Wednesday, December 7, 2016
Tuesday, November 29, 2016
History of the world
1–49
Birth of Jesus Christ (variously given
from 4 B.C. to A.D. 7). After Augustus, Tiberius
becomes emperor (dies, A.D. 37), succeeded by Caligula
(assassinated, A.D. 41), who is followed by Claudius. Crucifixion of
Jesus (probably A.D. 30). Han dynasty in China founded by Emperor
Kuang Wu Ti. Buddhism introduced to China.
50–99
Claudius
poisoned (A.D. 54), succeeded by Nero (commits
suicide, A.D. 68). Missionary journeys of Paul the
Apostle (A.D. 34–60). Jews revolt against Rome; Jerusalem destroyed (A.D. 70). Roman
persecutions of Christians begin (A.D. 64).Colosseum built in
Rome (A.D. 71–80). Trajan (rules A.D. 98–116); Roman
empire extends to Mesopotamia, Arabia, Balkans. First Gospels of St. Mark, St.
John, St. Matthew.
100–149
Hadrian rules
Rome (A.D. 117–138); codifies Roman law, rebuilds Pantheon,
establishes postal system, builds wall between England and Scotland. Jews
revolt under Bar Kokhba (A.D. 122–135); final Diaspora
(dispersion) of Jews begins.
150–199
Marcus Aurelius rules Rome (A.D. 161–180).
Oldest Mayan temples in Central America (c. A.D. 200).
200–249
Goths invade Asia
Minor (c. A.D. 220). Roman persecutions of Christians
increase. Persian (Sassanid) empire re-established. End of Chinese Han dynasty.
250–299
Increasing invasions of the Roman empire
by Franks and Goths. Buddhism spreads in China. Classic period of Mayan
civilization (A.D. 250–900); develop hieroglyphic writing, advances in
art, architecture, science.
300–349
Constantine the Great
(rules A.D. 312–337) reunites eastern and western Roman empires, with
new capital (Constantinople) on site of
Byzantium (A.D. 330); issues Edict of Milan legalizing
Christianity (A.D. 313); becomes a Christian on his
deathbed (A.D. 337). Council of
Nicaea (A.D. 325) defines orthodox Christian doctrine. First
Gupta dynasty in India (c. A.D. 320).
350–399
Huns (Mongols) invade
Europe (c. A.D. 360). Theodosius the Great
(rules A.D. 392–395)—last emperor of a united Roman empire. Roman
empire permanently divided in A.D. 395: western empire ruled
from Rome; eastern empire ruled from Constantinople.
400–449
Western Roman empire disintegrates under
weak emperors. Alaric, king of the Visigoths, sacks
Rome (A.D. 410). Attila, Hun chieftain, attacks Roman
provinces (A.D. 433). St. Patrick returns to
Ireland (A.D. 432) and brings Christianity to the island. St.
Augustine's City of God (A.D. 411).
450–499
Vandals destroy
Rome (A.D. 455). Western Roman empire ends as Odoacer, German
chieftain, overthrows last Roman emperor, Romulus Augustulus, and becomes king
of Italy (A.D. 476). Ostrogothic kingdom of Italy established by
Theodoric the Great (A.D.493). Clovis, ruler of the Franks, is
converted to Christianity (A.D. 496). First schism between
western and eastern churches (A.D. 484).
500–549
Eastern and western churches
reconciled (519). Justinian I, the Great (483–565),becomes
Byzantine emperor (527), issues his first code of civil
laws (529), conquers North Africa, Italy, and part of Spain. Plague
spreads through Europe (542 et seq.). Arthur, semi-legendary king
of the Britons (killed, c. 537). Boëthius, Roman scholar
(executed, 524).
550–599
Beginnings of European silk industry
after Justinian's missionaries smuggle silkworms out of
China (553). Mohammed, founder of Islam (570–632). Buddhism
in Japan (c. 560). St. Augustine of Canterbury brings Christianity to
Britain (597). After killing about half the population, plague in
Europe subsides (594).
600–649
Mohammed flees from Mecca to Medina
(the Hegira); first year of the Muslim
calendar (622). Muslim empire grows (634). Arabs conquer
Jerusalem (637), conquer Persians (641).
650–699
Arabs attack North
Africa (670), destroy Carthage (697). Venerable Bede,
English monk (672–735).
700–749
Arab empire extends from Lisbon to China
(by 716). Charles Martel, Frankish leader, defeats Arabs at
Tours/Poitiers, halting Arab advance in
Europe (732). Charlemagne (742–814). Introduction of
pagodas in Japan from China.
750–799
Charlemagne becomes king of the
Franks (771). Caliph Harun al-Rashid rules Arab
empire (786–809): the “golden age” of Arab culture. Vikings begin
attacks on Britain (790), land in Ireland (795). City of
Machu Picchu flourishes in Peru.
800–849
Charlemagne crowned first Holy Roman
Emperor in Rome (800). Charlemagne dies (814), succeeded by
his son, Louis the Pious, who divides France among his
sons (817). Arabs conquer Crete, Sicily, and Sardinia (826–827).
850–899
Norsemen attack as far south as the
Mediterranean but are thwarted (859), discover
Iceland (861). Alfred the Great becomes king of
Britain (871), defeats Danish invaders (878). Russian
nation founded by Vikings under Prince Rurik, establishing capital at
Novgorod (855–879).
