everyday life - events

c. 34000 BC	Europe	Homo sapiens sapiens, the ancestors of modern humans, are established in Britain. Their emergence has been attributed to their ability to develop tools to cope with the increasingly cold climate.
c. 11000 BC	Europe	Hunters in Somerset, England, develop a rudimentary calendar. The passage of lunar months is etched onto a hare's shinbone.
c. 8000 BC	Middle East	After a very brief Mesolithic Age, the Neolithic or New Stone Age begins in the Middle East. This is a settled, food-producing way of life, dependent on the cultivation of crops and the domestication of animals, with people moving from struggling against nature to exploiting it for their own benefit.
c. 4200 BC	Sumeria	The Sumerian civilization begins in southern Mesopotamia, although the Sumerian language may have come with later immigrants. Townships begin to form, such as that at Eridu, traditionally the first in the area.The first move is made to occupy the marshland of the twin rivers Tigris–Euphrates, probably from the Iranian plateau to the east.
c. 4000 BC	Europe	Villages are built over, or on the edge of, lakes in the district of modern Zürich, Switzerland, presumably for protection against attack by people and animals. They house an elaborate and successful culture that lasts into the Bronze Age.
c. 4000 BC	Europe	The ‘Windmill Hill People’, named after a site near Avebury in Wiltshire, appear in Britain. Their settlements, known as ‘causewayed camps’, show them to be herdsmen rather than agriculturists, and their ‘camps’ may have been used only for seasonal gatherings.
c. 3000 BC	Egypt	The Egyptians develop a civil calendar of 365 days divided into twelve 30-day months, plus five intercalated days added at the end. It is based on the lunar cycle and regulated by the appearance of Sirius (the Dog Star) above the horizon, and the flooding of the Nile.
c. 2900 BC	India	The Indus Valley civilization (known as the Harappan) is formed. Considerable Sumerian influence is apparent. Its two chief cities are Mohenjo Daro, in modern Sind, about 400 km/250 mi up the River Indus, and Harappa, 560 km/350 mi further upstream on the River Ravi in the Punjab.
c. 1800 BC	India	The Indus valley Harappan civilization, with its magnificently planned cities, is coming to an end due to invaders who, with little doubt, must be the peoples of Indo-European stock who later write the Vedas (Hindu scriptures).
c. 1600 BC	Egypt	The cat is domesticated in Egypt. (Although it has been proclaimed sacred since c. 2500 BC it is unlikely to have been domesticated at this time.)
c. 1500 BC	Europe	The Urnfield cultures flourish in this and the following century in England (in Wessex), southern Germany, and Denmark. The Urnfield people are pastoral rather than agricultural, use bronze extensively, and are ruled by a warrior class of aristocracy. They cremate chiefs and their families and place the remains in urns which are then interred in cemeteries. The culture continues into the Iron Age (c. 700 BC).
c. 1500 BC	Central America, North America, South America	Neolithic skills similar to those in Europe – weaving, basketmaking, pottery, the building of houses, and the formation of villages – develop in the Americas, as well as a priest class. The use of iron, the wheel, the plough, and money will not develop until the coming of European colonialists.
c. 1300 BC	China	The people of the Chinese Shang dynasty demonstrate skill in architecture (with rammed earth buildings) and ceramics (with near-porcelain) at their capital, Anyang. The dynasty sees the start of the Bronze Age, with the development of bronze-casting techniques which enable the manufacture of a variety of urns or chalices, probably for use in religious services, each type having a different function. A sophisticated range of skills, including writing, chariot construction, and specialized forms of divination are to be found at this time.
c. 1200 BC	Central America	The Olmec civilization begins at San Lorenzo on the Gulf Coast plain of Mexico, near modern Vera Cruz. This is the first civilization of Mesoamerica (the area of the Mexican and Mayan civilizations). San Lorenzo is the predominant centre until 900 BC. Maize is almost certainly the staple crop. The Olmecs are skilled stone workers and also carve small jade objects.
