Topic Summaries

Notable Characters in the Works of Charles Dickens
Use this list to learn about the most notable characters in the novels and other works of Charles Dickens.

Notable Figures of the Black Panther Party
Find out more about the people who founded the Black Panther Party and other important members of the political movement.

Understanding Newton’s Laws of Motion
Learn more about Isaac Newton’s three laws of motion, what they mean and how they affect everyday life.

Decline of the Ottoman Empire
List of some of the key factors in the decline of the Ottoman Empire. At one point the empire covered much of the Middle...

Transatlantic Slave Trade Key Facts
List of important facts regarding the transatlantic slave trade. From the 16th to the 19th century, this segment of the global...

Marbury v. Madison Key Facts
List of important facts regarding Marbury v. Madison. This landmark case of the U.S. Supreme Court was decided on February...

Ottoman Empire Timeline
Timeline of important events in the history of the Ottoman Empire. Created by Turkish tribes in Anatolia (Asia Minor), the...

Marbury v. Madison Causes and Effects
List of causes and effects of the landmark 1803 legal case Marbury v. Madison. In one of the most important legal cases in...

Transatlantic Slave Trade Causes and Effects
List of some of the causes and effects of the transatlantic slave trade. The transatlantic slave trade was the second of...

Transatlantic Slave Trade Timeline
Timeline of significant events related to the transatlantic slave trade. Beginning about 1500, millions of Black Africans...

Marbury v. Madison Timeline
Timeline of significant events in the U.S. Supreme Court case of Marbury v. Madison. The case arose in the aftermath of the...

Key People of the Ottoman Empire
List of some of the major figures of the Ottoman Empire, including Osman I, its founder; Mehmed II who destroyed the Byzantine...

Declaration of Independence Timeline
Timeline of significant events related to the Declaration of Independence. The document proclaimed that the 13 original colonies...

Declaration of Independence Key Facts
List of key facts related to the Declaration of Independence. This document, approved on July 4, 1776, by the Continental...

Martin Luther King, Jr. Timeline
Timeline of significant events related to Martin Luther King, Jr., who led the civil rights movement in the United States...

Martin Luther King, Jr.’s Achievements
List of major achievements by Martin Luther King, Jr. Inspired by the belief that peaceful protest could eliminate social...

Declaration of Independence Causes and Effects
List of some of the major causes and effects of the Declaration of Independence. Several years of armed conflict eventually...

Napoleon I’s Achievements
List of some of the most notable achievements of Napoleon I, emperor of France and master of most of Europe during the early...

Napoleon I Timeline
Timeline of events in the life of Napoleon I, emperor of France (1804–1814/15) and one of the most celebrated figures in...

Key Facts of the Vietnam War
A list of some of the key facts of the Vietnam War, from its origins in the aftermath of the Battle of Dien Bien Phu in 1954...

Overview of the Vietnam War
A listing of the belligerents of the Vietnam War and major leaders on both sides of the conflict. The war (1954–75) pitted...

Causes and Effects of the Vietnam War
Lists covering some of the major causes and effects of the Vietnam War. The conflict had its roots in Vietnam’s colonial...

Vietnam War Timeline
Timeline of the significant events of the Vietnam War. After winning its independence from France in 1954, Vietnam was temporarily...

Spanish Inquisition Key Facts
List of important facts about the Spanish Inquisition, judicial institution first authorized in 1478, ostensibly to combat...

British Empire Timeline
Timeline of major events in the history of the British Empire. This worldwide system of dependencies—colonies, protectorates,...

Key People of the British Empire
List of some of the major figures in the history of the British Empire. These leaders were instrumental in helping to establish,...

Decline of the British Empire
At the height of the British Empire its colonies and other territories encompassed nearly one-quarter of the world’s land...

Spanish Inquisition Causes and Effects
Some of the major causes and effects of the Spanish Inquisition, which became notorious for its use of torture, its secret...

Spanish Inquisition Timeline
Timeline of significant events pertaining to the Spanish Inquisition. Although the Spanish Inquisition was authorized by...

Christopher Columbus Timeline
A timeline of major events in the life of Italian-born navigator and explorer Christopher Columbus, whose four transatlantic...

Christopher Columbus’s Achievements
Achievements of Christopher Columbus whose arrival in the Western Hemisphere in 1492 was a pivotal event in world history....

