When
Journey through the timelines of history-defining events.
1528 questionsWhen did the universe begin?
The universe began approximately 13.8 billion years ago in an event called the Big Bang — an expansion from an infinitely dense, hot singularity. The cosmic microwave background radiation is its "afterglow."
When did dinosaurs go extinct?
Non-avian dinosaurs went extinct approximately 66 million years ago when a 10-km asteroid struck what is now the Yucatán Peninsula, Mexico, creating the 180-km-wide Chicxulub crater.
When was the internet invented?
ARPANET — the internet's precursor — launched in 1969 with a message between UCLA and Stanford. Tim Berners-Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1991. The internet now connects over 5.3 billion users.
When was the first human in space?
Yuri Gagarin became the first human in space on April 12, 1961, orbiting Earth once aboard Vostok 1 in a flight lasting 108 minutes. He reached an altitude of 327 km.
When did humans first land on the Moon?
Apollo 11 landed on the Moon on July 20, 1969. Neil Armstrong became the first human to set foot on the lunar surface, followed by Buzz Aldrin 19 minutes later. The mission lasted 8 days.
When was the Great Fire of London?
The Great Fire of London raged from September 2–6, 1666, destroying 13,200 houses, 87 churches, and St. Paul's Cathedral. Remarkably, only 6 verified deaths were recorded.
When did the Black Death peak?
The Black Death peaked between 1347 and 1351, killing an estimated 75–200 million people — roughly 30–60% of Europe's population. It was caused by the bacterium Yersinia pestis.
When was the Eiffel Tower built?
The Eiffel Tower was built between 1887 and 1889, completed in just 2 years, 2 months, and 5 days. Standing 330 meters tall, it was originally meant to be temporary for the 1889 World's Fair.
When did the first humans appear?
Anatomically modern humans, Homo sapiens, emerged in Africa roughly 300,000 years ago. Our wider genus, Homo, dates back more than 2 million years.
When was writing invented?
The earliest known full writing system, Sumerian cuneiform, appeared in Mesopotamia around 3400 to 3200 BCE. Egyptian hieroglyphs emerged at nearly the same time.
When did the Roman Empire fall?
The Western Roman Empire fell in 476 CE, when the last emperor was deposed. The Eastern half, the Byzantine Empire, endured until 1453.
When did the last ice age end?
The last glacial period ended about 11,700 years ago, as Earth warmed into the current Holocene epoch, allowing agriculture and civilization to flourish.
When was the Great Pyramid built?
The Great Pyramid of Giza was built around 2560 BCE for Pharaoh Khufu. It was the tallest human-made structure on Earth for nearly 3,800 years.
When did the first dinosaurs appear?
The earliest dinosaurs appeared about 230 million years ago during the Triassic period, long before the more famous giants of the Jurassic and Cretaceous.
When was the printing press invented?
Johannes Gutenberg invented the movable-type printing press in Europe around 1440. It revolutionized the spread of information and helped launch the modern age.
When did World War II end?
World War II ended in 1945 — in Europe on May 8 (V-E Day) and in the Pacific on September 2, after Japan's formal surrender.
When was the telephone invented?
Alexander Graham Bell patented the telephone in 1876 and made the first call that year. It transformed human communication forever.
When did agriculture begin?
Farming began around 12,000 years ago in the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East, as people domesticated wild plants and animals at the end of the last Ice Age.
When did World War One begin?
World War One began in 1914, triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand, and lasted until 1918.
When was electricity first harnessed for practical use?
Practical electric power arrived in the 1880s, when Thomas Edison opened the first commercial power stations to light cities.
When did the Cold War end?
The Cold War ended in 1991 with the dissolution of the Soviet Union, after decades of tension between it and the United States.
When was the wheel invented?
The wheel was invented around 3500 BCE in Mesopotamia — first for making pottery, and only later for transport.
When did the Renaissance begin?
The Renaissance began in Italy around the 14th century and flourished through the 17th, reviving art, science, and learning.
When was the telescope invented?
The telescope was invented in the Netherlands in 1608, and Galileo turned an improved version to the sky the following year.
When did the Industrial Revolution begin?
The Industrial Revolution began in Britain around 1760, transforming manufacturing with machines, factories, and steam power.
When was photography invented?
The first permanent photograph was made in 1826 by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce, after an exposure lasting several hours.
When was the first electronic computer built?
ENIAC, one of the first general-purpose electronic computers, was completed in 1945 and filled an entire room.
When did life first appear on Earth?
The earliest known life appeared at least 3.5 billion years ago, in the form of simple single-celled microbes.
When were the first Olympic Games held?
The ancient Olympic Games began in 776 BCE in Olympia, Greece. The modern Olympics were revived in 1896.
When was the steam engine invented?
Practical steam engines emerged in the early 1700s, and James Watt greatly improved the design in the 1760s and 1770s.
When did humans first reach the Americas?
Humans reached the Americas at least 15,000 years ago, and possibly earlier, likely crossing from Asia during the last Ice Age.
When were antibiotics discovered?
The antibiotic era began in 1928 with Alexander Fleming discovery of penicillin, though it took until the 1940s to become a usable drug.
When was the first photograph of a person taken?
The first photograph to include a person was taken by Louis Daguerre in 1838, showing a man having his shoes shined on a Paris street.
When Was the Rosetta Stone Found?
The Rosetta Stone was discovered by French soldiers in July 1799 during Napoleon campaign in Egypt.
When Was the First Vaccine Created?
Edward Jenner created the first vaccine in 1796 by inoculating a boy with cowpox material to protect against smallpox.
When Did the Titanic Sink?
RMS Titanic sank in the early hours of 15 April 1912 after striking an iceberg in the North Atlantic.
When Was Penicillin Discovered?
Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin in September 1928 when he noticed mould killing bacteria in a petri dish.
When Did the Chernobyl Disaster Happen?
The Chernobyl nuclear disaster occurred on 26 April 1986 at the No. 4 reactor in the Ukrainian SSR.
When Was the First Email Sent?
The first network email was sent by Ray Tomlinson in late 1971 between two ARPANET-connected computers sitting side by side.
When Did the Berlin Wall Fall?
The Berlin Wall fell on 9 November 1989, when East Germany opened its borders after weeks of mass protests.
When Was the First Heart Transplant?
The first successful human heart transplant was performed on 3 December 1967 by Dr Christiaan Barnard in Cape Town, South Africa.
When Did Mount Vesuvius Bury Pompeii?
Mount Vesuvius erupted on 24 August 79 AD (some recent evidence suggests October), burying Pompeii under metres of volcanic ash.
When Did Humans First Use Fire?
Evidence suggests controlled use of fire by early humans dates back at least 1 million years, with definitive hearth evidence from around 400,000 years ago.
When Did the First Mass Extinction Happen?
The first recognised mass extinction, the Ordovician-Silurian event, occurred about 443 million years ago.
When Was the Suez Canal Opened?
The Suez Canal opened on 17 November 1869, connecting the Mediterranean and Red Seas.
When Was the Magna Carta Signed?
King John of England sealed the Magna Carta on 15 June 1215 at Runnymede, near Windsor.
When Was the First Artificial Satellite Launched?
Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, was launched by the Soviet Union on 4 October 1957.
When Did the Black Plague Reach Europe?
The Black Death arrived in Europe in October 1347 when infected merchant ships docked at the Sicilian port of Messina.
When Was the First Book Printed?
The Diamond Sutra, printed in China in 868 AD, is the earliest known dated printed book; Gutenberg Bible (c. 1455) was the first with movable type in Europe.
When Was the DNA Structure Discovered?
James Watson and Francis Crick published the double-helix structure of DNA on 25 April 1953.
When Did the French Revolution Begin?
The French Revolution is generally dated from the storming of the Bastille on 14 July 1789.
When Was the Periodic Table Created?
Dmitri Mendeleev published his periodic table in 1869, organising elements by atomic weight and predicting undiscovered elements.
When Did the Silk Road Begin?
The Silk Road trade network was formally established around 130 BC when the Chinese Han Dynasty opened trade routes westward.
When Did the First Powered Flight Happen?
Orville and Wilbur Wright achieved the first sustained, controlled, powered flight on 17 December 1903 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina.
When Was the Great Fire of Rome?
The Great Fire of Rome broke out on 18 July 64 AD during the reign of Emperor Nero and burned for six days.
When Was the Hubble Space Telescope Launched?
The Hubble Space Telescope was launched on 24 April 1990 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery.
When Did the Roman Republic Begin?
The Roman Republic was established around 509 BC when the Romans overthrew their last king, Tarquinius Superbus.
When Was the First Photograph Taken?
The earliest surviving photograph, "View from the Window at Le Gras," was taken by Joseph Nicéphore Niépce around 1826-27.
When Did the Bronze Age Begin?
The Bronze Age began around 3300 BC in the Near East, when humans first alloyed copper with tin to create bronze.
When Did the First Television Broadcast Happen?
John Logie Baird demonstrated the first live television broadcast on 26 January 1926 in London.
When Was the Panama Canal Completed?
The Panama Canal officially opened on 15 August 1914, connecting the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.
When Was the Theory of Evolution Published?
Charles Darwin published "On the Origin of Species" on 24 November 1859, presenting the theory of evolution by natural selection.
When Was the First Nuclear Weapon Detonated?
The first nuclear weapon, codenamed "Trinity," was detonated on 16 July 1945 in New Mexico, USA.
When Was the Transistor Invented?
The transistor was invented on 16 December 1947 at Bell Telephone Laboratories in New Jersey by John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley.
When Did the Mongol Empire Peak?
The Mongol Empire reached its greatest extent around 1279 under Kublai Khan, controlling about 24 million square kilometres — the largest contiguous land empire in history.
When Was the First Antibiotic Used on a Patient?
The first clinical use of penicillin on a human patient occurred on 12 February 1941, when Albert Alexander, a policeman dying of sepsis at the Radcliffe Infirmary in Oxford, received injections of partially purified penicillin.
When Did the Age of Exploration Begin?
The Age of Exploration is generally considered to have begun in the early 15th century, around 1415, when Portugal Prince Henry the Navigator sponsored voyages along the West African coast.
When Was the First Heart Bypass Surgery?
The first successful coronary artery bypass graft (CABG) surgery was performed on 9 May 1960 by Dr Robert Goetz at Albert Einstein College of Medicine in New York.
When Did the Ice Ages Begin?
The current series of ice ages (the Quaternary glaciation) began about 2.58 million years ago, though Earth has experienced several glacial periods over billions of years, including "Snowball Earth" events about 720-635 million years ago.
When Was the Suez Crisis?
The Suez Crisis occurred from 29 October to 7 November 1956, when Britain, France, and Israel invaded Egypt after President Gamal Abdel Nasser nationalised the Suez Canal.
When Was the First Mass Vaccination Campaign?
The first organised mass vaccination campaign began shortly after Edward Jenner published his smallpox vaccine findings in 1798 — by 1801, over 100,000 people in Britain had been vaccinated.
When Was the Great Wall of China Completed?
The Great Wall was built and rebuilt over roughly 2,000 years, from the 7th century BCE through the Ming Dynasty; the most iconic stone-and-brick sections were completed during the Ming era (1368-1644).
When Was Pluto Discovered?
Pluto was discovered on 18 February 1930 by Clyde Tombaugh at the Lowell Observatory in Flagstaff, Arizona, after a systematic photographic survey of the sky.
When Did the Viking Age Begin?
The Viking Age is traditionally dated from the raid on Lindisfarne monastery in northeast England on 8 June 793 CE, and lasted until the Norman Conquest of England in 1066.
When Was the Greenhouse Effect Discovered?
Joseph Fourier first described the greenhouse effect in 1824, and Eunice Newton Foote demonstrated CO2 warming experimentally in 1856, three years before John Tyndall published similar findings.
When Did the Mayan Civilization Peak?
The Maya Classic Period, representing their cultural and population peak, lasted from approximately 250 to 900 CE, when great cities like Tikal, Palenque, and Calakmul flourished in present-day Guatemala, Mexico, Belize, and Honduras.
When Was the First Space Station Launched?
The Soviet Union launched Salyut 1, the world first space station, on 19 April 1971, and the first crew (Soyuz 11) occupied it for 23 days in June 1971.
When Was the First Cloned Mammal Born?
Dolly the sheep, the first mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell, was born on 5 July 1996 at the Roslin Institute in Scotland, created by Sir Ian Wilmut and Keith Campbell.
When Was the Rosetta Mission Completed?
The ESA Rosetta spacecraft completed its mission on 30 September 2016 with a controlled crash-landing on comet 67P/Churyumov-Gerasimenko, after orbiting and studying the comet for over two years and deploying the Philae lander in 2014.
When Did the Ottoman Empire Fall?
The Ottoman Empire officially ended on 1 November 1922, when the Grand National Assembly of Turkey abolished the sultanate; the last sultan, Mehmed VI, left Istanbul on 17 November aboard a British warship.
When Was the Hubble Deep Field Image Taken?
The original Hubble Deep Field image was taken between 18 and 28 December 1995, when the Hubble Space Telescope was pointed at an apparently empty patch of sky for 10 consecutive days, revealing about 3,000 galaxies in an area smaller than a grain of sand held at arm's length.
When Was the First Antibiotic-Resistant Bacterium Found?
Penicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was reported as early as 1940 — before penicillin was even in widespread clinical use — confirming Fleming's 1945 warning that misuse would breed resistance.
When Did the Neolithic Revolution Happen?
The Neolithic Revolution — the transition from hunter-gatherer nomadism to settled agriculture — began independently in several regions starting about 12,000 years ago (circa 10,000 BCE) in the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East.
When Was the First Successful Organ Transplant?
The first successful long-term organ transplant was a kidney transplant on 23 December 1954 by Dr Joseph Murray at Peter Bent Brigham Hospital in Boston, between identical twins Richard and Ronald Herrick.
When Were the Dead Sea Scrolls Discovered?
The Dead Sea Scrolls were first discovered in early 1947 by Bedouin shepherds in caves near Qumran on the northwest shore of the Dead Sea in the West Bank.
When Was the First Electric Car Made?
The first crude electric vehicles were built in the 1830s, with Scottish inventor Robert Anderson constructing one around 1832-1839; by the 1890s, electric cars were among the most popular automobiles in America.
When Was the Terracotta Army Discovered?
The Terracotta Army was discovered on 29 March 1974 by local farmers digging a well near Xi'an, Shaanxi Province, China — they unearthed pottery fragments that led to the excavation of one of the most spectacular archaeological finds in history.
When Did the Spanish Flu Pandemic Start?
The 1918 influenza pandemic (misleadingly called "Spanish flu") was first officially recorded on 4 March 1918 at Camp Funston, Kansas, USA, and spread worldwide over three devastating waves through 1920.
When Was the First Animal in Space?
Fruit flies became the first animals in space on 20 February 1947, launched aboard a US V-2 rocket; the first mammal in orbit was Laika, a Soviet dog launched on Sputnik 2 on 3 November 1957.
When Was the First Skyscraper Built?
The Home Insurance Building in Chicago, completed in 1885, is generally considered the world first skyscraper — it was the first tall building to use a structural steel frame rather than load-bearing masonry walls.
When Was the First Computer Bug Found?
On 9 September 1947, operators of the Harvard Mark II computer found a moth trapped in a relay, which they taped into the logbook with the note "first actual case of bug being found" — popularising the term "debugging" in computing.
When Did the Cambrian Explosion Happen?
The Cambrian Explosion occurred approximately 538-520 million years ago — a geologically brief period when most major animal body plans (phyla) first appeared in the fossil record, dramatically diversifying life on Earth.
When Was the Polio Vaccine Developed?
Jonas Salk announced his inactivated polio vaccine (IPV) on 12 April 1955, following a massive trial involving 1.8 million children; Albert Sabin oral vaccine (OPV) followed in 1961, enabling the near-eradication of polio worldwide.
When did the dinosaurs go extinct?
The non-bird dinosaurs went extinct about 66 million years ago after an asteroid impact.
When did the Great Depression begin?
The Great Depression began with the Wall Street Crash of October 1929 and lasted through the 1930s.
When Did Humans First Land on the Moon?
Humans first landed on the Moon on 20 July 1969, when NASA Apollo 11 mission touched down and astronaut Neil Armstrong became the first person to step onto the lunar surface, followed by Buzz Aldrin.
When did the first Olympic Games take place?
The ancient Olympics began in 776 BC in Greece; the modern Games were revived in 1896.
When Was Electricity Discovered?
Electricity was not discovered in a single moment; ancient people knew of static electricity and electric fish, but the scientific understanding developed over the 1600s-1800s, with key breakthroughs by Franklin, Volta, Faraday, and others.
When did the first computer appear?
The first general-purpose electronic computers appeared in the 1940s, though the idea is older.
When did the Wright brothers first fly?
The Wright brothers made the first powered, controlled aeroplane flight on 17 December 1903.
When Were the Pyramids of Giza Built?
The Great Pyramids of Giza were built during Egypt Fourth Dynasty, around 2600-2500 BCE — more than 4,500 years ago; the Great Pyramid of Khufu was completed around 2560 BCE and remained the world tallest structure for nearly 4,000 years.
When Did the Black Death Happen?
The Black Death, the deadliest pandemic in recorded history, swept through Europe, Asia, and North Africa between 1347 and 1351, killing an estimated 75-200 million people — up to half of Europe population.
When Was the Internet Invented?
The internet foundations were laid in 1969 with ARPANET, the first network to use packet switching; the modern internet took shape in the 1980s with the TCP/IP protocol (1983), and the World Wide Web was invented in 1989-1991.
When Did Dinosaurs First Appear?
Dinosaurs first appeared around 230-240 million years ago during the Triassic period; they dominated life on land for about 165 million years until a mass extinction wiped out all non-bird dinosaurs 66 million years ago.
When Did Agriculture First Develop?
Agriculture first developed independently in several regions starting around 10,000-12,000 years ago, after the last Ice Age; the earliest known farming arose in the Fertile Crescent of the Middle East, transforming human society forever.
When did the Great Fire of London happen?
The Great Fire of London raged from 2 to 6 September 1666, destroying much of the medieval city.
When did antibiotics first appear?
The first antibiotic era began in 1928 with penicillin, though mass production only arrived in the 1940s.
When Was Antarctica Discovered?
Antarctica was first sighted in 1820 by Russian, British, and American expeditions; the first confirmed landing came in 1821, and the interior remained largely unexplored until the early 20th-century "Heroic Age" of exploration.
When did the Berlin Airlift happen?
The Berlin Airlift ran from June 1948 to May 1949, when Western allies flew in supplies to West Berlin after the Soviet Union blockaded all land routes into the city.
When did the California Gold Rush happen?
The California Gold Rush began in 1848 after gold was discovered at Sutter Mill and peaked in 1849, drawing around 300,000 fortune-seekers known as forty-niners.
When did the Cuban Missile Crisis happen?
The Cuban Missile Crisis unfolded over 13 days in October 1962, when the discovery of Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba brought the United States and the Soviet Union to the brink of nuclear war.
When did the first Moon rover land?
The first wheeled vehicle to operate on the Moon was the Soviet robotic Lunokhod 1, which landed in November 1970; the first crewed lunar rover was driven by Apollo 15 astronauts in 1971.
When did the First World War begin?
The First World War began in 1914, triggered by the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in June, and lasted until the armistice on 11 November 1918.
When did the last Ice Age end?
The last Ice Age, or the most recent glacial period, ended around 11,700 years ago as the climate warmed and vast ice sheets retreated, marking the start of our current warm era.
When did the Mongol Empire rise?
The Mongol Empire rose in 1206 when Genghis Khan united the Mongol tribes, and it grew into the largest contiguous land empire in history within a few decades.
When did the Space Race begin?
The Space Race began in 1957 when the Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1, the first artificial satellite, igniting fierce competition with the United States that culminated in the Moon landing in 1969.
When did the Spanish flu pandemic happen?
The Spanish flu pandemic struck in 1918 to 1920, infecting about a third of the world population and killing an estimated 50 million people or more, making it one of the deadliest pandemics in history.
When did the Vietnam War end?
The Vietnam War ended on 30 April 1975 with the fall of Saigon to North Vietnamese forces, reuniting the country under communist control after decades of conflict.
When was the structure of DNA discovered?
The double-helix structure of DNA was discovered in 1953 by James Watson and Francis Crick, building crucially on X-ray images produced by Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins.
When was the compass invented?
The magnetic compass was first developed in China during the Han dynasty around the 2nd century BC for divination, and it was adapted for navigation by roughly the 11th century AD.
When was the first television broadcast?
The first working television demonstration was given by Scottish inventor John Logie Baird in 1926, and regular public broadcasting began in the 1930s.
When was the Great Wall of China built?
The Great Wall of China was built over many centuries, with early walls dating from around the 7th century BC and the most famous surviving sections constructed during the Ming dynasty between the 14th and 17th centuries.
When was the United Nations founded?
The United Nations was founded on 24 October 1945, when its charter came into effect after being ratified by the majority of the 51 founding member states in the aftermath of the Second World War.
When did the first airplane fly?
The first sustained, controlled, powered flight of a heavier-than-air aircraft took place on 17 December 1903 at Kitty Hawk, North Carolina, when the Wright brothers flew their Wright Flyer.
When did the first ATM open?
The first cash machine went into service on 27 June 1967 at a Barclays bank branch in Enfield, north London, and was created by John Shepherd-Barron.
When did the first credit card appear?
The first widely used general purpose charge card, the Diners Club card, appeared in 1950 in the United States and could be used at multiple restaurants and businesses.
When did the first nuclear reactor start?
The first self-sustaining nuclear chain reaction was achieved on 2 December 1942 in a reactor called Chicago Pile-1, built under the stands of a stadium at the University of Chicago.
When did the first photograph get taken?
The oldest surviving photograph from nature was taken by Joseph Nicephore Niepce around 1826 or 1827 in France, showing the view from a window of his estate.
When did the first photograph of a black hole appear?
The first image of a black hole was released to the public on 10 April 2019 by the Event Horizon Telescope team and showed the supermassive black hole at the centre of galaxy M87.
When did the first photograph of Earth from space appear?
The first photographs of Earth taken from space were captured on 24 October 1946 by a camera aboard a captured V-2 rocket launched from White Sands, New Mexico.
When did the first subway open?
The worlds first underground passenger railway opened in London on 10 January 1863, running between Paddington and Farringdon on what became the London Underground.
When did the first text message get sent?
The first mobile phone text message was sent on 3 December 1992, when engineer Neil Papworth typed Merry Christmas and sent it over a UK network.
When did the first vending machine appear?
The first modern coin-operated vending machine appeared in London in the early 1880s to sell postcards, though a coin-operated device dispensing holy water was described in ancient Greece.
When did the first webcam get used?
The first webcam was set up in 1991 at the University of Cambridge to monitor a coffee pot, so researchers could check whether it was full without leaving their desks.
When was the first barcode scanned?
The first product with a barcode was scanned on 26 June 1974 at a Marsh supermarket in Troy, Ohio, and the item was a pack of Wrigley chewing gum.
When was the first color television sold?
The first commercially successful colour television compatible with existing broadcasts, the RCA CT-100, went on sale in the United States in 1954.
When was the lightbulb first sold?
Thomas Edison began selling his practical incandescent light bulbs commercially around 1880, after patenting a long-lasting design in 1879.
When did the first photograph of the Moon appear?
The first known photograph of the Moon was made in 1840 by John William Draper in New York, using an early daguerreotype process.
When was the first weather satellite launched?
The first successful weather satellite, TIROS-1, was launched by the United States on 1 April 1960 and sent back the first television images of clouds from orbit.
When did the first heart pacemaker get implanted?
The first fully implantable heart pacemaker was placed in a patient in 1958 in Sweden, in a man named Arne Larsson.
When was the first solar cell made?
The first practical silicon solar cell was created in 1954 at Bell Laboratories in the United States and could convert about six percent of sunlight into electricity.
When did the first microwave oven appear?
The first commercial microwave oven, the Raytheon Radarange, appeared in 1947, after engineer Percy Spencer discovered the heating effect of microwaves in 1945.
When was the first digital camera made?
The first digital camera was built in 1975 by engineer Steven Sasson at Kodak, and it recorded a black and white image of just 0.01 megapixels onto a cassette tape.
When is Easter, and why does the date change?
In Western churches, Easter falls on the first Sunday after the first full moon on or after 21 March, so it can land anywhere between 22 March and 25 April.
When is Ramadan?
Ramadan is the ninth month of the Islamic lunar calendar, so it begins about 10 to 11 days earlier each year in the Gregorian calendar and lasts 29 or 30 days.
When is Chinese New Year?
Chinese New Year, or the Spring Festival, begins on the second new moon after the winter solstice, which always falls between 21 January and 20 February.
When is Diwali celebrated?
Diwali, the festival of lights, is celebrated on the new moon night of the Hindu month of Kartika, which usually falls in October or November.
When did Thanksgiving begin?
American Thanksgiving traces back to a 1621 harvest feast at Plymouth Colony, but it became a national holiday only in 1863, proclaimed by President Abraham Lincoln.
When was the first iPhone released?
Steve Jobs unveiled the first iPhone on 9 January 2007, and it went on sale in the United States on 29 June 2007.
When was Google founded?
Google was officially founded on 4 September 1998 by Stanford PhD students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, who ran it from a rented garage in Menlo Park, California.
When was Facebook launched?
Mark Zuckerberg launched TheFacebook from his Harvard dormitory on 4 February 2004, initially only for Harvard students.
When was YouTube created?
YouTube was created in February 2005 by former PayPal employees Chad Hurley, Steve Chen and Jawed Karim, and its first video was uploaded on 23 April 2005.
When did World War II begin?
World War II began on 1 September 1939, when Nazi Germany invaded Poland, and Britain and France declared war on Germany two days later.
When was the Declaration of Independence signed?
The US Declaration of Independence was adopted on 4 July 1776, but most delegates actually signed the engrossed copy on 2 August 1776.
When was the first FIFA World Cup held?
The first FIFA World Cup was held in Uruguay in July 1930, and the hosts won, beating Argentina 4-2 in the final in Montevideo.
When was the Statue of Liberty built?
The Statue of Liberty was built in France between 1875 and 1884, shipped to New York in 1885 and dedicated on 28 October 1886.
When will Halley's Comet return?
Halley's Comet orbits the Sun about every 75 to 76 years; it last passed closest to the Sun in February 1986 and is expected back in mid-2061.
When did Christmas start being celebrated on 25 December?
The earliest known record of Christmas on 25 December comes from Rome in AD 336, though the Bible does not give the date of the birth of Jesus.
When was Bitcoin created?
Bitcoin was described in a white paper published on 31 October 2008 by the pseudonymous Satoshi Nakamoto, and the network went live on 3 January 2009.
When was the first Harry Potter book published?
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone was published by Bloomsbury in the UK on 26 June 1997, with a first hardback print run of just 500 copies.
When was the Colosseum built?
Construction of the Colosseum in Rome began around AD 70 to 72 under Emperor Vespasian and was completed in AD 80 under his son Titus.
When did Valentine's Day start?
Valentine's Day began as a Christian feast honouring Saint Valentine, established by Pope Gelasius I in AD 496, but it became linked with romance only in the late Middle Ages.
When did Halloween start?