c. 1200 BC	Europe	The Hallstatt culture appears in southern Germany, named after a later cemetery found at Hallstatt, Austria. This culture originates in the Late Bronze Age in southern Germany and Austria and later, in the Iron Age, spreads throughout most of Europe. Burial is by inhumation below a tumulus (grave mound or barrow), with bronze (or later iron) swords, brooches, and pottery.
c. 1140 BC	China	Chinese emperor Wen Wang establishes the first zoo. It covers 1,500 acres and is named the Ling-Yo/Garden of Intelligence.
c. 1000 BC	Europe	A Bronze-Age settlement is established at Hallstatt, Austria. The presence of salt is the primary attraction. The salt mines are worked using techniques developed in the Alps for the extraction of copper. At this time the Hallstatt culture is still confined to the area around southern Germany and Austria.
c. 900 BC–c. 500 BC	Central America	La Venta becomes the major centre of the second phase of Olmec civilization in Mexico. The site of San Lorenzo is abandoned, possibly in a violent overthrow of the local elite, or possibly for religious reasons. La Venta is a ceremonial or elite centre, supported by a large agricultural population. It has a large main pyramid in addition to smaller ones.
c. 900 BC–c. 740 BC	Italy	The Iron Age Villanovan culture is spreading in Italy, named after a typical site at Villanova near Bologna. There is greater skill in metallurgy and a gradual increase in the use of iron. Cremation is practised, with ashes being placed in an urn in a round hole in the ground. One of the main areas of Villanovan culture is Etruria.
c. 700 BC	Europe	The Iron Age starts in much of Europe. (In Greece it began much earlier, about 1050 BC, and in Italy about 900 BC. In Britain it is later, about 650 BC.)
c. 500 BC–c. 400 BC	Europe	The Celts begin to make an impression on European history. They are divided into a number of different tribes, sharing a distinctive decorative style of art, characterized by curving designs and mythical animals. These can be seen on their jewellery (gold and bronze torques), their weapons (decorated shields and sword scabbards), and their pottery and other vessels. The Celts probably originate in northwest and central Europe, France (particularly the area of Champagne), Switzerland, Lower Austria, and western Slovakia. The area of the western Hallstatt, Upper Austria, is also associated with the Celts.
c. 500 BC	Central America	The town of Monte Albán is founded in the Oaxaca region of Mexico. It becomes the capital of the Zapotec culture. The town is sited on a steep, high bluff in the centre of a valley, and dominates the surrounding area for the next 12 centuries.
c. 400 BC	Central America	The Zapotec culture develops in Mexico; it lasts more than 1,100 years, centred on the town of Monte Albán in Oaxaca. The Zapotecs use a basic writing system (possibly borrowed from the Olmecs) and a calendar. Over the course of the next 11 centuries, Monte Albán grows to be an enormous ceremonial centre and elite residence.
c. 400 BC–AD c. 250	Central America	The Late Formative (or pre-Classic) period of Mayan culture takes place in Mexico. By 400 BC, large structures have been built at several sites in the tropical lowland jungle. In the highlands, people begin to put up large clay platforms, some the basis for temples and others for elite houses, flanking open plazas.
c. 350 BC	Greece	Hot air from underground fires is directed into clay pipes beneath the floors of houses in the Greek city of Lacedaemon, Sparta – the first central heating.
c. 300 BC	Central America	There is rapid population growth and the development of a two-tiered settlement hierarchy – large ceremonial centres where the elite live, surrounded by smaller villages, in the Mayan jungle lowlands of Mexico. The site of El Mirador in Guatemala is probably the main lowland centre of the Mayan Late Formative period.
c. 100	Roman Empire	Boys in Rome are preferred over girls, who are often left in the open to die or abandoned. Some orphaned girls are raised by brothel owners to be prostitutes.
c. 100	Greece-Roman	Women in Greece are allowed to participate in public athletic contests such as foot and chariot races.
c. 200	Africa	The Nok culture of west Africa (modern Nigeria) disappears. From c. 900 BC, the Nok had created a remarkable range of terracotta heads and figures, the earliest surviving sculptures of sub-Saharan Africa.
