20th century (19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries) Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s The twentieth century was a remarkable shift in the very existence of humanity due to the technological, medical, social, ideological, and international innovations. Terms like ideology, world war, genocide, and nuclear war rose to common language and an influence on the lives of everyday people. 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. As the 35th United States President John F. Kennedy said: "What kind of peace do we seek? I am talking about a genuine peace, the kind of peace that makes life on earth worth living. Not merely peace in our time, but peace in all time. Our problems are man-made, therefore they can be solved by man. For in the final analysis, our most basic common link is that we all inhabit this small planet, we all breath the same air, we all cherish our children's future, and we are all mortal." Virtually every aspect of life in virtually every human society changed in some fundamental way or another during the twentieth century. Death rates Infant mortality Infectious disease Life expectancy Maternal death rates Battles 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 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 heavier-than-air flying machines 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, pesticides and herbicides resulted in significantly higher agricultural yield. Advances in fundamental physics through the theory of relativity and quantum mechanics led to the development of nuclear weapons, the nuclear reactor, and the laser. Fusion power was studied extensively but remained an experimental technology at the end of the century. The big bang model of cosmology was developed. 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 Western societies. Most influential inventions in the 20th century: Antibiotics, Internet More... Wars and politics 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 British Commonwealth. World War I led to the creation of many new countries, especially in Eastern Europe. The economic and political aftermath of World War I 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. While the First World War mainly cost lives among soldiers, civilians suffered greatly in the Second -- from the bombing of cities on both sides, and in the unprecedented German genocide of the Jews and others, known as the Holocaust. An Anglo-American covert operation named Operation Ajax (1953) overthrew the freely elected democratic Government of Iran and Iranian Prime Minister Mohammed Mossadegh. Excuses for the deposing included his nationalization of the oil industry which was previously operated by the Anglo-Iranian Oil Company. This event forms one of the root causes of the Middle-Eastern dislike of American policies and many events which surface today. During World War I, in Russia the Bolshevik putsch led to the Russian Revolution (of October/November 1917). 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 with the western world, led by the United States. 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. 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. 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. Ten overall largest mass killings of the 20th century (measured in numbers of people killed; also see http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/warstatx.htm) World War II and regime of Adolf Hitler (1937-1945), over 50 million dead, including the Holocaust, killing two-thirds of the Jewish population of Europe (6 million). Regime of Mao Zedong in China (1949-1976), over 40 million dead (incl. about 25 million died of famine) The Holocaust in Adolf Hitler's Nazi Germany (1941-1945), 6 million dead Jews and 5 million dead Slavs, Gypsies, Communists, homosexuals and others Collectivization of Agriculture in Joseph Stalin's Soviet Union (1929-1933), 7 to 8 million dead World War I (1914-1918), over 15 million dead. Russian Civil War (1918-1921), over 8.5 million dead. Chinese Civil War (1917-1945), 6.5 million dead. Korean War (1950-1953), 3 million dead. Vietnam War and other related wars in Indochina (1945-1975), 2.5 million dead. Expulsion of Germans after World War II, over 2 million dead. Armenian Genocide of 1915 by the Turks, up to 2 million dead. The Congo Free State caused an estimated 5 to 10 million deaths, but a part of them were in the 19th century. The current Congolese Civil War costed 3.3 million lives, of which approx. 