The world in 1939

In 1939, the timeline shows 229 states, empires and colonies and 73 peoples across 12 regions. The most significant include Ethiopian Empire (Solomonic dynasty), Portuguese Empire, United States, United Kingdom, Haiti, Dutch East Indies, Commonwealth of Australia and British Raj.

See 1939 on the interactive chart

What was happening around 1939

1914 First World War begins, Europe. The assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand in Sarajevo on 28 June sets off a war that causes 15 to 22 million deaths and ends with the collapse of four empires.
1914 Panama Canal opens, Mesoamerica and Caribbean. The canal, built by the United States after it took over the project in 1904, opens on 15 August 1914, giving ships a short route between the Atlantic and Pacific.
1915 Armenian genocide, Middle East. The Ottoman government deports and massacres its Armenian population. Between 600,000 and 1.5 million Armenians die.
1916 Arab Revolt and Sykes-Picot, Middle East. Sharif Hussein of Mecca rises against the Ottomans, while Britain and France secretly agree to divide the Arab provinces between them.
1917 Russian Revolution, Europe. The tsar abdicates in March, and in November the Bolsheviks under Lenin seize power in Petrograd.
1918 1918 influenza pandemic, North America. The earliest probable cases are documented in Kansas in March, though the pandemic's origin is undetermined. An estimated 500 million people are infected worldwide, and estimates of deaths range from 17 to 50 million, possibly 100 million.
1919 Treaty of Versailles, Europe. Signed on 28 June, the treaty ends the state of war between Germany and most of the Allied Powers. Germany, barred from the negotiations, must disarm, make territorial concessions and pay reparations.
1919 Jallianwala Bagh massacre, South Asia. Troops of the British Indian Army under Brigadier-General Dyer fire on an unarmed crowd at Amritsar, killing an estimated 379 to 1,500 or more. Anger at the massacre fed the non-cooperation movement.
1919 Korean Provisional Government founded in Shanghai, East Asia. A government-in-exile formed in the Shanghai French Concession on 11 April 1919 after the March First Movement. It later settled in Chongqing and came to an end after Japan's surrender in 1945.
1923 Treaty of Lausanne, Middle East. The Allies make peace with Turkey and recognise it as the Ottoman successor state. A convention signed at Lausanne exchanges about 1.2 million Greek Orthodox Christians and up to 400,000 Muslims.
1929 Wall Street Crash, North America. Prices on the New York Stock Exchange collapse in October 1929, with record trading on Black Thursday. The crash marks what would cascade into the worldwide Great Depression, though scholars disagree about its role.
1930 Gandhi's Salt March, South Asia. Gandhi walks 387 km from Sabarmati Ashram to Dandi in Gujarat to make salt in defiance of the British salt monopoly, starting the nationwide Civil Disobedience Movement.
1931 Kazakh famine, Central and North Asia. Collectivization and the seizure of herds cause a famine in which an estimated 1.3 to 2.3 million people die between 1930 and 1933, most of them Kazakhs. Between 38 and 42 percent of all Kazakhs perished.
1931 Mukden Incident, East Asia. Japanese military personnel set off a small explosion beside the South Manchuria Railway on 18 September and blame Chinese dissidents as a pretext for invading Manchuria. Five months later Japan establishes the puppet state of Manchukuo.
1932 Holodomor, Europe. A man-made famine in Soviet Ukraine kills millions in 1932 and 1933; recent estimates run from 3.5 to 5 million. Ukraine and 33 other UN members call it genocide, while scholars dispute whether it was intended or aimed at Ukrainians.
1933 Hitler becomes chancellor, Europe. President Hindenburg appoints Adolf Hitler chancellor of Germany on 30 January after backroom negotiations. On 23 March Hitler calls on the Reichstag to vote for the Enabling Act.
1934 Long March, East Asia. About 100,000 Communist troops retreat from the Jiangxi Soviet and other bases ahead of the Kuomintang, travelling about 10,000 kilometres to a new headquarters at Yan'an. About 8,000 survive to reach it in October 1935.
1936 Spanish Civil War begins, Europe. Nationalist rebels, aided by Fascist Italy and Nazi Germany, fight Republicans loyal to the Second Spanish Republic, who are supported by the Soviet Union. The Nationalists win in early 1939 and rule Spain until Franco's death in 1975.
