The 20th Century

  • Period: to

    1900-1909

  • Queen Victoria died and is succeeded by her son, Edward VII

    Queen Victoria died and is succeeded by her son, Edward VII
  • President William McKinley shot

    President William McKinley shot
  • First Rose Bowl game played

    First Rose Bowl game played
  • Department of Commerce and Labor created

    Department of Commerce and Labor created
  • Prussia becomes the first country to issue driving licenses

    Prussia becomes the first country to issue driving licenses
  • Great Train Robbery movie opens

  • Wright Brother built and flew biplane

    The Wright Brothers built the biplane and flew it for 12 seconds over 120 feet
  • Russo-Japanese War begins

    Russo-Japanese War begins
  • Long Acre Square in Manhattan, New York, was renamed Times Square

    Long Acre Square in Manhattan, New York, was renamed Times Square
  • President Theodore Roosevelt is inaugurated for his second term

    President Theodore Roosevelt is inaugurated for his second term
  • Niagara Falls conference

    Niagara Falls conference
  • Underground Fire in France

    Underground Fire in France
  • Susan B. Anthony dies

    Susan B. Anthony dies
  • San Francisco earthquake and three-day fire; more than 500 dead

    San Francisco earthquake and three-day fire; more than 500 dead
  • The Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act is passed

    The Pure Food and Drug Act and the Meat Inspection Act is passed
  • beginning of the Financial Panic and Depression of 1907

     beginning of the Financial Panic and Depression of 1907
  • Oklahoma becomes a state

    Oklahoma becomes a state
  • Coal mine explodes in Monongah, West Virginia, killing at least 361. Worst industrial accident in American history

    Coal mine explodes in Monongah, West Virginia, killing at least 361. Worst industrial accident in American history
  • William Howard Taft is elected President

    William Howard Taft is elected President
  • First Men to Reach The North Pole, Explorers Robert E. Peary and Matthew A

    First Men to Reach The North Pole, Explorers Robert E. Peary and Matthew A
  • Period: to

    1910-1930

  • The Discovery of Machu Picchu

    The Discovery of Machu Picchu
  • Sinking of the Titanic

    Sinking of the Titanic
  • 16th Amendment was ratified

    16th Amendment was ratified
  • Austria-Hungary had declared war on Serbia

    Austria-Hungary had declared war on Serbia
  • Lusitania sunk by torpedo

    Lusitania sunk by torpedo
  • The Battle of Jutland

    The Battle of Jutland
  • The first flights for the new U.S. airmail service

    The first flights for the new U.S. airmail service
  • 18th Amendment / Prohibition

    18th Amendment / Prohibition
  • The League of Nations is established

    The League of Nations is established
  • The American Professional Football League is formed

    The American Professional Football League is formed
  • Emergency Quota Act established

    Emergency Quota Act established
  • The first Miss America pageant is held in Atlantic City

    The first Miss America pageant is held in Atlantic City
  • Reader's Digest is founded

    Reader's Digest is founded
  • Warner Brothers Pictures is incorporated

     Warner Brothers Pictures is incorporated
  • President Warren G. Harding dies in office

  • The Scopes Trial or Monkey Trial begins

    The Scopes Trial or Monkey Trial begins
  • Calvin Coolidge wins his first election as President

    Calvin Coolidge wins his first election as President
  • The first flight to the North Pole and back

  • First success in the invention of television

    First success in the invention of television
  • Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly over the Atlantic Ocean

    Amelia Earhart becomes the first woman to fly over the Atlantic Ocean
  • Period: to

    1930-1950

  • Empire State building opens in NYC

    Empire State building opens in NYC
  • Stimson Doctrine

    Stimson Doctrine
  • FDR sworn in as president

    FDR sworn in as president
  • Indian Reorganization Act established

    Indian Reorganization Act established
  • The United States pulls its troops from Haiti

    The United States pulls its troops from Haiti
  • Social Security Act is passed

    Social Security Act is passed
  • Gone with the Wind is published by Margaret Mitchell

    Gone with the Wind is published by Margaret Mitchell
  • The Appalachian Trail is completed

    The Appalachian Trail is completed
  • The Naval Expansion Act passes

    The Naval Expansion Act passes
  • The Baseball Hall of Fame opens in Cooperstown, NY

    The Baseball Hall of Fame opens in Cooperstown, NY
  • U.S. Congress approves and enacts the first peacetime conscription draft

    U.S. Congress approves and enacts the first peacetime conscription draft
  • Atlantic Charter is issued by President Roosevelt and Churchill

    Atlantic Charter is issued by President Roosevelt and Churchill
  • The development of the first atomic bomb is signed into agreement

    The development of the first atomic bomb is signed into agreement
  • Race riots in Detroit and Harlem

    Race riots in Detroit and Harlem
  • The G.I. Bill of Rights is signed into law

     The G.I. Bill of Rights is signed into law
  • President Roosevelt dies suddenly

    President Roosevelt dies suddenly
  • The Atomic Energy Commission is established

    The Atomic Energy Commission is established
  • Theodore Roosevelt National Park is established

     Theodore Roosevelt National Park is established
  • The Soviet Union begins its land blockade of the Allied sectors of Berlin

     The Soviet Union begins its land blockade of the Allied sectors of Berlin
  • United States withdraws its troops from Korea

    United States withdraws its troops from Korea
  • Period: to

    1950-1969

  • Julius and Ethel Rosenberg were found guilty espionage

  • The 1952 Winter Olympics open in Helsinki, Finland

  • The first color televisions go on sale

  • Racial segregation in public schools is declared unconstitutional by the US Supreme Court in Brown vs. the Board of Education

  • Rosa Parks refuses to give up her seat

  • The first transatlantic telephone cable begins operation

  • President Eisenhower is inaugurated for his second term in office

  • Explorer I, the first U.S. space satellite, is launched by the Army at Cape Canaveral

  • Alaska becomes 49th US state

  • Tiros I, the first weather satellite, is launched by the US

  • entire US figure skating team is killed in a plane crash near Brussels, Belgium

  • The Cuban Missile Crises begins

  • The Civil Rights march on Washington, D.C. culminates with Dr. MLK's "I Have a Dream" speech

  • Muhammad Ali wins the World Heavyweight Championship in Boxing

  • The New York World's Fair opens in Queens, New York

  • The Voting Rights Act of 1965 is signed into law

  • Medicare, the government medical program for citizens over the age of 65, begins

  • The New York Jets win Super Bowl III over the Baltimore Colts

  • Thurgood Marshall is sworn into office as first black Supreme Court Justice

  • Martin Luther King is assassinated in Memphis, Tennessee

  • The Apollo program completes its mission

  • Period: to

    1970-1979

  • US troops invade Cambodia

  • Anti-war militants attempt to disrupt government business in Washington

  • Britain takes over direct rule of Northern Ireland in bid for peace

  • Greek military junta abolishes monarchy and proclaims republic

  • Patricia Hearst, 19-year-old daughter of publisher Randolph Hearst, kidnapped by Symbionese Liberation Army

  • President Ford escapes second assassination attempt

  • First woman Episcopal priest ordained

  • Ford signs Federal Election Campaign Act

  • new Pope, John Paul I, 65, dies unexpectedly

  • Nuclear power plant accident at Three Mile Island, Pa., releases radiation