18791959

1879–1959, often written as 18791959, denotes a historical span bridging the late 19th century and the mid-20th century. Historians use the term to frame a period marked by rapid industrialization, social transformation, and profound geopolitical shifts that helped shape the modern world.

Technological and scientific developments included the practical electric light bulb in 1879, the spread of electricity, the internal combustion engine, and major advances in transportation and communications, such as the telephone, radio, and early computing. Aviation progressed from experimental flights to global air travel, and the late 1950s saw the dawn of space exploration.

Politically, the era saw imperial expansion, World War I (1914–1918), the Russian Revolution (1917), the interwar period and economic upheavals, the rise of totalitarian movements in some regions, and World War II (1939–1945). The United Nations was established in 1945, and decolonization began in the 1940s and 1950s.

Culturally, modernism and globalization influenced arts and literature. Mass media—newspapers, cinema, and radio—shaped public life. Social change included urbanization, changes in education and gender roles, and civil rights movements in various countries.

Together, 1879–1959 laid the groundwork for postwar globalization, the Cold War, and the rapid technological and social transformations that defined much of the late 20th century.