Halloween grew from Samhain, an ancient Celtic festival held around 31 October to mark the end of harvest, which later merged with the Christian All Saints' Day.
When did the 9/11 attacks happen?
The September 11 attacks took place on Tuesday, 11 September 2001, when 19 al-Qaeda hijackers seized four US passenger jets.
When did the COVID-19 pandemic start?
The first cases were identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019, and the WHO declared a pandemic on 11 March 2020.
When did the Beatles form?
The Beatles took their name in 1960 in Liverpool, growing out of John Lennon’s skiffle group the Quarrymen, founded in 1957.
When did Martin Luther King Jr. give the I Have a Dream speech?
He delivered it on 28 August 1963 at the Lincoln Memorial during the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom.
When was John F. Kennedy assassinated?
President Kennedy was shot and killed in Dallas, Texas, on 22 November 1963, while riding in an open-top motorcade.
When was the American Civil War?
The American Civil War lasted from 12 April 1861 to 1865, with the main Confederate army surrendering on 9 April 1865.
When was slavery abolished in the United States?
Slavery was formally abolished nationwide when the 13th Amendment was ratified on 6 December 1865.
When was the first mobile phone call made?
Motorola engineer Martin Cooper made the first handheld mobile phone call on 3 April 1973 on a New York City street.
When was William Shakespeare born?
Shakespeare was baptised on 26 April 1564 in Stratford-upon-Avon, and his birthday is traditionally celebrated on 23 April.
When was Pearl Harbor attacked?
Japan attacked the US naval base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, on the morning of Sunday, 7 December 1941.
When was the atomic bomb dropped on Hiroshima?
The US dropped the atomic bomb Little Boy on Hiroshima on 6 August 1945, followed by a second bomb on Nagasaki on 9 August.
When did World War I end?
Fighting stopped with the Armistice at 11 am on 11 November 1918, and the Treaty of Versailles was signed on 28 June 1919.
When did women get the right to vote?
New Zealand was first in 1893; UK women got partial voting rights in 1918 and US women won the vote with the 19th Amendment in 1920.
When was the first video game made?
Tennis for Two, created in 1958 by physicist William Higinbotham, is often called the first video game; Pong launched the industry in 1972.
When did India gain independence?
India became independent from British rule at midnight on 15 August 1947, and became a republic on 26 January 1950.
When was Martin Luther King Jr. assassinated?
Martin Luther King Jr. was shot and killed on 4 April 1968 at the Lorraine Motel in Memphis, Tennessee. He was 39 years old.
When was Abraham Lincoln assassinated?
Abraham Lincoln was shot on 14 April 1865 at Ford’s Theatre in Washington, D.C., and died the next morning, 15 April.
When was the first movie made?
The oldest surviving film, Roundhay Garden Scene, was shot in 1888. The first public paid cinema screening was held by the Lumière brothers in Paris on 28 December 1895.
When was the euro introduced?
The euro launched as an electronic currency on 1 January 1999, and euro banknotes and coins went into circulation on 1 January 2002.
When was Nelson Mandela released from prison?
Nelson Mandela walked free on 11 February 1990 after 27 years in prison.
When was the first computer virus created?
The first known self-replicating program, Creeper, appeared in 1971. The first virus to spread in the wild was Elk Cloner in 1982.
When did Elizabeth II become queen?
Elizabeth II became queen on 6 February 1952, when her father King George VI died. She was crowned on 2 June 1953.
When was Coca-Cola invented?
Coca-Cola was invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Atlanta, Georgia. It was first sold on 8 May 1886 for five cents a glass.
When did the Soviet Union collapse?
The Soviet Union officially dissolved on 26 December 1991, a day after Mikhail Gorbachev resigned as its president.
When did Brexit happen?
The UK voted to leave the European Union on 23 June 2016 and officially left on 31 January 2020. A transition period ended on 31 December 2020.
When did the Apollo 13 mission happen?
Apollo 13 launched on 11 April 1970. An oxygen tank exploded two days later, and the crew returned safely to Earth on 17 April 1970.
When was the first Super Bowl?
The first Super Bowl was played on 15 January 1967 in Los Angeles. The Green Bay Packers beat the Kansas City Chiefs 35–10.
When was the first IVF baby born?
Louise Brown, the world’s first baby conceived by in vitro fertilisation, was born on 25 July 1978 in Oldham, England.
When was Netflix founded?
Netflix was founded on 29 August 1997 in Scotts Valley, California, by Reed Hastings and Marc Randolph as a DVD-by-mail rental service.
When were the first Olympic Games held?
The first recorded ancient Olympic Games were held in 776 BC at Olympia in Greece. The first modern Olympics took place in Athens in 1896.
When was the Taj Mahal built?
Work began around 1632 and the main mausoleum was finished by about 1643, with the full complex completed around 1653.
When was Stonehenge built?
Stonehenge was built in stages from about 3000 BC, with the giant sarsen stones raised around 2500 BC.
When was Machu Picchu built?
The Inca built Machu Picchu in the mid-1400s, probably as an estate for the emperor Pachacuti.
When did the Sydney Opera House open?
Queen Elizabeth II officially opened the Sydney Opera House on 20 October 1973.
When was the Empire State Building built?
It was built in just over a year, from March 1930, and opened on 1 May 1931.
When was Big Ben built?
The clock tower was completed in 1859, and the Great Bell known as Big Ben began striking the hours that year.
When did the Golden Gate Bridge open?
The Golden Gate Bridge opened on 27 May 1937 to pedestrians, and to cars the next day.
When did the first Star Wars film come out?
Star Wars, later retitled Episode IV – A New Hope, was released in the US on 25 May 1977.
When did Disneyland open?
Disneyland opened in Anaheim, California, on 17 July 1955.
When were the first Nobel Prizes awarded?
The first Nobel Prizes were awarded on 10 December 1901.
When were the first Oscars held?
The first Academy Awards ceremony took place on 16 May 1929 in Hollywood.
When was the first Tour de France?
The first Tour de France was held in July 1903 and was won by Maurice Garin.
When was the Battle of Hastings?
The Battle of Hastings was fought on 14 October 1066.
When was the Battle of Waterloo?
The Battle of Waterloo was fought on 18 June 1815 in present-day Belgium.
When was the Russian Revolution?
It happened in 1917, in two stages: the February Revolution and the October Revolution.
When was D-Day?
D-Day, the Allied invasion of Normandy, took place on 6 June 1944.
When was the Korean War?
The Korean War began on 25 June 1950 and fighting stopped with an armistice on 27 July 1953.
When did apartheid end?
Apartheid was dismantled between 1990 and 1994, ending with South Africa’s first democratic election in April 1994.
When was the first Space Shuttle launch?
The first Space Shuttle, Columbia, launched on 12 April 1981.
When did the James Webb Space Telescope launch?
The James Webb Space Telescope launched on 25 December 2021.
When did Voyager 1 reach interstellar space?
Voyager 1 crossed into interstellar space on 25 August 2012.
When did the Perseverance rover land on Mars?
NASA’s Perseverance rover landed in Jezero Crater on Mars on 18 February 2021.
When was the first smartphone released?
The IBM Simon, widely called the first smartphone, went on sale in August 1994.
When was Twitter launched?
The first tweet was sent on 21 March 2006, and Twitter launched publicly in July 2006.
When was Instagram launched?
Instagram launched on Apple’s App Store on 6 October 2010.
When was TikTok launched?
ByteDance launched the Chinese version, Douyin, in September 2016 and the international TikTok app in 2017.
When was WhatsApp launched?
WhatsApp was founded in 2009 by former Yahoo engineers Jan Koum and Brian Acton.
When was the PlayStation released?
Sony released the first PlayStation in Japan on 3 December 1994, and in North America in September 1995.
When was Minecraft released?
An early version of Minecraft appeared in May 2009, and the full game launched on 18 November 2011.
When was Tetris created?
Soviet engineer Alexey Pajitnov created Tetris in June 1984 in Moscow.
When was Wi-Fi invented?
The first wireless networking standard, IEEE 802.11, was published in 1997, and the name Wi-Fi was introduced in 1999.
When were the first Winter Olympics held?
The first Winter Olympics were held in Chamonix, France, from 25 January to 5 February 1924.
When were the first Paralympic Games held?
The first Paralympic Games were held in Rome in 1960, following the Olympics.
When was the first Cricket World Cup?
The first men’s Cricket World Cup was held in England in June 1975 and won by the West Indies.
When was the NBA founded?
The league was founded in New York on 6 June 1946 as the Basketball Association of America and became the NBA in 1949.
When did the Mayflower sail to America?
The Mayflower left Plymouth, England, in September 1620 and reached Cape Cod in November 1620.
When was Rome founded?
According to legend, Rome was founded by Romulus on 21 April 753 BC.
When did Alexander the Great die?
Alexander the Great died in Babylon in June 323 BC, aged 32.
When was Julius Caesar assassinated?
Julius Caesar was assassinated on 15 March 44 BC, the Ides of March.
When did Cleopatra die?
Cleopatra VII died in Alexandria in August 30 BC, aged 39.
When was the Parthenon built?
The Parthenon was built on the Acropolis of Athens between 447 and 432 BC.
When was Napoleon crowned emperor?
Napoleon crowned himself Emperor of the French at Notre-Dame in Paris on 2 December 1804.
When was the first car invented?
Karl Benz patented the first practical petrol-powered car on 29 January 1886.
When was the bicycle invented?
The first two-wheeled bicycle, Karl Drais’s pedal-less “running machine”, was first ridden in 1817.
When were glasses invented?
Eyeglasses were invented in northern Italy around the 1280s.
When was pizza Margherita invented?
By tradition, pizza Margherita was created in Naples in June 1889 for Queen Margherita of Italy.
When did the first McDonald’s open?
Brothers Richard and Maurice McDonald opened their first restaurant in San Bernardino, California, on 15 May 1940.
When was paper invented?
Paper was invented in China more than 2,000 years ago, and court official Cai Lun improved it in AD 105.
When was the Indian Ocean tsunami?
The Indian Ocean tsunami struck on 26 December 2004 after a huge earthquake off Sumatra.
When was the first Earth Day?
The first Earth Day was held in the United States on 22 April 1970.
When Was the First Crossword Puzzle Published?
The first crossword puzzle appeared on December 21, 1913, in the New York World newspaper.
When Was the First Vaccine Developed?
Edward Jenner created the first vaccine in 1796 against smallpox.
When Was the Rosetta Stone Discovered?
French soldiers found the Rosetta Stone in July 1799 during Napoleon's Egyptian campaign.
When Was the Periodic Table First Published?
Dmitri Mendeleev published the first widely recognized periodic table in 1869.
When Was the First Antibiotic Used on a Patient?
Penicillin was first used to treat a human patient in February 1941.
When Was the First Mobile Phone Call Made?
Martin Cooper of Motorola made the first handheld mobile phone call on 3 April 1973.
When Was the First Antibiotic Mass-Produced?
Penicillin was first mass-produced in 1943 to treat Allied soldiers during World War II.
When Was the First Heart Transplant Performed?
Dr Christiaan Barnard performed the first human heart transplant on 3 December 1967.
When Did the First Woman Fly Solo Across the Atlantic?
Amelia Earhart became the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic on May 20–21, 1932.
When Was the First Supersonic Flight?
Chuck Yeager broke the sound barrier on 14 October 1947 in the Bell X-1.
When Was the First Heart Bypass Surgery Performed?
The first successful coronary artery bypass surgery was performed on May 2, 1960.
When Was the First Photograph of a Black Hole Taken?
The Event Horizon Telescope captured the first image of a black hole, released on April 10, 2019.
When Was the First Submarine Used in Warfare?
The Turtle, built in 1775, became the first submarine used in combat during the American Revolution in 1776.
When Was the First Color Photograph Taken?
The first color photograph was taken by James Clerk Maxwell in 1861.
When Was Pluto Reclassified as a Dwarf Planet?
The International Astronomical Union reclassified Pluto as a dwarf planet on 24 August 2006.
When Was the First National Park Established?
Yellowstone became the world's first national park on March 1, 1872.
When Were the First Modern Olympic Games Held?
The first modern Olympics took place in Athens, Greece, in April 1896.
When Was the First Programmable Computer Built?
Germany's Konrad Zuse completed the Z3, the first programmable computer, in 1941.
When Was the First X-Ray Image Taken?
Wilhelm Röntgen took the first X-ray image on 8 November 1895.
When Was Insulin First Used to Treat Diabetes?
Insulin was first administered to a human patient on January 11, 1922, in Toronto, Canada.
When Was the First Artificial Satellite Launched?
The Soviet Union launched Sputnik 1 on 4 October 1957.
When Was the Theory of General Relativity Published?
Albert Einstein published his general theory of relativity in November 1915.
When Was the First E-Book Created?
Michael Hart created the first e-book on July 4, 1971, by digitizing the U.S. Declaration of Independence.
When Was the First Text Message Sent?
The first SMS text message, reading "Merry Christmas," was sent on December 3, 1992.
When Was the First 3D-Printed Organ Made?
The first 3D-printed bladder was implanted in a patient in 1999 by Anthony Atala.
When Was Construction of the Great Wall of China Started?
The earliest walls were built around the 7th century BC, with major construction under Qin Shi Huang from 221 BC.
When Was the Hubble Space Telescope Launched?
The Hubble Space Telescope was launched on 24 April 1990 aboard the Space Shuttle Discovery.
When Was the First Human Genome Fully Sequenced?
The Human Genome Project declared the genome essentially complete in April 2003.
When Was Machu Picchu Rediscovered?
American historian Hiram Bingham III brought Machu Picchu to international attention on 24 July 1911.
When Was the First MRI Scan Performed?
Raymond Damadian produced the first human MRI scan on 3 July 1977.
When Was the First Nuclear Weapon Tested?
The first nuclear test, codenamed Trinity, took place on 16 July 1945 in New Mexico.
When Was the First Cryptocurrency Created?
Bitcoin, the first cryptocurrency, was introduced in a 2008 whitepaper and launched in January 2009.
When Was the First Successful Seaplane Flight?
Henri Fabre flew the first successful seaplane on 28 March 1910 near Marseille, France.
When Was the First Electric Car Built?
Early electric carriages appeared in the 1830s, with practical electric cars emerging by the 1880s.
When Was the DNA Double Helix Structure Discovered?
James Watson and Francis Crick published the double helix model on 25 April 1953.
When Was the First Animal Cloned?
Dolly the sheep, the first mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell, was born on July 5, 1996.
When Was the First Permanent Artificial Heart Implanted?
Dr Barney Clark received the Jarvik-7 artificial heart on 2 December 1982.
When Was the First Solar Panel Invented?
Bell Labs created the first practical silicon solar cell in 1954, achieving about 6% efficiency.
When Was the First Video Game Created?
Physicist William Higinbotham created "Tennis for Two" in 1958, one of the earliest video games.
When Did the Last Woolly Mammoths Die Out?
The last woolly mammoths survived on Wrangel Island until about 4,000 years ago.
When Was the First Spacewalk Performed?
Soviet cosmonaut Alexei Leonov performed the first spacewalk on 18 March 1965.
When Was the First Solar Eclipse Recorded?
Ancient Chinese records describe a solar eclipse as early as around 2136 BC.
When Was the First 3D-Printed Organ Created?
The first 3D-printed bladder was implanted in a patient in 1999, and the first 3D-printed kidney structure was demonstrated in 2013.
When Was the International Space Station Launched?
The first ISS module, Zarya, was launched on 20 November 1998.
When Was the First Blood Transfusion Performed?
The first documented human blood transfusion was performed by Jean-Baptiste Denys in 1667.
When Was the First Undersea Telegraph Cable Laid?
The first successful transatlantic telegraph cable was completed on 5 August 1858.
When Did the Great Barrier Reef Form?
The current Great Barrier Reef structure began forming about 6,000–8,000 years ago.
When Was the First Photo of an Exoplanet Taken?
The first confirmed direct image of an exoplanet was published in 2004 (2M1207 b).
When Was the First Antibiotic-Resistant Bacterium Discovered?
Penicillin-resistant Staphylococcus aureus was documented as early as 1942.
When Was the Metric System Adopted?
France officially adopted the metric system on 7 April 1795.
When Was the First Pig-to-Human Heart Transplant?
The first pig-to-human heart transplant was performed on 7 January 2022.
When Was the First Photo of Earth Taken From the Moon?
Lunar Orbiter 1 captured the first photo of Earth from the Moon's vicinity on 23 August 1966.
When Did the First Steamship Cross the Atlantic?
The SS Savannah made the first Atlantic crossing using steam power in 1819, though mostly under sail.
When Was the Ozone Hole Discovered?
British scientists reported the Antarctic ozone hole in May 1985.
When Was the First Successful Kidney Transplant?
Dr Joseph Murray performed the first successful kidney transplant on 23 December 1954.
When Was the First Photograph Sent by Wire?
Arthur Korn transmitted the first wirephoto in 1902 in Germany.
When Was the First Powered Flight by a Woman?
Raymonde de Laroche became the first woman to fly solo in a powered aircraft on 8 March 1910.
When was the Hoover Dam completed?
The Hoover Dam was completed in 1936, two years ahead of schedule, on the Colorado River between Nevada and Arizona.
When did the Burj Khalifa open?
The Burj Khalifa in Dubai officially opened on 4 January 2010, becoming the tallest building in the world at 828 metres.
When did the Notre-Dame de Paris fire happen?
A major fire broke out at Notre-Dame Cathedral in Paris on 15 April 2019, destroying its spire and much of its roof.
When did the Brooklyn Bridge open?
The Brooklyn Bridge opened on 24 May 1883, linking Manhattan and Brooklyn across New York's East River.
When was the Lusitania sunk?
The British ocean liner RMS Lusitania was sunk by a German U-boat off the coast of Ireland on 7 May 1915.
When did the Hindenburg disaster happen?
The German airship Hindenburg caught fire and was destroyed while landing at Lakehurst, New Jersey, on 6 May 1937.
When did the Fukushima nuclear disaster happen?
The Fukushima Daiichi nuclear disaster began on 11 March 2011, after a massive earthquake and tsunami struck Japan.
When did Krakatoa erupt?
The volcano Krakatoa in Indonesia erupted catastrophically on 26–27 August 1883, in one of the deadliest eruptions in history.
When did Mount Tambora erupt?
Mount Tambora on the Indonesian island of Sumbawa erupted in April 1815, the most powerful volcanic eruption in recorded history.
When was the great San Francisco earthquake?
The great San Francisco earthquake struck on the morning of 18 April 1906, followed by fires that destroyed much of the city.
When was Velcro invented?
Velcro was invented by Swiss engineer George de Mestral, who came up with the idea in 1941 and patented it in the 1950s.
When was the flush toilet invented?
The first flushing toilet was designed by Sir John Harington in 1596, and Alexander Cumming patented the S-bend flush toilet in 1775.
When was paper money first used?
Paper money was first used in China, where merchants used paper notes in the Tang dynasty and the Song government issued official banknotes in the 11th century.
When were the first coins made?
The first known coins were made in the kingdom of Lydia, in what is now western Turkey, around the 7th century BCE.
When was the Sony Walkman released?
Sony released the first Walkman portable cassette player, the TPS-L2, in Japan on 1 July 1979.
When was the first talking film released?
The first feature-length film with synchronised dialogue, The Jazz Singer, premiered on 6 October 1927.
When was the first Wimbledon tournament held?
The first Wimbledon Championships were held in July 1877 at the All England Croquet and Lawn Tennis Club in London.
When did Columbus reach the Americas?
Christopher Columbus reached the Americas on 12 October 1492, landing on an island in the Bahamas.
When did Vasco da Gama reach India?
Portuguese explorer Vasco da Gama reached Calicut, India, on 20 May 1498, becoming the first European to reach India by sea.
When did the first woman go to space?
Soviet cosmonaut Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space on 16 June 1963, aboard Vostok 6.
When was Neptune discovered?
Neptune was discovered on 23 September 1846 by Johann Galle at the Berlin Observatory, using predictions made through mathematics.
When was Uranus discovered?
Uranus was discovered on 13 March 1781 by astronomer William Herschel, the first planet found with a telescope.
When was the Gregorian calendar introduced?
The Gregorian calendar was introduced by Pope Gregory XIII in October 1582 to correct errors in the older Julian calendar.
When was basketball invented?
Basketball was invented in December 1891 by James Naismith, a Canadian physical education teacher in Springfield, Massachusetts.
When was the first organised indoor ice hockey game played?
The first recorded organised indoor ice hockey game was played on 3 March 1875 at the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal, Canada.
When did the American Revolution begin?
The American Revolutionary War began on 19 April 1775 with the Battles of Lexington and Concord in Massachusetts.
When was the State of Israel founded?
The State of Israel was proclaimed on 14 May 1948 by David Ben-Gurion in Tel Aviv, as the British Mandate for Palestine ended.
When did the Meiji Restoration happen?
The Meiji Restoration began in 1868, when power in Japan was returned from the Tokugawa shogunate to Emperor Meiji.
When did Constantinople fall?
Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks on 29 May 1453, ending the Byzantine Empire after more than a thousand years.
When did the Aztec Empire fall?
The Aztec Empire fell on 13 August 1521, when Spanish conquistadors and their Indigenous allies captured the capital, Tenochtitlan.
When did the Spanish conquer the Inca Empire?
The Spanish conquest of the Inca Empire began in 1532, when Francisco Pizarro captured the emperor Atahualpa at Cajamarca.
When were dogs domesticated?
Dogs were the first domesticated animals, descended from ancient wolves and tamed at least 15,000 years ago, possibly much earlier.
When were cats domesticated?
Cats began living alongside people around 10,000 years ago in the Near East, as early farmers stored grain that attracted rodents.
When was Greenpeace founded?
Greenpeace was founded in 1971 in Vancouver, Canada, by activists who sailed to protest US nuclear weapons testing in Alaska.
When was the Kyoto Protocol signed?
The Kyoto Protocol was adopted on 11 December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, and came into force on 16 February 2005.
When did Hurricane Katrina hit?
Hurricane Katrina made landfall on the US Gulf Coast on 29 August 2005, devastating New Orleans and the surrounding region.
When was the Dust Bowl?
The Dust Bowl struck the southern Great Plains of the United States during the 1930s, when severe drought and poor farming caused massive dust storms.
When was the teddy bear invented?
The teddy bear was created in 1902–1903, named after US President Theodore 'Teddy' Roosevelt after a famous hunting story.
When was Scrabble invented?
Scrabble was invented in 1938 by American architect Alfred Mosher Butts, and it was renamed Scrabble and trademarked in 1948.
When was hip hop born?
Hip hop is traditionally said to have been born on 11 August 1973 at a back-to-school party in the Bronx, New York, hosted by DJ Kool Herc.
When was the first English dictionary published?
The first English dictionary, Robert Cawdrey's 'A Table Alphabeticall', was published in 1604; Samuel Johnson's famous dictionary followed in 1755.
When was the first postage stamp issued?
The world's first adhesive postage stamp, the Penny Black, was issued in the United Kingdom on 1 May 1840 and became valid on 6 May.
When was the three-point seat belt invented?
The modern three-point seat belt was invented by Swedish engineer Nils Bohlin at Volvo and introduced in 1959.
When did Concorde first fly?
Concorde, the Anglo-French supersonic airliner, made its first flight on 2 March 1969 from Toulouse, France.
When did the Challenger disaster happen?
The Space Shuttle Challenger broke apart 73 seconds after launch on 28 January 1986, killing all seven crew members.
When was aspirin invented?
Aspirin was first synthesised in a stable, pure form by chemists at Bayer in 1897 and launched as a medicine in 1899.
When was the Louisiana Purchase?
The Louisiana Purchase was agreed in 1803, when the United States bought about 2.1 million square kilometres of land from France for $15 million.
When did the US buy Alaska?
The United States bought Alaska from Russia in 1867 for $7.2 million, a deal signed on 30 March 1867.
When was the typewriter invented?
The first commercially successful typewriter was invented by Christopher Latham Sholes and colleagues, patented in 1868 and sold from 1874.
When was nylon invented?
Nylon was invented by Wallace Carothers and his team at DuPont in 1935, becoming the first fully synthetic fibre made commercially.
When was the Mona Lisa stolen?
The Mona Lisa was stolen from the Louvre on 21 August 1911 and missing for over two years until it was recovered in Florence in December 1913.
When did the Channel Tunnel open?
The Channel Tunnel linking England and France was officially opened on 6 May 1994 by Queen Elizabeth II and French President François Mitterrand.
When was Wikipedia launched?
Wikipedia was launched on 15 January 2001 by Jimmy Wales and Larry Sanger as a free, openly editable online encyclopedia.
When did people first arrive in Australia?
Archaeological evidence shows people reached Australia at least 50,000 years ago, and some sites suggest as early as about 65,000 years ago.
When did the world's oldest zoo open?
The oldest zoo still operating is Tiergarten Schönbrunn in Vienna, Austria, founded in 1752 as an imperial menagerie.
When did a spacecraft first land softly on the Moon?
The Soviet probe Luna 9 made the first soft landing on the Moon on 3 February 1966 and sent back the first photos from the lunar surface.
When was the first Eurovision Song Contest?
The first Eurovision Song Contest was held on 24 May 1956 in Lugano, Switzerland, with seven countries taking part.
When were the first Grammy Awards held?
The first Grammy Awards ceremony took place on 4 May 1959, honouring music released in 1958.
When was the first Ferris wheel built?
The first Ferris wheel was built for the 1893 World's Columbian Exposition in Chicago, designed by engineer George Washington Gale Ferris Jr.
When did Amelia Earhart disappear?
Amelia Earhart disappeared on 2 July 1937 over the central Pacific Ocean while trying to fly around the world with navigator Fred Noonan.
When was the Great Chicago Fire?
The Great Chicago Fire burned from 8 to 10 October 1871, destroying about 17,000 buildings and leaving some 100,000 people homeless.
When did the Tunguska event happen?
On 30 June 1908, a huge explosion flattened forest near the Podkamennaya Tunguska River in Siberia.
When was the first bungee jump?
The first modern bungee jumps were made on 1 April 1979 from the Clifton Suspension Bridge in Bristol, England, by members of the Oxford University Dangerous Sports Club.
When did Concorde make its last flight?
Concorde's final commercial flight was on 24 October 2003, when British Airways retired the supersonic jet; Air France had ended its flights that May.
When was the Game Boy released?
Nintendo released the Game Boy in Japan on 21 April 1989 and in North America that July, bundled there with Tetris.
When did Voyager 2 fly past Neptune?
Voyager 2 flew past Neptune on 25 August 1989, making it the only spacecraft ever to visit the planet.
When did the Cassini mission end?
NASA's Cassini spacecraft ended its mission on 15 September 2017 by diving into Saturn's atmosphere after 13 years orbiting the planet.
When were gravitational waves first detected?
Gravitational waves were first directly detected on 14 September 2015 by the LIGO observatories in the US; the discovery was announced on 11 February 2016.
When did New Horizons fly past Pluto?
NASA's New Horizons spacecraft flew past Pluto on 14 July 2015, giving humanity its first close-up images of the dwarf planet.
When did the Curiosity rover land on Mars?
NASA's Curiosity rover landed in Mars's Gale Crater on 6 August 2012 (UTC), using a daring 'sky crane' landing system.
When did the London Eye open?
