| Year |
History |
Film |
| 1895 |
X-rays
discovered by German physicist Wilhelm Roentgen. |
The
earliest color hand-tinted films ever
publicly-released were Annabelle Butterfly Dance
(1894), Annabelle Sun Dance (1894), and Annabelle
Serpentine Dance (1895). In France, two brothers
Auguste and Louis Lumière invented the
Cinématographe. They held their first public
commercial exhibition often considered "the birth
of film" when they projected a motion picture
onto a screen for the first time. It included 10 short
films. Only surviving film with live-recorded sound
made to test the Kinetophone was the 17-second Dickson
Experimental Sound Film (1894-1895) Annabelle
Serpentine Dance aka The Sprinkler Sprinkled Waterer
and Watered L'Arrouseur Arrose La Sortie des Ouviers
de L'Usine Lumière à Lyon Workers Leaving the
Lumiere Factory Arrivee d'un train en gare a La Ciotat |
| 1896 |
Alfred
Nobel's will establishes prizes for peace, science,
and literature. Marconi receives first wireless patent
William Jennings Bryan delivers "Cross of
Gold" speech Democratic Convention in Chicago.
First modern Olympic games held in Athens, Greece. |
Kiss was the
first film ever made of a couple kissing in cinematic
history Alice Guy-Blaché (first female film director)
made a fictional film La Fée aux Choux (The Cabbage
Fairy), consider it the first ever narrative fiction
film. First vampire film called Le Manoir du Diable
made by French film-maker Georges Méliès |
| 1897 |
Theodor
Herzl launches Zionist movement. |
|
| 1898 |
Chinese
"Boxers," anti-foreign organization,
established Spanish-American War begins. Pierre and
Marie Curie discover radium and polonium. |
Start of
scale-model effects First major talent agency in
Hollywood called the William Morris Agency was founded |
| 1899 |
Boer
War (or South African War): conflict between British
and Boers Casualties: 5,774 British dead, about 4,000
Boers. |
Two
of the earliest westerns (or cowboy-related) films
were made with 'first' western saloon setting Georges
Méliès became the first film-maker to use
artificially-arranged scenes to construct and tell a
narrative story, with Cendrillon. Méliès developed
techniques such as stop-motion photography, double and
multiple-exposures, time-lapse photography,
"special effects" such as disappearing
objects and dissolves/fades. The first known
Shakespearean film (King John) was composed of only
four short scenes, only the last scene of the King's
death survived. |
| 1900 |
Fauvist
movement in painting begins, led by Henri Matisse.
Carrie Chapman Catt succeeds Susan B. Anthony as
president of National Woman Suffrage Association. |
The
Eastman Kodak company first introduced the Brownie
camera |
| 1901 |
Queen
Victoria dies, and is succeeded by her son, Edward
VII. As President McKinley is shot, and is replaced by
Theodore Roosevelt. |
|
| 1902 |
Enrico
Caruso's first gramophone recording. Aswan Dam
completed. |
Méliès
introduced innovative special effects in "Le
Voyage Dans LaLune" (1st science fiction; a
narrative fantasy of long shots strung together,
punctuated with disappearances, double exposures
,other trick photography and elaborates sets) |
| 1903 |
Wright
brothers fly first powered, controlled,
heavier-than-air plane at Kitty Hawk, N.C. Henry Ford
organizes Ford Motor Company |
Edwin
S. Porter was the first to use modern film techniques
(multiple camera positions, filming out of sequence
and later editing the scenes into their proper order)
helping to shift film production toward narrative
story telling.The Life of an American Fireman The
Great Train Robbery |
| 1904 |
Russo-Japanese
War begins Britain and France settle their
international differences. General theory of
radioactivity by Rutherford and Soddy |
Georges
Méliès released the 1st -reel film, The Impossible
Voyage-at about 20 minutes in length (5x longer that
the average film) |
| 1905 |
In
Russo-Japanese War, Japan wins and gets control of
Korea The Russian Revolution of 1905 begins on
"Bloody Sunday" Sailors on battleship
