My opinion which undoubtedly reflects my cultural bias:

==== B.C. ====
753 founding of Rome and the birth of an empire
490 battle of Marathon preserves Greece and stops eastern expansion
486 birth of Buddha and one of the largest religions in the world
323 death of Alexander marking the end of the Greek period and its contribution to western culture.
==== C.E. ====
29 approximate death of Jesus Christ and birth of Christianity
622 birth of Islam as a religion
800 Charlemagne crowned emperor of the western empire
1066 Battle of Hastings and the start of English world dominance
1455 Gutenberg's printing press is used
1687 Newton publishes "Principia Mathematica" and modern physics is born
1776 United States declares its independence
1804 Napolean is crowned Emperor
1859 Charles Darwin publishes "Origin of Species"
1903 Orville and Wibur Wright first flight
1905 Einstein publishes the theory of Special Relativity
1945 First use of atomic weapon
1959 First integrated circuit is invented
1961 Gagarin is the first man in space
1969 Neil Armstrong walks on the moon
1991 The lowering of the Communist Flag marking the final end of Soviet Republic

I think the importance of 11 Sep 2001 is yet to be proven.

-V

Well, I'd replace the invention of the integrated circuit with:

16 December 1947: John Bardeen and Walter Brattain (with minor assistance from William Shockley) invent the transistor. This forms the basis for all modern electronics including integrated circuits.

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"I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind." - William Thompson, 1st Baron Lord Kelvin

"If it was so, it might be, and if it were so, it would be, but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic!" - Tweedledee

This isn't right. This isn't even wrong. - Wolfgang Pauli

The list has Jesus but not Confucious? In a cage match 'Fucious would win hands down. His kung-fu is strong. Of course J.C. has an advantage when it comes to the rematch. But, yeah, as you mentioned, it's hard to avoid cultural bias. Up until the time of Guttenburg world history is basically China plus vassels and sideshows.

I don't see Greeks stopping Eastern expansion at Marathon being definitive. Perhaps the world would have been better off with Greek culture as part of an eastern empire? It's hard to say.

English world dominance started in 1066? Obviously it took them a long time to warm up.

The Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences would likely agree with you as they awarded the Nobel Prize to the inventors.

Well ya know when one lists a religious personality, you're bound to step on toes. I thought of leaving all of them out but their influences on the world are unquestionable.

As for England, one can not deny their importance as they had the largest empire in the history of the world. The problem is, how does one mark a single date as their defining moment? I gave it some thought and pulled one out the hat.

Minor confession to hero worship here. I knew John Bardeen, at least on the "good morning" in the elevator basis. His office was down the hall from mine during my grad student years at Illinois. It took an effort not to kneel down and kiss the formica he had just trod upon.

With reference to the Sweedish Academy, remember that Bardeen was the first person to win a second Nobel in the same field as he (along with Cooper and Schrieffer) were recognized for the theoretical description of superconductivity (the so-called BCS theory). Nonetheless, few know of him. He didn't have Einstein's eccentricity or Feynman's outspokeness and considered the hole-in-one he achieved golfing on a par (almost) with the Nobels. He's truely a genius people should know about, but don't.

For those into stamp collecting, the USPS included Bardeen in its recent "American Scientists" series of stamps. (Although with the latest increase you'll have to add a 1 cent stamp to use them on a letter.)

There are two excellent books on Bardeen by Lillian Hoddeson. The first, True Genius is a biography while the other Crystal Fire focuses on the development of the transistor.

By the way, for those interested in scientific "ancestry," Bardeen's first graduate student, Nick Holonyak, was instrumental in the development of the LED. John Schrieffer, of the BCS theory, won the Nobel for his Ph.D. dissertation. Not too shabby IMO.

__________________
"I often say that when you can measure what you are speaking about, and express it in numbers, you know something about it; but when you cannot measure it, when you cannot express it in numbers, your knowledge is of a meagre and unsatisfactory kind." - William Thompson, 1st Baron Lord Kelvin

"If it was so, it might be, and if it were so, it would be, but as it isn't, it ain't. That's logic!" - Tweedledee

This isn't right. This isn't even wrong. - Wolfgang Pauli

Everyone will disagree with something of course, but not a bad list, at all.
You did it from scratch?

The local paper had a big article a couple of decades ago (which may well
have been put together elsewhere, but it was featured so prominently that
I think it may have been done here) of the 100 most influential people in
history. Mohammed was first and Jesus second. I don't recall where
anyone else placed. I mention it simply becaus it was very similar.