The London Eye was officially opened on 31 December 1999 and began carrying the public in March 2000.
When was the Hundred Years' War?
The Hundred Years' War between England and France lasted from 1337 to 1453 — actually 116 years, with long periods of truce.
When was the Treaty of Versailles signed?
The Treaty of Versailles was signed on 28 June 1919 in the Hall of Mirrors at the Palace of Versailles, formally ending the First World War between Germany and the Allies.
When did the first nuclear power plant supply electricity to a grid?
The world's first nuclear power plant to supply electricity to a power grid was at Obninsk, near Moscow, which began doing so on 27 June 1954.
When did the Space Shuttle make its final flight?
The Space Shuttle's final mission, STS-135 on Atlantis, launched on 8 July 2011 and landed on 21 July 2011, ending 30 years of shuttle flights.
When was penicillin first used to treat a patient?
Penicillin was first used successfully to treat a patient in 1941. The treatment marked the beginning of the antibiotic era in medicine.
When was the first successful heart transplant performed?
The first successful human heart transplant was performed on 3 December 1967. It was carried out by Christiaan Barnard in South Africa.
When was the first successful kidney transplant performed?
The first successful kidney transplant was performed in 1954. It was done by Joseph Murray and his team in Boston.
When was the first ATM opened?
The first ATM began operating in 1967. It was installed by Barclays in London.
When was the first modern weather satellite launched?
The first weather satellite, TIROS-1, was launched on 1 April 1960. It proved that satellites could be used to observe Earth's weather.
When was the first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic?
The first woman to fly solo across the Atlantic was Amelia Earhart in 1932. She completed the flight from Newfoundland to Northern Ireland.
When was the first modern Olympic Games held?
The first modern Olympic Games were held in 1896. They took place in Athens, Greece.
When was the first Nobel Prize awarded?
The first Nobel Prizes were awarded in 1901. The prizes were established by the will of Alfred Nobel.
When was the first synthetic dye invented?
The first synthetic dye was invented in 1856. William Henry Perkin discovered mauveine by accident.
When was the first permanent human settlement in Antarctica established?
The first permanent Antarctic station was established in 1904. It was Orcadas Base on the South Orkney Islands.
When was the first PCR machine developed?
The polymerase chain reaction was developed in 1983 by Kary Mullis at Cetus Corporation. It transformed DNA analysis by making billions of copies from tiny samples.
When was the Haber process developed?
The Haber process was developed in 1909, and it was first patented in 1910. It made large-scale synthetic ammonia production possible.
When was the first kidney transplant performed?
The first successful kidney transplant was performed in 1954. It was done between identical twins, which avoided immune rejection.
When was the first public radio broadcast?
One of the first widely recognized public radio broadcasts was made in 1906 on Christmas Eve. Reginald Fessenden transmitted music and speech to ship operators.
When was the first photograph of an exoplanet taken?
One of the first widely accepted direct images of an exoplanet was published in 2004. It showed the planet 2M1207 b orbiting a brown dwarf.
When was the first UNESCO World Heritage Sites list created?
The first UNESCO World Heritage Sites were inscribed in 1978. The inaugural list included 12 sites such as the Galápagos Islands and Yellowstone.
When was the first commercially successful electric lightbulb sold?
Edison's practical incandescent lightbulb was introduced commercially in 1880. It quickly became a major step toward widespread electric lighting.
When was the first silicon solar cell made?
The first practical silicon solar cell was made in 1954 at Bell Labs. It converted sunlight to electricity far more efficiently than earlier designs.
When was the first underwater telegraph cable laid?
The first successful undersea telegraph cable was laid across the English Channel in 1851. It connected England and France.
When was the first major public radio broadcast?
One of the first major public radio broadcasts was made on 2 November 1920. It was transmitted by KDKA in Pittsburgh.
When was the first vacuum tube computer built?
The first large-scale electronic general-purpose vacuum tube computer was ENIAC, completed in 1945. It was unveiled to the public in 1946.
When was the first successful organ transplant performed?
The first successful human organ transplant was a kidney transplant performed on December 23, 1954.
When was the first woman in space?
The first woman in space was Valentina Tereshkova in 1963.
When was the first black hole image published?
The first image of a black hole was published on 10 April 2019.
When was the first elevator safety brake invented?
Elisha Otis demonstrated the first practical elevator safety brake in 1853.
When was the first mechanical computer built?
Charles Babbage designed the Difference Engine in the 1820s, but a complete working version was not built in his lifetime.
When was the first Olympic Games held?
The first recorded ancient Olympic Games were held in 776 BCE.
When was the first pacemaker implanted?
The first fully implantable pacemaker was implanted in 1958. It was a major breakthrough in treating heart rhythm problems.
When was the first CPR technique developed?
Modern CPR techniques were developed in 1960. They combined chest compressions with rescue breathing.
When was the first atomic bomb tested?
The first nuclear bomb test took place on 16 July 1945. It was the Trinity test in New Mexico.
When was the first image of a black hole taken?
The first black hole image was released in 2019. It showed the supermassive black hole in galaxy M87.
When was the first exoplanet discovered?
The first widely accepted exoplanet around a Sun-like star was discovered in 1995. It orbited 51 Pegasi.
When was the first moving picture film shown?
One of the earliest public film screenings took place in 1895. The Lumière brothers showed their short films in Paris.
When was the first comic strip published?
The first modern newspaper comic strip appeared in 1895. It was Richard F. Outcault's The Yellow Kid.
When was the first printed book produced?
The earliest known printed book dates to around 868 CE. It is the Diamond Sutra from China.
When was the first movable-type printing press invented?
Johannes Gutenberg developed movable-type printing in Europe around 1440. It transformed book production and the spread of knowledge.
When was the first powered submarine built?
The first practical military submarine, the Turtle, was built in 1775. It was used during the American Revolutionary War.
When was the first roller coaster built?
The first roller coaster ancestor opened in the 1800s, with one of the earliest in 1817. It was the Russian Mountains attraction in France.
When was the first mass-produced automobile sold?
The first mass-produced car sold in large numbers was the Ford Model T, introduced in 1908. Assembly line production began in 1913.
When was the first lung transplant performed?
The first human lung transplant was performed in 1963. The patient survived only a few days, but the operation marked a major surgical first.
When was the first transistor invented?
The transistor was invented in 1947 at Bell Labs. John Bardeen, Walter Brattain, and William Shockley were central to the breakthrough.
When was the first subway opened?
The first underground railway subway opened in 1863. It was the Metropolitan Railway in London.
When was the first synthetic insulin used to treat diabetes?
Recombinant human insulin was first approved for treatment in 1982. It became the first major genetically engineered medicine.
When was the first successful heart bypass surgery performed?
The first successful coronary artery bypass surgery was performed in 1960. Surgeon Robert Goetz is credited with the pioneering operation.
When was the first vending machine used?
The earliest known vending machine dates back to ancient Egypt, around the 1st century CE. It dispensed holy water when a coin was inserted.
When was the first credit card introduced?
The first widely recognized general-purpose credit card, Diners Club, was introduced in 1950. It began as a charge card for restaurants and travel.
When was the first ATM installed?
The first cash-dispensing ATM was installed in 1967 in London. It was introduced by Barclays Bank at a branch in Enfield.
When was the first webcam used?
The first webcam was set up in 1991 at Cambridge University. It monitored a coffee pot so researchers could see if it was full.
When was the first spacecraft to land softly on the Moon?
The first soft landing on the Moon was achieved by Luna 9 on 3 February 1966. It was a Soviet spacecraft.
When was the first mammal cloned?
The first mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell was Dolly the sheep, born in 1996. Her existence was announced in 1997.
When was the first successful blood transfusion performed?
The first recorded successful blood transfusion between humans took place in 1818. It was performed by British physician James Blundell.
When was the first barcode invented?
The barcode concept was patented in 1952 by Norman Woodland and Bernard Silver. The design later evolved into the familiar striped code used in shops.
When was the first artificial heart transplant performed?
The first permanent artificial heart implantation was performed in 1982. It was implanted in patient Barney Clark in Salt Lake City.
When was the first earthquake measured with a seismograph?
The first seismograph was invented in 132 CE. Zhang Heng built it in ancient China.
When was penicillin first used successfully to treat a patient?
Penicillin was first used successfully in 1941, when it was given to Albert Alexander in Oxford. The treatment showed dramatic promise even though the supply was too small to save him.
When was the first artificial heart implanted?
The first permanent artificial heart implant happened in 1982. The Jarvik-7 device was placed in patient Barney Clark in Salt Lake City.
When did the first women get the right to vote nationally?
Women first gained national voting rights in New Zealand in 1893. It was the first self-governing country to do so.
When did the ozone hole get discovered?
The Antarctic ozone hole was discovered in 1985. British Antarctic Survey scientists reported the dramatic springtime ozone loss over Antarctica.
When was the first commercially available barcode system used?
The first commercial barcode scanning happened in 1974. A pack of Wrigley’s gum was the first product scanned in a store.
When was penicillin first successfully used to treat a patient?
In 1941, penicillin was first used successfully to treat a human patient. The patient was treated by a team led by Howard Florey and Ernst Boris Chain.
When was the first vaccination campaign carried out?
The first major vaccination campaign began in 1796, after Edward Jenner introduced the smallpox vaccine. This launched the modern practice of immunization.
When was the first successful lung transplant performed?
The first successful human lung transplant was performed in 1983. It was done by Dr. Joel Cooper in Toronto.
When was the first postcard issued?
The first official postcard was issued in Austria-Hungary in 1869. It offered a cheaper way to send brief messages by mail.
When was the first permanent settlement in Antarctica established?
The first permanent human settlement in Antarctica was established in 1898. It was the British station at Cape Adare.
When was the first organized indoor ice hockey game played?
The first organized indoor ice hockey game was played in 1875. It took place at the Victoria Skating Rink in Montreal.
When was the first successful human blood transfusion performed?
The first recorded successful human blood transfusion was performed in 1818 by British obstetrician James Blundell.
When was the first successful blood transfusion performed between animals and humans?
Early animal-to-human transfusions were attempted in the 17th century, but they were unsafe and soon banned in many places.
When was the first CRISPR gene-editing breakthrough reported?
CRISPR-Cas9 was adapted for programmable gene editing in 2012, making it a modern genetic breakthrough.
When was the first programmed computer built?
The first generally recognized programmable electronic digital computer was ENIAC, completed in 1945.
When was the first women’s right to vote nationally granted?
New Zealand became the first self-governing country to grant women the national right to vote in 1893.
When was the first artificial satellite launched into orbit?
Sputnik 1 was launched on 4 October 1957 by the Soviet Union. It was the first human-made object to orbit Earth.
When was the first human-made object sent past the Moon?
Luna 1 was launched on 2 January 1959 and became the first spacecraft to escape Earth's gravity and pass near the Moon.
When was the first successful spacecraft launched to the Moon?
Luna 2 reached the Moon on 13 September 1959. It became the first human-made object to impact the lunar surface.
When was the first soft landing on the Moon?
Luna 9 made the first soft landing on 3 February 1966. It was the first spacecraft to survive landing and send images from the Moon’s surface.
When was the first spacecraft to orbit another planet launched?
Mariner 9 launched on 30 May 1971 and became the first spacecraft to orbit Mars. It reached Mars later that year.
When was the first successful landing on Mars?
Viking 1 landed on Mars on 20 July 1976. It was the first spacecraft to achieve a safe, successful landing on the planet.
When was the first soft landing on a comet made?
The European Space Agency’s Philae lander touched down on comet 67P on 12 November 2014. It was the first landing on a comet nucleus.
When was the first spacecraft to land on an asteroid?
Hayabusa landed on asteroid Itokawa in 2005. It became the first spacecraft to touch down on an asteroid and later return samples to Earth.
When was the first sample from an asteroid returned to Earth?
Hayabusa returned asteroid samples to Earth on 13 June 2010. It brought back material from asteroid Itokawa.
When was the first successful landing on a moving comet nucleus followed by a surface mission?
Rosetta’s Philae landing on 12 November 2014 was the first time a lander operated on a comet nucleus. It sent back data before its batteries ran out.
When was the first spacecraft launched to make close flybys of outer planets?
Pioneer 10 launched on 2 March 1972. It became the first spacecraft to fly past Jupiter and then leave the Solar System on a hyperbolic path.
When was the first spacecraft to fly by Saturn?
Pioneer 11 flew past Saturn on 1 September 1979. It was the first spacecraft to observe Saturn up close.
When was the first spacecraft to fly by Uranus?
Voyager 2 flew past Uranus on 24 January 1986. It remains the only spacecraft to have visited the planet up close.
When was the first spacecraft to fly by Neptune?
Voyager 2 flew past Neptune on 25 August 1989. It was the first and so far only spacecraft to visit Neptune closely.
When was the first spacecraft to visit Mercury?
Mariner 10 first flew by Mercury on 29 March 1974. It was the first spacecraft to observe Mercury up close.
When was the first spacecraft to visit a comet up close?
Giotto flew by Halley’s Comet on 14 March 1986. It was the first spacecraft to return close images of a comet nucleus.
When was the first spacecraft to return samples from the Moon?
Luna 16 returned lunar samples to Earth on 24 September 1970. It was the first robotic sample-return mission from the Moon.
When was the first spacecraft to land on Venus?
Venera 7 landed on Venus on 15 December 1970. It was the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on another planet and transmit data back.
When was the first spacecraft to orbit Venus?
Venus was first orbited by Mariner 5’s flyby? No orbit came later: the first successful Venus orbiter was Venera 9 in 1975?
When was the first spacecraft to orbit the Moon?
Lunar Orbiter 1 became the first U.S. spacecraft to orbit the Moon on 14 August 1966. It helped map landing sites for Apollo missions.
When was the first person to walk in space?
Alexei Leonov performed the first spacewalk on 18 March 1965. He left the Voskhod 2 spacecraft for about 12 minutes.
When was the first woman to travel in space?
Valentina Tereshkova flew into space on 16 June 1963. She became the first woman to orbit Earth.
When was the first crewed space station launched?
Salyut 1 was launched on 19 April 1971. It became the world’s first space station to host a crew.
When was the first module of the International Space Station launched?
The ISS began on 20 November 1998 with the launch of the Zarya module. It was the first piece of the International Space Station in orbit.
When was the first telescope specifically designed for infrared astronomy launched into space?
The Infrared Astronomical Satellite, or IRAS, launched on 25 January 1983. It was the first space telescope to survey the sky in infrared wavelengths.
When was the first dedicated exoplanet-hunting space telescope launched?
Kepler launched on 7 March 2009. It was designed to find planets around other stars by watching for tiny dips in starlight.
When was the first image of an exoplanet around a normal star taken?
The first widely accepted direct image of an exoplanet around a Sun-like star was captured in 2004, after earlier detections had been made by indirect methods.
When was the first gravitational-wave event detected?
The first direct detection of gravitational waves was announced on 11 February 2016. The signal was recorded by LIGO in September 2015.
When was the first image of a black hole released?
The first image of a black hole was released on 10 April 2019. It showed the supermassive black hole in galaxy M87.
When was the first launch of the James Webb Space Telescope?
James Webb launched on 25 December 2021. It became the most powerful space telescope ever sent into space at that time.
When did the first exoplanet around a Sun-like star get discovered?
In 1995, astronomers announced 51 Pegasi b, the first exoplanet found orbiting a Sun-like star.
When was the first spacecraft to reach Mercury launched?
Mariner 10 launched in 1973 and became the first spacecraft to visit Mercury.
When did the first spacecraft orbit Mercury?
MESSENGER entered Mercury orbit in 2011, becoming the first spacecraft to do so.
When was the first spacecraft to visit Venus launched?
The Soviet probe Venera 1 launched in 1961 and became the first spacecraft sent toward Venus.
When was the first spacecraft to orbit the Moon launched?
Lunar Orbiter 1 launched in 1966 and became the first American spacecraft to orbit the Moon.
When was the first spacecraft to land on the Moon?
In 1966, Luna 9 became the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the Moon.
When was the first sample returned from the Moon?
Luna 16 returned the first robotic lunar samples to Earth in 1970.
When was the first spacecraft to land on Mars?
Mars 3 made the first soft landing on Mars in 1971.
When was the first spacecraft to orbit Mars?
Mariner 9 became the first spacecraft to orbit Mars in 1971.
When was the first spacecraft to land on a comet?
In 2014, the Rosetta mission’s Philae lander made the first landing on a comet.
When was the first sample returned from an asteroid?
Japan’s Hayabusa returned the first asteroid samples to Earth in 2010.
When was the first spacecraft to visit Jupiter?
Pioneer 10 became the first spacecraft to fly by Jupiter in 1973.
When was the first spacecraft to orbit Jupiter?
Galileo entered orbit around Jupiter in 1995, becoming the first spacecraft to do so.
When was the first spacecraft to visit Saturn?
Pioneer 11 became the first spacecraft to fly by Saturn in 1979.
When was the first spacecraft to orbit Saturn?
Cassini entered Saturn orbit in 2004 and became the first spacecraft to do so.
When was the first spacecraft to visit Uranus?
Voyager 2 became the first spacecraft to fly by Uranus in 1986.
When was the first spacecraft to visit Neptune?
Voyager 2 became the first spacecraft to fly by Neptune in 1989.
When did astronomers first discover rings around Uranus?
Uranus’s rings were first discovered in 1977 during a stellar occultation.
When were the rings of Neptune first discovered?
Neptune’s rings were confirmed in 1984, after early evidence had suggested their presence.
When was the first spacecraft to visit an asteroid belt object launched?
NASA’s Galileo mission launched in 1989 and later became the first spacecraft to encounter an asteroid in the main belt, Gaspra, in 1991.
When did the first spacecraft reach the Sun’s vicinity and begin solar orbit studies?
Parker Solar Probe launched in 2018 and began its series of close solar encounters soon after, becoming the closest-ever mission to the Sun.
When was the first exoplanet orbiting a Sun-like star discovered?
The first confirmed exoplanet around a Sun-like star was announced in 1995. It orbited 51 Pegasi and was discovered by Michel Mayor and Didier Queloz.
When was the first exoplanet around a pulsar discovered?
The first known exoplanet discovery was announced in 1992. It was found around the pulsar PSR B1257+12.
When was the first direct image of an exoplanet around a normal star taken?
One of the earliest widely recognized direct images of an exoplanet was announced in 2004. It was 2M1207 b, orbiting a brown dwarf.
When was the first confirmed free-floating planet discovered?
Astronomers reported one of the first strong candidates for a free-floating planet in 2000. It was detected in the star-forming region of Orion.
When was the first image of a black hole in the Milky Way released?
The first image of the Milky Way’s central black hole was released on 12 May 2022. It showed Sagittarius A* at the center of our galaxy.
When was the first gravitational-wave signal detected?
The first direct detection of gravitational waves was made on 14 September 2015. It was announced publicly in February 2016.
When was the first gravitational-wave event from neutron stars detected?
The first neutron-star gravitational-wave event was detected on 17 August 2017. It was known as GW170817.
When was the first gravitational lens discovered?
The first gravitational lens was identified in 1979. It involved the quasar Q0957+561.
When was the first Einstein ring discovered?
The first complete Einstein ring was discovered in 1987. It is known as B1938+666.
When was the first dark matter evidence reported in a galaxy cluster?
One of the earliest strong pieces of evidence for dark matter in a galaxy cluster came in 1933. Fritz Zwicky studied the Coma Cluster.
When was dark energy first reported from supernova observations?
Evidence for the accelerating expansion of the universe was published in 1998. Two teams studied distant Type Ia supernovae.
When was the cosmic microwave background discovered?
The cosmic microwave background was discovered in 1965. Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson made the detection by accident.
When was the first precise measurement of the universe’s age from the CMB published?
A widely cited precise age estimate came from the WMAP mission in 2003. It placed the universe at about 13.7 billion years old.
When was the first evidence of baryon acoustic oscillations reported?
The first strong large-scale evidence for baryon acoustic oscillations was reported in 2005. It came from galaxy surveys such as the Sloan Digital Sky Survey.
When was the first redshift survey of galaxies published?
One of the earliest major galaxy redshift surveys was published in 1977. It helped map the large-scale structure of the universe.
When was the first Hubble Deep Field image released?
The first Hubble Deep Field image was released in 1996. It revealed thousands of galaxies in a tiny patch of sky.
When was the first galaxy discovered beyond the Milky Way?
Edwin Hubble showed in 1924 that the Andromeda “nebula” was outside the Milky Way. This established it as a separate galaxy.
When was the first quasar discovered?
The first quasar was identified in 1963. It was 3C 273, one of the brightest and most famous quasars.
When was the first galaxy cluster found with X-ray observations?
X-ray observations in the 1970s revealed hot gas in galaxy clusters. One famous early example was the Coma Cluster studied with X-ray astronomy.
When was the first supermassive black hole mass measured in a galaxy?
A pioneering black hole mass measurement was made in the late 1970s and early 1980s. It helped establish that galaxies can host supermassive black holes.
When was the first large-scale map of the cosmic web published?
Early large-scale galaxy maps showing the cosmic web appeared in the 1980s. They revealed filaments and voids across enormous distances.
When was the first detection of interstellar molecules reported in space?
The first interstellar molecule, hydroxyl radical, was detected in 1963. It was found by radio astronomy.
When was the first detection of amino acids in a meteorite reported?
Amino acids were reported in the Murchison meteorite after its fall in 1969. The findings were announced in the early 1970s.
When was the first confirmed detection of water on Mars reported?
Strong evidence for water on Mars was reported in 2002 by the Mars Odyssey mission. It detected hydrogen-rich regions near the surface.
When was the first landing on an asteroid achieved?
The first spacecraft landing on an asteroid was achieved in 2005. Japan’s Hayabusa touched down on Itokawa.
When was the first asteroid sample returned to Earth?
The first asteroid samples were returned to Earth in 2010. Japan’s Hayabusa brought back material from Itokawa.
When was gravitational lensing first observed?
In 1979, astronomers reported the first clear gravitational lensing of a distant quasar by a foreground galaxy.
When was the first confirmed detection of gravitational waves?
On 14 September 2015, LIGO made the first confirmed detection of gravitational waves, announced in 2016.
When was the first gravitational wave from merging neutron stars detected?
On 17 August 2017, detectors recorded GW170817, the first gravitational-wave signal from merging neutron stars.
When was Einstein’s theory of general relativity published?
Einstein completed and published general relativity in 1915, with the final field equations presented in November that year.
When was the first direct observation of a black hole released?
In April 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope released the first image of the black hole in M87.
When was the first image of the Milky Way’s central black hole released?
On 12 May 2022, astronomers released the first image of Sagittarius A*, the black hole at the center of the Milky Way.
When was the first precise age estimate of the universe from the CMB published?
In 2003, results from NASA’s WMAP mission gave a precise age for the universe of about 13.7 billion years.
When was the first evidence for dark matter in a galaxy cluster reported?
In 1933, Fritz Zwicky reported missing mass in the Coma Cluster, an early clue to dark matter.
When was the first evidence of the Higgs boson announced?
On 4 July 2012, CERN announced the discovery of a new particle consistent with the Higgs boson.
When was the Standard Model of particle physics completed?
The Standard Model was essentially completed in the 1970s, with the discovery of the tau lepton in 1975 and the bottom quark in 1977.
When was the first neutrino detected?
In 1956, Clyde Cowan and Frederick Reines announced the first detection of the neutrino.
When was the first antineutrino observed from the Sun?
Solar neutrinos were first convincingly detected in 1968 in the Homestake experiment.
When was the weak nuclear force unified with electromagnetism?
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, the electroweak theory unified the weak force with electromagnetism.
When were the W and Z bosons discovered?
In 1983, CERN experiments discovered the W and Z bosons, confirming the electroweak theory.
When was the first antiproton discovered?
In 1955, Emilio Segrè and Owen Chamberlain discovered the antiproton at Berkeley.
When was the first positron discovered?
In 1932, Carl Anderson discovered the positron, the electron’s antiparticle.
When was the law of universal gravitation first published?
Isaac Newton published the law of universal gravitation in 1687 in Principia.
When was Coulomb’s law first published?
Coulomb published his law of electric force in 1785.
When was the neutron discovered?
James Chadwick discovered the neutron in 1932.
When was the first controlled chain reaction achieved?
On 2 December 1942, Enrico Fermi’s team achieved the first controlled nuclear chain reaction in Chicago.
When was the first proton discovered?
The proton was identified in 1917 by Ernest Rutherford.
When was the first directly measured mass of the Earth’s moon obtained through gravity?
Newton’s laws were first used to estimate the Moon’s mass in the late 17th century, soon after the Principia appeared in 1687.
When was the first detection of the strong nuclear force in particle experiments?
The strong force was inferred in the 1930s, after Hideki Yukawa proposed meson exchange in 1935.
When was the first evidence for neutrino oscillation reported?
In the 1990s, experiments such as Super-Kamiokande reported strong evidence that neutrinos change flavor.
When was the element helium first discovered on Earth?
Helium was first identified on Earth in 1895.
When was neon first isolated and named?
Neon was first isolated and named in 1898.
When was radon first identified as a distinct element?
Radon was identified in the late 1890s, with its radioactive nature clarified in 1900.
When was chlorine first identified as an element?
Chlorine was identified as an element in 1810.
When was silicon first isolated in pure form?
Silicon was first isolated in 1824.
When was silicon dioxide recognized as the main component of sand and quartz?
Its composition was established in the early 19th century, especially through 1800s chemistry.
When was the first noble gas discovered?
The first noble gas discovered was argon in 1894.
When was atomic number first used to order the periodic table?
Atomic number began replacing atomic mass as the key ordering principle in 1913.
When was the element technetium first discovered?
Technetium was first identified in 1937.
When was the theory of plate tectonics widely accepted?
By the late 1960s, with the 1967–1968 synthesis of seafloor spreading, subduction, and global fault patterns.
When was the first seafloor spreading hypothesis proposed?
In 1962, when Harry Hess proposed that new ocean crust forms at mid-ocean ridges and moves outward.
When was the mid-ocean ridge magnetic striping pattern discovered?
In the early 1960s, especially after 1963, when scientists identified symmetrical magnetic anomalies on either side of ridges.
When was the global mid-ocean ridge system mapped in detail?
In the 1950s and 1960s, when sonar surveys revealed a connected mountain chain around most of the oceans.
When did the concept of subduction become widely recognized?
In the late 1960s and early 1970s, as deep-ocean trenches were understood as places where plates sink back into the mantle.
When was the San Andreas Fault first recognized as a major tectonic boundary?
In the late 1960s, when plate tectonics reframed it as the boundary between the Pacific and North American plates.
When did the first earthquake magnitude scale appear?
In 1935, when Charles F. Richter introduced the local magnitude scale for California earthquakes.
When was the Richter scale first published?
Also in 1935, in a paper by Charles F. Richter and Beno Gutenberg’s research group at Caltech.
When was the Mohorovičić discontinuity discovered?
In 1909, when Andrija Mohorovičić identified the boundary between Earth’s crust and mantle.
When was the Earth’s inner core first identified as solid?
In 1936, when Inge Lehmann concluded that Earth has a solid inner core inside a liquid outer core.
When was Earth’s liquid outer core first inferred?
In 1906, when Richard Oldham used earthquake waves to show that a fluid layer surrounds the core.
