Kirikos Spellas Class: Junior High School School Year: 2009-2010

1. Kirikos Spellas Class: Junior High School School Year: 2009-2010 A PEOPLE’SHISTORY of the WORLD

2. The Human history is full of great events that shaped our world as it is now. It is very difficult to say which ones were the most influential . Many people tried to investigate the most significant events in the Human History and to create a list of the “top ten” events. However, my belief is that there cannot be any objective list of the most important events. There will be always a factor that will influence the way in which you judge an event. For instance, an engineering will judge social events as less important than the invention of electricity or Einstein’s relativity theory. Therefore in the following of this assignment I will try to present my subjective list of the most influential events in the Human History.

3. The Invention of Writting Even if it is difficult to locate exactly where the first writing has been developed, historians believe that the Sumerians invented the earliest form of writing around 3200 BC. The invention of writing was the dawn of the information revolution. It was the main means to record and understand the Human History.

4. The Battle of Marathon At 490 BC the Greeks stop the Persian invasion, securing the survival of Greek culture and science. This battle determined not only the survival of the Greek culture but also the Development of the Western civilization.

5. The Invention of Gunpowder Gunpowder, reportedly produced from saltpetre, sulphur and charcoal, is a Chinese invention. Earliest records of the formula date to the 800s. The Chinese used gunpowder to propel rockets, and to produce incendiary and explosive projectiles thrown by catapult. Within the years, Guns became the deadliest weapons. The increase in the number of casualties in modern wars is because of the tremendous impact of this horrible invention.

6. The First Book Ever Printed Gutenberg Bible, the first substantial book printed with movable type. It was printed at Johann Gutenberg's shop in Mainz, Germany and completed in 1454 or 1455. The invention of the printing press has revolutionized communication. The invention of the first printing press by Johannes Gutenberg was an essential step in mass communication, and diffusion of knowledge

7. The French Revolution The French Revolution marks a significant break with the tradition of Monarchy. It was the most important milestone in the social and political changes that took place over the following years. Only few events have so powerfully influenced the political and economic development of the modern world as the French Revolution. Declaration of the Rights of Man: 1. All men are born free with equal rights. 2. All citizens have the right to take part in electing representatives to make the laws. 3. Every person shall be free to speak, write, or print his opinions provided he does not abuse this privilege. 4. The amount of taxes which a person is called upon to pay shall be based on the amount of wealth that he possesses.

8. The invention of electricity The invention of electricity was not an overnight event. It took several centuries to be developed in the form that we know. The first insights of electricity can be traced back to 600 B.C. to the writings of Thales of Miletus. There are many significant inventors that contributed to this fascinating inventions. The names worth mentioning are Alessandro Volta, Thomas Edison, Nikola Tesla, Heinrich Hertz, and of course Thomas Edison the inventor of light bulb.

9. The invention of telephone Since it was first introduced into the marketplace it has made a world of difference in many people's lives. The first thing that people realized about the telephone is that it was a very easy means of communication. As it happens with most of the inventions, It is not easy to fairly decide who actually invented the telephone since there have been a lot of disputes, lawsuits and claims. But it is a fact that a lot of inventors can be credited with their work on the telephone, including Innocenzo Mazetti, Antonio Meucci, Johann Philipp Reis, Elisha Reis and, of course, Alexander Graham Bell. The invention of the car One of the most fascinating inventions is without a doubt the invention of the car. This product not only changed completely the daily life of the people but also gave a great boost to the economic development.

10. The first flight On the 17th December 1903 Orville Wright did the impossible: he flew for the first time. The key to the Wright Brother's success was that their engineering had gone beyond the trial and error methods of their contemporaries. Although they had limited resources they showed great scientific ingenuity. During their test flights they had to go back to scientific experiments such as bicycle balance and their famous tunnel experiments. They were the first to understand how the lift from the aerofoil changes in flight, and the first to design their propellers as a form of aerofoil. The Wright Brothers designed the 1903 Flyer to protect themselves from injury whilst they learnt to fly. Their canard design was safer in a stall but a web-based version of Frederick Hooven's flight simulation demonstrates how difficult it must have been to control.

11. World War I &II • World War I & II . Many millions of lives have been lost as a result of the wars. At the end of the wars millions of refuges were homeless, the whole European economy had collapsed and most of the infrastructure was destroyed. • August 6 - Atomic Bomb. One of the most significant events of the second World War. The US atomic bombs of 1945, devastated the cities of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The atomic bomb had implications beyond just the end of the Second World War. It showed the world the potential devastation a third world war could cause. • The Atomic Bomb made clear that Mankind developed the means to destroy itself.

12. This page aims illustrate some important events that we did not have the time to analyze in this assignment. As you can see most of these events took place on the previous century. The main reason that this century has so many influential events is mainly due to the wide use of mass communication media. News is traveling now much faster than ever before. Therefore, important events nowadays influence most of the people. • The crucifixion of Christ. • The fall of Rome. • The birth of Islam. • The first Crusade. • The foundation of Tectonism. • The discovery of America. • The first Factory. • The American Revolution. • War of Notherners and Southerners. • The travel of Darwin. • The first Air Flight. • The Russian Revolution. • The vote of Women. • The big Crush 1930. Great Historical Events • The theory of Relativity. • The landing in Normandy. • Hiroshima. • The foundation of European Union. • The big Course of Gkanti. • The first Contraception. • The beginning of Cold War. • The war of Stars. • The first Step in the Moon. • The murder of Kennedy. • The release of Mandela. • The perestroika. • The Fall of the Wall of Berlin. • The creation of Internet. • The distribution of Windows. • The fall of Twin Towers.