1937 War with Japan and the Nanjing massacre, East Asia. Fighting at the Marco Polo Bridge in July grows into full-scale war. Japanese troops take Nanjing in December and massacre civilians and prisoners; most estimates put the dead at 100,000 to over 200,000.
1939 Second World War begins, Europe. Germany invades Poland on 1 September. The war in Europe kills tens of millions, including six million Jews murdered in the Holocaust, before Germany surrenders in May 1945.
1941 The Holocaust, Europe. From 1941 to 1945 Nazi Germany and its collaborators systematically murder around six million Jews, about two-thirds of Europe's Jewish population, in mass shootings and extermination camps. Nazi persecutions also kill millions of others.
1941 Attack on Pearl Harbor, Oceania. Japanese carrier aircraft strike the US Pacific Fleet at Pearl Harbor on 7 December, bringing the United States into the Second World War.
1942 Battle of Stalingrad, Europe. Axis forces attack the Soviet city from August 1942, and the German 6th Army surrenders on 2 February 1943. Generally regarded as the turning point of the European theatre, it is considered the deadliest battle of the Second World War.
1942 Fall of Singapore, Southeast Asia. About 80,000 British, Indian, Australian and local troops become prisoners when Singapore surrenders to Japan on 15 February, Britain's largest surrender in history.
1942 Guadalcanal campaign, Oceania. Allied forces, mostly US Marines, land on Guadalcanal in August in the first major Allied land offensive against Japan. After six months of land and sea battles, Japan evacuates its last troops in February 1943.
1944 D-Day landings in Normandy, Europe. Allied forces land in Normandy on 6 June in the largest seaborne invasion in history, beginning the liberation of France and western Europe. Allied casualties on the day are at least 10,000, with 4,414 confirmed dead.
1945 Atomic bombings of Hiroshima and Nagasaki, East Asia. US atomic bombs destroy two Japanese cities in August, killing 150,000 to 246,000 people, most of them civilians, and Japan surrenders days later.
1945 Korea divided at the 38th parallel, East Asia. The United States proposed the 38th parallel as the line between Soviet and US occupation zones in the last days of World War II. The division began on 2 September 1945 and continues today.
1945 Indonesia declares independence, Southeast Asia. Sukarno and Mohammad Hatta proclaim independence in Jakarta on 17 August, starting a four-year war against the returning Dutch.
1945 United Nations founded, North America. The UN Charter is signed on 26 June 1945 after a conference in San Francisco, and the organization comes into existence on 24 October upon ratification by the five permanent Security Council members and a majority of the other signatories.
1946 Iran crisis of 1946, Middle East. Soviet forces stayed in northern Iran past the agreed deadline while separatist Azerbaijani and Kurdish states were proclaimed. Negotiation by premier Ahmad Qavam and US pressure led to Soviet withdrawal and the end of both states.
1946 Nuclear tests at Bikini, Oceania. The United States begins nuclear testing at Bikini Atoll, moving its people away. Testing in the Marshalls continues until 1958.
1947 Independence and partition, South Asia. British India splits into India and Pakistan. About 14.5 million people cross the new borders, and estimates of those killed in the violence range from 200,000 to two million.
1948 Apartheid becomes law, Central and Southern Africa. The National Party wins the South African election and begins passing laws for racial classification, segregated areas and separate institutions.
1948 Founding of Israel and the Nakba, Middle East. Israel declares independence as the British Mandate ends, and neighbouring Arab states invade. More than 700,000 Palestinian Arabs are expelled or flee from their homes during the 1948 war.
1949 People's Republic proclaimed, East Asia. Mao Zedong declares the People's Republic from Tiananmen on 1 October, and the Nationalist government retreats to Taiwan.
1949 NATO founded, North America. Twelve countries sign the North Atlantic Treaty in Washington, D.C., on 4 April 1949, agreeing that an armed attack against one member shall be considered an attack against them all.
1950 Korean War, East Asia. North Korea invades the south. UN forces led by the United States and Chinese armies fight to a stalemate, and the 1953 armistice leaves Korea divided.
