Twentieth Century
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The 20th century began on 1 January
1901 December 13 of this year is the beginning of signed 32-bit Unix time, and is scheduled to end in January 19, 2038. Summary Political and military 1901 started with the unification of multiple British colonies in Australia on January ...
(MCMI), and ended on 31 December
2000 2000 was designated as the International Year for the Culture of Peace and the World Mathematics, Mathematical Year. Popular culture holds the year 2000 as the first year of the 21st century and the 3rd millennium, because of a tende ...
(MM). It was the 10th and last century in the
2nd millennium File:2nd millennium montage.png, From top left, clockwise: in 1492, Christopher Columbus reaches the New World, opening the European colonization of the Americas; the American Revolution, one of the late 1700s Enlightenment-inspired Atlantic Rev ...
and was marked by new models of scientific understanding, unprecedented scopes of warfare, new modes of communication that would operate at nearly instant speeds, and new forms of art and entertainment.
Population growth Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. The World population, global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to 8.2 billion in 2025. Actual global human population growth amounts to aroun ...
was also unprecedented, as the century started with around 1.6 billion people, and ended with around 6.2 billion. The 20th century was dominated by significant geopolitical events that reshaped the political and social structure of the globe:
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
, the
Spanish flu pandemic The 1918–1920 flu pandemic, also known as the Great Influenza epidemic or by the common misnomer Spanish flu, was an exceptionally deadly global influenza pandemic caused by the H1N1 subtype of the influenza A virus. The earliest document ...
,
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
and the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
. Unprecedented advances in science and technology defined the century, including the advent of
nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear exp ...
s and
nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...
,
space exploration Space exploration is the process of utilizing astronomy and space technology to investigate outer space. While the exploration of space is currently carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration is conducted bo ...
, the shift from analog to digital computing and the continuing advancement of transportation, including
powered flight An aircraft engine, often referred to as an aero engine, is the power component of an aircraft Air propulsion, propulsion system. Aircraft using power components are referred to as powered flight. Most aircraft engines are either Reciprocating ...
and the
automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...
. The Earth's sixth mass extinction event, the
Holocene extinction The Holocene extinction, also referred to as the Anthropocene extinction or the sixth mass extinction, is an ongoing extinction event caused exclusively by human activities during the Holocene epoch. This extinction event spans numerous families ...
, continued, and human conservation efforts increased. Major themes of the century included
decolonization Decolonization is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby Imperialism, imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. The meanings and applications of the term are disputed. Some scholar ...
,
nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
,
globalization Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...
and new forms of
intergovernmental organization Globalization is social change associated with increased connectivity among societies and their elements and the explosive evolution of transportation and telecommunication technologies to facilitate international cultural and economic exchange. ...
s.
Democracy Democracy (from , ''dēmos'' 'people' and ''kratos'' 'rule') is a form of government in which political power is vested in the people or the population of a state. Under a minimalist definition of democracy, rulers are elected through competitiv ...
spread, and women were given the right to vote in many countries in the world.
Cultural homogenization Cultural homogenization is an aspect of cultural globalization, listed as one of its main characteristics, and refers to the reduction in cultural diversity through the popularization and diffusion of a wide array of cultural symbols—not onl ...
began through developments in emerging transportation and
information and communications technology Information and communications technology (ICT) is an extensional term for information technology (IT) that stresses the role of unified communications and the integration of telecommunications (telephone lines and wireless signals) and computer ...
, with
popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
and other influences of
Western culture Western culture, also known as Western civilization, European civilization, Occidental culture, Western society, or simply the West, refers to the Cultural heritage, internally diverse culture of the Western world. The term "Western" encompas ...
, international corporations, and what is arguably a truly
global economy The world economy or global economy is the economy of all humans in the world, referring to the global economic system, which includes all economic activities conducted both within and between nations, including production, consumption, econ ...
by the end of the 20th century. Poverty was reduced and the century saw rising standards of living,
world population In demographics of the world, world demographics, the world population is the total number of humans currently alive. It was estimated by the United Nations to have exceeded eight billion in mid-November 2022. It took around 300,000 years of h ...
growth, awareness of
environmental degradation Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, referring respectively to all living and non-living things occurring naturally and the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism ...
and ecological extinction. Wilson, E.O., ''The Future of Life'' (2002) (). See also: Leakey, Richard, ''The Sixth Extinction : Patterns of Life and the Future of Humankind'',
Automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...
s,
airplane An airplane (American English), or aeroplane (Commonwealth English), informally plane, is a fixed-wing aircraft that is propelled forward by thrust from a jet engine, Propeller (aircraft), propeller, or rocket engine. Airplanes come in a vari ...
s, and
home appliance A home appliance, also referred to as a domestic appliance, an electric appliance or a household appliance, is a machine which assists in household functions such as cooking, cleaning and food preservation. The domestic application attached to ...
s became common, and
video Video is an Electronics, electronic medium for the recording, copying, playback, broadcasting, and display of moving picture, moving image, visual Media (communication), media. Video was first developed for mechanical television systems, whi ...
and
audio recording Sound recording and reproduction is the electrical, mechanical, electronic, or digital inscription and re-creation of sound waves, such as spoken voice, singing, instrumental music, or sound effects. The two main classes of sound recording t ...
saw mass adoption. These developments were made possible by the exploitation of
fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geolog ...
resources, which offered energy in an easily portable form, but also caused concern about pollution and long-term impact on the environment. Humans started to explore
space Space is a three-dimensional continuum containing positions and directions. In classical physics, physical space is often conceived in three linear dimensions. Modern physicists usually consider it, with time, to be part of a boundless ...
, taking their first footsteps on the
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
. Great advances in
electricity generation Electricity generation is the process of generating electric power from sources of primary energy. For electric utility, utilities in the electric power industry, it is the stage prior to its Electricity delivery, delivery (Electric power transm ...
and
telecommunications Telecommunication, often used in its plural form or abbreviated as telecom, is the transmission of information over a distance using electronic means, typically through cables, radio waves, or other communication technologies. These means of ...
allowed for near-instantaneous worldwide communication, ultimately leading to the
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
. Meanwhile, advances in
medical technology Health technology is defined by the World Health Organization as the "application of organized knowledge and skills in the form of devices, medicines, vaccines, procedures, and systems developed to solve a health problem and improve quality of liv ...
resulted in the near-eradication and eradication of many infectious diseases, as well as opening the avenue of biological
genetic engineering Genetic engineering, also called genetic modification or genetic manipulation, is the modification and manipulation of an organism's genes using technology. It is a set of Genetic engineering techniques, technologies used to change the genet ...
. Scientific discoveries, such as the
theory of relativity The theory of relativity usually encompasses two interrelated physics theories by Albert Einstein: special relativity and general relativity, proposed and published in 1905 and 1915, respectively. Special relativity applies to all physical ph ...
and
quantum physics Quantum mechanics is the fundamental physical Scientific theory, theory that describes the behavior of matter and of light; its unusual characteristics typically occur at and below the scale of atoms. Reprinted, Addison-Wesley, 1989, It is ...
, profoundly changed the foundational models of physical science, forcing scientists to realize that the universe is more complex than previously believed, and dashing the hopes (or fears) at the end of the 19th century that the last few details of scientific knowledge were about to be filled in.