When did the first deep Antarctic ice core reveal past climate history?
In the 1960s, when early deep ice cores from Antarctica began preserving trapped ancient air and temperature clues.
When was the oldest known ice core climate record extended beyond 400,000 years?
In 2004, when the EPICA Dome C ice core extended the Antarctic record to about 800,000 years.
When was the Yellowstone supervolcano caldera recognized?
In the 1960s and 1970s, when geologists identified the Yellowstone caldera as the product of huge ancient eruptions.
When was the Chicxulub impact crater discovered?
In 1991, when geophysicists identified the buried crater in Mexico linked to the dinosaur-killing asteroid impact.
When was the 1908 Tunguska event?
On 30 June 1908, when a large airburst flattened forest across central Siberia.
When was the Tsunami warning system in the Pacific first established?
In 1949, with the creation of the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center after the 1946 Aleutian Islands tsunami.
When was the first modern map of the seafloor published?
In 1953, when Marie Tharp and Bruce Heezen published a map showing the Atlantic Ocean floor in unprecedented detail.
When was Earth’s age first estimated using radiometric dating?
In the early 1900s, and by the 1950s the accepted age settled at about 4.5 billion years.
When was the first rock drilled from the ocean floor?
In 1961, during Project Mohole, which drilled into the seafloor near Guadalupe Island, Mexico.
When was the first dinosaur fossil scientifically described?
In 1824, when William Buckland described Megalosaurus in England.
When was the term 'dinosaur' first coined?
In 1842, when Richard Owen introduced the name Dinosauria.
When were the first fossils used to prove extinction?
In the early 1800s, especially after Georges Cuvier showed that some fossil species no longer exist.
When did the 1883 eruption of Krakatoa occur?
The catastrophic Krakatoa eruption began on 26 August 1883 and culminated in the deadliest explosions on 27 August.
When did the 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora happen?
Mount Tambora’s climactic eruption took place in April 1815, with the worst phase beginning on 10 April.
When did the 1902 eruption of Mount Pelée destroy Saint-Pierre?
Mount Pelée devastated Saint-Pierre on 8 May 1902, killing nearly the entire city’s population.
When did the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens begin?
Mount St. Helens’ catastrophic eruption began on 18 May 1980.
When did the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo occur?
Mount Pinatubo’s climactic eruption occurred on 15 June 1991.
When did the 79 CE eruption of Mount Vesuvius bury Pompeii?
Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE, with the catastrophe traditionally dated to 24 August.
When did the Indian Ocean tsunami strike?
The Indian Ocean tsunami struck on 26 December 2004 after a massive undersea earthquake off Sumatra.
When did the 2011 Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami happen?
The Tōhoku earthquake and tsunami struck Japan on 11 March 2011.
When did the 1755 Lisbon earthquake occur?
The Lisbon earthquake struck on 1 November 1755, on All Saints’ Day.
When did the 1906 San Francisco earthquake happen?
The San Francisco earthquake struck on 18 April 1906.
When did the 1964 Alaska earthquake occur?
The Great Alaska Earthquake struck on 27 March 1964.
When did the 2008 Sichuan earthquake happen?
The Sichuan earthquake struck on 12 May 2008.
When did the 2010 Haiti earthquake happen?
The Haiti earthquake struck on 12 January 2010.
When did the 2005 Kashmir earthquake occur?
The Kashmir earthquake struck on 8 October 2005.
When did the 2015 Nepal earthquake happen?
The main Nepal earthquake struck on 25 April 2015.
When did the 1950 Assam–Tibet earthquake happen?
The Assam–Tibet earthquake struck on 15 August 1950.
When did the 1931 Hawke’s Bay earthquake occur?
The Hawke’s Bay earthquake struck New Zealand on 3 February 1931.
When did the 1960 Valdivia earthquake happen?
The Valdivia earthquake struck Chile on 22 May 1960.
When did the 2018 Sulawesi earthquake and tsunami occur?
The Sulawesi earthquake struck on 28 September 2018, followed by a deadly tsunami.
When was the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center established?
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center was established in 1949.
When was the 1963 eruption of Mount Agung?
Mount Agung erupted in 1963, with the main explosive phase beginning in February.
When did the 1812 eruption of Mount Sakurajima begin?
Sakurajima’s great eruption began in 1914, not 1812; the major eruption started on 12 January 1914.
When did the Great Barrier Reef begin forming?
The modern Great Barrier Reef began forming about 20,000 years ago, after the last Ice Age ended and sea levels rose. Much of the reef sits on much older foundations, but the present barrier reef is geologically young.
When was the first scientific description of coral bleaching published?
One of the earliest clear scientific descriptions of coral bleaching was published in 1911. Modern large-scale bleaching was later linked to unusually warm sea temperatures.
When was the first marine protected area created?
One of the earliest marine protected areas was established in 1961 in the Bahamas. It was created to protect marine life and regulate fishing.
When was the first satellite altimetry map of the oceans produced?
The first global ocean-height maps from satellite altimetry were produced in the early 1990s, after the launch of Topex/Poseidon in 1992. They transformed how scientists studied sea-surface height and ocean circulation.
When were hydrothermal vents first discovered?
Hydrothermal vents were first discovered in 1977 on the Galápagos Rift. The discovery revealed ecosystems that do not depend on sunlight.
When was the coelacanth rediscovered alive?
The coelacanth was rediscovered alive in 1938 off the coast of South Africa. It had been known only from fossils before that.
When was the first deep-sea fish photographed in its natural habitat?
One of the earliest famous deep-sea fish photographs in the wild was taken in 1939. It helped scientists observe deep-ocean animals without bringing them to the surface.
When was the first underwater color film shot?
One of the first successful underwater color films was shot in the 1920s. It opened a new window on coral reefs and marine life.
When did Jacques Cousteau and Émile Gagnan invent the modern scuba regulator?
They developed the Aqua-Lung in 1943. It became the basis of modern open-circuit scuba diving.
When was the first successful deep-sea submersible dive to the Challenger Deep?
The first successful descent to the Challenger Deep was made in 1960 by the bathyscaphe Trieste. It reached the deepest known point in the oceans.
When was the first unmanned submersible used to reach the deepest part of the ocean?
An unmanned vehicle first reached the Challenger Deep in 1965. That marked an important step toward robotic deep-ocean exploration.
When was the first underwater earthquake observatory installed?
Early underwater earthquake observatories began appearing in the late 20th century, with major seafloor monitoring systems installed in the 1990s and 2000s. They improved tsunami and tectonic research.
When was the first successful open-ocean aquaculture experiment carried out?
Early open-ocean aquaculture experiments were carried out in the late 20th century, especially from the 1970s onward. They aimed to raise fish and shellfish in exposed marine environments.
When were sea otters first recognized as a keystone species?
Sea otters were recognized as a keystone species in the 1960s, especially through the work of Robert Paine. The concept helped explain how one species can shape an entire ecosystem.
When was the first report of an ocean dead zone published?
Scientific reports of oxygen-poor “dead zones” appeared in the mid-20th century, with major attention growing in the 1970s and later. They became a key warning sign of coastal pollution.
When was the first successful restoration of a mangrove forest documented?
Documented mangrove restoration projects began gaining momentum in the late 20th century, especially from the 1980s onward. They became a major coastal conservation strategy.
When was the first giant squid photographed alive?
The first images of a live giant squid in the wild were obtained in 2004. It was a breakthrough in studying one of the ocean’s most elusive animals.
When was the first vampire squid observed alive in the wild?
The vampire squid was first observed alive in the wild in 1898 and later filmed in much greater detail in the 1990s. It lives in the oxygen-poor deep sea.
When was the first underwater acoustic communication system tested?
Practical underwater acoustic communication was tested in the early 20th century, with major military and scientific advances during and after World War I. Sound became the main way to communicate underwater.
When was the first successful prediction of an El Niño event made?
Scientific prediction of El Niño became practical in the late 20th century, with major forecasting improvements in the 1980s and 1990s. Earlier recognition of the phenomenon dates back much further.
When was the first major international treaty on whaling signed?
The International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling was signed in 1946. It created a global framework for managing whaling after decades of heavy hunting.
When did the first marine heatwave record get identified in scientific literature?
The term and concept of marine heatwaves emerged in the early 21st century, with influential scientific papers published in the 2010s. They are now a major climate and ocean topic.
When was the first successful use of eDNA to detect marine species in seawater?
Environmental DNA methods for marine species detection began showing practical success in the early 2000s. They let scientists identify animals from traces left in water.
When was the first modern marine mammal rescue center established?
Dedicated marine mammal rescue efforts became established in the 1970s. They responded to strandings, injuries, and pollution-related harm.
When was the first successful long-term study of a whale song published?
Long-term scientific studies of whale song expanded in the 1960s and 1970s. They showed that whales use complex sounds for communication.
When did the first major international agreement to protect the Antarctic marine ecosystem come into force?
The Antarctic marine conservation convention was agreed in 1980 and entered into force in 1982. It was created to manage fishing in Southern Ocean waters.
When was the Nile River first dammed at Aswan?
The first Aswan Dam was completed in 1902. It was later raised twice, in 1912 and 1933.
When was the Three Gorges Dam on the Yangtze River completed?
The Three Gorges Dam was completed in 2012, after the main body finished in 2006. It is the world’s largest power station by installed capacity.
When did the Yellow River first get a major flood-control embankment system?
Large-scale embankments on the Yellow River were developed over many centuries, with major state-led works already in place by the Han dynasty. The river has been heavily managed for more than 2,000 years.
When was the Panama Canal built to connect two oceans?
The Panama Canal was completed in 1914. It opened on August 15, 1914.
When was the Suez Canal opened to ships?
The Suez Canal opened in 1869. It was inaugurated on November 17, 1869.
When was Lake Baikal first identified as the world's deepest lake?
Lake Baikal’s extreme depth was established by scientific surveys in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its maximum depth is 1,642 metres.
When was the Great Lakes region of North America formed by retreating ice sheets?
The Great Lakes began forming at the end of the last Ice Age, mainly between about 14,000 and 8,000 years ago. They were shaped by melting ice sheets and glacial erosion.
When was Lake Victoria discovered by European explorers?
European explorer John Hanning Speke reached Lake Victoria in 1858. He named it after Queen Victoria.
When was the Dead Sea first recognized as the lowest point on land?
The Dead Sea was recognized by modern surveying as the lowest point on Earth’s land surface in the 19th and 20th centuries. Its surface lies about 430 metres below sea level.
When was the Caspian Sea classified as the world's largest lake?
The Caspian Sea has long been recognized as the world’s largest lake by area. Modern measurements give it a surface area of about 371,000 square kilometres.
When was Angel Falls first recorded by outsiders?
Angel Falls was brought to wider attention in 1933, when pilot Jimmie Angel reported it after flying over Venezuela’s remote tepuis. It was later named after him.
When was Niagara Falls first used for hydroelectric power?
Niagara Falls began generating hydroelectric power in the 1890s. A major milestone came in 1895 with the Adams Power Plant.
When was Victoria Falls first described by David Livingstone?
David Livingstone first recorded Victoria Falls in 1855. He described it as the most wonderful sight he had seen in Africa.
When was the world's tallest waterfall first measured as Angel Falls?
Angel Falls was measured in the 20th century and is now known to drop 979 metres in total. Its name became established after Jimmie Angel’s 1933 flight.
When was the Amazon River first explored by Europeans?
The first major European navigation of the Amazon River was in 1541–1542 by Francisco de Orellana. He traveled from the Andes to the Atlantic Ocean.
When was the source of the Nile first reached by a European explorer?
John Hanning Speke reached Lake Victoria in 1858 and proposed it as the source of the Nile. The debate over the Nile’s true sources continued afterward.
When was the Blue Nile dammed at the Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam?
The Grand Ethiopian Renaissance Dam began filling in 2020, with its first power generation in 2022. It is built on the Blue Nile in Ethiopia.
When was the Tennessee Valley Authority created for river management?
The Tennessee Valley Authority was created in 1933. It was part of the New Deal and helped manage floods, power, and navigation.
When was the St. Lawrence Seaway opened?
The St. Lawrence Seaway opened in 1959. It linked the Great Lakes to the Atlantic Ocean for ocean-going ships.
When was the Rhine River straightened for navigation and flood control?
Major Rhine straightening works were carried out in the 19th century, especially from the 1810s onward. Johann Gottfried Tulla’s plans were central to the project.
When was the Yangtze River Three Gorges area mapped for major dam planning?
Serious Three Gorges dam planning dates to the early 20th century, with major Chinese proposals emerging in the 1920s and 1930s. The project took much longer to realize.
When was the Colorado River's flow first controlled by Hoover Dam?
Hoover Dam began storing and controlling the Colorado River in 1936. It was officially dedicated that year.
When was the world's tallest plunge waterfall first internationally publicized?
Angel Falls was internationally publicized in 1933 after Jimmie Angel’s flight over Venezuela. It later became famous as the world’s tallest waterfall.
When was the world's first major river basin authority established?
One of the earliest major river basin authorities was the Tennessee Valley Authority, created in 1933. It became a model for integrated river management.
When was the first scientific ascent of Mont Blanc completed?
In 1786, Jacques Balmat and Michel-Gabriel Paccard made the first recorded ascent of Mont Blanc, the highest peak in the Alps.
When did the first confirmed ascent of K2 take place?
K2 was first successfully climbed on 31 July 1954 by an Italian expedition led by Ardito Desio.
When was the first successful summit of Everest achieved?
Mount Everest was first reached on 29 May 1953 by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.
When was the summit of Mount McKinley officially renamed Denali?
In 2015, the U.S. government officially restored the mountain’s long-used Alaska Native name, Denali.
When did the first successful climb of Mount Everest without supplemental oxygen happen?
Reinhold Messner and Peter Habeler first climbed Everest without supplemental oxygen on 8 May 1978.
When was the first recorded ascent of the Matterhorn completed?
The first ascent of the Matterhorn was completed on 14 July 1865.
When was the first confirmed climb of Mount Kilimanjaro?
The first recorded summit of Mount Kilimanjaro was reached in 1889 by Hans Meyer and Ludwig Purtscheller.
When was the first recorded summit of Aconcagua made?
Aconcagua was first climbed in 1897, with the summit reached on 14 January by Matthias Zurbriggen.
When was the first ascent of Mount Vinson completed?
Mount Vinson, Antarctica’s highest peak, was first climbed in December 1966.
When was the first ascent of the Matterhorn’s North Face completed?
The North Face of the Matterhorn was first climbed in 1931 by Franz and Toni Schmid.
When was the Sahara Desert formed in its modern arid state?
The Sahara became a desert roughly around 3,000 to 4,000 years ago after a much wetter period ended.
When did the Namib Desert begin forming?
The Namib is thought to be one of the oldest deserts on Earth, with arid conditions developing tens of millions of years ago.
When was the Gobi Desert first identified by European explorers in modern records?
The Gobi was described in European travel accounts in the 13th century, especially through the journeys of Marco Polo.
When did the Atacama Desert begin to develop its extreme dryness?
The Atacama’s hyper-arid conditions developed over millions of years, with extreme dryness established by at least the late Miocene.
When was the Namib Desert’s famous Sossusvlei dune field first scientifically described?
European scientific descriptions of the Sossusvlei dune system began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
When did the first modern scientific expedition reach the summit of Mount Everest?
The summit success came on 29 May 1953, during a British expedition that had been carefully organized for scientific and climbing goals.
When was the first successful crossing of the Rub' al Khali desert by motor vehicle completed?
A notable motor-vehicle crossing of the Rub' al Khali was completed in 1931 by British explorer Bertram Thomas.
When was the first recorded exploration of Death Valley by European Americans?
European American exploration of Death Valley dates to the California Gold Rush era, especially 1849.
When was the first scientific measurement of the height of Mount Everest made?
The first reliable measurements placing Everest as the world’s highest mountain were made in the 1850s, with the name later standardized from survey records.
When was the first ascent of Mount Elbrus recorded?
The first recorded ascent of Mount Elbrus took place in 1829 on its lower summit, and the higher western summit was reached in 1874.
When was the first successful ascent of Mount Kenya made?
The first known ascent of Mount Kenya was achieved in 1899 by Halford Mackinder and his team.
When did the first ascent of Mount Ararat happen?
The first recorded ascent of Mount Ararat was made in 1829 by Johann Jacob Friedrich Parrot.
When was the first ascent of Mount Fuji by a woman recorded?
The first recorded ascent of Mount Fuji by a woman is generally dated to 1832, when Tatsu Takayama climbed it.
When was the first expedition to scientifically map the sand seas of the Libyan Desert completed?
Scientific mapping of major parts of the Libyan Desert accelerated in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
When was the first ascent of Mount Elgon recorded?
The first recorded ascent of Mount Elgon was made in 1890 by Ernest Gedge and J. H. Wilson.
When was the first climb of Mount Roraima completed?
Mount Roraima was first climbed in 1884 by British explorer Everard im Thurn and his local guide.
When was the first successful weather forecast based on telegraph data issued?
On 1 August 1861, James Glaisher issued one of the first operational weather forecasts in Britain using telegraphed observations.
When was the first hurricane warning system created in the United States?
The first U.S. hurricane warning system began in 1873 under the Signal Corps, which issued coastal storm warnings.
When was the first tornado forecast issued?
The first official tornado forecast was issued on 25 March 1948 for Tinker Air Force Base in Oklahoma.
When was the first satellite-based weather image received?
The first weather image from space was received on 1 April 1960 from TIROS-1, the first weather satellite.
When was the first geostationary weather satellite launched?
The first geostationary weather satellite, ATS-1, was launched on 6 December 1966.
When was the first successful weather forecast broadcast on television?
Weather forecasts began appearing on television in the early 1950s, with one of the earliest regular broadcasts in the United States in 1954.
When was the first radar weather warning system used operationally?
Operational weather radar warnings were in use by the mid-1940s, and the U.S. began fielding surplus radar for storm detection soon after World War II.
When was the first Doppler weather radar installed?
The first operational Doppler weather radar systems appeared in the 1960s, with research installations leading the way.
When was the first hurricane named by an official naming system?
The modern practice of naming Atlantic hurricanes began in 1950, when storms were assigned phonetic alphabet names.
When was the first recorded heat wave in Europe?
Europe has had many historic heat waves, but one of the earliest well-documented severe ones occurred in 1540, often called the 'megadrought' summer.
When was the hottest temperature on Earth first officially recorded?
The current officially recognized hottest air temperature, 56.7°C, was recorded on 10 July 1913 at Furnace Creek Ranch in Death Valley.
When was the coldest temperature on Earth first officially recorded?
The coldest officially measured air temperature on Earth, −89.2°C, was recorded at Soviet Vostok Station on 21 July 1983.
When was the first El Niño event named?
The name 'El Niño' was used by Peruvian fishermen for seasonal warm water in the Pacific by the late 19th century.
When was the first La Niña event identified by scientists?
La Niña was recognized as the cool phase of the same Pacific climate pattern in the 20th century, after scientists linked it to El Niño behavior.
When was the first climate model run on a computer?
The first numerical weather experiment on a computer was run in 1950, and it quickly led to modern climate modeling.
When was the first global climate conference held?
The first World Climate Conference was held in 1979 in Geneva.
When was the first tornado siren system installed?
One of the earliest organized tornado siren systems appeared in the United States in the 1950s, after World War II warning networks expanded.
When was the first drought officially declared a disaster in the United States?
The U.S. began formally recognizing drought disasters through federal emergency systems in the 20th century, especially during the Dust Bowl era of the 1930s.
When was the first weather balloon launched?
The first meteorological balloons were launched in the late 19th century, with regular use developing by the 1890s.
When was the first radiosonde launched?
The first radiosonde was launched in 1929 by Pavel Molchanov in the Soviet Union.
When was the first official snowfall measurement taken in Antarctica?
Early Antarctic expedition records from the early 20th century include some of the first systematic snowfall observations, especially during the Scott and Shackleton expeditions.
When was the first recorded rainbow explained scientifically?
A scientific explanation of rainbows was given in the 13th century by scholars such as Qutb al-Din al-Shirazi and Kamal al-Din al-Farisi.
When was the first cloud seeding experiment conducted?
The first successful cloud seeding experiments were carried out in 1946 by Vincent Schaefer and colleagues in the United States.
When was the first storm surge barrier built?
One of the earliest major storm surge barriers was the Maeslantkering in the Netherlands, completed in 1997, though earlier flood barriers existed for tidal control.
When was the first climate change report published by the IPCC?
The IPCC’s first assessment report was published in 1990.
When was the first public flood warning issued by radio?
Radio weather broadcasts began in the 1920s, and flood and storm warnings were increasingly delivered over radio in the following decade.
When was the first human fetus monitored with ultrasound?
Medical ultrasound was first used on pregnant humans in the late 1950s, with widespread obstetric use developing in the 1960s.
When was the first human cardiac catheterization performed?
The first modern human cardiac catheterization was performed in 1929 by Werner Forssmann.
When was the first successful human organ transplant performed?
The first successful human organ transplant was a kidney transplant in 1954.
When was the human blood group system discovered?
Karl Landsteiner discovered the ABO blood group system in 1900 and 1901.
When was insulin first used to treat diabetes in a patient?
Insulin was first successfully used in a human patient in January 1922.
When was the structure of DNA first described?
The double-helix structure of DNA was first proposed in 1953.
When was the first human bone marrow transplant performed?
The first successful human bone marrow transplant took place in 1968.
When was the first successful human corneal transplant performed?
The first successful corneal transplant was performed in 1905.
When was the first human appendix removal surgery performed?
The first successful appendectomy is generally credited to 1735.
When was the first human lung transplantation performed?
The first human lung transplant was performed in 1963.
When was the first human liver transplant performed?
The first human liver transplant was performed in 1963.
When was the first successful human heart transplant performed?
The first successful human heart transplant was performed in 1967.
When was the first successful artificial pacemaker implanted in a human?
The first implantable artificial pacemaker was placed in a human in 1958.
When was the first human cochlear implant performed?
The first modern human cochlear implant was performed in 1961, with major clinical development in the 1970s.
When was the first human artificial hip replacement performed?
The first modern total hip replacement was performed in 1962.
When was the first human artificial knee replacement performed?
The first modern total knee replacement was performed in the late 1960s, with 1968 commonly cited.
When was the first human bone fracture treated with X-rays?
X-rays were first used in medicine in 1895, and they quickly became important for diagnosing fractures.
When was the first successful human cataract surgery with an implanted lens performed?
The first implanted intraocular lens after cataract surgery was introduced in 1949.
When was the first successful human face transplant performed?
The first partial human face transplant was performed in 2005.
When was the first successful human hand transplant performed?
The first successful hand transplant was performed in 1998.
When was the first successful human larynx transplant performed?
The first successful human larynx transplant was performed in 1998.
When was the first successful human trachea transplant performed?
The first transplant involving a tissue-engineered human trachea was performed in 2008.
When was the first successful human bowel transplant performed?
The first successful human small-intestine transplant was performed in 1987.
When was the first modern heart-lung machine used in human surgery?
The first successful use of a heart-lung machine in open-heart surgery was in 1953.
When was the first successful human pancreas transplant performed?
The first successful pancreas transplant was performed in 1966.
When was the first human stem cell transplant performed?
The first successful human stem cell transplant was effectively the first bone marrow transplant in 1956, with stem-cell biology understood later.
When was the first successful human limb reattachment surgery performed?
The first major successful limb reattachment is generally credited to a 1962 hand reattachment in Boston.
When was the human genome first sequenced?
A first draft of the human genome was published in 2001, and the project was declared essentially complete in 2003. The work took about 13 years.
When was the first genome of a living person fully sequenced?
The first human genome sequence came from one person and was published in 2007. It was the genome of James D. Watson.
When was the first gene therapy treatment given to a patient?
The first approved gene therapy trial in a patient took place in 1990. It was used to treat severe combined immunodeficiency, or SCID.
When was CRISPR first shown to edit genes in human cells?
CRISPR-Cas9 was first demonstrated as a programmable genome-editing tool in 2012, and it was quickly adapted for human cells in 2013.
When was the first successful stem cell transplant performed in humans?
The first successful hematopoietic stem cell transplant in humans was performed in 1956. It was a bone marrow transplant between identical twins.
When was the first cochlear implant used in a human?
The first successful single-channel cochlear implant was used in a human in 1961. Early versions were experimental, but they opened the field of electronic hearing restoration.
When was the ABO blood group system discovered?
The ABO blood group system was discovered in 1900 and 1901. Karl Landsteiner identified the blood types that made safe transfusions possible.
When was the first artificial heart implanted in a human?
The first total artificial heart was implanted in a human in 1982. It was the Jarvik-7, implanted in patient Barney Clark.
When was the first face transplant performed?
The first partial face transplant was performed in 2005. It was done in France on Isabelle Dinoire.
When was the first successful hand transplant performed?
The first modern successful hand transplant was performed in 1998. It took place in Lyon, France.
When was the first successful larynx transplant performed?
The first successful larynx transplant was performed in 1998. It was done in Cleveland, Ohio.
When was the first successful trachea transplant performed?
A landmark trachea transplant was performed in 2008. It used a decellularized donor trachea seeded with the patient’s own cells.
When was the first successful bone marrow transplant performed?
The first successful bone marrow transplant was performed in 1956. It was done between identical twins, which avoided rejection.
When was the first human chromosome image published?
The first clear human chromosome photo was published in 1956. It came after the correct number of human chromosomes was established as 46.
When was the first human fetal ultrasound performed?
The first human fetal ultrasound work began in the late 1950s, with obstetric use emerging in the 1960s. It became routine decades later.
When was the first successful sex chromosome disorder identified?
The link between sex chromosome abnormalities and human disease emerged in the 1950s. Turner syndrome was described in 1938, but its chromosomal cause was identified later.
When was the first mitochondrial DNA inheritance pattern identified?
Mitochondrial inheritance was recognized in the 1980s. It was shown that mitochondria are usually inherited from the mother.
When was the first artificial insemination in humans documented?
The first documented human artificial insemination was reported in the late 18th century, around 1790. It is commonly linked to John Hunter in London.
When was the first successful smallpox vaccination carried out?
In 1796, Edward Jenner tested his smallpox vaccine by inoculating James Phipps with cowpox material. It became the starting point of modern vaccination.
When was the first rabies vaccine used in a person?
Louis Pasteur used the first rabies vaccine on a human in 1885. The patient was the 9-year-old boy Joseph Meister.
When was the first diphtheria antitoxin used in a patient?
In 1891, the first diphtheria antitoxin was successfully used in a child in Berlin. It was one of the first major serum therapies in medicine.
When was the first tetanus antitoxin used to treat a human?
The first tetanus antitoxin treatment was given in the 1890s, soon after the toxin was identified and neutralized in serum experiments. It marked a major step in preventing a disease once feared after wounds and childbirth.
When was the first plague vaccine developed?
The first plague vaccine was developed in the 1890s, during outbreaks in India and Asia. Waldemar Haffkine created an early vaccine in 1897.
When was the first cholera vaccine developed?
The first cholera vaccine was developed in the 1890s. Early work by Waldemar Haffkine led to one of the first effective vaccines against a bacterial disease.
When was the first typhoid vaccine developed?
The first typhoid vaccine was developed in the 1890s. Almroth Wright is usually credited with creating an early effective vaccine in 1896.