Magna Carta Key Facts
List of important facts related to the Magna Carta, which was signed by King John of England in 1215. By declaring the sovereign...

Magna Carta Causes and Effects
List of some of the major causes and effects of the influential charter of liberties known as the Magna Carta. The charter...

Magna Carta Timeline
Timeline of significant events related to the Magna Carta, including the signing of the charter by King John of England in...

Martin Luther’s Achievements
Summary of the achievements of Martin Luther, the German priest and scholar who began the Reformation in 1517. This movement...

Martin Luther Timeline
A timeline of the life of Martin Luther who inaugurated the Protestant Reformation in Germany in 1517. It was Luther’s intent...

Causes and Effects of the Opium Wars
List of some of the major causes and effects of the Opium Wars, two trading wars that erupted during the mid-19th century...

Key Facts of the Opium Wars
List of important facts regarding the Opium Wars, two trading wars of the mid-19th century in China. The first (1839–42)...

Key Facts of the Seven Years’ War
List of important facts regarding the Seven Years’ War (1756–63). This major 18th-century conflict arose out of Austria’s...

Timeline of the Seven Years’ War
Timeline of events pertaining to the Seven Years’ War, which began in 1756 when Frederick II (the Great) led his Prussian...

Overview of the Opium Wars
Brief overview of the Opium Wars, two armed conflicts in China in the mid-19th century between forces of Western countries...

Opium Wars Timeline
Timeline of the Opium Wars, which arose following Chinese attempts to suppress the illegal opium trade in China in the mid-19th...

Causes and Effects of the Seven Years’
List of some of the major causes and effects of the Seven Years’ War (1756–63). This European conflict pitted Austria and...

Overview of the Seven Years’ War
Brief overview of the Seven Years’ War (1756–63), including a list of the major belligerents of the war and some of the significant...

Key Facts of the American Civil War
List of some of the important facts of the American Civil War, four-year war (1861–65) between the United States and 11 Southern...

Abolitionism Timeline
Timeline of major events related to abolitionism, which sought to end the transatlantic slave trade and to free enslaved...

Abolitionism Key Facts
List of key facts regarding abolitionism. Beginning in the late 1700s there arose in western Europe and the United States...

Key Facts of World War I
Summary of important facts regarding World War I, major international conflict fought from 1914 to 1918. More than 25 countries...

Overview of World War I
List of belligerents of World War I and some of the major leaders on both sides of the conflict, which erupted in 1914 and...

Causes and Effects of World War I
Lists covering some of the major causes and effects of World War I, international conflict that in 1914–18 embroiled most...

Spanish-American War Timeline
Timeline of significant events related to the Spanish-American War (1898). The war lasted less than a year but resulted in...

World War I Timeline
Timeline of significant events related to World War I, from the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria in 1914...

Causes and Effects of the Spanish-American War
List covering some of the major causes and effects of the Spanish-American War. The war originated in the Cuban struggle...

Causes and Effects of Manifest Destiny
List of major causes and effects of Manifest Destiny. The belief in the supposed inevitability of U.S. territorial expansion...

William Shakespeare Timeline
A timeline of significant events in the life of English poet and playwright William Shakespeare who is often praised as the...

William Shakespeare’s Important Works
A list of some of the most important and best-known works by William Shakespeare. More than 400 years after they were written,...

Manifest Destiny Timeline
Timeline of events related to Manifest Destiny. As the United States expanded in the 1800s, many Americans were inspired...

American Civil War Timeline
Timeline of significant events related to the American Civil War, from the election of Abraham Lincoln as U.S. president...

Overview of the Spanish-American War
List of the belligerents and some of the major leaders of the Spanish-American War (1898), the conflict that ended Spanish...

Causes and Effects of the American Civil War
Lists covering some of the major causes and effects of the American Civil War, conflict between the United States and the...

Overview of the American Civil War
List of belligerents of the American Civil War and some of the major leaders on both sides of the conflict, which began in...

Key Facts of the Spanish-American War
List of important facts pertaining to the Spanish-American War, from its origins in the Cuban struggle against Spanish colonial...

Manifest Destiny Key Facts
List of important facts regarding the idea of Manifest Destiny. The phrase was coined in 1845 by magazine editor John L....

Causes and Effects of Abolitionism
Lists of some of the causes and effects of abolitionism. The abolitionist movement arose in the late 18th century to end...