Potemkin mutiny; reforms are established by Tsar
Nicholas II's in "October Manifesto." Albert
Einstein's theory of relativity and other key theories
in physics. |
Cooper
Hewitt mercury lamps made it practical to shoot films
indoors without sunlight. The British melodrama
Rescued by Rover was produced it included suspenseful
cutting and traveling shots. |
| 1906 |
Roald
Amundsen, Norwegian explorer, fixes magnetic North
Pole. |
Earliest
surviving example of an animated film was first to use
single frame method (20/sec) The world's first
feature-length film at 70 mins in length, The Story of
the Kelly Gang Edwin S. Porter directed fantasy film
Dream of a Rarebit Fiend, using trick photography |
| 1907 |
Second
Hague Peace Conference adopts 10 conventions on rules
of war. Financial panic of 1907 in U.S. Oklahoma
becomes 46th state. Picasso's Les Demoiselles
d'Avignon introduces cubism. |
The
first feature-length (90 minutes) film produced in
Europe was L'Enfant Prodigue |
| 1908 |
U.S. Supreme
Court, in Danbury Hatters' case, outlaws secondary
union boycotts. Model T produced by Ford Motor
Company. Union of South Africa established in 1908 as
confederation of colonies; becomes British dominion in
1910. |
The
Adventures of Dollie was the first one-reel film
directed by D. W. Griffith A Visit to the Seaside was
the first commercially-produced film in natural color
The first detective films were released in France. The
first real horror film, William Selig's 16-minute Dr
Jekyll & Mr. Hyde premiered Fantasmagorie (an
animated short film) was considered the first fully
animated film. |
| 1909 |
North
Pole reportedly reached by Robert E. Peary and Matthew
Henson. The National Association for the Advancement
of Colored People was founded |
The
New York Times published its first movie review (on D.
W. Griffith's Pippa Passes) and coined the terms
"stars for leading movie players 35 mm was
recognized as the international standard film gauge |
| 1910 |
Boy Scouts
of America incorporated. |
For the
first time, Hollywood purchased the rights to adapt a
novel from a publisher John Randolph Bray patented the
cel process, pioneering true animated cartoons with
structured story lines. The first movie stunt - a man
jumped into the Hudson River from a burning balloon.
The first Frankenstein monster film in the US was
Edison's Frankenstein (directed by Searle Dawley) |
| 1911 |
First
use of aircraft as offensive weapon in Turkish-Italian
War. Italy defeats Turks and annexes Tripoli and
Libya. Chinese Republic proclaimed after revolution
overthrows Manchu dynasty. Mexican Revolution Amundsen
reaches South Pole. Ernest Rutherford discovers the
structure of the atom. |
The
first US 'feature film' was released when the two
parts of D.W. Griffith's Enoch Arden were screened
together (2x length of films at that time) The first
feature-length film (69-minute) was released in the US
(the fantasy/horror Dante's Inferno) made by Francesco
Bertolini, Giuseppe de Liguoro, and Adolfo Padovan
Winsor McCay debuted the 1st animated cartoon, Little
Nemo in Slumberland (4,000 cels), with each frame
drawn individually. |
| 1912 |
Balkan Wars
(1912-1913) London peace treaty (1913) In second war
(1913), Bulgaria attacks Serbia and Greece and is
defeated Titanic sinks on maiden voyage; over 1,500
drown. New Mexico and Arizona admitted as states. |
H. A.
Spanuth's five-reel production of Oliver Twist was
released The German film Night and Ice was one of the
earliest disaster films (about Titanic) Saved From the
Titanic, a one reel was the second film about the
disaster (based upon Dorothy Gibson's true story of
her own survival) D. W. Griffith's The Musketeers of
Pig Alley was released; the first gangster organized
crime film. Director Enrico Guazzoni's successful
two-hour spectacle Quo Vadis? was released |
| 1913 |
Suffragists
demonstrate in London. Garment workers strike in New
York and Boston; win pay raise and shorter hours.
Henry Ford develops first moving assembly line.
