1940 – 1949 World History Winston Churchill (1874–1965) National Archives and Records Admin. Yalta Conference U.S. Army Photos Anne Frank (1929–1945) Archive Photos Harry S. Truman (1884–1972) The Library of Congress Picture Collection Woody Guthrie (1912–1967) Archive Photos 1940 Hitlerinvades Norway, Denmark(April 9),the Netherlands, Belgium, Luxembourg(May 10),and France(May 12). Churchillbecomes Britain's prime minister. Trotsky assassinated in Mexico(Aug. 20).Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania annexed by USSR. U.S. trades 50 destroyers for leases on British bases in Western Hemisphere. Selective ServiceAct signed. The first official network television broadcast is put out by NBC. 1941 Germany attacks the Balkans and Russia. Japanese surprise attack on U.S. fleet at Pearl Harborbrings U.S. into World War II; U.S. and Britain declare war on Japan. Manhattan Project(atomic bomb research) begins. Roosevelt enunciates “four freedoms,”signs Lend-LeaseAct, declares national emergency, promises aid to USSR. Orson Welles'sCitizen Kane. 1942 Declaration of United Nationssigned in Washington(Jan. 1). Nazileaders attend Wannsee Conference to coordinate the “final solution to the Jewish question,” the systematic genocide of Jews known as the Holocaust. (For detailed chronology of the Holocaust,see The Holocaust.) Women's military services established. Enrico Fermiachieves nuclear chain reaction. More than 120,000 Japanese and persons of Japanese ancestry living in western U.S. moved to “relocation centers,” some for the duration of the war (Executive Order 9066). Coconut Grove nightclub fire in Boston kills 492(Nov. 28). 1943 Churchill and Roosevelt hold Casablanca Conference(Jan. 14–23). Mussolinideposed. President freezes prices, salaries, and wages to prevent inflation. Income tax withholding introduced. 1944 Allies invade Normandy on D-Day(June 6).G.I. Bill of Rights enacted. Bretton Woods Conferencecreates International Monetary Fundand World Bank(July 1–22).Dumbarton Oaks Conference—U.S., British Commonwealth, and USSR propose establishment of United Nations(Aug. 21–Oct. 7). Battle of the Bulge(Dec. 16). Woody Guthrierecords “This Land is Your Land.” Gunnar Myrdal'sAn American Dilemma. 1945 Yalta Conference(Roosevelt, Churchill, Stalin) plans final defeat of Germany(Feb. 4–11). FDRdies(April 12). Hitlercommits suicide(April 30);Germany surrenders(May 7);May 8is declared V-E Day. Potsdam Conference (Truman, Churchill, Stalin) establishes basis of German reconstruction(July–Aug.).U.S. drops atomic bombson Japanese cities of Hiroshima(Aug. 6)and Nagasaki(Aug. 9).Japan signs official surrender on V-J Day(Sept. 2).United Nations established(Oct. 24).First electronic computer, ENIAC, built. 1946 First meeting of UNGeneral Assembly opens in London(Jan. 10).Winston Churchill's “Iron Curtain” speech warns of Soviet expansion(March 5).League of Nations dissolved(April).Italy abolishes monarchy(June).Verdict in Nuremberg war trial: 12 Nazileaders (including 1 tried in absentia) sentenced to hang; 7 imprisoned; 3 acquitted(Oct. 1). Goeringcommits suicide a few hours before 10 other Nazis are executed(Oct. 15). Juan Perónbecomes president of Argentina. Benjamin Spock's childcare classic published. 1947 Britain nationalizescoal mines(Jan. 1).Peace treaties for Italy, Romania, Bulgaria, Hungary, Finland signed in Paris(Feb. 10).Soviet Union rejects U.S. plan for UN atomic-energy control(March 4). Trumanproposes Truman Doctrine, which was to aid Greece and Turkey in resisting communist expansion(March 12). Marshall Planfor European recovery proposed—a coordinated program to help European nations recover from ravages of war(June).(By the time it ended in 1951, this “European Recovery Program” had cost $13 billion.) Indiaand Pakistangain independence from Britain(Aug. 15).U.S. Air Force pilot Chuck Yeagerbecomes first person to break the sound barrier(Oct. 14). Jackie Robinsonjoins the Brooklyn Dodgers. Anne Frank'sThe Diary of a Young Girlpublished. 1948 Gandhiassassinated in New Delhi by Hindu fanatic(Jan. 30). Burma(Jan. 4)and Ceylon(Feb. 4)granted independence by Britain. Communists seize power in Czechoslovakia(Feb. 23–25). Organization of American States(OAS) Charter signed at Bogotá, Colombia(April 30).Nation of Israelproclaimed; British end mandate at midnight; Arab armies attack(May 14). Berlin blockadebegins(June 24),prompting Allied airlift(June 26).(Blockade endsMay 12, 1949;airlift continues untilSept. 30, 1949.) Stalinand Titobreak(June 28).Independent Republic of Koreais proclaimed, following election supervised by UN(Aug. 15).Verdict in Japanese war trial: 18 imprisoned(Nov. 12); Tojoand six others hanged(Dec. 23).United States of Indonesiaestablished as Dutch and Indonesians settle conflict(Dec. 27). Alger Hiss, former U.S. State Department official, indicted on perjury charges after denying passing secret documents to communist spy ring;

