20th Century for Kids

A century is a pretty long period of time, so a lot can happen in those hundred years. Historians divide time into centuries and decades to make it easy to study events and other things from specific times in history. In 20th Century for Kids, you will learn about lots of different events, inventions, historical figures, and other things from the year 1901 through the year 2000 of American history.Show more

The early years of the 20th century brought with it the first airplane from the Wright brothers, Oreo cookies, and the Spanish Influenza pandemic. Right after that global pandemic, scientists developed insulin and penicillin, which saved millions of lives. This is also when the Great Depression occurred, and many people lives and lifestyles changed drastically.

In the next few decades, Amelia Earhart took flight, the Monopoly board game made its debut, and the second World War began and ended. In addition, the time around the middle of the century introduced M&Ms and Cheerios to the world. Velcro, color TV, and seatbelts were all invented in the 1950s, and this is also when Charlie Brown, Disneyland, and McDonald's started.

One of the most significant decades is the 60s, which focused a lot of civil rights. This is also the decade during which man stepped on the moon, the first super bowl was held, and the Beatles became famous. The last few decades likewise brought about lots of interesting inventions, products, and events. For instance, the first Star Wars movie released in 1977, and the first Harry Potter book was published in 1997.