1952 Mau Mau uprising, Central and Southern Africa. An armed conflict begins in British Kenya between the Kenya Land and Freedom Army and colonial authorities, lasting until 1960. It causes at least 11,000 deaths among the Mau Mau and other forces, with some estimates considerably higher.
1954 Algerian War begins, North and West Africa. The FLN launches coordinated attacks on 1 November. Eight years of war and terror end with Algerian independence in 1962.
1954 Battle of Dien Bien Phu, Southeast Asia. The Viet Minh under Vo Nguyen Giap besiege and overrun the French base at Dien Bien Phu. The Geneva Accords, signed ten weeks later, lead to the withdrawal of French forces from Indochina.
1956 Suez Crisis, North and West Africa. Nasser nationalises the Suez Canal, and Britain, France and Israel invade. American, Soviet and UN pressure forces them out, a humiliation for Britain and France.
1957 Ghana wins independence, North and West Africa. Kwame Nkrumah leads the Gold Coast to independence as Ghana, the first colony in sub-Saharan Africa to win sovereignty and a leading voice for decolonisation.
1957 Treaty of Rome, Europe. France, West Germany, Italy and the Benelux countries found the European Economic Community, forerunner of the European Union.
1957 Sputnik launched from Baikonur, Central and North Asia. The Soviet Union launches the first artificial satellite from the Kazakh steppe, and in 1961 Yuri Gagarin's flight leaves from the same cosmodrome.
1959 Tibetan uprising, East Asia. A revolt in Lhasa is crushed by the People's Liberation Army, and the 14th Dalai Lama escapes to India, where he sets up a government in exile.
1959 Great Leap Forward famine, East Asia. Policies of the Great Leap Forward launched by Mao Zedong are major factors in a famine from 1959 to 1961. Estimates of the dead range from 15 to 46 million, with newer estimates concentrated around 30 to 46 million.
1959 Cuban Revolution, Mesoamerica and Caribbean. Batista flees after the rebels led by the 26th of July Movement topple him on 31 December 1958. Rebel columns enter Havana, and Fidel Castro arrives on 8 January after a long victory march.
1960 Congo independence and crisis, Central and Southern Africa. Congo becomes independent on 30 June. Within weeks the army mutinies, Katanga secedes and UN peacekeepers arrive, the start of a crisis that became a Cold War proxy conflict.
1960 Sharpeville massacre, Central and Southern Africa. Police fire 1,344 rounds into a crowd protesting the pass laws in Sharpeville on 21 March. Police records long gave 69 killed and 180 injured; more recent research finds at least 91 killed and at least 238 wounded.
1960 Year of Africa, North and West Africa. Seventeen African countries win independence in a single year, including Nigeria, Mali, Senegal, Niger, Chad and Somalia.
1960 The Aral Sea begins to shrink, Central and North Asia. Soviet cotton irrigation diverts the Amu Darya and Syr Darya, and within fifty years the fourth-largest lake in the world loses most of its area.
1960 Brasília inaugurated, South America. Brazil moves its capital to a planned city built in under four years on the central plateau, designed by Lúcio Costa and Oscar Niemeyer.
1961 British Cameroons plebiscite, North and West Africa. A UN plebiscite on 11 February 1961 split the British Cameroons: the north joined Nigeria in June and the south joined the Federal Republic of Cameroon in October.
1961 Berlin Wall built, Europe. East Germany begins building the Wall on 13 August, mainly to stop its citizens fleeing to the West. Estimates of those killed by East German authorities at the Wall range from 136 to more than 200.
1962 Cuban Missile Crisis, Mesoamerica and Caribbean. A standoff over Soviet nuclear missiles in Cuba brings the United States and the Soviet Union close to nuclear war for thirteen days in October.
1963 Assassination of John F. Kennedy, North America. President Kennedy is fatally shot in Dallas on 22 November. The Warren Commission finds that Lee Harvey Oswald killed him, with no evidence of a conspiracy; a 1979 House committee concludes he was likely killed as a result of a conspiracy.
1964 Zanzibar Revolution, Central and Southern Africa. Insurgents overthrew Sultan Jamshid bin Abdullah and his mainly Arab government on 12 January 1964. Massacres of Arabs followed, with death toll estimates from several hundred to 20,000. Zanzibar then merged with Tanganyika.
1964 Civil Rights Act, North America. Enacted on 2 July 1964, the act outlaws discrimination based on race, color, religion, sex and national origin, including segregation in schools and public accommodations and discrimination in employment.

