The Late Modern Period

1800s.  The Industrial Revolution [*]. The West is transformed as animal power is replaced first by the steam engine and then by the internal combustion engine; cast iron is replaced by steel; oil lamps are replaced by electric lights; and the assembly line permits mass production... In science, Charles Darwin explains evolution in terms of natural selection, James Clerk Maxwell formulates the laws of electricity, Wilhelm Wundt founds experimental psychology.

1905.  Technology and science continue. In 1903 Henry Ford markets the model T. In three separate papers published in 1905, Albert Einstein proves the atomic theory of matter; proposes the theory of relativity; and makes a pioneer contribution to quantum physics.

1945+.  The end of WWII and the beginning of "post-modernism". War-time innovations lead to the mass production of antibiotics, the splitting of the atom, and the invention of plastic, the jet airplane, the intercontinental missile and space rocket, and the computer. Soon Crick & Watson unravel the structure of DNA, and the birth control pill heralds one step towards women's liberation. Television promotes consumerism, cynicism, and cosmopolitanism. Tourism flourishes (for the first time in history, the average citizen repeatedly makes recreational journeys of hundreds of miles each). The Western powers cede their colonies nominal autonomy, but retain economic control. Transnational corporations and the global economy reduce the importance of the nation-state.

Historical Atlas of the 20th Century