MAIN Society History 20th Century History

The grand sweep of the 20th century began most notably with the rise of the movies and the automobile, quickly followed by World War I and the Great Depression - followed by another "war to end all wars" at mid-century, World War II.

While those events were enough to fill a complete era, the century was about to jump to light speed with the dawning of the space age. Occurring almost simultaneously was a revolution in telecommunications that saw its roots in the invention of the telephone and the radio - to another miracle of the modern age - 1950s television.

Today, it continues as everyone on the planet connects as never before via the Internet.

Around the Web, dig deeper into the period at top sites offering timelines, a survey of great achievements, destructive wars, social upheavals, and more events that defined the 20th century worldwide ....

More about 20th century history around the Web:

Greatest Engineering Achievements of the 20th Century - Timelines, background histories, important people & places and milestone developments including the telephone, radio and television, health care & technology, spacecraft, personal computers and the Internet.

The Great Depression - Social, economic & politic aftershocks of the 1930's depression in the U.S. and worldwide with special focus on dustbowl America, including a photo essay and depression era art gallery.

20th Century Warfare - Comprehensive portal to major and minor conflicts throughout the century including the World Wars, Vietnam, Korea, Somalia, the Fauklands, Bosnia-Kosova and the Persian Gulf War with guides to military tactics & weapons as well as related pop culture, art & literatur references.

The Cold War Files - Multimedia look key people and events, espionage weapons and tactics in the atomic age with more on the space race, books & movies that define the era.

NASA History - Interactive presentations, video clips, image gallery, feature stories and profiles of important people in the history of the U.S. space program including the Apollo moon misson.

Changing Stages - PBS companion site with a tour of 20th century theater covering the birth of the national theater in Ireland, post-war British theater, American musical theater and profiles of playwrights Brecht, Beckett and Pinter, with related timeline and suggested resources.

WebMuseum The 20th Century - An illustrated survey of major artists, paintings and movements including Fauvism, Picasso and Cubism, Abstract painting and Pop Art.

Timelines 1900 - 2000 - Thumbnail information on important people and events in world history, politics, economics, science, religion, and entertainment listed by date and year.

also see in Pop Culture -> 1950s | 1960s | 1970s | 1980s | 1990s

Fashion | Fast Food | Pop Museums | Television History

in Society -> Hippies | Hip Hop | Punks

also see Holidays & Observances -> Pearl Harbor Day