World Events

Congress of Vienna Convenes to Redraw Europe

Treaty of Paris Ends the War of the Sixth Coalition

Napoleon Abdicates and Treaty of Fontainebleau Signed

Battle of Paris: Coalition Enters French Capital

Dissolution of the Confederation of the Rhine

Battle of Leipzig: Decisive Coalition Victory

Battle of Dresden: Temporary French Victory

Austria Enters the War on Coalition Side

Battle of Bautzen: Another French Victory, High Losses

Battle of Lützen: Napoleon’s Tactical Victory

Fall of Chengdu and Nationalist Retreat to Taiwan

Proclamation of the People's Republic of China

Huaihai Campaign and Communist Decisive Breakthrough

Chiang Launches Large‑Scale Assault to Resume Civil War

Mao Arrives in Chongqing for Truce Talks

End of World War II and Power Vacuum in China

New Fourth Army Incident and Breakdown of Second United Front

Beginning of the Long March

Capture of Ruijin and Consolidation of Jiangxi Soviet

Nanchang Uprising and Founding of the Red Army

Southern Christian Leadership Conference Founded

MLK Emerges as National Civil Rights Leader

Boycott Ends as Integration Takes Effect

Supreme Court Upholds District Court Decision

Federal Ruling Declares Segregation Unconstitutional

Testimony in Browder v. Gayle

Mass Meeting at Holt Street Baptist Church Launches Boycott

Formation of the Montgomery Improvement Association

Rosa Parks Arrest Ignites Boycott

Claudette Colvin’s Defiance Sparks Early Resistance

Apollo 8 launches and orbits the Moon

Richard Nixon elected 37th U.S. President

Poor People’s Campaign encampment established in Washington, D.C.

Columbia University student protests shut down campus

Riots erupt in U.S. cities following MLK’s assassination

Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

President Johnson announces he will not seek re‑election

My Lai Massacre occurs in Vietnam, later publicized

Orangeburg Massacre—civil rights demonstration turned deadly

Tet Offensive shapes U.S. Vietnam War perception

Dissolution of the Soviet Union Affects Yalta Legacy

Crimea Transferred to Ukraine (Khrushchev Decree)

Polish Elections Undermine Yalta Promises

United Nations Founded Incorporating Yalta Plans

Potsdam Conference Follows Yalta

Churchill’s 'Iron Curtain' Speech Delivered

Conclusion of the Yalta Conference

Soviet Agreement to Enter War Against Japan

Declaration of Liberated Europe Adopted

Opening of the Yalta Conference

Black Tuesday—Wall Street Crash of 1929

Debut of Mickey Mouse in ‘Steamboat Willie’

The Jazz Singer premieres, revolutionizing cinema

Charles Lindbergh’s solo transatlantic flight

Great Kantō earthquake devastates Japan

Mussolini becomes Prime Minister of Italy

First commercial radio broadcast of election returns

Women in the U.S. gain the right to vote

Prohibition begins in the United States

Palmer Raids mark First Red Scare escalation

Conclusion of the Great Migration Era

Red Summer Racial Violence

Emergence of the New Great Migration

Port Chicago Disaster

Start of the Second Great Migration

Urban Growth in Detroit

Harlem Renaissance Begins

U.S. Entry into World War I and Labor Demand Surge

Acceleration of the First Great Migration

Beginnings of the First Great Migration

Historical Reassessment of Berlin Conference’s Impact

Rwandan Genocide and Colonial Borders Legacy

“Year of Africa”: Wave of Independence

Emergence of African Independence Movements

Africa Nearly Fully Colonized by European Powers

Remaining Independent African States Identified

Acceleration of European Scramble into Interior Africa

Establishment of the Congo Free State

Signing of the General Act of Berlin

Opening of the Berlin Conference

Overthrow of Slobodan Milošević

NATO Bombing Campaign (Operation Allied Force)

Kosovo War Begins

Dayton Agreement Signed in Paris

Dayton Agreement Initialled

Operation Storm in Croatia

Srebrenica Massacre

Bosnian War Begins and Siege of Sarajevo

Croatian War of Independence Begins

Ten‑Day War in Slovenia

30th Anniversary of Exxon Valdez Spill

Questions of Long-Term Impact Re-evaluated

Environmental Recovery and Monitoring Continues

Supreme Court Reduces Exxon Valdez Punitive Damages

Exxon Valdez Renamed and Converted to Ore Carrier

Exxon Ordered to Pay $5 Billion in Punitive Damages

Exxon Settles Civil and Criminal Charges

Exxon Valdez Captain Joseph Hazelwood Charged

Initial Cleanup Efforts Begin

Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Occurs

Establishment of North/South Inter‑Parliamentary Association

Loyalist Decommissioning Completed

Restoration of Devolved Power‑Sharing Executive

IRA declares end to armed campaign

IRA Decommissioning

Agreement enters into force; constitutional changes

Initial Prisoner Releases Begin

Omagh Bombing by Real IRA

Northern Ireland (Sentences) Act received Royal Assent

Referendums in Ireland and Northern Ireland

Gorbachev resigns; dissolution of USSR complete

Belarus, Russia, Ukraine declare USSR ceased to exist

Gorbachev restructures Soviet government

Gorbachev returns to Moscow; suicides of coup leaders

Coup collapses and Gorbachev restored

Mass demonstrations and defections weaken coup

State Committee declares emergency and Yeltsin defies coup

Gorbachev placed under house arrest in Foros, Crimea

Yakovlev resigns from Communist Party warning of coup

Pavlov requests extraordinary powers from Supreme Soviet

Angola Declares Independence as Portuguese Troops Withdraw

Mozambique Gains Independence

Alvor Agreement for Angolan Independence

Algiers Accord Grants Independence to Guinea‑Bissau

Carnation Revolution in Portugal

Assassination of Amílcar Cabral

Operation Green Sea – Raid on Conakry

Operation Gordian Knot in Mozambique

Marcelo Caetano Succeeds Salazar

Start of Mozambican War of Independence

Congressional Address by Crew

Ticker‑Tape Parades in the U.S.

