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Archive of Human Genius
The world’s largest database of good news and social change milestones from throughout human history
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. - ???)
Today (2017 C.E. - 2025 C.E.)
Post-modernity (1945 - 2016 C.E.)
Modernity (1500 - 1945 C.E.)
Post-classical (500 - 1500 C.E.)
Civilization (3000 B.C.E. - 500 C.E.)
Agriculture (10000 - 3000 B.C.E.)
Prehistory (250000 - 10000 B.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 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.
April 11 After years of negotiations, the international community has reached a landmark deal to cut greenhouse gas emissions from global shipping, setting mandatory fuel standards and introducing a carbon pricing mechanism. The framework – agreed during a meeting of the U.N. International Maritime Organization – aims for net-zero emissions from the sector by 2050 and will come into force in 2027. It will apply to large ocean-going vessels over 5,000 gross tonnage, which account for 85% of carbon emissions from the marine shipping fleet.
2025 C.E.
April 8 According to a new report from U.K. think tank Ember, clean energy accounted for 40.9% of electricity produced worldwide in 2024. The push past the 40% mark was fueled by an unprecedented growth in solar, significant contributions from wind, a recovery in hydropower, and a small rise in nuclear power. China and the E.U. demonstrated the most remarkable increases in clean electricity generation, meeting 81% and 71% of their new electricity demand from renewables in 2024, respectively.
2025 C.E. ???
After years of campaigning, activists from the Pacific Islands and beyond secured an advisory opinion from the world's top court integrating climate and human rights law, providing a baseline for state climate action and guiding climate adjudications around the world.
2025 C.E.
March 7 Nigerian officials have arrested a Chinese national suspected of masterminding a transnational smuggling operation of pangolin scales, according to Dutch nonprofit Wildlife Justice Commission (WJC). The arrest is linked to the seizure of more than 7 tons of pangolin scales in August 2024. The investigation is part of wider efforts to disrupt wildlife trafficking networks in Nigeria, the main illegal wildlife trade hub in West Africa. WJC says the collaboration has enabled 37 arrests, seizures of more than 21.5 metric tons of pangolin scales, and 12 convictions since July 2021.
2025 C.E.
April 4 A new study suggests that Australia has effectively implemented plastic pollution policies, including container deposit schemes and bans on single-use plastics. The study, based on 1,907 surveys conducted across six metropolitan regions, suggests that such policies, combined with local clean-up campaigns and public education, are reducing the volume of plastic entering the environment. Australia has pledged to phase out problematic and unnecessary plastics by 2025 and recycle or reuse all of its plastic waste by 2040.
2025 C.E.
April 4 In a major milestone for climate action, the U.S. hit a new record low for fossil fuels in the electricity mix last month as solar and wind reached a record high, according to new data from global energy think tank Ember. In March 2025, fossil fuels accounted for less than 50% of electricity generated, for the first month on record. The shift meant that clean sources generated more than half (50.8%) of U.S. electricity for the first month on record.
2025 C.E.
April 4 Jurors have found that energy giant Texaco, acquired by Chevron in 2001, had for decades violated Louisiana regulations governing coastal resources by failing to restore wetlands impacted by dredging canals, drilling wells, and billions of gallons of wastewater dumped into the marsh. The case was the first of dozens of pending lawsuits to reach trial in Louisiana against the world’s leading oil companies for their role in accelerating land loss along the state’s rapidly disappearing coast.
2025 C.E.
April 1 The closure of a coal power plant in Finland today brings the country to the brink of a full coal phase-out – four years ahead of schedule. Power utility company Helen officially decommissioned its Salmisaari plant in Helsinki on 1 April, dropping coal to a less than 1% share of the country’s energy mix. Since 2020, coal generation has dropped by 73% from 2.44 terawatt hours to 0.67. Over the same span, wind power has more than doubled since 2020 to supply a quarter of the country’s energy.
2025 C.E.
March 30 Currently, women can get the emergency contraception pill for free from sexual health clinics run by the National Health Service (NHS). However, the pill can cost up to £30 ($62) at pharmacies in the UK. Starting this year, the pill will be available for free at pharmacies, aiming to "reduce inequalities", according to a Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC) statement. The move will also help free up general practitioners by reducing the need for women to make appointments to access the pill, the DHSC said.
2025 C.E.
March 28 The Siamese crocodile is one of the world’s rarest crocodilians, with less than 1,000 individuals estimated to be surviving in the wild. The species hasn’t been sighted for more than 20 years in Virachey, one of Cambodia’s most remote national parks. Combined with recent record-breaking hatchings both in the wild and in captivity, as well as new records of releases into the Cardamom Mountains from the NGO Fauna & Flora, conservationists hope to build a species stronghold in Cambodia.
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