Indian Independence
India gained independence from British colonial rule, becoming the world's largest democracy.
On August 15, 1947, India gained independence from nearly 200 years of British colonial rule. The independence movement, led by figures such as Mahatma Gandhi, Jawaharlal Nehru, and Subhas Chandra Bose, employed both nonviolent resistance and armed struggle. Independence was accompanied by the Partition of British India into India and Pakistan, which triggered massive population displacements and communal violence that claimed hundreds of thousands of lives.
More in Politics & Governance
Code of Hammurabi Established
One of the earliest and most complete written legal codes, established by Babylonian King Hammurabi.
April 21, 753 BCEFounding of Rome
According to legend, Romulus founded the city of Rome, which would become the center of one of history's greatest empires.
508 BCEBirth of Democracy in Athens
Cleisthenes introduced democratic reforms in Athens, establishing the world's first known democracy.
March 15, 44 BCEAssassination of Julius Caesar
Roman dictator Julius Caesar was assassinated by a group of senators on the Ides of March, triggering civil war.