K'inich Yax K'uk' Mo' reestablish Copan.

Tags: Maya Civilization, City-State, Dynasty, Ruler, Political Founding, Mesoamerica

Pacal the Great becomes king of the Mayan city-state of Palenque.

Tags: Mayan Civilization, Ancient Mesoamerica, Ancient greece, Monarchy, Ruler, Succession

Reign of Itzcoatl begins as the fourth tlatoani of Tenochtitlan and the first emperor of the Aztec Empire.

Tags: Aztec Empire, Tlatoani, Political Leadership, Mesoamerica, Expansionism, Pre-Columbian America

Pachacuti founds the Inca Empire.

Tags: Empire, Indigenous Peoples, Political Formation, Expansionism

1469: Under Moctezuma I, the Aztecs become the dominant power in Mesoamerica.

Tags: Mesoamerica, Empire Building, Indigenous Peoples, Pre-Columbian America, Political Power, Expansionism

Reign of Axayacatl begins in the Aztec capital of Tenochtitlan as the sixth tlatoani and emperor of the Aztec Triple Alliance.

Tags: Aztec Empire, Tlatoani, Mesoamerica, Triple Alliance, Indigenous Politics, Pre-Columbian, Governance

Reign of Ahuitzotl begins as the eighth tlatoani of Tenochtitlan and emperor of the Aztec Triple Alliance.

Tags: Aztec Empire, Tlatoani, Mesoamerica, Pre-Columbian, Triple Alliance, Indigenous Politics, Imperialism

Christopher Columbus landed in the Americas from Spain.

Tags: Age of Exploration, Christopher Columbus, Spanish Empire, Columbian Exchange, European Colonization, Atlantic World, Indigenous Peoples, Discovery

Christopher Columbus landed on modern-day Puerto Rico.

Tags: Age of Exploration, Christopher Columbus, Spanish Colonization, Columbian Exchange, European Exploration, Indigenous Peoples

Spain and Portugal sign the Treaty of Tordesillas and agree to divide the World outside of Europe between themselves.

Tags: Treaty, Colonialism, Exploration, Age of Discovery, Papal Authority, Geopolitics, Imperialism

Spanish navigator Vicente Yáñez Pinzón encounters Brazil but is prevented from claiming it by the Treaty of Tordesillas.

Tags: Age of Exploration, Colonialism, Spanish Empire, Portuguese Empire

Portuguese navigator Pedro Álvares Cabral claims Brazil for Portugal.

Tags: Exploration, Colonialism, Portuguese Empire, Age of Discovery

Christopher Columbus dies in Valladolid, Spain.

Tags: Exploration, Colonialism, Discovery, Age of Exploration, Spanish Empire, European Expansion, Atlantic World

Vasco Núñez de Balboa, in service of Spain arrives at the Pacific Ocean (which he called Mar del Sur) across the Isthmus of Panama. He was the first E...

Tags: Exploration, Discovery, Spanish Empire, Panama, Age of Exploration, Colonialism, New World, Maritime History

Juan Ponce de León sights Florida and Vasco Núñez de Balboa sights the eastern edge of the Pacific Ocean.

Tags: Exploration, Discovery, Spanish Empire, Geography, Age of Exploration, Colonialism, Conquest

Giovanni da Verrazzano is the first European to explore the Atlantic coast of North America between South Carolina and Newfoundland.

Tags: Exploration, Age of Discovery, Cartography

Foundation of São Vicente, the first permanent Portuguese settlement in the Americas.

Tags: Colonization, Portuguese Empire, Settlement, Exploration, Colonialism, Atlantic World

Jacques Cartier claims Canada for France.

Tags: Exploration, Colonization, Colonialism, French Empire, New France, North American History, Political Expansion

Hernando de Soto explores inland North America.

Tags: Exploration, Colonization, Spanish Empire, Age of Exploration, Conquest, Indigenous Peoples, Colonialism, Early American History

Amazon River is encountered and explored by Francisco de Orellana.

Tags: Exploration, Discovery, Amazon, Age of Exploration, Spanish Empire, Geography, Colonialism

Tomé de Sousa establishes Salvador in Bahia, north-east of Brazil.

Tags: Colonization, Portuguese Empire, Settlement, Colonialism, Foundation, Capital City, Exploration, Governance

Spanish settlers outside New Spain (Mexico) colonize Florida's coastline at St. Augustine.

Tags: Colonization, Florida, Exploration, Colonialism, Spanish Empire, Settlement, New World, Indigenous Peoples

First edition of the epic The Lusiads of Luís Vaz de Camões, three years after the author returned from the East.

Tags: Renaissance, Literature, Portuguese Empire, Epic Poetry, Exploration, Age of Discovery, Colonialism, National Identity

Jamestown, Virginia, is settled as what would become the first permanent English colony in North America.

Tags: Colonialism, English Colonization, Early America, Virginia, British Empire, Exploration, Atlantic World

Quebec City founded by Samuel de Champlain in New France (present-day Canada).

Tags: Colonialism, Exploration, French Colonization, New France, Settlement, North American History

The Brownist Pilgrims arrive in the Mayflower at Cape Cod.

Tags: Colonial America, Early American History, English Reformation, Massachusetts

La Salle explores the length of the Mississippi River and claims Louisiana for France.

Tags: Exploration, French Colonization, Louisiana, New France, Colonialism

1760: The First Great Awakening takes place in Great Britain and North America.

Tags: Religious Revival, Christianity, Evangelicalism, Religious Reform, George Whitefield, Colonial America, Social Impact

George Whitefield brings the First Great Awakening to New England

Tags: Religious Revival, Great Awakening, Evangelicalism, New England, George Whitefield, Colonial America, Christianity, Religious History, American History

George III becomes King of Britain.

Tags: Monarchy, British Empire, Succession, American Revolution

The Stamp Act is introduced into the American colonies by the British Parliament.

Tags: Colonialism, Taxation, British Empire, American Revolution, Parliament, Protest, Representation

Suppression of the Society of Jesus from the Spanish Empire.

Tags: Jesuits, Catholicism, Enlightenment, Spanish Empire, Colonialism, Religious Orders, Political Intrigue

16 December, the Boston Tea Party.

Tags: American Revolution, Colonialism, Protest, Taxation, British Empire, Independence, Revolution

The United States Declaration of Independence is adopted by the Second Continental Congress in Philadelphia.

Tags: American Revolution, Independence, Declaration, Enlightenment, Thomas Jefferson

Franco-American alliance signed.

Tags: American Revolution, Diplomacy, International Relations, Warfare, Treaty

The Treaty of Paris formally ends the American Revolutionary War.

Tags: American Revolution, Treaties, Diplomacy, Independence, Warfare, Nationalism

Bifocals invented by Benjamin Franklin

Tags: Inventions, Optics, Benjamin Franklin, Medicine, American History

Automatic flour mill invented by Oliver Evans

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Manufacturing, Agriculture, Automation, American History

1788: The Federalist Papers by Alexander Hamilton, James Madison, and John Jay

Tags: Political Theory, American Revolution, United States Constitution, Federalism, Political Philosophy, Early Republic, Founding Fathers

The United States Constitution is written in Philadelphia and submitted to the states for ratification.

Tags: Constitution, Founding Fathers, Federalism, Republicanism, Legislative Branch, Executive Branch, American Revolution, Political Philosophy

New Hampshire becomes the 9th state to ratify the United States Constitution, and by the terms of Article VII it takes effect.