1.5 million in the 20th century. Furthermore the regime of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea caused an unknown number of deaths. Estimates reach up to 3.5 million. Culture and entertainment 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, women became more independent throughout the century. 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. Highest grossing films of the 20th century Titanic (1997) Star Wars (1977) Star Wars Episode I: The Phantom Menace (1999) E.T. the Extra-Terrestrial (1982) Jurassic Park (1993) Most critically acclaimed films Battleship Potemkin (1925) Citizen Kane (1941) Psycho (1960) The Wizard of Oz (1939) 2001: A Space Odyssey (1968) The Godfather (1972) It's a Wonderful Life (1946) Disease and medicine Although the availability and quality of medicine continued to improve, epidemic diseases continued to spread, aided by modern transportation. An influenza pandemic, the Spanish Flu, killed 25 million between 1918 and 1919, while AIDS is yet uncured and treatments remain too expensive for wide use in developing countries. Advances in medicine, such as the invention of antibiotics, decreased the number of people dying from diseases. Contraceptive drugs and organ transplantation were developed. The discovery of DNA molecules and the advent of molecular biology allowed for cloning and genetic engineering. Natural resources and the environment The widespread use of petroleum in industry -- both as a chemical precursor to plastics and as a fuel for the automobile and airplane -- led to the vital geopolitical importance of petroleum resources. The Middle East, home to many of the world's oil deposits, became a center of geopolitical and military tension throughout the latter half of the century. A vast increase in fossil fuel consumption leads to depletion of natural resources, while air pollution possibly leads to global warming and the ozone hole. The problem is increased by world-wide deforestation, also causing a loss of biodiversity. The problem of a depletion of natural resources is decreased by advances in drilling technology which led to a net increase in the amount of fossil fuel that is readily obtainable at the end of the century, as compared with the amount considered obtainable at the beginning of the century. Significant people World leaders Africa Gnassingbe Eyadema, Togo Félix Houphouët-Boigny, Côte d'Ivoire Kenneth Kaunda, Zambia Jomo Kenyatta, Kenya Idi Amin, Uganda Nelson Mandela, South Africa Robert Mugabe, Zimbabwe Gamal Abdal Nasser, Egypt Kwame Nkrumah, Ghana Julius Nyerere, Tanzania Habib Bourguiba, Tunisia Colonel Moammar Al Qadhafi, Libya Cecil Rhodes, South Africa Haile Selassie, Ethiopia Léopold Sédar Senghor, Senegal Ahmed Sékou Touré, Guinea Americas Theodore Roosevelt, USA Franklin Delano Roosevelt, USA Dwight Eisenhower, USA John F. Kennedy, USA Richard Nixon, USA Ronald Reagan, USA Bill Clinton, USA George H. W. Bush, USA Wilfrid Laurier, Canada William Lyon Mackenzie King, Canada Pierre Trudeau, Canada Ernesto 'Che' Guevara, Cuba Fidel Castro, Cuba Juan Perón, Argentina Salvador Allende, Chile Augusto Pinochet, Chile Emiliano Zápata, Mexico Pancho Villa, Mexico Asia Mao Zedong, People's Republic of China Deng Xiaoping, People's Republic of China Pol Pot, Cambodia Mahatma Gandhi, India Indira Gandhi, India Muhammad Ali Jinnah, Pakistan Mahathir Mohamad, Malaysia Jawaharlal Nehru, India Emperor Hirohito, Japan Ho Chi Minh, Vietnam Sun Yat-sen, Republic of China Chiang Kai-shek, Republic of China Achmad Sukarno, Indonesia Lee Kuan Yew, Singapore Corazon Aquino, the Philippines Ferdinand Marcos, the Philippines Australia and Oceania Edmund Barton, Australia Sir Robert Menzies, Australia Peter Fraser, New Zealand Michael Joseph Savage, New Zealand Europe Kemal Atatürk, Turkey Neville Chamberlain, United Kingdom Winston Churchill, United Kingdom Margaret Thatcher, United Kingdom Charles de Gaulle, France Eamon de Valera, Ireland Franz Joseph of Austria, Austria-Hungary Kaiser Wilhelm II, Germany Václav Havel, Czech Republic Adolf Hitler, Germany Konrad Adenauer, Germany Willy Brandt, Germany Helmut Kohl, Germany Gerhard Schröder, Germany Benito Mussolini, Italy Einar Gerhardsen, Norway Francisco Franco, Spain António de Oliveira Salazar, Portugal Mário Soares, Portugal Jozef Pilsudski, Poland Josip Broz Tito, Yugoslavia Milan Kučan, Slovenia Olof Palme, Sweden Nicolae Ceausescu, Romania Lech Walesa, Poland Middle East Reza Shah Pahlavi, Iran Mohammad Reza Pahlavi, Iran