401	Scythia	The Slavs first appear in European history as a confederation of tribes living between the Dnieper and Dniester rivers, known as the Antae.
768	Frankish Kingdom	The accession of Charlemagne as king of the Franks marks the beginnings of medieval civilization as the king gathers to his court artists and scholars from across the world. Contemporaries call the period a renovatio, the renewal of a surviving tradition of Christian art and learning.
799	Central America	The last monuments are erected at the Mayan city of Palenque in Mesoamerica (the area of the Mexican and Mayan civilizations): it is abandoned soon afterwards, marking the beginning of the decline of the Classic Maya civilization. The causes of the decline are unknown but the most likely explanation is that soil exhaustion caused by overcultivation leads to the collapse of agriculture.
1707	UK	English grocers William Fortnum and Hugh Mason open Fortnum and Mason's, a high-quality grocery shop, in Piccadilly, London, England.
1721	France	There are 300 cafés in Paris, France. By 1789, there will be 2,000.
1728	North America	Heavy drinking is common in the North American colonies. In this year alone 2,124,500 gallons of rum is imported.
c. 1730	UK	The popularity of coffee drinking declines in England, as it is replaced by a vogue for tea.
1743	France	Claude Moët sets up his champagne production company in France, which, as Moët et Chandon, will become France's largest producer of champagne.
1781	AMERICA	The population of America is around 3.5 million. The majority live on the east coast and there is very little settlement of the rest of the country.
22 September 1792	France	The National Convention in Paris proclaims France a republic, and the revolutionary calendar (although not established until 5 October 1793) comes into force. It comprises 12 months of 30 days, plus 5 days (6 in a leap year); each month has 3 decades of 10 days. The extra days are added at the end of the year.
10 June 1793	France	The world's first public zoo opens in Paris, France.
1794	France	The tricolor is adopted as the national flag of France.
25 December 1800	UK	King George III's wife, Queen Charlotte, introduces the Christmas tree to the British court.
1801	UK	The Act of Union, formally uniting Britain and Ireland, is marked with the incorporation of the cross of St Patrick into the design of the British flag.
1821	USA	The world's first natural gas well is sunk at Fredonia, New York. Lead pipes distribute the gas to consumers for lighting and cooking.
1827	USA	The first Mardi Gras celebrations take place in New Orleans, Louisiana, introduced by French students.
16 October 1834	UK	The Houses of Parliament in London, England, are destroyed by fire.
1 May 1840	UK	The world's first postage stamp, the Penny Black, is issued in Britain, the first adhesive stamp to be used commercially.
1861	UK	Isabella Beeton writes her Book of Household Management, a comprehensive domestic manual for housewives and mothers in Britain based on her articles in the Englishwoman's Domestic Magazine.
1880	UK	Greenwich Mean Time is established as the legal time in the British Isles.
23 December 1905	United Kingdom	The first British beauty contest, the ‘Blond and Brunette Beauty Show’, takes place in Newcastle upon Tyne.
1906	United Kingdom	J Fletcher Dodd opens Dodd's Socialist Holiday Camp, the first holiday camp for families, at Caister-on-Sea in Norfolk, England.
6 June 1907	Germany	British chemical company Lever Bros launches Persil, the first ever household detergent, in Germany.
10 March 1911	France, Algeria	Clocks are put back by 9 minutes and 21 seconds at midnight in France and Algeria, making Greenwich time the standard.
1918	USA	Daylight Saving time is introduced in the USA.
1920	Germany	Frei-Sonnenland, the first nudist camp, opens at Motzener See in Germany.
7 September 1920	USA	The first ‘Miss America’ beauty competition is held in Atlantic City, New Jersey; the winner is Miss Margaret Gorman.
5 November 1921	USA	The US president Warren G Harding declares Armistice Day (November 11, the date of the end of World War I in 1918) a national holiday.
