history - world wars, formation of modern Israel - Dr. Rollinson's Courses and Resources

History Pages - Part 16

World Wars, The formation of modern Israel, AD 1900-2000

These time-lines are intended for use by my students who are taking Courses in Church History, History of Hebrew, History of the Greek language, Survey of World Religions, or Biblical Archaeology. Hence they are selective in what events are included

AD 1858-1922: Ben Yehuda decided to recreate Hebrew as a spoken language, rather than a literary one
AD 1860-1904: Theodore Herzl, founder of Zionism
AD 1860-1911: Gustav Mahler, composer
AD 1864: Leon Pinsker wrote "Autoemancipation" (published 1882), and argued for the foundation of a Jewish state
AD 1873-1956: Leo Back, theologian of Reform Judaism, put in Teresienstadt German concentration camp during WWII
AD 1874-1952: Chaim Weizmann, statesman and scientist
AD 1878: Petah Tikvah (agricultural community) founded by orthodox Jews in Palestine
Congress of Berlin reaffirmed religious liberty and equality throughout the Turkish Empire (including Israel)
AD 1879-1955: Albert Einstein, Zionist, physicist, formulated the Theory of Relativity
AD 1880-1939: Vladimir Jabotinski, Zioinst leader, founder of the New Zionist Organization, Haganah, Jewish Legion, Irgyn, Betar, Revisionist Party
AD 1881: Russian pogroms against the Jews
AD 1882-1903: The First Aliyah (immigration of Jews into Palestine) mainly from Russia
AD 1885-1962: Niels Bohr, scientist
AD 1886-1973: David Ben-Gurion, statesman
ca. AD 1886: Founding of Conservative Judaism by Solomon Schechter in the USA
AD 1887-1990: Marc Chagall, artist
AD 1894: Sholem Aleichem wrote the first episode in the Life of Tevye the Dairyman
AD 1896: Theodor Herzl published "Der Judenstadt" (The Jewish State) promoting Zionism
AD 1897: Theodor Herzl convened the First Jewish Zionist Congress, and the founding of the Zionist Organization, in Basle (Switzerland);
The Dreyfus Affair - Alfred Dreyfuss, French Jewish soldier unjustly accused and sentenced
AD 1898: Emile Zola published "J'Accuse" on behalf of Alfred Dreyfuss
AD 1898-1904: The Twentieth Century New Testament, used a chronological order for the books
AD 1898-1936: Golda Meir, became the fourth Prime Minister of Israel
AD 1899: Albert Dreyfus acquitted and reinstated as a Major
AD 1900-1990: Aaron Copeland, composer
AD 1901: "Evangelakia" riots over translations of the Bible into demotic Greek
American Standard Version of the Bible, a rescension of the RV, included words/phrases preferred by Americans
Founding of The Pentecostal Church, in Topeka, Kansas, as members of several denominations were touched by the Holy Spirit
AD 1901-1910: Edward VII of England
AD 1904-1914: Second Aliyah, of Jews mainly from Russia and Poland, to Palestine
AD 1909: First Kibbutz founded, at Degania, Palestine
Tel Aviv founded as the first Hebrew-speaking all-Jewish city in Palestine
Hashomer founded, Jewish self-defense organization in Palestine
AD 1910: 5-point statement of the Presbyterian General Assembly, also used by Fundamentalists
AD 1910-1915: "The Fundamentals", a 12-volume collection of essays by 64 British and American scholars and preachers, the foundation of Fundamentalism
AD 1910-1936: George V of England
AD 1912: Hadassah, Women's Zionist organization, founded by Nehrietta Szold
AD 1912-1913: The Balkan Wars
The Balkan League of Montenegro, Serbia, Bulgaria and Greece declared war on Turkey and drove the Turks out of Europe
Greece gained Macedonia and Epirus
AD 1913: Treaty of London put Crete under Greek rule
Treaty of Bucharest put much of western Thrace under Greek rule. Lesbos, Chios, and Samos were also incorporated
AD 1913, Mar 18: King George of Greece was assassinated in Thessaloniki
AD 1913-1924: James Moffat Bible, the first one-man translation in almost 400 years
AD 1913-1993: Menachem Begin, statesman, later became Israeli Prime Minister
AD 1914-1918: The First World War
AD 1915-1981: Moshe Dayan, soldier, Israeli Minister of Defense
AD 1916: Sykes-Picot agreement between France and England, to divide up the Middle East
Arabs revolt against the Ottoman Turks
AD 1917: The Russian Revolution broke out. Many Jews were murdered
Trotsky and Lenin take over the Russian government
