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20th century

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: General history

   Millennium: 1st millennium - 2nd millennium - 3rd millennium
   Centuries:         19th century - 20th century - 21st century
     Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s

   The 20th century began on January 1, 1901 and ended on December 31,
   2000, according to the Gregorian calendar. A common misunderstanding
   was that it started in 1900 and ended in 1999 even though popular
   culture reflected the correct numbering convention in such things such
   as the movie, 2001, which dealt with the begining of the next century.
   Some historians consider the era from about 1914 to 1992 to be the
   Short Twentieth Century.

   The twentieth century was a period of radical departure in the way
   almost every previous area of human activity. Accelerating scientific
   understanding, better communications, faster transportation transformed
   the world in those hundred years more than any time in the past. It was
   a century that started with steam powered ships as the most
   sophisticated means of transport, and ended with the space shuttle.
   Horses, and other pack animals, Western humanity's basic form of
   personal transportation for thousands of years were replaced by
   automobiles within the span of a few decades.

   The twentieth century saw a remarkable shift in the way that vast
   numbers of people lived, as a result of technological, medical, social,
   ideological, and political innovation. Arguably more technological
   advances occurred in any 10 year period following World War I than the
   sum total of new technological development in any previous century.
   Terms like ideology, world war, genocide, and nuclear war entered
   common usage and became an influence on the lives of everyday people.
   War reached an unprecedented scale and level of sophistication; in the
   Second World War (1939-1945) alone, approximately 57 million people
   died, mainly due to massive improvements in weaponry. The trends of
   mechanization of goods and services and networks of global
   communication, which were begun in the 19th century, continued at an
   ever-increasing pace in the 20th. In spite of the terror and chaos, the
   20th century saw many attempts at world peace. Virtually every aspect
   of life in virtually every human society changed in some fundamental
   way or another during the twentieth century and for the first time, any
   individual could influence the course of history no matter their
   background. Arguably, the 20th century re-shaped the face of the planet
   in more ways than any previous century.
     * Technology
     * Death rates
     * Infant mortality
     * Infectious disease
     * Life expectancy
     * Maternal death rates
     * Battles

   Scientific discoveries such as relativity and quantum physics radically
   changed the worldview of scientists, causing them to realize that the
   universe was much more complex than they had previously believed, and
   dashing the hopes at the end of the preceding century that the last few
   details of knowledge were about to be filled in.

   For a more coherent overview of the historical events of the century,
   see The 20th century in review.

   The 20th century has sometimes been called, both within and outside the
   United States, the American Century, though this is a controversial
   term.

Important developments, events and achievements

Science and Technology

   Ford assembly line, 1913
   Enlarge
   Ford assembly line, 1913
     * The assembly line and mass production of motor vehicles and other
       goods allowed manufacturers to produce more and cheaper products.
       This allowed the automobile to become the most important means of
       transportation.
     * The invention of fixed-wing aircraft and the jet engine allowed for
       the world to become "smaller." Space flight increased knowledge of
       the rest of the universe and allowed for global real-time
       communications via geosynchronous satellites.
     * Mass media technologies such as film, radio, and television allow
       the communication of political messages and entertainment with
       unprecedented impact
     * Mass availability of the telephone and later, the computer,
       especially through the Internet, provides people with new
       opportunities for near-instantaneous communication
     * Applied electronics, notably in its miniaturized form as integrated
       circuits, made possible the above mentioned rise of mass media,
       telecommunications, ubiquitous computing, and all kinds of
       "intelligent" appliances; as well as many advances in natural
       sciences such as physics, by the use of exponentially growing
       calculation power (see supercomputer).
     * The development of Nitrogen fertilizer, insecticides and herbicides
       resulted in significantly higher agricultural yield. Chemical
       warfare is massively used in World War I.
     * Advances in fundamental physics through the theory of relativity
       and quantum mechanics led to the development of nuclear weapons
       (known informally as "the Bomb" and dropped on the industrial town
       of Hiroshima and the historic town of Nagasaki), the nuclear
       reactor, the semiconductor and the laser. Quantum mechanics also
       led to the development of applied electronics, radiation therapy,
       and synthesis of many new chemicals, including antibiotics and
       plastics. Fusion power was studied extensively but remained an
       experimental technology at the end of the century.
     * Inventions such as the washing machine and air conditioning led to
       an increase in both the quantity and quality of leisure time for
       the middle class in developed countries.
     * Most influential inventions in the 20th century: antibiotics, oral
       contraceptives, new plastics, transistors, Internet
     * More...

