20th century

(19th century - 20th century - 21st century - more centuries)

Decades: 1900s 1910s 1920s 1930s 1940s 1950s 1960s 1970s 1980s 1990s

As a means of recording the passage of time, the 20th century was that century which lasted from 1901-2000 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar (1900-1999 in the sense of the Common Era calendar). Sometimes this is known as the nineteen hundreds (1900s), referring to the years 1900 to 1999. Historians will sometimes specifically refer to the 'little 20th century' as 1914-91, denoting the period of time between the outbreak of World War I and the fall of the Soviet Union.

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.

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.

Contents

1 Important developments, events and achievements

1.1 Science and technology
1.2 Wars and politics
1.3 Culture and entertainment
1.4 Disease and medicine
1.5 Natural resources and the environment

2 Significant people

2.1 World leaders
2.2 Scientists
2.3 Economics and business
2.4 Aerospace pioneers
2.5 Military leaders
2.6 Religious figures
2.7 Artists
2.8 Entertainers
2.9 Writers and poets
2.10 Sports figures

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


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20th century

Important developments, events and achievements

Science and technology

Wars and politics

Culture and entertainment

Disease and medicine

Natural resources and the environment

Significant people

World leaders

Scientists

Economics and business

Aerospace pioneers

Military leaders

Religious figures

Artists

Entertainers

Writers and poets

Sports figures

Decades and years