Summary

At the beginning of the period, the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
is the world's most powerful nation, having acted as the world's policeman for the past century. Technological advancements during
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
changed the way war is fought, as new inventions such as
tank A tank is an armoured fighting vehicle intended as a primary offensive weapon in front-line ground combat. Tank designs are a balance of heavy firepower, strong armour, and battlefield mobility provided by tracks and a powerful engine; ...
s,
chemical weapons A chemical weapon (CW) is a specialized munition that uses chemicals formulated to inflict death or harm on humans. According to the Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW), this can be any chemical compound intended as ...
, and aircraft modified tactics and strategy. After more than four years of
trench warfare Trench warfare is a type of land warfare using occupied lines largely comprising Trench#Military engineering, military trenches, in which combatants are well-protected from the enemy's small arms fire and are substantially sheltered from a ...
in Western Europe, and up to 17 million dead, the powers that had formed the
Triple Entente The Triple Entente (from French meaning "friendship, understanding, agreement") describes the informal understanding between the Russian Empire, the French Third Republic, and the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland. It was built upon th ...
(
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Britain Britain most often refers to: * Great Britain, a large island comprising the countries of England, Scotland and Wales * The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, a sovereign state in Europe comprising Great Britain and the north-eas ...
, and
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
, later replaced by the United States and joined by
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
and
Romania Romania is a country located at the crossroads of Central Europe, Central, Eastern Europe, Eastern and Southeast Europe. It borders Ukraine to the north and east, Hungary to the west, Serbia to the southwest, Bulgaria to the south, Moldova to ...
) emerged victorious over the
Central Powers The Central Powers, also known as the Central Empires,; ; , ; were one of the two main coalitions that fought in World War I (1914–1918). It consisted of the German Empire, Austria-Hungary, the Ottoman Empire, and the Kingdom of Bulga ...
(
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
Austria-Hungary Austria-Hungary, also referred to as the Austro-Hungarian Empire, the Dual Monarchy or the Habsburg Monarchy, was a multi-national constitutional monarchy in Central Europe#Before World War I, Central Europe between 1867 and 1918. A military ...
, the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
and
Bulgaria Bulgaria, officially the Republic of Bulgaria, is a country in Southeast Europe. It is situated on the eastern portion of the Balkans directly south of the Danube river and west of the Black Sea. Bulgaria is bordered by Greece and Turkey t ...
). In addition to annexing many of the colonial possessions of the vanquished states, the Triple Entente exacted punitive restitution payments from them, plunging Germany in particular into
economic depression An economic depression is a period of carried long-term economic downturn that is the result of lowered economic activity in one or more major national economies. It is often understood in economics that economic crisis and the following recession ...
. The Austro-Hungarian and Ottoman empires were dismantled at the war's conclusion. The
Russian Revolution The Russian Revolution was a period of Political revolution (Trotskyism), political and social revolution, social change in Russian Empire, Russia, starting in 1917. This period saw Russia Dissolution of the Russian Empire, abolish its mona ...
resulted in the overthrow of the
Tsar Tsar (; also spelled ''czar'', ''tzar'', or ''csar''; ; ; sr-Cyrl-Latn, цар, car) is a title historically used by Slavic monarchs. The term is derived from the Latin word '' caesar'', which was intended to mean ''emperor'' in the Euro ...
ist regime of
Nicholas II Nicholas II (Nikolai Alexandrovich Romanov; 186817 July 1918) or Nikolai II was the last reigning Emperor of Russia, King of Congress Poland, and Grand Duke of Finland from 1 November 1894 until his abdication on 15 March 1917. He married ...
and the onset of the
Russian Civil War The Russian Civil War () was a multi-party civil war in the former Russian Empire sparked by the 1917 overthrowing of the Russian Provisional Government in the October Revolution, as many factions vied to determine Russia's political future. I ...
. The victorious
Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
then established the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, the world's first
communist state A communist state, also known as a Marxist–Leninist state, is a one-party state in which the totality of the power belongs to a party adhering to some form of Marxism–Leninism, a branch of the communist ideology. Marxism–Leninism was ...
.
Fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...
, a movement which grew out of post-war
angst Angst is a feeling of anxiety, apprehension, or insecurity. ''Anguish'' is its Romance languages, Latinate cognate, equivalent, and the words ''anxious'' and ''anxiety'' are of similar origin. Etymology The word ''angst'' was introduced in ...
and which accelerated during the
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
of the 1930s, gained momentum in
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
,
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
, and
Spain Spain, or the Kingdom of Spain, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe with territories in North Africa. Featuring the Punta de Tarifa, southernmost point of continental Europe, it is the largest country in Southern Eur ...
in the 1920s and 1930s, culminating in
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
, sparked by
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
's aggressive expansion at the expense of its neighbors. Meanwhile,
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
had rapidly transformed itself into a technologically advanced industrial power and, along with Germany and Italy, formed the
Axis powers The Axis powers, originally called the Rome–Berlin Axis and also Rome–Berlin–Tokyo Axis, was the military coalition which initiated World War II and fought against the Allies of World War II, Allies. Its principal members were Nazi Ge ...
. Japan's military
expansionism Expansionism refers to states obtaining greater territory through military Imperialism, empire-building or colonialism. In the classical age of conquest moral justification for territorial expansion at the direct expense of another established p ...
in East Asia and the Pacific Ocean brought it into conflict with the United States, culminating in a surprise attack which drew the US into World War II. After some years of dramatic military success, Germany is defeated in 1945, having been invaded by the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
and
Poland Poland, officially the Republic of Poland, is a country in Central Europe. It extends from the Baltic Sea in the north to the Sudetes and Carpathian Mountains in the south, bordered by Lithuania and Russia to the northeast, Belarus and Ukrai ...
from the East and by the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada, and
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
from the West. After the victory of the
Allies An alliance is a relationship among people, groups, or states that have joined together for mutual benefit or to achieve some common purpose, whether or not an explicit agreement has been worked out among them. Members of an alliance are calle ...
in Europe, the war in Asia ended with the
Soviet invasion of Manchuria The Soviet invasion of Manchuria, formally known as the Manchurian Strategic Offensive Operation or simply the Manchurian Operation () and sometimes Operation August Storm, began on 9 August 1945 with the Soviet Union, Soviet invasion of the Emp ...
and the dropping of two atomic bombs on Japan by the US, the first nation to develop
nuclear weapons A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either nuclear fission, fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and nuclear fusion, fusion reactions (thermonuclear weap ...
and the only one to use them in warfare. In total, World War II left some 60 million people dead. Following World War II, the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
, successor to the
League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
, is established as an international forum in which the world's nations could discuss issues diplomatically. It enacted resolutions on such topics as the conduct of warfare, environmental protection, international
sovereignty Sovereignty can generally be defined as supreme authority. Sovereignty entails hierarchy within a state as well as external autonomy for states. In any state, sovereignty is assigned to the person, body or institution that has the ultimate au ...
, and human rights.
Peacekeeping Peacekeeping comprises activities, especially military ones, intended to create conditions that favor lasting peace. Research generally finds that peacekeeping reduces civilian and battlefield deaths, as well as reduces the risk of renewed w ...
forces consisting of troops provided by various countries, with various United Nations and other aid agencies, helped to relieve famine, disease, and poverty, and to suppress some local armed conflicts. Europe slowly united, economically and, in some ways, politically, to form the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, which consisted of 15 European countries by the end of the 20th century. After the war, Germany is occupied and divided between the
Western Western may refer to: Places *Western, Nebraska, a village in the US *Western, New York, a town in the US *Western Creek, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western Junction, Tasmania, a locality in Australia *Western world, countries that id ...
powers and the Soviet Union.
East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
and the rest of
Eastern Europe Eastern Europe is a subregion of the Europe, European continent. As a largely ambiguous term, it has a wide range of geopolitical, geographical, ethnic, cultural and socio-economic connotations. Its eastern boundary is marked by the Ural Mountain ...
became Soviet puppet states under communist rule. Western Europe is rebuilt with the aid of the American
Marshall Plan The Marshall Plan (officially the European Recovery Program, ERP) was an American initiative enacted in 1948 to provide foreign aid to Western Europe. The United States transferred $13.3 billion (equivalent to $ in ) in economic recovery pr ...
, resulting in a major
post-war economic boom A post-war or postwar period is the interval immediately following the end of a war. The term usually refers to a varying period of time after World War II, which ended in 1945. A post-war period can become an interwar period or interbellum, w ...
, and many of the affected nations became close allies of the United States. With the Axis defeated and Britain and France rebuilding, the United States and the Soviet Union were left standing as the world's only superpowers. Allies during the war, they soon became hostile to one another as their competing ideologies of
communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
and
democratic capitalism Democratic capitalism, also referred to as market democracy, is a political and economic system that integrates resource allocation by marginal productivity (synonymous with free-market capitalism), with policies of resource allocation by socia ...
proliferated in Europe, which became divided by the
Iron Curtain The Iron Curtain was the political and physical boundary dividing Europe into two separate areas from the end of World War II in 1945 until the end of the Cold War in 1991. On the east side of the Iron Curtain were countries connected to the So ...
and the
Berlin Wall The Berlin Wall (, ) was a guarded concrete Separation barrier, barrier that encircled West Berlin from 1961 to 1989, separating it from East Berlin and the East Germany, German Democratic Republic (GDR; East Germany). Construction of the B ...
. They formed competing military alliances (
NATO The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO ; , OTAN), also called the North Atlantic Alliance, is an intergovernmental organization, intergovernmental Transnationalism, transnational military alliance of 32 Member states of NATO, member s ...
and the
Warsaw Pact The Warsaw Pact (WP), formally the Treaty of Friendship, Co-operation and Mutual Assistance (TFCMA), was a Collective security#Collective defense, collective defense treaty signed in Warsaw, Polish People's Republic, Poland, between the Sovi ...
) which engaged in a decades-long standoff known as the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
. The period is marked by a new arms race as the USSR became the second nation to develop nuclear weapons, which were produced by both sides in sufficient numbers to end most human life on the planet had a large-scale nuclear exchange ever occurred.
Mutually assured destruction Mutual assured destruction (MAD) is a doctrine of military strategy and national security policy which posits that a full-scale use of nuclear weapons by an attacker on a nuclear-armed defender with second-strike capabilities would result in ...
is credited by many historians as having prevented such an exchange, each side being unable to strike first at the other without ensuring an equally devastating retaliatory strike. Unable to engage one another directly, the conflict played out in a series of
proxy war In political science, a proxy war is an armed conflict where at least one of the belligerents is directed or supported by an external third-party power. In the term ''proxy war'', a belligerent with external support is the ''proxy''; both bel ...
s around the world—particularly in
China China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. With population of China, a population exceeding 1.4 billion, it is the list of countries by population (United Nations), second-most populous country after ...
,
Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
,
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
,
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, and
Afghanistan Afghanistan, officially the Islamic Emirate of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located at the crossroads of Central Asia and South Asia. It is bordered by Pakistan to the Durand Line, east and south, Iran to the Afghanistan–Iran borde ...
—as the USSR sought to export communism while the US attempted to contain it. The technological competition between the two sides led to substantial investment in
research and development Research and development (R&D or R+D), known in some countries as OKB, experiment and design, is the set of innovative activities undertaken by corporations or governments in developing new services or products. R&D constitutes the first stage ...
which produced innovations that reached far beyond the battlefield, such as
space exploration Space exploration is the process of utilizing astronomy and space technology to investigate outer space. While the exploration of space is currently carried out mainly by astronomers with telescopes, its physical exploration is conducted bo ...
and the Internet. In the latter half of the century, most of the European-colonized world in Africa and Asia gained independence in a process of
decolonization Decolonization is the undoing of colonialism, the latter being the process whereby Imperialism, imperial nations establish and dominate foreign territories, often overseas. The meanings and applications of the term are disputed. Some scholar ...
. Meanwhile,
globalization Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...
opened the door for several nations to exert a strong influence over many world affairs. The US's global military presence spread
American culture The culture of the United States encompasses various social behaviors, institutions, and Social norm, norms, including forms of Languages of the United States, speech, American literature, literature, Music of the United States, music, Visual a ...
around the world with the advent of the Hollywood motion picture industry and Broadway,
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
, rock music, and pop music, fast food and
hippy A hippie, also spelled hippy, especially in British English, is someone associated with the counterculture of the mid-1960s to early 1970s, originally a youth movement that began in the United States and spread to different countries around the w ...
counterculture,
hip-hop Hip-hop or hip hop (originally disco rap) is a popular music genre that emerged in the early 1970s from the African-American community of New York City. The style is characterized by its synthesis of a wide range of musical techniques. Hi ...
,
house music House is a genre of electronic dance music characterized by a repetitive Four on the floor (music), four-on-the-floor beat and a typical tempo of 115–130 beats per minute. It was created by DJs and music producers from Chicago's underground ...
, and
disco Disco is a music genre, genre of dance music and a subculture that emerged in the late 1960s from the United States' urban nightclub, nightlife, particularly in African Americans, African-American, Italian-Americans, Italian-American, LGBTQ ...
, as well as street style, all of which came to be identified with the concepts of popular culture and
youth culture Youth culture refers to the societal norms of children, adolescents, and young adults. Specifically, it comprises the processes and symbolic systems that are shared by the youth and are distinct from those of adults in the community. An emphasis ...
. After the Soviet Union collapsed under internal pressure in 1991, most of the communist governments it had supported around the world were dismantled—with the notable exceptions of China,
North Korea North Korea, officially the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (DPRK), is a country in East Asia. It constitutes the northern half of the Korea, Korean Peninsula and borders China and Russia to the north at the Yalu River, Yalu (Amnok) an ...
,
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
,
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
, and
Laos Laos, officially the Lao People's Democratic Republic (LPDR), is the only landlocked country in Southeast Asia. It is bordered by Myanmar and China to the northwest, Vietnam to the east, Cambodia to the southeast, and Thailand to the west and ...
—followed by difficult transitions into
market economies A market economy is an economic system in which the decisions regarding investment, production, and distribution to the consumers are guided by the price signals created by the forces of supply and demand. The major characteristic of a mark ...
.


