timeline

This is an attempt (bear with me!) to encapsulate a framework of the major events of importance since our curious species came down from the trees. Human History Timeline is going to be a work in progress… forever! Be sure to check back as time unfolds.

YearEventRegionThemeDomain
-250000Modern humans emerge in Africa.AfricaAncient HistoryScience
-120000Earliest cave paintings we know of are located in a South African cave.AfricaAncient HistoryArts
-100000Modern humans migrate to the Middle East.Middle EastAncient HistoryHuman History
-75000Modern humans arrive in Southeast Asia and China.AsiaAncient HistoryHuman History
-40000Modern humans had now spread around the globe as we arrived in Europe, living alongside Neanderthals. The earliest European cave paintings are from around this time in Spain.EuropeAncient HistoryHuman History
-28000The Neanderthals go extinct.EuropeAncient HistoryHuman History
-16000Humans cross the Bering Strait to Alaska over a land bridge exposed by the warming planetNorth AmericaAncient HistoryHuman History
-15000The ice age ends, and global temperatures rise by 15 degrees C.GlobalAncient HistoryScience
-14000Modern humans reach South AmericaSouth AmericaAncient HistoryHuman History
-10000First human settlements begin in the North American Great Plains, modern-day Syria, and in the Yellow River Valley region of China.GlobalAncient HistoryHuman History
-7000Invention of textiles in EgyptAfrica, Middle EastMan vs. NatureTechnology
-5000Cultivation of tin as a metal resourceAncient HistoryTechnology
-4241The Egyptians begin using the 365 day calendarAfricaOur Place in the UniverseKnowledge
-3800Bronze Age beginsGlobalAncient HistoryTechnology
-3500Mesopotamian cities Ur, Uruk, and others have emerged in and around modern-day IraqMiddle EastAncient HistoryPolitics
-2980The Great Pyramid of Zoser is built in EgyptAfrica, Middle EastAncient HistoryArchitecture
-2000The last woolly mammoths die out and the species go extinctGlobalMan vs. NatureScience
-2000Epic of Gilgamesh composedMiddle East, AfricaOur Place in the UniverseArts
-1792Hammurabi's Code of LawsMiddle EastDemocracy's StoryPolitics
-1200The Iron Age begins almost simultaneously around the world, in the Middle East, Europe, and IndiaMiddle East, Europe, GlobalMan vs. NatureTechnology
-800The city of Rome is founded by Romulus and RemusEuropeAncient HistoryPolitics
-560Siddharta Gautama born in India, later to become the Buddha; founder of BuddhismAsiaOur Place in the UniverseKnowledge
-530Greek tragedy is in full swing with contributions from Aeschylus, Thespis, soon Sophocles, and othersEuropeOur Place in the UniverseArts
-510Roman Republic formed when the citizens overthrew king Lucius Tarquinius Superbus, aka Tarquin the ProudEuropeDemocracy's StoryPolitics
-49Republic of Rome becomes the Roman Empire when Julius Caesar overthrows the RepublicEuropeAge of EmpiresPolitics
-27Julius Caesar Augustus becomes the first emperor of Rome, ruling for 45 yearsEuropeAge of EmpiresPolitics
79eruption of Mt. VesuviusEuropeMan vs. NatureScience
312New self-made Roman emperor Constantine converts to Christianity — at least nominally; he makes the empire safe and welcoming to Christianity, while maintaining many of his old Roman beliefsEuropeAge of EmpiresPolitics
325Council of Nicaea called by Emperor Constantine; the adoption of the Nicene Creed establishes the empire's stance on the divinity of Jesus and establishes Christianity as the state religionEurope
476The last western Roman emperor , Romulus Augustinius, is deposed — beginning the era of the Holy Roman Empire and marking the end of Antiquity and the beginning of the Middle AgesEuropeAge of EmpiresTechnology
632Death of Muhammad leads much of the Middle East and North Africa to convert to IslamMiddle East, Africa, EuropeOur Place in the UniversePolitics
656The first battle between the Shia (followers of Ali) and the Sunnis (followers of Aisha) over the fate of Islam — a war still raging to this dayMiddle East
900-1200the golden age of North African scienceAfricaOur Place in the UniverseScience
1000an Indian mathematician recognizes the power of zeroCentral Asia, AsiaOur Place in the UniverseScience
1040Movable type is invented in ChinaAsiaKnowing ThingsTechnology
1066Battle of Hastings — France's William the Conqueror defeats the other claimant to the English throne Harold and is crowned the first Norman king of England.EuropeConquest, Imperialism, and ColonialismPolitics
1073China invents an elaborate incense seal clockAsiaKnowing ThingsTechnology
1149Founding of Oxford University in EnglandEuropeKnowing ThingsKnowledge
