The History of the Twentieth Century

Sergei Diaghilev's most enduring influence on twentieth century art was the Ballets Russes, a modern ballet company he created, starring the greatest male ballet dancer of the twentieth century and Diaghilev's lover, Vaslav Nijinsky.

In the early twentieth century, the Russian Sergei Diaghilev was the "bad boy" of the Russian art world. It's safe to say he was the most important figure in twentieth century art who was not himself an artist.

The United States intervenes militarily in Cuba and elsewhere in Latin America. A great earthquake strikes San Francisco, triggering racial discrimination and an economic downturn. The Brownsville Affair. And Roosevelt takes "In God We Trust" off the $20 coin.

After breaking the Vice Presidents' curse, Roosevelt begins his second (and last) term as President. 1906 proves to be a good year, as Roosevelt gets much of his legislative agenda through Congress.

The launch of HMS Dreadnought sparked multiple naval arms races, most notably in South America. It also intensified the existing race between the United Kingdom and Germany. At the same time, British and Russian diplomats hammer out their own entente.

France has been angling to turn Morocco into a protectorate. The German government decides to interfere, hoping to drive a wedge between France and Britain.

The Entente Cordiale smoothed relations between Britain and France, but created complications for Britain's relations with Russia and with Germany. Britain makes overtures toward both of those countries, in the hope of repeating its diplomatic success with France, but these early overtures do not go so well.

After nearly 20 years in power, the Conservatives can no longer keep a lid on changing British society. But the Liberals have to contend with the rise of the Labour Party.

Albert Einstein published four papers in 1905 that turned modern physics upside down and established him as the greatest scientist of the century.

A review of what lessons we can take away from the war, with an emphasis on what lessons were not learned, to the grief of many.