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He led the Continental Army to an unlikely victory against the British in the American Revolution. Then George Washington, the "father" of America, served two terms as president.

Finalized in 1920, the Treaty of Versailles brought a formal end to World War I. Europe began picking up the pieces, but it wouldn’t be long before another war broke out.

In 1963, a sniper killed John F. Kennedy in downtown Dallas. It was a major turning point for Western society and marked the beginning of a period of intense turmoil.

Zedong was the leader of the Communist Party from 1949 to 1976. In that span, he made decisions that affected (and ended) millions of Chinese lives.

In 1607, the Pilgrims arrived and established Jamestown. In the face of terrible hardship, they nearly gave up on their tiny village but ultimately endured, giving Europeans a foothold on the continent.

In late 1930, the Wright brothers flew a heavier-than-air, controlled aircraft for the first time in human history. Their craft changed the way people travel and move cargo around the planet.

On June 6, 1944 — D-Day — the Allies launched the biggest amphibious assault in human history, invading occupied France. D-Day was the beginning of the end for the Nazis.

In 1863, President Lincoln signed the Emancipation Proclamation, which ended slavery. But slaves in the South would toil in bondage until the Civil War finally ended.

The Roaring Twenties were a good time ... until the stock market crashed. Then, the Great Depression gripped America and the rest of the world, leaving many people destitute.

Before electric lights, it was common for people to sleep longer during the night, awakening about halfway to take a break. These days, of course, we collapse for sleep only when we absolutely have to.

In 1925, Adolf Hitler published "Mein Kampf" ("My Struggle"), a book in which he details his political beliefs and plans for Germany. The book was a starting point for his eventual tyranny.

Caesar was an emperor (and dictator) of the Roman Empire and was betrayed and murdered by close associates. The Roman Empire is often regarded as a benchmark for human accomplishments ... and frailties.

In the early 19th century, President Jefferson sent Lewis and Clark to explore and document America’s West. He also hoped they’d find an easy route to the Pacific Ocean.

In the 1860s, the Civil War found brothers fighting brothers. About 620,000 men died in this war alone, making it by far the deadliest in American history.

In the 1300s, plague — the Black Death — ravaged Europe and Asia. In the span of just four years, it may have killed 200 million people.

The 13 American colonies grew increasingly frustrated with their treatment at the hands of British lords. They issued the Declaration of Independence, which meant the Revolution was going to a full boil no matter what.

In June 1914, a political extremist killed Archduke Franz Ferdinand and triggered an avalanche of political retributions that started World War I. As many as 16 million people were dead by the time the dust settled.

Starting in the 18th century, the textiles industry advanced from a primitive state to full-blown modern factories. Then, the concepts of the Industrial Revolution affected other businesses, too.

In 1939, Hitler’s Germany invaded Poland and started WWII. The war finally ended in 1945, but not before killing perhaps 80 million people, the most in any single war in history.

In July 1969, the Space Race came to an abrupt end when two American astronauts walked on the moon. All around the planet, people watched the grainy footage of one of humankind’s most inspiring accomplishments.

After WWII, the Communists of the USSR began a decades-long staring contest with the United States. The Cold War didn’t end until the collapse of the Soviet Union in 1991.

From the 14th to the 17th centuries, the Renaissance reinvigorated human science and arts. It helped people evolve their thinking and build ever greater artistic and scientific achievements.

The Dark Ages are a term to describe the early Middle Ages. As the name implies it references the lack of documentation and historical records ("darkness") that plagued Europe following the fall of the Roman Empire.

In the WWII era, the Allies threw incredible time, energy, and money into the Manhattan Project in hopes of building an atomic weapon. They ultimately succeeded, and two bombs were dropped on Japan at the end of WWII.

When Germany invaded the USSR during WWII, Joseph Stalin threw down the gauntlet, often forcing troops and even civilians to stay put in the face of Nazi forces. Around 20 million Soviet people died in the war, a number of casualties that only China can even begin to approach.

The first modern humans originated in Africa. They began migrating out of the area perhaps 125,000 years ago, spreading their way of life (and DNA) all over the world.

The Roman Empire lasted for more than 1,000 years. So, given the youthful age of the United States, maybe there’s hope yet for Americans.

Cuneiform script was probably the earliest form of writing, and it emerged in present-day Iraq around 3200 BC. Writing, of course, changed human communication in fundamental ways.

During WWII, the Nazis set up concentration camps to systematically imprison and murder millions of people, primarily Jews. Allied liberators were aghast when they laid eyes on the human remains of the Holocaust.

Rome spent far too much money on troops and weapons ... and it affected the Empire’s ability to function. Overspending on military items was one major reason the Empire fell.