An interactive timeline of history, from beginning to middle

An interactive timeline of history's famous figures

The past few millennia of humankind have produced numerous figures who left their mark on culture and society in their respective era. This interactive timeline from data visualization expert Jan Willem pulls data from Wikipedia to illustrate history's most important people relative to their prominence in modern-day thought.

A detailed interactive timeline of technology since 1500

Tech devices are heirs to a complex history of both technological invention and social history. What if you could visualize how radio, TVs, and other devices are connected to the past and each other? Trace the elaborate genealogies of your phone and computer with this interactive timeline showing tech inventions since 1500.

Charting 4,000 years of human history

Care to hang all of human history on your wall? This data visualization charts 4,000 years of humanity. This "histomap" was originally published in 1931 and sold for $1 per copy of the 5-foot-long chart. It was said to detail the course of...

The history of the world map

What did people used to think the world looked like? From the beginning of human history to right before the age of exploration, learn how the world maps were created.

Explore the Museum of the World

This collaboration between the British Museum and Google presents an interactive timeline showing artifacts from five world regions. Go back in time and learn about each item from the museum.

Interactive human migration map

Using archeological, genetic, and climate data, scientists have pieced together an outline of the human odyssey—the journey that took our species from Africa to all corners of the globe. Experience this 200,000-year migration using an interactive human migration map.

An interactive look at Earth's history

This interactive module allows students to explore the science of Earth’s deep history, from its formation 4.5 billion years ago to modern times.

From the Big Bang to present—a timeline

A timeline for everything, from the Big Bang to the beginnings of life on Earth. This article lays out, in spans of billions of years, what was happening in the universe as it became the universe. Starting from the Planck era, the earliest known meaningful time, to the probable "Big Crunch" 30 billion years from now, see how the universe has existed and persisted.

The messy story of humanity's genealogical past

For decades, scientists viewed the human fossil record and concluded Neanderthals, an early hominin, came before homo sapiens, or modern humans. The story became more complicated as technology advanced and ancient DNA samples were analyzed. This video breaks down the evidence, concluding the development of humanity was a lot messier than previously believed.

A primary source timeline of US history (1600-1968)

Compiled by the Library of Congress, this archive walks through important events in US history through civil rights era, while providing primary sources to explore.

See a timeline of the space race

This interactive timeline chronicles the space race from its Cold War origins to the moon landing, highlighting key figures, pivotal moments, and rapid technological advancements. It combines archival photos, video, and links to related material.

A global interactive guide to the first world war

Using rarely seen films, new reports of the day, and interactive maps, 10 historians provide a summarized history of the Great War, World War I. During the course of this half hour film, get a variety of insights and perspectives on the so-called "war to end war" and its long-reaching effects.

A timeline of key events during each period of Egyptian history

This timeline shows the dates, periods, dynasties, and significant events in the history and art of ancient Egypt from the Predynastic Period (before 3100 BCE) to the end of the Roman Period (395 CE).

The history of metallurgy: an interactive timeline

Humans have long been shaping metals into useful tools and aesthetic accessories. By 8,700 BCE, humans already had mastered four types of casting copper. Within a few thousand years, people were combining metals to make the alloy bronze and had...

The evolution of New York City

Originally founded as New Amsterdam, this interactive timeline lists out and provides deep dives on the major events that shaped New York City as it became America's foremost cultural and economic hub.

An interactive look at your own life through demographics

This interactive site allows you to understand the journey of your life in numbers and dates. World Data Lab asks users to enter their date of birth, country of birth, and sex at birth. The site then provides an interactive page tailored to your...

Timeline: the Middle East conflict

During the First World War, Western and Arab powers negotiated the future political status of Arab lands. Since WWI, a complex history of political, economic, and social events have fueled tension and violence between Israel and Palestine. This timeline, compiled by Al Jazeera, highlights important global events defining conflict in the Middle East from 1915 to 2007.

A creator economy timeline

Long before anyone memorized a TikTok dance, the creator economy began with regular people blogging about their personal lives. Eventually, it snowballed into the creator economy we know today. The Washington Post created an interactive timeline to help visualize how the creator economy got from point A to point B.

A global history of women’s rights, in 3 minutes

This video presents a succinct overview of the history of women’s rights. As a global community, we have witnessed widespread suffrage campaigns, the rise of #MeToo, and increasing digital activism. Noteworthy women, grassroots movements, and...

