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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 A Database of Good News An Imagining of our Collective Future
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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1971 C.E.
July 17
Salyut 1 (DOS-1) was the first space station of any kind, launched into low Earth orbit by the Soviet Union on April 19, 1971. The Salyut program followed this with five more successful launches of seven more stations
1971 C.E.
June 14
Modern Bangladesh emerged as an independent nation in 1971 after breaking away and achieving independence from Pakistan in the Bangladesh Liberation War. The country's borders corresponded with the major portion of the ancient and historic region of Bengal
1971 C.E.
January 17
Mariner 9 was launched successfully on May 30, 1971, and became the first artificial satellite of Mars when it arrived and went into orbit.
1970 C.E.
November 26
The first portable calculators appeared in Japan in 1970, and were soon marketed around the world. These included the Sanyo ICC-0081 "Mini Calculator", the Canon Pocketronic, and the Sharp QT-8B "micro Compet".
1970 C.E.
June 5
After deposing his father in 1970, Sultan Qaboos opened up the country, embarked on economic reforms, and followed a policy of modernization marked by increased spending on health, education and welfare. Slavery, once a cornerstone of the country's trade and development, was outlawed in 1970.
1970 C.E.
April 23
Earth Day was the brainchild of U.S. Senator Gaylord Nelson of Wisconsin, a staunch environmentalist who hoped to provide unity to the grassroots environmental movement and increase ecological awareness.
1969 C.E.
December 7
ARPANET was an early packet-switching network and the first network to implement the protocol suite TCP/IP. Both technologies became the technical foundation of the Internet.
1969 C.E.
July 20
After the astronauts returned safely to Earth, another five NASA crewed lunar missions followed in their footsteps. The last, Apollo 17, landed on December 14 1972.
1969 C.E.
April 6
From 1968 to 1969, Wally led the British Trans-Arctic Expedition, a 3,800-mile surface crossing of the Arctic Ocean, from Alaska to Spitsbergen, which some historians had billed as 'the last great journey on Earth.'
1968 C.E.
By 1968, Norwegians had become dissatisfied with the harsh living conditions of the correctional system, and the Norwegian Association for Criminal Reform (KROM) was formed. KROM's first substantive change to Norwegian penology occurred in 1970, with the abolition of forced labor. In 1975, juvenile delinquency centers were abolished. Reforms in the early 1990s focused on rehabilitation and reducing recidivism.
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