8. The development of biomedical science (mid-1900's)

Advances in medicine--from penicillin, antibiotics, and other drugs to organ transplants and microsurgery--lengthened life and eradicated certain diseases. They also posed the problem of paying for expensive medical care. Understanding of the body and its biochemical processes soared with the discovery of DNA, the carrier of biological inheritance. In addition, this discovery drew fresh attention to the influence of biological and genetic factors not only in disease but also in individual and social behavior.

 

Donald G. Marshall is a Professor and the Head of the Department of English at the University of Illinois at Chicago. His top 10 events of the 1900's reflect a general historical approach. Professor Marshall emphasizes the impact of technology on the century and points out one chilling effect : "The fear that humankind's highest scientific achievements will destroy us becomes very real."

1.

The rise and fall of Communism in Russia (1917-1991)
2. The invention of electronic communications media (early to middle 1900's)
3. The collapse of colonialism and the struggle for racial equality (middle to late 1900's)
4.

The development of the automobile and the airplane (early 1900's)
5. The development of the computer (middle to late 1900's)
6. The new physics (throughout the 1900's)
7. The impact of World War II and the Holocaust (middle to late 1900's)
8. The development of biomedical science (mid-1900's)
9. The emergence of "modern" architecture, art, literature, and music (throughout the 1900's)
10. The outbreak of World War I (1914-1918)