Tags: Constitution, Federalism, American Revolution, Political History, Early Republic, Founding Fathers

George Washington is elected the first President of the United States; he serves until 1797.

Tags: American Revolution, Presidency, George Washington, Founding Fathers, Federalism, Early Republic, Political Leadership, Constitution

The Interesting Narrative of the Life of Olaudah Equiano by Olaudah Equiano

Tags: Slavery, Transatlantic Slave Trade, Abolitionism, British Empire, African Diaspora, Human Rights

The United States Bill of Rights is ratified.

Tags: Bill of Rights, Constitution, Civil Liberties, Human Rights, Political History, American Revolution, Founding Fathers, Legal History, Federalism

Eli Whitney invents the modern cotton gin.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Slavery, Textile Industry, Economy, Agriculture, United States History

Jay's Treaty is concluded between Great Britain and the United States, by which the Western outposts in the Great Lakes are returned to the U.S. and c...

Tags: Treaty, Diplomacy, International Relations, Commerce, Territorial Disputes, Early Republic, George Washington

Pinckney's Treaty between the United States and Spain grants the Mississippi Territory to the U.S.

Tags: Treaty, Diplomacy, Territorial Expansion, Foreign Policy

John Adams is inaugurated on March 4 as President of the United States following the 1796 United States presidential election. The peaceful transfer o...

Tags: Presidency, Inauguration, Political Transition, Federal Government, George Washington, Early Republic

American politician Alexander Hamilton begins publishing the New York Evening Post as the Federalist "Vehicle" for their news.

Tags: Media, Early Republic, Freedom of the Press

Thomas Jefferson elected President of the United States by the House of Representatives, following a tie in the Electoral College.

Tags: Presidential Election, Thomas Jefferson, Early Republic, Legislative Branch

The United States almost doubles in size when it buys out France's territorial claims in North America in the Louisiana Purchase. This begins the Amer...

Tags: Westward Expansion, Territorial Acquisition, Manifest Destiny, American History, Diplomacy, Geopolitics, Thomas Jefferson

Haiti gains independence from France and becomes the first black republic.

Tags: Independence, Revolution, Colonialism, French Revolution, Toussaint Louverture, Self-determination

Robert Fulton expands water transportation and trade with the workable steamboat.

Tags: Transportation, Steam Power, Trade, Industrial Revolution

Britain and the United States separately make the Slave Trade a criminal act.

Tags: Slavery, Abolition, Transatlantic Slave Trade, Legislation, Human Rights

Independence of Argentina.

Tags: Independence, Revolution, Colonialism, Spanish Empire, Nationalism

Trustees of Dartmouth College v. Woodward.

Tags: Supreme Court, Constitutional Law, Corporations, Judicial Review, John Marshall, Federalism

Missouri Compromise on the slavery issue in U.S.

Tags: Slavery, Political Crisis, Expansionism, Sectionalism, Legislative Action

Mexico gains independence from Spain with the Treaty of Córdoba.

Tags: Independence, Colonialism, Nationalism, Political Change, Revolution

Prince Pedro of Brazil proclaimed the Brazilian independence on 7 September. On 1 December, he was crowned as Emperor Dom Pedro I of Brazil.

Tags: Independence, Monarchy, Brazilian Empire, Colonialism, Political Transition

Denmark Vesey is arrested and executed for attempting to incite a slave insurrection in South Carolina.

Tags: Slavery, South Carolina, Antebellum Era, African American History, Resistance, Social Justice, Conspiracy

Monroe Doctrine declared by US President James Monroe in cooperation with Britain.

Tags: US Foreign Policy, Diplomacy, Imperialism, American Expansionism

Gibbons v. Ogden, a landmark decision in which the U.S. Supreme Court rules that the power to regulate interstate commerce encompassed the power to re...

Tags: Supreme Court, Judicial Review, Federalism, Navigation, Constitutional Law, John Marshall, Early Republic

Independence of Bolivia.

Tags: Independence, Colonialism, Spanish Empire, Nationalism

U.S. Congress passes the Indian Removal Act which authorized the President to negotiate removal treaties with many native tribes living east of the Mi...

Tags: Indigenous Peoples, Forced Migration, Manifest Destiny, Andrew Jackson, Treaties, American Expansion, Sovereignty

Greater Colombia dissolved and the nations of Colombia (including modern-day Panama), Ecuador, and Venezuela took its place.

Tags: Independence Movements, South American History, Political Fragmentation, Post-Colonialism, Nationalism, Political Divisions

The Church of Christ of Latter Day Saints is established by Joseph Smith as prophet and president of the Church.

Tags: Mormonism, Christianity, Religious Movements, Theology, American History

Chief John Ross of the Cherokee Nation defends Cherokee rights and sovereignty in the U.S. Supreme Court case The Cherokee Nation v. The State of Geor...

Tags: Indigenous Rights, Supreme Court, Legal History, Immigration, Irish History, Manifest Destiny

Slavery Abolition Act 1833 bans slavery throughout the British Empire; owners are reimbursed.

Tags: Abolitionism, Slavery, British Empire, Colonialism, Human Rights, Legislation, Social Reform, Economic Impact

Joseph Henry invents the electromechanical relay.

Tags: Electrical Engineering, Electromagnetism, Communication, Telegraphy, American History

Samuel Colt popularizes the revolver and sets up a firearms company to manufacture his invention of the Colt Paterson revolver a six bullets firearm s...

Tags: American History, Firearms, Weapons, Manufacturing

Telegraphy patented.

Tags: Communication, Samuel Morse, Telegraph, Industrial Revolution

Samuel Morse invents Morse code.

Tags: Communication, Telegraph, Samuel Morse, Electrical Engineering

William Otis invents the steam shovel.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Construction, Transportation, Mining

Charles Goodyear invents vulcanized rubber.

Tags: Rubber, Industrial Revolution, Manufacturing, Materials Science, Transportation

First publicly funded telegraph line in the world—between Baltimore and Washington—sends demonstration message on 24 May, ushering in the age of the t...

Tags: Telegraph, Communication, American History, Samuel Morse, Transportation

Friedrich Gottlob Keller and, independently, Charles Fenerty come up with the wood pulp method of paper production.

Tags: Paper, Printing, Communication, Industrial Revolution

Treaty of Wanghia was signed by the United States and China.

Tags: Diplomacy, Treaty, Trade, Foreign Relations, Imperialism, Qing Dynasty

Texas annexed by the United States and becomes the 28th state.

Tags: United States History, Manifest Destiny, Expansionism, Territorial Expansion, Slavery, Mexican-American War, Texas Revolution, Statehood

The Wilmot Proviso unsuccessfully attempts to ban slavery in western territories acquired after the Mexican-American War.

Tags: Slavery, United States History, Antebellum Era, Mexican-American War, Territorial Expansion, Sectionalism, Political Divisions, Westward Expansion

The Oregon Treaty is signed between the United Kingdom and the United States, ceding the modern states of Oregon, Washington, and Idaho, as well as pa...

Tags: Treaty, Border Dispute, Territorial Expansion, Manifest Destiny, Diplomacy, Pacific Northwest

Linus Yale Sr. invents the first modern pin tumbler lock.

Tags: Security, Industrial Revolution, Mechanical Engineering

Walter Hunt invents the first repeating rifle to use metallic cartridges (of his own design) and a spring-fed magazine.

Tags: Firearms, Weaponry, American History, Military Technology

James B. Francis invents the Francis turbine.

Tags: Hydropower, Industrial Revolution, Energy

Herman Melville publishes Moby-Dick.

