The Original Online Timeline of World History is HyperHistory Online, which has been around as long as I can remember (1990’s?). It may not be the most attractive site to study history, for it lacks all the bells and whistles of modern media-rich sites — but that can be helpful when you want to get a broad perspective of worldwide history. Personally, I enjoy HyperHistory for its timeline format, showing at a glance what was going on in each area of the world, at any given time period in history.
Here is one section of the timeline, followed by explanations of its various features:
This is what you see when you select “History” in the left side panel and “500 BC to AD 1” in the right side panel.
You can see that a timeline runs horizontally along a center white strip, in one hundred year increments.
Each major region of the world is represented by a different color, in this case showing ancient Greece in blue, Rome in red, the Middle East in green, India in brown, and China and the far East in yellow. In this section of the timeline, the Americas and Africa are narrow strips at the top and bottom. In subsequent timeline sections, the colors remain basically the same, with Japan entering more prominently into the yellow and North America and Russia joining Europe in the blue.
There are various features scattered throughout all the sections of the timeline:
At the very top, you can click “Book Text” (the result varies by timeline section, but links & descriptions appear in the right margin).
Click Blue Text for Links (brief informational articles that appear in the right margin when the text is clicked).
[pics below show a Book Text selection, then a Link selection]
C in a white circle — such as those in the first pic above, by Greece and China — denotes Connections, a link to which will appear in the right margin.
“Map” in a blue oval (see the first pic above for several examples) of course goes to a map of that time and place.
You can view the map in the right margin, or click “To larger Map” (an example of which is shown below).
If you click “People” in the left side panel and choose a timeframe in the right panel, you will see this timeline:
Clicking on any of the names of these famous people in history brings up a brief biography and links to more extensive information, in the right side panel, much like the Blue Text Link shown above.
HyperHistory also offers a Hard Copy (Wall Chart) version of the online timeline. At any time during your exploration of HyperHistory Online, simply click “Hard Copy” at the bottom of the left side panel, to see details and the current price and availability. After researching all available timelines currently in print, I can tell you that not only is this one offered at a competitive price, but it is one of the best timelines available regarding scope and clarity. And if you like to have maps on your timeline, to connect history and geography, then this is the BEST timeline, in my opinion. :O>
Visit the HyperHistory Online website to explore this amazing resource!
— I am not affiliated with this site or with this organization and have received no compensation for this post — I just sincerely enjoy spreading the word about awesome people and helpful resources! —
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