Splashdown and Quarantine

Trans‑Earth Injection Burn

Lunar Rover Experiment Deployment

Ascent and Rendezvous with Columbia

First Steps on the Moon

Landing in the Sea of Tranquility

Lunar Orbit Insertion

Launch of Apollo 11

Price liberalization in post‑Soviet states

Supreme Soviet formally dissolves the USSR

Gorbachev resigns and USSR flag lowered

Belovezh Accords signed—USSR declared ceased

Ukrainian independence confirmed by referendum

Ukraine declares independence from the USSR

Failed August coup attempt against Gorbachev

Union-wide referendum supports a reformed Soviet Union

Black January: Soviet troops enter Baku

Nagorno-Karabakh declares secession movement begins

50th Anniversary Festival and Monument Projection

10th Anniversary Ceremonies in Washington D.C.

Start of Global 'Giant Leap' Goodwill Tour

Splashdown and Recovery

Lunar Module Rejoins Command Module

Moon Landing: Eagle Touches Down

First Human Steps on the Moon

Launch of Apollo 11

Lunar Module Arrives at Kennedy Space Center

Kennedy’s Moon Landing Challenge

Namibia independence after prolonged struggle

Djibouti receives independence peacefully

Angola gains independence following deadly war

Mozambique independence after liberation war

Formation of Tanzania from Tanganyika and Zanzibar

Kenya gains independence amid nationalist struggle

Algerian Independence after War of Liberation

Year of Africa – 17 countries gain independence in 1960

Independence of Democratic Republic of the Congo

Independence of Ghana – First sub‑Saharan African colony to gain independence

Premiere of “Time Bomb Y2K” Documentary

Year 2000 Problem Confirmed Non‑Event in Science Review

Global Y2K Date Rollover Proceeds with Minor Issues

Documented Minor Y2K Glitches Around the World

Y2K Preparations in Full Scale

Humorous Testing via Millennium Date Shift

U.S. Government Warns of Looming Y2K Crisis

Deutsche Telekom Begins Early Remediation Efforts

Coining of the Term “Y2K”

Doomsday 2000 Article Raises Alarm

Third Plenum Begins Boluan Fanzheng and Reform Era

Eleventh Party Congress Officially Ends Cultural Revolution

Death of Mao Zedong and Decline of Cultural Revolution Era

Tiananmen Incident: Public Mourning for Zhou Enlai Sparks Mass Unrest

Rapprochement with United States Undermines Radical Faction

Lin Biao Dies in Plane Crash After Failed Coup Attempt

Reopening Schools and Return to Production Marks End of Red Guard Phase

Overthrow of Local Party Committees and Establishment of Revolutionary Committees

Red Guards Mobilized Nationwide through Maoist Rallies

Sixteen Points Adopted and Red August Escalates the Revolution

Ukraine Designates Start of Occupation

First Russian Parliamentary Elections Held in Crimea

Putin Addresses Crowd in Sevastopol Victory Rally

UN General Assembly Condemns Annexation

Russian Federation Ratifies Annexation

Treaty Signed Incorporating Crimea into Russia

Disputed Crimean Status Referendum

Putin Declares No Plans to Annex Crimea

Russian Federation Council Authorizes Military Intervention

Seizure of Crimean Parliament and Buildings

First national memorial ceremony held

Tribunal establishes national memorial day legislation

Order restored, massacre ends

Hisao Tani condemned and death sentence

Establishment of Nanjing Self‑Governing Committee

Japanese entry ceremony in captured Nanjing

Fall of Nanjing and start of massacre

Atrocities begin around Nanjing

Battle of Nanjing begins

Marco Polo Bridge Incident sparks full-scale war

Imposition of Western sanctions and initiation of Operation Yellowbird

Arrests of protest leaders begin

Government announces casualty figures

Crackdown: PLA clears square in early morning hours

Government orders clearing of Tiananmen Square

Martial law declared and PLA mobilised

Hunger strike galvanises national support

Clash between reformists and hardliners in CCP Politburo Standing Committee

Mass gathering of nearly 100,000 students in Tiananmen Square

Death of Hu Yaobang ignites student mourning and protests

Legacy and rise of localism

End of major protests

Clearance of Admiralty site

Night of clashes and arrests at Admiralty

Dialogue between government and students begins

Occupy Central campaign launched

Police use tear gas and pepper spray

Occupation of Civic Square

Student class boycott begins

NPCSC electoral reform decision

Media freedoms sharply curtailed domestically

Operation Yellowbird initiated to help dissidents flee

Protests erupt in other Chinese cities

Political purge of reform‑minded officials begins

Western sanctions and media condemnations

Massacre and square cleared by dawn

'Tank Man' iconic image captured

Troops ordered to seize control; crackdown begins

Martial law declared in Beijing

Zhao Ziyang appeals to students in the Square