The 1900s

The dawn of a new century brought optimism, imperial ambition, and the first stirrings of modern life.

The death of Queen Victoria ended an era while a new century struggled to define itself.

Edward VII's coronation was delayed by appendicitis, while the Boer War finally sputtered to an end.

The Wright brothers changed humanity's relationship with the sky forever.

A surprise war in the Far East shattered assumptions about European invincibility.

Revolution erupted in Russia, Einstein rewrote physics, and the old certainties began to crack.

San Francisco burned, the Dreadnought launched a naval arms race, and Kellogg's cornflakes changed breakfast forever.

Financial panic gripped Wall Street while Cubism and the Boy Scouts signalled a changing world.

The Model T put the world on wheels and the Olympics came to London.

Blériot flew the Channel, Peary claimed the Pole, and the world grew smaller by the day.