the era

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The thirty years before before the outbreak of World War I is a fascinating time to reflect upon, and write about. The world was changing at a pace like no other time before. It was a period of great economic development, as well as scientific and technological advances. Like any era in history, it had its glaring weaknesses, but it was also a time of excitement, elegance, and optimism as it ushered in enormous cultural development. 

A brief historical timeline

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Major World Events,
Medical Breakthroughs, and Inventions

1881 - 1885

• First Boer War
• Anthrax Vaccine
• Triple Alliance - Germany, Austria-Hungary, Italy
• Electric Fan
• Rabies Vaccine
• TB Baccillus
• Berlin Conference/Treaty - The "Scramble for Africa"
• Balkin Crisis - Bulgaria and Serbia

1886 - 1890

• First Skyscraper - Chicago
• Kodak Camera
• Dishwasher
• Diphtheria and Tetanus Vaccine

1891 - 1895

• Escalator
• Gas-Powered Car
• Zipper
• Shimonoseki Treaty - Japan and China
• X Ray

1896 - 1900

• Typhoid Fever Vaccine
• Bubonic Plague Vaccine
• Player Piano
• The Paris Treaty - Ends Spanish-American War
• Second Boer War
• Aspirin

1901 - 1905

• Queen Victoria dies; Edward  VII Crowned King of Great Britain
• Air Conditioning
• Airplane
• Entente Cordial - Agreement between France and Britain
• Treaty of Portsmouth - Ends Russo-Japanese War

1906 - 1910

• Anglo-Russian Entente
• Triple Entente - Alliance between France, Russia and Britain
• Electrocardiograph (ECG)

​Outbreak of World War I in 1914
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Maps

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THE UNITED STATES
In 1895, the United States was comprised of  44 states,
five territories, ​and approximately 70 million people. (Map by W & A.K. Johnston, 1895)
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EUROPE
At the end of the 19th century, Europe was comprised of 24 independent nation states. Much of Central and Eastern Europe was divided between the empires of Austria-Hungary, Germany, the Ottomans, and Russia. The population was approximately 300 million. ​(Map from George Cram Atlas​, 1897)

ENGLAND
In 1889, England had 39 counties and the population was approximately 26 million. London had 4.4 million people. Today, they are 67.4 million and 9.0 million people, respectively. And as of 2013, all 39 counties—many of which were administratively abolished in 1972—have been declared to exist as historic counties. 

The Strand, London
A Encyclopedia Britannica Map​, 1890
"The Strand, so named from its skirting the bank of the river, which is now concealed by buildings, is a broad street between the City and the West End, and one of the busiest and most important thoroughfares in London. It was unpaved down to 1532, and about this time it was described as 'full of pits and sloughs, very perilous and noisome'. At this period many of the mansions of the nobility and hierarchy stood here, with gardens stretching down to the Thames. The names if several streets and houses still recall these days of bygone magnificence, but the palaces themselves have long since disappeared or been converted to more plebeian uses." (Baedeker's London and its Environs 1900​, p. 181).