Nature of innovation and change

Due to continuing industrialization and expanding trade, many significant changes of the century were, directly or indirectly, economic and technological in nature. Inventions such as the
light bulb Electric light is an artificial light source powered by electricity. Electric Light may also refer to: * Light fixture, a decorative enclosure for an electric light source * ''Electric Light'' (album), a 2018 album by James Bay * Electric Light ( ...
, the
automobile A car, or an automobile, is a motor vehicle with wheels. Most definitions of cars state that they run primarily on roads, Car seat, seat one to eight people, have four wheels, and mainly transport private transport#Personal transport, peopl ...
,
mechanical computer A mechanical computer is a computer built from mechanical components such as levers and gears rather than electronic components. The most common examples are adding machines and mechanical counters, which use the turning of gears to incremen ...
s, and the
telephone A telephone, colloquially referred to as a phone, is a telecommunications device that enables two or more users to conduct a conversation when they are too far apart to be easily heard directly. A telephone converts sound, typically and most ...
in the late 19th century, followed by
supertanker An oil tanker, also known as a petroleum tanker, is a ship designed for the bulk transport of oil or its products. There are two basic types of oil tankers: crude tankers and product tankers. Crude tankers move large quantities of unrefined cr ...
s; airliners; motorways; radio communication and radio broadcasting, broadcasting; television; digital computers; air conditioning; antibiotics;
nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...
; frozen food; microcomputers; the
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
and the World Wide Web; and mobile telephones affected people's quality of life across the developed world. The quantity of goods consumed by the average person expanded massively. Scientific research, engineering professionalization and technological development—much of it motivated by the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
arms race—drove changes in everyday life.


Social change

Starting from the century, strong discrimination based on race and sex is significant in most societies. Although the Atlantic slave trade had ended in the 19th century, movements for equality for non-white people in the white-dominated societies of Civil rights movement, North America, Europe, and Apartheid, South Africa continued. By the end of the 20th century, in many parts of the world, women had the same legal rights as men, and racism had come to be seen as unacceptable, a sentiment often backed up by legislation. When the India, Republic of India is Constitution of India, constituted, the disadvantaged classes of the caste system in India became entitled to affirmative action benefits in education, employment and government. Attitudes toward pre-marital sex changed rapidly in many societies during the sexual revolution of the 1960s and 1970s. Attitudes towards homosexuality also began to change in the later part of the century. Trauma brought on by events like World War I and World War II, with their World War I casualties#Casualties in the borders of 1914–1918, military death tolls alone World War II casualties#Total deaths by country, at bare minimum being 29,697,963, and the Spanish flu, Spanish Flu, whose death count alone exceeded that, helped make society in many countries more Egalitarianism, egalitarian and less neglectful of the poor.


