Archive of Human Genius
The world’s largest database of social change milestones, from the first fire to today’s good news.
A Timeline of Human History
We are building the world’s largest database of social change milestones, from the first fire to today’s good news. Change is not only possible, it has happened consistently throughout human history.
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Era Tomorrow (2026 C.E. - ???)
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Post-modernity (1945 - 2016 C.E.)
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Topic All #Resist Abortion rights & access Activism & Protests Agriculture Air pollution Animal husbandry & domestication Animal rights & well-being Architecture & design Artificial intelligence Arts, music, literature & entertainment Astronomy & space exploration Athletics & sport Black Lives Matter Blockchain & cryptocurrency Capital punishment Caste abolition Child well-being Circular economy & zero waste Cities Civilization Clean & renewable energy Climate crisis Clothing Colonialism Communication & language Conscious management Consumer rights & well-being Corporate responsibility COVID-19 Crime Culture Dark skies Death & Grief Debt Decolonization Democracy & voting Disabilities & special needs Discovery & exploration Drinking water; sanitation & hygiene Drugs & Entheogens Economic inequality Education Elections Electrification Environment Ethical sourcing Ethics Evolution Finance Flora & fauna Food & diet Free speech & censorship Fresh water conservation Gay rights Gender Genocide Government Green bonds Green space Gun safety Hate speech Healthcare Houselessness Human rights Immigration Independence Indigenous rights & well-being Infrastructure International cooperation Internet rights Journalism Justice system Kindness Kingdoms & empire Law LGBTQ+ rights & well-being Life expectancy & mortality Literature Local resilience Marine conservation Medicine Men's health & well-being Mental health & addiction Migration & settlement Military Mindfulness & self-care Minimum wage Mythology & folklore Nations Natural gas & divestment News & media No coal No fracking Nuclear disarmament Numbers & math Ocean health Oil Oil, natural gas & divestment Parenting Paris Agreement Peace Philanthropy Philosophy Physics Plastic pollution Police reform Pollution Poverty alleviation Prison justice Privacy & security Public health & disease Public safety Racial justice Refugees Religion Reparations Reproductive rights Responsible sourcing & consumption Revolution Rights of nature Same-sex marriage Seniors' rights & well-being Sexual assault & domestic violence Shamanism & rituals Social media Sustainability Sustainable Development Goals Technology & innovation Tourism Trade Transgender rights & well-being Transportation Trees & reforestation Universal basic income Water pollution Wildlife & land conservation Women's rights & well-being Workers' rights & well-being Youth & student movements
Country All Afghanistan Albania Algeria Andorra Angola Antigua and Barbuda Argentina Armenia Australia Austria Azerbaijan Bahrain Bangladesh Barbados Belgium Belize Benin Bermuda Bhutan Bolivia Bosnia-Herzegovina Botswana Brazil Brunei Bulgaria Burkina Faso Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Canada Cape Verde Chad Cherokee Nation Chile China Colombia Congo Cook Islands Costa Rica Cote D'Ivoire Croatia Cuba Cyprus Czech Republic Democratic Republic of Congo Denmark Djibouti Dominica Dominican Republic Ecuador Egypt El Salvador England Equatorial Guinea Eritrea Estonia Ethiopia European Union Faroe Islands Federated States of Micronesia Fiji Finland France French Polynesia Gabon Georgia Germany Ghana Greece Greenland Grenada Guadaloupe Guatemala Guyana Haiti Honduras Hong Kong Hungary Iceland India Indonesia Iran Iraq Ireland Israel Italy Jamaica Japan Jordan Kazakhstan Kenya Kiribati Kosovo Kuwait Kyrgyzstan Laos Latvia Lebanon Lesotho Liberia Libya Liechtenstein Lithuania Luxembourg Madagascar Malawi Malaysia Maldives Mali Malta Marshall Islands Martinique Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Micronesia Moldova Monaco Mongolia Montenegro Montserrat Morocco Mozambique Myanmar Namibia Nauru Navajo Nation Nepal New Caledonia New Zealand / Aotearoa Nicaragua Niger Nigeria Niue North Korea North Macedonia Northern Ireland Norway Oman Pakistan Palau Palestine Panama Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Poland Portugal Qatar Romania Russia Rwanda Samoa San Marino Sao Tome and Principe Saudi Arabia Scotland Senegal Serbia Seychelles Sierra Leone Singapore Slovakia Slovenia Solomon Islands Somalia South Africa South America South Korea South Sudan Soviet Union Spain Sri Lanka St. Kitts & Nevis St. Lucia St. Vincent and the Grenadines Sudan Suriname Sweden Switzerland Syria Tahiti Taiwan Tanzania Thailand The Bahamas The Gambia The Netherlands The Philippines Timor Leste Togo Tokelau Tonga Trinidad & Tobago Tristan da Cunha Tunisia Turkey Turkmenistan Tuvalu Uganda Ukraine United Arab Emirates United Kingdom United States Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Vatican City Venezuela Vietnam Wales Yemen Zambia Zimbabwe
Actor All Activists Artists & philosophers Athletes Business Cities Citizens Civil society Consumers Courts Early humans Engineers Finance Government Humanity Humankind Indigenous groups International organizations Inventors Kingdoms & empires Media & Journalists Military Nations Non-humans Regions Religious groups Science & academia Scientists & mathematicians Settlers & explorers States & provinces Utilities Workers World leaders