Tags: American Literature, Novel, Romanticism, Literature, Global Impact

Elisha Otis invents the safety brake elevator.

Tags: Safety, Industrial Revolution, Urbanization, Transportation, Modernization

William Wells Brown (1814–1884) wrote first novel published by an African American, Clotel.

Tags: Literature, African American History, Novel, Slavery, American Literature, Civil Rights

Twelve Years a Slave is a memoir and slave narrative by American Solomon Northup as told to and edited by David Wilson.

Tags: Slavery, American History, Civil War, Literature, Social Commentary, Abolitionism

Bessemer process enables steel to be mass-produced.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Steel, Metallurgy, Manufacturing, Mass Production, Economic Development

Walt Whitman publishes Leaves of Grass.

Tags: Poetry, American Literature, Modernism

1861–1867: French intervention in Mexico and the creation of the Second Mexican Empire, ruled by Maximilian I of Mexico and his consort Carlota of Mex...

Tags: Imperialism, Colonialism, French Empire, Mexican History, Maximilian I, Intervention, Warfare

President Abraham Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation on January 1, 1863, declaring slaves in Confederate territories free, a pivotal step to...

Tags: American Civil War, Slavery, Emancipation, Abolitionism, Abraham Lincoln, Civil Rights

1865–1877: Reconstruction in the United States; Slavery is banned in the United States by the Thirteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution.

Tags: Reconstruction, Civil Rights, Slavery, Abolition, Civil War, Post-War, Legislation

April 14: United States President Abraham Lincoln is assassinated by actor and Confederate sympathiser John Wilkes Booth, while attending a performanc...

Tags: Assassination, American Civil War, Reconstruction Era, Abraham Lincoln, Political Violence

Successful transatlantic telegraph cable follows an earlier attempt in 1858.

Tags: Communication, Telegraph, Globalization, Infrastructure

Lucien B. Smith invents barbed wire, which Joseph F. Glidden will modify in 1874, leading to the taming of the West and the end of the cowboys.

Tags: American West, Agriculture, Industrial Revolution, Frontier

The United States purchases Alaska from Russia.

Tags: Expansionism, Territorial Acquisition, Diplomacy, United States History, Russian Empire, Manifest Destiny, Geopolitics, Alaska

Canadian Confederation formed.

Tags: Confederation, British Empire, Political Development, Self-Government, Canadian History, Federalism

Safety bicycle invented.

Tags: Transportation, Industrial Revolution, Cycling, Social Change

The Fourteenth Amendment to the United States Constitution is approved.

Tags: Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Reconstruction Era, Equality, Citizenship, American Politics, Legal History

First transcontinental railroad completed in United States on 10 May. – United States

Tags: Railroad, Transportation, Infrastructure, Westward Expansion, American Civil War, Economic Development, Manifest Destiny

Blue jeans and barbed wire are invented.

Tags: Inventions, Industrial Revolution, Westward Expansion, Agriculture, Material Culture

Alexander Graham Bell has a patent granted for the telephone. However, other inventors before Bell had worked on the development of the telephone and ...

Tags: Communication, Patent, Telecommunications, Industrial Revolution, Global Impact

Thomas Edison invents the phonograph.

Tags: Sound Recording, Communication, Entertainment, Industrial Revolution, Global Impact

Lester Allan Pelton invents the Pelton wheel.

Tags: Inventions, Hydropower, Industrial Revolution, Energy, Mechanics

President James A. Garfield is assassinated.

Tags: Assassination, Gilded Age, American History

Mark Twain publishes Adventures of Huckleberry Finn.

Tags: Literature, American Literature, Novel, Satire, Slavery, Social Commentary

Singer begins production of the 'Vibrating Shuttle'. which would become the most popular model of sewing machine.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Manufacturing, Consumer Goods, Textiles, Mass Production

Charles Martin Hall and independently Paul Héroult invent the Hall–Héroult process for economically producing aluminum in 1886.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Metallurgy, Chemical Engineering, Materials Science, Global Trade

Construction of the Statue of Liberty (formally Liberty Englightening the World)

Tags: Sculpture, Monument, Symbolism, Immigration, French Third Republic, Gilded Age, Liberty

Thomas Edison and William Kennedy Dickson invent the Kinetoscope.

Tags: Film, Motion Pictures, Cinema, Thomas Edison, Entertainment, Mass Media

End of the Brazilian Empire and the beginning of the Brazilian Republic.

Tags: Republic, Monarchy, Political Transition, Coup d'état, Getúlio Vargas, Brazilian History, Military, Independence

Robert Gair would invent the pre-cut cardboard box.

Tags: Packaging, Manufacturing, Industrial Revolution, Commerce, Business

Whitcomb Judson invents the zipper.

Tags: Manufacturing, Textiles, Fashion, Industrial Revolution, Patent

John Froelich develops and constructs the first gasoline/petrol-powered tractor.

Tags: Agriculture, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Revolution

William Stewart Halsted, invents the rubber glove for his wife Caroline Hampton as he noticed her hands were affected by the daily surgeries she had p...

Tags: Medicine, Surgery, Medical Technology, Hygiene, Health

Business coalition overthrows the royal government of the Hawaiian Kingdom.

Tags: Imperialism, Colonialism, Annexation, Monarchy, Republic, Political Transition

First gramophone record.

Tags: Sound Recording, Communication, Music, Entertainment, Industrial Revolution, Mass Media

United States annexes the Republic of Hawaii

Tags: Imperialism, Expansionism, Hawaii, Political History, Territorial Acquisition, Foreign Policy, Manifest Destiny

Hawaii becomes an official U.S. territory.

Tags: Imperialism, Colonialism, Annexation, Territorial Acquisition, American Expansionism

L. Frank Baum publishes The Wonderful Wizard of Oz.

Tags: Children's Literature, Fantasy, American Literature, Novel, Cultural Impact, Symbolism

December 12: Guglielmo Marconi received the first transatlantic radio signal.

Tags: Radio, Communication, Guglielmo Marconi, Scientific Breakthrough

March 2: The Platt Amendment provides for Cuban independence in exchange for the withdrawal of American troops.

Tags: Imperialism, US Foreign Policy, Spanish-American War, Treaty, Sovereignty, Political Influence

September 6: The assassination of William McKinley ushered in office Vice President Theodore Roosevelt after McKinley's death on September 14.

Tags: Presidency, Assassination, Progressive Era, Political Violence, Executive Branch

July 17: Willis Carrier invents the first modern electrical air conditioning unit.

Tags: Industrial Revolution

May 20: Cuba given independence by the United States.

Tags: Independence, Cuban History, United States History, Imperialism, Colonialism, Diplomacy, Treaty of Paris, Spanish-American War, Sovereignty

First sustained and controlled heavier-than-air powered flight achieved by an airplane flown at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina by Orville and Wilbur Wrigh...

Tags: Aviation, Flight, Transportation

November 18: Independence of Panama, the Hay–Bunau-Varilla Treaty is signed by the United States and Panama.

Tags: Imperialism, Treaty, Independence, Panama Canal, Geopolitics

May: U.S. begins construction of the Panama Canal and eradication of yellow fever.

Tags: Panama Canal, Public Health, Disease Eradication, United States History, Infrastructure

October 23: Brazilian inventor Alberto Santos-Dumont takes off and flies his 14-bis to a crowd in Paris.

Tags: Aviation, Flight

Leo Baekeland invents bakelite, the first plastic made from synthetic components.

