English History
This legendary queen reigned for 63 years during the height of the British Empire and is the namesake of a major historical era.
Queen Victoria
Used primarily by the German military to send secret messages, this cipher machine was famously cracked by Allied codebreakers.
The Enigma Machine
The United Nations was officially established in this year, following the conclusion of World War II.
1945
This ancient philosopher’s teachings on filial piety, social harmony, and the importance of ritual became the bedrock of Chinese government for centuries.
Confucius
This nephew and heir of Julius Caesar became the first official Emperor of Rome
Octavian / Augustus
In 1666, this disaster began in a bakery on Pudding Lane and destroyed most of the medieval city of London.
Great Fire of London
This German term, meaning "lightning war," describes the fast-moving tactic of using tanks and aircraft to overwhelm an enemy quickly.
Blitzkrieg
The Apollo 11 mission successfully landed the first humans on the Moon in July of this year.
1969
This dynasty, which ruled from 202 BC to 220 AD, was so influential that the largest ethnic group in China still refers to themselves by its name.
Han Dynasty
According to legend, these twin brothers, raised by a she-wolf, were the traditional founders of Rome in 753 BC.
Romulus and Remus
King Edward VIII sparked a constitutional crisis in 1936 when he chose to abdicate the throne to marry this American socialite.
Wallis Simpson
This British passenger liner was sunk by a German U-boat in 1915, killing 1,198 people and shifting American public opinion toward joining the war.
RMS Lusitania
On the 11th hour of the 11th day of the 11th month of this year, the Armistice was signed, ending the fighting in World War I.
1918
Founded by Kublai Khan, this was the first foreign-led dynasty to rule all of China.
Yuan Dynasty
Rome fought a series of three major conflicts known by this name against the North African power of Carthage.
Punic Wars
This 1415 battle during the Hundred Years' War saw Henry V’s longbowmen achieve a decisive victory over a much larger French force.
Battle of Agincourt
He was the "Desert Fox," the German Field Marshal who commanded the Afrika Korps before being forced to commit suicide following a plot against Hitler.
Erwin Rommel
Martin Luther is said to have nailed his 95 Theses to the door of the Castle Church in Wittenberg in this year, sparking the Reformation (16th century date)
1517
This 1900 uprising was led by a secret society known as the "Righteous and Harmonious Fists" who sought to drive all foreigners and Christians out of China.
Boxer Rebellion
These massive stone channels used gravity to transport fresh water from distant springs into the fountains and baths of Roman cities.
Aqueducts
This 1917 secret telegram from Germany to Mexico, intercepted by British intelligence, helped pull the United States into World War I on the side of the Allies.
Zimmermann Telegram
Often called the largest tank battle in history, this July 1943 engagement saw the German offensive "Operation Citadel" fail to break the Soviet lines, marking the final time Germany was able to launch a major offensive on the Eastern Front.
Battle of Kursk
In this pivotal year, the Byzantine Empire finally collapsed as Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks, and the Hundred Years' War also came to an end. (15th century date)
1453
In the mid-19th century, a man claiming to be the brother of Jesus Christ led this massive civil war against the Qing Dynasty, resulting in an estimated 20 million deaths.
Taiping Rebellion
This 216 BC battle is considered Hannibal’s masterpiece, where he used a double-envelopment maneuver to surround and annihilate a much larger Roman army, leading to the death of over 50,000 Romans in a single day.
Battle of Cannae