My cultural timeline of the world continues:

1926 – 1950 AD 

1926 AD — Hirohito becomes Emperor of Japan.

1926 AD — The Liberty Memorial and World War I Museum is built in Kansas City, Missouri.

1927 AD — The Jazz Singer (the first “talkie”) is released.

1927 AD — Josef Stalin becomes the sole leader of Russia.

1927 AD — Charles Lindbergh makes the first solo flight across the Atlantic.

1927 AD — World Population reaches 2 Billion.

1927 AD — The Buckingham Fountain, one of the largest fountains in the world, is built in Grant Park, Chicago, Illinois. This and many other major tourist attractions here have been incorporated into Gary’s Walking Tour of Chicago, available for sale on the website for just $1.49.

1928 AD — Penicillin is discovered by Alexander Fleming. It is the world’s first antibiotic.

1928 AD — Bubble Gum is invented.

1928 AD — Mickey Mouse appears.

1928 AD — Plaza de Espana is built in Maria Luisa Park in Seville, Spain, in time for the 1929 World’s Fair. This grand promenade and public space was later featured in the Star Wars series of movies, Episodes I and II. This and many other major tourist attractions here have been incorporated into Gary’s Walking Tour of Seville, available for sale on the website for just $1.49.

1928 AD — The Los Angeles City Hall is built in “city of angels.” It is also known as the Superman Building since it housed the Daily Planet staff in the movie, Superman. This and many other major tourist attractions here have been incorporated into Gary’s Walking Tour of Los Angeles, available for sale on the website for just $1.49.

1929 AD — Wall Street crashes and ushers in the Great Depression.

1929 AD — The St Valentine’s Day Massacre occurs in Chicago.

1929 AD — The first Academy Awards are presented.

1929 AD — The Santa Barbara County Courthouse is built in Santa Barbara, California. This exquisite example of Spanish Colonial architecture is still a major attraction for tourists in this delightful waterfront community. This and many other major tourist attractions here have been incorporated into Gary’s Walking Tour of Santa Barbara, available for sale on the website for just $1.49.

1930 AD — Clyde Tombaugh discovers Pluto.

1930 AD — The first FIFA World Cup competition takes place.

1930 AD — The Chrysler Building is erected in New York City. The Art Deco masterpiece becomes the tallest building in the world briefly. This and many other major tourist attractions here have been incorporated into Gary’s Walking Tour of New York City, available for sale on the website for just $1.49.

1931 AD — The Empire State Building is constructed in New York City and becomes the tallest building in the world. This and many other major tourist attractions here have been incorporated into Gary’s Walking Tour of New York City, available for sale on the website for just $1.49.

1931 AD — The Chinese Soviet Republic is established by Mao Zedong.

1931 AD — The Christ the Redeemer statue (Cristo Redentor) is built in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.

1931 AD — Japan invades Manchuria.

1931 AD — Scotty’s Castle is built inside what is now Death Valley National Park. The eccentric owner’s lifestyle is reflected in the furnishings and design of the house.

1932 AD — Franklin Delano Roosevelt is elected president of the United States.

1932 AD — Radio City Music Hall is built in New York City. This and many other major tourist attractions here have been incorporated into Gary’s Walking Tour of New York City, available for sale on the website for just $1.49.

1932 AD — The Lindbergh baby is kidnapped.

1933 AD — Adolph Hitler becomes Chancellor of Germany.

1933 AD — Prohibition is abolished.

1933 AD — The New Deal begins.

1933 AD — The Coit Tower is built on Telegraph Hill above San Francisco Bay. It offers breath-taking views of the city, of the Bay, and of the Golden Gate Bridge. This and many other major tourist attractions here have been incorporated into Gary’s Walking Tour of San Francisco, available for sale on the website for just $1.49.

1934 AD — Bonnie & Clyde are killed by police.

1934 AD — Mussolini defeats Ethiopia and sends Haile Selassie into exile.

1934 AD — Persia becomes Iran.

1934 AD — Alcatraz is built in the middle of San Francisco Bay. The infamous federal prison here was known as “the Rock” and was one of the most dreaded in the system. It is now managed by the National Park Service as a tourist attraction.

1935 AD — The United States Supreme Court Building is completed in Washington, DC. This and many other major tourist attractions here have been incorporated into Gary’s Walking Tour of Washington, DC, available for sale on the website for just $1.49.

