World Events

Fifty‑year retrospective published on H3N2 evolution

H3N2 becomes dominant seasonal strain

Pandemic recedes globally

Second wave peaks with hospital crises in UK

International conference on influenza hosted in Atlanta

First wave subsides in Europe and Asia

Apollo 8 astronauts vaccinated

Virus spreads widely in the United States

Vaccine production begins in the United States

WHO issues pandemic warning

Mississippi Becomes Last State to Ratify the Amendment

Formation of the League of Women Voters

Certification and Proclamation of the Nineteenth Amendment

Tennessee Ratifies the Amendment – the 36th State

Idaho Ratifies the Amendment

Women’s Suffrage Amendment Passed Both Congressional Houses

Silent Sentinels Begin White House Picketing

Formation of NAWSA

First Women’s Suffrage Amendment Introduced in Congress

Formation of Suffrage Organizations (NWSA and AWSA)

Demolition of antisemitic harassment during Games period

No subsequent Olympics until post‑war

Olympic Village commander demoted and suicide

Closing ceremony and Nazi propaganda end

University of Washington rowing crew wins gold

Owens wins third gold medal

Jesse Owens begins gold‑medal sweep

Opening ceremony and first torch relay

U.S. Olympic team departs for Berlin

Completion of venues in Reich Sports Field complex

Kennedy inaugurated as president

Kennedy wins election narrowly

Fourth and final debate on foreign policy

Third debate uses split‑screen technology

Second Kennedy–Nixon debate

First televised presidential debate

Democratic National Convention nominates Kennedy

Kennedy wins West Virginia primary

Kennedy wins Wisconsin Democratic primary

John F. Kennedy announces Democratic candidacy

Yuan Shikai Sworn in as President

Abdication of the Last Emperor

Republic of China Proclaimed

Sun Yat‑sen Elected Provisional President

Yuan Shikai Appointed Prime Minister

Battle and Capture of Changsha

Wuchang Uprising Initiated

Preparatory Conference for Wuchang Uprising

Huanghuagang Uprising (Huanghuagang revolt)

Huguang Railway Loan Agreement Signed

Greece exits final bailout successfully

Parliament approves new bailout under pressure

Greece misses IMF payment, becomes first developed country to do so

Formation of coalition government under Samaras

Violent anti‑austerity protests in Athens

Parliament approves further austerity during prolonged recession

Nationwide riots and bank arson in Athens

First bailout agreement signed

Greece formally requests bailout assistance

Revelation of true budget deficit

Cultural legacy: famine inspires novel Anandamath

Recovery and return‑migration begins

East India Company assumes full administration in Bengal

Depopulation and desertion seen in villages across Bengal

Monsoon arrives, but disease spreads among weakened survivors

Murshidabad death toll reported at 500 per day

Famine explodes into mass starvation and death

Company increases taxes despite distress

Rice prices begin to soar

Early warnings of famine emerge in correspondence

19th-century industrial ‘pea-soupers’ become notorious

Clean Air Act strengthened

Another London smog highlights law’s limitations

Clean Air Act enacted

Reassessment suggests 12,000 deaths

Initial official death toll published

Smog lifts from London

Disruption escalates across London

Great Smog begins in London

Early awareness of London’s air pollution (“pea-soupers”)

End of Trump presidency and legacy of strained relations

Assassination of nuclear scientist and Iran’s enrichment response

Resignation of Iran special representative Brian Hook

Downing of U.S. drone and escalation at sea

EU activates blocking statute against U.S. sanctions

U.S. withdrawal from Iran nuclear deal (JCPOA)

Initial sanctions and Iran put “on notice”

Trump issues executive travel ban including Iran

Official End of the War: Transitional Government Established

Luanda Agreement Signed

Massacre in Kisangani by Rebels

Rebels Capture Moliro

UN Panel Probes Illegal Resource Exploitation

Assassination of Laurent‑Désiré Kabila

MONUC Authorized by UN

Clashes in Kisangani between Rwanda and Uganda

Lusaka Ceasefire Agreement Signed

UN Security Council Demands Ceasefire (Resolution 1234)

End of Operation Neptune

Liberation of Paris

Liberation of Caen

Fall of Cherbourg

Allied beachheads linked

Airborne assaults behind enemy lines

D‑Day: Normandy landings commence

Allied armada sets sail from England

Operation Bodyguard deception campaign initiated

Allied planning for Operation Overlord begins

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