900–949
Beginning of Mayan Post-Classical period
(900–1519). Vikings discover Greenland (c. 900). Arab Spain under Abd
ar-Rahman III becomes center of learning (912–961).Otto I becomes King of
Germany (936).
950–999
Mieczyslaw I becomes first ruler of
Poland (960). Eric the Red establishes first Viking colony in
Greenland (982). Hugh Capet elected King of France
in 987; Capetian dynasty to rule until 1328. Musical
notation systematized (c. 990). Vikings and Danes attack
Britain (988–999). Otto I crowned Holy Roman Emperor by Pope John
XII (962).
c. 1000–1300
Classic Pueblo period of
Anasazi culture; cliff dwellings.
c. 1000
Hungary and Scandinavia converted to
Christianity. Viking raider Leif Eriksson discovers North America, calls it
Vinland. Beowulf, Old English epic.
c. 1008
Murasaki Shikibu finishes The
Tale of Genji, the world's first novel.
1009
Muslims destroy Holy Sepulchre in
Jerusalem.
1013
Danes control England. Canute takes
throne (1016), conquers Norway (1028), dies (1035); kingdom
divided among his sons: Harold Harefoot (England), Sweyn (Norway), Hardecanute
(Denmark).
1040
Macbeth murders Duncan, king of Scotland.
1053
Robert Guiscard, Norman invader,
establishes kingdom in Italy, conquers Sicily (1072).
1054
Final separation between Eastern
(Orthodox) and Western (Roman) churches.
1055
Seljuk Turks, Asian nomads, move west,
capture Baghdad, Armenia (1064), Syria, and Palestine (1075).
1066
William of Normandy invades England,
defeats last Saxon king, Harold II, at Battle of Hastings, crowned William I of
England (“the Conqueror”).
1068
Construction on the cathedral in Pisa,
Italy, begins.
1073
Emergence of strong papacy when Gregory
VII is elected. Conflict with English and French kings and German emperors will
continue throughout medieval period.
1095
At Council of Clermont, Pope Urban II
calls for a holy war to wrest control of Jerusalem from Muslims, which launches
the First Crusade (1096), one of at least 8 European military campaigns between
1095 and 1291 to regain the Holy Land. (For detailed chronology, see The Crusades.)
1100–1300
Construction of Cathedral at Chartres,
France.
1144
Second Crusade begins.
c. 1150
Angkor Wat is
completed.
1150–1167
Universities of Paris and Oxford founded
in France and England.
1162
Thomas á Becket named
Archbishop of Canterbury, murdered by Henry II's
men (1170). Troubadours (wandering minstrels) glorify romantic
concepts of feudalism.
1169
Ibn-Rushd begins translating Aristotle's
works.
1189
Richard I (“the Lionhearted”) succeeds
Henry II in England, killed in France (1199), succeeded by King John.
Third Crusade
1200–1204
Fourth Crusade.
1211
Genghis Khan invades China, captures
Peking (1214), conquers Persia (1218),invades
Russia (1223), dies (1227).
1212
Children's Crusade.
1215
King John forced by barons to sign Magna Carta at
Runneymede, limiting royal power.
1217
Fifth Crusade.
1228
Sixth Crusade.
1231
The Inquisition begins
as Pope Gregory IX assigns Dominicans responsibility for combating heresy.
Torture used (1252). Ferdinand and Isabella establish Spanish
Inquisition (1478). Tourquemada, Grand Inquisitor, forces conversion
or expulsion of Spanish Jews (1492). Forced conversion of
Moors (1499). Inquisition in Portugal (1531). First
Protestants burned at the stake in Spain (1543). Spanish Inquisition
abolished (1834).
1241
Mongols defeat Germans in Silesia, invade
Poland and Hungary, withdraw from Europe after Ughetai, Mongol leader, dies.
1248
Seventh Crusade.
1251
Kublai Khan governs China, becomes ruler
of Mongols (1259), establishes
Yuan dynasty in China (1280), invades
Burma (1287), dies (1294).
1260
Chartres cathedral consecrated.
1270
Eighth Crusade.
1271
Marco Polo of
Venice travels to China, in court of Kublai Khan (1275–1292), returns
to Genoa (1295) and writes Travels.
1273
Thomas Aquinas stops
work on Summa Theologica, the basis of all Catholic
theological teaching; never completes it.
1295
English King Edward I summons the Model
Parliament.
1312–1337
Mali Empire reaches its height in Africa
under King Mansa Musa.
c. 1325
The beginning of the Renaissance in
Italy: writers Dante, Petrarch, Boccaccio; painter Giotto. Development of Noh drama
in Japan. Aztecs establish
Tenochtitlán on site of modern Mexico City. Peak of Muslim culture in Spain.
Small cannon in use.
1337–1453
Hundred Years' War—English and French
kings fight for control of France.
1347–1351
At least 25 million people die in
Europe's “Black Death” (bubonic plague).
1368
Ming Dynasty
begins in China.
1376–1382
John Wycliffe, pre-Reformation religious
reformer, and followers translate Latin Bible into English.
1378
The Great Schism (to 1417)—rival
popes in Rome and Avignon, France, fight for control of Roman Catholic Church.
c. 1387
Chaucer's Canterbury Tales.
1398
Tamerlane, the Mongol conqueror, begins
last great conquest—Delhi.
1407
Casa di San Giorgio, one of the first
public banks, founded in Genoa.