Earth at the end of the 20th century

Economic growth and technological progress had radically altered daily lives. Europe appeared to be at a sustainable peace for the first time in recorded history. The people of the Indian subcontinent, a sixth of the world population at the end of the 20th century, had attained an Partition of India, indigenous independence for the first time in centuries. China, an ancient nation comprising a fifth of the world population, is finally Chinese economic reform, open to the world, creating a new state after the near-complete destruction of the old cultural order. With the end of colonialism and the Cold War, nearly a billion people in Africa were left in new nation states. The world is undergoing its second major period of
globalization Globalization is the process of increasing interdependence and integration among the economies, markets, societies, and cultures of different countries worldwide. This is made possible by the reduction of barriers to international trade, th ...
; the first, which started in the 18th century, having been terminated by World War I. Since the US is in a dominant position, a major part of the process is Americanization. The influence of China and India is also rising, as the world's largest populations were rapidly integrating with the world economy. Terrorism, dictatorship, and the spread of
nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear exp ...
s were pressing global issues. The world is still blighted by small-scale wars and other violent conflicts, fueled by competition over resources and by ethnic conflicts. Disease threatened to destabilize many regions of the world. New viruses such as the West Nile virus continued to spread. Malaria and other diseases affected large populations. Millions were infected with HIV, the virus which causes AIDS. The virus is becoming an AIDS in Africa, epidemic in southern Africa. Based on research done by climate scientists, the majority of the scientific community consider that in the long term environmental problems pose a serious threat. One argument is that of global warming occurring due to human-caused emission of greenhouse gases, particularly carbon dioxide produced by the burning of
fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geolog ...
s. This prompted many nations to negotiate and sign the Kyoto Protocol, Kyoto treaty, which set mandatory limits on carbon dioxide emissions. World population increased from about 1.6 billion people in 1901 to 6.1 billion at the century's end.


