XX Century timeline By: Juan Felipe González

By fgonzalez@student.cbr.edu.co

  • Media: Marconi makes the first wireless radio transmission.

  • Philosophical: "Principia Ethica" by G.E. Moore - This work significantly influenced ethics and analytic philosophy, introducing important arguments against ethical naturalism.

  • Gadgets: Wright Brothers' first powered flight: This event marked the birth of modern aviation.

  • Science: Theory of special relativity: Albert Einstein publishes his theory, which introduces revolutionary concepts about space and time.

  • Gadgets: Ford Model T: The introduction of the Ford Model T revolutionized the automotive industry and popularized mass production.

  • Science: Rutherford atomic model: Ernest Rutherford formulates the nuclear model of the atom, showing that an atom consists of a positively charged central nucleus surrounded by electrons.

  • Media: The era of commercial radio begins with the first radio station in Pittsburgh, USA.

  • War: Russian Revolution - The October Revolution marks the beginning of the civil war in Russia and establishes the Bolshevik government led by Vladimir Lenin.

  • Politics: Signing of the Treaty of Versailles: On June 28, 1919, this treaty not only ended World War I, but also set the stage for future international conflicts by imposing punitive conditions on Germany.

  • Philosophical: "Tractatus Logico-Philosophicus" by Ludwig Wittgenstein - Publication of a work that would change the direction of analytical philosophy, focusing its attention on the limits of language and its relation to reality.

  • War: Creation of the Soviet Union. Ukraine becomes one of the founding republics of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics (USSR).

  • Gadgets: Television: Philo Farnsworth transmitted the first television picture, a breakthrough that would eventually change the shape of global entertainment and communication.

  • Philosophical: Martin Heidegger's "Being and Time" - One of the major works of existentialism and phenomenology, exploring the nature of being.

  • Media:The first sound film, "The Jazz Singer", is released.

  • Science: Discovery of penicillin: Alexander Fleming accidentally discovers penicillin, the first modern antibiotic.>

  • Science: Nuclear fission: Enrico Fermi and his team bombard uranium with neutrons, leading to the discovery of nuclear fission.

  • Media: The first regular television services are inaugurated in Germany and the United Kingdom.

  • Gadgets: The Nylon: Wallace Carothers and his team at DuPont invented nylon, which transformed the textile industry and was crucial during World War II.

  • Period: to

    War: World War II

  • Philosophical: "Philosophy of Liberation" by Simone de Beauvoir - Beauvoir's "The Second Sex" not only transformed gender studies but also profoundly influenced existentialist and feminist philosophy.

  • Politics: Creation of the UN: On October 24, 1945, the United Nations Organization was founded, with the objective of promoting peace and international cooperation.

  • Gadgets: The nuclear reactor: Enrico Fermi designed the first nuclear reactor that sustained a controlled chain reaction, inaugurating the era of nuclear power.

  • Philosophical: "Being and Nothingness" by Jean-Paul Sartre - A seminal text of French existentialism, discussing concepts of freedom, existence and essence.

  • Media: World War II ends and the media play a key role in spreading information about the events of the war.

  • Gadgets: The electronic digital computer: The ENIAC, considered one of the first general-purpose electronic computers, was completed and used primarily for ballistic calculations.

  • Politics: Formation of NATO: On April 4, 1949, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization was created, a military alliance that played a crucial role in Cold War bloc politics.

  • Period: to

    War: Cold War

  • Gadgets: The transistor: Invented by John Bardeen, Walter Brattain and William Shockley, the transistor revolutionized electronics and is the basis of all modern electronics.

  • Media: Television becomes popular in the homes of many families, becoming a means of mass communication.

  • Period: to

    Politics: Korean War

  • Philosophical: "The Myth of Sisyphus" by Albert Camus - Publication that marks a turning point in the development of absurdism and existentialism.

  • War: Hungarian Revolution- Hungary attempts independence from Soviet control, but is crushed by the Red Army.

  • Science: Structure of DNA: James Watson and Francis Crick propose the double helix structure of DNA, crucial for understanding molecular biology and genetics.

  • War: Transfer of Crimea - Nikita Khrushchev, leader of the USSR, transfers Crimea from the Russian SFSR to the Ukrainian SSR, which would later become a critical point in Russian-Ukrainian relations.

  • Gadgets: La energía solar fotovoltaica: Bell Labs demostró la primera célula solar práctica, iniciando la era de la energía solar como fuente renovable.

  • Politics: Bandung Conference

  • Gadgets: The laser: Theodore Maiman developed the first operational laser, a tool now used in numerous applications in medicine, industry and technology.

  • Politics: Cuban Missile Crisis

  • Philosophical: "The Structure of Scientific Revolutions" by Thomas Kuhn - Work that introduced the concept of "paradigm" and revolutionized the philosophy of science.

  • Philosophical: "The Society of the Spectacle" by Guy Debord - This text is fundamental in the critique of contemporary culture and society.

  • War: Prague Spring - Ukraine and other Eastern Bloc countries seek democratic reforms within the communist regime, but are invaded by Soviet troops.

  • Philosophical:"Theory of Justice" by John Rawls - One of the most influential works in political philosophy and ethics of the 20th century, redefining discussions of justice and fairness.

  • Media: Man reaches the moon and the live broadcast of the event becomes a milestone in television history.

  • Gadgets: The cell phone: Martin Cooper of Motorola made the first call on a portable cell phone, ushering in the era of mobile communication.

  • Politics: SALT I Agreements

  • Media: The first e-mail is launched, laying the foundations for digital communication.

  • Media: The first personal computer, the IBM PC, is launched, marking the beginning of the technological revolution.

  • Science: Discovery of HIV: Luc Montagnier and Robert Gallo identify the human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), the cause of AIDS.

  • Science: String theory: Michael Green and John Schwarz revitalize string theory by showing how it can eliminate anomalies in particle theory.

  • War: Chernobyl disaster - The nuclear catastrophe in Ukraine, with questionable management and transparency on the part of the Soviet authorities, fostered discontent with the central government.

  • War: Dissolution of the Soviet Union - Ukraine declares its independence from the Soviet Union, marking the end of the Cold War.

  • Politics: Fall of the Berlin Wall

  • Science: Hubble Space Telescope: The Hubble Space Telescope is launched, providing an unprecedented view of the universe.

  • Politics: Reunification of Germany:

  • Media: The Internet becomes accessible to the general public, forever changing the way we communicate and access information.

  • War: Budapest Memorandum. Ukraine gives up its nuclear arsenal in exchange for security guarantees from Russia, the US and the UK.

  • Philosophical: "The Elementary Structures of Violence" by Jürgen Habermas - Works on discourse theory and deliberative democracy that have been fundamental to modern political philosophy.

  • Science Cloning of Dolly: Ian Wilmut and his team announce the successful cloning of a sheep, Dolly, the first mammal cloned from an adult cell.

  • Science: Accelerated expansion of the universe: Discoveries by teams led by Saul Perlmutter, Brian Schmidt and Adam Riess suggest that the universe is expanding at an accelerating rate.

  • Politics: NATO intervention in Yugoslavia