1930 – 1939 World History Amelia Earhart (1897–1937) The Library of Congress Picture Collection Franklin Delano Roosevelt (1882–1945) National Archives and Records Admin. Adolf Hitler (1889–1945) National Archives and Records Admin. Pablo Picasso (1881–1973) Archive Photos 1930 Britain, U.S., Japan, France, and Italy sign naval disarmament treaty. Nazisgain in German elections. Cyclotrondeveloped by Ernest O. Lawrence, U.S. physicist. Pluto discovered by astronomers. 1931 Spain becomes a republic with overthrow of King Alfonso XIII. German industrialists finance 800,000-strong Nazi party. British parliament enacts statute of Westminster, legalizing dominion equality with Britain. Mukden Incidentbegins Japanese occupation of Manchuria. In U.S., Hooverproposes one-year moratorium of war debts. Harold C. Ureydiscovers heavy hydrogen. Gangster Al Caponesentenced to 11 years in prison for tax evasion (freed in1939;dies in 1947). Notorious Scottsboro trialbegins, exposing depth of Southern racism. “The Star Spangled Banner”officially becomes national anthem. 1932 Nazislead in German elections with 230 Reichstagseats. Famine in USSR. In U.S., Congress sets up Reconstruction Finance Corporationto stimulate economy. Veterans march on Washington—most leave after Senate rejects payment of cash bonuses; others removed by troops under Douglas MacArthur. U.S. protests Japanese aggression in Manchuria. Amelia Earhartis first woman to fly Atlantic solo. Charles A. Lindbergh's baby son kidnapped, killed. ( Bruno Richard Hauptmannarrested in1934,convicted in1935,executed in1936.) 1933 Hitlerappointed German chancellor, gets dictatorial powers. Reichstag fire in Berlin; Naziterror begins. Germany and Japan withdraw from League of Nations. Giuseppe Zangara executed for attempted assassinationof president-elect Roosevelt in which Chicago mayor Cermak is fatally shot. Rooseveltinaugurated (“the only thing we have to fear is fear itself”); launches New Deal. Prohibitionrepealed. USSRrecognized by U.S. 1934 Chancellor Dollfussof Austria assassinated by Nazis. Hitlerbecomes führer. USSR admitted to League of Nations. Dionne sisters, first quintuplets to survive beyond infancy, born in Canada. Mao Zedongbegins the Long Marchnorth with 100,000 soldiers. 1935 Saarincorporated into Germany after plebiscite. Nazis repudiate Versailles Treaty, introduce compulsory military service. Mussoliniinvades Ethiopia; League of Nations invokes sanctions. Roosevelt opens second phase of New Dealin U.S., calling for social security, better housing, equitable taxation, and farm assistance. Huey Longassassinated in Louisiana. 1936 Germans occupy Rhineland. Italy annexes Ethiopia. Rome-Berlin Axisproclaimed (Japan to join in 1940). Trotskyexiled to Mexico. King George Vdies; succeeded by son, Edward VIII, who soon abdicates to marry an American-born divorcée, and is succeeded by brother, George VI. Spanish civil warbegins. Hundreds of Americans join the “Lincoln Brigades.” ( Franco's fascist forces defeat Loyalist forces by1939,when Madrid falls.) War between China and Japanbegins, to continue through World War II. Japan and Germany sign anti- Cominternpact; joined by Italy in1937. 1937 Hitlerrepudiates war guilt clause of Versailles Treaty; continues to build German power. Italy withdraws from League of Nations. U.S. gunboatPanaysunk by Japanese in Yangtze River. Japan invades China, conquers most of coastal area. Amelia Earhartlost somewhere in Pacific on round-the-world flight. Picasso'sGuernicamural. 1938 Hitlermarches into Austria; political and geographical union of Germany and Austria proclaimed. Munich Pact> Britain, France, and Italy agree to let Germany partition Czechoslovakia. Douglas “Wrong-Way” Corrigan flies from New York to Dublin. Fair Labor Standards Act establishes minimum wage. Orson Welles's radio broadcastWar of the Worlds. 1939 Germany invades Poland; occupies Bohemia and Moravia; renounces pact with England and concludes 10-year non-aggression pact with USSR. Russo- Finnish Warbegins; Finns to lose one-tenth of territory in 1940peace treaty. World War II begins.(For detailed chronology, see World War II.) In U.S., Rooseveltsubmits $1,319-million defense budget, proclaims U.S. neutrality, and declares limited emergency. Einsteinwrites FDR about feasibility of atomic bomb. New York World's Fair opens. DAR refuses to allow Marian Anderson to perform.Gone with the Windpremieres.

