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On 1 September 1939, German forces invaded Poland. Without warning, their planes bombed cities including the capital Warsaw, thus starting the World War 2.
Hitler achieves the 'Anschluss' of Germany and Austria, as Austria becomes part of the Third Reich on 12th March 1938.
The world's largest airship, the Hindenburg, is destroyed in a spectacular fire which resulted in the death of all 33 passengers and crew on board the fatal flight.
In an attempt to form a stable coalition government, Hitler is appointed Chancellor of Germany.
On March 15, 1917 following the Feburary Revolution, the Russian Tsar Nicholas abdicated, heralding the end of the Russian imperial empire. His reign saw Imperial Russia go from being one of the foremost great powers of the world to economic and military collapse. Enemies nicknamed him Nicholas the Bloody. Later he and his family were brutally murdered by the Bolsheviks on the night of July 16/17 1918.
The former tsar Nicholas II and his children sitting on the roof of a greenhouse during their captivity in Tobolsk.
On December 17 1903, news came through that two brothers had flown a curious air machine for more than a minute. This event marked a revolution in human transportation and was in fact one of human's greatest achievements.
Crowds line up to bid a final farewell to Queen Victoria. After 63 years on the throne, Victoria died at the age of 81 at Osborne House on The Isle of Wight. Her military state funeral was held on Saturday 2 February 1901 in St. George's Chapel, Windsor Castle. She was the longest reigning British monarch in history.
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