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100 Important Events Flashcards

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1
Q

The Agricultural Revolution: Humans Domesticate Plants and Animals

A

c. 11,000 - 4,000 BCE

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2
Q

The First Cities Emerge in Mesopotamia

A

c. 4000 - 3000 BCE (Iraq)

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3
Q

The First Wheeled Vehicles Appear in Mesopotamia, Eastern Europe and the Caucasus

A

c. 3500 BCE (Iraq, Russia, Ukraine, Moldova, Romania)

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4
Q

The First Writing Systems Appear in Mesopotamia (Cuneiform), Egypt (Hieroglyphics) and the Indus Valley (Indus Script)

A

c. 3200 BCE

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5
Q

The Ancient Egyptians Build the Great Pyramid of Giza for Pharaoh Khufu

A

c. 2560 BCE (Egypt)

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6
Q

The Origin and Development of Modern Alphabets

A

c. 1850 - 800 BCE (Egypt, Israel, Palestine, Lebanon, Greece)

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7
Q

Babylonian King Hammurabi Issues the Code of Hammurabi, One of the Earliest Legal Codes

A

c. 1754 BCE (Iraq)

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8
Q

As Knowledge of Iron Metallurgy Spreads, the Bronze Age Ends and the Iron Age Begins

A

c. 1200 - 500 BCE

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9
Q

The Rise of Ancient Greek Civilization

A

c. 800 - 336 BCE (Greece)

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10
Q

The Rise and Fall of Ancient Roman Civilization

A

c. 753 BCE – 476 CE (Italy)

— 753 BCE: Legendary date of founding of Rome
— 509 BCE: Legendary date of founding of the Roman Republic
— 202 BCE: Rome under Scipio Africanus defeats Carthage under Hannibal at the Battle of Zama to end the Second Punic War (Tunisia)
— 146 BCE: Roman armies destroy the city of Carthage at the end of the Third Punic War (Tunisia)
— 49 BCE: Julius Caesar and his army cross the Rubicon, starting Roman Civil War
— 44 BCE: Julius Caesar is assassinated in the Senate by Brutus, Cassius and others
— 31 BCE: Octavian defeats Mark Antony and Cleopatra at the Battle of Actium, ending the Roman civil wars (Greece)
— 27 BCE: The Senate makes Octavian (later called Augustus) Imperator, effectively ceding power to him and marking the beginning of the Roman Empire
— 27 BCE-180 CE: Pax Romana, a period of relative peace in the Roman Empire
— 9 CE: In the Battle of Teutoberg Forest, Germanic forces led by Arminius ambush and destroy three Roman legions led by Publius Quinctilius Varus (Germany)
— 312 CE: Constantine defeats rival Maxentius at the Battle of Milvian Bridge to become co-emperor
— 313 CE: Co-emperors Constantine and Licinius issue the Edict of Milan, which makes Christianity legal in the Roman Empire
— 390 CE: Theodosius the Great issues the Edict of Thessalonica, which makes Christianity the official religion of the Roman Empire
— 395 CE: Death of Theodosius; from this point, the Roman Empire is permanently divided between Eastern and Western portions
— 410 CE: Sack of Rome by the Visigoths under Alaric
— 476 CE: Flavius Odoacer leads a revolt that deposes Emperor Romulus Augustulus, marking the end of the Western Roman Empire

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11
Q

The Life of the Buddha and Birth of Buddhism

A

c. 563 - 400 BCE (India)

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12
Q

The Life of Confucius and Birth of Confucianism

A

551 - 479 BCE (China)

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13
Q

Alexander the Great Creates an Immense Empire

A

336 - 323 BCE (Greece)

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14
Q

Unification of China under Emperor Qin Shi Huang, Who Begins Building The Great Wall

A

221 - 206 BCE

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15
Q

The Birth of the Modern Calendar (Roman, Julius Caesar)

A

45 BCE (Italy)

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16
Q

The Life of Jesus and the Birth of Christianity

A

c. 4 BCE - 70 CE (Israel)

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17
Q

The Life of Muhammad and the Birth of Islam

A

570 - 630 CE (Saudi Arabia)

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18
Q

The Franks, Led by Charles Martel, Defeat a Umayyad Caliphate Army under Abdul Rahman Al Ghafiqi at the Battle of Tours-Poitiers, Halting the Muslim Advance into Western Europe

