Choosing 50 key dates from world history is a daunting task. No two people are
likely to choose the same 50. Any list will prompt the response “why did you
leave that out? Or put that in?”
Important dates are not the same as well-known dates. Every schoolchild used
to know 1066, 1588 and 1815 but only the last appears in my list, and not
just for the sake of the Battle of Waterloo. Any list of just 50 dates has
to take account of some obvious limitations. No date appears before the
start of human civilisations about 5,500 years ago and the beginning of a
written or pictorial history. Some dates are very fuzzy, partly because
there is no particular year in which it is possible to say “the wheel was
invented then”, despite its clear importance; partly because the accounts we
have, even of quite recent events, can be misdated; partly because primarily
oral cultures produce either no chronology or one that is wholly
speculative.
The question of geography means leaving out many key dates from the history of
Europe to make room for dates from Ancient China, or the Middle East, or the
Americas. World history is global, even if it much of it has been dominated
by Europe.
Why, then, these dates and not 50 others? Human history is a vast and complex
story, but human society has worked over the past 5,000 years only because
of some key inventions and discoveries. That is why the wheel, the plough,
the sail and the watch are there.
Human societies have been held together by religion, which is why the major
religious founders are here. Religion links the modern world with the past
2,000 or 3,000 years. Every day millions of people read the Bible, a
document of an entirely lost world, but a book, like the Koran, of enormous
power.
Political events are seldom as important, but at times they shape the future
in fundamental ways. That is why the unification of Ancient China is there.
China is still a large, unified state occupying roughly the same area that
it did 2,000 years ago. If the Persians had blotted out Ancient Greece, or
the Carthaginians had destroyed Rome, the classical world would have been
very different. The rise and fall of Communism in the 20th century affected
the lives of millions.
Lastly, human intelligence and creativity shaped the way we think about the
world. Newtonian physics, Einstein’s relativity theory, Darwin’s biology and
the works of Shakespeare have all made the world a different place. If there
were room, Copernicus or Goethe or Nietzsche, or a dozen nonEuropean
thinkers, might all have as good a claim. These are dates that arguably
changed the way human society developed for better or worse over the past
five millennia.
The historian’s choice
1 c.3500 BC Invention of the wheel and plough in Mesopotamia
(present-day Iraq); invention of the sail in Egypt: three fundamental
inventions for trade, agriculture and exploration.
2 c.3200 BC Invention of writing in Mesopotamia: the means to record
and understand human history.
3 c.3000 BC Founding of the first cities in Sumeria (present-day Iraq):
origin of modern social and administrative structures.
4 c.1600 BC Modern alphabet invented: the essential means of
communication of complex concepts and culture.
5 c.1600 BC Beginning of Greek civilisation: essential to Western
heritage and the root of mathematics, philosophy, political thinking and
medicine.
6 753 BC Foundation of Rome: the Roman Empire is a pillar of the modern
age, producing ideas on justice, law, engineering and warfare.
7 c.670 BC Invention of ironworking: metallurgy is the key to further
technical, economic and military developments.
8 c.551 BC Birth of Confucius, the founder of one of the world’s major
philosophical systems.
9 490 BC Battle of Marathon: the Greeks repel a Persian invasion,
securing the survival of Greek culture and science.
10 486 BC Birth of Buddha, founder of one of the world’s major
religions.
11 327 BC Empire of Alexander the Great reaches into India: the first
example of a long-term and often violent interrelationship between Europe
and Asia.
12 202 BC Hannibal is defeated by Rome: the victory is essential to
secure the survival and expansion of Roman civilisation.
13 27 BC Founding of the Roman Empire: this is the start of the classic
period of Roman domination in Europe and the Mediterranean.
14 c.5 BC Birth of Jesus Christ, founder of the many branches of
Christianity. The exact date is disputed.
15 AD 105 First use of modern paper: this replaced stone, slate,
papyrus and vellum as a cheap and convenient medium.
16 AD 280 Unification of China under the Western Chin dynasty creates
the political shape of modern China.
17 AD 312 Roman Emperor Constantine converts to Christianity: this made
it possible for Christianity to spread across Europe.
18 AD 476 Fall of the Roman Empire in the West ends 800 years of Roman
hegemony. The creation of moderen Europe begins.
19 c.AD 570 Birth of Muhammad, founder of one of the world’s great
religions.
20 c.AD 730 Printing invented in China: an essential step in mass
communication/ administration/cultural dissemination.
21 AD 800 Charlemagne crowned Emperor of the new Western Empire. This
marked the point at which Europe began to reintegrate. The Holy Roman Empire
lasts for 1,000 years.
22 1054 Schism of Greek and Latin Christian Churches divides
Christianity permanently into two geographical and denominational halves.
23 1088 First university founded in Bologna, Italy: the start of a
modern conception of higher learning and universal knowledge.
24 1206 Genghis Khan begins his conquest of Asia. This has a major
impact on Asian development and the movement of peoples.
25 1215 Magna Carta signed by King John at Runnymede: this is the
origin of the modern concept of constitutional rule.
26 1453 Fall of Constantinople to the Ottoman Turks: Almost 500 years
of Turkish domination of the Eastern Mediterranean, North Africa and the
Middle East begins.
