Although it is argued that the 21st century "technically" begins on Jan. 1, 2001, it won't stop party revelers from celebrating this Dec. 31. And it won't stop Grand Connections from printing a series of millennium-related Top 10 lists! This month, Dr. Charlotte Borst, chair of the history department, offers her take on the Top 10 events of the 20th century.

By Dr. Charlotte G. Borst

1) The holocaust during World War II.

2) The invention and use of the atomic bomb. It not only ended World War II, but, more importantly, it set up the conditions for the Cold War.

3) The breakup of European and American colonialism. The independence of the former colonies in Africa, Asia and South America unleashed enormous political and social changes in the post-World War II period.

4) The "green revolution" -- the application of the techniques of scientific agriculture, such as hybridization, use of chemicals, tools and machines -- dramatically increased developing nations' food supplies and was a direct cause of the rise in the world's population.

5) The invention of antibiotics. Sulpha drugs and penicillin eliminated high mortality from bacterially caused diseases such as tuberculosis and pneumonia that were primary causes of death before 1930.

6) Women's suffrage, which became an international movement in the 20th century. Not only a human right, women's suffrage is linked to improved living standards for women.

7) The American civil rights movement that overturned legal segregation and ensured the right of suffrage and human rights for all Americans.

8) The development of electronic computers beginning at mid-century, which was the impetus to the Information Revolution.

9) The Second Vatican Council.

10) The invention and dissemination of the birth control pill, which unleashed the sexual revolution during the 1960s.

Please note this reflects my own interpretation of history, and it is not an official list representing the collective ideas of the department of history at Saint Louis University.

Have an idea for a Top 10 list? Call Joe Muehlenkamp at 977-2519.

Top