In your opinion what were the three most important events in world histroy since 1880?

Question

In your opinion what were the three most important events in world histroy since 1880 and why?
Please explain why for each event.

Answer 1

the birth of martin Luther King Jr. -important to the civil rights movement

The destruction of the Berlin Wall- signified the healing of many nations since the end of World War II

the 2008 Presidential Election- The first woman president in the the history of the United States will win the election furthering the cause of equality for women.

Answer 2

World War I was the direct cause of World War II, and the key element in the start of the first war was the decision of Tsar Nicholas to mobilize the Russian army after Austria declared war on Serbia. This brought Germany into it, and the widespread war became inevitable.
SO - Key Event #1 July, 1914 Tsar Nicholas decides to mobilize the Russian army to back up little Serbia. HUGE mistake.
#2 - Successful test of the plutonium fission atomic bomb in New Mexico in July 1945
#3 - Successful test of the hydrogen fusion bomb by the U.S. in November, 1952.
One could say the emergence of diseases such as the H1N1 Influenza virus outbreak in the summer/fall of 1918, but this was not an event controlled by man. I'm thinking of things humans have done to themselves. Nuclear weapons have only one purpose - - killing massive numbers of people. They have NOT become a deterrent to war. We still fight wars and simply decide not to use the nukes. I have concerns that the nuclear weapon problem WE invented will come back and bite us with terrible consequences.
Added note - Wow - Excellent answers below. I agree with the discovery of penicillin - the beginning of the antibiotic era AND the invention of computer processors. I was thinking more in negative terms rather than these positives. I like the balance you are getting in the answers.

Answer 3

In 1885, Karl Benz created the Motorwagen, the first commercial automobile. It was powered by a four-stroke gasoline engine, which was his own design.

The Wright brothers, Orville (August 19, 1871–January 30, 1948) and Wilbur (April 16, 1867–May 30, 1912), were two Americans who are generally credited with building the world's first successful airplane and making the first controlled, powered and sustained heavier-than-air human flight on December 17, 1903.

On October 2, 1925 John Logie Baird successfully transmitted in his laboratory the first television picture.

Answer 4

End of World War I - The peace brokered by Woodrow Wilson led to the formation of the for-runner of the United Nations and established the United States as *the* dominant player in world politics.

Invasion of Normandy - the Final Solution to Adolf Hitler set the scene for world events for the next 50 years, including the re-building of Europe by America dollars, the fall of Eastern Europe into the hands of Communist Russia, and beginning of the Cold War.

Invention of the transistor - The basis for the microprocessors that would lead to inexpensive computers, practical portable telephones and yes, the Internet.

Answer 5

1. Hitler invades Poland in September 1939-- caused WWII which changed the way that imperialism was viewed around the world, restructured governments, killed 100 million people, etc.

2. Alexander Fleming discovers Penicillin in 1928 by accident: led to vast changes in modern medicine and stopped millions of deaths from bacterial infections.

3. Jack Kirby and Texas instruments invented the first miniaturized integrated circuits in 1959, which later led to the development of personal computers.

-- i know that all my events took place in the 20th century, but life has changed more over the past 107 years than it did since the beginning of human history, and we can't ignore this. Of course one might say that nuclear fission should be in there somewhere, but to be honest, the lack of use of atomic weapons and the minimal use of atomic energy have made fission less important than computers, modern medicine, and the largest war in history.

Answer 6

World War I and II obviously.

The third...mmm....for the period considered, probably the October Revolution. For the future? The scientific outburst/computer/space...or perhaps the whole process of globalisation.

Answer 7

I would argue this:

1. Treaty of Versailles - results of failed treaty leave 20th century Europe in disarray

2. Splitting of Atom - new era of weaponry born resulting in escaltion of Cold War

3. Fall of Berlin Wall - collapse of Communism in Europe begins effectively ending an era

Versailles begins the short 20th century and USSR's total collapse ends it.