Central and Southern Africa

Central African forest foragers c. 3200 BCE to the present
San hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to the present
Kingdom of Buganda c. 1300 to 1966 CE
Portuguese Mozambique 1505 to 1975 CE
Portuguese Angola 1575 to 1975 CE
Sultanate of Zanzibar 1856 to 1964 CE
British Kenya 1895 to 1963 CE
French Madagascar 1896 to 1960 CE
Belgian Congo 1908 to 1960 CE
Union of South Africa 1910 to 1961 CE
French Equatorial Africa 1910 to 1958 CE
East African hunter-gatherers c. 3200 BCE to the present
Kikuyu people c. 1200 CE to the present
Kingdom of Nkore (Ankole) c. 1450 to 1967 CE
Portuguese São Tomé and Príncipe 1470 to 1975 CE
Kingdom of Rwanda c. 1500 to 1961 CE
Maasai pastoralists c. 1600 CE to the present
Lozi Kingdom (Barotseland) c. 1650 to 1964 CE
Kingdom of Burundi c. 1680 to 1966 CE
Spanish Guinea 1778 to 1968 CE
British Mauritius 1810 to 1968 CE
Tooro Kingdom 1830 to 1967 CE
Basutoland 1868 to 1966 CE
Bechuanaland Protectorate 1885 to 1966 CE
South West Africa 1915 to 1990 CE
Nyasaland 1891 to 1964 CE
Crown Colony of the Seychelles 1903 to 1976 CE
Uganda Protectorate 1894 to 1962 CE
British Swaziland 1903 to 1968 CE
Ruanda-Urundi 1916 to 1962 CE
Tanganyika Territory 1919 to 1961 CE
Southern Rhodesia 1923 to 1965 CE
Northern Rhodesia 1924 to 1964 CE

North and West Africa

Ethiopian Empire (Solomonic dynasty) 1270 to 1974 CE
French Algeria 1830 to 1962 CE
French West Africa 1895 to 1960 CE
British Nigeria 1914 to 1960 CE
Medjay, Blemmyes and Beja nomads c. 2300 BCE to the present
Cushitic-speaking peoples c. 2000 BCE to the present
Sahelian cereal farmers c. 1500 BCE to the present
West African yam and oil palm farmers c. 1500 BCE to the present
Amazigh (Berber) tribes c. 1400 BCE to the present
Coptic Christians c. 300 CE to the present
Saharan camel nomads (Sanhaja and Tuareg) c. 300 CE to the present
Chadic-speaking farmers c. 700 CE to the present
Arab tribes of Sudan c. 1150 CE to the present
Portuguese Cape Verde 1462 to 1975 CE
Oromo Gadaa confederations c. 1522 CE to the present
French Senegal 1659 to 1960 CE
Liberia 1847 CE to the present
Sierra Leone Colony 1808 to 1961 CE
Gambia Colony and Protectorate 1821 to 1965 CE
British Gold Coast 1821 to 1957 CE
Portuguese Guinea 1879 to 1974 CE
French Somaliland 1884 to 1977 CE
Spanish Sahara 1884 to 1976 CE
British Somaliland 1884 to 1960 CE
French protectorate of Tunisia 1881 to 1956 CE
Italian Somaliland 1889 to 1960 CE
French Chad 1900 to 1960 CE
Anglo-Egyptian Sudan 1899 to 1956 CE
Italian Eritrea 1890 to 1941 CE
British Cameroons 1916 to 1961 CE
French protectorate in Morocco 1912 to 1956 CE
Spanish protectorate in Morocco 1912 to 1956 CE
French Cameroon 1916 to 1960 CE
French Togoland 1916 to 1960 CE
British Togoland 1916 to 1957 CE
Italian Libya 1911 to 1943 CE
Kingdom of Egypt 1922 to 1953 CE
Italian East Africa 1936 to 1941 CE