Tags: Plastic, Synthetic Materials, Chemistry, Industrial Revolution, Material Science, Manufacturing

October 1: The Ford Motor Company invents the Model T.

Tags: Automobile, Industrial Revolution, Mass Production, Assembly Line, Transportation, Consumerism

First commercial radio transmissions.

Tags: Radio, Communication, Broadcasting, Guglielmo Marconi, Entertainment, Media

July 26: Founding of the Bureau of Investigation (BOI)

Tags: Law Enforcement, Federal Government, Justice, Crime, FBI

January 18: Eugene Burton Ely lands on the deck of the USS Pennsylvania stationed in San Francisco harbor, marking the first time an aircraft lands on...

Tags: Aviation, Naval Technology, Military Technology, United States Navy, Transportation

November 3: Swiss race car driver and automotive engineer Louis Chevrolet co-founds the Chevrolet Motor Company in Detroit with his brother Arthur Che...

Tags: Automotive Industry, Automobile, Entrepreneurship, Manufacturing, Business, Industrial Revolution, Transportation

October 7: Ford Motor Company introduces the first moving assembly line.

Tags: Industrial Revolution, Assembly Line, Mass Production, Manufacturing, Automobile Industry

March 4: Woodrow Wilson is inaugurated as President of the United States.

Tags: Presidency, Progressive Era, Woodrow Wilson, Inauguration, Government

The crystal oscillator is invented by Alexander M. Nicholson using a crystal of Rochelle Salt although his priority was disputed by Walter Guyton Cady...

Tags: Electronics, Radio Technology, Telecommunications

January 21: The First Red Scare in the United States. Irish War of Independence begins.

Tags: Communism, Anti-Communism, War of Independence, Civil Unrest, Nationalism, Revolution

February 6: Pius XI becomes Pope. The Washington Naval Treaty is signed.

Tags: Treaty, Catholicism, World War I Aftermath, Diplomacy, International Relations

October 16: The Walt Disney Company is founded.

Tags: Animation, Film, Entertainment, Business, Disney, Mass Media, American Culture

May 24: Immigration Act of 1924 significantly restricts immigration from Asia, the Middle East, and Southern Europe to USA.

Tags: Immigration, Legislation, Discrimination, Xenophobia

February 12: Rhapsody in Blue by George Gershwin premieres in New York City.

Tags: Music, Classical Music, Composition, American Culture, Orchestral Music, New York City

June 19: National Broadcasting Company (NBC) founded in New York City.

Tags: Broadcasting, Radio, Media, Entertainment, Communication, Corporations

Robert H. Goddard launches the first liquid fueled rocket.

Tags: Space Exploration, Rocketry, Aviation

Harry Ferguson, patents the Three-point hitch equipment linkage system for tractors.

Tags: Agriculture, Farming, Mechanical Engineering, Industrial Revolution

May 20 – 21: Charles Lindbergh performs the first nonstop flight from New York City to Paris; becomes a world hero.

Tags: Aviation, Transportation, Communication, Global Impact

September 18: Columbia Broadcasting System (CBS) founded in New York City.

Tags: Broadcasting, Radio, Communications, Media, Entertainment

October 6: The Jazz Singer, the first "talkie", is released.

Tags: Film, Cinema, Sound, Entertainment, Motion Pictures, Hollywood

The quartz clock is invented by Warren Marrison and J.W. Horton at Bell Telephone Laboratories.

Tags: Timekeeping, Precision, Electronics

Philo Farnsworth demonstrates the first practical electronic television to the press.

Tags: Television, Communication, Electronics, Broadcasting, Mass Media

November 18: Steamboat Willie, is the first appearance of Mickey Mouse.

Tags: Animation, Film, Walt Disney, Cartoon, Entertainment Industry, Popular Culture, Early Cinema

March 4: Herbert Hoover is inaugurated as President of the United States.

Tags: Presidency, Great Depression, Inauguration, Executive Branch

May 16: The first Academy Awards are presented.

Tags: Film, Cinema, Awards, Hollywood, Motion Pictures, Entertainment, United States History

May 27: Construction of Chrysler Building completed.

Tags: Architecture, Skyscrapers, Construction, Art Deco, New York City, Urban Development

November 3: The Vargas Era begins in Brazil.

Tags: Getúlio Vargas, Revolution, Dictatorship, Political Transition, Authoritarianism

May 1: Empire State Building completed.

Tags: Architecture, Skyscrapers, Construction, New York City, Art Deco, Modernism, Urbanization

October 5: Clyde Pangborn and Hugh Herndon Jr. complete the first non-stop flight across the Pacific Ocean in their plane, Miss Veedol, in 41½ hours.

Tags: Aviation, Transportation

FM radio is patented by inventor Edwin H. Armstrong.

Tags: Radio, Communication

Harry C. Jennings Sr. and Herbert Everest, both mechanical engineers, invented the first lightweight, steel, folding, portable wheelchair with their "...

Tags: Medical Technology

March 4: Franklin D. Roosevelt is inaugurated as President of the United States

Tags: Presidency, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Great Depression, American History, Inauguration

New Deal begins in America.

Tags: Great Depression, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Economic Policy, Social Welfare, American History, Political Reform, Reform

March 24: The United States grants more autonomy to the Philippines.

Tags: Colonialism, Self-Government, Commonwealth, Imperialism, Interwar Period

Nylon, the first fully synthetic fiber is produced by Wallace Carothers while working at DuPont.

Tags: Synthetic Materials, Textiles, Chemistry, Industrial Revolution, Consumer Goods

May 31: Establishment of 20th Century Fox.

Tags: Film, Cinema, Hollywood, Motion Pictures, Entertainment Industry, Media, Business

The Hoover Dam is completed.

Tags: Infrastructure, Great Depression, Construction

May 6: German zeppelin Hindenburg crashes in Lakehurst, New Jersey, ending the airship era.

Tags: Aviation, Disaster, Interwar Period, Commercial Aviation, Transportation

December 21: Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is the first feature-length animated movie released.

Tags: Animation, Film, Cinema, Disney, Walt Disney, Hollywood, Entertainment, Motion Pictures

July 6–15: Évian Conference ends with all attendee nations save the Dominican Republic refusing to accept more Jewish refugees from the Third Reich.

Tags: World War II, Holocaust, Refugees, Anti-Semitism, International Relations, Diplomacy, Third Reich, Human Rights

December: Time Magazine declares Adolf Hitler as Man of the Year.

Tags: Propaganda, Nazism, Fascism, World War II, Adolf Hitler, Media, Global Impact

April 18: DC Comics hero Superman has its first appearance.

Tags: Fiction, American Culture, Entertainment, Pop Culture

August 25: Metro-Goldwyn-Mayer releases The Wizard of Oz.

Tags: Film, Hollywood, Cinema, Children's Literature, American Culture, Entertainment

August 20: Leon Trotsky is assassinated in Mexico.

Tags: Assassination, Cold War, Communism, Soviet Union, Leon Trotsky, Political Violence, Stalinism, Exile

August 13: Release date of Disney's Bambi.

Tags: Animation, Film, Disney, Cinema, Entertainment, Children's Literature

May 15: American Broadcasting Company (ABC) founded in New York City.

Tags: Broadcasting, Television, Mass Media, Communications, Entertainment, Radio

Percy Spencer, while employed at Raytheon, would patent a magnetron based microwave oven.

Tags: Consumerism

April 12: Death of Franklin D. Roosevelt; Vice President Harry Truman assumes office as President of the United States.

Tags: Presidency, World War II, Succession, Political Transition, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Cold War

July 4: The Treaty of Manila declares Philippines independent.