Mohammad Mosaddeq, Iran Ayatollah Khomeini, Iran Ayatollah Khamenei, Iran Mohammad Khatami, Iran Abdul Nasser, Egypt or United Arab Republic Anwar Sadat, Egypt or United Arab Republic David Ben-Gurion, Israel Golda Meir, Israel Menachem Begin, Israel Hafez el Assad, Syria Saddam Hussein, Iraq King Hussein, Jordan Russia and Soviet Union Czar Nicholas II Vladimir Lenin Joseph Stalin Leon Trotsky Nikita Khrushchev Leonid Brezhnev Mikhail Gorbachev Boris Yeltsin Vladimir Vladimirovich Putin Scientists Niels Bohr Albert Einstein Enrico Fermi Howard Walter Florey Sigmund Freud Kurt Gödel Fritz Haber Werner Karl Heisenberg Andrey Nikolaevich Kolmogorov Linus Pauling Erwin Schrödinger John von Neumann Ali Javan Alan Turing Economics and business John Maynard Keynes John Kenneth Galbraith Milton Friedman Henry Ford Thomas J. Watson Bill Gates Linus Torvalds Aerospace pioneers Robert Goddard Wernher Von Braun Neil Armstrong Louis Bleriot Yuri Gagarin Vladimir Mikhailovich Komarov Freddie Laker Charles Lindbergh Ron McNair Ellison Onizuka Herman Potočnik Noordung Alan Shepard Valentina Tereshkova Wright Brothers Military leaders Paul von Hindenburg Erich Ludendorff Charles de Gaulle Dwight Eisenhower Sir Bernard Freyberg Douglas Haig Douglas MacArthur Rudolf Maister Bernard Montgomery Chester Nimitz George Patton Erwin Rommel Franc Rozman Stane Leon Trotsky Mao Zedong Georgy Zhukov Vo Nguyen Giap Moshe Dayan Religious figures Grigori Rasputin Pope John XXIII Pope John Paul II Mother Teresa of Calcutta The 13th Dalai Lama of Tibet, Thubten Gyatso The 14th Dalai Lama of Tibet, Tenzin Gyatso The Rev. Martin Luther King Jr. The Rev. Billy Graham Mahatma Gandhi Prabhupada A.C. Bhaktivedanta Ayatollah Khomeini Ayatollah Khamenei Artists Constantin Brancusi George Braque Salvador Dalí Marcel Duchamp Jacob Epstein Juan Gris Wassily Kandinsky René Magritte Henri Matisse Joan Miró Amedeo Modigliani Piet Mondrian Henry Moore Pablo Picasso Jackson Pollock Andy Warhol Entertainers Amitabh Bachchan The Beatles Bob Dylan Bob Marley Charlie Chaplin Charlie Parker David Bowie Elvis Presley Frank Sinatra Groucho Marx Jimi Hendrix Kraftwerk Louis Armstrong Lucille Ball Marilyn Monroe Michael Jackson Miles Davis Pink Floyd Queen Spike Jones Spike Milligan The Velvet Underground Writers and poets Louis Aragon Samuel Beckett Jorge Luis Borges André Breton Basil Bunting Albert Camus Noam Chomsky Cid Corman Hart Crane Robert Creeley e. e. cummings T. S. Eliot Paul Eluard William Faulkner Gabriel García Márquez Allen Ginsberg Alamgir Hashmi Seamus Heaney Ernest Hemingway H.D. Orrick Johns James Joyce Franz Kafka Jack Kerouac Philip Larkin Halld%F3r Laxness Mina Loy Hugh MacDiarmid Antonio Machado Andre Malraux Marianne Moore Sean O'Casey Charles Olson George Oppen George Orwell Ezra Pound Marcel Proust Thomas Pynchon Ayn Rand Charles Reznikoff Dorothy Richardson Jean-Paul Sartre Antoine de Saint-Exupéry Gary Snyder Gertrude Stein Wallace Stevens John Millington Synge J.R.R. Tolkien William Carlos Williams Virginia Woolf W. B. Yeats Louis Zukofsky Sports figures Muhammad Ali Wilfred Benitez Larry Bird Sir Donald Bradman Jim Clark (racing driver) Roberto Clemente Fausto Coppi Angel Cordero Wilfredo Gomez Wayne Gretzky Juan Manuel Fangio Sir Edmund Hillary Magic Johnson Michael Jordan Martina Navratilova Diego Maradona Jack Nicklaus Pelé Jackie Robinson Babe Ruth Ayrton Senna Michael Schumacher Martin Strel Mark Todd Mike Tyson Ted Williams Notorious figures Adolf Hitler Pol Pot Augusto Pinochet Saddam Hussein Joseph Goebbels Osama bin Laden Timothy McVeigh Josef Stalin Jeffrey Dahmer Decades and years ast:Sieglu XX simple:20th century Most Popular Articles: Music    Musical Instruments    Guitar    Classical Music    History    Music Definition    Country Music    Rock Music    Pop Music    Hip Hop    Rap    DJ    Video Games    Casino Games    Poker    Blackjack    Casinos    Real Estate    Loan    Auction    eBay    Marketing    Search Engine Optimization    File Sharing    MP3    Music Industry    Kazaa    Internet    Supermodel    Fashion    Fashion Designers    Erotica    Modeling    Clothing    Boots    Shoes    Diamond Engagement Rings    Diamond    Rugs    Gospel Music    Affiliate    E-Commerce    Radio This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License at http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html You may copy and modify it as long as the entire work (including additions) remains under this license. 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