28 November 1935	United Kingdom	The Miles quads of St Neots, England, are the first quads to survive infancy.
1936	UK	At Skegness in England, Billy Butlin opens the first of his successful Butlin's holiday camps.
1936	USA	Earl Haas patents tampons and commercial production begins at Tampax, Inc. in New Brunswick, New Jersey.
1936	USA	The self-help book How to Win Friends and Influence People by Dale Carnegie is published. It will sell more copies than any other non-fiction title apart from the Bible.
1936	USA	The American Optical Society produces Polarized sunglasses, developed by Edwin Land of Boston, Massachusetts.
1938	UK	In the UK, the Amulree Committee report recommends the extension to most workers of a week's paid annual holiday, on grounds of social justice and industrial efficiency.
1939	USA	For the first time Thanksgiving Day is celebrated on the fourth rather than the last Thursday in November in the USA, in order to guarantee a longer Christmas shopping period.
February 1939	UK	The British government begins to build air-raid shelters in areas likely to be bombed in wartime.
3 September 1939	UK	The Citizens' Advice Bureaux scheme is launched in the UK with the opening of 200 offices.
1940–1944	USA	A large-scale migration of people from rural areas of the USA to the cities creates major urban problems.
1941	UK	The UK government introduces ‘double summer time’, with clocks running two hours ahead of Greenwich Mean Time.
3 October 1941	USA	The US chemists Lyle D Goodhue and W N Sullivan patent the aerosol container.
9 December 1941	UK	The National Service Bill in the UK lowers the age of call-up to 18½ and renders single women aged 20–30 liable to military service.
1945	USA	The US chemist Earl W Tupper invents a range of sealable plastic bowls and containers – Tupperware – that will be sold through Tupperware parties in the home.
1946	USA	The Estée Lauder beauty products empire is launched with Estée Lauder's first sales to Saks, New York City.
1946	USA	The US paediatrician Benjamin Spock publishes The Common Sense Book of Baby and Child Care. The book becomes an unexpected best-seller and a generation of children is raised according to its permissive guidelines of parental understanding and flexibility.
1946	world	Populations (in millions): China, 455; India, 311; USSR, 194; USA, 140; Japan, 73; West Germany, 48; Italy, 47; Britain, 46; Brazil, 45; France, 40; Spain, 27; Poland, 24; Korea, 24; Mexico, 22; East Germany, 18; Egypt, 17.
1946	UK	The report produced by the Reith Committee in the UK leads to the founding of New Towns as growth points in Britain, with Stevenage the first New Town to be built.
1946	Italy	Achille Gaggia invents the espresso coffee machine in Italy.
5 July 1946	France	French designer Louis Réard launches the bikini, naming it after the nuclear-test site Bikini Atoll.
1947	USA	The first microwave ovens go on sale, in the USA, but the public are slow to buy them.
1947	USA	The first recorded sighting of an unidentified flying object (UFO) is made in the sky over Kansas, by Kenneth Arnold.
1947	England	Kenneth Wood designs the Kenwood Chef, the first food processor, in Woking, England.
1947	USA	Reynolds Metals introduces an aluminium foil for use in the kitchen, in Louisville, Kentucky.
1948	UK	Bread rationing in Britain comes to an end.
12 January 1948	England	The London Cooperative Society opens the first supermarket in Britain, at Manor Park in London, England.
18–24 April 1948	UK	The Scout Movement in the UK has its first ‘bob-a-job’ week.
15 July 1948	UK	Alcoholics Anonymous, founded in the USA, sets up in the UK.
1949	USA	Ballpoint pens become established in the USA, with sales exceeding those of fountain pens for the first time.
9 May 1949	England	The first self-service launderette in Britain opens in London, England, with Bendix Home Appliances Ltd supplying the fully automatic washing machines.
1950	world	The population of the world is estimated at 2,516 million.
1950	India, USA	Life expectancy for men and women in India is 32 compared to 66 and 71 in the USA.
1950	UK	Population figures for the United Kingdom (in millions): England 41.1; Wales 2.5; Scotland 5.2; Ireland/Northern Ireland 1.4.
