Important Events in the 20th Century

  • Invention of the Power Loom

  • Period: to

    Industrial Revolution

    The first Industrial Revolution showed vast improvements in agricultural work, railroads, cotton mills, and in the coal/iron industry.
  • Invention of the Spinning Jenny

  • Invention of the Steam Locomotive

  • Period: to

    Romanticism

    Romanticism was a reaction to the enlightenment. It was a kind of revolt against the scientific rationalization of nature caused by the industrial revolution.
  • Congress of Vienna

    The Congress of Vienna, led by Prince Klemens von Matternich was an alliance based on the Principle of Intervention. The members would stay loyal to eahc other and keep each other in power and make sure that no Napolean-like figure arose again.
  • Napoleon Exiled

    After being defeated at Waterloo, Napoleon was exiled to St. Helena.
  • Period: to

    The Second Industrial Revolution

    The second industrial revolution was a technological revolution, and demonstrated the switch from an agriculture based economy, to an economy based on mass production, electricity, and production lines.
  • Communist Manifesto

    The Communist Manifesto was a declaration of communism writte nby Karl Marx and Freidrich Engles, comissioned by the Comunist Party.
  • England has Worl'd Largest Econonmy

    At this time, England produces over half the worlds coal and manufactored goods.
  • King Mongkut

    King Monkut was the king of Siam and opened the country to Western influence and modern development.
  • Sepoy Rebellion

    The Sepoy Indians were hired as a conscription army by the British East India Company. Ghandi described the British position as a "subtle display of force" and a "deprivation of a self-defense system" The British squash the Sepoy rebellion.
  • Otto von Bismarck

    Otto von Bismarck was crowned 'kaiser' (king) and ruled Germany with a realist mindset.
  • Period: to

    American Civil War

    The Civil War was fought between the North/Union and the South/Confederates.
  • Alaskan Purchase

    In 1867 the US purcahsed Alaska from Russia.
  • The Transcontinetal Railroad

    In 1869 the first transcontinental railroad was completed in the US.
  • Period: to

    The Philippine War

    The Philippine War was caused by yellow press, and the US' interest in Cuba. We fought Spain for Cuba and eventually won it along with Guam, Peurto Rico, and the Philippines. The Philippines, lead by Emilio Aquinarde revolted against the US. The US, after enduring "the White Man's Burden" of Americanizing the Philippines release it.
  • Bloody Sunday

    Bloody Sunday was the name for the day when unarmed protestors delivering a petition to Czar Nicholas II were shot the Imperial Guard.
  • Triple Entente

    The Triple Entente consisted of Russia, France, and the United Kingdom.
  • Central Powers

    The Central Powers consisted of Germany, Austria-Hungary, Turkish Ottoman Empire, Bulgaria, and Romania.
  • Period: to

    World War I

    The first world war began at the murder of the archduke Francis Ferdinand, heir to Austira's throne.
  • Death of Rasputin

    Rasputain, an ex-monk and advisor to Czar Nicholas II's wife Alexandra was killed by the royal family, first by arsenic, then by bullets, and finally by being bound and drowned.
  • Russian Revolution

    The Russian Revolution, also known the Communist Revolution, was an umbrella term for a series of revolutions against the communist government in Russia in 1917 which lead to Lenin's rule.
  • February Revolution

    The February Revolution was the Bolshevik takeover of Russia, lead by Lenin and aided by Germany. "Peace, Land, Bread"
  • Octorber Revolution

    Under the NEP, for equal distribution of wealth, of new leader Lenin, the country falls into a great famine. Likewise, under Stalin's more communist rule, after Lenin's death, the country once again becomes hungry.
  • Trial of Mahatma Ghandi

    The Trial of Mahatma Ghandi led to his imprisonment for treason, and inspired the Nation of India against the United Kingdom.
  • Benito Mussolini

    In 1922 Mussolini demanded complete control of Italy and began his faschist government after it was given to him.
  • Beer Hall Putsch

    The Beer Hall Putsch was the failed attempt by Hitler to take over the German Parliment which led to his incarceration. During his six-year sentence, he wrote Mein Kampf.
  • The Salt March

    The Salt March was a peaceful protest led by Ghandi.
  • Period: to

    The Long March

    The Long March was a series of marches by the Communist Army of China lead by Mao Zedong.
  • League of Nations

    The League of Nations was created by Woodrow Wilson as a result of WW1, to diarm and protect democracy.
  • Kristallnacht

    Kristallnacht was an anti-Semetic attack led by the Nazis. 'The Night of Broken Glass'
  • Period: to

    World War II

    The Secod World War began when the Germans decided to attack Poland.
  • Leon Trotsky Killed

    Fifteen years after opposing Stalin Leon Trotsky is killed while working at his desk.
  • D-Day

    D-Day was the day the Allies landed in Europe to liberate it from the Nazis.
  • Period: to

    The Pentagon Papers

    The Pentagon Papers are a history of the US' involvment in Vietnam, later revealed in the NY TImes.
  • Ho Chi Minh

    Communist Ho Chi Minh declared independence from France for Vietnam.
  • Period: to

    The Iron Curtain

    The Iron Curtain was the idealogical manifestation of the Berlin War, which separated East and West Berlin. It formally ended when the wall was knocked down and the German Reunification took place in 1990.
  • Yalta Conference

    The Yalta Conference was the meeting of Stalin, Churchhill, and Roosevelt to discuss the state of nations after WW2.
  • The United Nations

    The UN is an intergovernmental peacekeeping organization and a descendant of the League of Nations.
  • Period: to

    The Cold War

    The Cold War was exactly a war. It was a more a long state of mistrust between the nations, peppered with small wars and battles fought between Korea and Vietnam and communist revolutions in countries like Mongolia and Cambodia.
  • Truman Doctrine

    The Truman Doctrine was the US foreign policy set forth by President Truman that outlined how the United States' would react to communism.
  • Partition of India

    The Partition of India was the relinquishment of India by the united Kingdom, caused, in large part, by Mahatma Ghandi. The Partition lead to the creation of Pakistan and India.
  • Marshall Plan

    The Marshall Plan was the US iniative to aid Europe after WW2.
  • Period: to

    Korean War

    The Korean War, part of the Cold War, was a war between the United Nations and Korea.
  • Diem Bien Phu

    The Battle of Diem Bien Phu started with a sneak attack by the Vienamese on the French who were trying to cut of Vietnam's ties to other communist countries
  • Period: to

    Diem Bien Phu

    The Battle of Diem Bien Phu started with the sneak attack by Vietnamese on the French who were trying to cut Vietnamese ties to other communist countries.
  • John F. Kennedy Killed

    While in a motorcade in Dallas, president Kennedy was shot by Lee Harvey Oswald.
  • Gulf of Tonkin

    The Gulf of Tonkin Incident was the fabricated claim by the US that Vietnamese ships opened fire on American ships.
  • Mai Lai Massacre

    The Mai Lai Massacre was the murder of 300-500 Vietnamese civilians commited by US soldiers. Only William Calley Jr was convicted.
  • Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. Killed

    The Civil Rights activist was assassinated by a sniped while standing on the balcony of his hotel room.
  • First Man on the Moon

    Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin help the US advance in the Space Race against Russia.
  • Kent State

    The Kent State Shootings were comitted by the Nation Guard who opened fire on a group of peaceful protesters at Kent State University, killing four people, and injuring nine.
  • Period: to

    Mikhail Gorbachev

    Mikhail Gorbachev came into office in Russia after a campaign promising openness and resurrection.
  • Tiananmen Square

    What started as peaceful protest turned into a country-wide taboo, and the death of Hu Yaobang.