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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
2028 C.E. ???
The advent of commercially-viable fusion energy marked a historic turning point for the climate crisis, jumpstarting a new era of ubiquity for renewable energy.
2028 C.E. ???
A few years after the last cases of polio were recorded in Afghanistan and Pakistan, the massive global eradication effort initially launched in 1988 by WHO, UNICEF, and the Rotary Fund was officially completed.
2025 C.E.
August 12 On July 1, 2025, Lagos introduced a ban on single-use plastics like Styrofoam plates, straws, and cutlery. The city—home to 20 million people—has long battled severe plastic pollution, with clogged waterways worsening floods and harming health. The ban is already driving grassroots recycling, sparking innovation in sustainable packaging, and raising public awareness about waste reduction. If supported by stronger enforcement, better waste systems, and affordable alternatives, this move could slash hundreds of thousands of tons of plastic waste annually—positioning Lagos as a model for African cities aiming to protect their environment and build a cleaner, more resilient future.
2025 C.E.
July 31 Ethiopia has launched a record-breaking push to plant 700 million trees in a single day, part of a plan to grow 50 billion by 2026 to fight deforestation, boost livelihoods, and tackle climate change. By early morning, 14.9 million people had already planted 355 million seedlings. The nationwide effort has been championed by Prime Minister Abiy Ahmed since 2019 as a personal and national priority.
2025 C.E.
July 31 Italy has agreed to a Vatican plan to build a solar farm on 1,000 acres near Rome, aiming to make Vatican City the world’s first carbon-neutral state. The Santa Maria Galeria project will generate enough clean energy for the micronation while preserving the land’s agricultural use and minimizing environmental impact. This step marks a significant commitment by the Vatican toward sustainability and climate leadership.
2025 C.E.
Citizenship of the West African nation is now open to anyone above 18 who doesn’t already hold other African citizenship and can provide proof that an ancestor was deported via the slave trade from anywhere in sub-Saharan Africa. Beninese kings actively participated in capturing and selling enslaved people to Portuguese, French, and British merchants. Benin has long been working to reconcile with its legacy of complicity. It has openly acknowledged its role in the slave trade, a stance not shared by many other African nations that participated.
2025 C.E.
July 30 Buildings are one of New York’s biggest climate polluters, responsible for nearly a third of the state’s emissions. In 2025, the state finalized the nation’s first statewide gas ban, requiring most new buildings to run on electric systems, with larger ones following in 2029. A federal court upheld the law, clearing the way for implementation. By ending fossil fuel hookups in new construction, New York is cutting a major source of greenhouse gases, improving air quality, and creating a model for other states—pushing the country closer to a future where all buildings help solve the climate crisis, not fuel it.
2025 C.E.
July 30 Australia will cut student loan balances by 20%, delivering over A$16 billion in relief to three million people. A graduate with an average loan of A$27,600 will see about A$5,520 erased, with changes backdated to June 1, 2025, before a 3.2% inflation adjustment. The law also lifts the repayment threshold to A$67,000 in annual income, easing the burden on lower earners and delaying repayments for many.
2025 C.E.
July 30 For years, the Caribbean island nation’s gross indecency and buggery laws have criminalized same-sex relations, even in private. Under those laws, consensual male homosexuality could be punished with up to ten years’ imprisonment. Even attempting to “commit buggery” could be met with a sentence of five years. Now, the Eastern Caribbean Supreme Court has ruled that the law violates the rights to privacy, life, liberty, security of the person, freedom of expression, protection from discrimination on the basis of sex, and protection of the law.
2025 C.E.
July 27 Cuba’s National Assembly of People’s Power has passed a landmark law granting people the right to change their gender markers without first proving they’ve undergone genital-affirming surgery—a breakthrough victory years in the making for the nation’s trans and nonbinary communities. The new Civil Registry code also expands recognition of love and partnership, formally acknowledging unmarried couples through emotional unions and cohabitation agreements. Together, these reforms mark a major step toward greater dignity, equality, and legal inclusion for all Cubans.
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