire is growing nicely. This is followed up by:

• 1456: Ottoman Empire takes the Duchy of Athens
• 1459: The unconquered part of Serbia is conquered
• 1463: Bosnia is conquered
• 1492: A minor setback as Spain expels the last Muslims
• 1521: Belgrade taken
• 1528: Buda (the Buda part of Budapest) taken and 100,000 captives are taken.

• Landmark Book W30: The Fall of Constantinople

~1454: Johann Gutenberg Introduces Mass Production of Books [Technology]

As with many technologies, this one built on other innovations. The big prior innovations helped make reading easier, and thus allowed it to spread to a larger percentage of the population:

1. ~850 BC: Greeks introduce vowels into their alphabet.
   Since we don't have word spacing at this time, every little innovation helps. With spacing, this:

   Cn y rd ths?

   is readable. Especially if surrounded by more context. This is much less so:

   Cnyrdths?

   Adding the vowels to the sentence without word breaks results in this:

   Canyoureadthis?

   The vowels make for a huge improvement.

2. ~300BC to ~100 AD: Codexes Introduced
   Basically, books with pages instead of scrolls. This makes random access of the content much easier. It also makes "tables of contents", and indexes more feasible.

3. ~800 AD: Word spacing introduced.
   This makes reading easier.

Additionally, as so often seems to be the case prior to the industrial revolution, this invention was at least partially invented earlier in Asia. See woodblock printing and both Korean and Chinese moveable type (although not necessarily metal).

This is also a good example of a technology obsoleting most of a profession -- that profession being scribes. Johannes Trithemius, a scribe, wrote a text, "De Laude Scriptorum", on the wonderfulness of scribal transcription versus printing (something to verify is that since the author wanted this read widely, he had it printed ...).

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p38: "Gutenberg Makes Printing Practical"

1477: Ivan III, Grand Duke of Muscovy conquers Novgorod

This the beginning of the destruction of East European constitutional government, finishing in 1795 with the partition of Poland. Constitutional governments usually meant rich merchants and/or nobles, but were still quite a bit more limited than the total monarchy/dictatorship that became the norm later.

Of interest were the Novgorod trade republic, the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth, and the Duchy of Prussia (functioning diets).

One can make a reasonable argument that pre-communist Russian history can be understood reasonably well by focusing on the following:

1. Ivan III (the Great)
2. Ivan IV (the Terrible)
3. Peter I (the Great)
4. Catherine II (the Great)
5. Alexander I
6. Nicholas II

• The Engineering and Empire series has an episode on Russia.

1478: Pope Sixtus IV founds Spanish Inquisition

Pope Gregory IX founds Medeival inquisition in 1231 .. 1834 - Spanish Inquisition formally ends

1492: Christopher Columbus "discovers" the New World

• Christopher Columbus (Step into Reading Level 3)
• A Picture Book of Christopher Columbus
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p39: "Explorer Columbus Discovers New World"
• Landmark book 1: The Voyages of Christopher Columbus

1493: Pope Alexander VI divides the New World between Spain and Portugal

also Treaty of Tordesillas and Treaty of Saragossa

1493: Luca Pacioli publishes "Summa",
1493: the first printed accounting textbook [Technology]

Double entry bookkeeping has been slowly evolving since perhaps 1300. In 1493 Luca Pacioli publishes a book on accounting with a section on double-entry bookkeeping. This technique survives today and is required for successful large scale bookkeeping. This is one of the key inventions that make the modern corporation possible.

1497: Savoranola's Bonfire of the Vanities

This is worth comparing to the 213 BC book burning in China.

1500: Snapshot London has a population of about 50,000. The world population is bit under 500 million. The Vatican library is the largest in western Europe, with about 3,500 books as of 1481. http://www.victorianweb.org/history/hist4.html http://archive.ncsa.uiuc.edu/SDG/Experimental/vatican.exhibit/exhibit/a-vatican_lib/Vatican_lib.html

1497 : Leonardo Da Vinci (1452 - 1519) finishes his "Last Supper" painting [People]

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p46-47: "Leonardo's Career Caps Renaissance"
• Landmark book W27: Leonardo da Vinci

1517: Martin Luther nails his 95 Theses to a church door in Wittenberg

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p41: "Martin Luther Splits Christendom"
• Landmark book W23: Martin Luther
• Project Gutenberg copy of the 95 theses

1519: Hernando Cortez conquors Aztec capital of Tenochtitlán and captures Moctezuma

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p42-43: "Cortes Seizes Mexico; Montezuma Random Huge"
• Landmark book W45: Captain Cortes Conquers Mexico

1526: Babur founds Mughal Empire (1526 to 1707)

The Taj Mahal is Mughal.

• Amar Chitra Katha: Akbar
• Amar Chitra Katha: Tansen
• Amar Chitra Katha: Jahangir
• Amar Chitra Katha: Noor Jahan
• Amar Chitra Katha: Shivaji

1530: Knights of Malta granted Malta by Emporer Charles V

This is interesting because of the idea that non-nations could own/control land ... we don't really have this anymore ...

1588: Spanish Armada fails to invade England [Europe]

Philip II of Spain launches an armada of over 130 ships to conquer England. The invasion fails. If it had succeeded, Europe may well have eventually come under the rule of a single man.

One useful followup is how the English sailors faired after the battle. According to "BattleField Britain", they were kept on the ships for the next year, officially to defend against a new attack. Because of disease, half of them died in the next year ...

It is also probably useful to compare this with the attempted Mongol invasions of Japan.