Wars and politics

The number of people killed during the century by government actions is in the hundreds of millions. This includes deaths caused by wars, genocide, politicide and mass murders. The deaths from acts of war during the two world wars alone have been estimated at between 50 and 80 million. Political scientist Rudolph Rummel estimated 262,000,000 deaths caused by democide, which excludes those killed in war battles, civilians unintentionally killed in war and killings of rioting mobs. According to Charles Tilly, "Altogether, about 100 million people died as a direct result of action by organized military units backed by one government or another over the course of the century. Most likely a comparable number of civilians died of war-induced disease and other indirect effects." It is estimated that approximately 70 million Europeans died through war, violence and famine between 1914 and 1945. * Russo-Japanese War, between the Russian Empire and the Empire of Japan during 1904 and 1905 over rival imperial ambitions in Manchuria and the Korean Empire. * Russian Revolution of 1905, a wave of mass political and social unrest then began to spread across the vast areas of the Russian Empire. The unrest is directed primarily against the Tsar, the nobility, and the ruling class. It included worker strikes, peasant unrest, and military mutinies. * Sinking of the Titanic, RMS Titanic sank on 15 April 1912 in the North Atlantic Ocean. The largest ocean liner in service at the time, Titanic is four days into her maiden voyage from Southampton, England, to New York City, with an estimated 2,224 people on board when she struck an iceberg at 23:40 (ship's time)[a] on 14 April. * The Armenian genocide, Armenian, Seyfo, Assyrian and Greek genocide were the systematic destruction, mass murder and expulsion of the Armenian people, Armenians, Assyrian people, Assyrians and Greek people, Greeks in the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
during World War I, spearheaded by the ruling Committee of Union and Progress (CUP). * The Alliance of Eight Nations (Austro-Hungarian Empire, Third French Republic, French Republic, German Empire, Kingdom of Italy, Empire of Japan, Russian Empire, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland and United States of America) formed in 1900 to invade the Qing dynasty, Qing China represented the club of great powers in the early 20th century. * Rising
nationalism Nationalism is an idea or movement that holds that the nation should be congruent with the state. As a movement, it presupposes the existence and tends to promote the interests of a particular nation, Smith, Anthony. ''Nationalism: Theory, I ...
and increasing national awareness were among the many causes of
World War I World War I or the First World War (28 July 1914 – 11 November 1918), also known as the Great War, was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War I, Allies (or Entente) and the Central Powers. Fighting to ...
(1914–1918), the first of two wars to involve many major world powers including
Germany Germany, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It lies between the Baltic Sea and the North Sea to the north and the Alps to the south. Its sixteen States of Germany, constituent states have a total popu ...
,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
,
Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...
,
Japan Japan is an island country in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean off the northeast coast of the Asia, Asian mainland, it is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan and extends from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea ...
,
Russia Russia, or the Russian Federation, is a country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia. It is the list of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the world, and extends across Time in Russia, eleven time zones, sharing Borders ...
/USSR, the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
and the United States. At the time, it is said by many to be the "The war to end war, war to end all wars". * The Arab Revolt of 1916 is an armed uprising against the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
done by the Arabs in McMahon–Hussein Correspondence, agreement with the British and French empires. The revolt is led by Hussein bin Ali, King of Hejaz, Sharif Hussein bin Ali who is promised by Henry McMahon, the British High Commissioner in Egypt and the French government, that in exchange for fighting the Ottoman Empire, Sharif Hussein would gain control over all Arab lands under the Ottoman Empire. A promise the British and French did not honor. * During World War I, in the Russian Revolution of 1917, 300 years of Russian Tsarist Empire, Tsarist reign were ended and the
Bolsheviks The Bolsheviks, led by Vladimir Lenin, were a radical Faction (political), faction of the Marxist Russian Social Democratic Labour Party (RSDLP) which split with the Mensheviks at the 2nd Congress of the Russian Social Democratic Labour Party, ...
, under the leadership of Vladimir Lenin, established the world's first Communist state. * The Aftermath of World War I#Territorial gains and losses, end of World War I saw the collapse of the Central Powers, central powers, the German Empire, the Austria-Hungary, Austrian-Hungarian Empire, the Kingdom of Bulgaria, and the
Ottoman Empire The Ottoman Empire (), also called the Turkish Empire, was an empire, imperial realm that controlled much of Southeast Europe, West Asia, and North Africa from the 14th to early 20th centuries; it also controlled parts of southeastern Centr ...
into several independent sovereign states throughout Central Europe, the Balkans, and the Middle East. * After gaining political rights in the United States and much of Europe in the first part of the century, and with the advent of new birth control techniques, Women's suffrage, women became more independent throughout the century. * Industrial warfare greatly increased in its scale and complexity during the first half of the 20th century. Notable developments included chemical warfare, the introduction of military aviation and the widespread use of submarines. The introduction of nuclear warfare in the mid-20th century marked the definite transition to modern warfare. * Revolutions of 1917–1923, The Revolutions of 1917–1923 occurred during and World War I inspired by the Russian Revolution which saw many political changes in Europe and in Asia. * Osage Indian murders, The Osage Murders of 1918-1931 were a series of killings of members of the Native American Osage Nation, who were the richest people per capita in the world at that time. * The 1921 Tulsa race massacre, Tulsa Race Massacre, is a racist anti black terrorist attack in the Greenwood District, Tulsa, Greenwood District in Tulsa, Oklahoma, which is home to many successful and wealthy African Americans, Black Americans. The attack is perpetrated by white residents and local white deputies. The perpetrators were armed by local government officials. * The 1923 Beer Hall Putsch failed coup d'état by Nazi Party leader Adolf Hitler. * The
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
in the 1930s led to the rise of
Fascism Fascism ( ) is a far-right, authoritarian, and ultranationalist political ideology and movement. It is characterized by a dictatorial leader, centralized autocracy, militarism, forcible suppression of opposition, belief in a natural social hie ...
(especially Nazism) in Europe. * Holodomor, man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine from 1932 to 1933 that killed millions of Ukrainians. * Night of the Long Knives, purge that took place in Nazi Germany from 30 June to 2 July 1934. * The 1934 to 1935 Long March, military retreat by the Chinese Red Army and Chinese Communist Party (CCP) from advancing Kuomintang forces. * A violent Spanish Civil War, civil war broke out in Spain in 1936 when General Francisco Franco rebelled against the Second Spanish Republic. Many consider this war as a testing battleground for World War II, as the fascist armies bombed some Spanish territories. * Great Purge, political purge in the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
that took place from 1936 and 1938. * The 1938 Kristallnacht, pogrom against Jews carried out by the Nazi Party's Sturmabteilung (SA) and Schutzstaffel (SS) paramilitary forces *
World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...
(1939–1945) became the deadliest conflict in human history involving primarily the axis,
Nazi Germany Nazi Germany, officially known as the German Reich and later the Greater German Reich, was the German Reich, German state between 1933 and 1945, when Adolf Hitler and the Nazi Party controlled the country, transforming it into a Totalit ...
, Fascist Italy (1922–1943), Fascist Italy, and the Empire of Japan against the allies, Republic of China (1912–1949), China,
France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...
, the British Empire, United Kingdom, the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
, and the United States. Many atrocities occurred, particularly the Holocaust killing approximately 11 million victims. It ended with the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, atomic bombings on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in Japan. * The two world wars led to efforts to increase Multilateralism, international cooperation, notably through the founding of the
League of Nations The League of Nations (LN or LoN; , SdN) was the first worldwide intergovernmental organisation whose principal mission was to maintain world peace. It was founded on 10 January 1920 by the Paris Peace Conference (1919–1920), Paris Peace ...
after World War I, and its successor, the
United Nations The United Nations (UN) is the Earth, global intergovernmental organization established by the signing of the Charter of the United Nations, UN Charter on 26 June 1945 with the stated purpose of maintaining international peace and internationa ...
, after World War II. * The Israeli Declaration of Independence, creation of Israel in 1948, a Jewish state in the Middle East, at the end of the British Mandate for Palestine, fueled many conflicts between Israeli–Palestinian conflict, Israelis and Palestinians in addition to Arab–Israeli conflict, regional conflicts. These were also influenced by the vast oil fields in many of the other countries of the predominantly Arab region. * In 1948 Nakba, The Nakba is, according to several historians, a targeted ethnic cleansing campaign against Arabs in Palestine perpetrated by Jewish Militias under Plan Dalet, Plan Delta, a plan ordered by David Ben-Gurion, Ben-Gurion. The campaign utilized methods of intimidation, violent attacks, and the destruction of several Arab villages. * After the Soviet Union in World War II, Soviet Union's involvement in World War II,
communism Communism () is a political sociology, sociopolitical, political philosophy, philosophical, and economic ideology, economic ideology within the history of socialism, socialist movement, whose goal is the creation of a communist society, a ...
became a major force in global politics, notably in Eastern Europe, China, Indochina and
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
, where Communist party, communist parties gained near-absolute power. * The
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
(1947–1991) involved an arms race and increasing competition between the two major players in the world: the Soviet Union and the United States. This competition included the development and improvement of
nuclear weapon A nuclear weapon is an explosive device that derives its destructive force from nuclear reactions, either fission (fission or atomic bomb) or a combination of fission and fusion reactions (thermonuclear weapon), producing a nuclear exp ...
s and Space Race, space technology. This led to the
proxy war In political science, a proxy war is an armed conflict where at least one of the belligerents is directed or supported by an external third-party power. In the term ''proxy war'', a belligerent with external support is the ''proxy''; both bel ...
s with the Western bloc, including wars in
Korea Korea is a peninsular region in East Asia consisting of the Korean Peninsula, Jeju Island, and smaller islands. Since the end of World War II in 1945, it has been politically Division of Korea, divided at or near the 38th parallel north, 3 ...
(1950–1953) and
Vietnam Vietnam, officially the Socialist Republic of Vietnam (SRV), is a country at the eastern edge of mainland Southeast Asia, with an area of about and a population of over 100 million, making it the world's List of countries and depende ...
(1957–1975). * The Human rights in the Soviet Union, Soviet authorities caused the deaths of millions of their own citizens to eliminate domestic opposition. More than 18 million people passed through the Gulag, with a further 6 million being Population transfer in the Soviet Union#Timeline, exiled to remote areas of the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
. * Nationalism, Nationalist movements in the Indian subcontinent led to the independence and Partition of India, partition of Jawaharlal Nehru-led India and Muhammad Ali Jinnah-led Pakistan, although would lead to Indo-Pakistani wars and conflicts, conflicts between the two nations such as border and territorial disputes. * After a Century of humiliation, long period of civil wars and conflicts with western powers, China's Qing dynasty, last imperial dynasty 1911 Revolution, ended in 1912. The resulting Republic of China (1912–1949), republic is replaced, after Chinese Civil War, another civil war, by the communist China, People's Republic of China in 1949. At the end of the 20th century, though still ruled by a communist party, China's economic system had Chinese economic reform, largely transformed to capitalism. * Mahatma Gandhi's nonviolence and Indian independence movement against the
British Empire The British Empire comprised the dominions, Crown colony, colonies, protectorates, League of Nations mandate, mandates, and other Dependent territory, territories ruled or administered by the United Kingdom and its predecessor states. It bega ...
influenced many political movements around the world, including the civil rights movement in the United States, and freedom movements in South Africa against apartheid challenging racial segregation * Decolonization, The end of colonialism led to the independence of many Decolonisation of Africa, African and Decolonisation of Asia, Asian countries, from the two largest colonial empires in the world, the British Empire, British and French colonial empires. During the Cold War, many of these aligned with the United States, the USSR, or China for defense. * 1956 Poznań protests, the first of several massive protests against the communist government of the Polish People's Republic. * Hungarian Revolution of 1956, attempted countrywide revolution against the government of the Hungarian People's Republic (1949–1989) and the policies caused by the government's subordination to the Soviet Union (USSR). * Mao Zedong's Great Leap Forward, radical policy of modernization leads to the Great Chinese Famine causing the death of tens of millions of Chinese peasants between 1959 and 1962. It is thought to be the largest famine in human history.China's great famine: 40 years later
. ''British Medical Journal'' 1999;319:1619–1621 (December 18 )
* Cuban Missile Crisis, 13-day confrontation between the governments of the United States and the Soviet Union, when American deployments of nuclear missiles in Italy and Turkey were matched by Soviet deployments of nuclear missiles in
Cuba Cuba, officially the Republic of Cuba, is an island country, comprising the island of Cuba (largest island), Isla de la Juventud, and List of islands of Cuba, 4,195 islands, islets and cays surrounding the main island. It is located where the ...
. * The Vietnam War caused Vietnam War casualties, two million deaths, changed the dynamics between the Eastern Bloc, Eastern and Western Blocs, and altered global North–South divide in the World, North-South relations. * The 1967 Six-Day War, fought between Israel and a coalition of Arab states, primarily Egypt, Syria, and Jordan. * The 1968 Prague Spring, period of political liberalization and mass protest in the Czechoslovak Socialist Republic. * 1970 Polish protests, protests were sparked by a sudden increase in the prices of food and other everyday items while wages remained stagnant. * Yom Kippur War, fought from 6 to 25 October 1973 between Israel and a coalition of Arab states led by Egypt and Syria. * Iranian revolution, series of events that culminated in the overthrow of the Pahlavi dynasty in 1979. * The Soviet–Afghan War, Soviet invasion of Afghanistan caused an estimated two million deaths and contributed to the dissolution of the Soviet Union along with complete Afghanistan conflict (1978–present), political turmoil in Afghanistan * The 1981 Martial law in Poland, the government of the Polish People's Republic drastically restricted everyday life by introducing martial law and a military junta in an attempt to counter political opposition, in particular the Solidarity movement. * The 1986 Chernobyl disaster, the worst nuclear disaster in history. * The revolutions of 1989 released Eastern and Central Europe from Soviet Empire, Soviet control. Soon thereafter, the Dissolution of the Soviet Union, Soviet Union, Dissolution of Czechoslovakia, Czechoslovakia, and Breakup of Yugoslavia, Yugoslavia dissolved; the former having many states seceded and the latter violently over several years, into successor states, with many rife with ethnic nationalism. Meanwhile,
East Germany East Germany, officially known as the German Democratic Republic (GDR), was a country in Central Europe from Foundation of East Germany, its formation on 7 October 1949 until German reunification, its reunification with West Germany (FRG) on ...
and West Germany German reunification, were reunified in 1990. * The Tiananmen Square protests of 1989, culminating in the deaths of hundreds of civilian protesters and thousands of wounded, were a series of demonstrations in and near Tiananmen Square in Beijing, China. Led mainly by students and intellectuals, the protests occurred in a year that saw the collapse of a number of communist governments around the world. * 1991 Soviet coup attempt, a failed attempt by hardliners of the Communist Party of the Soviet Union (CPSU) to forcibly seize control of the country from Mikhail Gorbachev, who is Soviet President and General Secretary of the CPSU at the time. * Bosnian War, international armed conflict that took place in Bosnia and Herzegovina between 1992 and 1995. * The 1994 Rwandan genocide, over a span of around 100 days, members of the Tutsi ethnic group, as well as some moderate Hutu and Twa, were systematically killed by Hutu militias. * European integration began in earnest in the 1950s in France and Germany, and eventually led to the
European Union The European Union (EU) is a supranational union, supranational political union, political and economic union of Member state of the European Union, member states that are Geography of the European Union, located primarily in Europe. The u ...
, a political and economic union that comprised 15 countries at the end of the 20th century.