The Fall of the Ottoman Empire to the British
The Balfour Declaration : The British Foreign Minister Balfour pledged his support for the establishment of a "Jewish national home in Palestine"
Appearance of the Virgin Mary in Fatima, Portugal, accompanied by the "miracle of the sun" witnessed by 70,000 - 100,000 people
AD 1917, June: Britain and France demanded that King Constantine of Greece abdicate
The King and his son Prince George fled, his second son Alexander became the provisional King
AD 1917, July 2: Venizelos assumed control of Greece and declared war on the Central Powers
AD 1917, Dec. 9: British forces entered Jerusalem, began modernization of the country
AD 1918: T. E. Lawrence and Arab troops captured Damascus
AD 1919: Foundation of the World Christian Fundamentals Association
Versailles Peace Conference, Chaim Weizmann headed the Zionist delegation
Egyptian revolution
AD 1919, March: Italy landed forces at Antalya to ensure their mandate over southwest Turkey which had been promised to them for entering WWI on the side of the Entente
AD 1919, May 6: Greek forces, escorted by British and French naval units, occupied Smyrna in reaction to Italian invasion
AD 1919-1922: Graeco-Turkish War
AD 1919-23: The Third Aliyah of Jews to Palestine, mainly from Russia
AD 1920: Histadrut, Jewish Labor federation, founded
Haganah, Jewish defence organization, founded
Vaad Leumi (National Council) set up by the Yishuv (Returned Jewish community) to conduct its affairs
Chaim Weizman elected President of the World Zionist Organization
AD 1920, June: Turkish nationalists under Mustapha Kemal attacked British on the Ismid peninsula at the eastern end of the Sea of Marmara
Greek forces come to help the British
AD 1920, Aug 10: Treaty of Sevres, signed but never ratified by the Entente powers of Turkey. Promised to give Greece eastern Thrace, the islands of Tenedos and Imbros and administration of the Smyrna district that stays under Turkish sovereignty for five years. By a plebiscite after this period the population was to be allowed to ask for incorporation into the Greek state
Dec 5 - The Greeks voted for King Constantine's return, in spite of the allies' threat to cut off all aid to Greece
AD 1921: Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan established
First Moshav (Jewish cooperative village) founded in Nahalal, Palestine
Kingdom of Iraq founded
AD 1922: Collapse of the Ottoman Empire
Sept 8-14 - Smyrna evacuated after the Greek army was defeated and 30,000 civilians were killed. A million refugees fled to Greece, joining half a million Greeks who had fled earlier
Sept 26 - Military coup in Greece, in reaction to the loss in Asia Minor, led by Colonels Plastiras and Gonatas, creating the Revolutionary Government
King Constantine of Greece abdicated, and his son became King George II
AD 1922-1948: British Mandate in the Middle East - the League of Nations granted Britain control of Palestine, Transjordan, and much of the Middle East
Transjordan was set up on three quarters of the region, leaving one quarter to become the Jewish national homeland
Jewish Agency representing Jewish community vis-a-vis Mandate authorities set up.
AD 1923, January 30: Agreement signed by Greece and Turkey for the compulsory exchange of minority populations except the Turks in western Thrace and the 100,000 Greeks in Constantinople
AD 1923, July 23: Treaty of Lausanne ended the Greco-Turkish War. Eastern Thrace, and the islands of Tenedos and Imbros were given to Turkey
AD 1923: Kemal Ataturk overthrew the Ottoman Muslim Empire and established the secular state of Turkey
AD 1924-32: The Fourth Aliyah of Jews, mainly from Poland, to Palestine
AD 1925: The Hebrew University of Jerusalem opened, on Mount Scopus, Jerusalem
The Scopes Trial, for the teaching of the theory of evolution, caused divisions among Fundamentalists
AD 1925-1979: Pahlevi Dynasty in Persia (Iran)
AD 1928-1932: Venizelos governor of Greece. Instituted educational reforms. Built many primary schools, made education less classical and more practical, established Demotic Greek in the schools
AD 1929: Arab militants massacred the Jews of Hebron
AD 1929-1938: The Fifth Aliyah of Jews to Palestine, mainly from Germany
AD 1929-1945: Anne Frank, Holocaust victim, wrote her diary during the Nazi occupation of Holland during WWII
