By Tim Lambert
1899-1902 The Boer War in South Africa
1900 The Boxer Rebellion in China
1901 The Australian colonies are united to form the Commonwealth of Australia
1903 The first plane flies
1904-1905 War between Russian and Japan
1905
Revolution in Russia
Norway becomes independent from Sweden
1906 An earthquake in San Francisco
1907 New Zealand becomes a dominion
1908 Bulgaria becomes independent of Turkey
1910 Revolution in Portugal
1911 Revolution in China
1914
The First World War begins
The Panama Canal opens
1916
Tanks are used for the first time
In Ireland the Easter Rising takes place
1917
The USA joins the war
Communists seize power in Russia
1918 Germany surrenders
1919 Germany is forced to sign the Treaty of Versailles, which causes much resentment in that country
1921 Southern Ireland becomes independent
1922 Mussolini seizes power in Italy
1928
Alexander Flemingdiscovers penicillin
Stalin gains complete power in Russia. He introduces the first Five Year Plan
1929 The Wall Street Crash in the USA begins a world-wide depression
1933
Adolf Hitler becomes ruler of Germany
Franklin D. Roosevelt becomes president of the USA
1936 The German army occupies the Rhineland (breaking the Treaty of Versailles)
1936-1939 The Spanish Civil War is fought. Franco becomes dictator of Spain.
1938 The Germans take Austria
1939
Germany invades Poland so Britain and France declare war on Germany
Russia attacks Finland
1940 Germany conquers Norway, Holland, Belgium and France
Winston Churchill becomes prime minister of Britain
1941
Germany conquers Yugoslavia and Greece and invades Russia
Japan attacks the USA at Pearl Harbor
1942
The USA defeats Japan at Midway Island
The British defeat the Germans at El Alamein
1943
The Russians defeat the Germans at Stalingrad and Kursk
German forces in North Africa surrender and allied forces invade Italy
1944 Allied forces invade France
1945 Germany and Japan surrender
1947 India becomes independent
1947-1948 Communists gain power in Eastern Europe
1948
Israel is created
Burma becomes independent
The transistor is invented
1949
Communists gain power in China
Indonesia becomes independent
1950 China invades Tibet
1950-53 The Korean War
1953 Stalin dies
1957 The EEC (forerunner of the EU) is created
1958 Charles de Gaulle becomes president of France
1961-1973 The USA becomes involved in the Vietnam War
1961
Tanzania becomes independent
Communists build the Berlin Wall
1962
The Cuban Missile Crisis takes place
Uganda becomes independent
1963 President John Kennedy is assassinated
1964
Malawi and Zambia become independent
In the USA The Civil Rights Act is passed
1966 Botswana becomes independent
1967 War between the Arab states and Israel
1969
Charles de Gaulle resigns as president of France
Neil Armstrong becomes the first person to set foot on the Moon
1972 Ceylon changes its name to Sri Lanka
1973
Britain, Denmark and Ireland join the EU
Sydney Opera House is opened.
1974 President Richard Nixon resigns after the Watergate Scandal
1975
General Franco, dictator of Spain dies. Spain becomes a monarchy again
Communists capture South Vietnam, Laos and Cambodia
1977 King Juan Carlos restores democracy in Spain
1979 The Shah of Iran is overthrown
1980 Solidarity, an independent trade union is formed in Poland
1981 The space shuttle is launched
1983 Democracy is restored in Argentina
1985 Democracy is restored in Brazil
1986 President Marcos is removed from power in the Philippines. Corazon Aquino takes over.
The Chinese army massacres student demonstrators in Tiananmen SquareCommunism collapses in East Germany, Hungary, Poland, Czechoslovakia and Romania
1990
Germany is reunited
Lech Walesa become President of Poland
1991
Communism collapses in the Soviet Union. It then breaks up into separate states
The Gulf War is fought in Iraq
1992
The EU nations recognise Croatia and Slovenia as independent nations
Rioting takes place in Los Angeles when white policemen are acquitted of assaulting a black driver, Rodney King
1993 Czechoslovakia splits into the Czech Republic and Slovakia
1994 Nelson Mandela becomes president of South Africa
1995 Sweden, Finlandand Austria join the EU
1997 Hong Kong is returned to China