Events that changed the course of history
History, more or less, would have been different from the present had the past been altered. Every single decision, every single action, every single deed of the past has led us onto the course which we are breathing right now. So, let us analyze the events that are responsible for the current course of the present in a chronological order.
You will note that each consecutive event was the direct or an indirect effect of the preceding event.
1. Assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria on 28th June 1914
Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated by Bosnian Nationalists in an attempt to seek revenge for their long lost freedom. The assassination was the sole cause that led to the beginning of the 1st World War.
Germany, Austria-Hungary, and Italy were allies due to the ‘Triple alliance’ formed between them due to the fear of Russian Invasion in 1882.
The Bosnian Empire had been a recent addition to the Austria-Hungary Empire but the people of Bosnia wished for Independence. In an attempt to seek independence, the Bosnian people assassinated the Archduke in the 2nd attempt after failing in the first attempt.
Bosnia consisted of Serbian people and hence a war outraged between Serbia and Austria-Hungary. This brought Russia to protect Serbia as Russia was an ally of Serbia. On seeing this, Germany jumped in according to the conditions laid in the Triple Alliance (1882) and attacked Russia. And eventually, almost every major country became a participant in the war.
EFFECTS: It led the world towards an economic depression in the post-war period. The economy was totally dilapidated. The countries went bankrupt and there was total chaos. It also served as an indirect cause of the 2nd World War.
2. The Russian Revolution in 1917
This event marks the beginning of the glorious era of Russia and its transition into a Super power.
After the heavy casualties Russia suffered during the 1st World War, the Tsar’s autocratic rule was overthrown and an interim government was formed. The interim government was overthrown by the Bolsheviks, a radical group of communists led by Vladimir Lenin.
For a long period in history, Russia was under the autocratic rule of the Tsars. The ruling Tsar of 1917, Tsar Nicholas II proved to be inept and incapable to rule the Empire. Russia suffered heavy casualties in the 1st World War. This led to a large outcry against the rule of the Tsar.
Communist parties started retaliating against the royal opponents. Communism was the new age system. Autocracy was becoming obsolete. The change was coming. It had been felt to be coming from a long time. And then it came.
The autocratic rules of Tsar had been put to an end after Tsar’s brother refused to preside over the throne. The interim or the provisional government set up after the overthrow of Tsars was again overthrown by the Bolsheviks, who were a radical group of communists led by Vladimir Lenin.
EFFECTS: USSR or Union of Social Soviet Republics was formed. Development spewed rapidly. Slowly, USSR became the next superpower and the only one being able to match the USA. It signifies the rise of the communist regime.
3. The Discovery of Penicillin on 1st September 1928
Penicillin, the first true antibiotic marks the dawn of the Antibiotic age.
Being Discovered accidentally, Penicillin was discovered by Alexander Fleming, Professor of Bacteriology at St. Mary’s Hospital when he observed the difference in the layers of Petri Dishes which were sprayed with some kind of bacteria.
Antibiotics are compounds produced by bacteria and fungi which are capable of killing, or inhibiting competing microbial species. This phenomenon has long been known; it may explain why the ancient Egyptians had the practice of applying a poultice of moldy bread to infected wounds. But it was not until 1928 that the first antibiotic was discovered.
Penicillin, the first true antibiotic was discovered by Alexander Fleming, Professor of Bacteriology at St. Mary’s Hospital in London. The discovery was more by an accident than by choice.
The original task of converting penicillin into a life-saving drug from a laboratory curiosity was the result of the efforts put by Howard Florey, Ernst Chain and their colleges at William Dunn School of Pathology at Oxford University.
Before its introduction, there was no effective treatment for infections such as pneumonia, gonorrhea or rheumatic fever.
EFFECTS: This event signifies the success of mankind over the monstrous death sucking infections and diseases and also proved to be a boon to the series of generations that followed, thus helping in extending the average life of a human being.
4. Nazi invasion of Poland on 1st September 1939
Hitler’s ideology of invading Poland was to create more living space for the racially superior Germans. He was of the belief that German race is superior to all other races. Germany had annexed kingdoms such as Austria in 1938, in 1939, Sudetenland and whole of Czechoslovakia. When Hitler invaded Poland, the world didn’t just watch silently like before. The world reacted which led to the 2nd World War.
All these Kingdoms had been acquired without igniting hostilities with the major powers. He had hoped that the invasion of Poland would also proceed in a similar way. To make sure that there were no disputes such as USSR coming to aid Poland, Hitler signed a non-agreement pact with USSR which had a secret clause that stated that Poland would be divided between them.
Britain had also signed a military treaty with Poland which promised military support in case of being attacked. Hitler delayed the attack due to this treaty. He resorted to spreading misinformation stating that Poland had attacked Germany, the attack being which was staged by Hitler himself.
On the next day, ie 1st September 1939, he mobilized his troops and went ahead to invade Poland. Britain and France tried to sign a ceasefire but Germany did not stop. Thus, on 2nd September 1939, Britain declared war on Germany.
EFFECTS: All these severe actions culminated in the 2nd World War. The repercussions of the actions taken by Germany were humongous. It led to the beginning of a Cold War between USSR and USA due to the mutual enmity between the 2 nations.