1950–1959	USA	The number of people in the USA who live in the suburbs increases by 44% in the 1950s.
31 July 1950	England	J Sainsbury's, the British supermarket chain, opens its first self-service shop in Croydon, South London, England.
4 July 1960	USA	The 50-star US flag, recognizing Hawaii's statehood of August 1959, becomes the official flag.
11 January 1963	USA	The first discotheque opens, the Whisky-A-Go-Go in Los Angeles, California, with the emphasis on youth and contemporary rock 'n' roll dance music.
4 March 1964	UK	The British government changes the August Bank Holiday to the last Monday in the month, with effect from 1965.
15 March 1964	Canada, USA, UK	The actors Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton are married in Montreal, Canada.
1965	UK	Britain decides to adopt metric measurements.
1965	USA	The lava lamp is launched in the USA.
1969	world	The mini dress fashion is followed by the ankle-length maxi.
13 June 1971	Australia	Geraldine Boodrick gives birth to the world's first set of nonuplets, five boys and four girls, in Sydney, Australia. Only six of the babies survive.
31 October 1971	UK	Britain reverts to Greenwich Mean Time after three years of British Standard Time.
31 December 1972	UK, USA	British inventor Clive Sinclair launches his pocket calculator, the first to be widely available. The ‘Sinclair Executive’ weighs 70 g/12.5 oz and goes on sale for £79 in Britain and $195 in the USA.
14 November 1973	UK	Princess Anne, the queen's only daughter, marries Mark Phillips in Westminster Abbey, London, England.
1974	UK	For the first time, New Year's Day is a public holiday in England and Wales.
11 January 1974	South Africa	Sue Rosenkowitz becomes the first woman to give birth to surviving sextuplets, three boys and three girls, in Cape Town, South Africa.
5 October 1974	world	David Kunst successfully completes the first verified around-the-world walk: it has taken him 4 years, 3 months, and 15 days.
1975	UK	Adopted children in Britain over the age of 18 are granted the right to have information about their natural parents.
15 March 1975	UK	Military troops are used to clear 70,000 tonnes of rubbish caused by the nine-week strike by refuse collectors in Britain.
1978	UK	The queen's sister Princess Margaret obtains a divorce from her husband, the Earl of Snowdon, in the UK.
9 August 1979	UK	Brighton, in southern England, is the first British seaside resort to provide an area designated for nudists.
1981	Spain	Divorce becomes legal in Spain.
1985	USA	Pictures of missing children first begin to be shown on milk cartons in the USA.
1987	USA	The average monthly income spent on childcare in the USA is 6.6%. Those living in poverty spend 25% of their income on childcare.
July 1988	UK	The first EC passports in Britain are issued by the Glasgow Passport Office in Scotland.
1992	UK, USA	The use of the drug ecstasy becomes increasingly popular at clubs and raves in the UK and the USA.
19 March 1992	UK	The British royal family announces the separation of the Duke and Duchess of York, who were married in 1986.
12 April 1992	France	The theme park EuroDisney (later Disneyland Paris) opens at Marne-la-Vallée, just outside Paris, France. Development has cost $4.5 billion.
23 April 1992	UK	Princess Anne, the Princess Royal of Britain, is granted a divorce from Captain Mark Phillips.
1993	UK	In Britain, the government attempts to counter the growth of raves and house parties by placing restrictions on freedom of movement and gatherings in the form of curfews.
6 August 1993	UK	The royal family opens Buckingham Palace, London, England, to the general public. Vistors pay £8 a head.
19 June 1999	UK	Prince Edward, the youngest son of Queen Elizabeth, marries Sophie Rhys-Jones at St George's Chapel, Windsor, England. The Queen gives them the titles Earl and Countess of Wessex.
1 January 2000		The new millennium is celebrated across the world, with fireworks, street parties, ceremonies, and speeches. The millennium bug does not appear to make a large impact, and despite fears of acts of extremism and terrorism, the global celebration passes peacefully.