When was the first TB vaccine developed?
The BCG vaccine against tuberculosis was developed in 1921. It was created by Albert Calmette and Camille Guérin.
When was the first polio vaccine licensed?
The first polio vaccine was licensed in 1955. It was the inactivated polio vaccine developed by Jonas Salk.
When was the first oral polio vaccine introduced?
The oral polio vaccine was introduced in the early 1960s. Albert Sabin’s live-attenuated vaccine was licensed in 1961 in the United States.
When was the first measles vaccine licensed?
The first measles vaccine was licensed in 1963. It was developed after work by John Enders and colleagues.
When was the first mumps vaccine introduced?
The first mumps vaccine was introduced in 1967. It was developed by Maurice Hilleman.
When was the first rubella vaccine licensed?
The first rubella vaccine was licensed in 1969. It helped prevent congenital rubella syndrome in unborn babies.
When was the first combined MMR vaccine introduced?
The combined measles, mumps and rubella vaccine was licensed in 1971. It simplified childhood immunization by combining three vaccines into one shot.
When was the first hepatitis B vaccine licensed?
The first hepatitis B vaccine was licensed in 1981. It was the first vaccine against a human cancer-causing virus widely used in medicine.
When was the first HPV vaccine approved?
The first HPV vaccine was approved in 2006. It protects against types of human papillomavirus linked to cervical cancer and other cancers.
When was the first rotavirus vaccine licensed?
The first rotavirus vaccine was licensed in 1998. A later rotavirus vaccine was introduced in 2006 after an earlier version was withdrawn.
When was the first varicella vaccine licensed?
The first chickenpox vaccine was licensed in 1995 in the United States. It was developed from a weakened live virus.
When was the first influenza vaccine used?
The first flu vaccine was used in the 1940s. It was first licensed in the United States in 1945.
When was the first SARS vaccine tested in humans?
The first SARS vaccine candidates were tested in humans in the mid-2000s, after the 2002–2004 outbreak. They never reached widespread use because SARS disappeared from circulation.
When was the first Ebola vaccine trial begun in humans?
The first Ebola vaccine entered human testing in the 2000s. Later, an effective Ebola vaccine was licensed in 2019.
When was the first malaria vaccine recommended for children?
The first malaria vaccine was recommended for children in 2021 by the World Health Organization. It was a major milestone after decades of research.
When was the first tuberculosis skin test developed?
The tuberculin skin test was introduced in the early 1900s. It became a classic tool for detecting prior exposure to tuberculosis.
When was the first successful smallpox eradication campaign officially completed?
The World Health Organization declared smallpox eradicated in 1980. It was the first human disease ever eradicated globally.
When was the first mRNA vaccine authorized for widespread human use?
The first mRNA vaccines were authorized in 2020. They were the Pfizer-BioNTech and Moderna COVID-19 vaccines.
When was the first COVID-19 vaccine rollout started?
The first COVID-19 vaccine rollout began in December 2020. The UK started the first national program using the Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine.
When was the first experimental evidence for the two-factor theory of emotion published?
In 1962, psychologist Stanley Schachter and Jerome Singer published the classic study that helped establish the two-factor theory of emotion.
When was the split-brain research of Roger Sperry and Michael Gazzaniga first published?
Their influential split-brain work was published in the early 1960s, with major papers appearing in 1962.
When was the Stroop effect first described in modern psychological research?
The classic Stroop effect was published in 1935 by John Ridley Stroop.
When was the marshmallow test first conducted?
The best-known marshmallow test studies began in the late 1960s, with Walter Mischel’s work at Stanford starting around 1968.
When was the first modern IQ test developed?
The first widely recognized modern intelligence test was developed in 1905 by Alfred Binet and Théodore Simon.
When was the Rorschach inkblot test introduced?
Hermann Rorschach introduced the inkblot test in 1921.
When was the first description of classical conditioning published?
Ivan Pavlov’s conditioning work was published in the early 1900s, with major reports appearing around 1903 to 1904.
When was operant conditioning first systematically described?
B. F. Skinner developed operant conditioning in the 1930s, with major work published in 1938.
When was the first modern description of the placebo effect in medicine and psychology published?
The term became widely discussed in the 1950s, especially after Henry Beecher’s 1955 paper.
When was the first EEG recorded from a human brain?
The first human electroencephalogram was recorded in 1924 by Hans Berger.
When was the first fMRI study published?
The first functional MRI studies appeared in 1992.
When was the first PET scan of the brain introduced?
Brain PET imaging emerged in the 1970s, with major early human studies appearing around 1975.
When was the first deep brain stimulation procedure performed?
Modern deep brain stimulation began in the late 1980s, with the first successful human procedures performed in 1987.
When was the first antidepressant discovered?
The first modern antidepressants were discovered in the 1950s, with imipramine identified around 1951 and used clinically soon after.
When was the first antipsychotic drug introduced?
Chlorpromazine, the first widely used antipsychotic, was introduced in the early 1950s, especially in 1952.
When was the first cognitive dissonance experiment published?
Leon Festinger’s famous cognitive dissonance work was published in 1957.
When was the first attachment theory published?
John Bowlby’s first major attachment theory work appeared in the 1950s, with key papers published in 1951 and later.
When was the first description of the fight-or-flight response published?
Walter Cannon developed and described the fight-or-flight response in the early 20th century, with major work published in 1915.
When was the first description of the placebo-controlled clinical trial method published?
Modern placebo-controlled trial methods were formalized in the mid-20th century, with a landmark 1948 streptomycin trial often cited.
When was the first detailed map of the human brain published using MRI?
The first high-resolution MRI brain maps appeared in the early 1980s, after MRI entered clinical use around 1980 to 1983.
When was the first description of neuroplasticity widely accepted?
The modern scientific idea of neuroplasticity became widely accepted in the late 20th century, especially from the 1960s onward.
When was the first study linking sleep to memory consolidation published?
Sleep-memory research began in the early 20th century, with major experimental work expanding strongly from the 1920s and again after the 1950s.
When was the first Alzheimer’s disease case described?
The first recognized Alzheimer’s disease case was described in 1906 by Alois Alzheimer.
When was the first recognized case of autism spectrum disorder described?
The first widely recognized clinical descriptions of autism were published in 1943 by Leo Kanner.
When was the first human sleep stage classification by EEG developed?
Modern sleep stage classification emerged in 1953, when REM sleep was identified by Eugene Aserinsky and Nathaniel Kleitman.
When was the first behavioral therapy for phobias systematically used?
Systematic behavioral treatments for phobias emerged in the 1950s, especially with Joseph Wolpe’s work published in 1958.
When did the first mammal fossils appear in the fossil record?
The earliest widely accepted mammal fossils date to about 225 million years ago, in the Late Triassic.
When did humans first domesticate dogs from ancient wolf populations?
Dog domestication began at least 15,000 years ago, and possibly earlier.
When did cats first become domesticated?
Cats were domesticated around 9,000 years ago, with strong evidence from the Near East.
When did horses first become domesticated?
Horses were domesticated around 3500 BCE, probably on the Eurasian steppe.
When did the woolly mammoth go extinct on the mainland?
Woolly mammoths disappeared from most mainland regions around 10,000 years ago.
When did the last mammoths die out on Wrangel Island?
The last known mammoth population survived until about 4000 years ago.
When did the Tasmanian tiger, a marsupial mammal, become extinct?
The thylacine is generally considered extinct in the 1930s; the last confirmed one died in 1936.
When did the passenger pigeon, once a mammal predator's prey source, go extinct?
The passenger pigeon went extinct in the wild by the early 1900s, and the last one died in 1914.
When did the first whales evolve from land mammals?
The earliest whale ancestors appeared about 50 million years ago.
When did the first fully aquatic whales appear?
Fully aquatic archaeocete whales appeared by about 40 million years ago.
When did bats first appear in the fossil record?
The oldest known bats appear about 52 million years ago, in the early Eocene.
When did the first primates appear?
The earliest primate relatives appear shortly after the dinosaurs, around 56 million years ago.
When did the first horses appear as mammals?
Horse ancestors first appeared about 55 million years ago.
When did elephants first appear in the fossil record?
Elephant ancestors appeared about 60 million years ago in Africa.
When did the first placental mammals likely diversify after the dinosaur extinction?
Major placental mammal diversification accelerated after 66 million years ago.
When did the first marsupials appear?
Marsupial ancestors are known from fossils around 125 million years ago.
When did the first monotremes appear?
Monotreme ancestors are known from fossils around 110 million years ago.
When was the platypus first scientifically described by Europeans?
The platypus was first described scientifically in 1799, and a formal name followed in 1800.
When was the first African elephant genome sequenced?
High-quality elephant genomes were published in the 2010s, helping conservation genetics.
When was the giant panda first described by science?
The giant panda was first described scientifically in 1869 by Armand David.
When did the first living coelacanth get photographed after being thought extinct?
The first living coelacanth was discovered in 1938, and it was photographed soon after.
When was the first successful cloning of a mammal completed?
The first mammal cloned from an adult somatic cell was Dolly the sheep in 1996.
When was the first mammal sent into space?
The first mammal in space was a monkey aboard a U.S. rocket in 1948, followed by the first in orbit in 1957.
When did the first mouse genome get fully sequenced?
The mouse genome was first published in draft form in 2002, with a high-quality reference completed later.
When was the first camel domesticated?
Dromedary camels were domesticated around 3000 BCE, while Bactrian camels were domesticated later, around 2500 BCE.
When did birds first appear in the fossil record?
The earliest widely accepted bird fossils date to about 150 million years ago, in the Late Jurassic.
When were the first feathers in dinosaurs discovered?
Feathered dinosaur fossils became widely recognized in the 1990s, especially from China’s Liaoning Province.
When were penguins first described by European scientists?
Penguins were described by Europeans in the early 16th century, after voyages to the southern oceans.
When did the kakapo become recognized as a threatened conservation species?
The kākāpō came under major conservation attention in the 1970s, when its tiny surviving population was identified.
When was the whooping crane nearly extinct in North America?
The whooping crane population reached a critical low in the 1940s, with only a few dozen birds left.
When did the bald eagle become the national symbol of the United States?
The bald eagle was adopted as the United States’ national emblem in 1782.
When was the first bird ringing or banding program started?
Systematic bird ringing began in the late 19th century, with one of the earliest programs started in Denmark in 1899.
When was the first successful attempt to protect birds with a modern wildlife law?
One of the earliest major bird protection laws was Britain’s Sea Birds Preservation Act of 1869.
When was the first bird species officially extirpated by humans on an island?
One famous island bird extinction happened by the late 17th century, when the dodo disappeared from Mauritius.
When did the passenger pigeon go extinct?
The last known passenger pigeon died in 1914 at the Cincinnati Zoo.
When was the California condor breeding program launched?
The modern California condor recovery program began in the 1980s, after the species fell to just 27 individuals in the wild by 1987.
When was the first DNA used to identify bird species relationships?
Bird DNA began transforming classification in the late 20th century, especially from the 1980s onward.
When did the chicken genome get sequenced?
The chicken became the first bird species to have its genome published in 2004.
When was the first bird shown to navigate using Earth’s magnetic field?
Strong evidence for magnetic navigation in birds emerged in the 1960s and 1970s.
When did the first ornithopter patent appear?
Early flying-machine ideas inspired ornithopter patents in the 19th century, including a notable patent in 1869 by Alphonse Pénaud and Paul Gauchot.
When was the first owl fossil found with evidence of nocturnal hunting adaptations?
Fossils showing owl-like nocturnal adaptations are known from the Paleogene, roughly 56 to 23 million years ago.
When did the first bird flight feathers evolve?
Flight feathers likely evolved in theropod dinosaurs during the Jurassic period, over 150 million years ago.
When was the first successful migration of a bird tracked by satellite?
Satellite tracking of birds began in the late 20th century, with major advances in the 1980s and 1990s.
When was the first bird feather preserved in amber discovered?
A famous feather preserved in amber was reported in the early 1990s, with more significant discoveries following later.
When was the first bird species protected under the Migratory Bird Treaty Act?
The Migratory Bird Treaty Act was enacted in 1918 to protect migratory birds in the United States.
When did the first bird sanctuary open in India?
One of India’s best-known early bird sanctuaries, Bharatpur’s Keoladeo, was recognized as a protected bird area in the 1930s and later developed into a major sanctuary.
When was the first bird extinct in modern times to be revived through de-extinction science?
No bird has been de-extincted yet, though modern de-extinction work has been actively discussed and pursued in the 21st century.
When did the first bird conservation organization form?
Some of the earliest bird conservation groups formed in the late 19th century, including the Royal Society for the Protection of Birds in 1889.
When did the first bird guidebook for amateurs appear?
Popular bird field guides emerged in the early 20th century, with major modern guides appearing in the 1930s and 1940s.
When was the first documented use of radar to study bird migration?
Radar began revealing bird migration during and after World War II, especially in the 1940s.
When was the first bird species genome compared to the human genome?
Comparative genome studies between birds and humans became prominent in the early 2000s after the chicken genome was published in 2004.
When was the first annual World Migratory Bird Day celebrated?
World Migratory Bird Day was first launched in 2006.
When did the first bird species become a symbol of climate change science?
Birds became a prominent climate indicator in the late 20th century, especially from the 1980s onward.
When was the Komodo dragon first scientifically described?
The Komodo dragon was scientifically described in 1912, after specimens reached researchers in the Dutch East Indies. It was formally named by Dutch zoologist Peter Ouwens.
When was the axolotl first scientifically described?
The axolotl was first scientifically described in 1789. The species was named by the German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin.
When was the king cobra first scientifically described?
The king cobra was first scientifically described in 1836. The species was named by the French zoologist François Marie Daudin.
When did chameleon tongue projection become a major subject of modern scientific research?
Detailed modern study of chameleon tongue projection accelerated in the late 20th century, especially from the 1990s onward. Researchers showed that some species can shoot their tongues with extreme speed and power.
When was the first successful captive breeding of the hellbender reported?
The first successful captive breeding of hellbenders was reported in the early 21st century, with notable successes in the 2000s. These efforts became important for a species that has declined in many parts of its range.
When was the first major scientific report on frog chytrid fungus published?
The disease caused by chytrid fungus was first identified in the late 1990s, with landmark reports published in 1998. It became one of the biggest wildlife-disease discoveries ever made.
When was the first successful cloning of an amphibian achieved?
A famous early amphibian cloning breakthrough occurred in 1952, when nuclear transfer experiments were carried out in frogs. These studies became a landmark in developmental biology.
When was the first animal in orbit sent into space?
Laika, a Soviet space dog, was launched aboard Sputnik 2 on 3 November 1957.
When was the first spacecraft sent to the Moon?
The Soviet Luna 1 mission was launched on 2 January 1959 and became the first spacecraft to fly past the Moon.
When did the first soft landing on the Moon happen?
Luna 9 made the first soft landing on the Moon on 3 February 1966.
When did the first woman travel into space?
Valentina Tereshkova became the first woman in space on 16 June 1963.
When did humans first orbit the Moon?
Apollo 8 became the first crewed mission to orbit the Moon on 24 December 1968.
When was the first human landing on the Moon?
Apollo 11 landed on the Moon on 20 July 1969.
When was the first satellite placed into a geostationary orbit?
Syncom 3 became the first satellite in geostationary orbit on 19 August 1964.
When was the first space telescope launched?
The Orbiting Astronomical Observatory 2, also called OAO-2, launched on 7 December 1968.
When was the first image of the far side of the Moon taken?
The Soviet Luna 3 mission took the first images of the Moon's far side in October 1959.
When was the first probe sent to Venus?
The Soviet Venera 1 was launched toward Venus on 12 February 1961.
When did the first successful landing on Mars happen?
The Soviet Mars 3 lander made the first successful landing on Mars on 2 December 1971.
When was the first rover driven on the Moon?
The Lunar Roving Vehicle was first driven on the Moon on 31 July 1971 during Apollo 15.
When was the first moon landing in China?
China's Chang'e 3 landed on the Moon on 14 December 2013.
When did the first space station launch?
Salyut 1, the first space station, was launched on 19 April 1971.
When was the first reusable space shuttle launched?
NASA's Space Shuttle Columbia made its first flight on 12 April 1981.
When was the first spacecraft to visit an asteroid launched?
NEAR Shoemaker launched on 17 February 1996 and later became the first spacecraft to orbit and land on an asteroid.
When was the first exoplanet directly imaged?
The first widely accepted direct image of an exoplanet was announced in 2004, for 2M1207 b.
When was Pluto visited by a spacecraft for the first time?
NASA's New Horizons flew past Pluto on 14 July 2015.
When was the first detection of gravitational waves made?
The first direct detection of gravitational waves was announced on 11 February 2016.
When was the James Webb Space Telescope launched?
The James Webb Space Telescope launched on 25 December 2021.
When was the asteroid belt first identified as a group of objects?
The first asteroid, Ceres, was discovered on 1 January 1801.
When was the first asteroid discovered?
The first asteroid, Ceres, was discovered on 1 January 1801.
When was the first exoplanet discovered around a Sun-like star?
The first confirmed exoplanets around a Sun-like star were announced in 1995.
When was the first planet discovered orbiting a pulsar?
The first pulsar planets were discovered in 1992.
When did astronomers first detect rings around Uranus?
Uranus’s rings were first confirmed in 1977.
When were Neptune’s rings first confirmed?
Neptune’s rings were first confirmed in 1984.
When was Mars first identified as having polar ice caps?
Mars’s polar caps were recognized in the 17th century, with detailed telescopic observations in the 1800s.
When was the Great Red Spot on Jupiter first recorded?
The Great Red Spot was first recorded in 1665.
When was Saturn’s moon Enceladus discovered?
Enceladus was discovered on 28 August 1789.
When was Jupiter’s moon Ganymede discovered?
Ganymede was discovered on 7 January 1610.
When was Mercury’s existence as a planet recognized in ancient astronomy?
Mercury was known in antiquity, with records dating back at least to the third millennium BCE.
When was the first spacecraft sent to Mercury?
The first spacecraft to visit Mercury was Mariner 10 in 1974.
When was the first spacecraft sent to Venus?
The first spacecraft to visit Venus was Mariner 2 in 1962.
When was the first spacecraft sent to Mars?
The first spacecraft to reach Mars was Mariner 4 in 1965.
When was the first spacecraft to visit a comet launched?
The first spacecraft to fly by a comet was ICE in 1985, but the first dedicated comet encounter mission was Giotto in 1986.
When was the first mission to land on an asteroid completed?
The first asteroid landing was achieved by Hayabusa2’s touchdown on Ryugu in 2019.
When was the first confirmed exoplanet around a Sun-like star discovered?
In 1995, astronomers announced 51 Pegasi b, the first confirmed exoplanet orbiting a Sun-like star.
When was the first exoplanet discovered orbiting a pulsar?
In 1992, astronomers found the first known exoplanets around the pulsar PSR B1257+12.
When was the first direct image of an exoplanet taken?
In 2004, astronomers obtained the first widely accepted direct image of an exoplanet, 2M1207 b.
When was the first exoplanet found in the habitable zone of its star?
In 2011, Kepler-22b was announced as the first known planet in the habitable zone of a Sun-like star.
When was the first accurate measurement of the universe’s expansion made?
In 1929, Edwin Hubble published evidence that distant galaxies are receding, showing the universe is expanding.
When was the cosmic microwave background first discovered?
In 1965, Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson discovered the cosmic microwave background radiation.
When was the first detailed map of the cosmic microwave background released?
In 1992, the COBE satellite released the first detailed map showing tiny fluctuations in the cosmic microwave background.
When was the universe’s accelerating expansion discovered?
In 1998, two teams reported that the universe’s expansion is speeding up, not slowing down.
When was dark matter first inferred from galaxy rotation curves?
In 1970, Vera Rubin and collaborators reported galaxy rotation data that strongly implied unseen mass, now called dark matter.
When was the first evidence found for the accelerating rotation of the Milky Way’s center?
In the 1990s, precise infrared observations began revealing stars orbiting the Milky Way’s central black hole extremely fast.
When was the first black hole candidate in a binary system discovered?
In the early 1970s, Cygnus X-1 became the first widely accepted black hole candidate in a binary system.
When was the first black hole imaged by the Event Horizon Telescope?
In 2019, the Event Horizon Telescope released the first image of a black hole, M87*.
When was the first confirmed supermassive black hole discovered in a galaxy?
In the 1960s, observations of active galaxies like M87 and quasars revealed evidence for supermassive black holes.
When was the first evidence for a supernova-linked neutron star discovered?
In 1967, Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Antony Hewish identified the first pulsar, a rapidly rotating neutron star.
When was the first white dwarf discovered?
In 1862, Alvan Clark discovered Sirius B, the first known white dwarf.
When was the first neutron star discovered as a radio source?
In 1967, the first pulsar was discovered, revealing neutron stars as a real class of object.
When was the first known brown dwarf discovered?
In 1995, astronomers confirmed Gliese 229B as one of the first known brown dwarfs.
When was the first evidence for galaxies beyond the Milky Way established?
In 1924, Edwin Hubble showed that the Andromeda Nebula was a separate galaxy beyond the Milky Way.
When was the first galaxy cluster discovered as a physical system?
In the 1930s, astronomers began recognizing galaxy clusters such as the Coma Cluster as massive bound systems.
When was the first galaxy redshift measured?
In the 1910s, Vesto Slipher measured the first major galaxy redshifts, revealing that many galaxies are moving away from us.
When was the first theory of stellar nucleosynthesis proposed?
In 1946 and the early 1950s, scientists such as Fred Hoyle developed the idea that stars create many of the elements.
When was the first confirmed detection of an element in a star’s atmosphere made?
In the 1860s, spectroscopy revealed the chemical composition of stars, with pioneering work by astronomers like Gustav Kirchhoff and William Huggins.
When was helium first discovered in the Sun?
In 1868, helium was first identified in the Sun’s spectrum during a solar eclipse.
When was the first meteor shower linked to a comet?
In 1866, astronomers established that the Leonid meteor shower was connected to Comet Tempel-Tuttle.
When was the strong nuclear force first identified as a fundamental force?
In the 1930s, as physicists developed the theory of the force that binds atomic nuclei together. Hideki Yukawa proposed the exchange-particle idea in 1935, which became the foundation of the modern strong interaction.
When was the weak nuclear force first recognized as a separate force?
In the 1930s, after beta decay showed that nuclear transformations needed a force different from the strong force. Enrico Fermi’s 1933–1934 theory was an early milestone.
When did physicists first calculate a reliable range for the strong nuclear force?
In 1935, Yukawa’s theory predicted a very short-range nuclear force, with the exchange particle concept giving a range of about 10^-15 meters.
When was the first successful detection of a meson announced?
In 1947, Cecil Powell and colleagues announced the discovery of the pion, confirming Yukawa’s meson idea.
When was the first evidence for the exchange of force particles in nuclear physics found?
In the late 1940s and 1950s, meson exchange models became the leading explanation for the nuclear force. The pion discovery in 1947 was the turning point.
When was the modern electromagnetic force first unified with the weak force?
In 1967–1968, the electroweak theory was developed independently by Sheldon Glashow, Steven Weinberg, and Abdus Salam. It unifies electromagnetism and the weak force.
When were the W and Z bosons first discovered?
In 1983, CERN experiments UA1 and UA2 announced the discovery of the W and Z bosons. These particles confirmed the electroweak theory.
When was the Higgs boson discovered?
In 2012, CERN’s ATLAS and CMS collaborations announced the discovery of a Higgs-like particle. It was later confirmed as the Higgs boson.
When was the Standard Model of particle physics first formulated?
It took shape in the 1960s and early 1970s, with key work by Glashow, Weinberg, Salam, and others. The model brought together electromagnetic, weak, and strong interactions.
When was quantum chromodynamics developed?
In the early 1970s, with major contributions from Murray Gell-Mann, Harald Fritzsch, and Heinrich Leutwyler. QCD became the theory of the strong interaction.
When was the quark model first proposed?
In 1964, Murray Gell-Mann and independently George Zweig proposed quarks as constituents of hadrons. The idea transformed particle physics.
When were gluons first hypothesized?
In the early 1970s, as physicists developed quantum chromodynamics. Gluons were proposed as the particles that carry the strong force between quarks.
When was the photon first identified as the particle of light?
In 1905, Albert Einstein’s explanation of the photoelectric effect treated light as quantized packets, later called photons. The term photon came into common use later.
When was gravity first explained by a scientific law of universal attraction?
In 1687, Isaac Newton published the law of universal gravitation in Principia Mathematica. It was the first widely accepted mathematical theory of gravity.
When was general relativity first published?
In 1915, Albert Einstein presented general relativity. It describes gravity as the curvature of spacetime rather than a force in the Newtonian sense.
When was the existence of antimatter first predicted?
In 1928, Paul Dirac’s relativistic equation implied the existence of particles with opposite charge. The positron was later discovered in 1932.
When was the positron discovered?
In 1932, Carl Anderson discovered the positron in cosmic-ray experiments. It was the first confirmed antimatter particle.
When were neutrinos first proposed?
In 1930, Wolfgang Pauli proposed the neutrino to explain missing energy in beta decay. Enrico Fermi later named and developed the theory further.
When were neutrinos first detected?
In 1956, Clyde Cowan and Frederick Reines announced the first detection of the neutrino. They observed antineutrinos from a nuclear reactor.
When was the muon discovered?
In 1936, Carl Anderson and Seth Neddermeyer reported the muon from cosmic-ray observations. It was first mistaken for Yukawa’s predicted meson.
When was the proton first identified as a distinct particle?
Around 1917–1919, Ernest Rutherford identified the proton as the hydrogen nucleus in nuclear reactions. It became recognized as a fundamental particle of positive charge.
When was the first experimental evidence for the electromagnetic force at atomic scales found?
In the late 1800s, especially with James Clerk Maxwell’s work in 1860s and Heinrich Hertz’s experiments in the 1880s. These showed electricity, magnetism, and light are connected.
When was the first successful measurement of the speed of light made?
In 1676, Ole Rømer made the first convincing measurement from observations of Jupiter’s moon Io. He showed light travels at a finite speed.
When was the Casimir effect first predicted?
In 1948, Hendrik Casimir predicted a force arising from quantum vacuum fluctuations between metal plates. It became an important example of quantum field effects.
When was gravity first measured in a laboratory with a torsion balance?
In 1798, Henry Cavendish used a torsion balance to measure the gravitational attraction between masses. His experiment is often described as ‘weighing the Earth.’
When was the periodic law first recognized?
The periodic law was recognized in 1869 through the work of Dmitri Mendeleev and Julius Lothar Meyer. It showed that element properties repeat at regular intervals.
When was atomic number shown to determine the order of the periodic table?
Henry Moseley demonstrated in 1913 that atomic number, not atomic weight, is the key to the periodic table. This solved several ordering problems in the early tables.
When was gallium discovered?
Gallium was discovered in 1875 by French chemist Paul-Émile Lecoq de Boisbaudran. It was one of the first elements predicted by Mendeleev to be found later.
When was germanium discovered?
Germanium was discovered in 1886 by Clemens Winkler. Mendeleev had predicted it years earlier as eka-silicon.
When was technetium first discovered?
Technetium was first identified in 1937 by Carlo Perrier and Emilio Segrè. It was the first element to be artificially produced rather than found naturally in useful amounts.