Wars and politics

   Warfare in the early 20th Century (1914-1918)Clockwise from top: front
   line Trenches, a British Mark I Tank crossing a trench, the Royal Navy
   battleship HMS Irresistible sinking after striking a mine at the battle
   of the Dardanelles, a Vickers machine gun crew with gas masks and a
   Sopwith Camel biplane.
   Enlarge
   Warfare in the early 20th Century (1914-1918)
   Clockwise from top: front line Trenches, a British Mark I Tank crossing
   a trench, the Royal Navy battleship HMS Irresistible sinking after
   striking a mine at the battle of the Dardanelles, a Vickers machine gun
   crew with gas masks and a Sopwith Camel biplane.
     * After decades of fight of the Women's suffrage movement, the right
       to vote for women is introduced in all western countries.
     * In the Spanish-American War Spain loses its last colonies. The USA
       occupy Cuba, Puerto Rico and the Philippines and wins the
       Philippine-American War against the independence movement.
     * Rising nationalism and increasing national awareness were among the
       causes of World War I, the first of two wars to involve all the
       major world powers including Germany, France, Italy, Japan, the
       United States and the Commonwealth of Nations. World War I led to
       the creation of many new countries, especially in Eastern Europe.
       Ironically, it was said by many to be the 'War to end all Wars'.
     * The economic and political aftermath of World War I and the Great
       Depression led to the rise of Fascism and Nazism in Europe, and
       shortly to World War II. This war also involved Asia and the
       Pacific, in the form of Japanese aggression against China and the
       United States. Among soldiers, civilians also suffered greatly in
       World War II -- from the bombing of cities on both sides, and in
       the German genocide of the Jews and others, known as the Holocaust.
       In 1945 the Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki take place.
     * A violent war broke up in Spain in 1936 when General Francisco
       Franco rebelled against the Second Spanish Republic. Almost
       1,000,000 people died. Many consider this war as a testing
       battleground for WWII as the Nazi armies bombed some Spanish
       territories.
     * During World War I, in Russia the Bolshevik putsch took over the
       Russian Revolution of 1917, precipitating the rise of communism.
       After the Soviet Union's involvement in World War II, Communism
       became a major force in global politics, spreading all over the
       world: notably, to Eastern Europe, China, Indochina and Cuba. This
       led to the Cold War and proxy wars with the West, including wars in
       Korea ( 1950- 1953) and Vietnam ( 1957- 1975).
     * The civil rights movement in the USA and the movement against
       Apartheid in South Africa challenge successfully segregationist
       practices.
     * The "fall of Communism" in the late 1980s freed Eastern and Central
       Europe from Soviet supremacy. It also led to the dissolution of the
       Soviet Union and Yugoslavia into successor states, many rife with
       ethnic nationalism, and left the United States as the world's
       superpower.
     * Through the League of Nations and, after World War II, the United
       Nations, international cooperation increased. Other efforts
       included the formation of the European Union, leading to a common
       currency in much of Western Europe, the euro around the turn of the
       millennium.
     * The end of colonialism led to the independence of many African and
       Asian countries. During the Cold War, many of these aligned with
       the USA, the USSR, or China for defense.
     * The creation of Israel, a Jewish state in a mostly Arab region of
       the world, fueled many conflicts in the region, which were also
       influenced by the vast oil fields in many of the Arab countries.