1200Cambridge University founded in EnglandEuropeKnowing ThingsKnowledge
1265first Parliament elected in England, consisting mostly of feudal lords, knights, and wealthy aristocratsEuropeDemocracy's StoryPolitics
1271Venetian Marco Polo travels to China with his father at the age of 17; having been the first Europeans to visit the court of Kublai Khan over a 9-year stretch, the elder Nicolò Polo brings his son with him on the return journey — it will take them a trek of three and a half yearsEurope, AsiaAge of EmpiresKnowledge
1328The sawmill is inventedEuropeBusiness of the WorldTechnology
1330the hour becomes essentially our modern concept of hourGlobalMan vs. NatureTechnology
1347-1351Approximately 75 million people die from the Bubonic PlagueEurope, Africa, Middle EastMan vs. NatureScience
1399English poet Chaucer's The Canterbury TalesEuropeOur Place in the UniverseArts
1431Joan of Arc is burned at the stakeEuropeAge of EmpiresPolitics
1445Gutenberg invents the printing pressEuropeAttention Must be PaidTechnology
1492Christopher Columbus lands in the Americas, ushering in the age of Spanish Conquistadores and the colonial period — first in the Bahamas, then Cuba, then Hispaniola before heading homeNorth AmericaConquest, Imperialism, and ColonialismKnowledge
1517Martin Luther, a German monk, becomes disillusioned with the church's selling of indulgences to fund construction projects (and with Calvinism more generally). Submits his 95 theses to papal authority, and after various machinations is excommunicated for challenging the authority of the PopeEuropeOur Place in the UniverseKnowledge
1583Galileo dedicates himself to the study of mathematics and physicsEuropeOur Place in the UniverseKnowledge
1585Founding of the first American colony at Roanoke, in modern-day North CarolinaNorth AmericaDemocracy's StoryPolitics
1607Founding of the second American colony at Jamestown, in modern-day VirginiaNorth AmericaDemocracy's StoryPolitics
1636Harvard University foundedNorth AmericaOur Place in the UniverseKnowledge
1637the first American slave ship sets out on her maiden voyageNorth America, AfricaConquest, Imperialism, and ColonialismPolitics
1665Plague arrives in LondonEuropeMan vs. NatureScience
1688Glorious Revolution in England: Parliament invited Dutch William of Orange & his wife Mary, James's Protestant daughter, to replace JamesEuropeDemocracy's StoryPolitics
1701Yale College foundedNorth AmericaOur Place in the UniverseKnowledge
1760invention of the steam engine in England (James Watt)EuropeMan vs. NatureTechnology
1776U.S. Declaration of Independence is written in PhiladelphiaNorth AmericaDemocracy's StoryPolitics
1787U.S. Constitution written in PhiladelphiaNorth AmericaDemocracy's StoryPolitics
1789U.S. Constitution is ratifiedNorth AmericaDemocracy's StoryPolitics
1799~10-year French Revolution overthrows the monarchyEuropeDemocracy's StoryPolitics
1839Louis Daguerre demonstrates the photographic technique he's developed: the cameraEuropeOur Place in the UniverseArts
1844The Associated Press foundedNorth AmericaAttention Must be PaidKnowledge
1859Charles Darwin publishes The Origin of the SpeciesEuropeOur Place in the UniverseKnowledge
1865U.S. Civil War endsNorth AmericaDemocracy's StoryPolitics
1914WWI begins
1921Tulsa massacreNorth AmericaDemocracy's StoryPolitics
1942Pearl HarborNorth AmericaConquest, Imperialism, and ColonialismPolitics
1945WWII ends
1949Formation of NATOEurope, North AmericaDemocracy's StoryPolitics
1953Korean War ends
1954Brown v. the Board of EducationNorth AmericaDemocracy's StoryPolitics
1961Stanley Milgram conducts his famous obedience studies showing how willing students are to give electric shocks to their peers if ordered to by authority figuresScience
1964Lyndon Johnson signs the Civil Rights ActDemocracy's StoryPolitics
1975The Vietnam War ends
1980Election of former actor and PR agent Ronald Reagan as President of the United States
1984Breakup of the Bell system monopoly
1986Chernobyl nuclear disaster in Ukraine
1987Iran-Contra scandal wherein Reagan trades arms for hostages and lies about it
1989Berlin Wall falls
1990Tim Berners-Lee puts up the first web page
1991Soviet Union collapses
1998Microsoft monopoly broken up
2000Vladimir Putin becomes Russian President following Yeltsin's resignation
2007Apple announces the first iPhone; Google announces Android
2008Bitcoin and the blockchain invented
2010Citizens Unied ushers in the era of dark money in politics
2012Sandy Hook mass school shooting
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