2025 C.E.
July 8 Gold mining, coal burning, and cement and nonferrous metals production all release several thousand tons of mercury into the atmosphere every year, leading to tens of thousands of deaths worldwide. However, a team of Chinese scientists from schools in Tianjin, Beijing, Tibet, and Nanjing has found that mercury concentrations in the atmosphere have reduced by a staggering 70% since a peak in the year 2000.
2025 C.E.
July 3 Kyiv's Desniansky District Court has formally recognized a same-sex couple as a family, marking the first legal precedent of its kind in Ukraine, human rights organization Insight LGBTQ has announced. Ukraine does not currently recognize same-sex marriages or partnerships, and this court ruling may serve as a critical legal milestone in expanding rights for LGBTQ families. According to a 2024 poll by the Kyiv International Institute of Sociology, 70% of Ukrainians believe LGBTQ citizens should have equal rights.
2025 C.E.
July 2 In a 4-3 decision, the court’s liberal majority affirmed a lower court ruling that overturned the 176-year-old ban and left in place a more recent law in Wisconsin allowing most abortions until about the 20th week of pregnancy. As was the case in many states with similar older laws, or newer so-called trigger laws, the ban came back into effect after the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to strike down Roe v. Wade in 2022. In short order, the decision prompted Planned Parenthood’s Wisconsin operations to suspend abortion services in the state.
2025 C.E.
July 2 Flint’s lead crisis began in 2014, when the city began drawing water sourced from the Flint River instead of from Lake Huron. The river water was more corrosive than the lake water, and the city failed to take the additional steps needed to prevent lead from leaching into drinking water. In 2017, a federal court ordered the city to replace all lead pipes within three years. Eight years later is the project finally complete. State officials told a federal court this week that the city has excavated more than 28,000 properties in search of lead water lines and replaced nearly 11,000 pipes.
2025 C.E.
July 2 In a decision welcomed by advocacy groups and researchers, South Africa’s Cabinet has approved a ban on the import of Terbufos, a highly toxic pesticide linked to the deaths of six children in a South African township in October 2024. The South African Human Rights Commission (SAHRC) called the decision “a historic milestone in the realization of critical socio-economic rights, including the right to health, clean water, a safe environment, and adequate food.”
2025 C.E.
July 1 Suriname has officially been certified malaria-free by the World Health Organization (WHO). This certification marks the successful interruption of indigenous malaria transmission for at least three consecutive years – a major step forward in the global fight against one of humanity’s deadliest diseases. With today’s announcement, WHO has now certified 46 countries and one territory malaria-free – and each one has successfully prevented the re-establishment of the disease.
2025 C.E.
July 1 Autonomous midwifery practice enables midwives to conduct their professional work by providing evidence-based, high-quality, and ethical care across pregnancy, childbirth, and postpartum, as well as providing other reproductive health care. Now, Virginia midwives can not only practice autonomously but also receive 100% free schedule reimbursement from private insurance and Medicaid. They can also serve on a 24-hour on-call duty roster for nursery care when physicians are unavailable, addressing staffing shortages in rural areas.
2025 C.E.
June 27 The wage increase will take place in two stages. First, it will be increased from €12.82 per hour to €13.90 at the beginning of 2026. It will then increase again by €0.70 a year later. This means German workers would typically earn close to €2,500, making it the second-highest minimum wage in the European Union after Luxembourg, which mandates a monthly minimum of €2,638.
2025 C.E.
June 26 The legal reforms in Vietnam ended the death penalty for eight crimes, including trying to overthrow the government, damaging state infrastructure, making and selling fake medicine, starting wars, spying, drug trafficking, embezzlement, and taking bribes. The new rules also say that anyone already sentenced to death for these crimes but not yet executed by July 1 will have their sentence changed to life in prison after a final decision by Vietnam’s highest court.
2025 C.E.
June 25 This year's Out for America report from the LGBTQ+ Victory Institute showed an overall 2.4% increase in out LGBTQ+ representation between June 2024 and May 2025 and a 198% increase since the organization, which provides training and support for out candidates, first launched the report in 2017. While the majority of LGBTQ+ elected officials serve in state and local offices, 2025 saw a 33% increase in the number of out U.S. House representatives, bringing the total number to 12.
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