1880s: Queen Victoria has named herself Empress of India, and British Imperialism is at its height. Great Britain and France occupy Egypt and within a few years, Africa will be partitioned and divided among European interests.

1979: Margaret Thatcher is the first woman to become Prime Minister of Great Britain.

Today: Great Britain has ceded control of Hong Kong to China, and Queen Elizabeth is set to celebrate fifty years as British ruler in 2002.

1880s: Impressionist painters create a new movement in art. They hold a major exhibition in Paris in 1874. Within ten years, the form will dominate the art field.

1979: Philip Johnson exhibits a new painting, Paintsplats (on a wall). Performance art becomes the newest art form.

Today: An exhibition of Jackson Pollack's art at the New York Metropolitan Museum of Art results in long lines as people wait in cold, wet weather to...