Jim Crow Laws Timeline
A timeline covering the origins and history of Jim Crow laws, which enforced racial segregation in the United States. After...

Marie Curie’s Achievements
Descriptive list of some of the most significant achievements of pioneering scientist Marie Curie, whose work focused on...

Marie Curie Timeline
Timeline of events in the life of Marie Curie. The Polish-born French physicist was famous for her work on radioactivity....

Jim Crow Laws Causes and Effects
A list of some of the major causes and effects of the laws known as Jim Crow laws that were created to enforce racial segregation...

Jim Crow Laws Key Facts
A list of key facts about the set of laws known as Jim Crow laws, which were an official effort to keep African Americans...

Overview of the Mexican-American War
List of belligerents of the Mexican-American War and some of the major leaders on both sides of the conflict, which began...

Mexican-American War Timeline
Timeline of significant events in the Mexican-American War, fought between Mexico and the United States from 1846 to 1848....

Causes and Effects of the Mexican-American War
Lists covering some of the major causes and effects of the Mexican-American War, which grew from a border dispute after the...

Key Facts of the Mexican-American War
List of some of the key facts of the Mexican-American War, from its origins following the United States’ annexation of Texas...

The Progressive Era Key Facts
Important facts regarding the Progressive Era of the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The era witnessed the embrace of...

The Progressive Era Timeline
Timeline of major events during the Progressive Era. A number of political and social reforms of the era brought major changes...

Causes and Effects of the Progressive Era
List of some of the major causes and effects of the Progressive Era. During the late 19th and early 20th centuries progressive...

Augustus Timeline
Timeline of major events in the life of Augustus, first emperor of Rome. His reign followed the republic, which had been...

Franklin D. Roosevelt’s Achievements
List of some of the major achievements of Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd president of the United States. During the Great Depression...

Augustus’s Achievements
List of some of the key achievements of Augustus, also known as Augustus Caesar, first emperor of Rome. During his long reign,...

Franklin D. Roosevelt Timeline
Timeline of important events in the life of Franklin D. Roosevelt, 32nd president of the United States (1933–45). The only...

Mahatma Gandhi Timeline
Timeline of key events in the ‘life of Mahatma Gandhi, leader of India’s independence movement. When India was a colony of...

Mahatma Gandhi’s Achievements
List of some of the major achievements of Mahatma Gandhi who ended British rule over his native India without striking a...

John Locke Timeline
Timeline of important events in the life of English philosopher John Locke whose ideas inspired both the European Enlightenment...

John Locke’s Important Works
Descriptive list of some of the most important works of English philosopher John Locke. Much of what he advocated in the...

Abraham Lincoln’s Achievements
A list of some of the most important achievements of Abraham Lincoln, the 16th president of the United States. Combining...

Industrial Revolution Key Facts
List of important facts regarding the Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain in the 18th century and from there spread...

Industrial Revolution Causes and Effects
List of some of the major causes and effects of the Industrial Revolution, which began in Britain in the 18th century with...

Industrial Revolution Timeline
Timeline of significant events of the Industrial Revolution, movement in which machines changed people’s way of life as well...

John D. Rockefeller Timeline
Timeline of important events in the life of American industrialist and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller, founder of the...

John D. Rockefeller’s Achievements
List of some of the significant achievements of John D. Rockefeller, from his establishing the first major U.S. business...

Women’s Suffrage in the United States Key Facts
List of important facts regarding women’s suffrage in the United States. Women were denied voting rights throughout most...

Causes and Effects of Women’s Suffrage in the United States
Lists of major causes and effects of women’s suffrage in United States. With the ratification of the Nineteenth Amendment...

Key Facts of the American Revolution
Summary of important facts related to the American Revolution, the war in which Great Britain’s 13 North American colonies...

Overview of the American Revolution
An overview of the American Revolution, including a list of belligerents, some of the major leaders on both sides of the...

Women’s Suffrage in the United States Timeline
Timeline showing how the push for equal voting rights for women originated and grew in the United States and how the movement...

Causes and Effects of the American Revolution
List of some of the major causes and effects of the American Revolution. The revolution began after Britain imposed new taxes...

Decline of the Umayyad Dynasty
List of key factors in the decline of the Umayyad dynasty. The decline began with a defeat by the Byzantine Empire in 717;...

Key People of the Umayyad Dynasty
List of some of the major leaders of the Umayyad dynasty, including the first Umayyad caliph, Mu?āwiyah I, and later caliph...

