Welcome to Dick's History Page

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This History Page discusses the roles played by religion, printing, industrialism, Invention, Colonialism, entertainment, Science and Technology, and computers in modern society, and acknowledges the work of a wide range of visionaries such as Jesus Christ, Johann Gutenberg, Alexander Graham Bell, Albert Einstein, Louis Armstrong, and Bill Gates.

In ancient times, religions helped to explain such matters as life, death, nature, and the origins and meanings of the skies, sun, moon, planets and stars, and also provided guidelines for the worship of the creator of the world and universe and provide ethical guidelines for mankind's behaviour.

Although scientific discoveries have now replaced religious explanations of these phenomena, there remains a place for religious truths and values in this political, technological and economic age. The main religions are Christianity, Islam, Taoism, Buddhism, Confucianism and Hinduism.

The 20th Century has seen enormous developments in knowledge, technology, population , communications and society which Alvin Toffler wrote about in his book "Future Shock". Refer to timelines.

Atomic research has shown the enormous power available in the atom. The Atomic Bombs dropped on Japan in 1945 ended the Second World War. After this humiliating defeat, Japan performed an economic miracle to become the top creditor nation in the world.

An Arms escalation race began between the superpowers, the USA and USSR. The Cold War frightened the world into an uneasy peace. This eased after Strategic Arms Talks, the Chernobyl disaster and the collapse of the Soviet Union following Perestoika.

The Women's Liberation movement since the 1960s has highlighted the inequalities facing women since the beginning of mankind.

AIDS, Acquired Immune Deficiency Syndrome, has been a deadly disease since the early 1980s.

Environmental issues such as pollution and the depletion of the world's ozone layer and our natural resources need urgent attention.



SCIENCE

Mathematics laid the foundations for scientific thought. The Ancient Egyptians, Greeks and Indians discovered arithmetic, geometry and algebra. Since the 16th Century, Napier, Newton and Descartes discovered logarithms, calculus, and probability.

Scientific knowledge develops by a continuous process of observation, research and experimentation. Some prominent scientists are Archimedes, Nicholas Copernicus, William Harvey, Pierre and Marie Curie, Alexander Fleming, Louis Pasteur and Albert Einstein.

Thinkers such as Leonardo Da Vinci, Adam Smith, Charles Babbage, Charles Darwin and Sigmund Freud paved the way for progress by challenging generally accepted assumptions.

Inventors such as Alexander Graham Bell, Thomas Edison, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Ford, the Wright Brothers and Guglielmo Marconi produced working prototypes of today's popular machines.

Medical research in medicine, immunisation, hygiene, nutrition, anatomy, and surgery has contributed to better health and longer life expectancy, and to the population explosion in the 20th century.

Space Technology is revealing the universe. Here is a history of NASA Space Missions - Explorer (1958), Mercury (1959-63), Apollo (1961-72), including the manned moon landing in 1969, Gemini (1964-66), Skylab (1973-74), Voyager (1977-89), Space Shuttles (1981-) and the Galileo (1989-) project to explore Jupiter. Space probe Pathfinder has just landed on Mars. Also refer to N.A.S.A.'s Home Page.

IBM dominated the computer industry after World War II. Steve Jobs and Steve Wozniak founded Apple computers and started the desktop computer industry. Bill Gates founded Microsoft which now dominates the computer industry.

Computerisation has enabled a knowledge explosion. Here is a brief history of Silicon Valley, LA. The Internet has caused a revolution in information technology.






BRITAIN

King John signed the Magna Carta in 1215, empowering the noble class. Later, parliament and the legal system developed and eventually, universal suffrage (voting) followed. In recent years, the British monarchy has lost popularity.

Colonisation scattered the English language, customs and laws throughout the world. The British, Spanish, Portugese, French and Dutch spread their empires throughout Africa, North and South America, East and West Indies. By the 20th century, most colonies had achieved independence.

The industrial revolution occurred in the 18th century in England. Mass-production at times exploited the workers (including children) but raised the general standard of living.

William Shakespeare (1564-1616), is the world's greatest playwright. Other literary giants include the poet John Keats, and novelists Jane Austen and sisters Charlotte, Emily and Anne Brontė.

Britain also introduced such sports and games as cricket, tennis, rugby, golf, and Bridge to the world. In more recent years, The Beatles were the rock and roll sensation of the 1960s, and Sir Andrew Lloyd Webber is renowned for his musicals.



