Top Ten Most Important Events in History

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When we think of history, our minds are understandably drawn to the most dramatic events. We divide and subdivide time in accordance with important milestones. Think of the birth of Jesus Christ, which has forever divided history into before and after.
However, change is often more of a process than an event. To just about everyone, except for the Virgin Mary, the birth of Christ changed little. At least at the time.
Although the importance of specific events can be overstated, something truly earth-shattering will occur on occasion. Life-changing events do not happen in a vacuum. However, they can, at times, overwhelm contemporaries and significantly change the course of history.
We wished to remain faithful to the concept of crucial moments; this list avoided long-term processes such as the agricultural or industrial revolutions. These were not moments but rather a chain of events and developments spanning years or even centuries.
With that in mind, here are the ten most dramatic world-altering events.

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[GoogleUserOne]

The Byzantine Empire didn’t succeed the Roman Empire. It WAS the Roman Empire

[TexasTimeLord]

The downward spiral of civilization caused by the destruction of empires due to WW1 continues to this day

[jonathanjackson]

Some I agree with and others..not at all. I would remove some and add. The Battle of Salamis which separated Asia from Europe and allowed the Greeks to flourish. The battle of Potier which halted the Islamic expansion into Europe. The battle of Teutoburg forest which separated Europe into North and South, Germanic and Latin. With Northern anglo-germanic to expand all over the world after the defeat of the Spanish armada.

[ddax]

Hard to believe splitting the atom didn't make this list but the printing press (as stated was already being used in China) did.

[germanjimenez]

You can't compare the impact of the printing press to one of the possible triggers of WW1. In context, WW1 was ripe to happen, for this or any other reason... geopolitical forces were all ready for that. The printing press was on itself, the foundation of the massification of information.

[jabronijoestar]

Good list, but there are a few snubs. September 11th, the crucifixion of Jesus, the collapse (and/or founding) of the Soviet Union, the discovery of penicillin, etc. Some of the most important days in history are quite recent!

[AlexQC]

Tough to make a top 10 like this ! Though I was certain that 1066 would have made the cut 🤓

[joemyers]

Too many little errors -- Franz Ferdinand was the nephew of Franz Joseph, not son

[takemetothelakes]

I already knew all the comments would be complaints or disagreements

[indanekwaffles]

Where's the coil I evacuated this morning? That act ranks as important an event as some listed in this video.

[jacob]

To your original point, regarding Jesus:

You're absolutely right in saying that the birth of Jesus of Nazareth, went almost completely unnoticed by the entire world, including much of the West. However, it is not the BIRTH of Jesus, but rather his CRUCIFIXION, that forever changed the world. Jesus' unlawful death, to trumped-up charges of revolutionary warmongering against the Roman Empire, sparked the formation of Christianity. A religion that would go on to become not only the world's most populous religion, in terms of worshippers, but would also single-handedly guide the continent of Europe toward dominating the Eastern World, for upwards of 2, 000 years!!

The Death of Jesus of Nazareth should have been one of the ten items on this list. There is simply no understating the singular importance that event has had on human history, for the past two millennia!

[cglawrence]

language was the most important event. It enabled us to lie to our enemies. Gave Homosapiens an edge over others.

[jasonoduro-brako]

Where is stuff like the battle of hastings, three kingdoms, and others??

[angelscorrangell]

In 218 BCE, while on the march towards Rome, Hannibal hit his stick on the snowy ground in the Alps. That caused a landslide, and many elephants in his army perished. Not just elephants, many Carthaginian soldiers were demise. Because of those losses, he would have paid a heavy price in the upcoming battles against Rome. The fate of Carthage sealed.

In 732 Charles Martel achieved great victory against islamic horde at the Battle of Potier. His victory was literally saved Europe and prevented that religion from spreading across the continent. Definitely, It was one of the most important, memorable events in history.

In 4 July 1776 United States Declaration of Independence was published. Thirteen colonies separated from Great Britain's authority and laid the foundation of the United States. That event was the leading act of the American Revolutionary war.

I thought these were also worth to be mentioning. :)

[missstgermainify]

I will forever be saddened by the unnecessary execution of The Romanovs.

[czguy]

I can't comprehend how the battle of the Teutoburg Forest isn't on the list. That, the fall on Constantinople and the battle of Hastings are likely the three greatest impactors of the Western world. If Rome wins at Teutoburg, Gaul and Germany likely stay united much longer. Likely less warring between England and France. Probably at least changing the timeframe of the French Revolution if not staving of the emergence of the French royal lineage entirely. No Napoleon dominance. Possibly no WWI or WWII or at least they would be RADICALLY different. Teutoburg is possibly the most important event in the history of the West.

[Blnck]

You mean to say that the Americas had not experienced any sort of genocide or slavery until Columbus got there? Wow! What peaceloving types pre-Colombian Americans must have been!

[elseby]

What about the Father of Agricultural Norman Borlaug? Saving over a billion people worldwide?

[A-Greek_som]

Archduke Franz Ferdinand's father wants a king, His father's brother was the emperor Franz Joseph

[joelingalls]

Maybe I missed it but I didn't hear the American revolution I heard French you don't think the ideas of our constitution and Bill of rights helped lead to the French revolution ?