20th Century History Timeline

(19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries)

The twentieth century was remarkable due to the technological, medical, social, ideological, and international innovations, and due to the rise of war, genocide, and democide on an unprecedented scale. Virtually every aspect of life in virtually every human society had changed in some fundamental way by the end of the twentieth century.

Important developments, events and achievements

Science and Technology

The assembly line and mass production of motor vehicles and other goods allowed manufacturers to produce more and cheaper products. This allowed the automobile to become the most important mean of transportation.
The invention of heavier-than-air flying machines and the jet engine allowed for the world to become "smaller". Space flight increased knowledge of the rest of the universe and allowed for global real-time communications via geosynchronous satellites.
Radio, television and later, the computer, especially through the Internet, provided the consumer with many opportunities to obtain news, information and entertainment.
The development of Nitrogen fertilizer, pesticides and herbicides resulted in significantly higher agricultural yield.
Advances in fundamental physics through the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics lead to the development of nuclear weapons, nuclear energy, and the laser.
The big bang model of cosmology was developed.
Inventions such as the washing machine and air conditioning led to an increase in both the quantity and quality of leisure time for the middle class in Western societies.

Wars and Politics

Rising nationalism and increasing national awareness were among the causes of World War I, the first of two wars to involve all the major world powers including Germany, France, Italy, the United States and the British Commonwealth. World War I led to the creation of many new countries, especially in Eastern Europe.
The economic and political aftermath of World War I led to the rise of Fascism and Nazism in Europe, and shortly to World War II. This war also involved Asia and the Pacific, in the form of Japanese aggression against China and the United States. While the First World War mainly cost lives among soldiers, civilians suffered greatly in the Second -- from the bombing of cities on both sides,and in the unprecedented German genocide of the Jews and others, known as the Holocaust.
Unhappiness in Russia led to the rise of Communism and the Russian Revolution. After the Soviet Union's involvement in World War II, Communism became a major force in global politics, spreading all over the world: notably, to Eastern Europe, China, Indochina and Cuba. This led to the Cold War with the western world, led by the United States.
The "fall of Communism" in the late 1980s left the United States as the world's only superpower. It also led to the dissolution of the Soviet Union and Yugoslavia into successor states, many rife with ethnic nationalism.
Through the League of Nations and, after World War II, the United Nations, international cooperation increased. Other efforts included the formation of the European Union, leading to a common currency in much of Western Europe, the euro.
The end of colonialism led to the independence of many African and Asian countries. During the Cold War, many of these aligned with the USA, the USSR, or China for defense.
The creation of Israel, a Jewish state in a mostly Arab region of the world, fueled many conflicts in the region, which were also influenced by the vast oil fields in many of the Arab countries.

Five overall worst attrocities of the 20th century:

World War II and regime of Adolph Hitler (1937-1945), over 50 million dead.
Regime of Mao Tse-Tung and Chinese famine (1949-1976), over 48 million dead.
Regime of Joseph Stalin (1924-1953), over 20 million dead.
World War I (1914-1918), over 15 million dead.
Russian Civil War (1918-1921), over 8.5 million dead.

Culture and Entertainment

Movies, music and the media had a major influence on fashion and trends in all aspects of life. As many movies and music originate from the United States, American culture spreads rapidly over the world.
After gaining political rights in the United States and much of Europe in the first part of the century, women became more independent throughout the century.
Modern art developed new styles such as expressionism, cubism, and surrealism.
The automobile provided vastly increased transportation capabilities for the average member of Western societies in the early to mid-century, spreading even further later on. City design throughout most of the West became focused on transport via car. The car became a leading symbol of modern society, with styles of car suited to and symbolic of particular lifestyles.
Sports became an important part of society, becoming an activity not only for the privileged. Watching sports, later also on television, became a popular activity.

Highest grossing films of the 20th century:

Titanic (1998)
Star Wars (1977)
Star Wars: Episode I - The Phantom Menace (1999)
E.T.: The Extra-Terrestrial (1982)
Jurassic Park (1993)

Most critically acclaimed films:

Longest running television programs:

Gunsmoke (1955-1975)
Sesame Street (1969- )
Law and Order (1989- )
The Simpsons (1989- )

Disease and Medicine

Though modern medicine is better than ever, an influenza pandemic kills 25 million in 1918, while AIDS, killing many, especially in developing countries, remains uncurable.
Advances in medicine, such as the invention of antibiotics, decreased the number of people dying from diseases. Contraceptive drugs and organ transplantation were developed. The discovery of DNA molecules and the advent of molecular biology allowed for cloning and genetic engineering.

Natural Resources and the Environment

The widespread use of petroleum in industry -- both as a chemical precursor to plastics and as a fuel for the automobile and airplane -- led to the vital geopolitical importance of petroleum resources. The Middle East, home to many of the world's oil deposits, became a center of geopolitical and military tension throughout the latter half of the century.
A vast increase in fossil fuel consumption leads to depletion of natural resources, while air pollution possibly leads to global warming and the ozone hole. The problem is increased by world-wide deforestation, also causing a loss of biodiversity. The problem is decreased by advances in drilling technology which led to a net increase in the amount of fossil fuel that is readily obtainable at the end of the century, as compared with the amount considered obtainable at the beginning of the century.

Significant people

World Leaders

Americas

Europe

Neville Chamberlain, United Kingdom
Winston Churchill, United Kingdom
Margaret Thatcher, United Kingdom
Charles de Gaulle, France
Franz Ferdinand, Archduke of Austria, Austria-Hungary
Kaiser Wilhelm II, Germany
Adolf Hitler, Germany
Benito Mussolini, Italy
Francisco Franco, Spain
Jozef Pilsudski, Poland
Josip Broz 'Tito', Yugoslavia
Milan Kuean, Slovenia
Olof Palme, Sweden
Nicolae Ceausescu, Romania
Lech Walesa, Poland

Russia and Soviet Union

Middle East

Kemal Ataturk, Turkey
Abdul Nasser, Egypt or United Arab Republic
Anwar Sadat, Egypt or United Arab Republic
David Ben-Gurion, Israel
Golda Meir, Israel
Menachem Begin, Israel
Hafez el Assad, Syria
Saddam Hussein, Iraq
King Hussein, Jordan

Africa

Asia

Scientists

Aerospace Pioneers

Military Leaders

Religious Figures

Artists

Writers and Poets

Sports Figures

Notorious Figures

Decades and Years

*1890s*	1890	1891	1892	1893	1894	1895	1896	1897	1898	1899
1900s	1900	1901	1902	1903	1904	1905	1906	1907	1908	1909
1910s	1910	1911	1912	1913	1914	1915	1916	1917	1918	1919
1920s	1920	1921	1922	1923	1924	1925	1926	1927	1928	1929
1930s	1930	1931	1932	1933	1934	1935	1936	1937	1938	1939
1940s	1940	1941	1942	1943	1944	1945	1946	1947	1948	1949
1950s	1950	1951	1952	1953	1954	1955	1956	1957	1958	1959
1960s	1960	1961	1962	1963	1964	1965	1966	1967	1968	1969
1970s	1970	1971	1972	1973	1974	1975	1976	1977	1978	1979
1980s	1980	1981	1982	1983	1984	1985	1986	1987	1988	1989
1990s	1990	1991	1992	1993	1994	1995	1996	1997	1998	1999
*2000s*	2000	2001	2002	2003	2004	2005	2006	2007	2008	2009