Tags: Decolonization, Post-War, Independence, Treaty

November – December: Three Bell Labs engineers give the first public demonstration of the transistor, an electrical component that could control, ampl...

Tags: Electronics, Semiconductors, Bell Labs, Digital Revolution, Microchip, Post-War

Breaking of the sound barrier by Chuck Yeager in Bell X-1.

Tags: Aviation, Aerospace, World War II, Cold War

Floyd Farris and J.B. Clark (Stanolind Oil and Gas Corporation) invents hydraulic fracturing technology.

Tags: Oil Industry, Fossil Fuels, Energy, Petroleum, Resource Extraction

The first transistor, a bipolar point-contact transistor, is invented by John Bardeen and Walter Brattain under the supervision of William Shockley at...

Tags: Electronics, Bell Labs, Semiconductors, Digital Revolution

March 12: Harry Truman establishes the Truman Doctrine of containment of Communism.

Tags: Cold War, Communism, Containment, Foreign Policy, Geopolitics, Ideology

July 26: Creation of the U.S. Central Intelligence Agency.

Tags: Cold War, Intelligence, Espionage, National Security, Post-World War II, Covert Operations, Geopolitics, Foreign Policy, CIA

The first atomic clock is developed at the National Bureau of Standards.

Tags: Precision, Physics, Scientific Advancement

February 15: Release date of Disney's Cinderella.

Tags: Animation, Disney, Film, Cinema, American Culture, Walt Disney

The first color television is produced.

Tags: Television, Consumerism, Post-War, Mass Media, Entertainment

January 20: Dwight D. Eisenhower is inaugurated as President of the United States.

Tags: President, Inauguration, Cold War, Government, Executive Branch

Invention of the solar battery by Bell Telephone scientists, Calvin Souther Fuller, Daryl Chapin and Gerald Pearson capturing the Sun's power. First p...

Tags: Energy, Renewable Energy

May 17: The Supreme Court of the United States decides Brown v. Board of Education, ordering an end to racial segregation in public schools.

Tags: Civil Rights Movement, Supreme Court, Segregation, Education, Racial Discrimination, Legislation, Equality

The hard disk drive is invented by IBM.

Tags: Computer Science, Data Storage, Information Technology, IBM, Hardware, Computing

The Logic Theorist computer program, the first "artificial intelligence program", was written and invented by Allen Newell, Herbert A. Simon, and Clif...

Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Automation

Construction of Brasília, the new capital of Brazil to replace Rio de Janeiro, begins.

Tags: Urban Planning, Capital City, Modernism, Brazilian History, Architecture

December 20: First flight of the Boeing 707.

Tags: Aviation, Commercial Aviation, Jet Age, Air Travel, Transportation

The laser and optical amplifier are invented and named by Gordon Gould and Charles Townes. The laser and optical amplifier are foundational to powerin...

Tags: Laser, Internet, Communication

The first personal computer used by one person and controlled by a keyboard, the IBM 610, is invented by IBM.

Tags: Computer Science, Personal Computer, IBM, Computing

August 23: Federal Aviation Administration formed.

Tags: Aviation, Transportation, Air Travel, Infrastructure, Safety

Invention of the optical disc and the cassette tape.

Tags: Inventions, Audio Technology, Data Storage, Electronics, Consumer Goods, Entertainment, Philips, Music Industry

The MOSFET (MOS transistor) is invented by the Egyptian Mohamed Atalla and the Korean Dawon Kahng at Bell Labs. It is used in almost all modern electr...

Tags: Electronics, Bell Labs, Computer Revolution, Microchip

January 1: Cuban Revolution ends.

Tags: Cold War, Revolution, Communism, Dictatorship, Cuban Revolution, Fidel Castro, Political Change

May 16: Construction of the first laser.

Tags: Laser, Physics, Optics, Quantum Mechanics

The first functioning laser is invented by Theodore Maiman.

Tags: Laser, Physics, Scientific Breakthrough, Optics, Global Impact

April 21: Construction of Brasília, Brazil's new capital, finished.

Tags: Urban Planning, Capital City, Modernism, Political Development, Architecture, Construction, Government

November 8: The 1960 United States presidential election marks the first televised debates between presidential candidates.

Tags: Presidential Election, Television, Media, John F. Kennedy, Richard Nixon

January 20: John F. Kennedy is inaugurated as President of the United States.

Tags: Presidency, Cold War, John F. Kennedy, American History, Leadership, Democracy, Inauguration

July 26: Launch of the first geostationary satellite, Syncom 2.

Tags: Space Race, Telecommunications, Cold War, Space Exploration, Communication

November 22: Assassination of John F. Kennedy. Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson assumes office as President of the United States.

Tags: Assassination, Presidency, Cold War, Political Violence, Lyndon B. Johnson, John F. Kennedy, American History

March 22: The Beatles' first record, "Please Please Me", and the beginnings of the British Invasion.

Tags: Music, Popular Culture, British Invasion, Rock and Roll, The Beatles, Cultural Exchange, Entertainment Industry, Youth Culture

May 27: Bob Dylan releases The Freewheelin' Bob Dylan.

Tags: Music, Folk Music, Cultural Impact, American Culture, Album Release

March 31 – April 1: A coup d'état establishes a military dictatorship in Brazil.

Tags: Military Coup, Dictatorship, Cold War, Political Instability, Authoritarianism, Coup d'état

July 2: Civil Rights Act abolishes segregation in the USA.

Tags: Civil Rights Movement, Segregation, Legislation, Equality, Discrimination, Social Justice, African Americans, Voting Rights, Lyndon B. Johnson

April 26: Establishment of Rede Globo, now the largest TV network in Brazil and Latin America and the second-largest in the world after ABC.

Tags: Television, Mass Media, Communications, Media, Cultural Impact, Business

Kevlar is invented by Stephanie Kwolek at DuPont.

Tags: Materials Science, Military Technology, Manufacturing, Chemical Engineering

March 17: The Voting Rights Act of 1965, inspired by the Selma to Montgomery marches.

Tags: Civil Rights, Voting Rights, Legislation, African Americans, Equality, Social Justice, Civil Rights Movement

August 30: Bob Dylan releases Highway 61 Revisited.

Tags: Music, Folk Music, Rock and Roll, Album Release, Cultural Impact, American Culture

Joseph Weizenbaum, a German computer scientist at MIT, completes ELIZA, the first chatbot.

Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Computer Science, Natural Language Processing, Software Development

December 15: Death of Walt Disney.

Tags: Animation, Film, Entertainment, Media, Entrepreneurship, Disney, Popular Culture, American Culture

October 21: The March on the Pentagon becomes a major event in public opposition to the Vietnam War

Tags: Vietnam War, Anti-War Movement, Protest, Civil Rights Movement, Social Activism, Political Dissent, United States History, Lyndon B. Johnson

July 17: Death of John Coltrane, American jazz saxophonist, clarinettist and composer.

Tags: Music, American Culture, Composer

April 4: Assassination of Martin Luther King Jr.

Tags: Civil Rights Movement, Assassination, African Americans, Equality, Social Justice, Martin Luther King Jr., Nonviolent Resistance, Racial Discrimination

June 5: Assassination of Robert F. Kennedy

Tags: Assassination, Civil Rights Movement, Presidential Election, Political Violence, Social Upheaval

August 23: 1968 Democratic National Convention protests ("The whole world is watching")

Tags: Protests, Vietnam War, Civil Rights Movement, Chicago, Police Brutality, Political Polarization, Counterculture, Social Activism

October 29: Creation of Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), the earliest incarnation of the Internet.

