Complete Phase 5 Timeline: The Modern World
A comprehensive timeline of the modern period (1760–1945), from the Industrial Revolution through two world wars, covering industrialization, imperialism, revolution, and global conflict.
Watt's Steam Engine
James Watt's improved steam engine launches the Industrial Revolution.
Communist Manifesto & Revolutions of 1848
Marx publishes the Manifesto as revolutions sweep Europe.
First Opium War Begins
Britain forces China open to trade, beginning the 'century of humiliation.'
Italian Unification
The Kingdom of Italy is proclaimed after Garibaldi's legendary campaign.
Meiji Restoration
Japan begins its transformation into a modern industrial power.
German Unification
Bismarck forges a powerful German nation-state through 'blood and iron.'
Edison's Electric Light
The practical light bulb begins the electrification of the world.
Berlin Conference Divides Africa
European powers partition the African continent among themselves.
Ford's Assembly Line
Mass production is born, creating the modern consumer economy.
Assassination of Franz Ferdinand
The spark that ignites World War I.
Russian Revolution
The Bolsheviks seize power, creating the world's first communist state.
World War I Ends
The armistice ends four years of industrial slaughter that killed 20 million.
Treaty of Versailles
The punitive peace settlement that plants the seeds of World War II.
Wall Street Crash
The Great Depression begins, creating mass unemployment and political extremism.
Gandhi's Salt March
Nonviolent resistance galvanizes the Indian independence movement.
Hitler Becomes Chancellor
Nazi Germany begins — democracy dies within months.
World War II Begins
Germany invades Poland, beginning the deadliest conflict in history.
Germany Invades the Soviet Union
Operation Barbarossa opens the front that will destroy Nazi Germany.
Pearl Harbor Attack
Japan's surprise attack brings the United States into the war.
Stalingrad — The Turning Point
The bloodiest battle in history ends with German surrender.
D-Day
The Allied invasion of Normandy opens the Western Front.
V-E Day
Germany surrenders unconditionally.
Hiroshima
The atomic bomb ushers in the nuclear age.
Japan Surrenders — WWII Ends
The deadliest conflict in history ends. 70-85 million people have died.