1920 – 1929 World History Benito Mussolini (1883–1945) National Archives and Records Admin. Bessie Smith (1894–1937) The Library of Congress Picture Collection William Butler Yeats (1865–1939) Archive Photos Joseph Stalin (1879–1953) U.S. Army Photos Dorothea Lange's photo “Migrant Mother” (1936) documented the Great Depression (1929–1940) The Library of Congress Picture Collection 1920 League of Nationsholds first meeting at Geneva, Switzerland. U.S. Dept. of Justice “red hunt” nets thousands of radicals; aliens deported. Women's suffrage(19th) amendment ratified. Treaty of Sèvres dissolves Ottoman Empire. First Agatha Christiemystery. Sinclair Lewis'sMain Street. 1921 Reparations Commission fixes German liability at 132 billion gold marks. German inflation begins. Major treaties signed at Washington Disarmament Conference limit naval tonnage and pledge to respect territorial integrity of China. In U.S., Nicola Sacco and Bartolomeo Vanzetti, Italian-born anarchists, convicted of armed robbery murder; case stirs worldwide protests; they are executed in1927. 1922 Mussolinimarches on Rome; forms Fascistgovernment. Irish Free State, a self-governing dominion of British Empire, officially proclaimed. Kemal Atatürk, founder of modern Turkey, overthrows last sultan. James Joyce'sUlysses. 1923 Adolf Hitler's “Beer Hall Putsch” in Munich fails; in 1924he is sentenced to five years in prison where he writesMein Kampf;released after eight months. Occupation of Ruhr by French and Belgian troops to enforce reparations payments. Widespread Ku Klux Klanviolence in U.S. Earthquake destroys third of Tokyo. George Gershwin'sRhapsody in Blue. Bessie Smith, known as “the Empress of the Blues,” makes her first record. Irish poet William Butler Yeatswins Nobel Prize in Literature. 1924 Death of Lenin; Stalinwins power struggle, rules as Soviet dictator until death in1953.Italian Fascists murder Socialist leader Giacomo Matteotti. Interior Secretary Albert B. Fall and oilmen Harry Sinclair and Edward L. Doheny are charged with conspiracy and bribery in the Teapot Domescandal, involving fraudulent leases of naval oil reserves. In1931,Fall is sentenced to year in prison; Doheny and Sinclair acquitted of bribery. Nathan Leopold and Richard Loeb convicted in “thrill killing” of Bobby Franks in Chicago; defended by Clarence Darrow; sentenced to life imprisonment. (Loeb killed by fellow convict in1936;Leopold paroled in1958,dies in1971.) Robert Frostwins first of four Pulitzers. 1925 Nellie Tayloe Ross elected governor of Wyoming; first woman governor elected in U.S. Locarno conferencesseek to secure European peace by mutual guarantees. John T. Scopesconvicted and fined for teaching evolution in a public school in Tennessee “Monkey Trial”; sentence set aside. John Logie Baird, Scottish inventor, transmits human features by television. Hitlerpublishes Volume I ofMein Kampf. 1926 General strike in Britain brings nation's activities to standstill. U.S. marines dispatched to Nicaragua during revolt; they remain until1933. Gertrude Ederleof U.S. is first woman to swim English Channel. Ernest Hemingway'sThe Sun Also Rises. 1927 German economy collapses. Socialists riot in Vienna; general strike follows acquittal of Nazisfor political murder. Trotsky expelled from Russian Communist Party. Charles A. Lindberghflies first successful solo nonstop flight from New York to Paris. Ruth Snyder and Judd Gray convicted of murder of Albert Snyder; they are executed at Sing Sing prison in1928.Philo T. Farnsworth demonstrates working television model. Georges Lemaître proposes Big Bang Theory. Babe Ruthhits 60 home runs in the season; record stands for next 34 years.The Jazz Singer,with Al Jolson, first part-talking motion picture. 1928 Kellogg-Briand Pact, outlawing war, signed in Paris by 65 nations. Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin. Richard E. Byrdstarts expedition to Antarctic; returns in1930.Anthropologist Margaret MeadpublishesComing of Age in Samoa.Final volume ofOxford English Dictionarypublished after 44 years of research. 