1935 AD — Frank Lloyd Wright completes one of his masterpieces, Fallingwater, in southwestern Pennsylvania.

1936 AD — The Spanish Civil War begins.

1936 AD — The Hoover Dam is completed. It is considered one of the world’s greatest engineering projects.

1937 AD — Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs is released by the Walt Disney Company.

1937 AD — George Gershwin dies.

1937 AD — The Golden Gate Bridge is completed in San Francisco, California. This and many other major tourist attractions here have been incorporated into Gary’s Walking Tour of San Francisco, available for sale on the website for just $1.49.

1938 AD — Superman appears in DC Comics.

1938 AD — Kristal nacht takes place in Germany.

1938 AD — Adolph Hitler is named Time  magazine’s “Man of the Year.”

1939 AD — Francisco Franco becomes dictator in Spain.

1939 AD — Graceland, the estate that would eventually be the home of Elvis Presley, is built in Memphis, Tennessee. Elvis purchased the mansion in 1957 and lived there until his death in 1977.

1939 AD — Hitler’s Nazi Army invades Poland and initiates World War II.

1939 AD — Rockefeller Center is completed in New York City. It has been or is the home of several major corporations, including General Electric, RCA, and the National Broadcasting Company (NBC). It is the home of the Today Show and a popular tourist attraction in the Big Apple.  The Christmas decorations here are legendary. This and many other major tourist attractions here have been incorporated into Gary’s Walking Tour of New York City, available for sale on the website for just $1.49.

1940 AD — The Nazi’s invade France, the Netherlands, Denmark, and Norway.

1940 AD — The Soviets occupy and annex the Baltic States of Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

1940 AD — Winston Churchill becomes Prime Minister of Great Britain.

1941 AD — The Japanese conduct a devastating raid on Pearl Harbor, the American Naval Base in Hawai’i. This catapults America into World War II as a member of the Allies.

1941 AD — Hitler invades Russia and is engaged in the Siege of Leningrad (now St Petersburg).

1941 AD — Mount Rushmore is completed in the Black Hills of South Dakota. This huge sculpture depicts four (4) of America’s greatest presidents (from left to right): George Washington, Thomas Jefferson, Theodore Roosevelt, and Abraham Lincoln.

1942 AD — The Battle of Midway occurs in the South Pacific Ocean.

1942 AD — The internment of Japanese-American citizens begins.

1942 AD — The Manhattan Project begins. It would ultimately lead to the development of the Atomic Bomb.

1943 AD — Operation Overlord is approved by Stalin, Roosevelt, and Churchill in their meeting at Tehran.

1943 AD — The Battle of Stalingrad ends with the retreat of the German Army.

1943 AD — The Pentagon, the world’s largest office building, was completed in Alexandria, Virginia, just across the Potomac River from Washington, DC.

1943 AD — The Vigeland Sculpture Garden is completed within Frogner Park on the outskirts of Oslo. This is the largest sculpture garden done by a single artist in the world and is the most popular tourist attraction in Oslo, Norway.

1944 AD — Allied forces invade France on June 6th, a day that will forever be known as D-Day.

1944 AD — The world’s first operational electronic computer (Colossus) is built.

1945 AD — World War II ends.

1945 AD — The Holocaust ends.

1945 AD — The Nuremberg Trials begin

1945 AD — Franklin Roosevelt, Adolph Hitler, and Benito Mussolini all die.

1945 AD — The Atomic Bomb is developed and detonated on Hiroshima and Nagasaki, Japan.

1945 AD — The United Nations is founded.

1946 AD — Italy becomes a republic.

1947 AD — India and Pakistan achieve independence.

1947 AD — The transistor is invented.

1947 AD — The Sound Barrier is broken for the first time.

1947 AD — The Central Intelligence Agency, then known as the OSS, is established.

1948 AD — Israel is given independence.

1948 AD — The Berlin Blockade begins.

1948 AD — The policy of Apartheid begins in the Republic of South Africa.

1948 AD — The Crazy Horse Memorial, what is likely to become the largest outdoor sculpture in the world, is begun in the Black Hills of South Dakota by Korczak Ziolkowski. The face of Crazy Horse was completed in 1998 but his horse has just begun.

1949 AD — NATO (the North Atlantic Treaty Organization) is created.

1949 AD — The Berlin Blockade ends.

1949 AD — Germany is partitioned.

1949 AD — Mao Zedong establishes the People’s Republic of China on the Chinese mainland. The Old Republic relocates to Taiwan.

1950 AD — Oslo City Hall is built on the harbor. This and many other major tourist attractions here have been incorporated into Gary’s Walking Tour of Oslo, available for sale on the website for just $1.49.