Culture and entertainment

   "Film" refers to the celluloid media on which motion pictures reside
   Enlarge
   "Film" refers to the celluloid media on which motion pictures reside
     * As the century begins, Paris is the artistic capital of the world,
       where both French and foreign writers, composers and visual artists
       gather. By the end of the century, the focal point of global
       culture had moved to the United States, especially New York City
       and Los Angeles.
     * Movies, music and the media had a major influence on fashion and
       trends in all aspects of life. As many movies and music originate
       from the United States, American culture spread rapidly over the
       world.
     * After gaining political rights in the United States and much of
       Europe in the first part of the century, and with the advent of new
       birth control techniques women became more independent throughout
       the century.
     * Rock and Roll and Jazz styles of music are developed in the United
       States, and quickly become the dominant forms of popular music in
       America, and later, the world.
     * Modern art developed new styles such as expressionism, cubism, and
       surrealism.
     * The automobile provided vastly increased transportation
       capabilities for the average member of Western societies in the
       early to mid-century, spreading even further later on. City design
       throughout most of the West became focused on transport via car.
       The car became a leading symbol of modern society, with styles of
       car suited to and symbolic of particular lifestyles.
     * Sports became an important part of society, becoming an activity
       not only for the privileged. Watching sports, later also on
       television, became a popular activity.

Disease and medicine

Medicine

     * Antibiotics drastically reduced mortality from bacterial diseases
       and their prevalence.
     * X-rays became powerful diagnostic tool for wide spectrum of
       diseases, from bone fractures to cancer. In 1960-s, Computerized
       tomography had been invented.
     * Another important diagnostic tool is sonography.
     * Development of vitamins virtually eliminated scurvy and other
       vitamin-deficiency diseases.
     * New psychiatric drugs were developed. This includes antipsychotics
       which are efficient in treating hallucinations and delusions, and
       antidepressants for treating depression. However, some of these
       drugs have serious side effects, and they usually cannot heal a
       psychiatric disease, only treat it.
     * Role of tobacco smoking in developing cancer and other diseases had
       been proved in 1950-s (see British Doctors Study).
     * New methods for cancer treatment, namely chemotherapy, radiation
       therapy, and immunotherapy, were developed. As a result, in many
       cases cancer can be completely healed.
     * New methods for heart surgery were developed.
     * Cocaine and heroin were found to be dangerous addictive drugs, and
       their wide usage had been outlawed.
     * Contraceptive drugs were developed, which reduced overpopulation.

Diseases

     * An influenza pandemic, the Spanish Flu, killed 25 million between
       1918 and 1919
     * AIDS killed millions of people. AIDS treatments remain inaccessible
       to people living with HIV/AIDS in developing countries, but even
       with the best available treatment, most patients eventually die
       from AIDS.
     * Due to increased life span, the prevalence of old age diseases,
       including Alzheimer's disease and Parkinson's disease increased.

Decades and years

   Wikimedia Commons has media related to:
   20th century
   1890s 1890 1891 1892 1893 1894 1895 1896 1897 1898 1899
   1900s 1900 1901 1902 1903 1904 1905 1906 1907 1908 1909
   1910s 1910 1911 1912 1913 1914 1915 1916 1917 1918 1919
   1920s 1920 1921 1922 1923 1924 1925 1926 1927 1928 1929
   1930s 1930 1931 1932 1933 1934 1935 1936 1937 1938 1939
   1940s 1940 1941 1942 1943 1944 1945 1946 1947 1948 1949
   1950s 1950 1951 1952 1953 1954 1955 1956 1957 1958 1959
   1960s 1960 1961 1962 1963 1964 1965 1966 1967 1968 1969
   1970s 1970 1971 1972 1973 1974 1975 1976 1977 1978 1979
   1980s 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1985 1986 1987 1988 1989
   1990s 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999
   2000s 2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005 2006 2007 2008 2009
   Modernism
   20th century - Modernity - Existentialism
   Modernism (music): 20th century classical music - Atonality - Serialism
   - Jazz
   Modernist literature - Modernist poetry
   Modern art - Symbolism (arts) - Impressionism - Expressionism - Cubism
   - Surrealism - Dadaism - Futurism (art) - Fauvism - Pop Art -
   Minimalism
   Modern dance - Expressionist dance
   Modern architecture - Brutalism - De Stijl - Functionalism - Futurism -
   International Style - Organicism - Visionary architecture
   ...Preceded by Romanticism Followed by Post-modernism...
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   Millennium Century
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   1st BC
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   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/20th_century"
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   with only minor checks and changes (see www.wikipedia.org for details
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