1929 Trotskyexpelled from USSR Lateran Treatyestablishes independent VaticanCity. In U.S., stock market prices collapse, with U.S. securities losing $26 billion—first phase of Depressionand world economic crisis. St. Valentine's Day gangland massacre in Chicago. Edwin Powell Hubble proposes theory of expanding universe. Information Please® Database, © 2007 Pearson Education, Inc. All rights reserved. 1910 – 1919 World History 1900–1999 (A.D.) World History 1930 – 1939 World History More on1920 8211 1929 World Historyfrom Infoplease: Hitler: meaning and definitions- Hitler: Definition and Pronunciation woman suffrage: meaning and definitions- woman suffrage: Definition and Pronunciation Adolf Hitler- Hitler, Adolf Hitler, Adolf , 1889–1945, founder and leader of National Socialism (Nazism), ... Hitlerism: meaning and definitions- Hitlerism: Definition and Pronunciation

1910 – 1919 World History Albert Einstein (1879–1955) AIP Niels Bohr Library Vladimir Lenin (1870–1924) Novosti Photos Woodrow Wilson (1856–1924) The Library of Congress Picture Collection 1910 Boy Scouts of Americaincorporated. Angel Island, in San Francisco Bay, becomes immigration center for Asians entering U.S. 1911 First use of aircraft as offensive weapon in Turkish-Italian War. Italy defeats Turks and annexes Tripoliand Libya. Chinese Republic proclaimed after revolution overthrows Manchudynasty. Sun Yat-sennamed president. Mexican Revolution: Porfirio Diaz, president since 1877, replaced by Francisco Madero. Triangle Shirtwaist Company fire in New York; 146 killed. Amundsenreaches South Pole. Ernest Rutherford discovers the structure of the atom. Richard Strauss'sDer Rosenkavalier. Irving Berlin'sAlexander's Ragtime Band. 1912 Balkan Wars(1912–1913)resulting from territorial disputes: Turkey defeated by alliance of Bulgaria, Serbia, Greece, and Montenegro; London peace treaty(1913)partitions most of European Turkey among the victors. In second war(1913),Bulgaria attacks Serbia and Greece and is defeated after Romania intervenes and Turks recapture Adrianople. Titanicsinks on maiden voyage; over 1,500 drown. New Mexico and Arizona admitted as states. 1913 Suffragists demonstrate in London. Garment workers strike in New York and Boston; win pay raise and shorter hours. Henry Ford develops first moving assembly line. 16th Amendment (income tax)and 17th (popular election of U.S. senators) adopted. Bill creating U.S. Federal Reserve Systembecomes law. Stravinsky'sThe Rite of Spring. Woodrow Wilsonbecomes 28th U.S. president. Armory Show introduces modern art to U.S.; Duchamp'sNude Descending a Staircaseshocks public. 1914 World War Ibegins: Austrian Archduke Francis Ferdinandand wife Sophie are assassinated; Austria declares war on Serbia, Germany on Russia and France, Britain on Germany. (For detailed chronology see, World War I.) Panama Canalofficially opened. Congress sets up Federal Trade Commission, passes Clayton Antitrust Act. U.S. Marines occupy Veracruz, Mexico, intervening in civil war to protect American interests. 1915 Lusitaniasunk by German submarine. Second Battle of Ypres. U.S. banks lend $500 million to France and Britain. Genocide of estimated 600,000 to 1 million Armenians by Turkish soldiers. D. W. Griffith's filmBirth of a Nation. Albert Einstein'sGeneral Theory of Relativity. 1916 Congress expands armed forces. Battle of Verdun. Battle of the Somme. Tom Mooney arrested for San Francisco bombing (pardoned in 1939). Pershingfails in raid into Mexico in quest of rebel Pancho Villa. U.S. buys Virgin Islands from Denmark for $25 million. President Wilson re-elected with “he kept us out of war” slogan. “Black Tom”explosion at munitions dock in Jersey City, N.J., $40,000,000 damages; traced to German saboteurs. Margaret Sangeropens first birth control clinic. Easter Rebellion in Irelandput down by British troops. Jeannette Rankinbecomes first woman elected to Congress. 