When was astatine first discovered?
Astatine was first identified in 1940 by Dale Corson, Kenneth MacKenzie, and Emilio Segrè. It was the last naturally occurring element to be discovered.
When was neptunium first discovered?
Neptunium was first produced and identified in 1940 by Edwin McMillan and Philip Abelson. It was the first transuranium element discovered.
When was plutonium first discovered?
Plutonium was first produced in 1940 and identified in 1941 by Glenn T. Seaborg, Edwin McMillan, Joseph Kennedy, and Arthur Wahl. It was the second transuranium element discovered.
When was the actinide series first proposed?
Glenn T. Seaborg proposed the actinide concept in 1944. It reorganized the periodic table by placing the actinides beneath the lanthanides.
When was the lanthanide series separated from the main periodic table?
The lanthanide series was recognized and separated into its own row during the 20th century as chemists refined the table. The modern arrangement became standard after the actinide concept in the 1940s.
When was helium first discovered on Earth?
Helium was first detected on Earth in 1895 by William Ramsay. It had already been observed in the Sun’s spectrum in 1868.
When was neon first discovered?
Neon was discovered in 1898 by William Ramsay and Morris Travers. They isolated it from liquid air.
When was argon discovered?
Argon was discovered in 1894 by Lord Rayleigh and William Ramsay. It was the first noble gas identified.
When was radon discovered?
Radon was identified in the early 1900s, with Ernest Rutherford and Robert B. Owens discovering radon-emanation in 1900. The element was later recognized as a noble gas.
When was chlorine discovered?
Chlorine was discovered in 1774 by Carl Wilhelm Scheele. It later became recognized as an element by Humphry Davy in 1810.
When was sodium discovered as a distinct element?
Sodium was isolated as an element in 1807 by Humphry Davy. He used electrolysis to separate it from compounds.
When was uranium discovered?
Uranium was discovered in 1789 by Martin Heinrich Klaproth. It was named after the planet Uranus.
When was platinum first recognized as a distinct element in Europe?
Platinum was recognized in Europe in the mid-1700s, with Antonio de Ulloa publishing a description in 1748. It was long known in South America before that.
When was the first scientific description of a fossil freshwater fish from the fossil record published?
It was published in 1669 by the Danish scientist Nicolaus Steno.
When was the law of superposition first formulated?
It was formulated in 1669 by Nicolaus Steno.
When was the term geology first used in print?
It appeared in print in the 1600s, with one well-known use in 1656.
When did James Hutton present his theory of the Earth as a dynamic system?
He presented it in 1785 to the Royal Society of Edinburgh.
When was uniformitarianism popularized by Charles Lyell?
It was popularized in 1830, when Lyell published the first volume of Principles of Geology.
When was the first geologic time scale proposed?
A major early time scale was proposed in the 1800s, especially by the work of Giovanni Arduino in 1759 and later refinements in the 19th century.
When was the theory of plate tectonics first widely accepted?
It became widely accepted in the late 1960s, especially after 1967–1968.
When was continental drift first proposed?
Alfred Wegener first proposed it in 1912, and he expanded the idea in 1915.
When was seafloor spreading first proposed?
It was proposed in 1962 by Harry Hess.
When were magnetic stripes on the ocean floor first recognized as evidence for plate tectonics?
They were recognized in the early 1960s, with key work published in 1963.
When was the Mohs scale of mineral hardness introduced?
It was introduced in 1812 by Friedrich Mohs.
When was the first modern scientific classification of minerals published?
A major early modern classification appeared in 1811, through the work of Abraham Gottlob Werner and his students.
When was the first earthquake magnitude scale developed?
The first widely used magnitude scale was developed in 1935 by Charles Richter.
When was the first seismograph invented?
The earliest known seismoscope was invented in 132 CE by Zhang Heng.
When was the first modern tsunami warning system established?
A major modern Pacific tsunami warning system was established in 1949.
When was the first global map of the ocean floor completed?
A major global seafloor map was completed in 1977 by Marie Tharp and Bruce Heezen’s work and later global synthesis.
When was the Earth’s age first estimated using radioactive dating?
Reliable radiometric estimates emerged in the early 20th century, especially in 1907.
When was the first uranium-lead dating method developed?
It was developed in the early 20th century, with key advances around 1907 to 1911.
When was the first recognition of seafloor ages increasing away from mid-ocean ridges?
This pattern was recognized in the early 1960s, especially by 1963.
When was the first deep-sea drilling program launched?
The Deep Sea Drilling Project began in 1968.
When was the first official geological map of Great Britain published?
It was published in 1815 by William Smith.
When was the first modern explanation of glacial ages proposed?
A major explanation came in the 19th century, especially in the 1830s and 1840s.
When was the first theory of coral reef formation proposed?
Charles Darwin proposed a major theory of coral reef formation in 1842.
When was the first recognition that Earth’s magnetic field reverses over time?
Clear evidence was established in the 20th century, especially in the 1920s and 1950s.
When was the first scientific explanation of continental fossil matches proposed?
A major explanation was proposed in the early 20th century, especially by Alfred Wegener in 1912.
When was the first known supercontinent, Rodinia, proposed by scientists?
The name Rodinia was proposed in the 1990s, though the supercontinent existed about 1.1 billion to 750 million years ago.
When did the first scientific description of an asteroid impact crater as a possible meteorite site appear?
A major scientific argument appeared in 1903, with Barringer's work at Meteor Crater gaining traction in the early 1900s.
When did the first volcanic eruption be recorded in written history?
One of the earliest well-known written records is the eruption of Mount Etna in 122 BCE, described by ancient authors. However, much earlier eruptions certainly happened before written records existed.
When was the first volcanic eruption to be scientifically monitored as it happened?
The eruption of Mount Vesuvius in 1631 is among the earliest major eruptions described in detail by observers, but the first truly scientific monitoring of an eruption came much later in the 19th century, especially at Vesuvius and Etna.
When did the first eruption warning system for volcanoes begin?
Formal volcano warning systems emerged in the 20th century, with modern monitoring expanding after World War II. Today they combine seismology, gas measurements, satellite data, and ground deformation.
When did the first earthquake magnitude scale get developed?
The first widely used earthquake magnitude scale, the Richter scale, was developed in 1935 by Charles F. Richter and Beno Gutenberg.
When was the first earthquake forecasted using modern science?
Reliable earthquake prediction is still not possible, but one of the first famous scientific forecasts came in 1975 before the Haicheng earthquake in China. Authorities evacuated many people shortly before the quake struck.
When did the first tsunami warning system begin?
The first modern Pacific tsunami warning system began in 1949 after the destructive 1946 Aleutian Islands tsunami. It evolved into the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center in Hawaii.
When did the first modern tsunami warning center open?
The Pacific Tsunami Warning Center was established in 1965 in Honolulu, Hawaii, building on earlier warning efforts from 1949.
When did the first volcanic observatory open?
One of the earliest dedicated volcano observatories was the Vesuvius Observatory, founded in 1841 in Italy.
When did volcano scientists first use the word volcanology?
The term volcanology came into use in the 19th century as the study of volcanoes became a formal scientific field.
When did scientists first understand that earthquakes happen on faults?
The link between earthquakes and faults became clear in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, especially after studies of surface rupture and fault displacement.
When was the San Andreas Fault first identified as the source of a major earthquake?
The 1906 San Francisco earthquake was the first major event to make the San Andreas Fault famous as a huge earthquake source.
When did the first earthquake-resistant building codes appear?
Some of the first earthquake-resistant building rules appeared after the 1906 San Francisco earthquake. Modern seismic building codes expanded in the 20th century as engineers learned more about ground motion.
When did the first volcano hazard map get made?
Volcano hazard mapping developed in the 20th century, especially after studies of major eruptions and lava-flow paths. It became a standard tool for planning around active volcanoes.
When did the first volcanic eruption affect global climate measurements?
The 1815 eruption of Mount Tambora was a major event that changed global climate and led to the 'Year Without a Summer' in 1816.
When did the first volcanic eruption from space get observed?
Space-based observations of eruptions began in the satellite era, especially from the 1960s onward. Satellites later became crucial for tracking ash clouds and heat signatures.
When was the first earthquake recorded by instruments in Japan?
Japan developed some of the earliest earthquake instruments in the late 19th century, with major progress after the 1880s. The country became a leader in seismic monitoring.
When did the first landslide-generated tsunami become scientifically recognized?
The idea that landslides can generate tsunamis became widely recognized in the 20th century, especially after dramatic events like the 1958 Lituya Bay tsunami in Alaska.
When was the first successful launch of the Saturn V rocket?
The Saturn V first flew successfully on 9 November 1967. It was launched from Kennedy Space Center on Apollo 4, an uncrewed test mission.
When was the first lunar orbit by humans completed?
The first human-crewed lunar orbit began on 24 December 1968, when Apollo 8 entered orbit around the Moon.
When was the first spacecraft to land on the Moon launched?
Luna 9 was launched on 31 January 1966, and it became the first spacecraft to make a soft landing on the Moon.
When was the first successful robotic landing on Mars?
The first successful Mars landing happened on 20 July 1976, when NASA’s Viking 1 lander touched down on the planet.
When did the first spacecraft successfully visit Jupiter?
Pioneer 10 became the first spacecraft to reach Jupiter on 3 December 1973, when it flew past the planet.
When was the first spacecraft sent to Saturn?
Pioneer 11 became the first spacecraft to fly by Saturn on 1 September 1979.
When did the first spacecraft fly by Uranus?
Voyager 2 became the first spacecraft to fly by Uranus on 24 January 1986.
When did the first spacecraft fly by Neptune?
Voyager 2 became the first spacecraft to fly by Neptune on 25 August 1989.
When was the first image of the far side of the Moon taken by a spacecraft?
The first pictures of the Moon’s far side were taken in 1959 by the Soviet Luna 3 spacecraft.
When was the first direct measurement of a comet’s nucleus made?
The first close-up study of a comet nucleus came on 14 March 1986, when Giotto flew past Halley’s Comet.
When was the first comet sample return mission completed?
Stardust returned samples from comet Wild 2 to Earth on 15 January 2006.
When did the first spacecraft land on an asteroid?
The first landing on an asteroid happened on 12 November 2005, when Japan’s Hayabusa touched down on asteroid Itokawa.
When was the first sample return from an asteroid completed?
The first asteroid samples were returned to Earth on 13 June 2010 by Japan’s Hayabusa mission.
When did the first successful landing on the International Space Station occur?
The first crew arrived at the ISS on 2 November 2000, beginning permanent human occupation of the station.
When was the first private spacecraft launched into orbit?
The first privately developed spacecraft to reach orbit was launched on 21 September 2006: SpaceX’s Falcon 1 on its third flight reached space but did not achieve orbit. The first private spacecraft to actually reach orbit was SpaceX’s Falcon 9 with the Dragon capsule on 8 December 2010, and Dragon later docked with the ISS in 2012.
When was the first image taken from the surface of another planet?
The first image from another planet’s surface was taken on 20 July 1976, when Viking 1 landed on Mars.
When did the first exoplanet around a star like the Sun get directly imaged?
The first widely accepted direct image of an exoplanet was published in 2004, for 2M1207 b; a planet around a Sun-like star was directly imaged in 2008 around the star 1RXS J160929.1−210524.
When was the first asteroid discovered in the asteroid belt?
The first asteroid, Ceres, was discovered on 1 January 1801 by Giuseppe Piazzi.
When was the first meteoroid impact observed on the Moon by a spacecraft?
The first deliberate impact on the Moon was on 4 March 1959, when the Soviet Luna 2 struck the lunar surface. It was not a meteoroid, but it was the first human-made object to hit the Moon.
When was the first telescope pointed at the sky?
The earliest documented astronomical use of a telescope was in 1609, when Galileo Galilei began observing the heavens with one.
When was the first artificial satellite launched into orbit around Earth?
Sputnik 1 was launched on 4 October 1957, becoming the first artificial satellite to orbit Earth.
When did the first photos of Saturn’s rings from close range arrive on Earth?
The first close-range images of Saturn’s rings came on 1 September 1979 from Pioneer 11.
When was the first successful use of a gravity assist to explore outer planets achieved?
The first famous gravity-assist mission was Pioneer 10’s Jupiter flyby in 1973, which used Jupiter’s gravity to redirect the spacecraft outward.
When did the first Mars rover begin exploring the surface?
The first successful Mars rover, Sojourner, began surface operations on 5 July 1997 after landing with the Pathfinder mission.
When was the first spacecraft sent to Jupiter?
The first spacecraft to fly by Jupiter was NASA’s Pioneer 10, which launched on 3 March 1972.
When did the first spacecraft successfully visit Pluto?
NASA’s New Horizons became the first spacecraft to fly by Pluto on 14 July 2015.
When was the first spacecraft launched into orbit around Earth?
The first artificial satellite, Sputnik 1, was launched into Earth orbit on 4 October 1957.
When was the first image of another planet taken from the surface of that planet?
The first image taken from the surface of another planet was sent from Venus by the Soviet Venera 9 lander on 22 October 1975.
When was the first probe sent to Mercury?
Mariner 10 was the first spacecraft sent to Mercury, launching on 3 November 1973.
When was the first spacecraft to land on Venus launched?
The Soviet Venera 7, the first successful Venus lander, was launched on 17 August 1970.
When did the first successful use of a gravity assist to explore outer planets happen?
Voyager 1 used Jupiter’s gravity assist in 1979 to swing on toward Saturn, a landmark in outer-planet exploration.
When did the first images of Saturn’s rings from close range arrive on Earth?
The first close-range images of Saturn’s rings came from Pioneer 11 in 1979, after its flyby on 1 September 1979.
When was the first solar system model with planets discovered to be a ringed giant?
Saturn’s rings were first clearly seen by Galileo in 1610, although he did not understand what they were.
When was the first exoplanet discovered orbiting a normal star?
In 1995, astronomers announced 51 Pegasi b, the first exoplanet found orbiting a Sun-like star.
When was the first pulsar discovered?
The first pulsar was discovered in 1967 by Jocelyn Bell Burnell and Antony Hewish.
When was the cosmic microwave background first detected?
It was first detected in 1965 by Arno Penzias and Robert Wilson.
When was dark energy discovered?
Evidence for dark energy emerged in 1998 from observations of distant supernovae.
When was dark matter first proposed?
Dark matter was first proposed in 1933 by astronomer Fritz Zwicky.
When was the first galaxy cluster catalog published?
The first major galaxy cluster catalog is commonly traced to Abell’s catalog, published in 1958.
When was the first radio galaxy discovered?
The first radio galaxy, Cygnus A, was identified in the early 1950s.
When was the first measurement of the Hubble constant made?
Edwin Hubble published early measurements of the expansion rate in 1929.
When was the first supermassive black hole measured in a galaxy?
The first strong evidence for a supermassive black hole in a galaxy came in the 1970s, especially through observations of M87 and other active galaxies.
When was the first pulsar planet discovered?
The first confirmed planets beyond the Solar System were announced in 1992 around the pulsar PSR B1257+12.
When was the first star formation region identified in another galaxy?
Prominent star-forming regions in the Magellanic Clouds were studied intensively in the 20th century, with 30 Doradus becoming a major benchmark by the mid-1900s.
When was the first image of a protoplanetary disk taken?
The first clear images of protoplanetary disks around young stars emerged in the 1990s.
When was the first object in the Kuiper Belt discovered?
The first confirmed Kuiper Belt object was discovered in 1992.
When was the first interstellar object discovered passing through the Solar System?
The first known interstellar object, ‘Oumuamua, was discovered in 2017.
When was the first star catalog of the southern sky completed?
The southern sky was systematically cataloged in major star surveys during the 18th and 19th centuries, with important work completed by Nicolas-Louis de Lacaille in the 1750s.
When was the first observation of a star cluster in another galaxy made?
Extragalactic star clusters were recognized in the early 20th century, with key work accelerating in the 1920s and 1930s.
When was the first image of a star being born taken?
Direct imaging of protostars and stellar nurseries became possible in the late 20th century, especially from the 1980s onward.
When was the first evidence for galaxies beyond the Milky Way published?
Edwin Hubble published decisive evidence for galaxies beyond the Milky Way in 1924.
When was the first estimate of the age of the universe made?
Modern estimates began in the 20th century, with Hubble-era work in the 1920s and later refinements leading to today’s value of about 13.8 billion years.
When was the first solar eclipse scientifically explained using gravity?
A full gravitational explanation of celestial motion matured in the 17th century, after Isaac Newton published Principia in 1687.
When was the first confirmed detection of an exoplanet atmosphere made?
The first confirmed detection of an exoplanet atmosphere was made in 2001.
When was the first galaxy image from the James Webb Space Telescope released?
The first deep-field images from JWST were released on 12 July 2022.
When was the first image of a galaxy’s central black hole released?
The first image of a galaxy’s central black hole was released in April 2019 for M87*.
When was the first image of a black hole at the center of the Milky Way released?
The first image of Sagittarius A* was released in May 2022.
When was the first supernova observed with a telescope?
The first supernova observed and carefully recorded with telescopic-era astronomy was SN 1604, seen in 1604.
When was the first confirmed gravitational-wave detection made?
The first confirmed gravitational-wave detection was made on 14 September 2015 and announced in 2016.
When was Newton's law of universal gravitation first published?
It was first published in 1687, in Isaac Newton's Principia.
When was the Cavendish experiment first performed?
Henry Cavendish performed it in 1797–1798, making one of the first measurements of Earth's density.
When was the strong nuclear force first proposed?
It was proposed in the early 1930s, soon after the discovery of the neutron.
When was the electromagnetic force first unified mathematically?
James Clerk Maxwell unified electricity and magnetism in the 1860s, with his theory published in 1865.
When was the Higgs boson first proposed?
It was proposed in 1964, in papers by several physicists including Peter Higgs.
When was antimatter first predicted?
Antimatter was first predicted in 1928 by Paul Dirac.
When was the first laser demonstrated?
The first laser was demonstrated in 1960 by Theodore Maiman.
When was the first atomic clock built?
The first practical atomic clock was built in 1949, using ammonia, and cesium clocks followed soon after.
When was the first evidence for the expansion of the universe published?
It was published in 1929 by Edwin Hubble.
When was gravitational time dilation first experimentally confirmed?
It was confirmed in 1959 by the Pound-Rebka experiment.
When was the positron first discovered?
It was first observed in 1932 by Carl Anderson.
When was the first liquid-fuel rocket launched successfully?
Robert H. Goddard launched the first successful liquid-fuel rocket in 1926.
When was the first direct measurement of the speed of light made?
It was first measured in a modern scientific way in 1676 by Ole Rømer.
When was the first observation of gravitational lensing made?
The first observed gravitational lensing effect was reported in 1979.
When was the first detection of gravitational waves announced?
The first detection was announced in 2016, from signals measured on 14 September 2015.
When was the first experimental confirmation of the equivalence principle made?
A major early confirmation came in 1831 with the work of François Arago, later refined by Eötvös in the 1890s.
When was the first observation of beta decay energy loss explained with the neutrino idea?
Wolfgang Pauli proposed the neutrino in 1930, and Enrico Fermi developed the beta-decay theory in 1933–1934.
When was the first force between electric charges measured quantitatively?
Coulomb measured it in 1785.
When was the first demonstration that electricity and magnetism are linked in motion?
Hans Christian Ørsted demonstrated it in 1820.
When was the first evidence for the existence of quarks published?
Strong evidence was published in 1968 from deep inelastic scattering experiments at SLAC.
When was the first measurement of dark matter in a galaxy cluster reported?
A famous early report came in 1933 from Fritz Zwicky.
When was the periodic table first published in a form recognizable today?
Dmitri Mendeleev published his periodic table in 1869. His version arranged the known elements by atomic weight and recurring chemical properties.
When was the periodic law explained by atomic number instead of atomic weight?
In 1913, Henry Moseley showed that the periodic table should be arranged by atomic number. That solved several inconsistencies in Mendeleev’s original ordering.
When was helium first identified as an element on Earth?
Helium was first identified on Earth in 1895. It was isolated from the uranium mineral cleveite by William Ramsay.
When was lithium discovered?
Lithium was discovered in 1817 by Johan August Arfwedson. He found it while analyzing the mineral petalite.
When was barium first isolated?
Barium was first isolated in 1808 by Humphry Davy. He obtained it using electrolysis of barium compounds.
When was cadmium discovered?
Cadmium was discovered in 1817 by Friedrich Stromeyer. He found it in zinc carbonate impurities.
When was cobalt named and recognized as a distinct metal?
Cobalt was named in 1735 by Georg Brandt, who proved that it was the source of the blue color in certain ores. It became one of the first metals identified scientifically in modern chemistry.
When was platinum first scientifically described in Europe?
Platinum was first scientifically described in 1557 by Julius Caesar Scaliger. He wrote about a metal from the Americas that could not be melted easily.
When was gold first discovered to be an element rather than a compound?
Gold was recognized as a chemical element in the earliest days of modern chemistry, but its elemental nature was already understood in antiquity. The key scientific milestone was not discovery, but later classification in the periodic table.
When was the concept of the periodic table first proposed by John Newlands?
In 1864, John Newlands proposed the Law of Octaves. He noticed that elemental properties repeated every eighth element when arranged by increasing atomic weight.
When was the noble gas group added to the periodic table?
The noble gases were recognized as a new group in the 1890s, with argon discovered in 1894 and the others quickly following. Their discovery created Group 18 in the modern periodic table.
When was the first synthetic element created?
Technetium was the first element made artificially in 1937. It was produced by Carlo Perrier and Emilio Segrè from molybdenum bombardment samples.
When was the transuranium element series first started?
The transuranium era began in 1940, when neptunium and plutonium were first produced. These elements have atomic numbers greater than uranium’s 92.
When was the periodic table first used to predict a missing element that was later discovered as gallium?
Mendeleev made the prediction in 1871, and gallium was discovered in 1875. His forecast closely matched the element’s properties.
When was the first modern geologic map published?
It was published in 1815 by William Smith in England.
When was the first official geologic time scale proposed?
The first widely accepted geologic time scale began taking shape in the 19th century, especially from the 1830s onward.
When was plate tectonics first accepted as the explanation for continental movement?
It became widely accepted in the late 1960s.
When was the theory of continental drift first proposed?
It was first proposed in 1912 by Alfred Wegener.
When was radioisotope dating first used to estimate the age of rocks?
Radiometric dating began in the early 1900s, with Ernest Rutherford and Bertram Boltwood pioneering it around 1905–1907.
When was Earth first dated to be billions of years old?
That conclusion emerged in the early 20th century, especially after radiometric dating work in the 1920s and 1930s.
When was the oldest known rock on Earth discovered?
The oldest widely accepted terrestrial rocks were identified in the 20th century, with ancient Canadian and Australian rocks recognized by the mid-1900s.
When was the Great Unconformity first recognized by geologists?
It was recognized in the 18th century, notably by James Hutton in the 1780s.
When was the first volcanic eruption scientifically described in detail?
One famous detailed account was published after the 79 CE eruption of Mount Vesuvius by Pliny the Younger.
When was the first magma chamber model proposed?
Concepts of magma chambers developed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries as volcanology advanced.
When was the first earthquake recorded instrumentally?
The first instrumentally recorded earthquakes were measured in the 19th century, especially after the first seismographs appeared in the 1880s.
When was the Richter magnitude scale introduced?
It was introduced in 1935 by Charles F. Richter and Beno Gutenberg.
When was the first tsunami scientifically studied?
Scientific tsunami study grew in the 19th and 20th centuries, with major advances after the 1755 Lisbon earthquake and later events such as the 1883 Krakatoa eruption.
When was the first atmospheric carbon dioxide measurement made?
Systematic CO2 measurements began in the mid-20th century, with Charles David Keeling starting his famous record in 1958.
When was the ozone hole first discovered?
It was first reported in 1985 over Antarctica.
When was the first weathering and erosion theory formed?
Modern understanding developed in the 18th century, especially through James Hutton’s work in the 1780s.
When was the first core sample from the deep ocean floor collected?
The landmark deep-sea coring work began in the 1950s, especially with the Glomar Challenger era later in the 1960s and 1970s.
When was the first paleomagnetic evidence for continental movement found?
Strong paleomagnetic evidence emerged in the 1950s and 1960s.
When was the first diamond mine opened?
Modern diamond mining began in the 1870s in South Africa, especially after discoveries near Kimberley.
When was the first kimberlite pipe recognized as a source of diamonds?
In the late 19th century, after diamond discoveries in South Africa, geologists recognized kimberlite pipes as the source.
When was the first meteorite classified scientifically?
Scientific meteorite classification took shape in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, especially after the 1794 L'Aigle fall was investigated.
When was the first mineral species officially named by modern chemistry?
Many minerals were formally identified in the 18th century, with modern mineralogy expanding rapidly after 1750.
When was the Mohs hardness scale introduced?
It was introduced in 1812 by Friedrich Mohs.
When was the first study of glaciers as a geological force published?
It was developed in the early to mid-19th century, especially through Louis Agassiz in the 1840s.
When was the first cave formed by dissolved limestone scientifically explained?
Cave formation by dissolution was explained in modern terms in the 19th century as karst geology developed.
When did the first seismograph record an earthquake?
The first practical seismograph recorded an earthquake in 1889 in Germany. It was built by Ernst von Rebeur-Paschwitz.
When was plate tectonics first accepted by scientists?
Plate tectonics became widely accepted in the late 1960s, especially by 1967–1968. It explained continental drift and seafloor spreading.
When was the first earthquake officially recorded in history?
One of the earliest known recorded earthquakes was in 23 CE in China. Ancient Chinese records described destructive shaking and damage.
When did the 1960 Valdivia earthquake occur?
The Valdivia earthquake struck on May 22, 1960. It was the largest earthquake ever instrumentally recorded, at magnitude 9.5.
When did Mount St. Helens erupt?
Mount St. Helens erupted on May 18, 1980. The eruption was one of the most studied volcanic events in modern U.S. history.
When did the 1991 eruption of Mount Pinatubo happen?
Mount Pinatubo’s climactic eruption began on June 15, 1991. It was one of the largest eruptions of the 20th century.
When did the 1883 Krakatoa eruption happen?
Krakatoa’s climactic eruption occurred on August 26–27, 1883. It was one of the most powerful volcanic eruptions in recorded history.
When did the 79 CE eruption of Mount Vesuvius happen?
Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 CE, most likely on August 24. It buried Pompeii and Herculaneum under volcanic material.
When did the 2010 Eyjafjallajökull eruption begin?
Eyjafjallajökull began erupting in March 2010, with the disruptive ash phase in April. It caused major air travel disruption across Europe.
When did the eruption of Mount Tambora occur?
Mount Tambora erupted in April 1815. It caused the global climate anomaly known as the Year Without a Summer.
When did the eruption of Laki begin?
The Laki fissure eruption began on June 8, 1783. It lasted for months and caused major environmental and social disruption in Iceland and beyond.
When did the 1811–1812 New Madrid earthquakes happen?
The major New Madrid earthquakes struck between December 1811 and February 1812. They were among the strongest earthquakes ever recorded in the central United States.
When was the 1755 Lisbon earthquake?
The Lisbon earthquake struck on November 1, 1755. It was followed by fires and a tsunami that devastated the city.
When did the 2008 Sichuan earthquake occur?
