Early Modern
Giuseppe Castiglione (1715): A Jesuit Painter at the Qing Court
Castiglione spent five decades as a court painter, creating a hybrid Sino-European style and helping design the European palaces of the Yuanmingyuan.
All Articles
Every Chronicle article on world history, newest first: battles, empires, disasters, discoveries and revolutions.
Early Modern
Great Turkish War (1683-1699): The Holy League Rolls Back
Holy League victory; the Ottomans ceded most of Hungary, Transylvania, Podolia and the Morea at Karlowitz in 1699 and Azov to Russia in 1700.
Early Modern
Spinning Jenny (c. 1764): James Hargreaves and Cotton Spinning
The jenny multiplied the output of hand spinners and spread rapidly in Britain's cotton industry, but it provoked machine-breaking and was soon overtaken by the water frame and the spinning mule.
Early Modern
Assassination of the Duke of Guise (1588) at Blois
Guise and his brother the cardinal were killed; the Catholic League rose against Henry III, who allied with Henry of Navarre.
Early Modern
Pedro de Valdivia and the Founding of Santiago de Chile (1541)
Santiago del Nuevo Extremo was founded as the base of Spanish Chile, beginning a long conflict with the Mapuche known as the Arauco War.
Contemporary
2009 Swine Flu Pandemic: The H1N1 Influenza Outbreak Worldwide
The first influenza pandemic of the 21st century caused an estimated 151,700–575,400 deaths in its first year, mostly among younger adults, and prompted a large vaccination campaign and a review of pandemic planning.
Contemporary
Orange Revolution (2004): Ukraine's Protests Over a Disputed Vote
Ukraine's Supreme Court annulled the fraudulent runoff, and Viktor Yushchenko won the repeat vote and became president in January 2005.
Contemporary
Roe v. Wade (1973): The Supreme Court Abortion Ruling
The Supreme Court ruled 7-2 that the Constitution protects a woman's decision to have an abortion, striking down most state bans; the decision was overruled in 2022.
Contemporary
Human Genome Project (1990-2003): Mapping Human DNA
An essentially complete reference sequence of the human genome was published in April 2003, freely available to all, launching the era of genomic medicine; the final gaps were closed in 2022.
Contemporary
Lebanese Civil War 1975-1990: Factions, Invasions and Beirut
The Taif Agreement of 1989 rebalanced power between Lebanon's communities, and the war ended in October 1990 with Syria dominant in the country.
Contemporary
Prague Spring (1968): Dubcek's Socialism with a Human Face
The reform movement was ended by a Warsaw Pact invasion; Dubcek was replaced in 1969 and two decades of hardline 'normalisation' followed.
Ancient World
Caesarea Maritima: Herod's Harbour City on the Coast of Judea
Herod created a major port city that became the capital of the Roman province of Judaea and flourished for centuries.