One event (if it can considered an "event", and if it can be considered to
be just "one" event) which I would definitely include in a list of 20 is the
invention of the electric lightbulb, and the electrical generators and power
distribution system to make them work.

Plus I think I would have to include the inventions of sound recording,
electrical transmission of signals (telegraph/telephone), the wireless
transmission of signals (radio, television), and photography.

What are ya gonna bump off the list to fit them in?

-- Jeff, in Minneapolis

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"The other planets?
Well, they just happen to be there, but the point of rockets is to explore them!"
-- Kai Yeves

Germ theory is a biggie. As is the concept of equality - racial, sexual, religious, sexual orientation, etc.

Yea, I like chronology - especially ancient chronology.

Considered individually they are all important. Considered collectively, it sounds like the invention of "broadcast journalism", a major set-back in human progress, in my opinion.

Two other important things I'd consider are the development of the steam engine (maybe James Watt would be the right person) and also the European "discovery" of the New World. Both of those led to fairly important changes.

Also, in practice I'd tend to think that the development of the car or perhaps the internal combustion engine was more significant that the airplane.

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As above, so below

1947 - Roswell, New Mexico, USA. First contact with alien civilization.

But if you don't like that, then how about Euclid's Elements published around 300 BC?

46 BCE: Marc Antony's first date with Cleopatra.

19 more to go...

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I laughed as I read your first post, knowing full well why you were making it.

How many dates did they have?

At least one more since she gave birth to twins in 41 BCE, Mr. Antony being the father. How many more between then and her getting bit by the asp is a subject of conjecture.

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Half a millennium of warm-up, not bad

I would change that milestone for 1588, when they managed their first major victory against the Spanish Armada.
That victory started a (very slow) power-shift which lead to eventual English dominance in the 18th century.

By the way: what about the Spanish Empire? 1492?

Still waiting to see where it will end up.

I'd put the invention of the Arquebus down as a pretty important date. One could argue that it is the sole reason for western hegemony over the world starting.

A date for the rise of the British empire is tricky but I wouldn't put it at 1066 since the Empire really got going in the 1700s. That is, as some have said, a pretty long warm up period . The date for the founding of the East India company might be more suitable, or maybe even when Watt discovered the steam engine, as it was Britain transitioning away from an agrarian to an industrial economy first that arguably led to her being able to establish an empire.

Also a little more obscure but the Peace of Westphalia in 1648 was pretty important, not because it ended the 30/80 years war but because it established the modern concept of a nation state.

Also Adam Smith's publication of The Wealth of Nations in 1776 which founded modern economics.

To be honest there are way more than 20 exceptionally important dates in the history of civilisation, whittling it down is going to be tricky!

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Churchill: "Bessie, you're ugly, and tomorrow morning I shall be sober""
the solar system

Not bad in my opinion.
There is the Egyptian civilization thing and you can't exactly put a single date to their beginning I suppose, before that you have the first written word from Mesopotamia.
The Chinese were also busy, you have my main ma Konfuzi, their incredibly large ships.
It is tricky, but one shouldn't get carried away (in criticizing it), it is a personal list showing one's biases.

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I like to think of these things in really long terms, and often as trends without a specific date. Following the evolution to what we would consider as modern humans, my list would begin with:

#1 would definitely be the end of the last ice age and the resultant expansion of human population and occupation that headed us down the path to "civilization."

#2, the transition of human living arrangements from family & tribe to community & village.

#3, transition from respect of living elders to respect of dead elders to diefication and the invention of Gods or God-like entities.

#4 would be domestication of plants; the transition from gathering to planting.

Those would be my beginning biggies. I tend to downplay the role of individuals. I'm not convinced that any single individual significantly sped up the timeframe in which any of our recorded history happened. Reading the history of darn near anything reveals that all of the people typically identified as pioneers or champions or whatever really were just another step in a chain of events that would have completed without them. They all built on the work of others, sometimes a lot of others in a long line of successes. Their work in turn was built on by the next generation.

For those that are familiar with the Connection series; that would pretty much sum up the concept of progress I agree with.

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"Within the next generation I believe that the world's leaders will discover that infant conditioning and narco-hypnosis are more efficient, as instruments of government, than clubs and prisons, and that the lust for power can be just as completely satisfied by suggesting people into loving their servitude as by flogging them and kicking them into obedience." -- Aldous Huxley