27 1455 First book printed with moveable type: Johannes Gutenberg’s
revolution in printing technology makes mass-market reading possible.
28 1492 Christopher Columbus discovers the New World, bringing the
Americas into a global trading/cultural system.
29 1509 Invention of the watch: essential to a modern economy and
administration, this introduces the concept of regular timekeeping.
30 1517 Martin Luther launches the Reformation. It is the start of
Protestant Christianity and the idea of religious individualism.
31 1519 Cortes begins his conquest of South America, which becomes part
of the wider world economic and political system.
32 1564 William Shakespeare is born: his plays make fundamental
statements about the human condition.
33 1651 Thomas Hobbes’s Leviathan is published: this is the origin of
the modern idea of civil society, equality before the law and egoistic
individualism]
34 1687 Isaac Newton publishes Principia Mathematica, the foundation of
modern physics.
35 1776 American Declaration of Independence determines the political
evolution of the New World and the rise of American power.
36 1789 French Revolution marks a fundamental break with the tradition
of monarchy; the “rights of man” are enshrined.
37 1815 Battle of Waterloo: the Napoleonic Empire ends, and with it
Napoleon’s ambition to rule and reform all of Europe.
38 1825 Rocket steam locomotive built, marking the start of the railway
age of cheap, fast land transport.
39 1859 Publication of Darwin’s The Origin of Species. His theory of
evolution transforms the view of Man and his environment, and belief in God.
40 1885 Benz develops first petrol-driven car, starting the most
profound technical and social revolution of the modern age.
41 1893 New Zealand introduces unrestricted women’s suffrage. At this
point women win the principle of full political equality.
42 1905 Einstein’s theory of special relativity published. It
transforms the nature of modern physical knowledge.
43 1917 Russian Revolution creates the first successful, long-term
revolutionary state.
44 1918 End of the First World War. The Habsburg and Ottoman empires
collapse; maps of Europe and the Middle East are redrawn.
45 1939 Outbreak of Second Worldd War: 50 million die worldwide from
1939-45 in the world’s largest and most deadly conflict, which ends the long
age of imperialisms.
46 1945 End of Second World War; when the first nuclear bomb is
detonated, mankind develops the means to destroy itself.
47 1949 Communist China founded: China is created as a single
territorial unit with a common administration and a modernising economy.
48 1959 Invention of the silicon chip is the major technical invention
of the past century, making possible the computer age.
49 1960 First contraceptive pill made available for women, who can now
make their own biological choices about reproduction.
50 1989-90 Collapse of Communist regimes in Europe: marks the end of
the long communist experiment; Asian communism is also transformed.
...or are these more important?
Sir Ranulph Fiennes, adventurer
AD0000 Birth of Christ 1415 Battle of Agincourt: always nice to keep the
French in their place 1066 My family arrived at Hastings and we’ve been here
ever since 1990 Berlin Wall knocked down: victory over Marxism 1945 VE Day:
victory over Fascism
Amanda Foreman, biographer; author of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire
753BC Foundation of Rome: the spread of civic virtue 1564 Birth of
Shakespeare: the apotheosis of the English language 1767 Invention of the
Spinning Jenny: the subjugation of man to machine 1945 Detonation of the
A-bomb: the perfection of war 2001 9/11 attacks: the triumph of terrorism
Orlando Figes, historian; author of A People’s Tragedy
c. 1438 Johannes Gutenberg’s printing press 1685 Birth of J.S. Bach, father of
modern music 1789 The first modern revolution (French Revolution) 1796
Edward Jenner’s smallpox vaccination: the first real breakthrough in
combating infectious diseases 1833 Abolition of slavery by the UK Parliament
Baroness Neuberger, rabbi; Liberal Democrat peer
2737BC The discovery of tea by the Chinese Emperor Shen Nung 1847 Ignaz
Semmelweis demonstrates that thorough handwashing by doctors and midwives
dramatically reduces death in childbirth 1849 Henry Layard discovers the
library of Ashurbanipal at Nineveh and the standard version of the Epic of
Gilgamesh, which contains the earliest version of the flood story 1907 James
Murray Spangler invents the vacuum cleaner that becomes the Hoover 1967 Dame
Cicely Saunders founds St Christopher’s Hospice in London, the first modern
hospice
Richard Morrison, columnist and critic
1066 Last invasion of Britain (Battle of Hastings) 1685 Birth of three great
composers: Bach, Handel and Rameau 1807 Abolition of the slave trade 1876
Wagner completes The Ring, the most stupendous artwork ever created 1926
John Logie Baird gives the first public demonstration of television
Hugo Rifkind, Times diarist
456BC Birth of Aristophanes, father of comedy 1789 Most famous misquote, when
Marie Antoinette almost certainly does not say “let them eat cake” 1875
Henry Nestlé and Daniel Peter invent milk chocolate 1912 Opening of the
world’s first fast-food outlet, Automat, in New York City 1957 Panorama
shows the world’s greatest hoax, of Swiss spaghetti farmers preparing for
harvest
The Times Complete History of the World, edited by Richard Overy, is
published by Collins and available now, price £75. It is available from
Times BooksFirst for £67.50, free p&p. 0870 1608080, timesonline.co.uk/booksfirst
