When
Journey through the timelines of history-defining events.
243 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.