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p49: "Great Armada Defeated, Spain Loses Sea Power"
• Battlefield Britain: Episode 4 - Spanish Armada (1588 AD)
• Landmark book W13: Queen Elizabeth and the Spanish Armada
• Queen Elizabeth I: A message to her army at Tilbury on the eve of the Spanish Armada

1600: Battle of Sekigahara [Asia]

... leads to Japan closing itself to the outside world until Admiral Perry and his black ships arrive in

1600: British East India Company Founded

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_East_India_Company Dutch East India Company founded in 1602

1600: Snapshot Queen Elizabeth rules England and Shakespeare is still producing plays. Paris has a population of about 300,000. Kyoto, Japan has a population of about 350,000. The world population is bit over 500 million. The population in the America's has dropped radically since 1500, from about 42 million down to 13 million. This is largely the result of disease introduced by exploring Europeans. http://www.welcometoparis.it/storia2.uk.html

1605?: Galileo Galilei (1564 - 1642) breaks Aristotle's grip on Science [Technology]

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p51: "Magnifying Lenses Aid Human Eye to See Smallest, Farthest Things"

1607: Jamestown Colony founded

• The True Story of Pocahontas, by Lucille Rech Penner (Step into Reading Level 3)
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p50: "Jamestown First English Town to Succeed in North America"
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p54: "First Black Men Sold in Jamestown, Va,"
• Landmark Book 3: Pocahontas and Captain John Smith

1611: First stock market opens in Amsterdam [Technology]

Triumph of the Optimists, page 19

1616-1644: Manchu's conquer China

And kill a phenomenal number of Chinese doing it (about 16% of the population).

http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat0.htm#Manchu17c

1620: Pilgrims land at Plymouth Rock [USA]

• The First Thanksgiving (Step into Reading Level 3)
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p55: "Pilgrims Land at Plymouth Rock"
• Landmark Book 2: The Landing of the Pilgrims

1624: Cardinal Richelieu (1585 - 1642) becomes prime minister of France

Master of realpolitic, major factor in 30 years war, character in Three Musketeers :-)

1629: Salem Covenant: Congregationalist Churches begin to
1629: self organize and self govern [USA]

For a long time, New England churches and communities were self-governing. This is very different from the old world, where religious and civil government were top-down.

http://www.uua.org/uuhs/duub/articles/unitariancontroversy.html

1636: Pequot war in New England signals first major
1636: British Colonist vs. Indian war [USA]

• Landmark book 50: The War Chief of the Seminoles

1634-1638: Tulipmania strikes Holland

• The Great Tulip Trade (Step into Reading Level 3)

1642-1649: English Civil War Fought

Oliver Cromwell is important.

• Battlefield Britain: Episode 5 - Naseby (1645 AD)
• Landmark book W38: The Flight and Adventures of Charles II

: Basho (1644 - 1694) Lives [Person/Art]

Generally considered the first great haiku poet.

1669: Issac Newton (1642-1727) Lives [People]

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p56-7: "Newton's 'Principia' Jolts Scientific World"

~1690 - ~1730: "Golden Age" of Caribbean Piracy

• Landmark book W35: Famous Pirates of the New World
• Landmark book 122: The Mysterious Voyage of Captain Kidd

1692: Salem Witch Hunts [US]

• Landmark book 69: The Witchcraft of Salem Village

1699: Treaty of Carlowitz

After the Ottoman Empire expansion in the 1400s and 1500s, things calmed down in the 1600s until the Ottoman Empire again began trying to push into Europe. In contrast to the successes from 1450 to 1530, the push that began in 1681 failed miserably. This treaty comes at the end of a series of failures and marks the end of Islamic predominance (marks ... the end was probably earlier ... note that Europe was colonizing the new world and Islam was not).

Bernard Lewis has written on this subject.

1700: Snapshot London has a population of about 300,000. Paris has a population of about 500,000. The world population is about 3/4 of a billion. http://www.victorianweb.org/history/hist4.html http://www.welcometoparis.it/storia2.uk.html

1703: Peter the Great founds St. Petersburg

Russia's window to Europe.

1720: South Sea Bubble collapses [Europe/Finance]

1720: Mississippi Bubble collapses [Europe/Finance]

• Landmark book 52: The Mississippi Bubble

1747: Johann Sebastian Bach (1685 - 1750) Composes "A Musical Offering"
1747: for King Fredrick of Prussia [Person/Art]

Can't forget to reference GEB by Hoffstadter.

1756-1763: Seven Years War Fought

The Seven Years War (in Europe) and the American portion of it (the French and Indian War, fought between 1754 and 1763) are fought between 1756 and 1763. George Washington acquires military experience in this war. When the war is over, the French have lost all their claims in Canada. Additionally, the British end the war with the uncontested rule of India (well, uncontested by any European power ...)

• Landmark book 63: Rogers' Rangers and the French and Indian War
• Landmark Book 71: George Washington: Frontier Colonel ?
• Landmark Book W28: General Brock and Niagara Falls ?
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seven_Years'_War

1760-1830: Enclosure Acts in England force small farmers off their land

• BBC Education Fact Sheet on Enclosure Acts

1761: Canal building boom begins in west [Technology]

The Duke of Bridgewater constructs a canal between mines in Worsley and the city of Machester. This signals the start of a canal building boom that lasts until the invention of the railroad kills off canals.

1762: Catherine the Great deposes Peter III and becomes ruler of Russia

• Landmark book W29: Catherine the Great

1764: James Watt Makes Practical Steam Engine

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p58: "Watt Makes Steam Engine Work"

1769: Father Junipero Serra founds first mission in California[USA]

Note that the Texas missions were founded much earlier in 1682.

1776: American colonies revolt against British rule [U.S.]

One very good question is: What percentage of the revolting colonists actually would benefit from representation?