1415
Henry V defeats French at Agincourt. Jan
Hus, Bohemian preacher and follower of Wycliffe, burned at stake in Constance
as heretic.
1418–1460
Portugal's Prince Henry the Navigator sponsors
exploration of Africa's coast.
1420
Brunelleschi begins work on the Duomo in
Florence.
1428
Joan of Arc leads
French against English, captured by Burgundians (1430) and turned
over to the English, burned at the stake as a witch after ecclesiastical
trial (1431).
1438
Incas rule in
Peru.
1450
Florence becomes center of Renaissance
arts and learning under the Medicis.
1453
Turks conquer Constantinople, end of
the Byzantine
empire, beginning of the Ottoman empire.
1455
The Wars of the Roses, civil wars between
rival noble factions, begin in England (to 1485). Having invented printing
with movable type at Mainz, Germany, Johann Gutenberg completes first Bible.
1462
Ivan the Great rules Russia
until 1505 as first czar; ends payment of tribute to Mongols.
1492
Moors conquered in Spain by troops of
Ferdinand and Isabella. Columbus becomes
first European to encounter Caribbean islands, returns to
Spain (1493). Second voyage to Dominica, Jamaica, Puerto
Rico (1493–1496). Third voyage to Orinoco (1498). Fourth
voyage to Honduras and Panama (1502–1504).
1497
Vasco da Gama sails around Africa and
discovers sea route to India (1498). Establishes Portuguese colony in
India (1502).John Cabot, employed by England, reaches and explores
Canadian coast. Michelangelo's Bacchus sculpture.
1501
First black slaves in America brought to
Spanish colony of Santo Domingo.
c. 1503
Leonardo da Vinci paints
the Mona Lisa. Michelangelo sculpts the David (1504).
1506
St. Peter's Church started in Rome;
designed and decorated by such artists and architects as Bramante,
Michelangelo, da Vinci, Raphael, and Bernini before its completion
in 1626.
1509
Henry VIII ascends
English throne. Michelangelo paints the ceiling of the Sistine Chapel.
1513
Balboa becomes the first European to
encounter the Pacific Ocean. Machiavelli writes The Prince.
1517
Turks conquer Egypt, control
Arabia. Martin
Luther posts his 95 theses denouncing church abuses on church door in
Wittenberg—start of the Reformation in
Germany.
1519
Ulrich Zwingli begins Reformation in
Switzerland. Hernando Cortes conquers Mexico for Spain. Charles I of Spain is
chosen Holy Roman Emperor Charles V. Portuguese explorer Ferdinand Magellan
sets out to circumnavigate the globe.
1520
Luther excommunicated by Pope Leo
X. Suleiman I (“the
Magnificent”) becomes Sultan of Turkey, invades
Hungary (1521), Rhodes (1522), attacks
Austria (1529),annexes
Hungary (1541), Tripoli (1551), makes peace with
Persia (1553), destroys Spanish
fleet (1560), dies (1566). Magellan reaches the Pacific, is
killed by Philippine natives (1521). One of his ships under Juan
Sebastián del Cano continues around the world, reaches Spain (1522).
1524
Verrazano, sailing under the French flag,
explores the New England coast and New York Bay.
1527
Troops of the Holy Roman Empire attack
Rome, imprison Pope Clement VII—the end of the Italian Renaissance. Castiglione
writes The Courtier. The Medici family expelled from Florence.
1532
Pizarro marches from Panama to Peru,
kills the Inca chieftain, Atahualpa, of
Peru (1533). Machiavelli's The Prince published
posthumously.
1535
Reformation begins as Henry VIII makes
himself head of English Church after being excommunicated by Pope. Sir Thomas More executed
as traitor for refusal to acknowledge king's religious authority. Jacques
Cartier sails up the St. Lawrence River, basis of French claims to Canada.
1536
Henry VIII executes second wife, Anne
Boleyn. John Calvin establishes Reformed and Presbyterian form of Protestantism
in Switzerland, writes Institutes of the Christian Religion. Danish
and Norwegian Reformations. Michelangelo's Last Judgment.
1541
John Knox leads Reformation in Scotland,
establishes Presbyterian church there (1560).
1543
Publication of On the Revolution
of Heavenly Bodies by Polish scholar Nicolaus Copernicus—giving his
theory that the earth revolves around the sun.
1545
Council of Trent to meet intermittently
until 1563 to define Catholic dogma and doctrine, reiterate papal
authority.
1547
Ivan IV (“the
Terrible”) crowned as czar of Russia, begins conquest of Astrakhan and
Kazan (1552), battles nobles (boyars) for
power (1564), kills his son (1580), dies, and is succeeded
by his weak and feeble-minded son, Fyodor I.
1553
Roman Catholicism restored in England by
Queen Mary I.
1556
Akbar the Great becomes Mogul emperor of
India, conquers Afghanistan (1581),continues wars of conquest
(until 1605).
1558
Queen Elizabeth I ascends
the throne (rules to 1603). Restores Protestantism, establishes state
Church of England (Anglicanism). Renaissance will reach height in England—Shakespeare, Marlowe,
Spenser.
1561
Persecution of Huguenots in
France stopped by Edict of Orleans. French religious wars begin again with
massacre of Huguenots at Vassy. St. Bartholomew's Day Massacre—thousands of
Huguenots murdered (1572). Amnesty granted (1573).Persecution
continues periodically until Edict of Nantes (1598) gives Huguenots
religious freedom (until 1685).