The world's different calendars, explained

The calendar we use to mark the days, months, and year can feel set in stone, but the history of calendars shows these organization systems can and do change. Parse the fascinating, complex details of the Gregorian, Julian, Chinese, Hebrew, and many more calendars in this comprehensive, well-executed explainer video.

Trace the rise of oil: from early drilling to today’s global power

This animated map video vividly illustrates how petroleum shaped global politics and industry—from 18th-century uses and 19th-century drilling booms in North America to today’s OPEC strategies, shale revolution, and geopolitical oil influence.

The history of music explained in 8 minutes

Traditional music history focuses on composers and sees music as an object. Historian Michael Spitzer focuses on music's role in everyday activity and sees it not as an object, but an activity. This brief history illuminates the fundamental role music plays in human culture, and sounds a hopeful not for music in the internet age.

An overview of the anthropocene: the scale of human influence on Earth

Human activity has fundamentally changed our planet. We live on every continent and have directly affected at least 83% of the planet’s viable land surface.

Prehistoric to present day Ukraine

Recognizing the abundance of information available on the current war between Ukraine and Russia, this video focuses on the history of the region. Encapsulating Ukraine's background, the viewer will gain a better grasp of how the modern state arose from a quilt of different ethnicities, noteworthy conflicts between various groups, and more.

Explore the metaverse with this mind map

The metaverse is a complex concept that involves interlocking and rapidly evolving parts, including Web3, augmented reality, and trademark law. It's easy to get overwhelmed when faced with the new legal, financial, ethical, and creative intersections of our reality and its virtual echo. This mind map details the metaverse and its implications for various fields that interact and overlap. Click through the map to read and listen to topic summaries or explore more in-depth resources.

Explore our favorite visualization of the immense scale of space, from an astronaut to the size of the observable universe

Explore an interactive map built from more than 100,000 survey responses on where people find joy in their lives

See how each of the more than two million known species relates to each other—and to common ancestors—in this zoomable tree of life.

Explore the history, structure, and species of Australia's Great Barrier Reef with this interactive journey narrated by Sir David Attenborough.

Explore an interactive map of battles from the American Revolution, along with detailed summaries of each engagement

See the most iconic photos from four decades of LIFE magazine

Learn more about the history of fireworks, which dates back to an accidental invention during an alchemist's quest for information about immortality.

Visualize the path of every solar eclipse from 1900 to 2099 and see what each looks like when observed from different locations on Earth.

A century of Billboard issues documenting the evolution of popular music.

This site reaches millions of visitors who are tired of AI chatbots and seeking human connection. Pretend to be an AI chatbot and ask questions, provide answers, and draw for people in real time.

Stanford built a Google Maps for the Roman Empire, revealing how much it cost to travel in the ancient world

Hear about the 250-year history of the United States Postal Service, complete with some of its strangest deliveries, important innovations, and the figures that made it an American institution.

Explore a list of the 100 best novels of all time, compiled by some of the world's best living writers, including Salman Rushdie, Stephen King, and Jennifer Egan.

Take a 3D tour of the Hajj, Islam's annual pilgrimage to Mecca, undertaken by over 1.5 million Muslims.

Scientists can determine Earth's past climate conditions by analyzing air trapped in microscopic bubbles within ice cores—columns of compressed snow layers that build up over hundreds of thousands of years.

Watch how viruses like Ebola can spill over from animals to humans—and vice-versa.

Researchers believe the brain consolidates memories, processes emotions, and plans for the future during dream states

View the ten deadliest tornadoes in US history.

The US dollar is the most widely circulated currency in the world, and is involved in nearly 90% of global transactions

How Amazon operates a 'flywheel' business model, a self-reinforcing cycle that drives continuous growth

The name 'Silicon Valley' arose from the founding of Shockley Semiconductor Laboratory in Fairchild Semiconductor in 1956-57, founded near Stanford University in Palo Alto

Existentialist writer Jean-Paul Sartre coined the famous phrase 'Hell is—other people' in his play 'No Exit'

An initial public offering or 'IPO' is the process of a private company becoming public by putting shares of the company on the stock market for purchase.

Clever Hans was a 1900s horse that was believed to be able to solve math equations, tell time, and read and comprehend German, until a psychology student discovered how he got his answers.