• Paul Revere's Ride (Step into Reading Level 3)
• Thomas Jefferson's Feast (Step into Reading Level 4)
• George Washington and the General's Dog, by Frank Murphy
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p59: "Revere's Night Ride Rouses New England; Colonists Fight"
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p60-1: "Independence Declared, Colonies Unanimous"
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p62-3: "Cornwallis Surrenders to Gen. Washington"
• How and Why Wonder Book of the Revolutionary War
• Landmark Book 4: Paul Revere and the Minute Men
• Landmark Book 33: The Winter at Valley Forge
• Landmark Book 47: Dolly Madison
• Landmark Book 66: Ethan Allen and the Green Mountain Boys
• Landmark Book 83: The American Revolution
• Landmark Book 90: The Swamp Fox of the Revolution
• Landmark Book W34: The Marquis de Lafayette: Bright Sword of Freedom

1781: Articles of Confederation Ratified [USA]

The Articles of Confederation are in effect from 1781 until 1789, when they were superceded by the U.S. Constitution. A compare-and-contrast of the two documents is very enlightening.

1788: British Penal Colony Botany Bay founded in Australia

• Landmark book W44: The Story of Australia

1789: U.S. Constitution takes effect, replacing the Articles of Confederation [USA]

Background must include a sequence on the constitutional convention. Note especially the Federalist vs. Anti-Federalist arguments and the agreement to include a bill of rights later. Some key items from the convention:

• Big vs. Small states
• Bill of Rights
• Slavery
• Alexander Hamilton proposes a lifetime presidency
• James Madison, Alexander Hamilton and John Jay write essays today known as Federalist Papers
• Patrick Henry vs. James Madison on whether Virginia will ratify

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p64-5: "Constitution Takes Effect After New Hampshire Signs"
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p68-9: "Bill of Rights Passed, Two Amendments Fail"
• Landmark Book 5: Our Independence and the Constitution
• Federalist Papers
• Anti-Federalist Papers

1789: The French Revolution Begins

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p66-7: "French Revolt Against King; Bastille Prison Falls to Mob"

1799: Napoleon Bonaparte stages a coup d'etat and becomes ruler of France

Two important outcomes of this are:

• The Napoleonic Wars (1804-1815)
• The Napoleonic Code of Law

Key battles are the Battles of Austerlitz, Trafalgar and Waterloo. Napoleon's failed invasion of Russia is historic.

1800: Snapshot London has a population of about 900,000. The world population is little under 1 billion. The court library in Dresden contains 170,000 books. http://www.j-bradford-delong.net/Teaching_Folder/Econ_210a_Fall97/population.html (citing Massimo Livi-Bacci, A Concise History of World Population) http://encarta.msn.com/encyclopedia_761564555_9/Library_(institution).html

1801-1815: U.S. Navy fights Barbary Wars [USA]

Amazingly enough, the U.S. tried paying tribute before going to war.

• Landmark Book 31: The Barbary Pirates
• Landmark book 51: Old Ironsides, the Fighting Constitution

1802: William Symington Demonstrates Practical Steamboat, the Charlotte Dundas

American histories tend to name Robert Fulton in 1807 as the first. They appear to be wrong.

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p75: "Fulton's Steamboat Proves Practical"

1803: Louisiana Purchase: United States "purchases"
1803: the Louisiana territory from France [USA]

Details to cover: how France "got" it (from Spain). How Spain "got" it. Why France wanted it in the first place and then no longer needed it (revolt on Haiti). Jefferson technically couldn't purchase it (no Constitutional authority).

• Lewis and Clark: A Prairie Dog for the President, by Shirley Raye Redmond (Step into Reading Level 3)
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p73-4: "$11 Million Paid France for Louisiana Territory"
• Landmark Book 15: The Lewis and Clark Expedition
• Landmark Book 24: The Louisiana Purchase

1804: Trevethick builds the first steam locomotive

In Britain. This locomotive is used on a tramway for an iron foundary.

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p72: "New Transportation Seen in Test of Steam Locomotive"

1807: London streets begin to be lit by gaslights [Technology]

Gaslights are cheap relative to the alternatives and gas lighting spreads to individual homes. This change is similar to that of the electric light bulb years later.

1812: U.S. and Great Britain fight "War of 1812" [U.S.]

• Landmark Book 19: The Pirate Lafitte and the Battle of New Orleans

1815: Napoleon Bonaparte finally defeated for good at the battle of Waterloo

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p76-7: "Napoleon Crushed at Waterloo"

1815: Eruption Indonisian Volcano of Tambora [Planet/Climate]

Tambora erupted, pumping into the atmosphere ten times the ash by the Krakatoa eruption. This led to "Year Without a Summer" in 1816. In the summer of 1816, New England and northern Europe saw both frost and snow.

1819: Simon Bolivar defeats Spanish at Boyar, becomes president of Columbia

• A Picture Book of Simon Bolivar
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p78-9: "Bolivar Triumph in Caracas: Spanish Power Broken"

~1820: World GDP growth accelerates from
~1820: about 0.1% annually to about 3.0% annually [Economic]

• Image from A Farewell to Alms: A Brief Economic History of the World, by Greg Clark

1824: U.S. Supreme Court rules that only Congress can regulate interstate commerce [US]

New York state had granted a monopoly on steamboat navigation of New York state waters to Robert Fulton and Robert Livingstone. After years of court cases, Thomas Gibbons (who was employing Cornelias Vanderbuilt at the time as a ship captain) won a unanimous ruling from the U.S. supreme court that this monopoly was illegal. This ruling was critical to U.S. economic development as it essentially created a free-trade zone spanning all the states.

John Steele Gordon has a wonderful description of this in "The Scarlet Woman of Wallstreet".

1825: Erie Canal completed [USA]

The completion of the Erie Canal drops the cost of transportation to and from New York city.