1568
Protestant Netherlands revolts against
Catholic Spain; independence will be acknowledged by Spain in 1648.
1570
Japan permits visits of foreign ships.
Queen Elizabeth I excommunicated by Pope. Turks attack Cyprus and war on
Venice. Turkish fleet defeated at Battle of Lepanto by Spanish and Italian
fleets (1571). Peace of Constantinople (1572) ends Turkish
attacks on Europe.
1580
Francis Drake returns to England after
circumnavigating the globe; knighted by Queen Elizabeth
I (1581). Montaigne's Essays published.
1582
Pope Gregory XIII implements the
Gregorian calendar.
1583
William of Orange rules the Netherlands;
assassinated on orders of Philip II of Spain (1584).
1587
Mary, Queen of Scots,
executed for treason by order of Queen Elizabeth I. Monteverdi's First
Book of Madrigals.
1588
Defeat of the Spanish Armada by English.
Henry, King of Navarre and Protestant leader, recognized as Henry IV, first
Bourbon king of France. Converts to Roman Catholicism in 1593 in
attempt to end religious wars.
1590
Henry IV enters Paris, wars on
Spain (1595), marries Marie de
Medici (1600), assassinated (1610). Spenser's The
Faerie Queen. El Greco's St. Jerome. Galileo's
experiments with falling objects.
1598
Boris Godunov becomes Russian czar. Tycho
Brahe describes his astronomical experiments.
1600
Giordano Bruno burned as a heretic.
English East India Company established.
1603
Ieyasu rules Japan, moves capital to Edo
(Tokyo). Shakespeare's Hamlet.
1605
Cervantes's Don
Quixote de la Mancha, the first modern novel.
1607
Jamestown, Virginia, established—first
permanent English colony on American mainland. Pocahontas, daughter
of Chief Powhatan, saves life of John Smith.
1609
Samuel de Champlain establishes French
colony of Quebec. The Relation, the first newspaper, debuts in
Germany.
1610
Galileo sees the
moons of Jupiter through his telescope.
1611
Gustavus Adolphus elected King of Sweden.
King James Version of the Bible published in England. Rubens paints his Descent
from the Cross.
1614
John Napier discovers logarithms.
1618
Start of the Thirty Years' War >
Protestants revolt against Catholic oppression; Denmark, Sweden, and France
will invade Germany in later phases of war. Kepler proposes last of three laws
of planetary motion.
1619
A Dutch ship brings the first African
slaves to British North America.
1620
Pilgrims, after
three-month voyage in Mayflower, land at Plymouth Rock.
Francis Bacon's Novum Organum.
1623
New Netherland founded by Dutch West
India Company.
1630
Massachusetts Bay Colony.
1632
Maryland founded by Lord Baltimore.
1633
Inquisition forces Galileo (astronomer)
to recant his belief in Copernican theory.
1642
English Civil War.
Cavaliers, supporters of Charles I, against Roundheads, parliamentary forces.
Oliver Cromwell defeats Royalists (1646). Parliament demands reforms.
Charles I offers concessions, brought to
trial (1648), beheaded (1649). Cromwell becomes Lord
Protector (1653). Rembrandt paints his Night Watch.
1643
Taj Mahal completed.
1644
End of Ming Dynasty in China—Manchus come
to power. Descartes's Principles
of Philosophy.
1648
End of the Thirty Years' War. German
population about half of what it was in 1618because of war and pestilence.
1658
Cromwell dies; son Richard resigns and
Puritan government collapses.
1660
English Parliament calls for the
restoration of the monarchy; invites Charles II to return from France.
1661
Charles II is crowned King of England.
Louis XIV begins personal rule as absolute monarch; starts to build Versailles.
1664
British take New Amsterdam from the
Dutch. English limit “Nonconformity” with reestablished Anglican Church. Isaac
Newton's experiments with gravity.
1665
Great Plague in London kills 75,000.
1666
Great Fire of London. Molière's Misanthrope.
1667
Milton's Paradise
Lost, widely considered the greatest epic poem in English.
1682
Pennsylvania founded by William Penn.
1683
War of European powers against the Turks
(to 1699). Vienna withstands three-month Turkish siege; high point of
Turkish advance in Europe.
1684
Gottfried Wilhelm Leibniz's calculus published.
1685
James II succeeds Charles II in England,
calls for freedom of conscience (1687). Protestants fear restoration
of Catholicism and demand “Glorious Revolution.” William of Orange invited to
England and James II escapes to France (1688). William III and his
wife, Mary, crowned. In France, Edict of Nantes of 1598, granting
freedom of worship to Huguenots, is revoked by Louis XIV; thousands of
Protestants flee.
1689
Peter the Great becomes
Czar of Russia—attempts to westernize nation and build Russia as a military
power. Defeats Charles XII of Sweden at Poltava (1709). Beginning of
the French and
Indian Wars (to 1763), campaigns in America linked to a series of
wars between France and England for domination of Europe.
1690
William III of England defeats former
king James II and Irish rebels at Battle of the Boyne in Ireland. John Locke's Human
Understanding.
1701
War of the Spanish
Succession begins—the last of Louis XIV's wars for domination of the
continent. The Peace of Utrecht (1714) will end the conflict and mark the rise
of the British Empire. Called Queen Anne's War in America, it ends with the
British taking New Foundland, Acadia, and Hudson's Bay Territory from France,
and Gibraltar and Minorca from Spain.