Tags: Internet, Computer Science, Networking, Information Technology, Digital Revolution, Cold War, Development, Communication

The NPL network followed by the ARPANET implement packet switching for data communication, drawing on the concepts and designs of Donald Davies, and P...

Tags: Internet, Information Technology, Digital Revolution

January 20: Richard Nixon is inaugurated as President of the United States.

Tags: Presidential Inauguration, Cold War, Richard Nixon, American History, Executive Branch

January 22: Maiden flight of the Boeing 747.

Tags: Aviation, Commercial Aviation, Transportation, Aerospace, Jet Age, Globalization

April 11: Apollo 13 (Jim Lovell, Fred Haise, Jack Swigert) is launched toward the Moon.

Tags: Space Exploration, NASA, Moon Landing, Cold War, Space Race, Astronauts

February 18: The Chicago Seven are found not guilty of conspiring to incite riots at the 1968 Democratic National Convention.

Tags: Vietnam War, Anti-War Movement, Civil Rights, Protest, Activism, Legal System

October – December: FLQ seizes hostages, causing Prime Minister Pierre Elliot Trudeau of Canada to issue the War Measures Act.

Tags: Terrorism, Political Violence, Separatism, Hostage Crisis

November 15: Intel releases the world's first microprocessor, the Intel 4004.

Tags: Computer Revolution, Computing, Electronics

The first single-chip microprocessor, the Intel 4004, is invented. Its development was led by Federico Faggin, using his silicon-gate MOS technology. ...

Tags: Computer Science, Digital Revolution, Personal Computer, Electronics

IBM developed and released the world's first floppy disk and disk drive.

Tags: Computers, IBM, Data Storage, Hardware, Digital Revolution

July 5: The Twenty-sixth Amendment to the United States Constitution, formally certified by President Richard Nixon, lowers the voting age from 21 to ...

Tags: United States Constitution, Voting Rights, Civil Rights, Richard Nixon, Legislation

COINTELPRO officially ends.

Tags: FBI, Surveillance, Political Repression, Civil Rights Movement, Activism, Cold War, Intelligence, Covert Operations

November 29: The arcade game Pong, the first commercially successful video game, is released.

Tags: Video Games, Entertainment, Commercialization, Computer Science

The first video game console, used primarily for playing video games on a TV, is the Magnavox Odyssey.

Tags: Video Games, Home Entertainment, Consumer Electronics, Entertainment, Digital Revolution

May 3: Construction of the Sears Tower (later renamed to Willis Tower) completed.

Tags: Architecture, Skyscrapers, Modernism, Urban Development, Construction, Chicago, Economy

May 14: The first space station, Skylab, is launched.

Tags: Space Exploration, Space Race, Cold War, NASA, Astronauts, Space Station, Scientific Advancement

The first fiber optic communication systems were developed by Optelecom.

Tags: Telecommunications, Digital Revolution

The first commercial graphical user interface is introduced in 1973 on the Xerox Alto. The modern GUI is later popularized by the Xerox Star and Apple...

Tags: Computer Science, Software, Personal Computing, Digital Revolution

January 22: The Supreme Court of the United States decides Roe v. Wade.

Tags: Supreme Court, Reproductive Rights, Legal History, Civil Rights, Constitutional Law, Gender Equality, Social Change

September 11: 1973 Chilean coup d'état.

Tags: Cold War, Coup d'état, Military Dictatorship, Socialism, Democracy, Human Rights

The Transmission Control Program is proposed by Vinton Cerf and Robert E. Kahn, building on the work of Louis Pouzin and other Internet pioneers, crea...

Tags: Internet, Computer Science, Networking, Information Technology, Communication, Digital Revolution

August 8 – 9: Watergate scandal: Resignation of Richard Nixon; Vice President Gerald Ford assumes office as President of the United States, the first ...

Tags: Presidency, Resignation, Impeachment, Richard Nixon, Political Scandal, American Politics

January: Altair 8800, the first commercially successful personal computer, is released.

Tags: Personal Computer, Digital Revolution, Software, Hardware, Electronics

April 4: Microsoft founded in Albuquerque, New Mexico, by Bill Gates and Paul Allen.

Tags: Software, Personal Computing, Entrepreneurship, Digital Revolution

April 1: Steve Wozniak invents the Apple I and Steve Jobs then convinces Wozniak to sell the system, giving birth to Apple Computer.

Tags: Computers, Personal Computing, Entrepreneurship, Apple, Steve Jobs

Church Committee, a U.S. Senate select committee that investigated abuses by the CIA, NSA, FBI and Internal Revenue Service (IRS).

Tags: Ancient rome, Intelligence Agencies, CIA, FBI, Investigations, Cold War

Introduction of the first mass-produced personal computers.

Tags: Computer Revolution, Steve Jobs, Software Development

January 20: Jimmy Carter is inaugurated as President of the United States.

Tags: Presidency, Inauguration, Cold War, Foreign Policy

May 25: Star Wars is released and quickly becomes the highest-grossing film of all-time.

Tags: Film, Cinema, Science Fiction, Entertainment, Popular Culture, Hollywood

November 27: San Francisco Mayor George Moscone and City Supervisor Harvey Milk are assassinated by former Supervisor Dan White.

Tags: Assassination, Political Violence, LGBTQ+ Rights, San Francisco, Human Rights, Political Corruption

Public dialup information, messaging and e-commerce services, were pioneered through CompuServe and RadioShack's MicroNET, and the UK's Post Office Te...

Tags: Internet, Online Services, Telecommunications, E-commerce

November 4: The Iran hostage crisis begins.

Tags: Cold War, Revolution, Diplomacy, Hostage Crisis, International Relations, Political Conflict

June 1: Launch of Cable News Network (CNN).

Tags: Media, Television, News, Communication, Globalization

April 12: First orbital flight of the Space Shuttle.

Tags: Space Exploration, NASA, Space Shuttle Program, Aerospace Engineering, Cold War, Scientific Advancement

August 12: IBM Personal Computer released.

Tags: Personal Computing, Computers, Information Technology, IBM, Hardware, Software, Digital Revolution

The first reusable spacecraft, the Space Shuttle undergoes test flights ahead of full operation in 1982.

Tags: Space Exploration, Aerospace Engineering, NASA, Space Race, Cold War, Orbital Mechanics

January 20: Ronald Reagan is inaugurated as President of the United States. Iran releases the 52 U.S. hostages held in Tehran after 444 days.

Tags: Presidency, Hostage Crisis, Cold War, Diplomacy, Ronald Reagan

March 30: Assassination attempt on U.S. president Ronald Reagan.

Tags: Assassination, Political Violence, Reagan Administration, Cold War

December 7: The first execution by lethal injection takes place in Texas.

Tags: Criminal Justice, Capital Punishment, Execution, Texas, Law, United States History

November 30: Michael Jackson releases his landmark album Thriller, the best-selling album of all time.

Tags: Music, Album, Entertainment, Cultural Impact

Stereolithography is invented by Chuck Hull.

Tags: Manufacturing, Industrial Revolution

December 10: End of dictatorship in Argentina.

Tags: Democracy, Dictatorship, Cold War, Human Rights, Military Rule

The first commercially available cell phone in the US, the DynaTAC 8000X, is created by Motorola.

Tags: Telecommunications, Mobile Phones, Consumer Electronics, Communication

October 1: Release date of the Macintosh 128K, the first successful mass-market personal computer to feature a graphical user interface, built-in scre...