A

732 CE (France)

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19
Q

Pope Leo III Crowns Charlemagne, Carolingian King of the Franks and the Lombards, as the First Holy Roman Emperor

A

800 CE (France, Germany)

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20
Q

The Invention of Gunpowder and its Use in Weaponry

A

c. 800 - 1300 (China)

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21
Q

Norse Explorers Discover and Colonize New Lands in the North Atlantic

A

c. 870 - 1000 CE (Iceland, Greenland, US)

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22
Q

Norman Conquest of England

A

1066 CE (UK)

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23
Q

The First University Is Established, at Bologna

A

1088 CE (Italy)

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24
Q

The First Crusade

A

1095 - 1099 (France, Turkey, Syria, Palestine, Israel)

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25
Q

King Suryavarman II of the Khmer Empire Builds Angkor Wat; Originally Dedicated to the Hindu God Vishnu, It Became a Buddhist Temple by the End of the 12th Century

A

c. 1150 CE (Cambodia)

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26
Q

Shogun Minamato no Yorimoto Overthrows the Taira Emperor, Establishing the Kamakura Shogunate; Start of 675 Years of Shogunate Rule in Japan

A

1192 CE

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27
Q

Genghis Khan Establishes a Vast Mongol Empire, Which Is Expanded After His Death

A

1206 - 1260 (Central Asia, China)

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28
Q

English Nobles Force King John to Sign the Magna Charta Restricting His Powers

A

1215 (UK)

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29
Q

Europe Hears Tales of the Far East From Marco Polo

A

1271 - 1300 (Italy; Asia)

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30
Q

The Rise and Fall of the Aztec Civilization

A

1325 - 1521 (Mexico)

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31
Q

The Black Death (Bubonic Plague) Devastates Europe, Killing One-Third of the Population

A

1347 - 1348 (Europe)

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32
Q

The Renaissance: A Rediscovery of Classical Knowledge Brings About Innovations and Achievements in Arts and Culture

A

c. 1350 - 1600 (Italy, Europe)

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33
Q

The Inca People Create an Empire

A

1438 - 1533 (Peru, Ecuador, Bolivia, Argentina, Chile, Colombia)

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34
Q

Johannes Gutenberg Invents a Printing Press Using Movable Metal Type and Oil-Based Ink, Bringing Inexpensive Printing of Books and Papers to the West

A

1440 - 1455 (Germany)

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35
Q

The Ottoman Turks Take Constantinople, Marking the Fall of the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire

A

1453 (Turkey)

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36
Q

Christopher Columbus Arrives in the West Indies and Claims the Land for Spain; European Conquest of the Americas Begins

A

1492 (The Bahamas)

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37
Q

Portuguese Explorer Vasco da Gama Finds a Sea Route from Europe to India, Allowing Portugal To Create a Trading Empire

A

1498

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38
Q

Spanish and English Explorers Returning to Europe Bring Back New World Foods, Including Tomatoes, Potatoes, Corn (Maize), Squash and Cacao

A

1500 - 1600

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39
Q

The Slave Trade: Enslaved African People Are Brought to the Americas

A

1502 - 1619 (US, Haiti, Dominican Republic)

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40
Q

Martin Luther Sends his 95 Theses to the Archbishop of Mainz, Marking the Start of the Protestant Reformation

A

1517 (Germany)

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41
Q

Suleiman the Magnificent Rules Ottoman Empire During Period of Great Expansion

A

1520 - 1566 (Turkey)

42
Q

Ferdinand Magellan’s Expedition Is the First to Circumnavigates the Globe, Although Magellan Is Killed in the Philippines and Does Not Complete the Voyage

A

1522

43
Q

Polish Scientist Nicolaus Copernicus’s On the Revolutions of the Celestial Spheres Shows that the Movement of Heavenly Bodies Is Best Explained By a Heliocentric Model (That Is, the Earth Revolves Around the Sun, and Not the Other Way Around)

A

1543

44
Q

England under Queen Elizabeth I Repels a Spanish Invasion by Defeating the Spanish Armada

A

1588 (UK)

45
Q

William Shakespeare Writes Hamlet

A

1599 - 1601 (UK)