Woodrow Wilson becomes 28th U.S. president Armory Show
introduces modern art to U.S.; Duchamp's Nude
Descending a Staircase shocks public. |
Traffic
in Souls was the first major American
feature-length exploitation sex film (prostitution) D.
W. Griffith used filming techniques still used today
(altering camera angles, using close-ups in a dramatic
way, breaking scenes up into multiple shots, and more)
John Randolph Bray's, The Artist's Dream, made in the
U.S. used modern techniques, and was the first to use
'cels' - transparent drawings laid over a fixed
background. Denmark's Atlantis sank a full-scale boat
for realism. One of the most popular films of the
silent decades, and a worldwide smash hit. |
| 1914 |
World War I
begins Panama Canal officially opened. Congress sets
up Federal Trade Commission Marines occupy Veracruz,
Mexico, intervening in civil war to protect American
interests. |
WWI
interrupted European motion-picture production and
bought it to a halt Lois Weber became the first woman
to direct a feature film in the US - The Merchant of
Venice Charlie Chaplin's first film: Making a Living.
He debuted, his trademark mustached, baggy-pants
'Little Tramp' character in Kid Auto Races At Venice.
He became filmdom's first great star. |
| 1915 |
Lusitania
sunk by German submarine. Second Battle of Ypres.
Genocide of estimated 600,000 to 1 million Armenians
by Turkish soldiers. Albert Einstein's General Theory
of Relativity. |
Theda
Bara became one of the first "sex symbols"
Lois Weber released The Hypocrites depicting full
female nudity (praised for its use of multiple
exposures and complex film editing) The Technicolor
Motion Picture Corporation pioneered Technicolor (colour
film process) Pioneering D. W. Griffith's 3-hour Civil
War epic, The Birth of a Nation premiered. The film
popularized the expressive close-up, naturalistic
acting, the flashback and other elements (i.e.
exciting cross-cutting, a last minute rescue) that
endure today as the structural principles of narrative
filmmaking. It introduced the historical epic and
period piece as a film genre and defined the language
of film. It was highly controversial because of its
racist theme. It was the first US motion picture shown
in the White House |
| 1916 |
Congress
expands armed forces President Wilson re-elected
Margaret Sanger opens first birth control clinic
Easter Rebellion in Ireland put down by British
troops |
D.W.
Griffith's (most expensive film of all time)
monumental epic Intolerance, told with parallel
cross-cutting between its four stories (techniques
were adopted by Eisenstein and Coppola) The earliest
vampire feature film the silent film Nachte des
Grauens with vampire-like people. Lois Weber's
controversial drama, Where Are My Children?, was about
abortion |
| 1917 |
U.S.
declares war on Germany. Third Battle of Ypres
February Russian Revolution October Russian Revolution
Balfour Declaration U.S. declares war on
Austria-Hungary Armistice between Russia and Germany
Sigmund Freud's Introduction to Psychoanalysis. |
The
first feature-length motion picture produced in
two-strip Technicolor in the US was The Gulf Between
John Ford made his first film, The tornado |
| 1918 |
Russian Tsar
and family are executed Russian Civil War German
Kaiser abdicates Worldwide influenza epidemic strikes;
by 1920, nearly 20 million are dead. |
The first
Tarzan film, Tarzan of the Apes, premiered Winsor
McCay's propagandistic, documentary-style The Sinking
of the Lusitania was the first serious re-enactment of
an historical event |
| 1919 |
Third
International Comintern establishes Soviet control
over international Communist movements. Paris peace
conference Congress formally ends war in 1921. Alcock
and Brown make first trans-Atlantic nonstop flight.