AD 1930: Hope-Simson Report and Passfield White Paper banned land acquisition by Jews in Palestine, recommended ban on Jewish immigration to Palestine
AD 1931: Foundation of the Irgun and the Etzel, Jewish underground organizations
AD 1932: Kingdom of Saudi Arabia established
Iraq gained independence
Appearance of the Virgin Mary at Beauraing in Belgium
AD 1933: Appearance of the Virgin Mary at Banneux in Belgium;
Adolf Hitler became Chancellor of Germany
Albert Einstein left Germany and came to USA
AD 1933-1939: The Fifth Aliyah of Jews to Palestine, mainly from Germany
AD 1935: Religious Kibbutz movement founded
AD 1936: World Jewish Congress, Geneva
Edward VIII of England, abdicated
The Westminster New Testament, an unofficial Catholic version
AD 1936: Edward VIII king of England, abdicated before he was crowned
AD 1936-1952: George VI of England
AD 1936-1939: Anti-Jewish riots in Palestine instigated by Arab militants.
AD 1937: The Peel Commission recommended the partition of Palestine between Jews and Arabs
Chaim Weizmann and David Ben-Gurion accept the Peel partition plan
Third edition of Kittel's "Biblia Hebraica" based on a copy dated to AD 1008 in the Leningrad Public Library. This is the edition current today. (Another edition, using a manuscript dated to AD 930, is being prepared by the Hebrew University Bible Project)
AD 1938 - November 9: "Kristallnacht" in Germany, synagogues and scriptures burned, Jewish homes and businesses vandalized
AD 1939: Britain tried to curtail Jewish immigration to Palestine
AD 1939-1945: World War II
Hitler attempted to "solve the Jewish problem" by killing millions of Jews
AD 1939-1958: Pope Pius XII
AD 1941: Formation of the "Stern Gang", the Lehi (Jewish underground movements), and the "Palmach", Jewish strike force of the Haganah
AD 1941, April: Germany and Italy occupied Greece
AD 1944: The Jewish Brigade formed as part of the British army
AD 1946-1950: The Greek Civil War
AD 1946-1952: The Revised Standard Version of the Bible, a revision of the KJV/AV in response to changes in English usage
AD 1947: India was divided into India (Hindu) and Pakistan (Moslem) in an attempt to deal with religious/ethnic strife
AD 1947: The UN proposed the establishment of Arab and Jewish States in Palestine;
Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran
AD 1947, Mar 7: Italy ceded the Dodecanese to Greece after WWII
AD 1948 - May 14: End of the British Mandate
British forces moved out of Jerusalem. Fighting between Jews and Arabs escalated
Formation of the State of Israel, opposed by Arab nations
Restoration of Hebrew as the language of Israel
AD 1948 - May 15: Five neighboring Arab states invaded Israel, vowing to annihilate Israel
AD 1948, May - 1949, July: Israeli War of Independence; Israel Defense Forces (IDF) established
AD 1948-1952: Mass immigration of Jews from Europe and the Arab countries to Israel
AD 1949: Armistice between Israel, Egypt, Jordan, Syria, Lebanon
Jerusalem declared the capital of Israel (though not recognized by some countries), and was divided into Israeli and Jordanian sectors
First Knesset (parliament) elected
Chaim Weizmann was elected first President of Israel
Israel was admitted as the 59th member to the United Nations
Aliyah of Jews from the Yemen began
AD 1949: Discovery of the Dead Sea Scrolls at Qumran - dating to before AD 70
AD 1949: Basic English Bible, using a vocabulary of only 1000 words, simple and direct style
AD 1950: The West Bank joined Jordan
"Law of Return" : "every Jew shall have the right to come to Israel as a permanent settler"
AD 1952: Libya proclaimed its independence
Elizabeth II became Queen of England
AD 1953: Death of Josef Stalin of Russia
AD 1956: Nasser of Egypt nationalized the Suez Canal
The Sinai Campaign - fighting between Israel and Egypt
AD 1957: The United Church of Christ was formed by the ecumenical union of Congregationalists with the Evangelical and Reformed Churches, representing Calvinists and Lutherans
AD 1958: Formation of the United Arab Republic
J. B. Phillip's New Testament, used only commonly spoken language
AD 1958-1963: Pope John XXIII
AD 1959: Statement of Faith, of the United Church of Christ
AD 1960: Cyprus gained independence from Britain