• Landmark book 34: The Erie Canal

~1830: Westward migration begins - American Indians pushed off their lands[USA]

We need to know about Kit Carson, Daniel Boone, Buffalo Bill, Wyatt Earp, Wild Bill Hickok.

• Landmark book 13: The Santa Fe Trail
• Landmark book 21: Daniel Boone and the Opening of the Wilderness Road
• Landmark book 25: Wild Bill Hickok Tames the West
• Landmark book 29: Trappers and Traders of the Far West

1830: Liverpool and Manchester Railway opens [Technology]

The Liverpool and Manchester Railway opens and the age or rail begins. Canal building essentially ceases soon after.

1831: Faraday Constructs Working Dynamo (Generator):
1831: Age of Electricity Begins [Technology]

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p81: "Faraday's Dynamo Makes Electric Current"

1834: Cyrus McCormick Reaper allows for settling of great plains [USA]

Also required the steel plow developed by John Deere two years earlier.

1836: Battle of the Alamo (and War of Texas independance) [USA]

• A Picture Book of Davy Crockett
• Ready-to-Read Book: Davy Crockett A Life on the Frontier
• Graphic Library: The Battle of the Alamo
• Landmark Book 32: Sam Houston, the Tallest Texan
• Landmark Book 57: Davy Crockett
• Landmark Book 72: The Texas Rangers
• Landmark Book 79: Remember the Alamo!

1837: Panic of 1837 [USA]

Among other things, the banking center of the US moves from Philadelphia to New York City as a result of this.

1838: Trail of Tears [U.S.]

In 1830, Congress passes the "Indian Removal Act", designed to move all American Indians west of the Mississippi river. In Georgia, where the Cherokee lived, the state government holds a lottery to distribute the Cherokee land to whites. The Cherokee resist and a U.S. supreme court ruling in Worcester v. Georgia holds that the Cherokee nation was sovereign and so its land can not be redistributed by a state government. For the Cherokee to lose their land, a treaty will need to be signed between the Cherokee government and the U.S. When negotiations with the Cherokee leadership go poorly, the U.S. government finds a group of Cherokee led by Major Ridge who are willing to sign a treaty agreeing to the removal. The U.S. senate ratifies the treaty (by one vote) even though it has been informed by the Cherokee leaders that the treaty has not been signed by Cherokee authorized to agree to the removal. Once the treaty is signed, the U.S. army forces the relocation of the Cherokee to Oklahoma. Along the way about 25% of the Cherokee die.

• Trail of Tears (Step into Reading level 5)

1839-1843: First Opium War

Opium wars: http://www.wsu.edu:8080/~dee/CHING/OPIUM.HTM

1844: Joint-Stock Companies Act passed in Britain

Special charters are no longer required to form limited liability companies in Britain.

1844: Samuel Morse sends the first electric telegram
1844: from Baltimore to Washington, D.C. [Technology]

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p82: "Morse Sends Message to Baltimore by Telegraph"
• The Victorian Internet

1846-1850: Irish Potato Famine

Population of Ireland drops from 8 million before the famine to about 5 million after it. About 1 million die, most of the rest of the drop is due to migration. The migration effects the U.S. (which received about 1,000,000) as well as stoking Irish nationalism.

http://www.historyplace.com/worldhistory/famine/america.htm

1846: Mormons begin migration to Utah[USA]

• Landmark Book 37: The Coming of the Mormons

1849: California Gold Rush Begins[USA]

• Landmark Book 6: The California Gold Rush
• http://www.isu.edu/~trinmich/home.html (was at PBS site)

1852: Massachusetts is the first state to both offer and require public education [USA]

Points to mention:

• Education was widely desired and available before this in the U.S.
• The U.S. was not first. "modern" public schools were founded in Gotha (Germany) in 1524.
• 1559 saw compulsory attendance in Wurremberg.
• Calvin set up compulsory attendance schools in Geneva.
• National education started with King Frederick William I of Prussia in 1717.
• American public schools were modelled on the Prussian system.
• Kindergarten started in 1840 in Germany (notice the name?) for the purpose of socializing children. St. Louis followed suit in 1873 in the U.S.
• Things did not always go smoothly -- in 1880 the Massachusetts militia was called out to force parents in Barnstable to send their children to the public schools.

http://www.sntp.net/education/school_state_3.htm
Separating School and State: How To Liberate American Families by Sheldon Richman

1853: Admiral Perry and his Black Ships open Japan to the outside world

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p88-89: "Perry Opens Japan to West, Starts New Era in Orient"

1854: Dr. John Snow removes the handle from the Broad Street pump

Helping to end a Cholera epidemic and demonstrating that unclean water posed serious public health risks. This led to one of the more important advances in public health. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/historic_figures/snow_john.shtml

1855: Henry Bessemer Patents his Bessemer Steel Process: Age of Steel Begins

The Bessemer steel process allowed for large quantities of inexpensive steel. Prior to this, wrought iron was used in place of steel for cost reasons. After the Bessemer steel process, steel was as cheap as wrought iron and thus much preferred.

Iterestingly, the Chinese has invented a similar process in the second century B.C., but did not pursue it to make large volumes of cheap steel.

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p86-7: "Bessemer Process Opens Steel Age"

1858: Charles Darwin and Alfred Russel Wallace introduce theory of evolution [Science]

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p91-2: "Darwin and Wallace Papers Stir Linnaean Society Over Evolution"

1860-1861: Pony Express [Trivia]

The Pony Express isn't actually very important. It ran for only 18 months before being obsoleted by telegraph lines that connected California to the rest of the country. It does, however, seem to show up in a lot of books and thus might be reasonable background knowledge.

