Viet Minh forces fighting for independence in Indochina besiege French troops and score a decisive victory in 1954.

Frenchman Denis Diderot becomes a prominent figure of the 18th-century Enlightenment and edits the groundbreaking Encyclopedia, or a Systematic Dictionary of the Sciences, Arts, and Crafts.

Scottish inventor, mechanical engineer and chemist James Watt's steam engine innovations power the Industrial Revolution.

Founded as a Phoenician colony on the African coast, Carthage rises to dominate the Western Mediterranean until being challenged by Rome in a series of three Punic Wars.

After civil wars weaken the Roman Republic, Julius Caesar proclaims himself dictator for life. However, he is assassinated by Senate conspirators March 14, 44 B.C.

After several months on the run, South African black leader Nelson Mandela is arrested by police and imprisoned on Robben Island off Cape Town in 1962, beginning a long ordeal.

British officer T.E. Lawrence helps spearhead the Arab Revolt against the Ottoman Empire during World War I.

Young Indian lawyer Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi is thrown off a train in South Africa for daring to sit in a first-class compartment in May 1893.

French Gen. Napoleon Bonaparte's invasion of Egypt leads to 1799's chance discovery of the Rosetta Stone, which proves to be the key to deciphering ancient hieroglyphs, opening a window into Egyptian history.

In 1415, the Portuguese launch an era of explorations that lead to European discoveries around the globe and fierce competition between Britain and France for possession of North America and the West Indies.

The Deepwater Horizon drilling rig explodes in the Gulf of Mexico April 20, 2010, causing a gigantic oil spill.

In 885, hundreds of Viking longships launch an assault on the Frankish Empire and the Norsemen besiege Paris.

After successive failures at Moscow and Stalingrad, Germany goes on the offensive again in the spring of 1943 and clashes with the Soviet Red Army at Kursk, which is considered the greatest tank battle in history and a turning point of World War II.

In the 15th century, inventor Johannes Gutenberg designed the moveable type printing press, a machine that would change the history of the entire world.

In late Victorian England, women begin to organize to gain the right to vote in a struggle that lasts well into the early 20th century.

One man succeeded in re-launching the Olympic spirit and turned the games into a global event.

In the 17th century, rebellious members of the French Parliament, dubbed the Fronde, defy the monarchy.

The battle between the French and English for New France hinged on the presence of the British navy, and the battle on the Plains of Abraham is tipped to Great Britain by the trained soldiers of the British army.

Unable to bring mob boss Al Capone to justice for many of the crimes ascribed to him, the U.S. government takes a new tack to end the rule of gangsters in the Depression.

The former Soviet Union's 1950s development of cotton-growing around the Aral Sea has proven to be an ecological nightmare.

The Black Death, a disease that develops and kills within days, decimates Europe and changes the course of history.