pre1940

Pre1940 refers to the period before the calendar year 1940. In scholarly use, it functions as a flexible boundary rather than a fixed era, indicating sources, events, and phenomena that occurred up to 1939 or, in some contexts, the early 1940s. The term is widely used in history, archaeology, and data tagging to group material for analysis without implying a single, uniform phase across the world.

This era encompasses the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, marked by rapid industrialization, the height of imperialism, and social and political upheavals that preceded World War II. It includes the First World War (1914–1918), the Russian Revolution of 1917, the postwar settlement, and the uneven economic recovery of the interwar years. The Great Depression of the 1930s affected economies globally and helped foster radical movements in some regions.

Culturally and technologically, pre1940 saw the expansion of mass media, advances in aviation, telecommunications, and cinema, as well as scientific innovations that reshaped daily life. Urbanization, changes in labor practices, and evolving gender norms also characterized the period in many countries. Intellectual currents such as modernism influenced art, literature, and philosophy, while states grappling with nationalist and socialist ideologies redefined political life.

Geographically, pre1940 spans Europe, the Americas, Asia, Africa, and parts of the Middle East, with varied trajectories. Colonial relationships persisted in many areas, even as some regions moved toward decolonization after the war.

Notes: exact start and end points vary by source, and some authors align the boundary with the onset of World War II in 1939 or extend into the early 1940s.