Name That Event!
1215
English King John signed the Magna Carta in 1215, limiting the king's power. Later, England's King Edward III claimed to be king of France and began the Hundred Years' War in 1337.
800
In 800, during the medieval period, Pope Leo III crowned Charlemagne Holy Roman Emperor of Europe.
1095
Richard the Lion-Hearted, son of Eleanor of Aquitaine, fought the Turks for Jerusalem during the time of the Crusades, from 1095 to 1291.
1400s
BONUS POINTS: In the 1400s, Prince Henry of Portugal founded a school of navigation. His work advanced European exploration and trade, included the slave trade.
1500s
Between the late 1400s and the mid-1500s, Dias rounded the Cape of Good Hope, America Vespucci sailed to the Americas, Balboa crossed Central America to the Pacific, Magellan's crew sailed around the globe, and Coronad explored the American Southwest.
1600
During the Renaissance period, from 1350 to 1600, Leonardo da Vinci was a famous inventor, Shakespeare was a famous playwright, Michelangelo was a famous artist, and Copernicus was a famous scientist.
1054
In 1054, the church split into Roman Catholic and Eastern Orthodox. William the Conqueror defeated King Harold of England in 1066 and started feudalism.
1340s
During the Hundred Years' War, Joan of Arc and King Charles VII led the French to defeat England at the Siege of Orleans. In the late 1340s, fleas on rats carried the plague, which killed one out of three Europeans.
1950
In 1950, General Douglas MacArthur led United Nations forces to stop communist North Korea from capturing all of South Korea during the Korean War.
1700s
Vladimir I brought Christianity to Russia in the 900s. In the 1500s, Czar Ivan the Terrible unified Russia. Peter the Great and Catherine the Great expanded and Westernized Russia in the 1700s.
1517
In 1517, Martin Luther began the Protestant Reformation by printing the Ninety-five Theses that made Pope Leo X excommunicate him. Later, John Calvin joined the Reformation.
1500s and 1800s
Between the 1500s and 1800s, Henry VIII of England, Louis XIV of France, Philip II of Spain, Peter the Great of Russia, and Frederick the Great of Prussia ruled during the age of absolute monarchs.
1812
Napoleon Bonaparte of the French Empire was defeated at the Battle of Waterloo by British General Wellington and his allies soon after the War of 1812 in the United States.
1945
In 1945, after the League of Nations failed to prevent World War II, American President Roosevelt, British Prime Minister Churchill, and Soviet Premier Stalin began the United Nations.
1917
During World War I, Great Britain, France, and Russia were Allies and fought against Austria, Hungary and Germany, which were called the Central Powers. In 1917, the United States entered the war, assisting the Allies.
1789
In 1789, the French Revolution began when citizens stormed the Bastille and fought for the Declaration of the Rights of Man. Later, during the Reign of Terror, the aristocrats' heads were removed by the guillotine.
1914
Clemenceau of France, Lloyd George of England, Nicholas II of Russia, Wilhelm II of Germany, and Wilson of the United States were leaders during World War I, which started in 1914 and ended in 1918.
1939
World War II began in 1939 when Hitler invaded Poland. Two engagements that helped the United States win the Pacific front were defeating Japan at the Battle of Midway and dropping atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945.
1989
In 1989, the communist dictators began to fall in Eastern Europe when Soviet General Secretary Gorbachev refused to send them military aid.
1990
In 1990, President George H.W. Bush sent troops to the Persian Gulf to expel Iraqi leader Saddam Hussein from Kuwait.
1760s
Watt's steam engine, Cartwright's power loom, and Whitney's cotton gin spurred the Industrial Revolution that began in the 1760s.
1945
World War II Axis leaders were Hitler of Germany, Tojo of Japan, and Mussolini of Italy. World War II Allied leaders were: Churchill of England, Roosevelt, Eisenhower, and MacArthur of the United States, and Stalin of the USSR.
1980s
In the 1980s, British Prime Minister Margaret Thatcher and American President Ronald Reagan worked together to end the Cold, lessen big government, and strengthen the conservative movement.
1994
In 1994, South African President de Klerk allowed free elections. Nelson Mandela became South Africa's first black president, demonstrating apartheid was ending
1965
In 1965, President Johnson sent US troops to stop communist North Vietnam from capturing all of South Vietnam during the Vietnam War.