Twentieth Century History

Britain issues the Balfour Declaration in 1917 which calls for "Support of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people....it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine."

Sykes-Picot Agreement- divided the Ottoman Arab lands into zones exercised by either French or British spheres of influence. Palestine came under British influence in 1916.

The unraveling of former Yugoslavia brought with it a series of wars, mainly the war in Croatia between 1991 and 1995 and the war in Bosnia between 1992 and 1995. Fighting in Slovenia, which lasted 10 days and was settled peacefully, preceded them. The war in Kosovo in 1998 and 1999 was the last armed conflict in the Balkans.

Korea remained under Japanese rule until Japan surrendered to the Allies at the end of WWII.

Britain issues the Balfour Declaration in 1917 which calls for "Support of the establishment in Palestine of a national home for the Jewish people....it being clearly understood that nothing shall be done which may prejudice the civil and religious rights of existing non-Jewish communities in Palestine."

The U.S. occupied the southern portion of Korea from 1945 to 1948, while the Soviets occupied the northern portion of the nation.

Henry Ford is one of those rare entrepreneurs who revolutionized the way people live. Many historians of the American industry rank him as the most important inventor of the 20th century. His automobile not only altered transportation but changed the American factory system. In 1896, Ford met Thomas Edison, who was intrigued by his designs and helped put Ford in contact with interested investors. Ford left Edison Illuminating in 1899 to become superintendent of the Detroit Automobile Company, allowing him to devote his full attention to designing cars. 

While members of the Hutu ethnic group dominated Rwandan society and politics, the Tutsi had enough of a population to pose a political threat. As the 1990s began, the Hutu and Tutsi, who had been rivals for a while, became even more vehemently opposed to each other. The Tutsi claimed that the Hutu-dominated government did not represent their needs, and the Hutu blamed the nation's economic decline on the Tutsi. 

The Wright Flyer was a bi-plane design, meaning it basically had double wings, which allowed for greater lift at lower speeds. It was a primitive craft, constructed of wood and fabric. 

Hutu ethnic group dominated Rwandan society and politics, the Tutsi had enough of a population to pose a political threat. As the 1990s began, the Hutu and Tutsi, who had been rivals for a while, became even more vehemently opposed to each other. The Tutsi claimed that the Hutu-dominated government did not represent their needs, and the Hutu blamed the nation's economic decline on the Tutsi. In addition, the Hutu still feared the Tutsi because the Tutsi themselves had been the oppressive rulers of the region a while back. So, there was a lot of tension, tension which was actively encouraged by the Rwandan president, a Hutu. Then, in 1994, a plane carrying the Rwandan president was shot down. It was enough to push the nation into a civil war.

In socialist Yugoslavia, several ethnic and religious groups lived together in one state: Orthodox Serbs, Roman-Catholic Croats, Muslim Bosniacs, and others. Yugoslavia was comprised of six republics: Serbia, Croatia, Bosnia Herzegovina, Macedonia, Slovenia, and Montenegro. Two autonomous provinces were part of Serbia: Kosovo and Vojvodina.

The name of their aircraft was the Wright Flyer. Their first flight lasted only 12 seconds, traveling just 120 feet.

The First World War oversaw the development of combat aircraft, which by 1918 were differentiated into fighters, bombers, and long-range bombers.

On December 17, 1903, the age of aviation was born when the brothers flew the first true airplane near Kitty Hawk, North Carolina. 

While members of the Hutu ethnic group dominated Rwandan society and politics, the Tutsi had enough of a population to pose a political threat. As the 1990s began, the Hutu and Tutsi, who had been rivals for a while, became even more vehemently opposed to each other. The Tutsi claimed that the Hutu-dominated government did not represent their needs, and the Hutu blamed the nation's economic decline on the Tutsi. Besides, the Hutu still feared the Tutsi because the Tutsi themselves had been the oppressive rulers of the region a while back. So, there was a lot of tension, the tension which was actively encouraged by the Rwandan president, a Hutu. Then, in 1994, a plane carrying the Rwandan president was shot down. It was enough to push the nation into a civil war.