Archaeologists found letters from the Bar Kochbar archive
AD 1961: The New English Bible
AD 1962: Yigal Yadin started archaeological investigations at Masada
AD 1962: Adolf Eichmann was tried and executed in Israel for his part in the Holocaust
AD 1962-1965: The Second Vatican Council - Vatican II, announced by Pope John XXIII in 1959, produced 16 documents which became official after approval by the Pope, with the aim of renewing "ourselves and the flocks committed to us" (Pope John XXIII)
AD 1963-1978: Pope Paul VI
AD 1964: Start of the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO)
AD 1965, December 7: The Roman Catholic and Greek Orthodox Churches canceled their excommunications of each other, which dated from AD 1054
AD 1966: The RSV Catholic Edition, a joint effort between Roman Catholics and the Church of England, working towards a common Catholic/Protestant Bible
The Jerusalem Bible, Roman Catholic version
AD 1967 - June 5-10: The "Six-Day War" (Arab-Israeli War ): Israeli army took the whole of Jerusalem, the Gaza Strip, the Sinai Peninsular, and the "West Bank" of the Jordan (some of these territories were returned to Arab population later)
AD 1967, April 22: The Coup of the Greek Colonels
Demotiki ("People's Greek" - street Greek) was banned from schools and replaced by Katherevousa ("Good Greek")
AD 1968: Jews returned to Hebron
AD 1968-1970: Egypt's War of Attrition against Israel
AD 1969: Golda Meir became President of Israel
AD 1970: The Confraternity Version of the Bible, a new Catholic translation from the originals which began before 1939 as a translation from the Vulgate, but ended up as a new translation from the Hebrew (OT) and Greek (NT)
AD 1971: The New American Standard Bible
AD 1973: The Yom Kippur War
AD 1974: Greek Junta fell, and the Turks invaded Cyprus
AD 1975: Israel became an associate member of the European Common Market.
AD 1978: The New International Version of the Bible
Pope John Paul I, died after only one month as Holy Father
The Camp David Accords include a framework for comprehensive peace in the Middle East and a proposal for Palestinian self-government
AD 1978-2005: Pope John Paul II, reaffirmed conservative moral traditions (The Splendor of Truth)
AD 1979: Iranian Revolution, The Shah of Iran fled, and Ayatollah Khomeini founded an Islamic Republic
Saddam Hussein became Head of State of Iraq
Israel-Egypt Peace Treaty signed
Prime Minister Menachem Begin and President Anwar Sadat were awarded the Nobel Peace Prize
AD 1979-1982: The New King James Bible, complete revision of the 1611 KJV, updated archaisms
AD 1981: Appearances of the Virgin Mary at Medjugorje in Yugoslavia
AD 1982: Israel's three-stage withdrawal from Sinai completed
AD 1984: Operation Moses, immigration of Jews from Ethiopia
AD 1987: The Intifada, Arab violence, started in Israeli-administered areas
AD 1989: Start of mass immigration of Jews from the former Soviet Union
AD 1990: The Persian Gulf War
AD 1991: Operation Solomon, airlift of Jews from Ethiopia
AD 1993: Inscription at Tel Dan discovered by Avraham Biram, mentioning the "House of David"
AD 1993: Declaration of Principles on Interim Self-Government Arrangements for the Palestinians signed by Israel and thw PLO as representative of the Palestinian people
AD 1994: Peace Treaty between Israel and Jordan; Self-government for the Gaza Strip and Jericho areas;
Nobel Peace Prize awarded to Yitzahk Rabin, Shimon Peres, and Yasser Arafat
Full diplomatic relations declared between Israel and the Holy See
Declaration of cooperation between Evangelicals and Catholics
AD 1995: Israeli Prime Minister Rabin assassinated at a peace rally
Shimon Peres became prime minister
AD 1996: Jerusalem celebrated its 3,000th anniversary as the capital of the Jewish State
AD 2000: Pope Paul II visited Israel
AD 2005: Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger became Pope Benedict XVI
AD 2014: Pope Bendict XVI resigned and was succeeded by Pope Francis

Main Sources : Smithsonian Timelines of Ancient History, The Timetables of History (Bernard Grun)

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Dr. Rollinson

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Last Updated: July 31, 2022

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