50 GK Facts about World History

Here are 50 general knowledge facts about world history:

1. The Ancient Egyptian civilization lasted for over 3,000 years.

2. The Roman Empire was founded in 27 BC and lasted until 476 AD.

3. The Great Wall of China was built over several centuries to protect against invasions from northern nomadic tribes.

4. The Battle of Hastings in 1066 marked the Norman conquest of England.

5. The Black Death, or bubonic plague, ravaged Europe in the 14th century, killing millions.

6. The Renaissance, a period of great cultural and intellectual achievement, began in Italy in the 14th century.

7. Christopher Columbus reached the Americas in 1492, initiating European exploration and colonization.

8. The Protestant Reformation, led by Martin Luther, challenged the authority of the Catholic Church in the 16th century.

9. The French Revolution began in 1789, leading to the overthrow of the monarchy and the rise of Napoleon Bonaparte.

10. The Industrial Revolution, starting in Britain in the late 18th century, transformed society with the introduction of machinery and factories.

11. The American Civil War was fought from 1861 to 1865 over issues of slavery and states' rights.

12. The Bolshevik Revolution in Russia in 1917 led to the establishment of the Soviet Union.

13. World War I, also known as the Great War, lasted from 1914 to 1918 and involved many countries around the world.

14. The Treaty of Versailles, signed in 1919, officially ended World War I but contributed to the rise of Adolf Hitler and World War II.

15. The Wall Street Crash of 1929 triggered the Great Depression, a severe economic downturn that lasted throughout the 1930s.

16. World War II lasted from 1939 to 1945 and involved most of the world's nations, resulting in millions of casualties.

17. The Holocaust, the systematic genocide of six million Jews by the Nazis, occurred during World War II.

18. The United Nations was established in 1945 to promote international cooperation and prevent future conflicts.

19. The Cold War, a period of tension between the United States and the Soviet Union, lasted from the late 1940s to the early 1990s.

20. The Korean War, fought from 1950 to 1953, ended in a stalemate and the division of Korea into North and South.

21. The Cuban Missile Crisis in 1962 brought the world to the brink of nuclear war between the United States and the Soviet Union.

22. The Civil Rights Movement in the United States fought against racial segregation and discrimination, leading to significant legal and social changes.

23. The Vietnam War, lasting from 1955 to 1975, was a conflict between communist North Vietnam and US-supported South Vietnam.

24. The Space Race between the United States and the Soviet Union culminated in the moon landing in 1969.

25. The fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 symbolized the end of the Cold War and the reunification of East and West Germany.

26. Nelson Mandela was elected as the first black president of South Africa in 1994, ending apartheid.

27. The September 11 attacks in 2001 were a series of terrorist attacks on the United States, leading to the War on Terror.

28. The European Union was established in 1993 to promote economic and political integration among its member states.

29. The Arab Spring, a series of protests and uprisings across the Middle East and North Africa, began in 2010.

30. The Syrian Civil War, which began in 2011, has resulted in widespread devastation and a humanitarian crisis.

31. The Brexit referendum in 2016 resulted in the United Kingdom's decision to leave the European Union.

32. The COVID-19 pandemic, caused by the novel coronavirus, emerged in late 2019 and has had far-reaching impacts on global health and economy.

33. The Treaty of Westphalia in 1648 marked the end of the Thirty Years' War and established the principle of state sovereignty in Europe.

34. The Magna Carta, signed in 1215, limited the power of the English monarchy and laid the foundation for constitutional government.

35. The Battle of Thermopylae in 480 BC was a key event in the Greco-Persian Wars, where a small Greek force held off a much larger Persian army.

36. The Inca Empire, centered in modern-day Peru, was the largest empire in pre-Columbian America.

37. The Aztec Empire, based in Mexico, was conquered by Spanish conquistadors in the 16th century.

38. The Byzantine Empire, with its capital in Constantinople, preserved many aspects of Roman culture and lasted until the 15th century.

39. The Code of Hammurabi, created by the Babylonian king Hammurabi around 1754 BC, is one of the earliest known sets of written laws.

40. The Battle of Tours in 732 AD halted the Muslim expansion into Europe, preserving Christianity in the West.

41. The Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494 divided the newly discovered lands between Spain and Portugal along a meridian 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde islands.

42. The Meiji Restoration in Japan in the late 19th century modernized the country and ended the feudal system.

43. The Opium Wars in the mid-19th century between China and Britain resulted in the opening of China to foreign trade.

44. The Panama Canal, completed in 1914, revolutionized global shipping by providing a shortcut between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans.

45. The Treaty of Nanking in 1842 ended the First Opium War and ceded Hong Kong to Britain.

46. The Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo in 1848 ended the Mexican-American War and resulted in Mexico ceding large territories to the United States.

47. The Treaty of Brest-Litovsk in 1918 ended World War I on the Eastern Front between Russia and the Central Powers.

48. The Treaty of Portsmouth in 1905 ended the Russo-Japanese War and earned Theodore Roosevelt the Nobel Peace Prize.

49. The Treaty of Ghent in 1814 ended the War of 1812 between the United States and Britain.

50. The Treaty of Paris in 1763 ended the Seven Years' War and resulted in Britain gaining control of Canada and Florida from France and Spain, respectively.