Umayyad Dynasty Timeline
Timeline of important events related to the Umayyad dynasty, the first great Muslim dynasty to rule the empire of the caliphate,...

American Revolution Timeline
Timeline of important events related to the American Revolution. The 13 American colonies revolted against their British...

Reformation Key Facts
List of important facts related to the Reformation, the religious revolution that took place in the Western church in the...

Reformation Causes and Effects
List of some of the major causes and effects of the Reformation, the religious revolution that separated the Christians of...

Reformation Timeline
Timeline of significant events related to the Reformation, also called the Protestant Reformation. This movement at first...

Abraham Lincoln Timeline
A timeline of events in the life of Abraham Lincoln, 16th U.S. president and one of the country’s greatest leaders. During...

Black Death Causes and Effects
List of causes and effects of the devastating pandemic known as the Black Death. At the time the pandemic ravaged Europe...

Cleopatra’s Achievements
List of major achievements of Cleopatra, queen of Egypt and one of the most fascinating women of all time. Cleopatra had...

Cleopatra Timeline
Timeline of significant events in the life of Cleopatra, Egyptian queen famous in history and drama for her relationships...

George Washington Timeline
Timeline of important events in the life of George Washington, American general and commander in chief of the colonial armies...

Zheng He Timeline
A timeline of major events in the life of Chinese admiral and diplomat Zheng He, who commanded seven naval expeditions in...

Zheng He’s Achievements
Summary of the achievements of the great Chinese admiral Zheng He, from his rise through the military to his leadership of...

Isaac Newton’s Achievements
Summary of key achievements by English physicist and mathematician Isaac Newton, from his development of calculus to his...

New Deal Timeline
Timeline of significant events pertaining to the New Deal. When Franklin D. Roosevelt assumed the presidency of the United...

Isaac Newton Timeline
Timeline of important events in the life of English physicist and mathematician Isaac Newton who was the culminating figure...

Mughal Dynasty Timeline
A timeline of key events related to the Mughal dynasty whose rulers governed most of northern India for more than 200 years,...

Key People of the Mughal Dynasty
List of some of the key emperors of the Mughal dynasty, from Bābur, who founded the dynasty in 1526 and later extended his...

Decline of the Mughal Dynasty
Some important facts regarding the legacy of the Mughal dynasty and its decline. Despite the greatness of the empire, the...

Pullman Strike Key Facts
Collection of important facts concerning the Pullman Strike, a widespread railroad strike and boycott that severely disrupted...

Pullman Strike Causes and Effects
List of major causes and effects of the 1894 Pullman Strike. A severe economic depression had led the Pullman Palace Car...

Pullman Strike Timeline
Timeline of the significant events that led up to and occurred during the Pullman Strike, which for a time in 1894 essentially...

Great Depression: Causes and Effects
List of some of the causes and effects of the Great Depression. Although it originated in the United States, the Great Depression...

Great Depression: Key Facts
Key facts about the Great Depression, worldwide economic downturn that began in 1929 and lasted until about 1939. It was...

Black Death Timeline
Timeline of significant events during and after the Black Death pandemic, from the arrival of the plague in Europe in 1347...

F. Scott Fitzgerald’s Important Works
List of some of the most important works by American short-story writer and novelist F. Scott Fitzgerald, including his first...

New Deal Causes and Effects
List of some of the major causes and effects of the New Deal, domestic program of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt during...

New Deal Key Facts
List of important facts regarding the New Deal, domestic program of the administration of U.S. President Franklin D. Roosevelt...

F. Scott Fitzgerald Timeline
Timeline of important events in the life of F. Scott Fitzgerald, American short-story writer and novelist famous for his...

George Washington’s Achievements
List of major achievements by George Washington who served as commander in chief of the colonial armies during the American...

Renaissance Key Facts
Important facts regarding the Renaissance, period in European civilization immediately following the Middle Ages. The Renaissance...

Renaissance Causes and Effects
Some of the major causes and effects of the Renaissance, one of the great periods of genius in world history. The Renaissance...

Renaissance Timeline
Timeline of significant events concerning the period of European history known as the Renaissance. During the Renaissance...

Harlem Renaissance Key Facts
List of important facts regarding the Harlem Renaissance (c. 1918–37). Infused with a belief in the power of art as an agent...

Harlem Renaissance Causes and Effects
Some of the major causes and effects of the Harlem Renaissance. This landmark African American cultural movement was led...