Mahatma Gandhi begins his nonviolent resistance
movement against British rule in India. |
The
technique of test screenings of films to obtain
audience feedback was pioneered (Harold Lloyd) Walt
Disney teamed with Ub Iwerks to create cartoon
animations. Germany's silent expressionistic classic,
The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari, was released (influenced
the classic period of horror films, with its bizarre
sets, angular camera angles and make-up) Different
From the Others was reportedly the first
representation of male homosexuality |
| 1920 |
League of
Nations holds first meeting Women's suffrage (19th)
amendment ratified. First Agatha Christie mystery |
The
movement of German film Expressionism was established
with The Cabinet of Dr. Caligari The Debut of Thomas
Cat was the first cartoon, the first animated short
genuinely made in colour The Mark of Zorro was the
first of many film versions of the 1919 story |
| 1921 |
German
liability fixed at 132 billion gold marks; German
inflation begins. Major treaties limit naval tonnage
and pledge to respect territorial integrity of China. |
The
Sheik was one of the first of exotic and erotic
romance/adventure films for men and women. Charlie
Chaplin's The Kid released D.W. Griffith's film Dream
Street, with experimental sound has been regarded as
the first feature film to use sound |
| 1922 |
Mussolini
forms Fascist government. Irish Free State, a
self-governing dominion of British Empire, officially
proclaimed. Kemal Atatürk, founder of modern Turkey,
overthrows last sultan |
Nanook
of the North was the first feature film documentary or
non-fictional narrative feature film. Lev Kuleshov
experimented with montage (technique pioneered by
Russian filmmakers) The Toll of the Sea was the first
general release Hollywood feature film to use the
improved two-tone Technicolor process. The Power of
Love was the first 3-D feature film shown to a paying
film audience F. W. Murnau's influential,
expressionistic vampire film Nosferatu, a Symphony of
Horror initiated a trend for Gothic tales of horror
The first Walt Disney cartoon was Little Red Riding
Hood |
| 1923 |
Adolf
Hitler's "Beer Hall Putsch" in Munich fails
Occupation of Ruhr by French and Belgian troops
Widespread Ku Klux Klan violence Earthquake destroys
third of Tokyo. George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue.
Bessie Smith, known as "the Empress of the
Blues," makes her first record. Irish poet
William Butler Yeats wins Nobel Prize in Literature. |
6-reel
comedy-drama The Gold Diggers released. DeMille's
first version of The Ten Commandments was the most
expensive film ever made and featured the largest set
ever constructed in movie history to that time The
Fleischer Brothers produced the first feature-length
animation (a documentary), titled The Einstein Theory
of Relativity. |
| 1924 |
Death of
Lenin; Stalin wins power struggle Italian Fascists
murder Socialist leader Giacomo Matteotti. Robert
Frost wins first of four Pulitzers. |
Walt Disney
directed his first cartoon Alice's Wonderland. The
first sound cartoon was one of the Song Car-Tunes,
Mother Pin a Rose on Me Erich von Stroheim directed
the influential Greed, a 10-hour epic based edited
down to 2-hours. He Who Gets Slapped featured the
first appearance of the MGM lion (famous lion roar).
F.W. Murnau's The Last Laugh invented new techniques
for a mobile camera. |
| 1925 |
Locarno
conferences John T. Scopes convicted and fined for
teaching evolution in a public school John Logie
Baird, Scottish inventor, transmits human features by
television. Hitler publishes Volume I of Mein Kampf. |
Sergei
Eisenstein directed Potemkin, effectively established
the dialectic film montage technique. The silent film
Ben-Hur: A Tale of the Christ was notable for its use
of a hanging miniature Charlie Chaplin's classic
masterpieces was released -The Gold Rush (became the
highest grossing silent comedy film of all time)
Rupert Julian's expressionistic The Phantom of the
Opera set the prototypical style for the studio's
cycle of classic horror films in the early 30s The
first feature-length dinosaur-oriented science-fiction
film to be released was The Lost World. The Big Parade
demonstrated one of the earliest uses of a curse word
in a US film: "March and sweat the whole damned
day..." |
| 1926 |
General
strike in Britain U.S. marines dispatched to Nicaragua
during revolt Gertrude Ederle of U.S. is first woman
to swim English Channel. Ernest Hemingway's: The Sun
Also Rises. |
Don
Juan was the first mainstream film that replaced the
traditional use of a live orchestra or organ for the
soundtrack coordinated audio sound The oldest
surviving feature-length animated film The Adventures
of Prince Achmed was released. Flesh and the Devil had
love scenes with the first-ever horizontal-position
kiss in American film, and the first Hollywood film
with an open-mouthed French kiss. The Black Pirate the
adventure swashbuckler was the first full-length
blockbuster color film (although it was filmed in
black and white) |
| 1927 |
German
economy collapses. Socialists riot in Vienna; general
strike follows acquittal of Nazis for political
murder. Trotsky expelled from Russian Communist Party.
