The 10 Most Important Moments in History

What Are the Most Significant Historical Events?

Hopefully, at some point in a person's education, they have an opportunity to discuss this question: Which were the most important moments in history...and why?

Human history is chock full of pivotal moments—inventions that enabled changes, events that sparked movements, and movements that changed the entire world. History is long and full of these moments, which are too many to count and impossible to compare. Nevertheless, I've endeavored to compile this list of the ten most important moments in human history.*

The 10 Most Important Moments in History

But first, we must begin by defining our terms. What do we mean by "most important moments"?

Most? There is no way to measure the relative importance of any moment, but I favored those events that impacted more people over longer periods of time.

Important? For this list, I tried to choose moments in history that had a larger impact—positive or negative—on a larger number of people, including repercussions those moments might trigger in future generations.

Moments? Some of the biggest "moments" began as small and unrecorded incidences—words or gestures, tiny sparks that touched off a series of cultural disruptions and new ways of thinking. I tried to locate a single event that started it all, but this was hard to do.

(*This list is admittedly biased, arguably arguable, and listed in no particular order, and I invite you to join the discussion and chime in in the comments section below: What moment would you include on your list?)

The Neolithic Revolution: The Shift From Hunting-Gathering to Farming in 10,000 B.C.

Can you imagine a map without neighborhoods, cities, borders, or territories? This is what our world might look like if humans had never stopped searching for food and started planting and raising their own food instead.

There is no record of the defining moments that caused this shift (like when people realized that seeds could be planted and how to enrich soils). Certainly, the transition away from wild harvesting was slow, but about 12,000 years ago, a move towards agriculture triggered a major transformation in the way humans lived. When we shifted from nomadic, hunter-gatherer traditions in favor of permanent settlements and farms, not only did it mean a more reliable food supply and more constant sources of nutrition, but it changed the shape of civilizations. Some argue that this shift planted the seeds of private ownership and capitalism.

Permanent structures and settlements led to the formation of towns and cities. The ability to meet the population's need for more crops and meat led to population explosions: 10,000 years ago, there were about five million people in the world, but today, there are more than seven billion. Having permanent, reliable food sources freed up a little time for people to do things besides always thinking about finding food...like building things, creating new inventions, making art or medicine, forming religion, doing science, etc. So, the ability to control food sources was a key part in the formation of what we refer to as culture and civilization today.

The End of the Western Roman Empire: September 4th, 476 CE

The Roman Empire, one of history's greatest and most impactful, lasted almost 500 years and stretched almost 780,000 miles. It had a good, long run, but in 476 CE, it finally lost its last grip of control when a Germanic leader named Odoacer led a successful revolt against Romulus Augustulus, then Emperor.

Romulus Augustulus was only a child of 16 and had only ruled for a year before he was deposed. Although all Roman emperors took the name Augustus (meaning venerable), he acquired the insulting nickname Momyllus Augustulus, roughly translating to little disgrace, as many blame him for the fall of the Western Roman Empire.

Was it his fault? Not entirely. Romulus Augustulus just had the lousy luck of being the last one left holding the hot potato. In the end, the empire's military controlled the government, and its armies were comprised of paid soldiers who fought not for loyalty or love but just to make a buck. That and years of mounting political corruption, breakdowns in commerce and trade, widespread economic crises, and class conflicts all played a part.

In his book Escape From Rome, Walter Scheidel argues that the fall of Rome was not a bad thing...in fact, it was a necessary, positive change. In a nutshell, he posits that the removal of Rome's control led to small and large-scale innovations—cultural advancements in public education, private business organizations, individual freedoms, and rights—that paved the way for modern development and prosperity. Scheidel asserts that “From this developmental perspective, the death of the Roman empire had a much greater impact than its prior existence.”

In 476 CE, the Western Empire broke into smaller bits that eventually became the countries we know today. Although the Eastern Roman Empire continued as the Byzantine Empire for hundreds of years more, 476 CE is often pointed to as the transition from the Age of Antiquity to the Middle Ages.

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The First University Opens in 895 CE in Fez (Morocco)

The oldest existing, continually operating institution of higher learning in the world is the University of Karueein (University of al-Qarawiyyin), founded in 859 CE in Fez (Morocco) by Fatima bint Muhammad Al-Fihriya Al-Qurashiya. That's right—the first university was founded by a woman (although women were not admitted to the institution until the 1940s).

Although it started as a mosque, its teachings expanded over centuries, and it morphed into a widely respected general educational institution (although it wasn't officially declared a state university until 1963). The Guinness Book of World Records recognizes it as the first university in the world.

Can you imagine a world without schools? The idea that learning is important and that ideas should be valued, recorded, discussed, shared, and passed down is one that significantly changed the world. By 2040, it is estimated that there will be 600 million students enrolled in universities around the world per year.

Fun Facts

• The first education system was created in the Xia Dynasty (2076–1600 BC).
• In Europe, the first university was established in Bologna, Italy, in 1088 CE.
• In the US, education has only been deemed a fundamental human right since December 10, 1948, the day the Universal Declaration of Human Rights was proclaimed.

The Renaissance (1300s in Florence, Italy)

The Renaissance (a word that means rebirth) was a glorious period in human history that is often described as a cultural explosion of creativity that began in Florence, Italy, in the 14th century and spread throughout Europe. It was a period of cultural, political, and economic rebirth that followed the Middle Ages and involved a rediscovery of classical art, literature, and philosophy that inspired a huge wave of creative thought and innovation that lasted until the 17th century. In general, it was a move away from fear towards beauty, truth, and wisdom. It included...

• A move from medieval scholasticism to the development of individualism, skepticism, classicism, secularism, and Humanism.
• Humanistic values applied to architecture, literature, art, and science.
• The fall of feudalism (nobles vs. peasants) and the rise of a capitalist market economy.
• An explosion of new inventions and works of art.

High Points of the Renaissance

• The invention of eyeglasses (around 1300)
• Printing press invented (and Gutenberg Bible published), 1455
• The Age of Exploration: 1476 to 1500
• First modern atlas published, 1570
• Telescope invented, 1608
• Microscope invented, late 1660s

Important Players

• Writers: Dante, Petrarch, Shakespeare
• Artists: da Vinci, Michaelangelo, Raphael
• Scientists: Galileo, Newton, and Leibniz
• Explorers: Columbus, da Gama, and Magellan