1704
Deerfield (Mass.) Massacre of English
colonists by French and Indians. Bach's first
cantata. Jonathan
Swift's Tale of a Tub. Boston News Letter—first
newspaper in America.
1707
United Kingdom of Great Britain
formed—England, Wales, and Scotland joined by parliamentary Act of Union.
1729
Bach's St. Matthew Passion. Isaac Newton's Principia translated
from Latin into English.
1732
Benjamin Franklin begins
publishing Poor Richard's Almanack. James Oglethorpe and
others found Georgia.
1735
John Peter Zenger, New York editor,
acquitted of libel in New York, establishing press freedom.
1740
Capt. Vitus Bering, Dane employed by
Russia, discovers Alaska. Frederick II “the Great” crowned king of Prussia.
1746
British defeat Scots under Stuart
Pretender Prince Charles at Culloden Moor. Last battle fought on British soil.
1751
Publication of the Encyclopédie begins
in France, the “bible” of the Enlightenment.
1755
Samuel Johnson's Dictionary first
published. Great earthquake in Lisbon, Portugal—over 60,000 die. U.S. postal
service established.
1756
Seven Years' War (French
and Indian Wars in America) (to 1763), in which Britain and Prussia defeat
France, Spain, Austria, and Russia. France loses North American colonies; Spain
cedes Florida to Britain in exchange for Cuba. In India, over 100 British prisoners
die in “Black Hole of Calcutta.”
1757
Beginning of British Empire in
India as Robert Clive, British commander, defeats Nawab of Bengal at Plassey.
1759
1762
Catherine II (“the
Great”) becomes czarina of Russia. Jean Jacques Rousseau's Social
Contract. Mozart tours
Europe as six-year-old prodigy.
1765
James Watt invents the steam engine.
Britain imposes the Stamp Act on the American colonists.
1769
Sir William Arkwright patents a spinning
machine—an early step in the Industrial Revolution.
1770
The Boston Massacre.
1772
Joseph Priestley and
Daniel Rutherford independently discover nitrogen. Partition of
Poland—in 1772, 1793, and 1795, Austria, Prussia, and
Russia divide land and people of Poland, end its independence.
1773
The Boston Tea Party.
1774
First Continental Congress drafts
“Declaration of Rights and Grievances.”
1775
The American Revolution begins
with battle of Lexington and Concord. Second Continental Congress. Priestley
discovers hydrochloric and sulfuric acids.
1776
Declaration of
Independence. Gen. George Washington crosses
the Delaware Christmas night. Adam Smith's Wealth
of Nations. Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman
Empire. Thomas
Paine's Common Sense. Fragonard's Washerwoman.Mozart's Haffner
Serenade.
1778
Capt. James Cook discovers
Hawaii. Franz Mesmer uses hypnotism.
1781
Immanuel Kant's Critique
of Pure Reason. Herschel discovers Uranus.
1783
Revolutionary War ends with Treaty of
Paris. William Blake's poems. Beethoven's first
printed works.
1784
Crimea annexed by Russia. John Wesley's Deed
of Declaration, the basic work of Methodism.
1785
Russians settle Aleutian Islands.
1787
The Constitution of the United
States signed. Lavoisier's work on chemical nomenclature.
Mozart's Don Giovanni.
1788
French Parlement presents
grievances to Louis XVI who agrees to convening of Estates-General
in 1789—not called since 1613. Goethe's Egmont. Laplace's Laws
of the Planetary System.
1789
French Revolution begins
with the storming of the Bastille. (For detailed chronology, see French Revolution
(1789–1799).) In U.S., Washington elected president with all 69 votes of
the Electoral College, takes oath of office in New York City. Vice President:
John Adams. Secretary of State: Thomas Jefferson. Secretary of Treasury:
Alexander Hamilton.
1790
H.M.S. Bounty mutineers
settle on Pitcairn Island. Aloisio Galvani experiments on electrical
stimulation of the muscles. Philadelphia temporary capital of U.S. as Congress
votes to establish new capital on Potomac. U.S. population about 3,929,000,
including 698,000 slaves. Lavoisier formulates Table of 31 chemical
elements.
1791
U.S. Bill of Rights ratified.
Boswell's Life of Johnson.
1792
Mary Wollstonecraft's Vindication
of the Rights of Woman.
1793
Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette executed.
Reign of Terror begins in France. Eli Whitney invents the cotton gin, spurring
the growth of the cotton industry and helping to institutionalize slavery in
the U.S. South.
1794
Kosciusko's uprising
in Poland quelled by the Russians. In U.S., Whiskey Rebellion in Pennsylvania
as farmers object to liquor taxes. Reign of Terror ends with execution of Robespierre.
1796
Napoléon Bonaparte,
French general, defeats Austrians. In the U.S., Washington's Farewell
Address (Sept. 17); John Adams elected
president; Thomas Jefferson, vice president. Edward Jenner introduces smallpox
vaccination.
1798
Napoleon extends French conquests to Rome
and Egypt. U.S. Navy Department established.
1799
Rosetta Stone discovered in Egypt.
Napoleon leads coup that overthrows Directory, establishes the Consulate,
becomes First Consul—one of three who rule France together.
