18th C, B.C.E Hammurabi establishes first legal code
16th-13th C, B.C.E The ten commandments are revealed to Moses on Mt. Sinai. They establish the Judeo-Christian ethic as the critical foundation of modern democratic thought
105 C.E Paper is invented in China
212 "Civis Romanus sum" citizenship is given to freeborn subjects
221 Han Dynasty in China includes official, but diverse news circulation
600 Book Printing is invented in China
701 Codification of Japanese political law
790 Golden period of Arabic learning
802 Germanic tribal laws codified by order of Charlemagne
1020 Jaroslav the Wise codifies Russian law
970s Fatimids build al-Azhar University in Cairo, the world's first university
1041 Invention of movable type in China
1119 Bologna University founded in Italy; Paris University, in France, is founded in 1150
1215 King John seals Magna Carta at Runymeade
1455 Gutenberg invents movable-type printing press
1492 Christopher Columbus lands on Bahama islands, Cuba, and Hispaniola (beginning of European expansion)
1517 Martin Luther, German scholar, publishes 95 theses, launching the Reformation in Europe
1619 First representative colonial assembly in America held at Jamestown, VA, under Governor Sir George Yeardley
1625 Hugo Grotius publishes De Jure Belli ac Pacis, which becomes the basis of international law
1646 Treaty of Westphalia: End of the Thirty Years’ War in Europe; Ushers in modern concept of the nation-state
1628 The Petition of Right provides freedom of speech and bans cruel or unusual punishment, further strengthening Parliament in England
1679 Habeas Corpus Act in England ensures no imprisonment without court appearance first
1689 Act of Toleration and Bill of Rights is passed in England
1690 English philosopher John Locke argues in his book, Two Treatises, that the government's job under the "social contract" is to protect "natural rights", including what he calls "the right to life, liberty, and the ownership of property"
18th Cent Age of Enlightenment begins in Europe
1735 Libel trial of John Peter Zeuger in New York establishes freedom of the press in North America
1762 Jean Jacques Rousseau writes The Social Contract. He asserts that if a government fails to serve its subjects well, they should have the right to overthrow it and create a new one
1775 Beginning of the American Revolution
1776 Adam Smith writes Wealth of Nations
1776 The United States declares independence
1787 The American Constitution and Bill of Rights are established The original U.S. Constitution permits the states to allow only white male property owners to vote or to hold an elected office. This is not changed until the 1820s. Slavery is not abolished in the U.S. until the 13th Amendment to the constitution made slavery illegal in 1865 The 14th Amendment (1868) states that all citizens of the US have equal protection under the laws. The 15th (1870) gives the right to vote to all male citizens The 19th Amendment (1920) gives all women the right to vote, 131 years after the U.S. Constitution is written The Civil Rights Act of 1964 makes any discrimination on the basis of "race, religion, national origin, sex, or physical handicaps" illegal The 26th Amendment (1971) gives anyone over 18 the right to vote
1789 The beginning of the French Revolution; French revolutionaries overthrow King Louis XVI and the aristocracy in a bloody civil war. The French "Declaration of the Rights of Man" assert that people have the right to "liberty, property, security, and resistance to oppression" The new French government bans slavery in all territory under French control
1790s A revolt in Haiti against French rule, led by Toussaint L'Ouverture, marks the first independence movement in Latin America
19th C Apex of the Industrial Revolution
1816 Bolivar defeats Spanish in Venezuela; independence confirmed in 1821
1829 The practice of suttee (widow burning) made illegal in India
1833 Slavery is abolished in British empire
1838 Samuel Morse perfects an electrical telegraph system
1848 "Year of Revolution" throughout Europe
1859 John Stuart Mill publishes On Liberty
1876 Alexander Graham Bell sends speech through wires with the telephone
1885 Conference in Berlin initiates the "Scramble for Africa"
1885 Indian National Congress is founded, beginning the campaign for home rule
1893 New Zealand becomes the first nation to fully establish a system of universal suffrage
1901 Marconi invents wireless communication
1920 Beginning of commercial radio broadcasting
Inter-war Period Extension of female vote; Great emergence of mass parties in Europe
1922 Mussolini becomes Italian prime minister; Becomes dictator in 1925
1927 Rise of Joseph Stalin in the Soviet Union
1933 Rise of Adolph Hitler in Germany
1944 First free presidential elections in Guatemala
1945 Defeat of the Axis Powers; Ushers in the process of democratization in Europe and Japan
1947 India and Pakistan gain independence; India becomes the worlds largest democracy
1948 The Marshal Plan helps rebuild war-torn Europe
1948 Creation of the state of Israel; The Jewish state becomes the first durable democracy in the Middle East
1948 The United Nations approves the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, guaranteeing all people in all countries their basic rights
1951 Libya declares independence (beginning of post-war decolonization of Africa)
1956 Hungarian Revolution
1964 US Civil Rights Act bans racial discrimination in federal funding and employment
1968 The Prague Spring
1972 U.S. Congress passes Equal Opportunity Act in response to growing women's movement
1976 Helsinki convention on human rights is adopted
1981 The popularization of the personal computer
1987 Mikhail Gorbachev introduces glasnost, oress, encouraging Soviet citizens to debate ways to bring about needed reform
1989 Fall of the Berlin Wall
1989 Popular student-led, pro-democracy protests take place in Beijing's Tiananmen Square, sparking brutal Chinese government crackdown
1991 The Soviet Union disintegrates as the Communist Party loses power; Democratic elections are held in Russia and throughout Eastern Europe
1990s Use of the internet becomes widespread
1999 Nigeria and Indonesia elect democratic governments
แหล่งข้อมูล
http://www.fordemocracy.net/2008/democracy-timeline.html