The Sichuan earthquake struck on May 12, 2008. It had a magnitude of about 7.9 and caused massive destruction in China.
When did the Boxing Day tsunami happen?
The Boxing Day tsunami happened on December 26, 2004. It was caused by the same earthquake that produced the Indian Ocean tsunami event.
When was the first documented eruption of Mount Fuji?
The first documented eruption of Mount Fuji was in 781 CE. Fuji has erupted many times since then, including the famous 1707 Hōei eruption.
When did the 1943 Parícutin eruption begin?
Parícutin erupted on February 20, 1943. It was born in a cornfield in Mexico and grew rapidly before the eyes of scientists and locals.
When did the eruption of Nevado del Ruiz happen?
Nevado del Ruiz erupted on November 13, 1985. The eruption triggered deadly lahars that destroyed the town of Armero.
When did the eruption of Mount Merapi in 2010 begin?
Mount Merapi’s major eruption phase began in late October 2010. It was one of the deadliest volcanic events in Indonesia in recent decades.
When was the first volcanic eruption observed from orbit?
Volcanic eruptions began being observed from orbit in the early 1960s, with satellite imagery quickly becoming important for monitoring ash clouds and lava. One landmark example was the 1963 eruption of Surtsey in Iceland, later observed extensively by aircraft and satellites as remote sensing advanced.
When did the first successful earthquake early warning system begin operating?
Japan’s first nationwide earthquake early warning service began in 2007. It gives people and systems seconds to tens of seconds of warning before strong shaking arrives.
When was the first volcanic ash advisory issued for aviation?
International volcanic ash advisories became part of aviation safety in the late 1980s and early 1990s. The system was formalized after major aviation incidents involving ash.
When was the first scientific description of a deep-sea hydrothermal vent made?
Hydrothermal vents were first observed and described by scientists in 1977 during the Galápagos Rift expedition. The discovery transformed oceanography by revealing whole ecosystems powered by chemical energy rather than sunlight.
When was the first hydrothermal vent ecosystem discovered near the Galápagos Rift?
The first vent ecosystem was discovered in 1977. It was the first clear evidence of a community living entirely from seafloor chemical energy.
When was the giant tube worm discovered at deep-sea hydrothermal vents?
Giant tube worms were first brought to scientific attention in 1977 at hydrothermal vents. They became one of the best-known symbols of deep-sea life.
When was the first hydrothermal vent field in the Pacific Ocean discovered?
The first hydrothermal vent field in the Pacific was discovered in 1977. It was found on the Galápagos Rift by the submersible Alvin.
When was the first deep-sea hydrothermal vent community found?
The first deep-sea vent community was found in 1977. It proved that marine life could survive in complete darkness without sunlight.
When was the first hydrothermal vent discovered in the Atlantic Ocean?
The first hydrothermal vent in the Atlantic was discovered in 1979. It was found on the Mid-Atlantic Ridge.
When was the first black smoker hydrothermal vent discovered?
The first black smoker was discovered in 1979 on the East Pacific Rise. The dark plume came from mineral-rich hot water rising from the seafloor.
When was the first white smoker hydrothermal vent discovered?
White smoker vents were identified in the late 1970s, soon after the first hydrothermal vents were found. They were recognized by their lighter, mineral-rich plumes.
When was the first underwater vent chimney discovered to be built by mineral deposits?
Scientists recognized vent chimneys as mineral-built structures in the late 1970s. They form as dissolved metals in hot water cool and solidify on contact with seawater.
When was the first chemosynthetic ecosystem discovered in the ocean?
The first ocean chemosynthetic ecosystem was discovered in 1977. It showed that life can be powered by chemical reactions instead of sunlight.
When was the first giant clam discovered living at a hydrothermal vent?
Giant clams were first reported from hydrothermal vents in 1977. They were part of the surprising vent communities found during early deep-sea exploration.
When was the first hydrothermal vent found with tube worms and clams together?
That combination was first documented in 1977 at the Galápagos Rift. It was one of the first clear examples of a whole vent ecosystem.
When was the first ocean floor hydrothermal plume detected by scientists?
Hydrothermal plumes were detected in the late 1970s, alongside the first vent discoveries. They were key evidence that active venting was happening on the seafloor.
When was the first deep-sea submersible dive to a hydrothermal vent made?
The first famous dive to a hydrothermal vent was made in 1977 by the submersible Alvin. It revealed an unknown world on the seafloor.
When was the first deep-sea vent ecosystem photographed by scientists?
The first vent ecosystems were photographed during late 1970s expeditions after their discovery in 1977. Those images helped bring the strange deep-sea world to the public.
When was the first known marine snow observation made?
Marine snow was observed and described in the 20th century as scientists explored the deep ocean. It refers to falling particles of organic matter sinking from surface waters.
When was the first documented observation of a giant squid at sea?
One of the earliest scientific observations of a giant squid was made in 1857, when Danish naturalist Japetus Steenstrup described the animal from remains and accounts. Direct sightings were extremely rare for many decades.
When was the first live giant squid filmed in the ocean?
The first live giant squid was filmed in the wild in 2012. It was recorded in deep waters near Japan.
When was the first coelacanth discovered alive?
The first living coelacanth was discovered in 1938 off the coast of South Africa. It was a major zoological surprise because the fish had been known only from fossils.
When was the first conservation law for whales introduced in modern times?
International whale conservation began in 1946 with the International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling. It created the International Whaling Commission.
When was the first major international agreement to protect the Antarctic marine environment signed?
The Protocol on Environmental Protection to the Antarctic Treaty was signed in 1991. It strengthened protection for Antarctic ecosystems, including surrounding seas.
When was the first marine protected area established?
One of the earliest marine protected areas was established in 1935 with the creation of the Fort Jefferson National Monument protections around Dry Tortugas. Modern marine protected area systems expanded much later.
When was the first successful underwater habitat mission completed?
One of the earliest successful underwater habitat missions was completed in the 1960s with projects like Conshelf and Tektite. These missions let aquanauts live and work underwater for extended periods.
When was the first ocean floor mapped in global detail with sonar?
Global sonar-based mapping of the seafloor expanded dramatically in the mid-20th century, especially after World War II. It revealed the major structure of the ocean floor for the first time.
When was the first deep-ocean trench explored by humans?
The first human descent to the deepest part of the ocean, the Challenger Deep, was made in 1960. Jacques Piccard and Don Walsh reached it in the bathyscaphe Trieste.
When was the first scientific expedition to the Mariana Trench completed?
Early scientific exploration of the Mariana Trench expanded in the 20th century, with major milestones in 1960 and later research dives. The 1960 Trieste descent was the first crewed visit to the deepest point.
When was the first observation of a sea serpent replaced by a real marine animal identification?
Many historic sea serpent reports were later explained by real animals, especially whales and oarfish, in the 19th and 20th centuries. Scientific study gradually replaced legend with identification.
When was the first underwater archaeological find of a shipwreck in deep water made?
Deep-water shipwreck archaeology emerged in the 20th century, especially after improved diving technology and submersibles. Early major finds showed that shipwrecks could be studied scientifically underwater.
When was the first large-scale use of remotely operated vehicles for deep-sea marine research?
ROVs began seeing major use in deep-sea research in the late 20th century, especially from the 1970s onward. They let scientists explore places too deep or dangerous for divers.
When was the first known ocean acidification study published?
Concerns about ocean acidification were discussed scientifically in the late 20th century, with research intensifying in the 1990s and 2000s. It became a major climate-ocean issue as carbon dioxide studies advanced.
When was the first major river diversion project carried out on the Yellow River?
One of the best-known early diversion works on the Yellow River dates to the Qin dynasty, around 246 BCE.
When was the Aswan High Dam completed on the Nile?
The Aswan High Dam was completed in 1970.
When was Lake Nasser formed?
Lake Nasser began forming in the 1960s after the Aswan High Dam was built, and it was fully established by 1970.
When was Lake Baikal first recognized as the world's deepest lake?
Lake Baikal's extreme depth was confirmed by scientific surveying in the 19th century, with modern measurements showing it reaches about 1,642 meters.
When did scientists begin measuring Lake Baikal's age as millions of years old?
Modern geological studies in the 20th century established that Lake Baikal is roughly 25 million years old.
When was the first modern expedition to measure the depth of the Great Lakes completed?
Systematic scientific surveying of the Great Lakes expanded in the 19th century, especially in the mid-1800s.
When was the Nile's source in the Great Lakes region first scientifically explored?
European exploration of the Nile's headwaters in the Great Lakes region intensified in the mid-19th century, especially in the 1850s and 1860s.
When was the Congo River first mapped by European explorers?
European mapping of the Congo River intensified in the late 19th century, especially during Henry Morton Stanley's expeditions in the 1870s and 1880s.
When was the source of the Amazon River identified?
The Amazon's source was debated for centuries, but modern expeditions identified major headwaters in the Peruvian Andes in the 20th century.
When was the source of the Nile most widely accepted as Lake Victoria?
After 19th-century expeditions, Lake Victoria became the most widely accepted source region of the White Nile in the 1850s and 1860s.
When was the deepest part of the Mariana Trench first measured with modern precision?
Modern precise measurements of the Mariana Trench's deepest point were made in the 20th century, with Challenger Deep recognized as the deepest known point in the oceans.
When was the first successful dive to the bottom of the Mariana Trench?
The first crewed dive to the Challenger Deep was made on 23 January 1960.
When was the world's largest waterfall by volume, Angel Falls, first documented by outsiders?
Angel Falls was documented by outsiders in 1933, when American pilot Jimmie Angel flew over the area.
When was Niagara Falls first used for hydroelectric power on a large scale?
Large-scale hydroelectric use at Niagara Falls began in the 1890s, with major developments in 1895.
When was Victoria Falls first recorded by a European explorer?
David Livingstone recorded Victoria Falls in 1855.
When was the world's tallest waterfall, Tugela Falls, first officially measured?
Tugela Falls was measured in the 20th century, with its height now usually given as about 948 meters.
When was the Amazon River declared the world's largest river by discharge by scientists?
Scientific measurements throughout the 20th century confirmed the Amazon as the world's largest river by discharge.
When was Lake Vostok discovered beneath Antarctica's ice?
Lake Vostok was identified by Soviet scientists in the 1950s and confirmed by radar studies in the 1970s and 1980s.
When was the first expedition to the source of the Mississippi River completed?
The source of the Mississippi River was definitively identified in 1832 by Henry Schoolcraft.
When was the first major scientific survey of the Dead Sea conducted?
The Dead Sea was surveyed scientifically in the 19th century, with major studies intensifying in the mid-1800s.
When was the first major dam on the Colorado River completed?
Hoover Dam on the Colorado River was completed in 1936.
When did the Grand Canyon form from river erosion by the Colorado River?
The Grand Canyon was carved over millions of years, with much of its modern depth formed in the last 5 to 6 million years.
When was the first scientific map of the Mississippi-Missouri river system published?
Detailed scientific mapping of the Mississippi-Missouri system expanded in the early 19th century, especially after 1804.
When was the first successful modern attempt to protect a major river basin by treaty made?
International river-basin cooperation grew in the 20th century, with major treaties for shared rivers increasingly common after World War II.
When was Mount Everest first successfully climbed?
Mount Everest was first summited on 29 May 1953 by Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay.
When was K2 first climbed?
K2 was first successfully climbed on 31 July 1954 by an Italian team led by Ardito Desio.
When was the first confirmed ascent of Annapurna I?
Annapurna I was first climbed on 3 June 1950 by Maurice Herzog and Louis Lachenal.
When was Denali first climbed?
Denali was first successfully climbed on 7 June 1913 by Hudson Stuck, Harry Karstens, Walter Harper, and Robert Tatum.
When was Aconcagua first climbed?
Aconcagua was first climbed on 14 January 1897 by Matthias Zurbriggen.
When was Elbrus first climbed?
The first confirmed ascent of Mount Elbrus was on 22 July 1829.
When was Kilimanjaro first climbed?
Kilimanjaro was first successfully climbed on 6 October 1889 by Hans Meyer and Ludwig Purtscheller.
When was Mont Blanc first climbed?
Mont Blanc was first climbed on 8 August 1786 by Jacques Balmat and Michel-Gabriel Paccard.
When was the first successful ascent of Makalu?
Makalu was first climbed on 15 May 1955 by Lionel Terray and Jean Couzy.
When was the first recorded climb of Mount Kenya?
Mount Kenya was first climbed on 13 September 1899 by Halford Mackinder and his team.
When was the first man-made ascent of Mount Fuji recorded?
The first known recorded ascent of Mount Fuji by a non-Buddhist pilgrim was in 1603, and the earliest documented climb by a foreigner was in 1860.
When was the world’s first national park established?
Yellowstone National Park was established on 1 March 1872.
When was Death Valley first protected as a national park?
Death Valley became a national monument in 1933 and was later designated a national park in 1994.
When was the first scientific expedition to Death Valley completed?
A notable early scientific survey of Death Valley was conducted in 1849–1850 during the California Gold Rush era.
When was the Rub' al Khali first scientifically mapped in detail?
The Empty Quarter was mapped in detail by explorers and survey teams mainly in the 20th century, especially from the 1930s onward.
When was the Sahara first crossed by motor vehicles?
One famous early motor crossing of the Sahara took place in 1922.
When was the Atacama Desert first recognized as one of the driest places on Earth?
The Atacama’s extreme aridity was widely recognized by scientists in the 19th century, especially after systematic exploration in the 1800s.
When was the Namib Desert first scientifically described in modern geography?
The Namib Desert was described in detail by European explorers and geographers in the 19th century.
When was the first successful expedition to the South Pole plateau completed?
Roald Amundsen’s South Pole expedition reached the pole on 14 December 1911.
When was the world’s first weather station in a high mountain environment established?
One of the earliest high-altitude weather observatories was established on Mont Blanc in the late 19th century.
When was the first successful climb of the Matterhorn?
The Matterhorn was first climbed on 14 July 1865.
When was the first winter ascent of Mount Everest completed?
The first winter ascent of Mount Everest was completed on 17 February 1980.
When was the first confirmed ascent of the Seven Summits challenge completed?
The Seven Summits challenge was first completed by Richard Bass in 1985.
When was the first scientific expedition to the Gobi Desert completed?
Major scientific expeditions to the Gobi Desert began in the early 20th century, especially in the 1920s and 1930s.
When was the first people to cross the Empty Quarter by land documented?
A famous overland crossing of the Rub' al Khali was documented in 1931 by Bertram Thomas.
When was the first summit of the Matterhorn by a woman achieved?
The first known ascent of the Matterhorn by a woman was in 1871, by Lucy Walker.
When was the first scientific summit of Mauna Kea completed?
Mauna Kea’s summit was reached by scientific and exploratory parties in the 19th century, with modern research activity expanding in the 20th century.
When was the first modern survey of the Jordan Rift Valley completed?
Detailed modern surveying of the Jordan Rift Valley was carried out in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
When was the first official ascent of Vinson Massif completed?
Vinson Massif was first climbed on 18 December 1966.
When was the first scientific description of the Namib sand sea completed?
Scientific descriptions of the Namib sand sea became more detailed in the 20th century, especially through geological surveys after the 1900s.
When was the first instrument shelter used to standardize weather observations?
The Stevenson screen, the classic white louvered instrument shelter, was introduced in the 1860s. It helped standardize temperature readings by shielding thermometers from direct sun and rain.
When did the world’s first daily weather forecast begin being published?
The first daily weather forecasts were published in the 1860s in Britain. They were among the earliest attempts to turn weather observations into regular public predictions.
When was the first hurricane warning system introduced in the United States?
The U.S. began issuing hurricane warnings in the late 19th century, with formal coastal warnings developing through the 1870s and 1880s. These early alerts were based on telegraphed observations and storm tracking.
When was the first official world record for extreme heat recorded?
The often-cited early record for extreme heat was 56.7 °C, measured at Death Valley, California, on 10 July 1913. It remained one of the best-known global heat records for more than a century.
When did the first blizzard warning appear in U.S. weather forecasting?
Blizzard warnings began appearing in the early 20th century as weather services became more organized. The terminology and thresholds were refined over time, but official winter storm warnings date back decades.
When was the first weather map published using simultaneous observations?
The first weather maps based on simultaneous observations were produced in the 19th century, around the 1850s. They were a breakthrough that made synoptic forecasting possible.
When was the first drought monitored with modern climate records?
Systematic drought monitoring began in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, when regular rainfall and temperature records became widespread. That made it possible to compare dry periods across years and regions.
When did the first El Niño event get scientifically described?
El Niño was recognized by scientists in the 19th century, with the term becoming established among Peruvian and international observers by the late 1800s. It was first identified through unusual warm waters and weather changes in the eastern Pacific.
When was the term La Niña first used in climate science?
La Niña was identified later than El Niño, with the term becoming established in the 20th century. It describes the cooler phase of the same ocean-atmosphere pattern.
When was the first ocean buoy used for weather measurements?
Instrumented ocean buoys began appearing in the 20th century, especially after World War II. They became vital for measuring sea conditions, storms, and climate data offshore.
When was the first climate change warning given by scientists?
Scientists warned about greenhouse warming as early as the late 19th century. Svante Arrhenius published a major calculation in 1896 linking carbon dioxide increases to higher temperatures.
When was the first ice core drilled for climate history?
Ice core drilling for climate research began in the mid-20th century, with major Antarctic and Greenland cores taken in the 1950s and later decades. These cores preserved ancient air bubbles and climate clues.
When was the first satellite-based weather observation made?
The first satellite weather observations began in 1960, when TIROS-1 was launched. It sent back the first pictures of cloud cover from space.
When did the first global climate summit take place?
The first major global climate summit was the 1979 World Climate Conference in Geneva. It helped place climate change on the international agenda.
When was the first climate zone map created?
Climate classification maps began in the 19th century, with major systems refined in the early 20th century. These maps grouped regions by temperature and rainfall patterns.
When was the first tornado scientifically documented?
Tornadoes were described in scientific terms in the 18th and 19th centuries, but systematic documentation developed much later. Early detailed accounts came from eyewitness reports and damage studies.
When was the first heat wave named and studied as a weather event?
Heat waves were recognized as a distinct weather hazard in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. As temperature records improved, scientists and newspapers began treating them as a specific event.
When was the first snowflake photographed?
The first photographs of snowflakes were taken in the 1880s. Wilson Bentley became famous for his detailed snow crystal images.
When did scientists first measure the greenhouse effect in the atmosphere?
The greenhouse effect was studied experimentally in the 19th century. John Tyndall’s work in the 1850s and 1860s showed that gases like water vapor and carbon dioxide absorb heat.
When was the first carbon dioxide monitoring station established?
Continuous atmospheric carbon dioxide monitoring began in 1958. The famous Mauna Loa measurements started that year under Charles David Keeling.
When was the first monsoon pattern scientifically explained?
Monsoons were scientifically explained in the 19th century as large seasonal wind systems driven by land-sea temperature contrasts. The concept became central to tropical climate science.
When did the first climate refugee discussion begin?
Discussion of displacement linked to climate and environmental stress began in the late 20th century. The term became more common in the 1980s and 1990s.
When was the first climate conference held by the United Nations?
The UN’s first major climate conference was the 1979 World Climate Conference in Geneva. It helped launch international cooperation on climate science and policy.
When did scientists first identify polar warming as a global climate signal?
Polar warming was recognized as a key climate indicator in the 20th century, especially as Arctic and Antarctic records improved. Scientists later identified the Arctic as warming faster than the global average.
When was the human heart first described in detail by a physician?
The heart was described in an influential anatomical way in the 2nd century CE by Galen, whose work shaped medicine for more than a thousand years.
When was the human circulatory system first accurately described?
It was accurately described in 1628, when William Harvey published his theory of blood circulation.
When were the capillaries first observed?
Capillaries were first observed in 1661 by Marcello Malpighi using a microscope.
When was the skeleton first accurately mapped in anatomy?
A major early accurate mapping of the skeleton came in 1543, when Andreas Vesalius published De humani corporis fabrica.
When was the human brain first photographed by X-ray?
The first X-ray images of the human head were made in 1896, soon after Wilhelm Röntgen discovered X-rays.
When was the first human electrocardiogram recorded?
The first practical human electrocardiogram was recorded in 1887 by Augustus D. Waller.
When was the brain's electrical activity first recorded on humans?
The first human electroencephalogram, or EEG, was recorded in 1924 by Hans Berger.
When was the first accurate human blood pressure measurement made?
The first direct blood pressure measurement in an animal was made in 1733, but practical human blood pressure measurement became possible in the late 19th century.
When was the lens of the human eye first clearly explained?
A major early clear explanation came in the 17th century, especially through the work of Johannes Kepler in 1604 and later scientists who studied optics in detail.
When was the retina first described as part of vision?
The retina was clearly identified and studied in the 17th century, with major advances following the invention of the microscope.
When was the first description of red blood cells made?
Red blood cells were observed in the 17th century, after the microscope was invented, with Marcello Malpighi among the pioneers.
When were white blood cells first identified?
White blood cells were identified in the 17th and 19th centuries, as microscopy and cell biology developed.
When was the structure of DNA in human cells discovered?
The double-helix structure of DNA was described in 1953 by James Watson and Francis Crick, building on key data from Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins.
When was the human chromosome number established?
The correct human chromosome number, 46, was established in 1956.
When was the first successful human bone marrow transplant performed?
Early successful bone marrow transplants were performed in the 1950s, with major advances in the decades that followed.
When was the first successful human liver transplant performed?
The first successful human liver transplant was performed in 1967 by Thomas Starzl.
When was the first successful human kidney transplant performed?
The first successful kidney transplant between identical twins was performed in 1954.
When was the first successful human lung transplant performed?
The first successful human lung transplant was performed in 1963 by James Hardy, though the earliest long-term success came later with improved techniques.
When was the first ultrasound image of a human fetus made?
Early fetal ultrasound images were made in the late 1950s, with routine medical use expanding in the 1960s and 1970s.
When was the first successful human cochlear implant performed?
The first successful multichannel cochlear implant was developed in the 1970s, with major clinical success reported in that decade.
When was the human sense of smell first linked to specific receptors?
The molecular basis of smell was identified in 1991, when researchers Linda Buck and Richard Axel discovered odorant receptors.
When was the first map of the human brain's functions made?
Early brain-function mapping began in the 19th century, especially with the localization studies of Paul Broca in the 1860s.
When was the first successful bone fracture fixation with an internal plate performed?
Internal fixation of fractures became established in the early 20th century, especially from the 1900s onward.
When was DNA first identified as the hereditary material?
In 1944, Oswald Avery and colleagues showed that DNA carried genetic information. This was a major turning point in genetics.
When was the structure of DNA first published?
The double-helix model of DNA was published in 1953. James Watson and Francis Crick proposed it in Nature.
When was the genetic code cracked?
The genetic code was largely deciphered in the early 1960s, with Marshall Nirenberg's breakthrough coming in 1961. By 1966, most codons had been assigned.
When was the Human Genome Project launched?
The Human Genome Project officially began in 1990. It was an international effort to map and sequence human DNA.
When was the first draft of the human genome announced?
The first draft of the human genome was announced in 2000. It was released jointly by public and private research teams.
When was CRISPR first shown to edit human cells?
In 2013, researchers demonstrated CRISPR-Cas9 gene editing in human cells. That year marked a major leap in genetic engineering.
When was gene therapy first used successfully in a human patient?
A landmark successful gene therapy trial took place in 1990. It treated a child with severe combined immunodeficiency.
When was Dolly the sheep cloned?
Dolly was born in 1996, and her creation was announced in 1997. She was the first mammal cloned from an adult cell.
When was mitochondrial DNA first used in forensic identification?
Mitochondrial DNA began being used in forensic science in the late 1980s, with landmark cases in 1991. It became especially useful for old or degraded samples.
When was noninvasive prenatal testing introduced?
Noninvasive prenatal testing began entering clinical use in the early 2010s, especially around 2011 and 2012. It analyzes fetal DNA in a pregnant person's blood.
When was cell-free fetal DNA first detected in maternal blood?
Cell-free fetal DNA was first reported in maternal blood in 1997. That discovery made later noninvasive prenatal testing possible.
When was the first human mitochondrial genome sequenced?
The first complete human mitochondrial genome was sequenced in 1981. It became an important reference for genetics and evolution.
When was the Human Genome Diversity Project proposed?
The Human Genome Diversity Project was proposed in 1991. It aimed to study genetic variation in human populations worldwide.
When was the first induced pluripotent stem cell created?
The first induced pluripotent stem cells were reported in 2006. Shinya Yamanaka's team showed adult cells could be reprogrammed.
When was human blood group genetics first understood?
The ABO blood group system was described in 1900, and the genetics behind inheritance were established in the early 20th century. It became one of the first clear examples of human heredity.
When was the Rh blood group factor discovered?
The Rh factor was discovered in 1937, and its medical importance became clear in 1940. It helped explain serious transfusion and pregnancy complications.
When was the first human gene linked to a specific disease?
A major early example came in 1983, when the Huntington's disease gene was linked to chromosome 4. This was one of the first disease genes mapped in humans.
When was the CFTR gene identified as the cause of cystic fibrosis?
The CFTR gene was identified in 1989. It was a major breakthrough in understanding cystic fibrosis.
When was the first chromosome disorder diagnosed prenatally?
Prenatal diagnosis of chromosome disorders began in the 1960s, with amniocentesis becoming established during that decade. It allowed conditions to be detected before birth.
When was the first human embryonic stem cell line established?
The first human embryonic stem cell lines were established in 1998. That was a foundational moment for stem-cell biology.
When was the first complete map of human gene expression published?
The first large-scale maps of human gene expression appeared in the early 2000s, especially around 2002 and 2003. They showed which genes are active in different tissues.
When was the human microbiome first catalogued on a large scale?
The Human Microbiome Project began in 2007. It aimed to catalogue the microbes that live in and on the human body.
When was the first successful genome-wide association study published?
The first GWAS findings appeared in the early 2000s, with 2005 often cited as a key breakthrough year. These studies linked common genetic variants to disease risk.
When was the Y chromosome first linked to male sex determination?
The Y chromosome was linked to male sex determination in the 1950s and 1960s, with the key gene SRY identified in 1990. That discovery explained a central part of human sex development.
When was the first successful use of amniocentesis for fetal genetic diagnosis?
Amniocentesis entered fetal genetic diagnosis in the 1960s and became clinically useful by the late 1960s. It allowed doctors to examine fetal cells before birth.
When was the first successful smallpox vaccination developed?
Edward Jenner introduced the first successful smallpox vaccine in 1796, with publication in 1798. It marked the beginning of modern vaccination.
When was the first rabies vaccine used in a human patient?
Louis Pasteur first used the rabies vaccine on a human in 1885. The patient was Joseph Meister, a boy bitten by a rabid dog.
When was the oral polio vaccine first licensed?
The oral polio vaccine developed by Albert Sabin was first licensed in the United States in 1961. It was later used widely around the world.
When was the first successful vaccine against meningitis introduced?
The first widely used meningococcal vaccine became available in the late 1960s, with the first licensed serogroup C and later broader vaccines following after that. Modern meningitis vaccines were developed in stages, not all at once.
When was the first vaccine against yellow fever developed?
The first yellow fever vaccine was developed in 1937. It was created by Max Theiler.