The White Star Line, was one of Great Britain's largest shipping companies and commissioned the construction the Titanic. The Titanic, and her sister ships, Olympic and Britannic, were conceived as White Star's response to the newly launched Cunard Line vessels, Lusitania and Mauretania. The Cunard vessels were the fastest passenger ships in service at the time. White Star decided to counter the speed of the new Cunard Liners by offering more luxurious, grander vessels. The company was banking that luxury would be more marketable than speed.

Henry Ford came back in the spotlight, after his 999 race car, driven by racer Barney Oldfield, won the Manufacturer's Cup Challenge, again defeating Winston. The win gained Ford more investors, and in 1903, he launched Ford Motor Company, beginning production on the Model A.

The RMS Titanic sank in the early morning of 15 April 1912 in the North Atlantic Ocean, four days into the ship's maiden voyage from Southampton to New York City.

In 1918 the Representation of the People Act was passed which allowed women over the age of 30 who met a property qualification to vote. Although 8.5 million women met this criteria, it was only about two-thirds of the total population of women in the UK.

The White Star Line was one of Great Britain's largest shipping companies and commissioned the construction of the Titanic. The Titanic, and her sister ships, Olympic and Britannic, were conceived as White Star's response to the newly launched Cunard Line vessels, Lusitania and Mauretania.

Henry Ford is one of those rare entrepreneurs who revolutionized the way people live. Many historians of the American industry rank him as the most important inventor of the 20th century. His automobile not only altered transportation but changed the American factory system. I908, the Model T, or 'Tin Lizzie', became an instant hit. He needed to shift away from producing race cars and luxury cars in favor of building for the general public. The Model T remained in continual production - with over 15 million made - until 1927. The design worked because it was simple, increasingly affordable, and famously came in one color - black.

The average age of those who died during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic in the US and Canada was 28 years old. Globally, those between the ages of 20 and 40 were particularly susceptible but the reasons for this remain a mystery. Normally, influenza hits infants and the elderly the hardest, as well as those with compromised immune systems and pregnant women. Theories for the odd behavior of the 1918 Influenza Pandemic are that the elderly may have had antibodies from past outbreaks, and that the massive crowding of soldiers during World War I, especially on troop transports, might have been factors.

Clarence Birdseye is credited with inventing in 1924 the quick freezing method, which produces the type of frozen foods that we know today.

In 1913, Henry Ford created the first moving assembly line, whereby each worker specialized and built or assembled only one part of a car as it moved by them. It was like a series of jigsaw puzzles where each worker was assigned a different spatial area, and in the end, the entire puzzle was completed though no one person had worked on the entire form.

The 1918 Influenza Pandemic had previously surfaced in the United States and France (where it was known by the code name disease XI), but as both were fighting in World War I, it was kept quiet. Spain, which was neutral, had a free press and so was the first to report the existence of the pandemic.

The Empire State Building is a 102-story Art Deco skyscraper in Midtown Manhattan, New York City. It was designed by Shreve, Lamb & Harmon and completed in 1931. The building has a roof height of 1,250 feet and stands a total of 1,454 feet tall, including its antenna.

Penicillin was discovered in 1928 by Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming. There are several enhanced penicillin families which are effective against additional bacteria; these include the antistaphylococcal penicillins, aminopenicillins, and the antipseudomonal penicillins. They are derived from Penicillium fungi.

More people died during the 1918 Influenza Pandemic than the total number of military and civilian deaths in World War I.

Walt Disney, King George V, Franz Kafka, Emperor Haile Selassie I and Edvard Munch, they all survived the Influenza Pandemic of 1918.

Antibiotics are medicines that treat bacterial infections. They do not cure infections caused by viruses, such as the common cold or flu. Taking antibiotics when you do NOT need them can prevent them working when you DO need them.

Nathuram Vinayak Godse assassinated Mahatma Gandhi in New Delhi on 30 January 1948. Godse was an advocate of Hindu nationalism, from Pune, Maharashtra. 