5. Pearl Harbour attack by Japan on December 7, 1941
2 years into World War II and hopefully, US still hadn’t been a part of it. Unfortunately, this state of US wasn’t going to last long. Here’s what provoked the US to enter the war and turn the tides towards Germany.
On December 7, 1941, hundreds of Japanese Fighter planes attacked the American Naval Base at Pearl Harbour. This attack took the US by surprise because the attack was totally unanticipated. Although this heavy launch of missiles and artillery lasted for only 2 hours, the devastation it caused was huge. 20 American naval vessels, more than 300 airplanes and more than 2000 soldiers and sailors died in this attack.
This led to America immediately declaring a war on Japan. Japan’s allies- Italy and Germany, also declared war on the United States. The World War II was now joined by another major participant.
By 1945, Germany had surrendered. Japan was defeated too but would still not surrender. Invading Japan was an option to stop it but that would cost too many lives. So, USA decided to drop its newly designed atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki. Never before in the history of humankind had the world witnessed such a massive explosion which crumpled the lives of humans with such ease. It almost dilapidated Japan.
Six days after the bombing, Japan surrendered to the US forces. This marked the final conclusion of the Bloody World War II.
EFFECTS: The most disturbing devastation ever faced by a country. Atomic bombs developed by the US were put into the use for the 1st time. For the 1st time, humankind witnessed such a humongous destruction through a single bomb and was totally engulfed by the terror resulting from it.
6. Formation of United Nations on October 24, 1945
The League of Nations failed to prevent the 2nd World War.
Therefore, in 1945, after the end of the 2nd World War, United Nations was signed and came into existence.
In 1942, the growing World War became the major concern which acted as the thrusting force for the US, Britain, and USSR to formulate the UN Declaration, which was signed by 26 nations in 1942, as a formal opposition against the Axis powers-Germany, Italy, and Japan.
On April 25, 1945, the principles of UN Charter were first formulated at the San Francisco Conference. It was attended by the representatives of 50 nations. It consisted of a wide list of objectives which mainly consisted of peace making policies.
Now that the war was over, maintaining peace and cooperation was the practical responsibility of UN Security Council, made up of the USA, Great Britain, France, USSR, and China.
EFFECTS: After a long chain of devastating events, the world finally had a balanced and well-organized committee to look into international disputes. The UN remains a boon for the years that have passed and many more that are yet to come.
7. Apollo 11 moon landings of 1969
Apollo 11 was the spaceflight that landed the first 2 humans on the moon.
Exploration is a highly prevalent trait among humans. The basis of civilization has been exploration.
Moon had been visited before, but not by humans.
The moon landings marked the beginning of the era of interplanetary exploration. It also helped to collect specimens from Moon. Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were the first 2 astronauts and humans to land on Moon.
EFFECTS: It helped to extend the exploration to the interplanetary level. It helped to study the composition of the moon. The future looked promising.
8. The invention of Personal Computers, 1975
Personal Computers, the beginning of the digital era. The present world wouldn’t have been so advanced hadn’t there been the advent of Personal Computers.
The first modern computer was been created by Konrad Zuse in 1938 in his parent’s living room. The first personal computers, introduced in 1975, came as kits: The MITS Altair 8800, followed by the IMSAI 8080, an Altair clone. (Yes, cloning has been around that long!) Both used the Intel 8080 CPU. In 1976, Apple designed Apple I and in 1977, it introduced Apple II which revolutionized the Computer industry.
And the rest, as they say, is history.
EFFECTS: Computers helped in improving the interdependence of things. Since then, Computer has been in use in every sector of life. The impact it has created is huge. It revolutionized the way things were done. The age of digitization prospered.
9. The invention of Internet
Unlike all other major inventions, the Internet wasn’t created by a single person but has grown and evolved over time. The first communication network was a result of the fear of the attack by Russia due to the cold war. The Americans feared about the communication method if the telephone routes were destroyed. The idea proposed here was to create a ‘galactic network’ of computers that could talk to each other. Such a network would enable communication even if the telephone lines were destroyed.
The first way of communication done between 2 computers was through packet switching-a method that breaks down data into blocks before sending the data to its destination. This was in 1969.
By the end of the 1970s, a computer scientist named Vinton Cerf devised a method to connect all the computers in the world’s mini- network to communicate with each other. He named it as Transmission Control Protocol (TCP).
This protocol transformed the Internet into a worldwide network and it was mostly used by Researchers and Scientists to send data from one computer to another.
In 1991, the internet changed again. A computer programmer named Tim Berners-Lee introduced the World wide web — the Internet as we know today.
The following year saw the inventions of browsers and since then, it has continued to evolve in many ways.
EFFECTS: The Internet has improved the ability to connect with people far away. Also, it has helped in commercializing many things and helped the progress of world technologically. It remains a boon to the mankind.
Who knows into what it may evolve next?
While this ever evolving nature of the Internet is unpredictable, it has strongly boosted the growth of our civilization and has set us into a spree of era-defining moments. And while there is a certain degree of expectation from the future, in the bigger scheme of things, it is largely uncertain. And who knows in this fast pacing world, what we might stumble upon, next? Do you?
- Vinay Chawla
TEDxPICT