When was the first dengue vaccine approved?
The first dengue vaccine was approved in 2015 in some countries. It was the vaccine Dengvaxia, though its use is restricted because of safety concerns in certain people.
When was the first malaria vaccine recommended by the World Health Organization?
WHO first recommended a malaria vaccine in 2021. The vaccine was RTS,S, also known as Mosquirix.
When was the first human vaccine against Ebola authorized?
The first Ebola vaccine was licensed in 2019. It was a major milestone after the large West African outbreak.
When was the first vaccine against human papillomavirus approved?
The first HPV vaccine was approved in 2006. It helped prevent infections that can cause cervical cancer and other cancers.
When was the first pneumococcal conjugate vaccine introduced?
The first pneumococcal conjugate vaccine was introduced in 2000. It protected young children against severe pneumococcal disease.
When was the first influenza vaccine used in the military?
The first influenza vaccine was used widely in the U.S. military during World War II, starting in the early 1940s. Civilian use followed later.
When was the first vaccine against cholera developed?
The first cholera vaccine was developed in the 19th century, with the first successful injectable vaccine created by Waldemar Haffkine in 1892. It was an early milestone in bacterial vaccination.
When was the first vaccine against tuberculosis introduced?
The BCG vaccine against tuberculosis was introduced in 1921. It remains the only widely used TB vaccine today.
When was the first vaccine against typhoid fever introduced?
The first typhoid vaccine was introduced in the late 1890s, with early use in 1896. It was one of the first vaccines to protect against a major bacterial disease.
When was the first vaccine against diphtheria introduced?
The diphtheria toxoid vaccine was introduced in the 1920s, with widespread use beginning after 1923. It became a standard childhood vaccine.
When was the first vaccine against tetanus introduced?
The tetanus toxoid vaccine was introduced in the 1920s and became widely used by the 1940s. It greatly reduced tetanus deaths after injuries and childbirth.
When was the first vaccine against measles developed?
The first measles vaccine was developed in 1963. Improved versions followed later.
When was the first vaccine against mumps developed?
The first mumps vaccine was developed in the late 1960s, with the licensed vaccine appearing in 1967. It later became part of the MMR shot.
When was the first vaccine against rubella introduced?
The first rubella vaccine was licensed in 1969. It became especially important for preventing congenital rubella syndrome.
When was the first vaccine against hepatitis B introduced?
The first hepatitis B vaccine was licensed in 1981. A recombinant version followed in the 1980s and became the standard.
When was the first vaccine against rotavirus introduced?
The first rotavirus vaccine was approved in 1998, though it was later withdrawn. Better vaccines were introduced in the mid-2000s.
When was the first vaccine against shingles approved?
The first shingles vaccine was approved in 2006. It was designed to reduce the risk of herpes zoster in older adults.
When was the first vaccine against chickenpox introduced?
The chickenpox vaccine was first licensed in 1995. It reduced a disease that was once almost universal in childhood.
When was the first vaccine against COVID-19 authorized?
The first COVID-19 vaccine was authorized in December 2020. The Pfizer-BioNTech vaccine was the first to receive emergency authorization in several countries.
When was the first vaccine against RSV approved for older adults?
The first RSV vaccine for older adults was approved in 2023. It marked the first licensed RSV vaccine after decades of research.
When was the first vaccine against cholera orally administered widely?
Modern oral cholera vaccines began being used in the 1990s, with major advances in the 2000s. They were developed to be easier to deploy during outbreaks and in endemic regions.
When was the first electroencephalogram (EEG) recorded in humans?
The first human EEG was recorded in 1924 by German psychiatrist Hans Berger. He later published his findings in 1929.
When was the first brain imaging scan of a living person done with a CT scanner?
The first CT scan of a living human brain was performed in 1971. CT was introduced clinically in the early 1970s.
When was the first MRI scan of a human brain performed?
The first MRI scan of a human brain was made in 1977. MRI became a major medical imaging tool in the 1980s.
When was the human hippocampus first linked to memory in modern neuroscience?
The hippocampus became strongly linked to memory after the famous patient H.M. in the 1950s. His surgery in 1953 was especially important.
When was split-brain surgery first used to treat epilepsy?
Split-brain surgery began being used in the 1940s, and it was developed further in the 1950s and 1960s. It involved cutting the corpus callosum.
When was the first lobotomy performed?
The first prefrontal lobotomy was performed in 1935. It was developed by Portuguese neurologist António Egas Moniz.
When was the first successful deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease performed?
Deep brain stimulation for Parkinson’s disease began in the late 1980s and early 1990s. It became a standard treatment later in the 1990s.
When was the first successful treatment of obsessive-compulsive disorder with exposure therapy reported?
Exposure-based behavior therapy emerged in the 1950s and was developed further in the 1960s and 1970s. It became a core OCD treatment later in the 20th century.
When was the Stroop effect first published?
The Stroop effect was published in 1935 by John Ridley Stroop. It remains a classic finding in psychology.
When was the first false-memory experiment on humans published?
Classic research on implanted false memories took off in the 1990s. Elizabeth Loftus’ work became especially influential in 1990.
When was the term 'working memory' introduced in cognitive psychology?
The term working memory emerged in the 1960s. It was developed in modern form by researchers such as Alan Baddeley and Graham Hitch in 1974.
When was the first demonstration of mirror neurons reported?
Mirror neurons were first reported in 1992 by researchers in Italy. They were discovered in macaque monkeys.
When was the first functional MRI study of brain activity published?
The first fMRI studies were published in the early 1990s, especially in 1991 and 1992. fMRI quickly became a major brain-scanning method.
When was the first map of the motor cortex published?
The motor cortex was mapped in the early 20th century, with major work by Wilder Penfield in the 1930s and 1940s. His famous homunculus map came later in the 20th century.
When was the place theory of emotion first proposed?
Modern theories of emotion localization in the brain were proposed in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. A major milestone was James Papez’s 1937 circuit model.
When was the first evidence that stress hormones affect the brain published?
Clear evidence linking stress hormones to brain effects came in the mid-20th century. Hans Selye’s stress research began in the 1930s.
When was the first self-control experiment using delayed gratification published?
The famous marshmallow-style delayed gratification studies were published in the late 1960s and early 1970s. Walter Mischel led this research.
When was the first evidence for neuroplasticity in adult humans reported?
Strong evidence for adult brain plasticity emerged in the late 20th century, especially in the 1980s and 1990s. Scientists showed that the adult brain can change with learning and experience.
When was the first published case of prosopagnosia, or face blindness?
Descriptions of face blindness appeared in the 19th century, but it was clearly defined in the 1940s by German neurologist Joachim Bodamer. His paper was published in 1947.
When was the first modern cognitive-behavioral therapy (CBT) framework developed?
CBT developed in the 1960s and 1970s. Aaron Beck and Albert Ellis were two of its key founders.
When was the first reliable human lie detection polygraph developed?
Early polygraph devices appeared in the 1920s. John A. Larson’s version was developed in 1921.
When was the first brain-computer interface demonstrated?
Early brain-computer interface research began in the 1970s. A landmark demonstration was made in 1973 by Jacques Vidal.
When was the first human study of the placebo effect published?
The placebo effect was discussed in modern medicine in the 18th century, but human scientific study expanded in the 20th century. Henry K. Beecher’s 1955 paper was especially influential.
When was the first evidence that sleep is linked to memory consolidation reported?
Scientific evidence linking sleep and memory grew in the 20th century, with major work in the 1950s and later decades. REM sleep was identified in 1953.
When was the first description of autism as a distinct condition published?
Leo Kanner published the first major clinical description of autism in 1943. Hans Asperger published a related description in 1944.
When was the first evidence that the amygdala plays a role in fear learning reported?
Evidence grew strongly in the 20th century, especially from the 1970s and 1980s. The amygdala became central to fear research during that period.
When was the first published study showing that psychotherapy can change brain activity?
Evidence that psychotherapy changes brain activity became clear in the 1990s. Early neuroimaging studies showed measurable changes after treatment.
When was the earliest known mammal fossil discovered?
The oldest widely accepted mammal fossils date to about 225 million years ago, in the Late Triassic.
When did mammals first evolve hair?
Mammal hair likely evolved by the Late Triassic, more than 200 million years ago.
When did mammals first give birth to live young?
Live birth evolved very early in mammal history, by at least the Jurassic, over 160 million years ago.
When did placental mammals first appear?
Placental mammals likely originated around 100 to 66 million years ago, with major diversification after the dinosaur extinction.
When did marsupials first evolve?
Marsupials likely diverged from other mammals in the Cretaceous, around 125 to 100 million years ago.
When did monotremes split from other mammals?
Monotremes likely separated from other mammal lineages about 160 to 190 million years ago.
When was the platypus first scientifically described?
The platypus was first formally described in 1799.
When was the echidna first scientifically described?
The first scientific descriptions of echidnas appeared in the early 19th century, beginning in 1802.
When did whales first evolve from land mammals?
Whales began evolving from land-dwelling mammals about 50 million years ago.
When did mammals first colonize the oceans as fully aquatic forms?
Fully aquatic mammal lineages emerged mainly in the Eocene, around 50 million years ago.
When did bats first evolve powered flight?
Bats likely evolved powered flight around 50 to 52 million years ago.
When did the first horses appear?
The earliest horse ancestors appeared about 55 million years ago in the Eocene.
When did the first true rodents appear?
True rodents first appeared around 56 to 66 million years ago.
When did the first carnivorous mammals appear?
Early carnivorous mammal ancestors appeared shortly after the dinosaur extinction, about 66 million years ago.
When were mammoths first discovered by science?
Mammoth fossils were described scientifically in the early 18th century, especially from 1728 onward.
When did humans domesticate dogs?
Dogs were domesticated at least 15,000 years ago, and possibly earlier.
When did humans domesticate cats?
Cats were domesticated around 9,000 years ago in the Near East.
When were dairy cows first domesticated?
Cattle were first domesticated about 10,000 years ago, in the early Neolithic.
When were horses first domesticated?
Horses were domesticated around 5,500 years ago, likely on the Eurasian steppe.
When was the giant panda first scientifically described?
The giant panda was first described by Western science in 1869.
When was the okapi first scientifically described?
The okapi was first scientifically described in 1901.
When was the pygmy hippopotamus first scientifically described?
The pygmy hippopotamus was first scientifically described in 1849.
When was the giant anteater first scientifically described?
The giant anteater was first formally described by science in 1758.
When was the first successful mammal cloning achieved?
The first successful cloning of a mammal was in 1996, when Dolly the sheep was born.
When was the first mammal genome sequenced?
The first mammal genome to be sequenced was the mouse, with a draft published in 2002.
When did the first bird genome get sequenced?
The first bird genome to be sequenced was the chicken, published in 2004 and released in draft form in 2004, with a major paper appearing in 2004.
When did the first dinosaur-bird fossil Archaeopteryx get discovered?
Archaeopteryx was first discovered in 1861 in Germany, shortly after Darwin published On the Origin of Species.
When did the first modern bird, the ostrich, get scientifically described?
The ostrich was scientifically described by Carl Linnaeus in 1758, in the 10th edition of Systema Naturae.
When did the kiwi become a scientifically recognized bird genus?
Kiwis were scientifically described in the early 19th century, with the genus Apteryx established in 1813.
When did the first penguin species get scientifically described?
The genus of penguins was first formally described in the 18th century, with the name Pinguinus originally applied to the great auk in 1758 and penguin classification later refined.
When was the first bird banding program started?
Bird banding began in 1899, when Hans Christian Cornelius Mortensen marked starlings in Denmark.
When was the first long-distance bird migration tracked by science?
Scientific tracking of bird migration became possible in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, with bird banding beginning in 1899.
When did scientists first discover that birds could navigate by the Earth’s magnetic field?
Evidence for magnetic navigation in birds emerged in the mid-20th century, with key experiments in the 1960s and 1970s.
When was the first bird flight speed record officially measured?
The formal study of bird flight speed developed in the 20th century, with the fastest stoop of the peregrine falcon measured in the modern era.
When did the first bird conservation law begin?
One of the earliest major bird protection laws was the United Kingdom’s Protection of Birds Act of 1954, though bird protection efforts started earlier.
When was the first bird ringing center established?
Dedicated bird ringing and banding centers emerged in the early 20th century, after the first ringing work began in 1899.
When did the first birdwatching guidebook appear?
Popular bird identification guides became common in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, especially after field guides spread in the 1900s.
When was the first bird feather discovered in amber?
Feathers preserved in amber have been known since the 19th century, but major scientific attention to fossil feathers grew much later.
When did the first bird nasal respiration studies begin?
Detailed studies of bird respiration and air sacs developed mainly in the 19th and 20th centuries.
When was the first egg tooth study published?
Scientific descriptions of the egg tooth appeared in the 19th century, as embryology became more advanced.
When did scientists first identify bird vocal learning?
Bird vocal learning was recognized scientifically in the 20th century, especially through studies of songbirds in the 1950s and later.
When was the first bird species declared extinct by science?
The great auk was among the first bird species formally recognized as extinct, with the last confirmed individuals killed in 1844.
When did the first bird atlas get published?
Bird atlases became prominent in the 20th century, with systematic mapping of bird distributions expanding after the 1960s.
When did the first bird of prey captive breeding program begin?
Captive breeding programs for birds of prey began in the 20th century, especially as raptor conservation grew after pesticide declines were recognized.
When was the first bird flight simulator created?
Bird flight simulation developed with modern aerodynamics and computing in the 20th century, especially from the mid-1900s onward.
When did scientists first discover bird brood parasitism?
Bird brood parasitism was documented scientifically in the 18th and 19th centuries, with cuckoo behavior becoming a classic example.
When was the first bird genome assembly from a wild species completed?
Wild bird genome projects expanded in the 21st century, following the chicken genome in 2004.
When did the first bird migration radar study begin?
Radar studies of bird migration began in the mid-20th century, especially after radar technology developed during and after World War II.
When was the first scientific study of bird song dialects published?
Bird song dialects were studied scientifically in the 20th century, especially from the mid-1900s onward.
When did the first bird atlas digitization projects begin?
Bird atlas digitization began in the late 20th century and expanded strongly in the 21st century.
When did the first bird species get protected by an international treaty?
One of the earliest major international bird protections was the 1918 Migratory Bird Treaty between the United States and the United Kingdom on behalf of Canada.
When did scientists first describe the axolotl species scientifically?
The axolotl was first scientifically described in 1789 by German naturalist Johann Friedrich Gmelin.
When did the tuatara first get scientifically described?
The tuatara was first scientifically described in 1831.
When was the green tree frog first scientifically described?
The Australian green tree frog was first scientifically described in 1790.
When did scientists first describe the king cobra?
The king cobra was first scientifically described in 1836.
When was the marine iguana first scientifically described?
The marine iguana was first scientifically described in 1825.
When did scientists first describe the African bullfrog?
The African bullfrog was first scientifically described in 1827.
When was the gharial first scientifically described?
The gharial was first scientifically described in 1807.
When did scientists first describe the leatherback sea turtle?
The leatherback sea turtle was first scientifically described in 1761.
When was the red-eyed tree frog first scientifically described?
The red-eyed tree frog was first scientifically described in 1862.
When did scientists first describe the Burmese python?
The Burmese python was first scientifically described in 1801.
When was the poison dart frog first scientifically described?
The golden poison dart frog was first scientifically described in 1855.
When was the boa constrictor first scientifically described?
The boa constrictor was first scientifically described in 1758.
When was the axolotl first used in scientific regeneration experiments?
Axolotls began attracting regeneration research in the late 19th century, especially from the 1860s onward.
When was the first scientifically recorded giant salamander described in Japan?
The Japanese giant salamander was first scientifically described in 1820.
When did scientists first describe the chameleon species Brookesia micra?
Brookesia micra was first scientifically described in 2012.
When was the glass frog first scientifically described?
Glass frogs were first scientifically described in the early 19th century, with the group established in the 1800s.
When did scientists first describe the Nile crocodile?
The Nile crocodile was first scientifically described in 1758.
When was the olm first scientifically described?
The olm was first scientifically described in 1768.
When was the common frog first scientifically described?
The common frog was first scientifically described in 1758.
When did scientists first describe the spiny-tailed lizard Uromastyx aegyptia?
Uromastyx aegyptia was first scientifically described in 1827.
When was the poison-arrow frog group first brought into scientific taxonomy?
Poison dart frogs were recognized in science during the 19th century, with many species described in the 1800s.
When did scientists first describe the American alligator?
The American alligator was first scientifically described in 1802.
When was the cane toad first scientifically described?
The cane toad was first scientifically described in 1844.
When did scientists first describe the thorny devil?
The thorny devil was first scientifically described in 1841.
When was the coelacanth first rediscovered by scientists?
In 1938, after being known only from fossils for millions of years.
When was the frilled shark first scientifically described?
It was first described in 1884 by German ichthyologist Ludwig Doderlein.
When was the goblin shark first scientifically described?
The goblin shark was first described in 1898.
When was the megamouth shark first discovered?
The megamouth shark was first identified in 1976.
When was the whale shark first scientifically described?
The whale shark was first described in 1828.
When was the manta ray first scientifically described?
The giant manta ray was first described in 1758 by Carl Linnaeus.
When was the electric ray first scientifically described?
It was first described in 1758 by Linnaeus.
When was the narwhal first scientifically described?
The narwhal was first scientifically described in 1758.
When was the giant squid first scientifically described?
The giant squid was first scientifically described in 1857.
When was the colossal squid first scientifically described?
It was first formally described in 1925.
When was the nautilus first scientifically described?
The chambered nautilus was described in 1758.
When was the blue-ringed octopus first scientifically described?
It was first described in 1929.
When was the giant Pacific octopus first scientifically described?
It was first scientifically described in 1849.
When was the horseshoe crab first scientifically described?
The Atlantic horseshoe crab was first described in 1758.
When was the lionfish first scientifically described?
The red lionfish was first described in 1758.
When was the pufferfish first scientifically described?
The common pufferfish was first described in 1758.
When was the seahorse first scientifically described?
The lined seahorse was first described in 1758.
When was the Antarctic krill first scientifically described?
Antarctic krill was first described in 1906.
When was the humpback whale first scientifically described?
The humpback whale was first described in 1756.
When was the Atlantic puffin first scientifically described?
The Atlantic puffin was first described in 1758.
When was the sea otter first scientifically described?
The sea otter was first described in 1777.
When was the manatee first scientifically described?
The West Indian manatee was first described in 1793.
When was the first successful underwater photograph of a fish taken?
The first successful underwater color photographs of marine life were taken in the early 1920s, with major breakthroughs in the 1930s.
When was the earliest known tree fossil dated?
The earliest known tree-like fossils date to about 390 million years ago, in the Middle Devonian period.
When did the first seed plants appear?
The first seed plants appeared about 360 million years ago, in the late Devonian period.
When did flowering plants first appear?
Flowering plants first appeared around 140 million years ago, during the Early Cretaceous.
When did grasses first evolve?
Grasses first evolved about 66 million years ago, near the end of the Cretaceous period.
When did the first forests appear on land?
The first forests appeared about 385 to 390 million years ago, in the Devonian period.
When did conifers first appear?
Conifers first appeared about 300 million years ago, in the late Carboniferous period.
When did the oldest known fossil mushrooms form?
The oldest widely cited mushroom fossils are about 100 million years old.
When did fungi first colonize land?
Fungi likely colonized land more than 450 million years ago, possibly as early as 480 million years ago.
When did lichens first appear in the fossil record?
Lichens are known from fossils at least 410 million years old, and may have originated even earlier.
When did mycorrhizal fungi first form partnerships with plants?
Plant-fungus partnerships likely began more than 400 million years ago, around the time plants were first colonizing land.
When did the oldest known termite-fungus gardens date to?
The oldest known fungus-farming termites date to about 30 million years ago.
When did the first fungal penicillin production begin?
Large-scale penicillin production began in the early 1940s, especially during World War II.
When was the first genetically modified tree field trial carried out?
The first field trials of genetically modified trees began in the 1980s.
When was the first tree ring climate record established?
Tree rings were first systematically used for climate dating in the early 20th century, especially from the 1900s onward.
When was the first edible mushroom cultivated commercially?
Edible mushrooms were being cultivated commercially in the 17th century, especially in France.
When did the largest known fungal organism begin growing?
The largest known fungal organism, Armillaria ostoyae, is estimated to have started growing about 2,400 years ago.
When did the first tree nursery begin in Europe?
Organized tree nurseries emerged in Europe in the 16th century, especially for forestry and ornamental planting.
When was the first seedless grape derived from a natural plant mutation and cultivated widely?
Seedless grapes were cultivated in antiquity, with major development in the ancient Mediterranean world by at least Roman times.
When was the first scientific description of a fungus published?
Fungi were described in early scientific taxonomy in the 18th century, especially by Carl Linnaeus in 1753.
When was the first scientific description of a modern tree genus published?
Many modern tree genera were formally described in the 18th century, especially in Linnaean taxonomy from the 1700s.
When did the first fungal genome get sequenced?
The first fungal genome was sequenced in 1996, for the yeast Saccharomyces cerevisiae.
When was the first tree genome sequenced?
The first tree genome sequences appeared in the 2000s, with poplar among the earliest fully sequenced tree genomes in 2006.
When did fungi first become used in industrial food production on a large scale?
Industrial use of fungi in food production expanded in the late 19th and early 20th centuries, especially for yeast and mushroom cultivation.
When did Louis Pasteur begin his swan-neck flask experiments?
Louis Pasteur began his famous swan-neck flask experiments in 1859. They helped disprove spontaneous generation and showed that microbes come from other microbes.
When did Robert Koch identify the bacterium that causes tuberculosis?
Robert Koch identified the tuberculosis bacterium, Mycobacterium tuberculosis, in 1882. The discovery was a major milestone in medical microbiology.
When was the Gram stain introduced?
The Gram stain was introduced in 1884 by Danish bacteriologist Hans Christian Gram. It remains one of the most important laboratory tests in microbiology.
When was the first penicillin patient treated?
The first patient treated with penicillin was in 1941. The early case showed the drug's life-saving potential, even though supplies were limited.
When was the first antibiotic-resistant bacterium reported?
Antibiotic resistance was reported very soon after antibiotics began to be used, and penicillin resistance was recognized in the 1940s. Resistance has been observed repeatedly ever since bacteria began facing antimicrobial drugs.
When did the first bacterial genome get sequenced?
The first bacterial genome sequenced was Haemophilus influenzae in 1995. It was a landmark in modern genomics.
When was the first metagenomics study published?
The term and early concept of metagenomics emerged in the late 1990s, with a landmark study published in 1998. It revealed that many microbes could be studied directly from environmental DNA.
When did the human microbiome project begin?
The Human Microbiome Project began in 2007. It aimed to catalogue the microbes living in and on the human body.
When was fecal microbiota transplantation first reported as a medical treatment?
Fecal microbiota transplantation was first reported in modern medical literature in 1958. It was used to treat severe intestinal infection.
When was the first gut bacterium linked to health by microbiome research?
Modern microbiome research linking gut bacteria to health accelerated in the 2000s. One famous example is the rise of studies on Akkermansia muciniphila in the 2000s.
When did Carl Woese propose the three-domain system?
Carl Woese proposed the three-domain system in 1990. It split life into Bacteria, Archaea, and Eukarya.
When were archaea first recognized as a separate group from bacteria?
Archaea were first recognized as a separate group in the late 1970s, especially in 1977. Before that, they were often mistaken for unusual bacteria.
When was the first bacterial flagellum structure solved?
The structure of the bacterial flagellum began to be worked out in the late 20th century, with major structural breakthroughs in the 1990s and 2000s. It was a key advance in understanding bacterial motility.
When was quorum sensing first described in bacteria?
Quorum sensing was first described in the late 1960s and early 1970s. It showed that bacteria can coordinate behavior using chemical signals.
When was the first bacterial biofilm described?
Biofilms were recognized in the 20th century, with major scientific descriptions emerging in the 1970s and 1980s. They are communities of bacteria attached to surfaces in a slimy matrix.
When was the first bacterial species genetically engineered for useful protein production?
Genetically engineered bacteria were developed in the 1970s, and by 1978 they were being used to produce human insulin. This was one of the first major biotechnology successes.
When was the first probiotic strain commercialized?
Probiotic foods and supplements became commercially popular in the early 20th century, especially after Elie Metchnikoff's work in 1907. He linked fermented milk and longevity.
When did the first bacteriophage therapy begin?
Bacteriophage therapy began in the 1910s, with the first descriptions in 1917. It used viruses that infect bacteria to fight bacterial disease.
When was the first bacterial CRISPR system identified?
CRISPR sequences were first noticed in bacteria in 1987, and their immune function was understood in the 2000s. This discovery later led to gene-editing technology.
When was the first bacterial transformation experiment done?
The classic bacterial transformation experiment was published in 1928. It showed that hereditary material could pass between bacteria.
When was the first bacterial plasmid discovered?
Plasmids were recognized in bacteria in the 1950s, with the term becoming established in the early 1960s. They are small DNA molecules separate from the main chromosome.
When did the first bacterial endosymbiosis theory emerge?
The modern endosymbiotic theory gained major scientific support in the 1960s and 1970s. It explains how bacteria gave rise to mitochondria and chloroplasts.
When was the first extremophile bacterium described from a hot spring?
Thermophilic bacteria from hot springs were described in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. They became central to studying life in extreme environments.
When did the first bacterial species get named from the human gut microbiome?
Human gut bacteria have been named for centuries, but modern systematic naming accelerated in the 20th century. Many well-known gut species were formally described in the 1900s and 2000s as microbiology improved.
When was the first bacterial outbreak traced by genome sequencing?
Genome sequencing was first used for outbreak tracing in the 1990s and 2000s. It became a powerful tool for tracking hospital and community infections.
When did scientists first isolate bacteria from Antarctic ice?
Scientists isolated microbes from Antarctic ice and cold environments in the 20th century, with major work expanding in the 1980s and 1990s. These findings showed bacteria could survive in extreme cold.
When was cuneiform writing first developed in Mesopotamia?
Cuneiform first emerged in southern Mesopotamia around 3400–3200 BCE. It began as a system of pictographs used for record-keeping and later became wedge-shaped writing.
When did the earliest known legal code from Mesopotamia appear?
The earliest known law code is usually linked to Ur-Nammu, around 2100–2050 BCE. It predates the better-known Code of Hammurabi by several centuries.
When was the Great Library of Alexandria founded?
The Great Library of Alexandria was founded in the early 3rd century BCE, likely during the reign of Ptolemy I or Ptolemy II. Its exact founding date is not certain, but around 300 BCE is commonly given.
When was the toothbrush invented?
The first bristle toothbrush is recorded in China in 1498, made of coarse hog hairs set in bone or bamboo. William Addis began mass-producing toothbrushes in England after 1780, and nylon bristles arrived in 1938.
When was the fork invented?
Forks for cooking and serving are ancient, but eating forks spread slowly. When a Byzantine princess used a golden fork in Venice around 1004, church critics called it sinful vanity. They only became common in Europe in the 1600s and 1700s.
When did people start putting candles on birthday cakes?
The custom is usually traced to Germany in the 1700s, where a children's birthday celebration called Kinderfest featured a cake topped with lit candles. Sweet birthday cakes in their modern form spread later, in the 1800s.