1800
Napoleon conquers Italy, firmly
establishes himself as First Consul in France. In the U.S., federal government
moves to Washington, D.C. Robert Owen's social reforms in England. William
Herschel discovers infrared rays. Alessandro Volta produces electricity.
1801
Austria makes temporary peace with
France. United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland established with one
monarch and one parliament; Catholics excluded from voting.
1803
U.S. negotiates Louisiana Purchase from
France: for $15 million, U.S. doubles its domain, increasing its territory by
827,000 sq mi (2,144,500 sq km), from Mississippi River to Rockies and from
Gulf of Mexico to British North America.
1804
Haiti declares independence from France;
first black nation to gain freedom from European colonial rule. Napoleon
transforms the Consulate of France into an empire, proclaims himself emperor of
France, systematizes French law under Code Napoleon. In the
U.S., Alexander
Hamilton is mortally wounded in duel with Aaron Burr. Lewis and Clark expedition begins
exploration of what is now northwest U.S.
1805
Lord Nelson defeats
the French-Spanish fleets in the Battle of Trafalgar. Napoleon victorious over
Austrian and Russian forces at the Battle of Austerlitz.
1807
Robert Fulton makes first successful
steamboat trip on Clermont between New York City and Albany.
1808
French armies occupy Rome and Spain, extending
Napoleon's empire. Britain begins aiding Spanish guerrillas against Napoleon in
Peninsular War. In the U.S., Congress bars importation of slaves.
Beethoven's Fifth and Sixth Symphoniesperformed.
1812
Napoleon's Grand Army invades Russia in
June. Forced to retreat in winter, most of Napoleon's 600,000 men are lost. In
the U.S., war with Britain declared over freedom of the seas for U.S. vessels
(War of 1812). USS Constitution (For detailed chronology,
see War of 1812.)
sinks British frigate.
1814
French defeated by allies (Britain,
Austria, Russia, Prussia, Sweden, and Portugal) in War of Liberation. Napoleon
exiled to Elba, off Italian coast. Bourbon king Louis XVIII takes French
throne. George Stephenson builds first practical steam locomotive.
1815
Napoleon returns: “Hundred Days” begin.
Napoleon defeated by Wellington at Waterloo, banished again to St. Helena in
South Atlantic. Congress of Vienna: victorious allies change the map of Europe.
War of 1812 ends with Treaty of Ghent.
1819
Simón Bolívar liberates
New Granada (now Colombia, Venezuela, and Ecuador) as Spain loses hold on South
American countries; named president of Colombia.
1820
Missouri Compromise >
Missouri admitted as slave state but slavery barred in rest of Louisiana
Purchase north of 36°30' N.
1821
Guatemala, Panama, and Santo Domingo
proclaim independence from Spain.
1822
Greeks proclaim a republic and
independence from Turkey. Turks invade Greece. Russia declares war on
Turkey (1828). Greece also aided by France and Britain. War ends and
Turks recognize Greek independence (1829). Brazil becomes independent
of Portugal. Schubert's Eighth
Symphony (“The Unfinished”).
1823
U.S. Monroe Doctrine warns
European nations not to interfere in Western Hemisphere.
1824
Mexico becomes a republic, three years
after declaring independence from Spain. Bolívar liberates Peru, becomes its
president. Beethoven's Ninth Symphony.
1825
First passenger-carrying railroad in
England.
1826
Joseph-Nicéphore Niepce takes the world's
first photograph.
1830
French invade Algeria. Louis Philippe
becomes “Citizen King” as revolution forces Charles X to abdicate. Church of Jesus Christ of
Latter-day Saints formed in U.S. by Joseph Smith.
1831
Polish revolt against Russia fails.
Belgium separates from the Netherlands. In U.S., Nat Turner leads
unsuccessful slave rebellion.
1833
Slavery abolished in British Empire.
1834
Charles Babbage invents “analytical
engine,” precursor of computer. McCormick patents reaper.
1836
Boer farmers
start “Great Trek”—Natal, Transvaal, and Orange Free State founded in South
Africa. Mexican army besieges Texans in Alamo. Entire
garrison, including Davy Crockett and Jim Bowie, wiped out. Texans gain
independence from Mexico after winning Battle of San Jacinto. Dickens's Pickwick
Papers.
1837
Victoria becomes
queen of Great Britain. Mob kills Elijah P. Lovejoy, Illinois abolitionist
publisher.
1839
First Opium War (to 1842)
between Britain and China, over importation of drug into China.
1840
Lower and Upper Canada united.
1841
U.S. President Harrison dies (April 4)
one month after inauguration; John Tyler becomes first vice president to
succeed to presidency.
1842
Crawford Long uses first anesthetic (ether).
1843
Wagner's opera The
Flying Dutchman.
1844
Democratic convention calls for
annexation of Texas and acquisition of Oregon (“Fifty-four-forty-or-fight”).
Five Chinese ports opened to U.S. ships. Samuel F. B. Morse patents
telegraph.
1845
Congress adopts joint resolution for
annexation of Texas. Edgar Allan Poepublishes The
Raven and Other Poems.
1846
U.S. declares war on
Mexico. California and New Mexico annexed by U.S. Brigham Young leads
Mormons to Great Salt Lake. W. T. Morton uses ether as anesthetic. Sewing machine
patented by Elias Howe. Frederick Douglass launches
abolitionist newspaper The North Star. Failure of potato crop
causes famine in Ireland.