Culture and entertainment

* As the century began, Paris is the artistic capital of the world, where both French and foreign writers, composers and visual artists gathered. By the middle of the century New York City had become the artistic capital of the world. * Theater, films, music and the media had a major influence on fashion and trends in all aspects of life. As many films and much music originate from the United States, American culture spread rapidly over the world. * 1953 saw the coronation of Queen Elizabeth II, an iconic figure of the century. * Visual culture became more dominant not only in films but in comics and television as well. During the century a new skilled understanding of narrativist imagery is developed. * Computer games and internet surfing became new and popular form of entertainment during the last 25 years of the century. * In literature, science fiction, fantasy (with well-developed fictional worlds, rich in detail), and alternate history, alternative history fiction gained popularity. Detective fiction gained popularity in the interwar period. In the United States in 1961 Grove Press published ''Tropic of Cancer (novel), Tropic of Cancer'' a novel by Henry Miller redefining pornography and censorship in publishing in America.


Music

The invention of music recording technologies such as the phonograph record, and dissemination technologies such as radio broadcasting, massively expanded the audience for music. Prior to the 20th century, music is generally only experienced in concert, live performances. Many new genres of music were established during the 20th century. * Igor Stravinsky revolutionized classical composition. * In the 1920s, Arnold Schoenberg developed the twelve-tone technique, which became widely influential on 20th-century composers. * In classical music, Musical composition, composition branched out into many completely new domains, including dodecaphony, aleatoric music, aleatoric (chance) music, and minimalism. * Argentine tango, Tango is created in Argentina and became extremely popular in the rest of the Americas and Europe. * Blues and
jazz Jazz is a music genre that originated in the African-American communities of New Orleans, Louisiana, in the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Its roots are in blues, ragtime, European harmony, African rhythmic rituals, spirituals, h ...
music became popularized during the 1910s, 1920s and 1930s in the United States. Bebop develops as a form of jazz in the 1940s. * Country music develops in the 1920s and 1930s in the United States. * Blues and country went on to influence rock and roll in the 1950s, which along with American folk music revival, folk music, increased in popularity with the British Invasion of the mid-to-late 1960s. * Rock soon branched into many different genres, including folk rock, Heavy metal music, heavy metal, punk rock, and alternative rock and became the dominant genre of
popular music Popular music is music with wide appeal that is typically distributed to large audiences through the music industry. These forms and styles can be enjoyed and performed by people with little or no musical training.Popular Music. (2015). ''Fun ...
. * This is challenged with the rise of hip hop music, hip hop in the 1980s and 1990s. * Other genres such as House music, house, techno, reggae, and soul music, soul all developed during the latter half of the century and went through various periods of popularity. * Synthesizers began to be employed widely in music and crossed over into the mainstream with new wave music in the 1980s. Electronic instruments have been widely deployed in all manners of popular music and has led to the development of such genres as house music, house, synthpop, synth-pop, electronic dance music, and industrial music, industrial.


Film, television and theatre

Film as an artistic medium is created in the 20th century. The first modern movie theatre is established in Pittsburgh in 1905. Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood developed as the center of American film production. While the first films were in black and white, technicolor is developed in the 1920s to allow for color films. Sound films were developed, with the first full-length feature film, ''The Jazz Singer'', released in 1927. The Academy Awards were established in 1929. Animation is also developed in the 1920s, with the first full-length cel animated feature film ''Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937 film), Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs'', released in 1937. Computer-generated imagery is developed in the 1980s, with the first full-length CGI-animated film ''Toy Story'' released in 1995. * Julie Andrews, Harry Belafonte, Humphrey Bogart, Marlon Brando, James Cagney, Charlie Chaplin, Sean Connery, Tom Cruise, James Dean, Robert De Niro, Harrison Ford, Clark Gable, Cary Grant, Audrey Hepburn, Katharine Hepburn, Bruce Lee, Marilyn Monroe, Paul Newman, Jack Nicholson, Al Pacino, Sidney Poitier, Meryl Streep, Elizabeth Taylor, James Stewart, Jane Fonda and John Wayne are among the most popular Cinema of the United States, Hollywood stars of the 20th century. * Madhubala, Jean-Paul Belmondo, Karel Roden, Sean Connery, Marcello Mastroianni, Salah Zulfikar, Marlene Dietrich, Brigitte Bardot, Omar Sharif, Catherine Deneuve, Alain Delon, Soad Hosny, Fernanda Montenegro, Sophie Marceau, Fatima Rushdi, Amitabh Bachchan, Jean Gabin, Toshiro Mifune, Shoukry Sarhan, Lars Mikkelsen, Sophia Loren, Youssef Wahbi, Claudia Cardinale, Klaus Kinski, Gérard Depardieu, Max von Sydow, Faten Hamama, Rutger Hauer and Toni Servillo are among the most popular movie stars of the 20th century. * Sergei Eisenstein, D. W. Griffith, Cecil B. DeMille, Frank Capra, Howard Hawks, John Ford, Orson Welles, Martin Scorsese, John Huston, Alfred Hitchcock, Akira Kurosawa, Spike Lee, Ingmar Bergman, Federico Fellini, Walt Disney, Stanley Kubrick, Steven Spielberg, Sergey Parajanov, Ridley Scott, Woody Allen, Quentin Tarantino, James Cameron, William Friedkin, Ezz El-Dine Zulficar and George Lucas are among the most important and popular filmmakers of the 20th century. * In theater, sometimes referred to as Broadway theater, Broadway in New York City, playwrights such as Eugene O'Neill, Samuel Beckett, Edward Albee, Arthur Miller and Tennessee Williams introduced innovative language and ideas to the idiom. In musical theater, figures such as Rodgers and Hammerstein, Lerner and Loewe, Mohammed Karim, and Irving Berlin had an enormous impact on both film and the culture in general. * Modern dance is born in America as a 'rebellion' against centuries-old European ballet. Dancers and choreographers Alvin Ailey, Isadora Duncan, Vaslav Nijinsky, Ruth St. Denis, Mahmoud Reda, Martha Graham, José Limón, Doris Humphrey, Merce Cunningham, and Paul Taylor (choreographer), Paul Taylor re-defined movement, struggling to bring it back to its 'natural' roots and along with Jazz, created a solely American art form. Alvin Ailey is credited with popularizing modern dance and revolutionizing African-American participation in 20th-century concert dance. His company gained the nickname "Cultural Ambassador to the World" because of its extensive international touring. Ailey's choreographic masterpiece Revelations is believed to be the best known and most often seen modern dance performance.


Video games

Video games—due to the great technological steps forward in computing since the second post-war period—are one of the new forms of entertainment that emerged in the 20th century alongside films. * While already conceptualized in the 1940s–1950s, 50s, video games only emerged as an industry during the 1970s, and then exploded into social and cultural phenomena in the late 1970s and early 1980s with the golden age of arcade video games, with notable releases such as Taito's ''Space Invaders'', Atari, Inc.'s ''Asteroids (video game), Asteroids'', Nintendo's ''Donkey Kong (arcade game), Donkey Kong'', Namco's ''Pac-Man'' and ''Galaga'', Konami's ''Frogger'', Capcom's ''1942 (video game), 1942'' and Sega's ''Zaxxon'', the worldwide success of Nintendo's ''Super Mario Bros.'' and the release in the 1990s of Sony PlayStation (console), PlayStation console, the first one to break the record of 100 million units sold, with ''Gran Turismo (1997 video game), Gran Turismo'' being the system's best selling video game. * Video game design becomes a discipline. Some game designers in this century stand out for their work, such as Shigeru Miyamoto, Hideo Kojima, Sid Meier and Will Wright (game designer), Will Wright.


Art and architecture

* The art world experienced the development of new styles and explorations such as fauvism, expressionism, Dadaism, cubism, de stijl, surrealism, abstract expressionism, color field, pop art, minimal art, lyrical abstraction, and conceptual art. * The modern art movement revolutionized art and culture and set the stage for both Modernism and its counterpart postmodern art as well as other contemporary art practices. * Art Nouveau began as a form of architecture and design but fell out of fashion after World War I. The style is dynamic and inventive but unsuited to the depression of the Great War. * In Europe, modern architecture departed from the decorated styles of the Victorian era. Streamlined forms inspired by machines became commonplace, enabled by developments in building materials and technologies. Before World War II, many European architects moved to the United States, where modern architecture continued to develop. * The automobile increased the mobility of people in the Western countries in the early-to-mid-century, and in many other places by the end of the 20th century. Urban planning, City design throughout most of the West became focused on transport via car.