46
Q

English Colonists Establish Their First Permanent Settlement in the New World at Jamestown, Virginia

A

1607 (US)

47
Q

Galileo Galilei Publishes The Starry Messenger, Which Announces a Series of Astronomical Discoveries Made Using a Home-Made Telescope

A

1609 - 1610 (Italy)

48
Q

England Undergoes A Civil War

A

1642 - 1660

49
Q

Mughal Emperor Shah Jahan Builds the Taj Mahal, a Mausoleum for his Favorite Wife, Mumtaz Mahal

A

1632 - 1653 (India)

50
Q

The Power of Steam is Harnessed in the Steam Engine

A

1663 - 1801 (UK)

51
Q

The Holy Roman Empire, the Hapsburg Monarchy and the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth Join Forces to Defeat the Ottoman Turks at the Battle of Vienna, Halting Ottoman Expansion into Western Europe

A

1683 (Austria)

52
Q

Isaac Newton’s Principia Mathematica Explains Universal Laws of Motion and Gravitation That Provide a Foundation for the Science of Physics Until Einstein

A

1687 (UK)

53
Q

Innovations in the British Textile Industry Spark the Industrial Revolution

A

1733 - 1785

54
Q

The Boston Tea Party: American Colonists Protest New British Taxes by Throwing Tea in Boston Harbor

A

12/16/1773 (US)

55
Q

The American Revolution (declaration of independence)

A

1775 - 1783 (US) (1776)

56
Q

The French Revolution

A

1789 - 1799 (France)

57
Q

The Medical Revolution

A

1796 - 1885 (UK; US; France)

58
Q

The Birth of Rail Transport

A

1802 - 1830 (UK)

59
Q

Enslaved People in the French colony of Saint-Domingue, Having Fought a Successful Revolution, Establish the New Nation of Haiti

A

1804

60
Q

The Napoleonic Wars:

A

1799 - 1815 (France, Europe)

61
Q

The End of the African Slave Trade and Abolition of Slavery

A

1807 - 1888 (UK, US, Mexico, Brazil)

— 1807: The United Kingdom abolishes the slave trade
— 1808: The United States bans the importation of slaves
— 1824: Mexico abolishes slavery
— 1833: Slavery is abolished in the British Empire
— 1836: The Republic of Texas declares independence from Mexico and reinstates slavery
— 1865: The Thirteenth Amendment to the American Constitution abolishes slavery (US)
— 1888: Brazil abolishes slavery

62
Q

Spain’s Colonies in Central and South America Fight for and Win Independence

A

1817 - 1825

63
Q

The Invention of the Telegraph Revolutionizes Communication

A

1832 - 1840

64
Q

Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels Publish The Communist Manifesto, Which Explains History in Terms of Class Struggle and Proposes That Workers Unite and Overthrow Capitalism

A

1848 (UK)

65
Q

Charles Darwin publishes On the Origin of Species, which Proves that Natural Selection is the Mechanism of Biological Evolution

A

1859 (UK)

66
Q

The American Civil War

A

1860 - 1865

67
Q

The Meiji Restoration: Tokugawa Yoshinobu Abdicates to Emperor Meiji, Ending Shogun Rule in Japan

A

1867 CE

68
Q

Opening of the Suez Canal Linking the Mediterranean and the Red Sea

A

1869 (Egypt)

69
Q

Alexander Graham Bell Patents the Telephone

A

1876 (US)

70
Q

European Powers Colonize Africa

A

1880s (Europe, Africa)

— 1830: France invades and colonizes Algeria
— 1884-1885: At the Berlin Conference, European leaders divide up Africa
— 1885: King Leopold of Belgium establishes the Congo Free State as a private corporate colony (Democratic Republic of Congo)
— 1895: France establishes French West Africa, a consolidation of eight French colonial territories (Mauritania, Senegal, Mali, French Guinea, Ivory Coast, Burkina Faso, Benin, Niger)
— 1908: Belgium annexes the Congo Free State
— 1910: France establishes French Equatorial Africa from its central African colonies (Chad, Central African Republic, Cameroon, Republic of the Congo, Gabon)
— 1912: Italy forms the colony of Italian Libya from colonies taken from the Ottoman Empire