1848
Revolt in Paris: Louis Philippe
abdicates; Louis Napoleon elected president of French Republic. Revolutions in
Vienna, Venice, Berlin, Milan, Rome, and Warsaw. Put down by royal troops
in 1848–1849. U.S.-Mexico War ends; Mexico cedes claims to Texas,
California, Arizona, New Mexico, Utah, Nevada. U.S. treaty with Britain sets
Oregon Territory boundary at 49th parallel. Karl Marx and
Friedrich Engels's Communist Manifesto. Harriet Tubman escapes
from slavery and joins the Underground Railroad.
Women's Rights Convention in Seneca Falls, N.Y.
1849
California gold rush begins.
1850
Henry Clay opens
great debate on slavery, warns South against secession.
1851
Herman Melville's Moby-Dick.
1852
South African Republic established. Louis
Napoleon proclaims himself Napoleon III (“Second Empire”). Harriet Beecher Stowe's Uncle
Tom's Cabin.
1853
Crimean War begins
as Turkey declares war on Russia. Commodore Perryreaches
Tokyo.
1854
Britain and France join Turkey in war on
Russia. In U.S., Kansas-Nebraska
Actpermits local option on slavery; rioting and bloodshed. Japanese allow
American trade. Antislavery men in Michigan form Republican Party. Tennyson's Charge
of the Light Brigade. Thoreau's Walden.
1855
Armed clashes in Kansas between pro- and
anti-slavery forces. Florence Nightingale nurses
wounded in Crimea. Walt
Whitman's Leaves of Grass.
1856
Flaubert's Madame
Bovary.
1857
Supreme Court, in Dred Scott decision,
rules that a slave is not a citizen. Financial crisis in Europe and U.S. Great
Mutiny (Sepoy Rebellion)
begins in India. India placed under crown rule as a result.
1858
Pro-slavery constitution rejected in Kansas. Abraham Lincoln makes
strong antislavery speech in Springfield, Ill.: “This Government cannot endure
permanently half slave and half free.” Lincoln-Douglas debates. First
trans-Atlantic telegraph cable completed by Cyrus W. Field.
1859
John Brown raids
Harpers Ferry; is captured and hanged. Work begins on Suez Canal.
Unification of Italy starts under leadership of Count Cavour, Sardinian
premier. Joined by France in war against Austria. Jean-Joseph-Étienne Lenoir
builds first practical internal-combustion engine. Edward Fitzgerald's
translation of The Rubaiyat of Omar Khayyam. Charles Darwin's Origin
of Species. J.
S. Mill's On Liberty.
1860
South Carolina secedes from the Union.
1861
U.S. Civil War begins
as attempts at compromise fail. Mississippi, Florida, Alabama, Georgia,
Louisiana, and Texas secede; with South Carolina, they form the Confederate
States of America, with Jefferson Davis as president. Virginia, Arkansas,
Tennessee, North Carolina secede and join Confederacy. First Battle of Bull Run
(Manassas).(For detailed chronology, see The Civil War.)
Congress creates Colorado, Dakota, and Nevada territories; adopts income tax;
Lincoln inaugurated. Serfs emancipated in Russia. Pasteur's theory of
germs. Independent Kingdom of Italy proclaimed under Sardinian king Victor
Emmanuel II.
1862
Several major Civil War battles: Battle
of Shiloh, Second Battle of Bull Run (Manassas), Battle of Antietam. Salon des
Refusés introduces impressionism.
1863
French capture Mexico City;
proclaim Archduke
Maximilian of Austria emperor. Battle of Gettysburg.
1864
Gen. Sherman's Atlanta campaign and
“march to the sea.”
1865
Gen. Lee surrenders to Grant at Appomattox;
the Civil War is over. Lincoln fatally shot at Ford's Theater by John Wilkes Booth.
Vice President Johnson sworn as successor. Booth caught and dies of gunshot
wounds; four conspirators are hanged. Joseph Lister begins
antiseptic surgery. Gregor
Mendel's Law of Heredity. Lewis Carroll's Alice's
Adventures in Wonderland.
1866
Alfred Nobel invents
dynamite (patented in Britain, 1867). Seven Weeks' War:
Austria defeated by Prussia and Italy.
1867
Austria-Hungary Dual Monarchy
established. French leave Mexico; Maximilian executed. Dominion of Canada
established. U.S. buys Alaska from Russia for $7,200,000. South African diamond
field discovered. Japan ends 675–year shogun rule. Volume I of Marx's Das
Kapital. Strauss's Blue
Danube.
1868
Revolution in Spain; Queen Isabella
deposed, flees to France. In U.S., Fourteenth Amendment giving
civil rights to blacks is ratified. Georgia under military government after
legislature expels blacks.
1869
First U.S. transcontinental rail route
completed. James
Fisk and Jay
Gould's attempt to control gold market causes Black Friday panic. Suez Canal opens. Mendeleev's periodic
table of elements.
1870
Franco-Prussian War (to 1871):
Napoleon III capitulates at Sedan. Revolt in Paris; Third Republic proclaimed.
1871
France surrenders Alsace-Lorraine to
Germany; war ends. German Empire proclaimed with Prussian King as Kaiser Wilhelm I.
Fighting with Apaches begins in American West. Boss Tweed corruption
exposed in New York. The Chicago Fire, with 250 deaths and $196-million
damage. Stanley meets Livingstone in
Africa.