Tags: Computers, Graphical User Interface, Personal Computing, Apple, Software, Hardware

November 20: Windows 1.0, the first Microsoft Windows operating system, released.

Tags: Microsoft, Windows, Software, Personal Computing, Digital Revolution

March 15: End of military leadership in Brazil.

Tags: Military Dictatorship, Democratization, Cold War, Authoritarianism

August 20: Beginning of the Iran–Contra affair, a political scandal in the United States that occurred during the second term of the Reagan Administra...

Tags: Scandal, Cold War, Reagan Administration, Covert Operations, International Relations, Political Corruption

November 3: The Iran–Contra affair publicly announced.

Tags: Political Scandal, Cold War, Covert Operations, Reagan Administration, Nicaragua, National Security, Executive Branch, Foreign Policy

November 2: Morris worm, first computer virus distributed through the Internet.

Tags: Computer Science, Internet, Cybersecurity, Information Technology, Software

October 5: Chile's Augusto Pinochet loses a national plebiscite on his rule.

Tags: Dictatorship, Democracy, Chile, Cold War, Political Transition, Human Rights

January 20: George H. W. Bush is inaugurated as President of the United States.

Tags: Presidency, Elections, Cold War, Government, Inauguration

The first search engine invented was “Archie”, created by Alan Emtage a student at McGill University in Montreal.

Tags: Search Engine, Internet, World Wide Web, Information Technology, Computer Science, Software Development

March 11: End of the dictatorship of Augusto Pinochet in Chile.

Tags: Dictatorship, Transition to Democracy, Human Rights, Political Reform, Cold War, Chilean History, Democratization, Military Rule

July 1: President George H. W. Bush nominates the controversial Clarence Thomas for the Supreme Court of the United States to replace Thurgood Marshal...

Tags: Supreme Court, Telecommunications, Mobile Technology, United States Politics

October 31 - Microsoft released Windows 3.1.

Tags: Microsoft, Windows, Operating Systems, Software, Graphical User Interface, Technology Industry, Digital Revolution

IBM created the first mobile app with SIMON; it had 10 built-in apps from Email to Calendar.

Tags: Mobile Computing, Smartphones, IBM, Communication, Software, Early Technology, Computing

January 20: Bill Clinton is inaugurated as President of the United States.

Tags: Presidential Inauguration, Bill Clinton, Government

IBM Simon, the world's first smartphone, is developed by IBM.

Tags: Communication, Mobile Phones, Smartphones, IBM, Telecommunications, Consumer Electronics

June 15: Release date of Disney's The Lion King.

Tags: Animation, Film, Entertainment, Disney, Cinema, Cultural Impact

June 23: Release date of Forrest Gump.

Tags: Film, Cinema, American Culture, Popular Culture, Hollywood

DVD is an optical disc storage format, invented and developed by Philips, Sony, Toshiba, and Panasonic in 1995. DVDs offer higher storage capacity tha...

Tags: Digital Media, Consumer Electronics, Entertainment, Philips, Sony

November 22: Premiere of Toy Story, the first computer-animated feature film and the first Pixar Animation Studios film.

Tags: Animation, Film, Cinema, Entertainment

The Ciena Corporation, in partnership with Sprint, deployed the first commercial dense wavelength-division multiplexing system, which created the mass...

Tags: Internet, Telecommunications, Infrastructure, Networking

Bolt and Six Degrees (1997) both become the first social media sites.

Tags: Internet, Social Media, Networking, World Wide Web, Communication, Software Development

August 29: Netflix is launched.

Tags: Internet, Streaming, Digital Media, Entertainment, Telecommunications, Dot-com Bubble

The first weblog, a discussion or informational website, was created by Jorn Barger, and later shortened to "blog" in 1999 by Peter Merholz.

Tags: Internet, World Wide Web, Digital Media, Social Media

June 25 - Microsoft released Windows 98.

Tags: Software, Microsoft, Operating Systems, Personal Computing, Internet, Digital Revolution, Windows

September 4: Google is founded by Larry Page and Sergey Brin.

Tags: Internet, Search Engine, Computer Science, Digital Revolution

December 19: The impeachment of Bill Clinton begins as a result of the Clinton–Lewinsky scandal.

Tags: Impeachment, Political Scandal, Bill Clinton, Presidential Politics, Political Ethics, Governance

The first digital video recorder (DVR), the TiVo, is launched by Xperi.

Tags: Digital Media, Consumer Electronics, Home Entertainment, Television, Streaming

February 2: Hugo Chavez becomes President of Venezuela.

Tags: Venezuela, Presidency, Hugo Chávez, Populism, Socialism, Elections

February 17 - Microsoft released Windows 2000.

Tags: Operating Systems, Microsoft, Software, Computing, Digital Revolution, Business

September 13: Steve Jobs introduces the public beta of Mac OS X.

Tags: Operating Systems, Apple, Steve Jobs, Software, Computer Science, Digital Revolution

July 11–25: The 2000 Camp David Summit, aimed at reaching a "final status" agreement between the Palestinians and the Israelis, was held between Unite...

Tags: Israeli-Palestinian conflict, Peace Process, Diplomacy, Summit, Yasser Arafat, Bill Clinton

December 12: In Bush v. Gore, the United States Supreme Court declares George W. Bush President of the United States.

Tags: Supreme Court, Presidential Election, George W. Bush, Legal System, Constitutional Law

October 23: Steve Jobs introduces the first iPod.

Tags: Consumer Electronics, Apple, Steve Jobs, Globalization

March 14: SpaceX is founded by Elon Musk.

Tags: Space Exploration, Aerospace, Commercial Space, Entrepreneurship

April 11 - 13: 2002 Venezuelan coup d'état attempt fails to overthrow president Hugo Chavez.

Tags: Coup d'état, Political Instability, Venezuela, Democracy, Failed Coup

February 4: Facebook is formed by Mark Zuckerberg, Andrew McCollum, Eduardo Saverin, Dustin Moskovitz, and Chris Hughes.

Tags: Social Media, Internet, Communication, Social Networking, Web 2.0, Global Impact

First podcast, invented by Adam Curry and Dave Winer, is a program made available in digital format for download over the Internet and it usually feat...

Tags: Digital Media, Internet, Audio, Communication

February 14: YouTube is founded by Jawed Karim, Chad Hurley and Steve Chen.

Tags: Internet, Social Media, Digital Media, Web 2.0

March 21: Twitter is launched.

Tags: Social Media, Internet, Communication, Social Networking, Global Impact

October 9 – November 13: Google acquires YouTube for US$1.65 billion.

Tags: Internet, Social Media, Digital Media, Google, Web 2.0

January 9: Introduction of the iPhone.

Tags: Mobile Phones, Smartphones, Apple, Steve Jobs, Consumer Electronics, Digital Revolution, Internet

Netflix debuted the first popular video-on-demand service

Tags: Internet, Streaming, Entertainment, Digital Media, Global Impact

In 2007, Amazon launched the first Kindle e-reader, a device developed under the direction of CEO Jeff Bezos to beat competitors to market; it was fol...

Tags: Amazon, Jeff Bezos, Consumer Electronics, Internet

January 4: Nancy Pelosi becomes the first female Speaker of the United States House of Representatives.

Tags: House of Representatives

October 7: Spotify is launched.

Tags: Internet, Music, Digital Media, Streaming, Entertainment, Business, Copyright

Tesla Roadster launched, the first mass production lithium-ion battery electric car.