• Landmark Book 7: The Pony Express

1861-1865: U.S. Civil War fought between North and South [USA]

• Abe Lincoln's Hat (Step into Reading Level 3)
• Escape North! The Story of Harriet Tubman (Step into Reading Level 4)
• A Picture Book of Sojourner Truth
• Ready-to-Read Book: Billy and the Rebel
• Read Book: From Slave to Soldier
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p94-5: "Negro Slavery Outlawed by Emancipation Edict"
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p96: "First Ironsides, Monitor, Merrimac, Fight to Draw"
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p97: "Housatonic Sunk in First Sub Attack"
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p98-9: "Lee Surrenders at Appomattox"
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p100-1: "Lincoln Dead From Assassin's Bullet"
• How and Why Wonder Book of the Civil War
• Landmark Book 8: Lee and Grant at Appomattox
• Landmark Book 16: The Monitor and the Merrimac
• Landmark Book 23: Gettysburg
• Landmark Book 44: Lincoln and Douglas: The Years of Decision
• Landmark Book 54: Robert E. Lee and the Road of Honor
• Landmark Book 61: Abe Lincoln: Log Cabin to White House
• Landmark Book 86: Stonewall Jackson
• Literature Cross Reference: Oh Captain! My Captain! by Walt Whitman
• Georgia Declaration of Secession
• Mississippi Declaration of Secession
• South Carolina Declaration of Secession
• Texas Declaration of Secession

1863: International Committee of the Red Cross Founded

Note: Clara Barton founded the American Red Cross in 1881. http://www.icrc.org/Web/eng/siteeng0.nsf/iwpList288/FAFDE5C21CBC5ACDC1256B66005B0E39

1864: Louis Pasteur (1822 - 1895) discovers pasteurization [People/Technology]

And lots of other things. A bio on Louis Pasteur is full of amazing accomplishments.

1865: Thirteenth Amendment Passed, Freeing Slaves in U.S. [USA]

Note that Lincoln's emancipation procolamation only freed slaves in the rebel states, not in Union slaveholding states (like ??).

1866: Transatlantic Cable Successfully Laid [Technology]

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p90: "Transatlantic Cable Joined; Queen Greets President"

1869: Transcontinental Railroad Completed [USA]

• Landmark Book 9: The Building of the First Transcontinental Railroad

1870?: Louis Pasteur develops a general technique for immunization [Technology]

Edward Jenner discovers in 1775 that cowpox can immunize against smallpox. His discovery is great, but not general. Louis Pasteur generalizes it.

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p70-1: "Jenner Prevents Smallpox with Cowpox Vaccination"

1871: Second German reich proclaimed under Wilhelm I [Europe]

Long discussion about German principalities, Prussia and Bismark are appropriate.

1876: First working telephone [Technology]

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p102: "Bell Invents Telephone"
• Landmark Book 30: Mr. Bell Invents the Telephone

1877: Compromise of 1877 [U.S.]

Republican and Democratic congressmen reach an agreement whereby Rutherford B. Hayes becomes president and Federal troops are withdrawn from the former confederate states. Reconstruction of the South essentially comes to an end and legalized discrimination (and illegal lynchings and other violence) take a large upturn. The South stays a Democratic stronghold for decades.

http://www.jimcrowhistory.org/history/creating2.htm

1879: Thomas Edison and Sir Joseph Wilson Swan 'invent' the light bulb

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p103: "Edison Perfects Incandescent Lamp"
• http://www.ideafinder.com/history/inventions/story074.htm

1885: Maxim Machine gun demonstrated to British Army [Technology]

Predecessors included the gatling gun. Successors are too many to mention.

1882: Robert Koch (1843 - 1910) formalizes Kosh's Postulates [People/Technology]

for proving a specific organism causes a specific disease

1885: Home Insurance Building in Chicago is the world's first skyscraper [Technology]

Note that a skyscraper is defined not by height, but by the fact that the building's walls do not carry the structural load. The structural load is carried instead by a steel frame. The frame allows for buildings to be quite high, but the height itself doesn't make a building a skyscraper.

1891: First Sears-Roebuck catalogue issued [U.S.]

Note that Montgomery Ward started doing mail order in 1872..

1892: Ellis Island immigration station opened [USA]

http://www.internationalchannel.com/education/ellis/

1892: Peak of Lynching in American — 230 for the year [U.S.]

According to the Tuskegee Institute figures, between the years 1882 and 1951, 4,730 people were lynched in the United States: 3,437 Negro and 1,293 white.³ The largest number of lynchings occurred in 1892. Of the 230 persons lynched that year, 161 were Negroes and sixty-nine whites.
^3. Guzman, Jessie P., ed., 1952 Negro Yearbook (New York, 1952), pp. 275-279.
This site has a good collection of extremely disturbing photos ...

http://www.yale.edu/ynhti/curriculum/units/1979/2/79.02.04.x.html#b
A fairly well documented lynching was in New Orleans in 1890 of 11 Italians.

Literature Cross Reference: The United States of Lyncherdom, by Mark Twain To Kill a Mockingbird

1897: Nikola Tesla patents radio communication [Technology]

In 1893, Nikola Tesla demonstrates wireless communication (radio) and then describes his discoveries in articles and lectures. In 1895, Marconi shows a radio in London. In 1897, Tesla applies for a U.S. patent (#645576) on radio communication (it is granted). In 1901, Marconi transmits radio over the Atlantic. In 1909, Marconi receives the Nobel Prize for wireless telegraphy. In 1943 the U.S. Supreme Court rules that Nikola Tesla must be considered the inventor of radio; it further rules that Marconi's 1904 patent has nothing new because of Telsa's earlier 1897 patent.

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p110: "Marconi Sends Wireless Message Across Atlantic"

1898: Spanish-American War [USA]

When this is over, the U.S. acquires Guam and Puerto Rico as territories, as well as control over the Philippines and Cuba. Did the need to get ships from the Pacific to Cuba cause the Panama Canal to be created?

