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First Airplane
The Wright Brothers made four flights with their first ever powered aircraft at Kitty Hawk. This is important because it enabled people to travel to places that were impossible to visit by other transport. -
Battle of Tsushima
The commander of the Japanese Combined Fleet, Admiral Heihachiro Togo, led his fleet into battle with the Russian Baltic Fleet. The battle lasted two days, and Togo emerged victorious. -
Start of World War I
The First World War was centered in Europe and killed more than 16 million soldiers and civilians altogether. It was the first global war that historians believe was triggered by many factors and rivalries, but ultimately by the death of Archduke Franz Ferdinand. World War I ended on 11 November 1918. -
Shanghai Massacre
Chiang Kai Shek's military forces brutally and violently suppressed Shanghai Communist Party organizations. This awakened a full-scale purge of communists later on by some members of the Kuomintang (a Shanghai gang). -
The First Concentration Camp Established
Dachau, the first concentration camp, was established in 1933 in a German town by the same name. After the first year, Dachau already held up to 4800 registered prisoners. While some died, most were released after serving their sentences. -
World War II
The Second World War was a global war that started on 1st September 1939 and ended on the 2nd September, 1945. Adolf Hitler invaded Poland from the west on the very first day, which caused France and Britain to declare war on Germany, which is how the Second World War began. -
Hiroshima Bombing
At the end of World War II, the U.S. dropped atomic bombs onto Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan, killing 90,000 to 146,000 in Hiroshima and 39,000 to 80,000 in Nagasaki within the first two to four months. The Americans decided to do this most likely because they wanted to stop the war while simultaneously seeing what effect the new technology used in making the bomb would have on masses. -
Freedom Riders Challenge Segregation on Interstate Buses
The first Freedom Ride left Washington D.C. on 4th of May to challenge the law of segregation between black passengers and white passengers while travelling on an interstate bus. This was in an effort to pass this law and promote racial equality. -
JFK Assassination
John F. Kennedy, the 35th president of the US, was assassinated in Texas on 22nd of November, 1963. -
End of the Vietnam War
The War in Vietnam ended on 30th April 1975 with North Vietnam achieving most of their goals while the United States did not, however, who won the Vietnam War is up for debate. About 3.1 million Vietnamese soldiers and civilians were killed, while 58,220 U.S. soldiers died during the batlle. -
Tiananmen Square Protests
Hundreds and thousands of university students and unarmed civilians in Beijing who marched into Tiananmen Square to protest for democracy were killed by troops with tanks and assault rifles. The death of Hu Yaobang was the main trigger for the protests. -
Nelson Mandela is Released
After having been in prison for 27 years, Nelson Mandela (the leader of the movement to end South African apartheid) was released. He was imprisoned by the South African apartheid government for standing up to the racism and abuses of human rights against black South Africans conducted by the government. In 1994, Mandela continued to fight for his cause of abolishing apartheid against South Africans. -
Asian Financial Crisis
A period (beginning in July, 1997) of financial crisis affected East Asia and 'raised fear of a worldwide economic meltdown due to financial contagion'.
