Important Historical Events

Constantinople fell to the Ottoman Turks in 1453 and the Byzantine Empire ended. For exams, link 1453 with the end of the medieval age.

The Magna Carta was accepted in 1215 and became a basis for limiting royal power. In exams, connect it with the beginning of constitutional rule.

Columbus reached the Americas in 1492 after crossing the Atlantic. In exams, connect it with European voyages of discovery.

The American Declaration of Independence was issued on 4 July 1776. In exams, link it with the independence of British colonies.

The Russian Revolution of 1917 ended Tsarist rule in Russia. For exams, remember the Bolshevik Revolution and Lenin together.

The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 became a major symbol of the end of the Cold War. For exams, also link it with German reunification.

The Meiji Restoration of 1868 started rapid modernization in Japan. In exams, connect it with Japan's military and industrial rise.

In 1517, Martin Luther published the Ninety Five Theses. For exams, connect it with the beginning of the Protestant Reformation.

The Western Roman Empire is considered to have ended in 476. In exams, link it with the shift from ancient history to the medieval period.

Germany invaded Poland on 1 September 1939 and the war began. For exams, remember 1939 as the start of the Second World War.

Atomic bombs were dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945 and Japan surrendered. In exams, link it with the end of the Second World War.

The Boston Tea Party took place in 1773 against British tax policy. For exams, connect it with the background of the American independence movement.

Garibaldi contributed to Italian unification with his Red Shirt volunteers. In exams, link him with Italian nationalism.

Bismarck unified Germany through the policy of blood and iron. For exams, link 1871 with the proclamation of the German Empire.

NATO was founded in 1949 during the Cold War for collective security. In exams, remember it as a Western military alliance.

The Warsaw Pact was a Soviet led military alliance formed in 1955. For exams, remember it as a response to NATO.

The League of Nations was formed in 1920 after the First World War to maintain peace. For exams, link its failure with the Second World War.

The People's Republic of China was established in 1949 under Mao Zedong. In exams, connect it with the Chinese Communist Revolution.

The Cuban Missile Crisis of 1962 was a major example of nuclear tension between the USA and the Soviet Union. For exams, treat it as a dangerous Cold War event.

The defeat of the Spanish Armada in 1588 increased England's naval power. In exams, connect it with the background of maritime imperialism.

The American Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865 over slavery and federal unity. For exams, remember Abraham Lincoln.

The Renaissance promoted art, science and humanism and gave rise to modern thinking. For exams, connect it with Europe's intellectual change.

The assassination of Franz Ferdinand in 1914 acted as the immediate trigger of the First World War. In exams, connect it with the Sarajevo incident.

The Glorious Revolution of 1688 strengthened parliamentary power in England. For exams, link it with constitutional monarchy.

The Congress of Vienna in 1815 tried to restore balance of power in Europe after Napoleon. For exams, connect it with the restoration system.