Charles A. Lindbergh flies first successful solo
nonstop flight from New York to Paris. Philo T.
Farnsworth demonstrates working television model.
Georges Lemaître proposes Big Bang Theory. Babe Ruth
hits 60 home runs in the season; record stands for
next 34 years. |
They're
Coming to Get Me was the 1st movie with dialogue or
"talkie") using the Movietone system. The
first feature film released using the Movietone system
was Sunrise, the first produced feature film with an
actual soundtrack. The effective end of the silent era
of films came when The Jazz Singer, (first
widely-screened feature-length talkie) was produced.
The first sound news film, was produced. Buster Keaton
made his timeless masterpiece The General. His films
were noted for their wit, satire, acrobatic agility
and stunt-work, and fantasy Abel Gance's film Napoleon
experimented with wide-screen and was the precursor to
the wide-screen Cinerama process that debuted in 1952.
Metropolis (classic dystopian vision of the future)
exploited massive sets and lavish set design, clever
special effects, stylistic shadowing, oblique camera
angles and labryinths, and realistic miniatures and
hydraulically-produced flooding, it had the cinematic
history's first android or robot. Motion picture film
became standardized (24 fps) The Hays Office issued a
memorandum, "Don'ts and Be Carefuls," (a
code of decency) It was noted as having the earliest
known use of a zoom lens in a US feature film, in its
opening shot. |
| 1928 |
Kellogg-Briand
Pact, outlawing war, signed in Paris by 65 nations.
Alexander Fleming discovers penicillin. Richard E.
Byrd starts expedition to Antarctic (returns in 1930)
Anthropologist Margaret Mead publishes Coming of Age
in Samoa. Final volume of Oxford English Dictionary
published after 44 years of research. |
The
first Mickey Mouse film, Plane Crazy Disney introduced
the first animated cartoons with synchronized sound
later in this year: Steamboat Willie (first cartoon
with post-produced synchronized soundtrack) and
Galloping Gaucho. The Lights of New York was the first
100% all-talking feature film. The Singing Fool was
released in both sound and silent versions (contained
the first hit song from a talking movie, Sonny Boy).
The Seashell and the Clergyman the first surrealist
film The Cavalier technically the first feature-length
sound film completely in Technicolor |
| 1929 |
Trotsky
expelled from USSR Lateran Treaty establishes
independent Vatican City. In U.S., stock market prices
collapse, first phase of Depression and world economic
crisis. St. Valentine's Day gangland massacre in
Chicago. Edwin Powell Hubble proposes theory of
expanding universe. |
Un
Chien Andalou, on of the first surrealist film
Hollywood released its first original musical. The
Broadway (musical film genre was born) In Old Arizona
was released -- the first full-length talkie film to
be shot outdoors and not in a studio. On With the Show
was the first full-length, modern sound motion picture
produced entirely in color The first important,
feature-length sound documentary was the: Melodie der
Welt Hallelujah! Introduced post-synchronization
Mickey Mouse's first words were spoken in his ninth
cartoon short The Karnival Kid Hitchcock's Blackmail
was his first sound film (UK's first full-length
talking picture) and featured one of his earliest
cameo appearances Dziga Vertov's The Man with a Movie
Camera - an avante-garde film was regarded as
"pure" visual cinema. It contained radical
hyper-editing techniques, special visual effects, wild
juxtapositions of images, and double exposures. Rouben
Mamoulian's musical drama Applause was an innovative
breakthrough film. It Introduced revolutionary camera
techniques (including rhythmically moving and
inventive shots, and the use of two cameras at the
same time) and experiments with sound (use of
overlapping or interlacing soundtracks, sound cues,
auditory montages, and background noise) |
|
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