01score 72
Treaty of Versailles 1919
The Treaty of Versailles on June 28, 1919 formally ended World War I but planted the seeds for decades of resentment, economic collapse, and territorial disputes across Europe.
Reverse trending
Past events still shaping today.
Trending is what people are reading about right now. This is the opposite: events from the archive ranked by how much they still shape the present - through cause-and-effect to later events, the size of the chain they set off, and how recently that chain landed.
Below each entry: the downstream events in this archive that the ranking traces to, and the editorial line on why it’s still in the air.
The three most consequential
02score 64
American Civil War 1861
The American Civil War (1861–1865) killed more than 620,000 soldiers and fundamentally rewrote the nation's constitutional order, abolishing slavery through the 13th Amendment and forcing a violent reckoning over federalism that no political compromise could prevent.
Downstream in this archive
03score 54
Gulf War 1991
Operation Desert Storm in January–February 1991 was the first major U.S.
Downstream in this archive
The rest of the ladder
- 1228
Ashoka's Imperial Edicts & Election 260
score 14Sits upstream of multiple events in this archive; the present still inherits its choices.
- 1229
Norman Conquest of Sicily Begins 1040
score 14The Norman conquest remapped Mediterranean politics and created a kingdom that rivaled the Byzantine Empire and papal states.
- 1230
Hittite Code of Laws Published 1400
score 14The Hittite Code stands as one of humanity's earliest systematic attempts to codify justice in writing.
- 1231
Unification of Spain 1479
score 14Sits upstream of multiple events in this archive; the present still inherits its choices.
- 1232
Battle of the Golden Spurs 1302
score 14Sits upstream of multiple events in this archive; the present still inherits its choices.
- 1233
Jacobite Rising of 1745 1745
score 14Sits upstream of multiple events in this archive; the present still inherits its choices.
- 1234
Battle of Fontenoy 1745
score 14Sits upstream of multiple events in this archive; the present still inherits its choices.
- 1235
Theodore Roosevelt Elected U.S. President 1904
score 14Sits upstream of multiple events in this archive; the present still inherits its choices.
- 1236
Piltdown Man Discovered 1912
score 14Sits upstream of multiple events in this archive; the present still inherits its choices.
- 1237
Panama-Pacific International Exposition 1915
score 14Sits upstream of multiple events in this archive; the present still inherits its choices.
- 1238
Pan-American Exposition 1901 1901
score 14Sits upstream of multiple events in this archive; the present still inherits its choices.
- 1239
Giro d'Italia Inaugural Cycling Race 1909
score 14Sits upstream of multiple events in this archive; the present still inherits its choices.
- 1240
Coronation of King George V 1911
score 14Sits upstream of multiple events in this archive; the present still inherits its choices.
- 1241
Italian General Election 1913
score 14Sits upstream of multiple events in this archive; the present still inherits its choices.
- 1242
Wright Brothers' Patent 1906
score 14Sits upstream of multiple events in this archive; the present still inherits its choices.
- 1243
Treaty of Neuilly-sur-Seine 1919
score 14Sits upstream of multiple events in this archive; the present still inherits its choices.
- 1244
Australian Defence Force Established 1901
score 14Sits upstream of multiple events in this archive; the present still inherits its choices.
- 1245
Treaty of Portsmouth Signed 1905
score 14Sits upstream of multiple events in this archive; the present still inherits its choices.
- 1246
Mona Lisa Stolen from Louvre 1911
score 14Sits upstream of multiple events in this archive; the present still inherits its choices.
- 1247
Lucknow Pact 1916
score 14Sits upstream of multiple events in this archive; the present still inherits its choices.
- 1248
1919 British General Election 1919
score 14Sits upstream of multiple events in this archive; the present still inherits its choices.
- 1249
First Nylon Stockings Released 1940
score 14Sits upstream of multiple events in this archive; the present still inherits its choices.
- 1250
Abdication Crisis & Edward VIII's Renunciation 1936
score 14Sits upstream of multiple events in this archive; the present still inherits its choices.
- 1251
Concordat Between Vatican and Italy 1929
score 14Sits upstream of multiple events in this archive; the present still inherits its choices.