Cultural Literacy Timeline

Magna Carta

Jan 1, 1279

• Required King John of England to proclaim certain rights (of the freeman), respect certain legal procedures and accept that hiswill could be bound by the law

- Magna Carta is the most significant early influence that led to the constiutional law

Mehmed II (Mehmet II) takes Constantinople

Jan 1, 1453

- He conquered Constantinople brining the Byzantine Empire to an end

Columbus sailing across the Atlantic

Jan 1, 1492

• His sailing led to the European awareness of the American continents in the Western Hemisphere

Landing of the Mayflower

Dec 21, 1620

• Landed on a place in Massachussets which the pilgrims called New Plymouth
• The voyage took over 6 weeks
• When it landed the pilgrims met up with the Native Americans

Car invented

Jan 1, 1687

• The first cars didn't go fast at all
• The first car was also the first steam engine car made by Nicolas Cugnot and help from other people

English Bill of Rights

Dec 1, 1689

-In other words it is an Act Declaring the Rights and Liberties of the Subject and Settling the Succession of the Crown
-Itis still in effect now

Declaration of Independence for the United States

Jul 4, 1776

-It announced that the thirteen American colonies which were art war with Great Britain were now independent states and are not part of the British Empire
- It was written mostly by Thomas Jefferson

Ratification of the US Constitution

Sep 17, 1787

• The supreme law of the United States
• The foundation and legal source of authority -Defines the three branches of government (Legislative, Judicial and Executive)

Start of French Revolution

May 1, 1789

• went from 1789-1799

- A period of radical social and political upheaval in French and European history

Napoleon defeated at Battle of Waterloo

Jun 18, 1815

• Napoleon was defeated by the Duke of Wellington combined with the Prussian army -This battle put an end to Napoleon's rule as emperor

US Civil War

May 18, 1861

• Went from 1861-1865

- One of the earliest true industrial wars in human history

Napoleon Declared Emperor

Aug 15, 1865

- He was a military and political leader of France and Emperor of the French

Re-Unification of Germany

May 1, 1871

• was the process in which the German Democratic Republic joined the Federal Republic of Germany and Berlin was united into a single city
• East Germany and West Germany came together to form the now present Germany

Bolshevik Revolution

Jan 1, 1903

• 1903- 1912
• they were a faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labor Party which split apart from the Menshevik faction
• They became the Communist Party of the Soviet Union
• The Bolsheviks came to power in Russia during the October Revolution

Man's first powered flight (airplane)

Dec 17, 1903

• The Wright brothers were the first to make a successful airplane
• Two years later the brothers developed a flying machine

Mexican Revolution

May 20, 1910

• Major armed struggle
• The Revolution changed from a revolt against the established order to a multi-sided civil war

China: Republican Revolution (end of Emperor)

Jan 1, 1912

- Sun Yat-Sen started the revolution to end the Qing Dynasty

World War I

Jan 1, 1914

• From 1914-1918
• June 28, 1914 was when Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria was assasinated
• That was thought to be the main cause of the war
• The US entered the war in 1917
• the armistice is the agreement between the Germans and the Allies to end the war on November 11, 1918.

World War II

Sep 1, 1939

• 1939-1945
• it was the most widespread war in history, with more than 100 million military personnel in it
• Began with the invasion of Poland by Nazi Germany on September 1, 1939 -The Japanese attacked on the U.S. Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on December 7, 1941
• Germany surrendered to the Soviets on May 8, 1945
• Early August US dropped bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki
• Japan surrendered September 2, 1945

Churchill delivers "Iron Curtain" speech in Fulton, MO at Westminster College

Jan 1, 1945

• Churchill's speech is considered one of the opening volleys announcing the beginning of the Cold War.

- He began by praising the United States, which he declared stood "at the pinnacle of world power."

Berlin Airlift

Jun 27, 1948

• 1948-1949
• The airlift was to carry supplies to the people in West Berlin
• The success of the Berlin Airlift brought humiliation to the Russians who had refused to believe in its capability in making a difference
• The blockade was lifted resulting in two seperate German states

Communist's takeover China

Oct 1, 1949

• Mao Zedong proclaimed the birth of the People's Republic of China

- When Mao and the Communists took over China in 1949 the country was in terrible shape

Korean War

Jun 25, 1950

• 1950-1953

- A military conflict between the Republic of Korea and the Democratic People's Republic of Korea and People's Republic of China

Vietnam War

Nov 1, 1955

• 1955-1975
• The Tet-Offensive was a military campaign during the Vietnam War that began on January 31, 1968 -The purpose of the offensive was to strike military and civilian command and control centers throughout South Vietnam and cause uprising of the people
• Last american troop left Vietnam in 1973

Berlin Wall constructed

May 20, 1961

-1961-1989

Cuban Missile Crisis

Oct 1, 1962

• Between Cuba and the United states
• Cuba was going to send a missle towards the U.S.
• The U.S. then was going to attack Cuba, Cuba found out and killed everyone who went to Cuba from the U.S. who were going to attack them

Kennedy assassinated

Nov 22, 1963

• Kennedy was shot in Texas riding with his wife in a Presidential car.

- Lee Harvey Oswald was the assasign who was murdered by Jack Ruby

Man walks on the moon

Jul 20, 1969

• Neil Armstrong commanded Apollo 11
• He was the first man to land on the Moon and he spent 2 1/2 hours on it

Woodstock

Aug 15, 1969

• August 15-17, 1969 in Bethel, New York
• 3 Days of Peace & Music
• regarded as one of the greatest and most pivotal moments in popular music history

Watergate scandal

Jun 17, 1972

• Effects of the scandal ultimately led to the resignation of the United States President Richard Nixon

- President Nixon's staff broke into the Watergate Complex in orders of the president

Tiananmen Square Protest

Apr 14, 1989

• Most people know it as the Tiananmen Square massacre
• It was a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing
• The protests were sparked by the death of a pro-democracy and anti-corruption official, Hu Yaobang,

End of Apartheid and Nelson Mandela's Release

Feb 11, 1990

• President of South Africa from 1994-1999

- He was held in Prison for 27 years because the South African Courts convicted him of Sabotage and other crimes while he led the movement against apartheid

USSR ends (communist control ends in Russia)

May 20, 1991

- 1922- 1991