71
Q

The Suffrage Movement: Women Fight For the Right to Vote

A

1893 - 1928

71
Q

The Suffrage Movement: Women Fight For the Right to Vote

A

1893 - 1928

72
Q

The Invention of Radio

A

1879 - 1901

73
Q

The Discovery of X-Rays

A

1895

74
Q

Orville & Wilbur Wright Fly the First Heavier-than-Air Powered Aircraft

A

12/17/1903 (US)

75
Q

After Defeating Russia in the Russo-Japanese War, Japan Is Recognized as a World Power

A

1904 - 1905

76
Q

Albert Einstein’s Annus Mirabilis

A

1905 (Switzerland)

77
Q

World War I

A

1914 - 1918 (Europe, Asia, Africa)

78
Q

The Russian Revolution

A

1917 - 1922

79
Q

A Global Influenza Epidemic Kills 20 Million People

A

1918

80
Q

The Invention of Television

A

1925 - 1929

81
Q

Global Depression Follows Crash of US Stock Market

A

1929 - 1940 (US; Europe; Asia)

82
Q

The Rise of Adolf Hitler and the Nazis

A

1920 - 1939 (Germany)

83
Q

Revolution in China

A

1911 - 1949

84
Q

World War II

A

1939 - 1945 (US, Europe, Asia, Africa)

85
Q

The United Nations Is Formed

A

1945 - 1946 (Europe, N. & S. America, Asia, Africa, Australia)

86
Q

The Digital Revolution: The Invention of the Digital Electric Computer

A

1965: Olivetti introduces the Programma 101, the first commercially produced personal desktop computer (Italy)

87
Q

After Long Struggle, India Obtains Its Independence from the UK

A

1947

88
Q

The Cold War

A

1945 - 1989 (US, Russia, Europe)

89
Q

The Discovery of the Double Helical Structure of DNA

A

1953 (UK)

90
Q

U.S. Civil Rights Movement

A

1954 - 1968 (US)

— 5/17/1954: The U.S. Supreme Court rules in Brown v. Board of Education that segregated education is unconstitutional
— 12/1/1955: Rosa Parks refuses to sit in the back of the bus, sparking Montgomery bus boycott
— 1957: President Eisenhower sends US troops to protect black students attending Central High School in Little Rock, Arkansas
— 1960: First lunch counter protest in Greensboro, North Carolina
— 8/28/1963: Martin Luther King, Jr. leads march on Washington, makes “I Have a Dream” speech
— 9/15/1963: Four black girls killed in bombing of church in Birmingham, Alabama
— 7/2/1964: President Johnson signs the Civil Rights Act
— 2/21/1965: Assassination of Malcolm X
— 3/7/1965: Protest march from Selma to Montgomery, Alabama
— 8/6/1965: President Johnson signs the Voting Rights Act
— 4/4/1968: Assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr.

91
Q

The Vietnam War

A

1955 - 1975 (Vietnam, Cambodia, Laos)

92
Q

Soviet Union Launches Sputnik, First Man-Made Satellite

A

10/4/1957 (Russia)

93
Q

The U.S. Food & Drug Administration Approves the First Contraceptive Pill

A

5/9/1960 (US)

94
Q

Yuri Gagarin Becomes the First Man in Space

A

1961 (Russia)

95
Q

U.S. President John F. Kennedy Is Assassinated in Dallas, Texas

A

11/22/1963 (US)

96
Q

Apollo 11 Astronauts Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin Land on the Moon and Walk on its Surface

A

7/20-21/1969 (US, Moon)

97
Q

The Birth of the Internet

A

1965 - 1995 (US)

— 1985: The first dot-com domain name is registered
— 1989: America Online (AOL) is launched

98
Q

The Cold War Ends

A

1989 - 1991 (Europe, Russia)

— 11/9/1989: Opening of gates between East and West Berlin; demolition of Berlin Wall begins (Germany)
— 1989-1990: Fall of Communist governments in Eastern Europe
— 1990: Reunification of Germany
— 12/26/1991: Soviet Union is dissolved

99
Q

The End of Apartheid in South Africa

A

1990 - 1994

100
Q

Al Qaeda Terrorists Attack New York City and Washington, D.C. With Hijacked Planes, Destroying World Trade Towers; US Declares “War on Terror”

A

9/11/2001 (US)

History (6 decks)

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