1872
Congress gives amnesty to most
Confederates. Jules
Verne's Around the World in 80 Days.
1873
Economic crisis in Europe. U.S.
establishes gold
standard.
1875
First Kentucky Derby.
1876
Sioux kill Gen. George A. Custer and
264 troopers at Little Big Horn River. Alexander Graham Bell patents
the telephone.
1877
After presidential election
of 1876, electoral commission gives disputed electoral college votes
to Rutherford B. Hayes despite Tilden's popular majority. Russo-Turkish war (ends
in 1878 with power of Turkey in Europe broken). Reconstructionends in
the American South. Thomas
Edison patents phonograph. The Nez Perce leader Chief Joseph is
forced to surrender. Tchaikovsky's Swan
Lake.
1878
Congress of Berlin revises
Treaty of San Stefano, ending Russo-Turkish War; makes extensive redivision of
southeast Europe. First commercial telephone exchange opened in New Haven,
Conn.
1879
Thomas A. Edison invents practical
electric light.
1880
U.S.-China treaty allows U.S. to restrict
immigration of Chinese labor.
1881
President Garfield fatally
shot by assassin; Vice President Arthur succeeds him. Charles J. Guiteau
convicted and executed (1882).
1882
Terrorism in Ireland after land
evictions. Britain invades and conquers Egypt. Germany, Austria, and Italy
form Triple
Alliance. In U.S., Congress adopts Chinese Exclusion Act. Rockefeller's Standard
Oil Trust is first industrial monopoly. In Berlin, Robert Koch announces
discovery of tuberculosis germ.
1883
Congress creates Civil Service Commission.
Brooklyn Bridge and Metropolitan
Opera House completed.
1884
Berlin West Africa Conference held in
Berlin (lasting until Feb. 1885), at which the major European
nations discuss expansion in Africa.
1885
British general Charles G. “Chinese”
Gordon killed at Khartoum in Egyptian Sudan. World's first skyscraper
built in Chicago.
1886
Bombing at Haymarket Square,
Chicago, kills seven policemen and injures many others. Eight alleged
anarchists accused—three imprisoned, one commits suicide, four hanged.
(In 1893, Illinois governor Altgeld, critical of trial, pardons three
survivors.) Statue
of Liberty dedicated. Geronimo, Apache
Indian chief, surrenders.
1887
Queen Victoria's Golden Jubilee.
Sir Arthur Conan
Doyle's first Sherlock Holmes story, A Study in Scarlet.
1888
Historic March blizzard in northeast
U.S.—many perish, property damage exceeds $25 million. George Eastman's box
camera (the Kodak). J. B. Dunlop invents pneumatic tire. Jack the Ripper
murders in London.
1889
Second (Socialist) International founded
in Paris. Indian Territory in Oklahoma opened to settlement. Thousands die in
Johnstown, Pa. flood. Eiffel Tower built for the Paris exposition. Mark Twain's A
Connecticut Yankee in King Arthur's Court.
1890
Congress votes to pass Sherman Antitrust Act.
Sioux chief Sitting
Bull arrested and killed by police on Pine Ridge reservation; two
weeks later, U.S. troops kill over 200 Sioux at Battle of Wounded Knee.
1892
Battle between steel strikers and
Pinkerton guards at Homestead,
Pa.; union defeated after militia intervenes. Silver mine strikers in Idaho
fight non-union workers; U.S. troops dispatched. Diesel engine patented.
1893
New Zealand becomes first country in the
world to grant women the vote.
1894
Sino-Japanese War begins
(ends in 1895 with China's defeat). In France, Capt. Alfred Dreyfus convicted
on false treason charge (pardoned in 1906). In U.S., Jacob S. Coxey of
Ohio leads “Coxey's Army” of unemployed on Washington. Eugene V. Debs calls
general strike of rail workers to support Pullman Company strikers; strike
broken, Debs jailed for six months. Edison's kinetoscope
given first public showing in New York City.
1895
X-rays discovered by German physicist
Wilhelm Roentgen. Auguste and Louis Lumière premiere motion pictures at a café
in Paris.
1896
Supreme Court's Plessy v. Ferguson decision—“separate
but equal” doctrine. Alfred Nobel's will establishes prizes for peace,
science, and literature. Marconi receives
first wireless patent in Britain. William Jennings Bryan delivers
“Cross of Gold” speech at Democratic Convention in Chicago. First modern Olympic games held
in Athens, Greece.
1897
Theodor Herzl launches Zionist movement.
1898
Chinese “Boxers,” anti-foreign
organization, established. They stage uprisings against Europeans in 1900; U.S.
and other Western troops relieve Peking legations. U.S. Battleship Maine is
sunk in Havana Harbor. Spanish-American War begins.
U.S. destroys Spanish fleet near Santiago, Cuba. (For detailed
chronology, see Spanish-American War.)
Pierre and Marie Curie discover
radium and polonium.
1899
Boer War (or
South African War): conflict between British and Boers (descendants of Dutch
settlers of South Africa). Causes rooted in longstanding territorial disputes
and in friction over political rights for English and other “uitlanders”
following 1886 discovery of vast gold deposits in Transvaal. (British
victorious as war ends in 1902.) Casualties: 5,774 British dead, about
4,000 Boers. Union of South Africa established in 1908 as confederation
of colonies; becomes British dominion in 1910.
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