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briefly describe some major historical developments

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Modern history
"Modern Age" redirects here. For the periodical, see Modern Age (periodical).
For timelines of modern history, see Timelines of modern history.

Freidrich Nietzsche in Basel, c. 1875. Nietzsche was an important precursor to modernism
Modern history, the modern period or the modern era, is the linear, global, historiographical approach to the time frame after post-classical history.[1][2] This view stands in contrast to the "organic," or non-linear, view of history first put forward by the renowned philosopher and historian, Oswald Spengler, early in the 20th century.[3] Modern history can be further broken down into periods:

The early modern period began approximately in the early 16th century; notable historical milestones included the European Renaissance, the Age of Discovery, and the Protestant Reformation.[4][5]
The late modern period began approximately in the mid-18th century; notable historical milestones included the French Revolution, the American Revolution, the Industrial Revolution, the Great Divergence, and the Russian Revolution. It took all of human history up to 1804 for the world's population to reach 1 billion; the next billion came just over a century later, in 1927.[6]
Contemporary history is the span of historic events from approximately 1945 that are immediately relevant to the present time.
Terminology and usage Edit

Pre-modern Edit
See also: Ancient history and Post-classical history
In the pre-modern era, many people's sense of self and purpose was often expressed via a faith in some form of deity, be it that in a single God or in many gods.[7] Pre-modern cultures have not been thought of creating a sense of distinct individuality,[8][9][10] though. Religious officials, who often held positions of power, were the spiritual intermediaries to the common person. It was only through these intermediaries that the general masses had access to the divine. Tradition was sacred to ancient cultures and was unchanging and the social order of ceremony and morals in a culture could be strictly enforced.[11][12][13][14]

Modern Edit
The term modern was coined in the 16th century to indicate present or recent times (ultimately derived from the Latin adverb modo, meaning "just now").[15] The European Renaissance (about 1420–1630), which marked the transition between the Late Middle Ages and Early Modern times, started in Italy and was spurred in part by the rediscovery of classical art and literature, as well as the new perspectives gained from the Age of Discovery and the invention of the telescope and microscope, expanding the borders of thought and knowledge.

In contrast to the pre-modern era, Western civilization made a gradual transition from pre-modernity to modernity when scientific methods were developed which led many to believe that the use of science would lead to all knowledge, thus throwing back the shroud of myth under which pre-modern peoples lived. New information about the world was discovered via empirical observation,[16] versus the historic use of reason and innate knowledge.

The term "Early Modern" was introduced in the English language in the 1930s.[17] to distinguish the time between what we call Middle Ages and time of the late Enlightenment (1800) (when the meaning of the term Modern Ages was developing its contemporary form). It is important to note that these terms stem from European history. In usage in other parts of the world, such as in Asia, and in Muslim countries, the terms are applied in a very different way, but often in the context with their contact with European culture in the Age of Discovery.[18]

Contemporary Edit
Main article: Contemporary history
In the Contemporary era, there were various socio-technological trends. Regarding the 21st century and the late modern world, the Information Age and computers were forefront in use, not completely ubiquitous but often present in everyday life.