1917 First U.S. combat troops in France as U.S. declares war on Germany(April 6).Third Battle of Ypres. Russian Revolutionof 1917—climax of long unrest under czars. February Revolution—Nicholas II forced to abdicate, liberal government created. Kerensky becomes prime minister and forms provisional government(July).In October Revolution, Bolsheviks seize power in armed coup d'état led by Leninand Trotsky. Kerenskyflees. BalfourDeclaration promises Jewish homeland in Palestine. U.S. declares war on Austria-Hungary(Dec. 7).Armistice between new Russian Bolshevik government and Germans(Dec. 15). Sigmund Freud'sIntroduction to Psychoanalysis. 1918 Russian revolutionaries execute the former czar and his family. Russian Civil Warbetween Reds (Bolsheviks) and Whites (anti-Bolsheviks); Reds win in1920.Allied troops (U.S., British, French) intervene(March);leave in1919.Second Battle of the Marne(July–Aug.)German Kaiser abdicates(Nov.);hostilities cease on the Western Front. Japanese hold Vladivostokuntil1922.Worldwide influenzaepidemic strikes; by1920,nearly 20 million are dead. In U.S. alone, 500,000 perish. 1919 Third International ( Comintern) establishes Soviet control over international Communist movements. Paris peace conference. Versailles Treaty, incorporating Woodrow Wilson's draft Covenant of League of Nations, signed by Allies and Germany; rejected by U.S. Senate. Congress formally ends war in1921.18th ( Prohibition) Amendment adopted. Alcock and Brown make first trans-Atlantic nonstop flight. Mahatma Gandhiinitiates satyagraha (“truth force”) campaigns, beginning his nonviolent resistance movement against British rule in India.

1900 – 1909 World History Sigmund Freud (1856–1939) Leo Baeck Inst./Archive Photos Henri Matisse (1869–1954) The Library of Congress Picture Collection W.E.B. Du Bois (1868–1963) The Library of Congress Picture Collection 1900 Hurricane ravages Galveston, Tex.; 6,000–8,000 dead. Fauvist movement in painting begins, led by Henri Matisse. Sigmund Freud'sThe Interpretation of Dreams. Carrie Chapman Cattsucceeds Susan B. Anthonyas president of National Woman Suffrage Association. 1901 Queen Victoriadies, and is succeeded by her son, Edward VII. As President McKinleybegins second term, he is shot fatallyby anarchist Leon Czolgosz. Theodore Rooseveltsworn in as successor. 1902 Enrico Caruso's first gramophone recording. Aswan Damcompleted. 1903 Wright brothers, Orville and Wilbur, fly first powered, controlled, heavier-than-air plane at Kitty Hawk, N.C. Henry Fordorganizes Ford Motor Company. The Boston Red Sox win the first World Seriesagainst the Pittsburgh Pirates. W.E.B. Du BoispublishesThe Souls of Black Folk. 1904 Russo-Japanese War begins—competition for Korea and Manchuria.Entente Cordiale:Britain and France settle their international differences. General theory of radioactivity by Rutherford and Soddy. New York City subway opens. 1905 In Russo-Japanese War, Port Arthur surrenders to Japanese; Russia suffers other defeats. President Roosevelt mediates Treaty of Portsmouth, N.H., which recognizes Japan's control of Korea and restores southern Manchuria to China. The Russian Revolutionof 1905 begins on “Bloody Sunday” when troops fire onto a defenseless group of demonstrators in St. Petersburg. Strikes and riots follow. Sailors on battleshipPotemkinmutiny; reforms, including first Duma (parliament), established by Czar Nicholas II's “October Manifesto.” Albert Einstein's special theory of relativity and other key theories in physics. Franz Lehar'sMerry Widow. 1906 San Francisco earthquakeand three-day fire; more than 500 dead. Roald Amundsen, Norwegian explorer, fixes magnetic North Pole. 1907 Second Hague Peace Conference, of 46 nations, adopts 10 conventions on rules of war. Financial panic of 1907in U.S. Mahlerbegins work on “Song of the Earth.” Oklahoma becomes 46th state. Picasso'sLes Demoiselles d'Avignonintroduces cubism. 1908 Earthquake kills 150,000 in southern Italy and Sicily. U.S. Supreme Court, in Danbury Hatters' case, outlaws secondary union boycotts. Model T produced by Ford Motor Company. 1909 North Pole reportedly reached by American explorers Robert E. Pearyand Matthew Henson. The National Association for the Advancement of Colored Peopleis founded in New York by prominent black and white intellectuals and led by W.E.B. Du Bois.