Europe

Portuguese Empire 1415 to 1999 CE
United Kingdom 1801 CE to the present
Soviet Union 1922 to 1991 CE
Nazi Germany 1933 to 1945 CE
Kingdom of Sweden 1721 CE to the present
Kingdom of the Netherlands 1815 CE to the present
Romania (United Principalities and Kingdom) 1859 to 1947 CE
Kingdom of Italy 1861 to 1946 CE
French Third Republic 1870 to 1940 CE
Fascist Italy 1922 to 1943 CE
Sami people c. 1000 BCE to the present
Basques c. 500 BCE to the present
San Marino c. 1243 CE to the present
Andorra 1278 CE to the present
Monaco 1297 CE to the present
British Gibraltar 1713 CE to the present
Liechtenstein 1719 CE to the present
Switzerland 1803 CE to the present
Kingdom of Denmark 1814 CE to the present
Luxembourg 1815 CE to the present
Belgium 1830 CE to the present
British Malta 1800 to 1964 CE
Kingdom of Norway 1905 CE to the present
Albania 1912 CE to the present
Republic of Finland 1917 CE to the present
Iceland 1918 CE to the present
Vatican City 1929 CE to the present
Ireland 1937 CE to the present
British Cyprus 1878 to 1960 CE
Czechoslovakia 1918 to 1992 CE
Ukrainian SSR 1919 to 1991 CE
Byelorussian SSR 1920 to 1991 CE
Principality and Tsardom of Bulgaria 1878 to 1946 CE
Estado Novo 1926 to 1974 CE
Kingdom of Greece (restored) 1935 to 1973 CE
Francoist Spain 1939 to 1975 CE
Kingdom of Hungary (1920 to 1946) 1920 to 1946 CE
Kingdom of Yugoslavia 1918 to 1941 CE
Republic of Estonia (1918 to 1940) 1918 to 1940 CE
Republic of Latvia (1918 to 1940) 1918 to 1940 CE
Republic of Lithuania (1918 to 1940) 1918 to 1940 CE
Second Polish Republic 1918 to 1939 CE
Free City of Danzig 1920 to 1939 CE
Second Spanish Republic 1931 to 1939 CE
Slovak Republic (1939 to 1945) 1939 to 1945 CE
Protectorate of Bohemia and Moravia 1939 to 1945 CE

Middle East

Republic of Turkey 1923 CE to the present
Saudi Arabia 1932 CE to the present
Soviet Transcaucasia 1920 to 1991 CE
Pahlavi Iran 1925 to 1979 CE
Mandatory Palestine 1920 to 1948 CE
French Mandate for Syria and Lebanon 1920 to 1946 CE
Arab Bedouin tribes c. 900 BCE to the present
Kurdish tribes and emirates c. 640 CE to the present
Mahra Sultanate 1432 to 1967 CE
Sheikhdom of Kuwait c. 1752 to 1961 CE
Bahrain under the Al Khalifa 1783 to 1971 CE
Trucial States 1820 to 1971 CE
British Aden 1839 to 1967 CE
Sultanate of Muscat and Oman 1856 to 1970 CE
Sheikhdom of Qatar 1868 to 1971 CE
Mutawakkilite Kingdom of Yemen 1918 to 1962 CE
Kingdom of Iraq 1932 to 1958 CE
Emirate of Transjordan 1921 to 1946 CE

South Asia

British Raj 1858 to 1947 CE
Kingdom of Mysore c. 1399 to 1950 CE
Kingdom of Nepal 1768 to 2008 CE
Hyderabad State 1724 to 1948 CE
Munda-speaking peoples c. 1500 BCE to the present
Tibeto-Burman hill peoples c. 1000 BCE to the present
Vedda people c. 900 BCE to the present
Kingdom of Mewar c. 728 to 1948 CE
Pashtun tribes c. 1000 CE to the present
Kingdom of Manipur c. 1110 to 1949 CE
Kingdom of Marwar c. 1226 to 1947 CE
Twipra Kingdom c. 1400 to 1949 CE
Portuguese Goa 1510 to 1961 CE
Koch dynasty and Cooch Behar 1515 to 1949 CE
Kingdom of Sikkim 1642 to 1975 CE
French India 1674 to 1954 CE
Bhopal State 1707 to 1949 CE
Baroda State 1721 to 1949 CE
Jaipur State 1727 to 1949 CE
Travancore 1729 to 1949 CE
Gwalior State 1731 to 1948 CE
Bahawalpur State 1748 to 1955 CE
British Ceylon 1796 to 1948 CE
British Assam 1826 to 1947 CE
Kingdom of Bhutan 1907 CE to the present
Rana regime 1846 to 1951 CE
Jammu and Kashmir princely state 1846 to 1947 CE
Maldives under British protection 1887 to 1965 CE
Kingdom of Afghanistan 1926 to 1973 CE