AMERICA

Politically, the Americans espoused the Monroe Doctrine (non-intervention overseas), but played major roles in the First and Second World Wars and in the Korea and Vietnam Civil Wars. From the mid '60s, however, there was a change of opinion and a loss of faith in the American ideal.

USA is the country of Free enterprise and big business. Entrepreneurs such as Ford, Rockefeller, Morgan and Carnegie helped to industrialise America.The American stock market collapse in 1929 triggered the Great Depression.

Jazz music from the 1920s featured the music of Louis Armstrong, Duke Ellington, Fats Waller, Charlie Parker, John Coltrane, Miles Davis, Nat "King" Cole, Ella Fitzgerald, Billie Holiday and Dinah Washington.



Swing and popular music from the 1930s featured the music of Glenn Miller, Artie Shaw, Hoagy Carmichael, George and Ira Gershwin, Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart, Cole Porter and Irving Berlin.

Rock music since the 1950s appealed to the younger generation. There is the music of Elvis Presley, Buddy Holly and Chuck Berry.

F. Scott Fitzgerald wrote about and idealised the 'Jazz Age' of America in the 1920s. and Ernest Hemingway wrote about the more realistic but uglier side of the human spirit.

Motion picture studios such as Paramount, CBS and United Artists have produced many Western, comedy, romance and adventure movies over the years. Directors specialised in particular genre, such as Alfred Hitchcock's suspense, Steven Spielberg's adventure and Stanley Kubrick's science fiction movies. Please refer to the Academy Awards and Cinemania.



EUROPE

The Renaissance of the 14th to 16th Centuries was a rebirth of art, music and education in Italy and other European countries, recalling the glories of Ancient Greece and Rome.

The Reformation began in Germany in 1517, when Martin Luther nailed his 95 theses to a church door, challenging the Roman Catholic Church in its abuse of indulgences and calling for religious reform.

In the French Revolution (1789-99), political and social problems caused King Louis XV1 to be deposed and the First estate to be established. From 1799, Napoleon Bonaparte became First Consul, then Emperor of France. He was defeated at Waterloo in 1815.

Karl Marx and Freidrich Engels wrote the Communist Manifesto in 1848, predicting the coming of the Communist state. Lenin brought this about in the 1917 Russian Revolution.

Ludwig von Beethoven, Wolfgang Mozart, JS Bach, Frederich Chopin, Johann Strauss and Peter Tchaikovsky composed classical music which has stood the test of time.

Sigmund Freud (1856-1939) probed the inner workings of the mind with his psychoanalytical theories.



ASIA

China is the world's oldest and most populated civilisation and is famous for its history, culture, inventions and medicine. The earliest recorded dynasty was the Hsia Dynasty (c 1994 BC to c1766 BC). The Great Wall was built from 221 BC to 204BC and was repaired and extended many times. The Government's one child family policy is a drastic attempt to control its 1.3 billion population.

Japan's long feudal history ended when the Meiji was restored in 1868. Japan became militaristic, defeating Russia in 1905, invading Nanjing (China) in 1931, bombing Pearl Harbour in 1941, and finally being defeated by the atomic bomb at Hiroshima and Nagasaki in 1945. It still has difficulty in admitting its war crimes. Japan disarmed itself and defeated the world economically. Also refer to David Aldwinckle's Home Page.

India,which has a long history, was colonialised by the British in the 19th Century. In the 1930s and 1940s, Mahatma Gandhi led peaceful protest movements which led to partition into India and Pakistan and Independence in 1949.

In South East Asia, Singapore, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam and Taiwan gained their nationhood after the Second World War, then proceeded to build significant economic wealth.

On July 1, 1997, Britain handed Hong Kong back to China after its 99 year lease.

Here is a history of Macau.




AUSTRALIA

Australia is a young Western nation located in the Pacific Ocean, with a large land mass and a small population. Some of its recognisable landmarks are the Sydney Opera House and Uluru (Ayers Rock).

British settlement in 1788 displaced the aboriginal inhabitants. Hardships faced on the vast land shaped the colony's character. It now has a predominately white population though Chinese immigrants came in the 1850s gold rushes. Immigration from Asia and Europe since 1945 has produced a blended population.

Australia has led the world in Electoral Reform, featuring universal franchise, secret ballot and preferential voting. Refer to the Home Pages for the Australian Electoral Commission, NSW Electoral Office and a list of political links. While we are in a electoral vein, here is the International link.

Australia's greatest sporting hero, Sir Donald Bradman, played cricket from 1928 to 1949, and is famous for his batting and captaincy records.

Sydney, Australia will be hosting the the year 2000 Olympic Games.



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