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p107-8: "Maine Sunk at Havana; War With Spain Seen"
• Landmark Book 41: Teddy Roosevelt and the Rough Riders

1899-1902: Boer War

Included scorched earth policies, concentration camps (?). Since the Afrikaans are more aparteid oriented than the british descendents, this probably affected SA politics ...

1902: Georges Melies produces the 14 minute movie "A Trip to the Moon"

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p105: "Edison Unveils Moving Pictures"

~1902: William Haviland Carrier invents the air conditioner [USA]

The ability to keep buildings cool makes cities like Phoenix and Las Vegas much more habitable than they would be without air conditioning. Without air conditioning, the population distribution of the U.S. would be much different than it is today. Additionally, the air conditioner enabled much faster economic development of the South.

1903: US 'creates' Panama out of a part of Columbia

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p116: "Panama Canal Opened"
• Landmark Book 18: The Panama Canal

1903: Orville and Wilbur Wright fly an airplane [Technology]

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p111: "Wright Plane Flies"
• Landmark Book 10: The Wright Brothers

1908: Henry Ford introduces the Model T [Technology]

In October 1908, the Ford Motor Company introduces the Model T for $950. This is the first automobile that is inexpensive enough to be affordable by the masses. In 1927, production of the Model T ends, but only after 15 million have been produced.

There are several innovations here. The Model T was a reliable, inexpensive car. Henry Ford had the insight that selling many of them cheaply could make more money than selling fewer of them for more money each. Finally, with the Model T Henry Ford was able to move auto manufacturing away from a craft requiring highly skilled craftsmen to a low skilled job that could be done by anyone. This had huge implications for American society in the future.

• Eat My Dust! Henry Ford's First Race, by Monica Kulling (Step into Reading Level 3)
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p93: "Credit for Gas Engine Goes to Frenchman"
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p104: "Duryea's Horseless Car Springfield Sensation"

1911: Ch'ing Dynasty in China falls

Things to know:

• Sun Yat-sen
• Kuomintag (Chinese Nationalist Party or "Chung-kuo kuo-min-tang")
• Chiang Kai-shek
• Pu Yi (last emperor)
• Yuan Shikai
• Mao Zedong

1913: Sixteenth Amendment to U.S. Constitution
1913: allows for federal income tax [USA]

In 1895, the U.S. Supreme Court rules in Pollock v Farmer's Loan and Trust that federal income taxes are unconstitutional. In 1913, the U.S. Congress and 3/4 of the 48 states ratify the 16th amendment of the U.S. constitution (starting with Alabama in 1909 and reaching the necessary 3/4 with New Mexico in 1913), allowing for a federal tax on income (note that the question was never put to a popular vote ... one of the possible routes for modifying the U.S. constitution).

1913: Seventeenth Amendment to U.S. Constitution,
1913: Direct Election of Senators, Ratified [USA]

This amendment changed the balance of power between the states and the federal government. Originally, the Senate was composed of members appointed by the state government's that they were supposed to represent. After this amendment, Senators were directly elected by the populations of their states.

1914: Harrison Narcotics Act passes [USA]

Prior to this law, drugs like morphine, heroin and opium were legal in the United States. After this law passed, they were not.

http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/Library/studies/cu/cu8.html

1914-1918: World War I devestates Europe [Europe]

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p117-8: "Archduke Shot at Sarajevo; European Armies Mobilize"
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p121-2: "Allies Dictate Versailles Peace Pact; World War Ends"
• How and Why Wonder Book of World War I
• Landmark Book 77: America's First World War: General Pershing
• Landmark Book W60: The Flying Aces of World War I

1915: Albert Einstein formulates General Theory of Relavitivity

And special relativity earlier. General Theory implies atomic energy and atomic weapons. General Theory is more correct than Newtonian physics, too.

• Ready-to-Read Book: Albert Einstein Genius of the Twentieth Century
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p112: "Einstein Theory Baffles Scientists"

1917: Communists overthrow Kerensky led provisional democratic Russian government

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p84: "Manifesto of Marx and Engles Launches Communist Movement"
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p119-120: "Bolshevik Revolt in Russia: Lenin Seizes Petrograd"

1918-1919: Influenza Pandemic kills 20-40 million [Civilization]

In late 1918, an influenza (common flu!) epidemic broke out. When it was over, 20-40 million people were dead, including about 675,000 Americans. Spain was especially hard hit.

http://www.stanford.edu/group/virus/uda/

1919: Chicago Race Riot [USA]

Not special itself, but one example (and a not very well known one at that) of a long line of race riots that consume U.S. cities over the years. Watts (1965 and 1992) are more recent examples. Tulsa 1921 is another. For most of US history, race riots were primarily white-on-black violence.

1967	Newark
1967	Detroit
1992	Los Angeles
1965	Watts
1919	Chicago
1921	Tulsa

http://www.thenorthstarnetwork.com/news/othernews/181547-1.html
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Race_riot

1920: 19th Amendment Ratified. Women given the right to vote [USA]

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p123-4: "Women Get Vote, 19th Amendment In"

1920s: Great Chain Store Boom [USA]

Chains of retail stores are not new, but the 1920s sees a huge increase in their numbers. By 1929 about 7,000 separate chains operate almost 160,000 stores in the US [note to self -- try to find number for 1920]. Almost 30% of US retail sales are made by chain stores by the end of the 1920s.
Source: The History of American Business and Industry, p244

1923: Great Kanto Earthquake hits Tokyo, Japan, killing almost 200,000 [Asia]

On September 1, 1923 a magnitude 8.3 earthquake hits Tokyo, killing over 100,000.

1925: Middle of Prohibition: Al Capone rules Chicago [USA]

This is of interest because in essence, Al Capone rules Chicago with no effective interference from any legal authority.