Sport

* The popularity of sport increased considerably—both as an activity for all and as entertainment, particularly on television. * The modern Olympic Games, first held in 1896, grew to include tens of thousands of athletes in dozens of sports. * The FIFA World Cup is first held in 1930 and is held every four years after World War II. * American League Baseball is formed in 1900 and in 1903, both National and American agreed to play in the first World Series with over 100,000 in attendance. * Boxing, also known as "Prize Fighting" became popular over this decade although bare-knuckle fighting is still popular.


Science


Mathematics

Multiple new fields of mathematics were developed in the 20th century. In the first part of the 20th century, measure theory, functional analysis, and topology were established, and significant developments were made in fields such as abstract algebra and probability. The development of set theory and formal logic led to Gödel's incompleteness theorems. Later in the 20th century, the development of computers led to the establishment of a theory of computation. Computationally-intense results include the study of fractals and a proof of the four color theorem in 1976.


Physics

* New areas of physics, like special relativity, general relativity, and quantum mechanics, were developed during the first half of the century. In the process, the internal structure of atoms came to be clearly understood, followed by the discovery of elementary particles. * It is found that all the known forces can be traced to only four fundamental interactions. It is discovered further that two forces, electromagnetism and weak interaction, can be merged in the electroweak interaction, leaving only three different fundamental interactions. * Discovery of nuclear reactions, in particular nuclear fusion, finally revealed the source of sun, solar energy. * Radiocarbon dating is invented, and became a powerful technique for determining the age of Prehistory, prehistoric animals and plants as well as historical objects.


Astronomy

* A much better understanding of the evolution of the universe is achieved, its Age of the universe, age (about 13.8 billion years) is determined, and the Big Bang theory on its origin is proposed and generally accepted. * The age of the Solar System, including Earth, is determined, and it turned out to be much older than believed earlier: more than 4 billion years, rather than the 20 million years suggested by Lord Kelvin in 1862. * The planets of the Solar System and their moons were closely observed via numerous space probes. Pluto is discovered in 1930 on the edge of the Solar System, although in the early 21st century, it is reclassified as a dwarf planet instead of a planet proper, leaving eight planets. * No trace of life is discovered on any of the other planets orbiting Sun, the Sun (or elsewhere in the universe), although it remained undetermined whether some forms of primitive life might exist, or might have existed, somewhere in the Solar System. Extrasolar planets were observed for the first time.


Agriculture

*Norman Borlaug fathered the Green Revolution, the set of research technology transfer initiatives occurring between 1950 and the late 1960s that increased agricultural production in parts of the world, beginning most markedly in the late 1960s, and is often credited with saving over a billion people worldwide from starvation.


Biology

* Genetics is unanimously accepted and significantly developed. The structure of DNA is determined in 1953 by James D. Watson, James Watson, Francis Crick, Rosalind Franklin and Maurice Wilkins, following by developing techniques which allow to read DNA sequences and culminating in starting the Human Genome Project (not finished in the 20th century) and Dolly (sheep), cloning the first mammal in 1996. * The role of sexual reproduction in evolution is understood, and bacterial conjugation is discovered. * The convergence of various sciences for the formulation of the modern synthesis (20th century), modern evolutionary synthesis (produced between 1936 and 1947), providing a widely accepted account of evolution.


Medicine

* Placebo-scientific control, controlled, random sample, randomized, blind experiment, blinded clinical trials became a powerful tool for testing new medicines. * Antibiotics drastically reduced mortality from bacterial diseases. * A vaccine is developed for polio, ending a worldwide epidemic. Effective vaccines were also developed for a number of other serious infectious diseases, including influenza vaccine, influenza, DPT vaccine, diphtheria, pertussis (whooping cough), tetanus, MMR vaccine, measles, mumps vaccine, mumps, MMR vaccine, rubella (German measles), varicella vaccine, chickenpox, hepatitis A vaccine, hepatitis A, and hepatitis B vaccine, hepatitis B. * Epidemiology and vaccination led to the eradication of the smallpox virus in humans. * X-rays became a powerful diagnostic tool for a wide spectrum of diseases, from bone fractures to cancer. In the 1960s, computerized tomography is invented. Other important diagnostic tools developed were sonography and magnetic resonance imaging. * Development of vitamins virtually eliminated scurvy and other vitamin-deficiency diseases from industrialized societies. * New psychiatric drugs were developed. These include antipsychotics for treating hallucinations and delusions, and antidepressants for treating depression. * The role of tobacco smoking in the causation of cancer and other diseases is proven during the 1950s (see British Doctors Study). * New methods for cancer treatment, including chemotherapy, radiation therapy, and immunotherapy, were developed. As a result, cancer could often be cured or placed in remission (medicine), remission. * The development of blood type, blood typing and blood banking made blood transfusion safe and widely available. * The invention and development of immunosuppressive drugs and tissue typing made organ transplant, organ and tissue transplantation a clinical reality. * New methods for heart surgery were developed, including pacemakers and artificial hearts. * Cocaine and heroin were widely illegalized after being found to be addictive and destructive. Psychoactive drugs such as LSD and MDMA were discovered and subsequently prohibited in many countries. Prohibition of drugs caused a growth in the black market drug industry, and War on drugs, expanded enforcement led to a larger prison population in some countries. * Contraceptive drugs were developed, which reduced population growth rates in industrialized countries, as well as decreased the taboo of premarital sex throughout many western countries. * The development of medical insulin during the 1920s helped raise the life expectancy of diabetes, diabetics to three times of what it had been earlier. * Vaccines, hygiene and clean water improved health and decreased mortality rates, especially among infants and the young.


Notable diseases

* An influenza pandemic, 1918 flu pandemic, Spanish Flu, killed anywhere from 17 to 100 million people between 1918 and 1919. * A new virus, viral disease, called the Human Immunodeficiency Virus, or HIV, arose in Africa and subsequently killed millions of people throughout the world. HIV leads to a syndrome called Acquired Immunodeficiency Syndrome, or AIDS. Treatments for HIV remained inaccessible to many people living with AIDS and HIV in developing countries, and a cure has yet to be discovered. * Because of increased Life expectancy, life spans, the prevalence of cancer, Alzheimer's disease, Parkinson's disease, and other diseases of old age increased slightly. * Changes in food production, along with sedentary lifestyles due to labor-saving devices and the increase in home entertainment, contributed to an "epidemic" of obesity, at first in the rich countries, but by the end of the 20th century spreading to the developing world.


Energy and the environment

* Fossil fuels and
nuclear power Nuclear power is the use of nuclear reactions to produce electricity. Nuclear power can be obtained from nuclear fission, nuclear decay and nuclear fusion reactions. Presently, the vast majority of electricity from nuclear power is produced by ...
were the dominant forms of energy sources. * Widespread use of petroleum in industry—both as a chemical precursor to plastics and as a fuel for the automobile and airplane—led to the geopolitical importance of petroleum resources. The Middle East, home to many of the world's oil deposits, became a center of geopolitical and military tension throughout the latter half of the century. (For example, oil is a factor in Japan's decision to go to war against the United States in 1941, and the oil cartel, OPEC, used an oil embargo of sorts in the wake of the Yom Kippur War in the 1970s). * The increase in
fossil fuel A fossil fuel is a flammable carbon compound- or hydrocarbon-containing material formed naturally in the Earth's crust from the buried remains of prehistoric organisms (animals, plants or microplanktons), a process that occurs within geolog ...
consumption also fueled a major scientific controversy over its effect on air pollution, global warming, and global climate change. * Pesticides, herbicides and other toxicity, toxic chemical substance, chemicals accumulated in the environment, including in the bodies of humans and other animals. *
Population growth Population growth is the increase in the number of people in a population or dispersed group. The World population, global population has grown from 1 billion in 1800 to 8.2 billion in 2025. Actual global human population growth amounts to aroun ...
and worldwide deforestation diminished the environmental quality, quality of the environment. * In the last third of the century, concern about humankind's impact on the Earth's environment made environmentalism popular. In many countries, especially in Europe, the movement is channeled into politics through Green party, Green parties. Increasing awareness of global warming began in the 1980s, commencing decades of social and political debate.