Tags: Electric Vehicles, Automotive Industry, Environmentalism, Sustainability, Transportation

November 4: Barack Obama is elected the first African-American President of the United States.

Tags: Presidential Election, Civil Rights, Equality, Democracy

January 20: First inauguration of Barack Obama.

Tags: Presidency, Civil Rights, Elections, Inauguration, Global Impact

The iPad is introduced.

Tags: Computing, Apple, Mobile Technology, Consumer Electronics

Instagram is launched.

Tags: Social Media, Internet, Social Networking, Digital Culture, Communication

Space Shuttle program is officially ended.

Tags: Space Exploration, NASA, Space Race, Aerospace Engineering, Cold War Legacy, Human Spaceflight, International Collaboration

November 6: Barack Obama wins second term as President of the United States, defeating former Massachusetts Governor Mitt Romney.

Tags: Presidential Election, Democracy

March 5: Death and state funeral of Hugo Chavez.

Tags: Venezuela, Presidency, Socialism, Hugo Chávez, Political Leadership, State Funeral, Populism

Edward Snowden releases classified documents concerning mass surveillance by the NSA.

Tags: Surveillance, Privacy, National Security, Transparency, Global Impact

Uruguay becomes the first country to fully legalize cannabis.

Tags: Cannabis, Drug Policy, Legalization, Public Health, Social Reform

February 28 – March 13: Pope Benedict XVI resigns, the first Pope to do since 1415, and Pope Francis is elected, becoming the first Pope from Latin Am...

Tags: Catholicism, Pope Francis, Resignation, Succession, Vatican

The heads of China and Taiwan meet for the first time, while the United States and Cuba reestablish full diplomatic relations.

Tags: Diplomacy, International Relations, Cold War Legacy, Cross-Strait Relations, US Foreign Policy

March 20: Barack Obama becomes the first U.S. president to visit Cuba since Calvin Coolidge in 1928.

Tags: Diplomacy, Foreign Relations, Cold War Legacy

November 8: Donald Trump wins the 2016 presidential election, in an upset against Hillary Clinton, the first woman to be nominated by a major party.

Tags: Presidential Election, Populism, Political Polarization, Democracy, Donald Trump, Global Politics

The Colombian government signs a peace deal with FARC to end the Colombian conflict, despite narrowly losing a referendum.

Tags: Peace Treaty, Civil War, Insurgency, FARC, Guerrilla Warfare, Political Conflict, Referendum

The President of Brazil, Dilma Rousseff, is impeached.

Tags: Impeachment, Presidency, Political Crisis, Corruption, Democracy, Political Instability

Death and state funeral of Fidel Castro.

Tags: Cold War, Cuban Revolution, Socialism, Communism, Dictatorship, Political Transition, Fidel Castro, State Funeral

January 20: Donald Trump is inaugurated as President of the United States.

Tags: Presidential Inauguration, Donald Trump, Political Transition, Executive Branch, Global Impact, Democracy, Governance

IBM launches IBM Q System One, its first integrated quantum computing system for commercial use.

Tags: Quantum Computing, IBM, Computer Science, Commercialization, Information Technology

December 18: US President Donald Trump is impeached by the House of Representatives for abuse of power and obstruction of Congress.

Tags: Impeachment, Presidential Politics, House of Representatives, Donald Trump, Political Scandals

May 30: Crewed spaceflight resumes in the United States for the first time since 2011.

Tags: Space Exploration, NASA, Space Race, Commercial Spaceflight, Space Shuttle Program, Space Station, SpaceX, Human Spaceflight

OpenAI demonstrated an Artificial Intelligence model called GPT-3. The program was created to generate human-like responses when given prompts.

Tags: Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Natural Language Processing, Software, Computer Science, OpenAI

January 16 – February 5: Donald Trump is acquitted by the United States Senate in his first impeachment trial.

Tags: Impeachment, Ancient rome, Donald Trump, President, Political Scandal, Constitutional Law

September 16: A United Nations Human Rights Council fact-finding mission formally accuses the Venezuelan government of crimes against humanity, includ...

Tags: Human Rights, United Nations, International Law, Crimes Against Humanity, Political Opposition, Authoritarianism, Venezuela

The 2020 U.S. presidential election saw record voter turnout, and although Joe Biden was declared the winner, Donald Trump contested the results, culm...

Tags: Presidential Election, Democracy, Political Polarization, Donald Trump, Joe Biden, Political Crisis

April 19: Ingenuity becomes the first vehicle to fly in the atmosphere of another planet. Miguel Díaz-Canel becomes First Secretary of the Communist P...

Tags: Space Exploration, Mars, Aviation, Cuban Revolution, Communist Party

July 19: Blue Origin successfully conducts its first human test flight, with a reusable New Shepard rocket delivering four crew members into space inc...

Tags: Space Exploration, Commercial Spaceflight, Jeff Bezos

September 16: Inspiration4, launched by SpaceX, becomes the first all-civilian spaceflight, carrying a four-person crew on a three-day orbit of the Ea...

Tags: Space Exploration, SpaceX, Commercial Spaceflight

January 6: Supporters of President Donald Trump, gathered after a rally led by him, attack the United States Capitol, leading to five deaths.

Tags: Political Violence, Protest, Democracy, Donald Trump, Elections, Insurgency, Political Polarization

January 13 – February 13: Donald Trump is impeached for a second time following the events of January 6, but is acquitted again after his trial from F...

Tags: Impeachment, Political Scandals

January 20: Joe Biden is inaugurated as President of the United States. Kamala Harris, sworn in as vice president, becomes the first woman, first Afri...

Tags: Presidency, Inauguration, Democracy, Joe Biden, Equality

June 19: Joe Biden signs Juneteenth National Independence Day Act into law, making Juneteenth a federal holiday. It is the first new federal holiday s...

Tags: Joe Biden, Civil Rights, African American History, Equality, Legislation

July 7: Haitian President Jovenel Moïse, is assassinated in a midnight attack by unknown mercenaries.

Tags: Assassination, Political Instability, Haiti, Presidential Assassination, Mercenaries, Political Violence

April 14: Elon Musk purchases Twitter.

Tags: Social Media, Internet, Business, Communication

November 16: NASA launches Artemis 1, the first uncrewed mission of its Space Launch System, the most powerful rocket ever to reach orbit.

Tags: Space Exploration, NASA, Space Race, Exploration

June 30: Ketanji Brown Jackson becomes the first black woman on the Supreme Court.

Tags: Supreme Court, Civil Rights, Equality, Gender Equality, Race Relations

December 7: Self-coup attempt, impeachment and arrest of President Pedro Castillo sparks protests in Peru.

Tags: Political Crisis, Impeachment, Protests, Coup Attempt, President, Democracy, Peru, Government

April 20: SpaceX conducts the first full stack test launch of the world's most powerful rocket, Starship.

Tags: Space Exploration, SpaceX, Commercial Space

January 8: 2023 Brazilian Congress attack.

Tags: Political Violence, Democracy, Protests, Political Instability

October 3: Kevin McCarthy's expulsion via a motion introduced by Matt Gaetz is the first ousting of a Speaker of the United States House of Representa...

Tags: House of Representatives, Political Crisis, Legislative Branch

June 24: Julian Assange released from prison in UK after accepting US plea bargain, returns to Australia

Tags: Espionage, Freedom of the Press, International Law, Transparency

November 5: Donald Trump wins US presidential election

Tags: Presidential Election, Donald Trump, Democracy, Elections, Political Campaigns, American Politics