Also worth mentioning is the Mafia.

Also worth mentioning is how/if prohibition effected drinking in the USA.

1929: Great Crash on Wallstreet and beginning of Great Depression [Civilization]

Note that the two events are contemperaneous, but the crash almost certainly did not *cause* the great depression. Elaboration to follow.

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p128-9: "Stocks Crash in Wall Street's Worst Day"
• Crash

1933: President Roosevelt's New Deal Announced [USA]

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p130-1: "Norris Dam Ready: World Eyes TVA Plan"

1934: First United States firearms control law passed [USA]

Rather than ban outright the purchase of machine guns and sawed-off shotguns-the weapons of choice for the mobsters-Congress in 1934 simply imposed a tax those weapons. Paying the tax required registering the weapon. The registration requirement was intended to discourage ownership of such weapons without outlawing them. No self-respecting gangster would want to register, much less pay the tax, on his Tommygun. Their evasion of the tax gave the government another legal tool to use in arresting the gangsters and breaking up the mobs.

http://www.druglibrary.org/schaffer/GOVPUBS/guns1.htm

1936-1939: Spanish Civil War

Does this belong here? Is it important enough? Dara thinks so because of art (Picasso) and Franco is kinda important. Note that American's did fight here (Abraham Lincoln Brigade). Hemingway?

1939: World War II Begins as Germany invades Poland [Civilization]

The largest war in world history is fought, largely between 1939 and 1945 although Japan had invaded China earlier. The war was largely fought in Asia and Europe, although north Africa was also a theater. Additionally, the United States entered the war in late 1941 and fought inthe Asian, north African, and European theaters.

By the end of the war, roughly 50,000,000 people had died because of the war. Germany suffered approximately 3,500,000 military deaths and approximately 2,000,000 more civilian deaths out of a population of 78 million. It is, however, important to realize that a large number of the civilian deaths were caused by the Nazi government in concentration camps and would have occurred even without the war. Russia lost, incredibly, almost 30,000,000 people out of a population of slightly less than 200 million. China suffered about 10,000,000 deaths of which about 90% were civilian. Poland lost about 2,500,000 dead, almost all of which were civilian and almost all of which were killed in concentration camps (with, it must be added, largely the acquiescence of the Polish population). Japan suffered about 2,000,000 casualties out of a population of about 72,000,000. In comparison, the United States lost about 300,000 dead with almost no civilian casualties out of a population of about 130 million.

The war resulted in huge changes to the world's political makeup. England eventually lost its colonies, including Palestine and India in 1948. The Soviet Union occupied eastern Europe and the resulting United States - Soviet Union standoff defined the cold war until 1989. The United States finished the war with the only large intact economy and dominated the world economically well into the 1960s. The murder of 6,000,000 Jews in the holocaust gave moral impetus to the creation of the Jewish state of Israel in 1948.

• Ready-to-Read Book: Pearl Harbor
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p132-3: "Nazis Invade Poland; Allies Declare War"
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p135-6: "Japan Attacks Pearl Harbor; U.S. Declares War on Axis"
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p137-8: "D-Day: Allies Storm Beaches of Normandy"
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p139-140: "United Nations Charter Signed"
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p141-2: "A-Bomb Shatters Hiroshima"
• History's 100 Greatest Events, p143: "India Wins Independence: Colonial Era Closes"
• Battlefield Britain: Episode 8 - Battle of Britain (1940 AD)
• How and Why Wonder Book of World War II
• Landmark Book 35: Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo
• Landmark Book 55: Guadalcanal Diary
• Landmark Book 62: The Story of D-Day: June 6, 1944
• Landmark Book 87: The Battle for the Atlantic
• Landmark Book 94: From Pearl Harbor To Okinawa
• Landmark Book 96: Great American Fighter Pilots of World War II
• Landmark Book 99: John F. Kennedy and PT 109
• Landmark Book 103: The Seabees of World War II
• Landmark Book 105: The Flying Tigers
• Landmark Book 106: The U.S. Frogmen of World War II
• Landmark Book 112: From Casablanca to Berlin
• Landmark Book 114: The Battle of the Bulge
• Landmark Book 116: Combat Nurses of World War II
• Landmark Book 118: The Battle for Iwo Jima
• Landmark Book 119: Midway, Battle for the Pacific
• Landmark Book 120: Medical Corps Heroes of World War II
• Landmark Book W10: The Battle of Britain
• Landmark Book W47: The Rise and Fall of Adolf Hitler
• Landmark Book W51: The Sinking of the Bismarck
• Landmark Book W61: The Commandos of World War II
• Target Switzerland: Swiss Armed Neutrality in World War II
• 199 Days the Battle for Stalingrad
• Day Of Deceit: The Truth About FDR and Pearl Harbor
• Rape of Nanking
• http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstat1.htm#Second
• Battle of Britain movie.
• Nuit et brouillard

1940: Florey and Chain develop useful Penicillin based on Fleming's 1928 discovery

Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin in 1928, experiments with it, and writes up a scientific paper in 1929. The paper is mostly ignored and Fleming doesn't know how to proceed with making a useful antibiotic from his finding.

In 1940, with World War II in full swing, Howard Florey and Ernst Chain use Fleming's work to produce useful antibiotic drugs. In 1945, all three are awarded the Nobel Prize for their work.

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p127: "Wonder Drug Penicillin Quick Cure for Infections"

1941: First Commercial Television Broadcast [Technology]

July 1, 1941 by WNBT.

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p134: "Commercial Television Programs Inaugurated"

1943: ENIAC, World's first electronic digital computer completed [Technology]

• 1939: Atanasoff Berry Computer
• 1941: Z3, constructed by Konrad Zuse, is doing useful work in Germany. The Z3 was programmable, but the programs were fed in on punched movie film (paper was in short supply in Germany during World War II).