Engineering and technology

One of the prominent traits of the 20th century is the dramatic growth of technology. Organized research and practice of science led to advancement in the fields of communication, electronics, engineering, travel, medicine, and war. * Basic
home appliance A home appliance, also referred to as a domestic appliance, an electric appliance or a household appliance, is a machine which assists in household functions such as cooking, cleaning and food preservation. The domestic application attached to ...
s including washing machine, ishing machines, clothes dryers, furnaces, exercise machines, dishwashers, dishishers, refrigerators, freezers, electric stoves and vacuum cleaners became popular from the 1920s through the 1950s. Radios were popularized as a form of entertainment during the 1920s, followed by television during the 1950s. * The first airplane, the ''Wright Flyer'', is flown in 1903. With the engineering of the faster jet engine in the 1940s, mass air travel became commercially viable. * The assembly line made mass production of the automobile viable. By the end of the 20th century, billions of people had automobiles for personal transportation. The combination of the automobile, motor boats and air travel allowed for unprecedented personal mobility. In western nations, motor vehicle accidents became the greatest cause of death for young people. However, expansion of divided highways reduced the death rate. * The triode, triode tube is invented, laying the foundation for amplification and switching technologies that led to silicon-based transistors, solid-state transistors, which revolutionized modern electronics. *Air conditioning of buildings became common * New materials, most notably stainless steel, Velcro, silicone, polytetrafluoroethylene, teflon, and plastics such as polystyrene, polyvinyl chloride, PVC, polyethylene, and nylon came into widespread use for many various applications. These materials typically have tremendous performance gains in strength, temperature, chemical resistance, or mechanical properties over those known prior to the 20th century. * Aluminum became an inexpensive metal and became second only to iron in use. * Thousands of chemicals were developed for industrial processing and home use. * Digital computers came into use, they greatly increased productivity and paved the way for the
Internet The Internet (or internet) is the Global network, global system of interconnected computer networks that uses the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to communicate between networks and devices. It is a internetworking, network of networks ...
, which revolutionized global communication and information sharing.


Space exploration

* The Space Race between the United States and the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
gave a peaceful outlet to the political and military tensions of the
Cold War The Cold War was a period of global Geopolitics, geopolitical rivalry between the United States (US) and the Soviet Union (USSR) and their respective allies, the capitalist Western Bloc and communist Eastern Bloc, which lasted from 1947 unt ...
, leading to the first human spaceflight with the Soviet Union's Vostok 1 mission in 1961, and man's first landing on another world—the
Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...
—with America's Apollo 11 mission in 1969. Later, the first space station is launched by the Soviet space program. The United States developed the first reusable spacecraft system with the Space Shuttle program, first launched in 1981. As the century ended, a permanent crewed presence in space is being founded with the ongoing construction of the International Space Station. * In addition to human spaceflight, uncrewed space probes became a practical and relatively inexpensive form of exploration. The first orbiting space probe, Sputnik 1, is launched by the
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
in 1957. Over time, a massive system of artificial satellites is placed into orbit around Earth. These satellites greatly advanced navigation, communications, military intelligence, geology, climate, and numerous other fields. Also, by the end of the 20th century, uncrewed probes had visited or flown by the Moon, Mercury (planet), Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Saturn, Uranus, Neptune, and various asteroids and comets, with ''Voyager 1'' being the farthest manufactured object from Earth at 23,5 billion kilometers away from Earth as of 6 September 2022, and together with ''Voyager 2'' both carrying The Voyager Golden Record containing sounds, music and greetings in 55 languages as well as 116 images of nature, human advancement, space and society. * The Hubble Space Telescope, launched in 1990, greatly expanded our understanding of the Universe and brought brilliant images to TV and computer screens around the world. * The Global Positioning System, a series of satellites that allow land-based receivers to determine their exact location, is developed and deployed.


Religion

* 1900s – A number of related Pentecostalism#Early revivals: 1900–1929, revival movements mark the start of Pentecostalism. * 1904 – Aleister Crowley dictates ''The Book of the Law'', the foundational text of Thelema. * 1922 – The
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
establishes a doctrine of state atheism#Soviet Union, state atheism. * 1924 – Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, Mustafa Kemal Pasha abolishes the Islamic Caliphate, in favor of secularism. This marks the last widely recognized Muslim Caliphate. * 1930 – Wallace Fard Muhammad founds the Nation of Islam. The Lambeth Conference#Seventh: 1930, Seventh Lambeth Conference allows for the possibility of Christian views on birth control#Anglicanism, birth control within Anglicanism, the first example of a modern Christian church supporting such a position. * 1940s – Wicca is formalized by Gerald Gardner and Doreen Valiente. * 1950s – Sayyid Qutb articulates Qutbism, a violent variety of Islamism that would later become foundational to jihadist ideology. Maharishi Mahesh Yogi begins to teach Transcendental Meditation. * 1953 – L. Ron Hubbard founds the Church of Scientology, which has a unique cosmology based on Space opera in Scientology, science fiction and his older system of Dianetics. * 1956 – B. R. Ambedkar launches the Dalit Buddhist movement. * 1960 – The charismatic movement starts within Anglicanism, quickly spreading to other Christian sects. * 1962–65 – The Second Vatican Council is held, resulting in significant changes in the Catholic Church. * 1970s – New Age beliefs and practices are popularized. * 1979 – In Shia Islam, the Islamic Revolution establishes a Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran, theocratic state within Iran. * 1988 – Al-Qaeda, a network of Islamic extremists, is founded among Arab members of the Afghan mujahideen. It engages in a number of terror attacks throughout the 1990s, leading up to the September 11 attacks in 2001. * 1999 – Falun Gong, a Chinese new religious movement dating to the early 1990s, begins to be Persecution of Falun Gong, persecuted by the Chinese government.


Economics

* The
Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...
is a worldwide economic slowdown that lasted throughout the early 1930s. * The
Soviet Union The Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR), commonly known as the Soviet Union, was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 until Dissolution of the Soviet ...
implemented a series of Five-year plans for the national economy of the Soviet Union, five-year plans for industrialization and economic development. * Most countries abandoned the gold standard for their currency. The Bretton Woods system involved currencies being Fixed exchange-rate system, pegged to the United States dollar; after the system Nixon shock, collapsed in 1971 most major currencies had a floating exchange rate. * Economics is divided into two general economic schools: Keynesian and neoclassical * The 1970s energy crisis occurred when the Western world, particularly the United States, Canada, Western Europe, Australia, and New Zealand, faced substantial petroleum shortages as well as elevated prices. The two worst crises of this period were the 1973 oil crisis and the 1979 oil crisis, 1979 energy crisis, when, respectively, the Yom Kippur War and the Iranian Revolution triggered interruptions in Middle Eastern oil exports.


See also

* 19th century, 19th Century * 21st century, 21st Century * Timeline of historic inventions#20th century, 20th-century inventions * Death rates in the 20th century * Infectious disease in the 20th century * Modern art * Short twentieth century * Timelines of modern history * List of 20th-century women artists * List of notable 20th-century writers * List of battles 1901–2000 * List of stories set in a future now in the past


References


Sources

*
Climate Change 2013 Working Group 1 website.
* (pb: ) * *


Further reading

* Brower, Daniel R. and Thomas Sanders. ''The World in the Twentieth Century'' (7th Ed, 2013) * CBS News
''People of the century''
Simon and Schuster, 1999. * Grenville, J. A. S. ''A History of the World in the Twentieth Century'' (1994)
online free
* Hallock, Stephanie A. ''The World in the 20th Century: A Thematic Approach'' (2012) * Langer, William. ''An Encyclopedia of World History'' (5th ed. 1973); highly detailed outline of event
online free
* Morris, Richard B. and Graham W. Irwin, eds. ''Harper Encyclopedia of the Modern World: A Concise Reference History from 1760 to the Present'' (1970
online
* Pindyck, Robert S. "What we know and don't know about climate change, and implications for policy." ''Environmental and Energy Policy and the Economy'' 2.1 (2021): 4–43
online
* Pollard, Sidney, ed. ''Wealth and Poverty: an Economic History of the 20th Century'' (1990), 260 pp; global perspectiv
online free
* Stearns, Peter, ed. ''The Encyclopedia of World History'' (2001) *


External links


The 20th Century Research Project
(archived 26 February 2012)

(archived 6 February 2012)
''Discovering Literature: 20th century''
at the British Library {{DEFAULTSORT:20th century 20th century, 2nd millennium Centuries Late modern period 20th-century overviews