The Universal Declaration of Human Rights was adopted on 10 December 1948 at the Palais de Chaillot, in Paris, France.

There have been four Influenza Pandemics in the last 100 years: 1918, 1957, 1968, and 2009.

Penicillin was discovered in 1928 by Scottish scientist Alexander Fleming. There are several enhanced penicillin families which are effective against additional bacteria; these include the antistaphylococcal penicillins, aminopenicillins, and the antipseudomonal penicillins. They are derived from Penicillium fungi.

The 1918 influenza pandemic is estimated to have infected approximately one-third of the world's population at the time.

Gregory Goodwin Pincus was an American biologist and researcher who co-invented the combined oral contraceptive pill in 1951.

On 18 March 1967, the Torrey Canyon, one of the world's biggest tankers, ran aground between Land's End and the Isles of Scilly, leaking more than 100,000 tonnes of crude oil into the sea. It was the UK's worst oil spill to date, causing major environmental damage with more than 20,000 sea birds contaminated.

On July 1, 1979, Sony Corp. introduced the Sony Walkman TPS-L2, a 14 ounce, blue-and-silver, portable cassette player with chunky buttons, headphones and a leather case. It even had a second earphone jack so that two people could listen in at once.

The Berlin Wall was a guarded concrete barrier that physically and ideologically divided Berlin from 1961 to 1989. Construction of the Wall was commenced by the German Democratic Republic on 13 August 1961. The Wall cut off West Berlin from surrounding East Germany, including East Berlin.

Arpanet was the first real network to run on packet switching technology (new at the time). On October 29, 1969, computers at Stanford and UCLA connected for the first time. In effect, they were the first hosts on what would one day become the Internet.

The Chernobyl Power Complex was a nuclear power plant of four reactors built by the USSR in their satellite state of Ukraine in the 1970s and 1980s. This was an important time for the USSR when the nation's economy was starting to struggle thanks to the costs of the Cold War.

The first Mini, or Mark I, was launched in 1959. The Mark I Mini (19591967) was the first version of British Motors Corporation's Mini. It is characterized by its sliding windows, external door hinges and "mustache" grille. In the United Kingdom the Mark I was produced between 1959 and 1967.

The Berlin Wall fell on 9 November 1989. In 1989, political changes in Eastern Europe and civil unrest in Germany put pressure on the East German government to loosen some of its regulations on travel to West Germany.

Apollo 11 was the first manned mission to land on the Moon. The first steps by humans on another planetary body were taken by Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin on July 20, 1969. The astronauts also returned to Earth the first samples from another planetary body.

On June 27, 1954, the world's first nuclear power station to generate electricity for a power grid, the Obninsk Nuclear Power Plant, started operations in Obninsk, the Soviet Union. The world's first full-scale power station, Calder Hall in England, opened on October 17, 1956.

Up till 1871, Germany had not been a single country, but a collection of many tiny states. In 1871, however, Prussia the biggest German state defeated France in a war. Germany took the two French provinces of Alsace and Lorraine and the new German Empire was declared in the Palace of Versailles near Paris.

Nelson Mandela served 27 years in prison, split between Robben Island, Pollsmoor Prison, and Victor Verster Prison. Amid growing domestic and international pressure, and with fears of racial civil war, President F. W. de Klerk released him in 1990.

The arrival of Germany onto the world stage destabilised international relations. The new Germany was an economic and military superpower and it frightened the other nations.

Britain joined EEC in January 1973 under the premiership of Edward Heath. The 1974 Wilson government was unhappy with the terms of EEC membership and held a referendum in June 1975.

One way they responded was by forming alliances, seeking safety by making defensive agreements with other countries. The idea behind these alliances was that no one would dare to attack you because they knew it would involve war, not just with you, but with all your allies as well. The second was militarism not just building up your armies and navies to dissuade others from attacking you, but also the belief that a military solution would solve the problem.

In the nineteenth century, international relations had been dominated by two forces nationalism (the belief in my nation, right or wrong) and imperialism (the belief that nations had the right to conquer other lands and build up an empire).