  The Z3 had 64 words of memory, each word being 22 bits.

• 1943: ENIAC
• 1944: Colosus
• 1944: Harvard Mark I

1947: India Achieves Independence

And things are botched just like they are with Palestine. India and Pakistan fight three wars over the next 50 years for the disputed Kashmir.

• Amar Chitra Katha: Jawaharlal Nehru

1948: Modern State of Israel Founded

On May 14th, David Ben Gurion declares the founding of the State of Israel. On the 15th, Israel is attacked by Egypt, Syria, Jordan, Iraq, Saudi Arabia and Lebanon. Many Palestinian's flee in the weeks leading up to the war and during the war itself. This is encouraged by the Arab leaders. These people are the first Palestinian refugees.

The result of the war was that Israel finished with slightly more territory than it had been granted by the U.N. mandate, and that most of the territory set aside for a Palestinian state had been conquered by Egypt and Jordan.

Aftermath

Emphasis here is on wars between Israel and its neighbors and the Israeli nuclear weapons program.

• 1956: Suez Crisis
• 1964: Israeli Nuclear Reactor in Dimona (purchased from the French) functional
• 1964: PLO founded as umbrella organization for already existing Palestinian groups.
• 1967: Israeli Airforce fighter shot down for violating Dimona airspace.
• 1967: 6 Days War
  • This also included the USS Liberty Incident
• 1968: CIA reports that Israel has successfully begun producing nuclear weapons
• 1970: Jordan expells PLO, killing 5,000 to 10,000 Palestinians.
• 1972: PLO murders Israeli athletes at Munich Olympics.
• 1973: Yom Kippur War.
  At the time of the war, Israel is believed to have approximately 20 nuclear bombs. It is believed that nuclear weapon equipped Jericho missiles were armed and nuclear weapon equipped F-4 fighters were deployed during the first few days of the war.
• 1979: Egyptian-Israeli Peace
• 1979: Suspected nuclear explosion in southern Indian Ocean believed to be joint Israeli-South African test.
• 1981: Israeli airforce destroys Iraqi reactor at Osiraq before it was activated.
• 1982: Lebannon War
• 1988: Israel launches its first reconnaissance satellite.

Should Recognize

David Ben Gurion

Golda Meir

Moshe Dayan

1948: Harry S. Truman desegregates federal workforce [USA]

On July 26, 1948 by Harry S. Truman signs executive order 9980 (executive order 9981, signed on the same day, ordered the armed forces to desegregate "immediately"). Notice that he does this less than four months before the 1948 presidential election.

1948-1949: Berlin Airlift — Cold War Begins

Don't forget to mention the candy drops :-)

1949: Communists defeat Nationalists for control of Mainland China

In 1949, the Kuomintang are finally defeated following decades of civil war (interrupted by Japan invading China). Mao, chairman of the Chinese communist party since 1935, becomes the the leader of communist China.

Two key humanitarian disasters eventually follow:

• 1958-1960: The Great Leap Forward
  
• 1966-1976: The Cultural Revolution
  

1950-1953: Korean War Fought

• History's 100 Greatest Events, p145-6: "U.N. Votes to Fight Korean Aggression"

1954: Brown vs. Board of Education [USA]

It is easy to imagine that Brown vs. Board of Education was largely targeted at Southern schools. Much of the rest of the country had (or had recently) racially segregated schools, too. California, for example, had segregated its public schools in 1869 and 1870.

The California court case Mendez v. Westminster (1947) was similar to Brown vs. Board of Education at the California level.

• Brown vs. Board of Education: A Southern California Perspective

1958: Bank of America sends out the first 60,000 BankAmericards

Bank of America kicks off the use of all-purpose credit cards by mailing out 60,000 BankAmericards (the predecessor to Visa).

1963: Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. delivers his "I have a Dream" Speech [USA]

About 200,000 people participate in a "March on Washington". At the Lincoln Memorial, Martin Luther King gives his "I have a Dream" speech.

1964: Civil Rights Act Enacted [USA]

1968: World Goes Berserk with Riots

These include riots at the U.S. Democratic Party Nominating Convention, students rioting in Paris, Watts, California being burned down, the Soviet Union crushing a rebellion on Czechoslovakia, Tet Offensive in Vietnam, ...

1969: Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin land on the moon [Civilization/Technology]

On 21-July, Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin land on the moon. They successfully walk on the moon and then return to Earth.

• Race into Space (Step into Reading level 4)
• Moonwalk (Step into Reading level 5)

~1978: First of about 2,000,000 Boat People flee Vietnam

Discussion of re-education camps, new economic zones, casualty rates (high), piracy, education rates (low), and behavior of countries where they landed (not good for the boat people).

1990: Tim Berners-Lee invents the World Wide Web [Technology]

The World Wide Web introduces a fundamental change in how people can learn about things. The telegraph allowed for news to be broadcast across a continent (or the planet) immediately. Combined with newspapers, people would find out about important information a day or so after the event. Radio and television news programs sped things up a bit more. However, because all of the earlier media had limits on the amount of information they could broadcast or print, the editors still had a lot of control over what people would find out when. The WWW changes this ... people now can track the information they want instead of what the editors decide is important.

As an example ... on election night, it has been possible to follow the large races (president, local senator or representative) via the radio for quite a while. The WWW allows one to follow whichever races are desired (local dogcatcher, local initiatives, races in other states, etc.). This fundamental change in who filters the information is allowed by the WWW.

Sep 11, 2001: Hijacked Airliners are flown into the World Trade Center [USA]

• The 9/11 Report: A Graphic Adaptation, by Sid Jacobson and Ernie Colon [ISBN: 0809057395]