Prehistory
Control of Fire by Early Humans: From Wonderwerk to the Hearth
Hominins used fire at least occasionally by about 1 million years ago, and regular use of hearths became widespread after about 400,000 years ago.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Prehistory
La Brea Tar Pits: Ice Age Fossils in the Heart of Los Angeles
Rancho La Brea became one of the richest Ice Age fossil sites in the world, with millions of specimens from more than 600 species.
Prehistory
Proterozoic Eon: Oxygen, Supercontinents and Complex Cells
Earth gained an oxygenated atmosphere, complex eukaryotic cells and multicellular life, ending with the first animals just before the Cambrian.
Modern Era
Mount Tarawera Eruption (1886): The Lost Pink and White Terraces
About 120 people died, several villages were buried and the Pink and White Terraces were destroyed.
Modern Era
Fall of France (1940): Blitzkrieg Through the Ardennes
German victory; France signed an armistice on 22 June 1940, was partly occupied and came under the Vichy regime.
Modern Era
Battle of Neuve Chapelle (1915): Britain's First Planned Attack
The British and Indian troops captured the village but failed to break through; about 11,000-12,000 British and Indian casualties.
Modern Era
Treaty of Nanking (1842): The First of China's Unequal Treaties
China ceded Hong Kong Island, opened five ports, abolished the Cohong and paid 21 million dollars, beginning the era of unequal treaties.
Modern Era
Missouri Compromise (1820): Slavery and the Balance of States
Maine entered as a free state, Missouri as a slave state, and slavery was banned in the rest of the Louisiana Purchase north of 36°30'.
Modern Era
Daguerreotype (1839): Daguerre Gives Photography to the World
The French state bought the process and published it, launching photography as a worldwide practice and a commercial portrait industry.
Modern Era
Battle of Eylau (1807): Napoleon's Bloody Snowbound Stalemate
Indecisive; the Russians withdrew after the battle, leaving the French the field but with very heavy losses on both sides.
Middle Ages
Bonampak Murals: The Maya Paintings of War and Court Life
The best-preserved Classic Maya wall paintings, giving an unrivalled picture of royal ceremony, warfare and the treatment of captives.
Middle Ages
Al-Bakri's Account of Ghana (1068): Africa in Arabic Geography
Al-Bakri's Book of Routes and Realms became the most detailed written source for the Ghana Empire at its height.