Harlem Renaissance Timeline
Timeline of significant events and developments related to the Harlem Renaissance. A blossoming of African American culture,...

Black Death Key Facts
List of important facts regarding the Black Death, pandemic that ravaged Europe during the 14th century. The Black Death...

Great Depression: Timeline
Timeline of important events pertaining to the Great Depression, when much of the world faced harsh economic conditions....

Mongol Empire Timeline
Timeline of significant events related to the Mongol Empire, which became the largest contiguous land empire in world history....

Key People of the Mongol Empire
List of key rulers and leaders of the Mongol Empire, one of the most successful and most feared empires in history. The...

Decline of the Mongol Empire
Summary of major factors in the decline of the Mongol Empire. Mongol power was greatest in the 13th century, when Genghis...

Dred Scott Decision Causes and Effects
List of some of the major causes and effects of the Dred Scott decision, the 1857 ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court that made...

Dred Scott Decision Key Facts
Key facts related to the controversial 1857 ruling of the U.S. Supreme Court known as the Dred Scott decision. The court...

Dred Scott Decision Timeline
Timeline of events related to the Dred Scott decision. In the 1840s an enslaved African American named Dred Scott sued for...

Harriet Tubman’s Achievements
A summary of Harriet Tubman’s many achievements, including her escape from slavery in the South in 1849, her frequent and...

Susan B. Anthony’s Achievements
A descriptive list of the major achievements of American activist Susan B. Anthony who was a pioneer crusader for the women’s...

Susan B. Anthony Timeline
A timeline of the life of American activist Susan B. Anthony who fought for woman suffrage, or women’s right to vote, in...

Harriet Tubman Timeline
A timeline of significant events in the life of Harriet Tubman, who escaped from slavery in the American South to become...

Booker T. Washington Timeline
Timeline of important events in the life of Booker T. Washington, educator and reformer who was the first president and principal...

Alexander the Great’s Achievements
List of some of the major achievements of Alexander the Great. Among the greatest generals the world has ever known, Alexander...

Toussaint Louverture’s Achievements
List of some of the most important achievements of Toussaint Louverture, prominent leader of the Haitian independence movement....

Alexander the Great Timeline
Timeline of events in the life of Alexander the Great, also known as Alexander III or Alexander of Macedonia. In his short...

Toussaint Louverture Timeline
Timeline of significant events in the life of Toussaint Louverture, central figure of the Haitian independence movement....

Aztec Empire Timeline
Timeline of key events in the history of the Aztec Empire. Beginning in the 14th century the American Indian people known...

Decline of the Aztec Empire
List of some of the major factors in the decline and collapse of the Aztec Empire. The empire that once extended from central...

Key People of the Aztec Empire
List of some of the most important rulers and figures in the history of the Aztec Empire, including Montezuma II, under whom...

Booker T. Washington’s Achievements
Descriptive summary of the many achievements of Booker T. Washington who rose from slavery to become an esteemed educator,...

Galileo Timeline
Timeline of important events in the life of Galileo whose discoveries with the telescope revolutionized astronomy and paved...

Galileo’s Achievements
Summary of major achievements by Italian natural philosopher, mathematician, and astronomer Galileo who has been called the...

Elizabeth I Timeline
A timeline of significant events in the life of Elizabeth I of England, popularly known as the Virgin Queen and Good Queen...

Elizabeth I’s Achievements
A summary of some of the most important achievements of Elizabeth I of England. Before the start of her reign, England had...

Alexander Graham Bell’s Achievements
A list highlighting some of the most important achievements of Scottish-born American inventor Alexander Graham Bell. In...

Alexander Graham Bell Timeline
A timeline showing key dates in the life of Scottish-born American inventor Alexander Graham Bell. He is famous for creating...

Leonardo da Vinci’s Achievements
A descriptive list of some of the major achievements of Leonardo da Vinci. The term “Renaissance man” is often used to describe...

Theodore Roosevelt Timeline
A timeline of significant events in the life of Theodore Roosevelt, the 26th president of the United States. He took office...

Theodore Roosevelt’s Achievements
Summary of the major achievements of Theodore Roosevelt who, as the 26th president of the United States (1901–09), fought...

Leonardo da Vinci Timeline
A timeline of significant events in the life of Leonardo da Vinci. A genius in many fields, Leonardo excelled at painting,...