Central and North Asia

Soviet Union 1922 to 1991 CE
Mongolian People's Republic 1924 to 1992 CE
Yukaghir peoples c. 1000 BCE to the present
Chukchi, Koryak and Itelmen peoples c. 1000 BCE to the present
Evenki and Even reindeer herders c. 500 CE to the present
Khanty, Mansi and Samoyedic peoples c. 1000 CE to the present
Buryats c. 1200 CE to the present
Sakha (Yakuts) c. 1250 CE to the present
Yakut ASSR and Sakha Republic 1922 CE to the present
Kazakh SSR 1920 to 1991 CE
Kirghiz SSR 1924 to 1991 CE
Uzbek SSR 1924 to 1991 CE
Turkmen SSR 1924 to 1991 CE
Tajik SSR 1929 to 1991 CE
Xinjiang under the Republic of China 1912 to 1949 CE
Tuvan People's Republic 1921 to 1944 CE

East Asia

Empire of Japan 1868 to 1947 CE
Ganden Phodrang (Dalai Lama government) 1642 to 1951 CE
Republic of China (mainland) 1912 to 1949 CE
Formosan Austronesian peoples before 3200 BCE to the present
Qiang peoples c. 1250 BCE to the present
Ainu c. 1200 CE to the present
Portuguese Macau 1557 to 1999 CE
Han settlers of the Northeast c. 1860 CE to the present
British Hong Kong 1841 to 1997 CE
Japanese Taiwan 1895 to 1945 CE
Kwantung Leased Territory 1905 to 1945 CE
Japanese Korea 1910 to 1945 CE
Manchukuo 1932 to 1945 CE

Southeast Asia

Dutch East Indies 1800 to 1949 CE
Nguyen dynasty 1802 to 1945 CE
British Burma 1826 to 1948 CE
Thailand 1932 CE to the present
British Malaya 1874 to 1948 CE
French Indochina 1887 to 1954 CE
American Philippines 1898 to 1946 CE
Philippine Negrito foragers c. 3200 BCE to the present
Orang Asli (Semang and Senoi) c. 1800 BCE to the present
Dayak peoples of Borneo c. 1000 BCE to the present
Shan States c. 1215 to 1959 CE
Portuguese Timor 1702 to 1975 CE
Surakarta and Yogyakarta 1755 to 1950 CE
Straits Settlements 1826 to 1946 CE
Raj of Sarawak 1841 to 1946 CE
British protectorate of Brunei 1888 to 1984 CE
French Cambodia 1863 to 1953 CE
British North Borneo 1882 to 1963 CE
French Laos 1893 to 1953 CE

North America

United States 1776 CE to the present
Pacific Northwest peoples c. 500 CE to the present
Pueblo peoples (Hopi, Zuni, Rio Grande) c. 1300 CE to the present
Iroquois Confederacy (Haudenosaunee) c. 1450 CE to the present
Navajo (Diné) c. 1500 CE to the present
Inuit peoples c. 1600 CE to the present
Lakota (Teton Sioux) c. 1700 CE to the present
Dominion of Canada 1867 to 1982 CE
Unangan (Aleut) peoples c. 2500 BCE to the present
Dene (Northern Athabaskan) peoples c. 750 BCE to the present
Chumash c. 500 CE to the present
California peoples (Ohlone, Miwok, Pomo, Tongva) c. 500 CE to the present
Cree peoples c. 1000 CE to the present
Numic peoples (Shoshone, Paiute, Ute) c. 1000 CE to the present
Apache peoples c. 1400 CE to the present
Wichita peoples (Quivira) c. 1450 CE to the present
O'odham peoples c. 1450 CE to the present
Blackfoot Confederacy c. 1600 CE to the present
Danish Greenland 1721 to 1979 CE
Dominion of Newfoundland 1907 to 1949 CE

Mesoamerica and Caribbean

Haiti 1804 CE to the present
British West Indies 1624 to 1983 CE
Colony of Jamaica 1655 to 1962 CE
Mexico 1823 CE to the present
Island Caribs (Kalinago) c. 1200 CE to the present
Zapotec, Mixtec and Mixe peoples c. 1521 CE to the present
Maya peoples (colonial and modern) c. 1524 CE to the present
Yaqui, Mayo and Raramuri peoples c. 1533 CE to the present
Dutch Caribbean 1634 CE to the present
French Antilles 1635 to 1946 CE
Honduras 1838 CE to the present
Nicaragua 1838 CE to the present
Costa Rica 1838 CE to the present
Guatemala 1839 CE to the present
El Salvador 1841 CE to the present
Dominican Republic 1844 CE to the present
Puerto Rico (US territory) 1898 CE to the present
Panama 1903 CE to the present
British Honduras 1862 to 1981 CE
Panama Canal Zone 1903 to 1979 CE
Republic of Cuba 1902 to 1959 CE

South America

Tupi-Guarani peoples c. 500 CE to the present
Mapuche c. 1000 CE to the present
Peru 1821 CE to the present
Colombia 1831 CE to the present
Argentina 1861 CE to the present
Brazil 1889 CE to the present
Fuegian canoe peoples (Yaghan, Kawésqar) before 3200 BCE to the present
Jê peoples c. 1 CE to the present
Patagonian peoples (Tehuelche, Selk'nam) c. 1 CE to the present
Arawakan peoples of the Amazon c. 1000 CE to the present
Carib peoples of the Guianas c. 1000 CE to the present
Guaraní c. 1000 CE to the present
Quechua and Aymara peoples c. 1533 CE to the present
French Guiana 1664 CE to the present
Dutch Suriname 1667 to 1975 CE
Paraguay 1811 CE to the present
Chile 1818 CE to the present
Bolivia 1825 CE to the present
Uruguay 1828 CE to the present
Venezuela 1830 CE to the present
Ecuador 1830 CE to the present
Falkland Islands 1833 CE to the present
British Guiana 1814 to 1966 CE

Oceania

Aboriginal Australian peoples before 3200 BCE to the present
Māori iwi c. 1500 CE to the present
Commonwealth of Australia 1901 CE to the present
Papuan farmers and foragers before 3200 BCE to the present
New Zealand 1907 CE to the present
Tasmanian Aboriginal peoples before 3200 BCE to the present
Torres Strait Islanders c. 500 BCE to the present
Island Melanesian societies c. 500 BCE to the present
Eastern Micronesian islanders c. 200 BCE to the present
French Polynesia 1842 CE to the present
Kingdom of Tonga 1845 CE to the present
French New Caledonia 1853 CE to the present
Kīngitanga (Māori King Movement) 1858 CE to the present
Chilean Rapa Nui 1888 CE to the present
Dutch New Guinea 1828 to 1962 CE
Guam (US territory) 1898 CE to the present
American Samoa 1900 CE to the present
Colony of Fiji 1874 to 1970 CE
Gilbert and Ellice Islands 1892 to 1979 CE
British Solomon Islands Protectorate 1893 to 1978 CE
New Hebrides Condominium 1906 to 1980 CE
British New Guinea and Territory of Papua 1884 to 1949 CE
Territory of Hawaii 1898 to 1959 CE
Nauru under Australian administration 1914 to 1968 CE
Western Samoa (New Zealand) 1914 to 1962 CE
Territory of New Guinea 1914 to 1949 CE
South Seas Mandate 1914 to 1945 CE

Questions

What countries existed in 1939?

The timeline shows 229 states, empires and colonies alive in 1939. Among the most significant: Ethiopian Empire (Solomonic dynasty), Portuguese Empire, United States, United Kingdom, Haiti, Dutch East Indies, Commonwealth of Australia and British Raj. The full list by region is on this page.

What was happening in the world in 1939?

Within 25 years of 1939, the timeline records First World War begins (1914), Panama Canal opens (1914), Armenian genocide (1915), Arab Revolt and Sykes-Picot (1916), Russian Revolution (1917) and 1918 influenza pandemic (1918).

Which empires existed in 1939?

Ethiopian Empire (Solomonic dynasty), Portuguese Empire, Empire of Japan, Nazi Germany and Soviet Transcaucasia.

Where do these dates come from?

Each row's dates were checked against the sources listed on that row's own page, mostly English Wikipedia articles, which cite the underlying scholarship. Dates that are uncertain are marked c.